(Part 1)
A thick blanket of flog covered the valley that sloped down towards Rhadogir Castle. The deafening silence that lay across the land was gradually broken by the signs of militant activity. The castle's defenders grimly prepared for the oncoming battle. Siege crossbows were loaded, ladders prepared, and polearms sharpened. Aware that the number of attackers were equal to their own, the defenders were confident that they could repel any strategum used to take their walls. The castle's defenders stood tall upon the walls, ready to let the blood of their hated enemy, the ATS Legion.
Lord Ecko of ATS, proud member of the Northern Empire, stood upon the crest of the valley that led down towards the castle. Weeks of preparation had gone into this attack. Ecko knew that only precise tactics and coordination would result in a victory foor his army. With a quiet, authoritative voice, he issued out commands for the assault. Rows upon rows of shields were lined up behind Ecko and his commanders. Behind the long line of shields lay a bloodthirsty armada of longsword and polearm bearers. At the rear of the army a small cohort of cavalry lie waiting to support and reinforce.
Prepare the catapults. Ecko ordered, thrusting his hand down and to the left, where a defensible position lay halfway down the valley.
The army moved in coordinated tandem, the shield wall advancing down to the hill and in front of the catapult area. Engineers moved quickly to prepare the catapults, working with practiced hands to build their devastating siege machines. Siege shields were put up in front of the catapults, and another defensible position was set up at the base of the valley.
LLJK_Zealot, the leader of the defenders, was only barely able to spot the movements of the oncoming army as they prepared for the initial assault. Zealot gazed down the wall of his defenders for a moment, and then raised his left hand.
Crossbowmen, fire!. A smug grin crossed Zealot's face. He was well aware that although the losses acquired would be minimal at such a great range, the effects upon the attacking army would be no less than demoralizing.
Ecko moved down the valley to the second preparation area, where the majority of his army was organizing. He moved down the lines of his men, Adjust that helmet, soldier. Raise that shield! We're here to take a castle, not take a nap.
Moving to the front of the lines, Ecko slid slightly out of the cover of a siege shield to stare across the field towards the castle walls, Ready yourselves, men. The catapults will begin firing soo--
The end of his sentence was suddenly cut off as a bolt struck him in the head and sent him abruptly to the ground. A shower of deadly ranged fire followed the bolts, striking ATS soldiers who weren't behind cover or keeping their shields raised. A couple of men rushed forward, grabbing Ecko by the back of his chainmail suit and dragging him into cover. Fearing their leader was dead, they pulled off his helmet. Luckily enough, the barbutte helm had protected their lord from such a swift demise.
God DAMN IT! Get me another helm! Ecko pushed his concerned soldiers off and struggled to his feet, the fire of malice in his eyes, Catapults, FIRE!
Without delay, the catapult engineers let loose the loads of their war machines, sending two heavy rocks flying through the air towards the castle.
Brace yourselves! Zealot warned from his position atop the castle. The heavy siege stoned crashed into the upper parts of the castle wall at two different sides, momentum and debris sending screaming men flying from the walls. The fall below them was much too far for survival, Continue firing! Do NOT leave your posts!
Ecko stalked back through the lines of his army, fastening another barbutte to his head. He found Lord Danger, a subcommander of the army and a renowned swordsman, Dan. Ready your men. Begin the rear assault.
Danger finished sharpening the steel of his longsword and slowly stood, testing the sharpness against his greaves, Alright, alright. Calm down. We'll get there when we get there. As Ecko stalked off to continue barking orders, Dan rolled his eyes and motioned to the group of fighters he had personally hand-picked for their mission, Alright boys. It's time to get personal. On my siz, double time. Sheathing his sword and grabbing one end of a siege ladder while a comrade grabbed the other end, he began briskly jogging away from the main force of the attacking army.
Zealot's grin was quickly fading as he realized the effects the continued catapult barrage was having upon his castle walls. They were lowering it on two sides so it wouldn't be accessible by his defenders! Turning to his sub-commander, Zealot gave his orders, Organize a company and attack those catapults!
