NationStates Jolt Archive

1306,the year of our lord

Peace was well known between The Kingdom of Osteia and The Kingdom of Frozopia. Thirty years ago a conflict raged between the two kingdoms sending many to war,fighting for the glory of their nations and the wish of their kings.

The conflict went on for five long years untill a resolve was reached, both sides were exausted, money was being taken from the people to fund a war that the opposing kingdoms never intended to give up. This resolve was the agreement of both kings,to arrange marriage between a princess of Osteia, Gwen Locke, and Prince Bjorn of Frozopia.

Once the deal had taken place the two nations entered into a prosperous, but shaky alliance.

Now...

Thirty years later times were changing, the old religious ways of the Frozopian's were being questioned by the Church, being called Blasphemy! high ranking Church officials took it to the top asking the pope to launch a campaign into Frozopia to rid the Christian world of this 'plague' called paganism. After a dispute by the nations leaders the alliance shattered, the mainlands went to war once again and the conflict stretched to the furthest edges of the empires...all the way to, two neibouring islands in the north called due regni, two kingdoms.

http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/curriculum/social_sciences/sec_geography/resources/metropolises/metropole_images/carte_montreal_vierge.jpeg

"Please sire! Consider changing your ways! Take up the one true faith of the Christ. Not only can you save a thousand lives, but you can save a thousand souls!"

The Priest chattered on, almost running to keep up with the King of Frozopia who furiously strode through the palace corridors.

"SHUT UP PRIEST! I have tolerated you Christians for too long. The God's want blood. Christian blood. That is why they have woven these events about to unfold."

"But sire! Those Gods dont exist!"

"SAYS who priest? That stupid man in a dress? That fool who let himself get nailed to the cross?"

"But-"

"SILENCE I SAID!"

The two men and the Kings bodyguards finally reached the main chamber. Standing tall, the King of Frozopia threw the double doors open before taking his seat at the throne. In the room a host of Frozopia's wealthies and most powerful people ceased their chatter. There was an air of excitement around the room. War was coming and with it all the excitement, glory and wealth to be had.

"Frozopians I will keep this short. Our old enemies have taken it upon themselves to rid us 'heretics' from this land. They march under the banner of the Church, eager to strip us off our hard earned wealth and land. We will not let this happen.... Prepare your troops and gather your ships. There is blood to be shed. In the meanwhile we will discuss strategy and I shall choose one of you fit to lead our forces."

The King turned to the priest:

"Bring me Bjorn. Me and him need a talk......"

Apollo, Osteia

His Majesty King Locke sat in his castles great hall, standing before him were a group of his advisors. They discussed the current situation with Frozopia, thousands of troops had been prepared for the comming war between the two kingdoms.

"They refuse to accept christianity so therefore we will pound them into submission, a certian area which catches my attention....a stratigic positon which grants them access to our mainland will be the center of this conflict, therefore we shall reinforce the due regni region, if we continue to maintain a foothold there we can repel any attacks on Osteia itself"

The advisors remained quiet while the king spoke, he continued after a breif pause,

"Once we defeat them there we are able to continue on towards their mainland, due regni shall be our staging point for total and complete victory over these heathens who do not accept god..."

One of the advisors spoke,

"Your majesty, that is a most wise decision"

The king stood up and nodded replying,

"Good, then it is settled...i have ordered that 55,000 of my finest troops reinforce the islands garrison of 3,000, a dispatch has been sent to my cousin on the island yes? informing him that we are at war?"

AN advisor replied,

"Yes sire, Lord Logan has been informed...we await confirmation as it stands..."

"Very good, see that it's done....i am heading to my garden with my wife"

Due Regni Region

Lord Logan had received word of the up-comming holy war with Frozopia. Word from the mainland reported that that King Locke was sending an additional 55,000 men to hold the Osteian inhabbited Island, it was a stratigic position that was nessasary to the war without question.

Lord Logan's closest friend and commander of military forces in the area, Lord Beckham watched him read the letter,

"What is it James?"

Lord Logan looked at him blankly,

"We are at war...troops are comming to the island"

Beckham replied with a shocked expression,

"To this island? why here? this petty godforsaken corner of the earth?"

Logan continued,

"War with Frozopia...we have no time to waste my friend...send word to all the garrisons...war has just been declared and reinforcements dispatched, that does not mean that the enemy will not try to move in now, go!"

Beckam spoke,

"Why don't we lead men across the channel and take them by suprise? we can do it!"

Logan shook his head,

"No, we have orders to sit tight and wait for the rest of our troops...we second to command this island...my cousin the king has sent one of his finest generals, by the name of..."

He quickly scanned the letter..

"By the name of... Sir William, sir William of Bellomo...i have heard of him... a true veteran and capible leader..."

Beckham agreed,

"Very well, i will put out the word at once.."

"Having heard your arguments, Lord Wilbur will be overall commander of the armed forces. I trust he will select a capable warrior as his second in command."

It had been a long 2 hours, but finally a rough idea was forming on what to do. Some thought it wise to strike fast with whatever forces were on hand: However King Richmond had dismissed this knowing that they wouldnt have sufficient numbers to capture any fortified positions.

Instead Frozopia would gather 60,000 fighting men for the conflict ahead, gathered from all across the country. They would land at the due regni islands and advance on enemy positions. King Richmond was confident in the meanwhile that Frozopia's forces on the island would fend off any attacks. Orders had already been sailed to the island to inform them what to do.

"I will also be decreasing taxes for the moment: The peasantry need to be relieved off the strain of losing working men drafted for this war and I expect you to act accordingly. Do not disapoint me."

"Having heard your arguments, Lord Wilbur will be overall commander of the armed forces. I trust he will select a capable warrior as his second in command."

It had been a long 2 hours, but finally a rough idea was forming on what to do. Some thought it wise to strike fast with whatever forces were on hand: However King Richmond had dismissed this knowing that they wouldnt have sufficient numbers to capture any fortified positions.

Instead Frozopia would gather 60,000 fighting men for the conflict ahead, gathered from all across the country. They would land at the due regni islands and advance on enemy positions. King Richmond was confident in the meanwhile that Frozopia's forces on the island would fend off any attacks. Orders had already been sailed to the island to inform them what to do.

"I will also be decreasing taxes for the moment: The peasantry need to be relieved off the strain of losing working men drafted for this war and I expect you to act accordingly. Do not disapoint me." He knew at least some of them would keep taxes the same and instead would pocket the profits.

Due Regni Region, two weeks later..

Troop landings were taking place all up and down the coast of the Osteian controlled island. They were landed in armys of ten thousand that would spread out along their area of the landmass reinforcing castles and other fortifications while others set up camp. It was known that the islands were a stratigic staging point during the first conflict which caused the defenders to construct powerful, secure defences.

The most outstanting fortification belonging to the Osteian's was, Castle Richmond. The inner ward is rectangular with a round tower at each corner. On the north and south sides are massive gatehouses following the typical pattern of two D-shaped towers flanking the gate passage, while two more D-shaped towers defend the east and west walls. The great hall and other domestic buildings would have been constructed within this inner ward.

