Cannon fire roared, and scorching cannonballs howled down from the sky, causing massive columns of water to rise inside and outside the port, one after another. Some of the columns nearly grazed the hull of The White Oak; the sea churned tumultuously, rocking the entire ship and eliciting unsettling creaks and groans.
Lawrence and his first mate, Gus, led a dozen sailors up the rope ladders, making it back onto the deck of The White Oak without incident. Behind them, Dagger Island remained shrouded in thick fog, which was now disturbed by a sudden chaotic breeze at the deserted port, the mist twisting and tumbling in the wind as if filled with malice, as if agitated by uninvited guests.