But m'lord, the man complained, their cavalry will slaughter us before we even get close!
Angered, Zealot struck the man hard across his face, Do NOT question my orders! Our ranged will support you, now MOVE!
Reluctantly, the defending captain gathered up a small cohort of defenders. Crouched at the top of one of the walls being bombarded by catapult fire, they tied a rope to the top of the rope, then used it to rappel down to the ground.
Damatacus, a veteran archer of ATS, had just put an arrow through the eye of a defending crossbowman when he spotted the rope being thrown down from the wall. He ducked behind a siege shield and yelled, Defenders coming down the wall!
Immediately, a runner was dispatched to the rear of the attacking army, where the cavalry lay in wait. Within moments, the cavalry lines formed and galloped around the ATS Legion, making a bee-line straight for the castle walls. Immediately, the defending crossbowmen turned their aim upon the charging horses and the mean bearing spears atop them. Some of their deadly shots aimed true, one striking a cavalry man in the chest and taking him clear off his horse. Another bolt struck a destrier in the eye, causing it to crash head-first into the ground, rolling over it's rider and crushing him underneath.
Nonetheless, the ATS cavalry charged without fear, reaching the wall and turning their line to execute a strafing run right along the castle walls. The contingent of defenders sprinting for the catapults had only made it halfway across the field when the attacking cavalry turned away from the wall and bore down upon their enemy from behind. The cavalry met the defenders and caught them completely by surprise, crashing through them from behind like an unstoppable juggernaut. Cavalry lances split through armor like a knife through warm butter, taking the unfortunate defenders from life as quickly as they had joined it.
Meanwhile, Lord Danger and his company men had made their way around the right side of the castle under the cover of small foothills. Dan waited to make sure most of the defenders' attention was upon the front of the castle, then silently waved a hand. He and his division came over their cover, running as quickly as they could under the weight of siege ladders. As soon as they were within range of the wall, Dan motioned for the archers he had brought with him to take position while the rest of the men went about the harrowing task of lifting the siege ladders up towards the walls. One defender happened to glance over the wall and see the attack, but before he could turn and call out to fellow defenders, an arrow shot from ATS archer Mouse struck him clear through the throat. Choking on his own blood, the stunned defender pitched over the wall and hit the ground with a bone-cracking crunch.
Zealot silently cursed as he watched the group he had just sent to die. He waved his hand and called out to his ranged, Return your aim to the main body of attackers! Only moments later, a runner ran up to his position atop the walls, M'lord! the runner gasped, They are bringing up siege ladders upon our left side!
Fuck! Zealot cursed, turning his position upon the left wall, Send the main body of defenders to plug that fucking hole! For the first time since the beginning of this conflict, Zealot felt the small pang of doubt for his ability to defend the castle. Another catapult rock crashed into the top of the wall to his left, wrecking it even further.
Ecko had regained his composure at this point, directing the siege engineers for their next task, Ready the siege tower, He intoned, his fierce gaze unmoving from the castle walls, it is almost time to begin the real assault.
Get your NINNY ASSES up those ladders, you sissy FUCKS! Already, Lord Danger was screaming at his men.
Dan, this is suicide! A young recruit yelled from beside him.
Shut the FUCK UP, Freekill! Dan unsheathed his longsword and began sprinting up the siege ladder, his blade held high. There was no time to waste if he was going to capture this castle by himself. His men, more encouraged by Dan's fearlessness and known skill than by his words, followed him up the siege ladders. Upon mounting the top of the wall, however, Danger was met with a defending force much bigger than he had expected. Attacking swords struck defending shields as the first melee of the battle ensued. The sheer overwhelming number of the defenders did not bode well for the attacking ATS contingent, however. Through Lord Danger and his men fought valiantly in attempt to take control of the left wall, they were quickly pushed back.
Back at the assault launching point, a runner came panting up to Ecko as he diirected the construction of the siege tower, M'lord. They are sending more men over the walls to outflank Lord Danger. There are many of them, sire.