Surrounding the inner bailey is an outer wall defended by towers and its own two gatehouses. These are not aligned with the inner gatehouses and would have denied attackers the advantage of a straight path through the gates. The dock wall extends from the south wall near the gatehouse so also serves as a defensive firing platform. Unlike the simple outer walls,the walls through out the castle are very thick and have internal passages to allow defenders access to protected arrow slits. Attackers would meet 14 separate obstacles and four lines of fortification resulting from the 'walls within walls' design.

The castle is located directly across the channel near the middle of the island, it serves as a strongpoint and stagin area for operations on the other side of the channel.

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Lord Wilbur was watching the sea. On the distant horizon another ship had appeared. More soldiers ready to fight for the King.

Surprisingly for some the Osteians hadn't launched any attacks. Instead they had landed and marched straight into their fortifications, hiding behind their walls.

Wilbur wasnt one of those surprised: Cowardism was to be expected from these Christians. They taught people to love thy neighbour and then persecuted them with a great vengence. They cried for a Crusade and then hid behind their walls. Such hypocrisy. Lord Wilbur spat into the sea and turned back to look at the city where he and his troops were situated.

Already the Frozopians were facing problems. Food had been lost in the journey, and it didnt take long for the General to realise they didnt even have enough in the first place. Lord Wilbur had already visited almost all the major lords of the Frozopian island. All had promised food. Few had provided any upfront. Even fewer would keep their promises...Unless the Throwing Axemen intervened. The elite fighting force and brotherhood had already been despatched to intimidate and if neccessary kill any of the island lords who refused to assist the war effort. It had been a good harvest and the island had rich soil. Hopefully tomorrow the supplies problem would disapear.

Another problem the Frozopians were facing was the encampment. The more disciplined troops had set up their camp in a Romanesque affair around the city in organised squares and certain area's reserved for latrines. The peasantry however had formed a chaotic camp around it and there had been a few disease outbreaks in these area's already. For the moment Wilbur would have to put up untill the last of his forces and supplies came in....Wilbur hoped this would be a matter of days.

Supplies, horses and other provisions had been unloaded from the ships through the course of the night. During the voyage to the Due Rengi region the Osteians had encountered bad weather on the high seas loosing eight ships, three troops ships and five merchant vessals. The Osteian settlers on the island had been shocked by the amount of soldiers and transports continuing to pour in from the mainland, they greeted them on the sides of the roads waving and yelling... "Victory is ours! long live king Locke!

Castle Richmond...

Sir William, Lord Logan and Lord Beckham stood together on one of the castles towers overlooking the channel,

"The channel is 34km wide at it's best....it is about 562 km long, top to bottom, we will cross the channel down here at the bottom with 3200 men, in the center we will cross with 8000 men...it seems like a small force to dispatch but we have received no word that they have received reinforcements as of yet"

Lord Logan and Beckham nodded,

"But what if they have sir...received reinforcements..."

Sir William replied with a smirk,

"Then they havn't reached this side of the island yet..they are still behind and we can capture some coastal towns and establish a foothold...once we know what we are up against then we can act properly sending what is nessasary to aid our actions"

Beckham replied,

"Very well...sir..i will travel south to ensure troops are embarking for this task"

Lord Logan turned to his friend,

"Sence you have volunteered to go South i will remain here, ships are to cross at noon tomorrow...we will establish communication as soon as possible"

"Very well James, we will see eachother soon...good luck!"

Lord Beckham left for his post, he was to meet with 3200 of the kings soldiers, 2000 heavy infanty, 1000 longbow men 200 cavalry. Lord Logan returned to his post where he would lead 8000 men across the channel, 4000 infantry, two thousand heavy cavalry, two thousand longbows.

Heavy Cavalry:
http://www.royalarmouries.org/webassets/W/Waldemar%20von%20Anhalbzerst%20class_6418_14.jpg (http://www.royalarmouries.org/webassets/W/Waldemar%20von%20Anhalbzerst%20class_6418_14.jpg)

Dismounted Cavalry:
http://www.longshank.com/images/gothic%20plate.jpg

Heavy Infantry:

http://www.totalwar.org.pl/gallery/Knight%20Templar%201120-1312%20-03.jpg

Longbowmen:

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Lord Beckham landed on the opposite side of the channel with his force of 3200 soldiers, they marched on while the supplys were off loaded, they would catch up with the troops soon.

The force spotted a walled town just inland from the coast. Two Trebuchets were brought forward with ammunition, troops were ordered to hold fast in front of the town, heavy cavalry patrols circled the perimiter to ensure nothing got in or out.....

"Prepare a bombardment, ignite ammuniton...." Beckham ordered...

"M'lord" the captian replied then relayed orders to others who passed them down to the artillary crews.

Longbowmen were brought up but held for the time being.

.............................

Lord Logans force hadn't completed crossing the channel as of yet. Supplys and troops were still being loaded, they were slightly behind schedule due to rough weather conditions.......

At first sight of the approaching army one Mayor Bridge had immediatly despatched a messenger on a fast horse for Lord Wilbur and ordered those who lived outside the walls of the town to get inside. War was abroad and the mayor did not want to take any risks.

Once the enemy came close enough so that he could see the distinctive banner of Osteia, he had his military advisors give a estimate of the forces they were facing before despatching another messenger. In the end they had agreed upon a number of 6000: Perhaps an overestimate but the mayor did not want the General to hesitate in sending assistance.
Mayor Bridge had 100 professional well equipped soldiers lead by Lord Carrigan and 10 of his retinue (all mounted and equipped as heavy cavalry). Beside this force was a militia infantry equipped with swords and spears numbering 200 and a volunteer group of peasants numbering 600. There were also 150 Longbowmen both peasantry and militia.

With this force the Mayor had 3 walls (the 4th wall protected by a river) to defend, each at a length of 300 meters. To make matters worse the enemy had cover on the south and western walls where the city had expanded outside of the walls. Small wooden and poorly built hovels spread around the town here.

If worst came to worse the force could retreat to the small fort at the heart of the city but doing so would put the citys entire population at risk. The mayor decided he would die before he let that happen.


The first trebuchets were dragged into range. Mayor Bridge felt his fury rise at their insolence and stupidity. These fools wanted nothing but blood and plunder.
"We should try and negotiate anyways..." Lord Carrigan was at his side. "Time is what we need now." The Mayor nodded. Lord Carrigan turned to his Captains. "Get in your positions. Captain Seamus form a spear wall at the gate, its about to get opened. Tell the sentries on the walls to stay low."

"Yes sir!" The five men echoed.

"I will go out there myself. Find me a banner damn it!" The Mayor snapped at his assistant.

The Gates crept open and the Mayor rode outside, brandishing his flag above him. Behind him two bodyguard followed...

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As Osteian troops moved into position before the city, gates were spotted opening, Lord Beckham watched as three men on horses carrying a banner left the besieged city riding towards his line...

"Looks like they want to parlay M'lord"

Beckham nodded,

"Yes, perhalps discuss their surrender...it would save us from having to turn them to dust Captian...bring one man with you and follow me bearing our colours"

"M'lord"

The three men rode out to meet the Frozopians, two heavy cavalry and an Osteian knight, Lord Beckham.

"Gentlemen." The mayor introduced himself. "I am Mayor Bridge, appointed by the King himself to command this city. I know our nations are at war but perhaps there is a peaceful way of solving this conflict? This town is inhabited by civilians, they have done no harm to anyone and only want to continue their peaceful lives. If you fight us you put all their lives at risk...And your own soldiers. Please reconsider this siege."

The two body guards stirred nervously. Even though the mayor had been courteous, you can never tell how foreigners are going to react...

Lord Beckham stared in the mans eyes as he spoke, he heard him out and replied quickly...

"I am Lord Beckham of Padova, this goes beyond words good sir'...our leaders have come to the conclusion that war is the only answear to this issue. I have bee instructed to move inland and take what ever settlements i come across, those are my orders, i am a soldier sir...i follow orders"

He paused breifly,

"If you can evacuate the civilians quickly then lives will be spared, should you and the defenders of the city decide to leave with them you are welcome to do so, leaving your arms behind in the city of course...but by all means take your colours, those are the best terms i am able to offer at this time..should you choose to decline i can tell you that we will NOT be responcible for the amount of lives lost due to your final decision"

"I will need time to talk this over with my military advisor and the other leaders of the city" The Mayor began. "There is no way I can make such a important decision now. Not one that affects the entire town and its inhabitants." Looking up, the mayor saw the sun was at its highest position.
"Can I have 'till tomorow noon to discuss this over?"

Lord Beckham replied quickly,

"I understand your situation Mayor Bridge, completely...but by noon tomorrow i could already be inside the walls, if...there are any still standing by that time, i mean no disrespect, just simply state the truth of the matter"

He let his words sink in and continued,

"With that said, in one hour i will hope to see the towns inhabbitants leaving, carrying what ever possessions they can manage....i cannot allow a days progress to be held up when i could move in and take the city today, i don't even have to put the option forward to leave in peace...but..i am a soldier, not a butcher...your fate..."

He pointed at the town,

"And theirs are yours for the choosing....leave in peace, or die within the city"

Lord Beckham replied quickly,

"I understand your situation Mayor Bridge, completely...but by noon tomorrow i could already be inside the walls, if...there are any still standing by that time, i mean no disrespect, just simply state the truth of the matter"

He let his words sink in and continued,

"With that said, in one hour i will hope to see the towns inhabbitants leaving, carrying what ever possessions they can manage....i cannot allow a days progress to be held up when i could move in and take the city today, i don't even have to put the option forward to leave in peace...but..i am a soldier, not a butcher...your fate..."

He pointed at the town,

"And theirs are yours for the choosing....leave in peace, or die within the city"

"One hour is not enough for the people to pack supplies for the journey, never mind their personal possesion. Even if it was I can spare no men to protect them through the dangerous country side of this far flung colony. You are issuing a death sentence upon these people. I hope you can see reason now even in this time of war".

The mayor ran his eye over the enemy forces.

"We do not fear you. We will fight to the last man if necessary."

Lord Beckham sighed,

What decision do i make...these people will die either way, i cannot allow them to stall untill tomorrow if thats what they are doing, if they are going to leave let them...if they want a fight, we'll take it to them..i have tryed to spare lives but it seems impossible..

Beckham spoke,

"The most i can give you is three hours, no more! that is final....i know you do not fear us, Frozopians are brave without a doubt..but i advise you don't cross the line between being brave and stupid....i will not push you towards the peaceful solution anymore, the decision is yours to make, the best i can do is four hours...and i must know now sir, your duty as mayor is to protect these people, choose what is best...now this is your big test Mr. Bridge"

The Mayor nodded.

"I doubt many civilians will be eager to risk the countryside but Im sure at least a few will be spared from the bloodshed. We however cannot force the rest to leave. Four hours it is. May the battle commence then my lord."

The Mayor rode back to the gates and within, his bodyguards behind him.

Over the next four hours small parties of nervous looking civilians left the town. Their numbers were few and their faces grim for they faced a hard journey ahead. With luck some would avoid any bandits and make the Frozopian capital on the island. The rest would have be forced to defend themselves Mules were loaded with possesions and provisions for the trip and the men clutched staffs while the women carried the youngest of the children on their backs. It was a depressing sight for the mayor.

"Lord Carrigan....How long can we hold out?"

"It depends...We know they have trebuchets. But for what purpose? Untill we know what they are targetting and what skill their men are, we cant tell. The walls have not been well maintained sir, but they were reasonably thick in the first place. Same goes for the gate but we have barricaded that now. Regardless they are optimistic if they think it can be done in a day. Maybe a week to punch one hole in any of the walls?"

"Time enough for our forces to mobilise?"

"Yes. But maybe not time for them to get here on time. Lord Wilbur wont want to split his force and moving such a large army will take a long time. Especially the peasantry."

"Let these Osteian dogs come then."

Lord Beckham gave a single nod signaling his approval,

"Very well Mayor Bridge, see you inside the walls"

The Mayor turned and rode back through the citys gates followed by his bodyguards. Lord Beckham and the Osteian soldiers watched groups of civilians leave the city, the looked horribly depressed and the Osteian's pittied them, but it was for the best for when the walls were breached there would be no mercy, except to SOLDIERS who had clearly surrendered.

Once the civilians had ceased to exit the city the trebuchets were moved into position along with the Osteian longbowmen. The sun was going down on the horizon, projectiles were ordered to be ignited, trebuchet ammo, and arrows. The Osteians would fire the trebuchet into the city in different areas trying to loosen up resistance and decrease morale, archers were ordered to fire over the wall in hopes of hitting enemy forces waiting...

"IGNITE ARROWS!" Beckham shouted

Lines of longbowmen ignited their arrows and drew back their bows waiting for the command to..

"LOOSE!" shouted Beckham

One thousand arrows wizzed through the air over the city walls, the two trebuchets had also opened fire directed at the town square.....

All the projectiles a'flame lit up the darkening sky....

The Frozopians were ready. Safely nestled in positions closest to the walls, the arcing fire of longbowmen and trebuchets passed well above and beyond into the city leaving the soldiers unharmed. However the same could not be said for the civilians. Bizzarely the enemy were firing into the centre of the town, where most of the wealthier and resilient stone buildings stood. However much of the fire went askew burning up the poorer wooden buildings elsewhere.

The mayor winced. He had dreaded this.

"Remain strong mayor." Carrigan spoke, his face expressionless.

The mayor nodded...

The 150 Longbowmen took up positions beneath the wall. Their enemy would be bunched to take best advantage of the volley fire. But unfortunately for them, their archery fire and the few Frozopian sentries on the wall would pinpoint their position even if the Longbowmen couldnt. And the Frozopians returned fire...

"My lord....The peasantry want to see to the fires. Their homes and families are at stake! Im not sure we can control them much longer!."