Ecko turned to the man, quiet for a moment. Then he looked down towards the main body of his army, Send Daranai and a company of archers to stop them. He paused, a small smile crossing his visage, Also, send Guardian.
Daranai sat quietly at the head of the main body of attackers, watching in quiet jealousy as Danger and his men made their attempt on the walls. The runner reached him and gave his orders. Turning, Daranai waved for a group of archers to follow him, then made his way through the lines.
Lord Guardian, known as the terrible GoretoothX the Devourer across the lands, sat in a circle of soldiers gambling with dice in the middle of the assault. He was a massive brute, more monster than man it seemed.
Guardian, Daranai called as he reached him, Ecko watns us to go defend Dan's flank.
Goretooth dropped the dice with a long sigh, slowly standing and grabbing his worn, but deadly bec de corbin, Alright, let's be on with it, then.
Lord Danger had killed ten men in only the first few seconds atop the wall, but ten men was not even a fraction of the enemy coming at him. His longsword moved with harrowing speed, blocking strikes and delivering deadly blows faster than the eye could follow. He was not inhuman, however, and was tiring quickly. With his men dying quickly around him, Dan was pushed back to the edge of the wall. A pair of defending shields pushed foreward, sending him toppling back over the wall. Luckily enough for Dan, the wall on that side was not too high from the ground. Dan landed hard upon his back, suffering only a broken rib or two from the impact. Spitting blood, Dan looked up to see his men raining off the edge of the wall, most of them dead or dying.
Fuck this! There are too many of them! Retreat! As much as Danger hated saying those words, he wasn't going to needlessely send his men to their deaths. He had done what was originally intended anyways: distraction enough to take pressure from the catapults and siege tower. He turned to lead his men on a tactical retreat back to the main body of ATS, only to find a small horde of bloodthirsty defenders rushing at him from only yards away. Danger dove for his sword, which had also fallen from the wall, but it was too far from his reach. A screaming defender came bearing down upon him, swinging a heavy bardiche to cleave Dan's skull in half.
Fortunately for Dan, he had backup. A large spear whistled through the air, plunging through the side of the defender intending to kill Dan's head and pinning him to the castle wall. The throwing spear had been hurled by Native, the foremost of throwers in the ATS Legion. A volley of arrows followed to cut down the other defenders that were closest to Dan. Then, Guardian's heavy shadow fell across Dan, as the behemoth stood to guard his comrade's retreat.
Go, Dan. Guardian muttered, It's mu turn.
Guardian's bec de corbin whirred and struck it's first unfortunate foe in the chest, sending the defender flying like a broken ragdoll. Relying more on considerable brute strength than nimble swordplay, the Goretooth killed every enemy he came across with little more than one or two strikes. Daranai reached the melee soon after Guardian, swinging his heavy claymore like a madman and cutting a swath through the enemy. In little more than moments, Guardian, Daranai, and supporting archers had cut down the flanking enemy into a disorganized, retreating mob.
Flicking blood from his polearm, Guardian turned and hauled Danger to his feet, Come on, ya pussbag. The battle's just getting started.
(Part 2)
Aided by Guardian, Daranai, and accompanying archers, Danger and his company made their retreat back to the main body of the ATS Legion. While Dan and his wounded men made their way to the medical tents, Guardian and Daranai reported to Ecko.
The attack on their right wall failed. Half of his men were lost in battle. Daranai said grimly while wiping blood from his claymore, Dan has suffered a minor injury, and will be ready to return to battle soon.
An unfortunate loss, but necessary. Guardiangather our main forces and make ready at the siege tower. It's time. Ecko stalked away to the catapult area and waved to Dasty, one of the catapult engineers, Cease firing upon the walls.
Ecko's plan to invade the castle was going as planned so far. Thanks to the skilled work of his catapults, the two adjoining walls on either side of the center wall of the castle had been rendered impassable. Ecko moved swiftly to the siege tower, giving it a quick once over and then speaking to the tower engineers to make sure the catapult was ready. The biggest and most important part of the siege was about to begin.
Under the leadership of Guardian, the main body of the army quickly moved to surround the siege tower. A large shield phalanx formed up in front of the tower, while two-handed fighters lined up at either side and the back of the siege tower to push it towards the walls. The archers swarmed into and to the top of the siege tower, setting up positions and making ready to fire at defenders upon the wall.
Upon the top of the castle walls, Zealot received a damage assessment from his sub-commander Matey, We have repelled their foolish attempt at sieging our walls from the sides with only minimal losses. However, Matey paused, glaring out at the army forming up at the siege tower, they have disjointed our front wall and made it impossible for our defenses to properly form atop it.
Zealot turned and stared down the wall for a moment, tightening his grip around the haft of his weapon and speaking through clenched teeth, Take our ladders and set them up on the courtyard. We need to be able to reinforce the center wall! We cannot allow them to gain a foothold within this castleand hurry! They have already finished their siege tower!
As Matey ran off down the wall to issue orders, Zealot ordered his crossbowmen to form up at the center of the wall, Focus all of your fire upon that siege tower! Slow it down as much as you can.
Ecko stood behind the siege tower, making sure his men were ready to move. He then gave the order, Begin the advance of the siege tower! If the man in front of you is wounded or dies, take his position and keep pushing! ADVANCE!
The large wooden siege tower groaned, and then began slowly creeping forward as over a hundred men grunted and exerted all of their strain to get the heavy war machine rolling. |Gradually, the siege tower began to make it's way across the open field towards the castle. The wall of shields in front of the siege tower absorbed a rain of crossbow bolts, but not without loss. One man who had raised his shield too high was struck in the thigh by a bolt, bringing him down. Another soldier pushing upon the siege tower received an arrow through the neck for his efforts. As he was dragged away, another soldier rushed up to take his spot.
The siege tower moved ever closer to castle, leaving a trail of dead or dying attackers in it's wake. As the defending crossbowmen continued firing upon the tower, Zealot watched as Matey directed the ladders from the courtyard up to the central wall. Meanwhile, shield-bearers and bardiche-wielders began to form on the left and right side walls, preparing to repel the ATS defenders.
As the siege tower drew close to the wall, Ecko raised his hand and gave the next order, Assault cohort! Make your way into the tower and prepare for battle!
With a final burst of effort, the attackers forced the siege tower up to a slightly elevated position close to the wall. The assault cohort, comprising mainly of longsword and polearm wielders, pushed their way into the siege tower, crowding against each other in the dark and facing the tower draw gate. The stink of sweat and the metallic smell of blood was heavy in the cramped space, making it hard to breathe the hot air. The foreign shouts of the defenders upon the wall was deafening. Hearts beat quickly under the layered padding of armor, and eyes widened under the protection of barbutte helmets. The climax of this battle was about to begin.
Zealot slowly backed away from his position at the front of the wall as the siege tower loomed closer to it. He ducked quickly as an archer's arrow whizzed past his head, then turned and began making his way down the ladders that had only recently been prepared, yelling orders left and right. Prepare yourself! It begins and ends here! You WILL hold this wall! Crossbowmen form up at the rear of the wall and get ready to fire into the tower! Cut them down! Do NOT allow them to pass!
Lord Ecko stood directly behind the siege tower inside a ring of shield bearers. He waited a couple of moments more, giving his soldiers those precious seconds needed to prepare for victory or death. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself, then screamed, ATTACK!
Time seemed to slow due to the sudden surge of adrenaline as Ecko gave his order. Both attackers and defenders heard it, and knew what was to come. The line to the drawbridge was cut, and the massive wooden slab came crashing down upon the walls. Light poured into the inside of the siege tower, cascarding and glimmering upon a mass of steel weapons and the glittering eyes of bloodthirsty soldiers of the ATS Legion. With one ear-splitting roar of a war cry, the assaulting army raced across the large wooden plank and leapt onto the walls.