Lord Carrigan nodded at the Captain. "Let them go. Go help them and bring some militias with you to organise their efforts a little. Be careful."

"Yes millord."

Lord Beckham watched the smoke rise from the inner city. By hitting the town center he hoped to decrease enemy numbers and break down morale, if any civilians remained inside the walls they would be in complete distress putting more stress on the mayor himself, he would be forced to dispatch soldiers to help control the fires. King Locke didn't care what state these settlements were taken, as long as they were taken....

Enemy archers returned fire from the ramparts or from just behind the walls, the Osteian arrows revealed their position from the light they gave off. Beckham ordered that one trebuchet be ordered to hit the wall in the general direction from which the arrows came, the enemy archers kept up their volley's but had minimal effect due to the fact the Osteian longbowmen were in a loose formation.

One trebuchet shifted it's fire towards the enemy wall.....

Lord Beckham watched the fire show from horseback with two knights at his sides,

"We will beat them into submission, bring the other two trebuchets forward...waste no time.."

One of his Captians replied,

"M'lord"

He rode off through the lines...

The Frozopian longbowmen continued their fire over the walls. They knew they were considerably safer there then on the walls or deeper into the town, but the crash of trebuchet and the smoke from the fires was unnerving. To maximise the damage the Frozopians could do to their enemy, Lord Carrigan ordered many of the civilians manual workers to begin constructing platforms on the rooftops of the houses nearest to the walls.

The higher elevation would still be protected by the walls from any trebuchet fire while being higher above the ground would allow for better archery fire. Plus if the enemy breached the wall and attacked, the longbowmen would have more protection and be able to fire over their allies head's into the enemy. It would probably take a days work to construct the rough platforms and maybe another day to add some cover for them.

Mayor Bridge was evacuatting the higher risk area's of fire. This meant moving the poorer towns folk into the stone buildings of the rich, but any complaints were stilled by the desperate expressions fixed on the refugee's faces. At Lord Carrigans orders the Mayor had halved the numbers of peasants assisting to the fires and evacuations. Now only 300 Peasant volunteers and 50 Militia's accompanied by civilians were involved in the task aided by hundreds of other civilians. Lord Carrigan gave strict orders to the militia's to be ready to mobilise themselves and the peasants to pre-arranged positions in the event of attack.

The rest of the towns military forces remained behind the safety of the walls and in its towers. As the first trebuchet fire began to focus around one of the walls, the soldiers began setting up a blockade around the most likely place for a breach to occur. Sentries evacuated from the section of the wall and into the towers where they would be safer but also retain a line of sight on a potential attack.

Losses were low among the military units in the town. Maybe 10 were injured or dead. The towns civilian inhabitants for the moment were taking the bigger proportion of casualties. All were rushed to the towns doctors, whom assisted by volunteer nurses, did their best to help the wounded.

It was early evening on the first day....

Two more trebuchets were being brought forward to bombard the city. Lord Beckham watched as the enemy archers returned fire once again, he had misjudged the enemys position by firing at the ramparts, it was clear now they stood directly behind the walls of the city....

"Bring ladders forward, it's a nice evening for an escalade"

One of Beckhams Captians replied,

"M'lord, it will be done"

The Captian spoke to an infantry commander,

"Bring fourth the ladders"

The commander went to carry out his orders. During the time it took him to get back with the ladders archery fire was exchanged between Osteian forces and Frozopians, the two new trebuchets had each fired once at the West wall, that made a total of three artillary pieces with the same target.

Lord Beckham watched as the projectiles slammed into the enemy walls, a steady volley of arrows wizzed overhead,

"600 men, 350 heavy infantry, 250 men at arms...over the top, keep steady fire on the enemy...tell the archers to fire directly over that wall to the best of their ability, artillary will continue to concentrait on the west wall...they may come to believe we will try to get over that one aswell, have a body of troops form on our left flank...the enemy should divide their forces once they see this..we attack the right flank, east wall inbetween the towers"

He paused,

"I doubt there are very many professional soldiers in there, once over that wall we will cut through them like warm butter"

"M'lord" a group of commanders replied..

Shortly after the troops moved forward quickly letting out a battle cry..

"AHHHHHH!"

The troops broke into a loose formation to reduce losses on the approach, they jogged forward with the banners of Osteia, the king and the lord almighty fluttered in the breeze as the soldiers charged towards the wall.

Beckham sat up on his horse to get a better veiw, his attention was locked on the scene before him....

"ENEMY MOVEMENT! LADDERS!" The sentry yelled down from the wall. One man immediatly sprinted off to find Lord Carrigan while another went to inform the temporary fire brigade.

"SOUTH WALL! LADDERS ON SOUTH WALL!"

Immediatly the houses below the walls were bustling with activity as the soldiers garrisoned within them ran for the south wall. It was chaos but at least they were reacting to the assault.

The information was transferred along the shouts of soldiers. The Frozopian Longbowmen increased their rate of fire, firing upon the enemy they couldnt see on the other side of the wall. Many were weary from the day but the threat of the enemy breaching the wall was enough to spur them on. Other men ran to fetch fresh bundles of arrows for the Frozopians while the sentries hurled more torches down to the bases of all the walls all to maximise visibility.

Captain Asgard was the first officer on the scene and he was quick to assess the situation. The enemy were advancing quickly with maybe 20 ladders primarily split between two groups, one smaller group to the west and the largest closer, this one to the east. Looking along the wall he could see more and more Frozopians readying for the wave of enemy attackers. By the time the enemy struck there would probably be 150 Frozopians largely militia and professionals holding the wall. It would leave the other walls unmanned (if not unwatched by the remaining sentries) but it would be the Frozopians best chance of holding untill reinforcements could be organised.

As the enemy advanced the Frozopians raised their shields, unsheathed their swords and steadied their spears. Blood would be spilt blade to blade, as it should be.

The Ostieans reached the enemys walls hoisting the ladders against the defences. Defenders on the ramparts tossed torches over the side for visibility, the sky was getting darker, the moonlight was blocked out by a thick cloud of smoke rising from the burning buildings. A mixture of men at arms and heavy infantry scaled the ladders moving towards the top, Lord Beckham waited for the two armys to meet.........

The first ladder reached the wall only to be shoved back by Frozopian hands. This process would be repeated but it was a long wall manned by few men: Enough ladders would remain on the wall long enough for the weight of the Osteians and their armour to make pushing them back difficult...

Derfel grabbed one ladder and pushed with all his strength. It did not budge. Peering over the edge of the ramparts, the slim Frozopian spotted five dangerous looking Osteians half way up the ladder and more beneath them.

"Brokk you big oath! Help me!" The huge Frozopian grabbed the ladder and tried pushing it outwards. Again it did not budge.

"No you idiot! Im sliding it sideways!"

The big man grunted and put all his weight against the ladder so it would fall parallel to the wall. At first it didnt move.....But centimeter by centimeter the ladder crept to the side before losing balance and crashing to the ground. Below the Osteians screamed.

Further along the wall Garret arrived at a ladder too late. A heavily armoured Osteian rammed his sword into the Frozopian's shield with sufficient force to make the Frozopian inadvertedly step back and stumble backwards over the edge of the walkway and beyond. The Frozopian toppled 30 feet before striking the ground below. He did not move again. The Longbowmen below alerted by the toppling corpse quickly launched arrows straight at the Osteian swordsmen...

The Frozopians were holding. Ladders were hurled backwards and sideways for the unlucky and savage blows were laid upon those 'lucky' enough to reach the top of the ladder. Despite the Osteians superior numbers they found themselves outnumbered on the walltops, surrounded by Frozopians desperate to defend their homes. And with each minute more and more reinforcements were deployed...

Several Osteian ladders were pushed from the defenders walls sending the troops who were scaling them falling back towards the ground into a massed body of soldiers below. The Frozopians on the walls were holding their position, they faught for their familys and homes behind their defences, any ground the Osteians would manage to gain would be a bloody fight to the end.

Lord Beckham watched his soldiers as they struggled to take their objective,

"LEVEL THAT WEST WALL!! I WANT IT REDUCED TO RUBBLE, NOW! NOW!, NOW! AND GET A FUCKING RAM TO OPEN THAT GATE!"

One of Beckham's Captians replied,

"M'lord! at once!"

The man rode off and the General looked at another officer at his side,

"GET THAT FOURTH TREBUCHET TO SHIFT IT'S FIRE TO THAT WALL! I WANT IT LEVELED!"

"M'lord"

By this time Osteian troops on the escalade attempt were starting to make it onto the wall, they faught hard but things could change at any point in time.....

Beckham sat on his horse watching the battle progress, the archers continued to arc their fire so it went directly over the wall as close as they could possibly get. All four trebuchets concentraited on the west wall smashing away, round after round....

A battering ram was brought forward but held it's position untill it received orders to move.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/a/a6/250px-Battering_ram.jpg

"Ram sir!" The Captain of the militia's brushed sweat and bloody from his face. The fighting was hard, Lord Carrigan could see that.

"We are holding the south wall but they are not giving up. Almost 300 Frozopians are on the wall now and they are holding well....Casualties seem to be low compared to what damage we are inflicting. Shall I organise the rest of our forces for the ram?"

THUMP. A trebuchet shot struck the top of the western wall, throwing debrie into the houses below. A good 3 feet had been punched off the top of the wall including its ramparts, but the wall was still intact beneath.

"Yes! Pull Captain Asgard and at least half of his men of the wall and replace them with peasants. Tell Asgard I want him to be ready to hold the southern gate but ready to move if necessary."

"And the trebuchet sir?"

"Dont question me! Its not a threat yet."

"I apologise sir."

"Enough! Go find Captain Asgard!"

On the wall Captain Asgard was engaged in vicious combat. A group of Osteians had cleared enough space for two ladders and it was upto the professional soldier and his comrades to clear the enemy foothold. A Frozopian blacksmith wielding a huge hammer leapt in to help the Captain, splintering a Osteians skull with one swipe. Asgard caught a spear thrust on his shield and stepped forward closing the gap between the two men. Up close he could see his opponents eye's narrowed with determination...Asgard punched his short sword up through his opponents arm pits and between his armour. The Osteian screamed and fell back. More Frozopian peasants arrived driving the enemy from the walls, but already another ladder was being positioned half way down along the wall.

These bastards dont know when to call it quits Thought the captain before turning to run down the length of the wall.

"Captain Asgard! Lord Carrigan wants you to prepare for the ram."

"Theres a ram!?"

"Yes. Carrigan wants you to take half your men behind the barricaded gate and to be ready to fight. Some militia's are already waiting there for you. Dont worry, I will take over command here."

Captain Asgard nodded and began roaring orders to his men. By the time they reached the gate there were thirty professional soldiers and the fifty militia's who previously were assisting with the fire fighting. Captain Asgard had them ready to form a shield wall behind the barricade...


The enemy were taking horrendous losses, but the Frozopians were relatively unscathed. A total of 60 Frozopian soldiers were dead from the entire day, of whom half were peasants. Another 30 were injured and in need of care. The Longbowmen were almost out of ammunition but rather than join any of the fighting Captain Asgard had them search for arrows in preparation of any breaches to the gate...

The escalade was failing thus far. Osteian forces would hack their way over the top facing stiff resistance, the majority of the ladders were shoved away causing soldiers to crash to the ground. During the escalade roughly seventy Osteians were either killed or wounded so far but they had no intention of giving up quite yet, the ladders that were pushed away from the enemys defences were hoisted back up by the mass of soldiers at the base of the wall...

Lord Beckham issued new orders,

"Move in with the ram"

One of his officers went to relay the orders. The west wall was taking a beating from the Artillary, the top half had ceased to exist, it was reduced to rubble....

"The base, the base! HIT THE BASE"

"M'lord" replied a Captian

The ram acompanyied by sixty men moved towards the gates, the men who marched behind the siege weapon held their large sheilds high.

Osteian longbows continued to fire over the enemys walls...

The first THUMP THUMP sounded as the enemy rammed the gate.

"Be ready lads....I want to see courage when that gate opens."

THUMP THUMP

The Frozopian militia and soldiers were already prepared with overlapping shields and levelled spears while the rough blockade would protect their legs and force advancing infantry to climb over it. At the same time the Frozopians were near enough to the gate that any enemy archery fire fell past them. Asgard had dismissed his own Longbowmen....They would be no use here.

THUMP THUMP

"Remember if they break, we do NOT pursuit. We are ordered only to hold this position. Understood?"

THUMP THUMP

"Yes sir!"

THUMP THUMP

Reluctantly Asgard stepped to the rear of the formation. As much as he loved to be in the shield wall, it was neccessary for him to remain at the rear where he could easily administer orders...

THUMP THUMP THUUUUMP!

And the gate crashed open.

During the approach the Ostieans lost several men to archers in the enemy towers, the large battering ram finally crashed through the gates,

"Into the breach!!!!" Yelled a knight raising his sword in the air

The infantry soldiers charged through the opening swords in the air and sheilds raised slashing and stabbing, troops in the rear forced forward putting pressure on the Frozopians by pushing their fellow Osteians into the defencive line, Lord Beckham shouted...

"Have our archers cease fire"

"M'lord, our men seem to be abandoning the escalade attempt and changing their focus towards the now open main gate.....it appears to be somewhat chaotic...some men continue up the ladders while others see a better way perhalps, the escalade has failed..it is clear.."

Beckham watched soldiers giving up on the ladders moving in large groups to reinforce their commrades who had their foot in the door,

"Excellent, the tables have turned...god fights with us on the side of the righteous!"

The Trebuchets kept fire on the enemy west wall....

The enemy surged forward in a disorganised mess, only to be met by a wall of steel. A shield wall is a fearsome defensive formation for each man was covered by three or four shields: Men behind the front rank protected the front ranks with shields lifted protectively over their heads to block downward hacks and slashes, neighbours shields overlapped on both sides and in the few area's where all these shields could not protect armour was at its thickest.