The initial wave of attackers was cut down by a brutal flurry of crossbow bolts as soon as they mounted the wall, but the attackers did not hesitate or abate from their cause. More and more screaming soldiers poured over the bodies of their own wounded and dead, trampling them in order to get at the enemy. Steel clashed against steel, and the sudden din of utter warfare erupted over anything else. After several moments, the initial push onto the wall was a success. Defenders fell screaming from the walls, piling up at their base inside the courtyard. More and more attackers poured forward and outwards from the center wall, creating a wider berth so that more of their comrades could join them.
An archer at the top of the siege tower leaned off of the back and yelled downwards to his commander, Lord Ecko! We have gained a foothold!
Keep pushing! Ecko roared, We must attain our position! Tell the archers to focus their fire upon the crossbowmen upon the other walls. Do not allow them to cut down this assault!
Zealot grabbed Matey by the collar of his chain mail tunic and jerked him towards the courtyard, Get out there and form a defense at the base of the courtyard stairs! NOW! We cannot allow them to gain momentum!
Under the cover of his guard's shields, Ecko made his way back to the base of the valley, where the majority of his invading army lie in wait. Gathering his commanders, Ecko began issuing further orders, We have gained a foothold upon their walls, but the battle is far from over. I want a steady stream of re-enforcements sent across the field and up that siege tower. We cannot relent in pressure, or they will retake their walls, and the losses we have suffered will have been for nothing. Keep our cavalry circling the castle. We cannot allow any attempts at subterfuge to succeed.
Zealot stood upon the rear wall of the castle and watched with chagrin as the defending bulwark was forced backwards and off the wall. He slammed his fist against a wooden beam as he saw the ATS attackers hack down the ladders leading up to the main wall, cutting off added reinforcements. He turned to another defending captain, Take a contingent of men down the back of the castle walls and circle around. Do all you can to sabotage their shield tower! I will send continued re-enforcements, but do NOT retreat! We must do all we can to slow down their attack!
Captain Pibb of the cavalry (also known for his resilient doctoral skills) was busy adjusting the harnesses on his courser when a runner found him and his contingent of horsemen at the rear of the legion, Captain! The runner saluted, Lord Ecko sends orders to patrol the castle perimeter. Sully any attempts to slow down or sabotage our assault.
Nodding, Pibb silently finished adjusting a strap, then climbed atop his steed. His men followed suit, equipping swords, spears, and shields, Move out! Pibb yelled. In loose formation, the cavalry galloped around the army, across the field, and towards the castle. Using hand signals, Pibb split the cavalry into two groups. They would circle and intersect each other twice while going around the castle. It was only on their third time around the castle wallas that Pibb and his men spotted defending soldiers pouring down a low point on the back wall. Many of them were carrying spears, and the cavalry could not go undetected this time. Pibb knew it would be suicide to run his men directly into deadly spears.
Pibb raised his hand to slow the group's advance, Form of with the rest of our men and harass those soldiers. They are not retreating, so they must be headed for the siege tower. Slow them down as much as you can! I will be back to assist as soon as I can. Pibb reared his horse around and began galloping at full speed back towards the assault encampment.
Matey stood his ground upon the front line at the base of the stairs leading down to the courtyard. Countless ATS invaders threw themselves at his shield, only to be pushed back and cut down by his vicious axe. Matey's reinforced shield seemed almost impenetrable, as no matter how many weapons were slammed against it, it would not be broken. Rallied by Matey's valor, the defending forces surged to plug any cracks in the stair defense, effectively slowing down, and then stopping the ATS assault.
HAH! ATS scum! You shall not take our castle this day! Matey followed his curse by shoving an ATS soldier onto his back, then bringing his hand-axe down. The sharp curved blade broke through the soldier's chainmail armor and into his chest, causing him to shriek in agony. Matey stepped onto the felled man's chest and silenced him with a swift blow that clove the man's skull in two. Battering with seemingly no effect on Matey and his defenders shields, the attacking legion was slowly being pushed back up the stairs.
To be continued...