Few things can break well formed shield wall, and with the flanks covered in the gateway the enemy stood little chance of breaking this one. There relentless assault would be driven back by bristling spears and stabbing short swords...

The enemy sheild wall refused to collapse under the might of the Osteian infantry who pushed forward in a hectic, chaotic cluster. Losses were being inflicted, the wounded and dead on the ground in the narrow passage made it nearly impossible to push on, a knight, Sir Hastings signaled a retreat as the attack was gaining no ground...

The escalade was abandoned, the Osteian troops fell back towards their own lines in a scattered un-orderly mess, the enemy had beaten down their morale, two failed attacks one after another.

"For the love of god!" Exclaimed Beckham watching the soldiers run

"Form our archers at our center, tight! i want them to fire directly into that sheild wall...we must weaken our foe"

"M'lord"

Osteian longbowmen formed at their center and waited for the retreating soldiers to get out of the way allowing them to unleash hell on the enemy forces. The trebuchets continued to attack the west wall....

The Frozopians cheered their enemy retreat, that was untill they saw the approaching longbowmen take aim. Captain Asgard was quick to react.

"MOVE. BEHIND THE WALLS NOW!" Quickly the shield wall broke apart as the men fled to either side of the gate. A few fell but the enemy had only one shot and no time to correct their aim before the Frozopians were behind cover.

"SENTRY!" The Captain called up to the tower as loud as he could.

"Yes sir!"

"IF THE ENEMY MOVE A INCH TELL ME!"

"YES SIR!"

Now what....How do I prevent this becoming a mess The Captain thought.

"Captain Asgard!"

"Yes millord!" The Captain turned to see Lord Carrigan was mounted and fully armoured. The lights of a dozen fires reflected of his plate armour and the armour of his retinue.

"I think we have no choice but to for our Longbowmen to return fire. Its unfortunate we cant risk putting them on the wall..." The Lord sighed.
"I have also ordered more men from the wall to support our defences here. You have done well this far Captain although I think you were too quick to dismiss our own longbowmen."

"Thank you my lord."

Thus the Frozopians waited poised behind by the safety of the walls. If not in shield wall they would at least have the time to line up behind the barricade in the case of an attack.

Lord Beckham knew the battle was at a stand still, the enemy hid behind their walls waiting for his next move.

failures...im surrounded by them.. He thought

The archers had nothing to fire at once the enemy got out of their way, however the first volley managed to cause some minor damage to the enemy soldiers who defended the gate so viciously against their attackers. The first day of the battle had not gone well for Lord Beckhams army, he would wait till sunrise and attack again.

During the remainder of the evening Osteian wounded were treated by field surgeons, troops gathered and spoke of the days events, morale had decreased within the Osteian camp but they had enough dissapointment, tomorrow they were determined to punch a hole though the enemy, the mighty army of king Locke had taken a blow to it's pride on this day..it would not happen twice.

They had underestimated their foe, they had forgotten the courage of the Forzopian people, but today they were reminded taking anything from them would not be easy. Beckham had engineers gather supplys for a siege tower, it would take weeks to construct it, but that seemed like the best option at this time..they were on strict orders to work all night.

Lord Beckham also had a wonderful new, deadly idea.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Trebuchet.jpg

The enemy had retreated leaving a exhausted Frozopian defense to lick its wounds. Lord Carrigan had watched the enemy from the ramparts, Captain Asgard and Mayor Bridge at his side. Stiffling a yawn, the Lord turned back to face the two men.

"Captain. What are the men doing now?"

"Most are sleeping my lord. I have tasked the rest with either sentry duty or to assist in the construction work....The Platforms are well under way and we hope to repair the gate within a day. We've also pulled in the enemy ram. We should find some good use for it."

"Are the men alert for another attack?"

"Yes sir. They will be on the wall early tomorrow."

"Good. What were our losses?"

"I've spoken to all the captains, and I estimate maybe 100 men dead and a further 50 wounded half of whom will fight again. I feel the enemy suffered far worse, probably three times that of our own."

"Ok soldier. You are dismissed. Get some rest."

"Thank you my lord."

Once the Captain had departed, the Lord turned back to the mayor.

"The Osteians are impatient.....A escalade so early in the siege. To be honest Mayor if they are this rash and this willing to take high casualties then Im not sure how much longer we can hold them for."

"Perhaps we should consider diplomacy?"

"Let us see...We can only hope they burned away some of their enthusiasm tonight."

The Mayor nodded.

The sun was now rising, Beckham and his men were up early and the army returned to their positions. The walled town was now clearly visible, the night assault cost the Osteians 75 archers, 205 dead or missing plus an addional 80 or so wounded.

Beckham walked out in front of his lines which were at ease and given permission to relax for now, he stood there staring at the town then spoke to one of his captians,

"Alex....send some men to cheak on the siege towers and the other preperatons i have arranged, those towers are going to be the least of the enemys worries, i do hate sieges...i wish they would come out and fight!"

He took his helm and set it on the ground, then taking a seat on it himself not taking his eyes away from the fortification,

http://www.esford.com/AH3831N%20Norman%20Knights%20Helm.jpg (http://www.esford.com/AH3831N%20Norman%20Knights%20Helm.jpg)

"Put some fire on that west wall, construct a second ram, have all archers hold their fire untill told other wise, more arrows must be fetched from the ship, hopefully Mr. Bridge will want to talk today"

The Osteian Captian replied,

"M'lord, and where can i report back?"

"I won't be moving Alex, just come back here"

"M'lord"

The officer went to carry out his dutys as Beckham studied the enemy defences, the men who were lost in the battle still lay where they fell. During the night a voice in distress was heard in the distance but fadded away by morning...a dying soldier calling for help, one of his own men but there was nothing they could do, he would loose more men just trying to get that one out.

His thoughts were interupted by the sound of all four trebuchets shooting solid projectiles at the enemys walls once again,

"Wakey, wakey..."

As the sun broke through the clouds, the sleep deprived Frozopian soldiers once again waited below and on the walls. Few had the audacity to stay anywhere near the western wall but troops had been garrisoned in the nearby buildings anyways, ready to meet any attacks.

Lord Carrigan had a thumping headache and knew he had better things to do, but he couldnt tear his eyes away from the western wall. It was taking a pummelling. Now a section of the wall 10 feet in length and 7 feet deep had been torn off from the top of it and it wasnt the only damage done to the fortifications.

"My lord?" The Mayor interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes Mayor?" Carrigan turned around to see the mayor was mounted and followed by two of his bodyguards.

"I am going to negotiate with the enemy. Perhaps we can exchange some time so that they can collect their dead? And we can bring them the four prisoners."

"Good idea Mayor but dont let them collect the dead. We will bring them to the corpses. I dont want them sniffing around our walls."

The Mayor nodded.

"By the way lord, the platforms have been constructed at the southern wall and repairs for the gate are almost finished. The civilians need a rest once they finish the gate: They have promised to build the platforms at the western wall afterwards, but they worked almost all night."

"That is acceptable."

The mayor trotted off, past a few fires where the Frozopians were burning their own dead and saying prayers to the gods. Holding a scrap of cloth to his face, he rode on and out of the gate.

The Mayor brandished a white flag as he rode forwards.

Beckham watched the mayor ride out through the citys gate holding a white flag high, black smoke was rising from behind the walls, the defenders must have been burning corpses to reduce the risk of disease. Carson Beckham stood up from sitting on his helm and brushed his cloak back behind him,

"Alex, get my horse and bring Terence...we ride out to meet Mr. Bridge, i know they are not discussing terms for surrender, they have had a large morale boost.."

The Captian nodded and rode off quickly to get another one of Beckham's bodyguards. After he returned they canterd out to meet the Frozopian mayor in the middle of the field.....

"My lord I bring a offer. We have four Osteian prisoners and your brave soldiers corpses are scattered among the ramparts and below the walls. We will bring you your dead and prisoners if you give us 6 hours of peace....You will order your trebuchets to ceasefire and you will give me your word that you will not launch any further attacks in that time period." The Mayor was again as polite as he could be.

Beckham replied,

"It is a most generous offer Mayor Bridge, i accept your terms for a temperary cease fire for perhalps five of the six hours? you have my word that no attack will come during that time period. The defence of your city has me impressed, i will say. You are not a warrior but you have the courage of one Mr.Bridge, you have my graditude for returning our men, the dead and living...if you require some men to assist i offer them to you"

He awaited a reply...

"Do not worry, your assistance will not be required. I am afraid 6 hours of ceasefire in exchange for the service, and no less, would be considered acceptable." The Mayor remembered Lord Carrigan's word. "I would like to take credit for the defence, but it was the men who did all the work. That said your soldiers and yourself showed great valour." The Mayor nodded at the lord.

"Now if you excuse me, I will be returning back to the town."

The Mayor rode back into the safety of the walls and informed Lord Carrigan of the news. The Frozopians would have 6 hours sleep, gather up the enemy corpse and continue the various building projects across the city. Lord Carrigan immediatly distributed orders to set up a barricade behind where the wall was being breached by the incessant trebuchet fire: With the ceasefire there wouldnt be a better time. After some thought the enemy ram would be used for the job.

Beckham replied,

"Thank you Mayor Bridge, and i shall be heading back to my men. In six hours my barrage shall continue, good day"

He turned to Alex as Bridge rode back towards his walls,

"Over see this would you my friend, im going to cheak on the towers"

Alex nodded,

"M'lord"

Lord Carson Beckham rode to where the Osteians cleared a section of trees for the building of a massive siege tower. Carson was informed the tower would be completed in five days, after learning this information he headed back to camp to plan his next actions.

The Mayor and Lord Carrigan were eating on a small bench in the centre of the town. Both men ate small portions: Rationing was already in force. The Frozopians had no time to gather food before the Osteians surrounded the town.

"What are we going to do when they finish constucting whatever it is they are constructing? And they attack us from more fronts? Our men are stretched as it is."

"We fight to the best ability we can."

"....You know my lord that my most important job is too keep the towns people safe. Perhaps we can negotiate a fair surrender before we look defeat in the eye."

Carrigan shook his head.

"Lord Wilbur should have recieved the messenger by now. He will be mustering soldiers to assist us as we speak. He has more then enough men to destroy these Osteians but his job will become alot more difficult if they take this stronghold!"

"You were telling me earlier that this Osteian force was too small in size to take this island. Perhaps there are more Osteians on the island and Lord Wilbur will be forced to abandon us so he can destroy these others."

"I doubt Lord Wilbur would let the enemy take this town. It provides a headquarters for the enemy to advance deeper in land."

"I can only hope your right my lord."

The Osteian's stripped the armor off their dead and piled them up in a large mound on the right flank and set it ablaze. Thick black smoke filled the air, the smell of burning flesh was sickening but the men were used to it having been in this situation before in the past.

Enemy construction could be heard from the Ostiean camp for the whole six hours of peace, they were working hard on somthing or many things behind the saftey of their walls,

"It's been six hours, commence firing on the West wall"

Lord Beckham gave the orders to maintain the siege. About a half an hour later the trebuchets began to fire at the enemys walls once again,

"M'lord, our prisoners report the enemy has spread it's troops around the entire town....their lines are thin but morale is high, the town center is mostly wealthy, one of our captured soldiers suggested we fire at their poor district, it's wooden M'lord....the whole thing...and most of the soldiers they have mustered appear to be the very rabble who live there"

Beckham nodded and looked back at the wall,

"Thank you Alex, have our men fed and let them rest for they will be back in a unit tomorrow once they have gained their strength back"

Beckham

The much dreaded bombardment resumed, and once again the Frozopians returned to their garrisoned positions across the town, ready for action at the Watchmen's shout. More and more platforms were constructed along behind the 3 walls, while the Frozopian Longbowmen who planned to use them searched for or made their own arrows.

Center Island, Army group B

Lord Duncan Logan and his army of 8,500 men moved inland and dug in facing the North in support of the troops to the South. Logans forces included 2000 longbow veterans, 4000 thousand infantry and 3000 Cavalry. The infantry were ordered to clear trees and sharpen stakes to repel any cavalry attacks made by the enemy, they took up position in an open grassy field and waited for word from Beckham in the south. Once Beckham advanced reinforcements would be sent to aid both armys that intended to merge anyways driving north.



South sector, Army group A

Lord Beckham ordered the trebuchets to fire heated shot over the enemys walls into the poor districts close to the west wall. Longbowmen were ordered to assist in this assault with ignited arrows, it rained death upon anything and anyone in the area. Later on today another escalade would be attempted, this time Beckham would be with it leading his men himself.

Once again the poor districts of the town were ablaze: Lord Carrigan would spare no soldiers, peasant or otherwise, to control them. Instead it was upto the towns civilian population to prevent the fires becoming a inferno that would consume the entire poor district. Fortunately the poor district had been nigh abandonned by this stage, most of its population enjoying the relative safety of the stone buildings towards the centre of the town.

The Mayor had the platforms being constructed along the west wall abandonned for the moment. Nothing could be done to prevent the first few that had been constructed along that stretch of the wall being burnt to ashes.

The Frozopians would wait below the safety of the walls, ready to run up and fight again. They were well rested and well prepared. The Longbowmen had found enough ammunition to do a days fighting, but were ordered to save it for any assaults.

Frozopia's Due Regni Capital, Lutheria

The Frozopian force was departing at last. 15,200 men at Lord Wilburs command, a great host of warriors read to fight for Frozopia. Knights, Throwing Axemen, Longbowmen, Men at arms, mercenaries and peasants. Light Cavalary scouted ahead of the force and patrolled the supply line that would keep the army well fed in the days to come while the infantry and heavy cavalry just marched on and on along the road that would lead them to the besieged town of Haethlega. They had a town to rescue and a army to defeat: It was a good day and Lord Wilbur couldnt help but grin...

Lord Beckham watched as a thick black cloud of smoke hung over the city of Haethlega. It was the third day of Siege and lord Beckham was getting restless, Lord Logan had sent a rider to find his army and inform him of his position north. He would be ready to intercept any enemy reinforcements comming to aid the town and break the siege.

Beckham was egar to attempt another escalade but his Captians would not agree, they argured they had got away with light casulties the day before and the tower would be ready soon.

"As soon as we take this town we get more men across the channel!"

"M'lord, i must strongly disagree....we cannot risk another escalade right now, even with our artillary and archers concentraiting on the east wall, the fires of the poor districts will slow our progress aswell, unless we take the wall and move along around which would be our best option and it is not a very good one at that!"

Beckham paced breifly,

"Send the rider back to Lord Logan, tell him we face stiff resistance and we can take the city in four days...less if he comes to help us, then we can merge our armys earlier and only be set back the two days journey time it would take us to reach him, after our forces are merged then we can drive North as one..the original plan will then come into play, WE MUST have somthing to tell the king, he expects too much from us at this time...it is JUST NOT POSSIBLE!"

The Captians replied,

"M'lord!"

Alex, Beckhams second in command went to the rider Lord Logan had sent. He was given a second horse for when his main got tired,

"That is one of the fastest horses we have soldier, get back to Lord Logan and give him this message...it is of the outmost importance.."

"Right 'o' sir, you can count on me"

The man hopped up on his stallion and rode off full speed leaving a cloud of dust behind him....

Another night of bombardment, another step closer towards the Frozopian reinforcements arriving. However Lord Carrigan could not remain enthusiastic: This lull in the fighting just meant the enemy were preparing something, and anyone who had stood on the southern wall and looked towards the enemy camp knew they were building something. Within a day or two it would be more obvious what it exactly was they spent every hour of every day building.

Lord Carrigan made a decision: In the night they would despatch a soldier and a local shepherd who knew the terrain well to scout out the desposition of the enemy forces and to find out what exactly they were building. Captain Asgard would be the man to go, as his experience in siege warfare would allow him to recognise whatever it was and his military mind would help to map out any sort of raid on the camp.

The two men would go armed with nothing but the Captain's knife and garbed in black. They would encircle the enemy encampment taking note of anything of interest before heading to the enemy construction area. Captain Asgard had a rough idea of the enemy defences and layout, he had seen at least seen some of it from the walltops.

They would exit from the north through a postern gate and be back before dawn...

Two shadows crept away from the walls, creeping low and fast. What little moonlight illuminated the grounds around the town was blocked by clouds. It was the perfect night for subertfuge, a night for Frozopians where only beasts and the desperate roamed, tools of the gods for trickery and evil.

Captain Asgard could feel his heart beating hard against his chest. Logically he knew that almost all the enemy were around the otherside of the town, that it was almost impossible to spot the two men. Even if they were spotted the two men could quickly retreat to the safety provided by the town but he just couldnt shake off the fear. Captain Asgard had fought in battle after battle his entire life, had shown great courage and resolve but the uncertainity that darkness contained was one of his greatest fears. In comparison the shepherd Patrick, a man who had never seen battle his entire life untill it came to the town, was absolutely calm.

THUMP

A stray trebuchet shot struck somewhere nearby. Or perhaps it struck the western wall. In the darkness it was impossible to tell as sound seemed to be carry strangely in the countryside around the town.

The two men were silent and Captain Asgard made no efforts to breach the silence: He did not want to distract the shepherd in this darkness. It would be all to easy to get lost. Instead he followed the shepheard untill it seemed the two men were going uphill. After 30 minutes of walking the shepheard stopped and indicated the Captain to come closer so that he could whisper into his ear.

"Aye 'tis is a trail I used to take." Looking down, Captain Asgard could see what looked to be eroded sheep prints and shit. "It will take us all the way behind those blasted foreigners and closer to the buildin'." He spoke of the enemy construction area.
"Stay behind me and if I lie down, so should you." The Captain nodded.

The two men followed the trail for the next two hours. Twice they dived for cover, but neither time did Captain Asgard see any reason why. Either the shepherd was very perceptive or very paranoid. From their elevated position Captain Asgard could see the enemy campfires, trebuchets and sentries. Occasionally Captain Asgard requested to go closer and reluctantly the shepherd lead him off the trail and towards the enemy encampment. The two men did not hang about nor come too close.

After 3 hours of walking circling the enemy, the two men arrived at the construction area. Crawling forwards, Captain Asgard saw that dozens of men were working through the night while others oversaw the process. Torches illuminated a huge rectangle box that stretched 10 feet above the ground, resting on wheels to give it mobility: A siege tower in progress. The Captain scanned the area and also spotted another Battering ram. There was nothing else of interest. The two men spent the next hour circling the working area as the Captain counted the guards and memorised their positions. Once the Captain was satisfied with the information gathered, the two men made the long journey back to the town as quick as they could. The sun would be up soon.

ooc: Map in progress, red line is pickets, red "dust" are your forces rough positions. Remember this is at night.

http://aycu10.webshots.com/image/49209/2003253505293786462_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003253505293786462)

North of the siege, Early next morning...

The rider made it to Lord Logans fixed position and delivered the message he had been sent with. Logan was an experianced commander and knew that Beckham was moving too quickly with this siege and it could result in a disaster, therefore an order was given that the army pack up and move South to aid Beckhams force in capturing the city.

It would take two days of steady marching to reach their destination. Logan had to hurry as word probably reached Frozopian command by now and an army would be dispatched immeaditly to repel the Osteian forces who invaded their lands.

Beckhams command....

All through the night the city was bombarded by Osteian artillary, however the walls were no longer the target. The projectiles wizzed over the walls striking striking random targets. The siege towers would be completed soon, maybe even before Logan arrived and he would get all the credit for capturing the city by himself, which of course was already expected by the king.

"Well Captain I'm glad to see you made it back safely." The heat of the burning furnace trapped between the stone walls alone would be unbearable for most but Lord Carrigan stood straight and tall. Days of fighting and planning did not seem to have had any effect on him: Or at least Lord Carrigan wouldnt let his subordinates think it did.

"I did my lord....But why did you request me here of all places?" Captain Asgard wiped the sweat of his brow. Clang! Clang! Clang! Everywhere Blacksmith's and their apprentices worked furiously. The Captain noticed that at least one of the apprentices was wounded: Previously these men had fought on the walls.

"Its all in my plan Captain, and since your a important part of this plan I want you to understand every element of it. These Blacksmiths are producing Caltrops...."

"Ah."

"Ah indeed. By tonight I hope to have 350 of these devils, enough to wreck any cavalry charge and slow any infantry advance."

"Then there will be more to our attack then just destroying the siege towers my lord?"

"Thats right Captain. Tonight we drive these Osteians from our land."

"But my lord they are still numerous! Surely its not possible!"

"Its a risk, but hear me out Captain. We will begin our 'raid' in the darkest hours of the night when the enemy are at the most unawares...."