The morning dawned bright and early, a swirling mist eddied above the surface of the ground, covering everything in a white blanket. Weak rays of sunlight broke through the clouds showering the picturesque landscape with slanted golden rays of light that highlighted the siege below. The deluge of rain from the previous day had soaked the ground, refreshing the vegetation yet making the top soil loose and treacherous for the attackers. The catapult that had been burning the previous day was now just a mass of blackened, charred timbers, laying where they had fallen amongst themselves.
Sitting atop a cracked boulder sat the lone pilgrim, his eyes constantly moving as he studied the sight below. Alburq Castle lay sprawled before him, the wooden walls still stood strong, the wreckage of ladders lay splintered on the ground mixed with the bodies of the fallen. The castle was surrounded by a host of enemies, different banners marked the varying Houses that had banded together to defeat the tyrannical reign of the Mercenaries. The most prominent Houses that stood against the Mercenaries included House Grey and House Wolf, these two Houses were extremely wealthy which enabled them to field large numbers of troops, as was apparent here. Staring down towards the besiegers line he picked out soldiers wearing a wide assortment of armours, some coming from the Southern Desert with their pointed helmets and lamellar armour, men hailing from the North with mail hauberks, round shields and axes. The fearsome Nords were even turning against the Mercenaries it seemed, surely all is lost now.
As the morning slowly passed activity within the camp of the besiegers increased in pace. Men rushed here and there carrying weapons, stacks of arrows, wood for construction and a wider ranger of assortments. As the day continued to pass men began to gather towards the centre of the camp where to the keen eyes of the pilgrim it seemed some form of address was being given to the gathered troops. Phrases carried upon the wind were brought to the pilgrim before being snatched away, however the words he caught were not very promising for the defenders, 'siege tower, burn, pillage, rape' with a loud cheer that echoed off the neighboring hills the troops rushed towards the North of the camp closest to the walls of Alburq Castle. It seems the siege has begun the pilgrim mused, and now begins the wanton death and slaughter.
The sudden gathering of troops had not gone unnoticed to the seasoned Lord of Alburq Castle, as soon as large groups of men had begun to band together he had ordered his men to arm the ramparts, once more men took their positions, archers strung their bows, pulling back the strings to test the strength. Crossbowmen loaded their first bolts and waited patiently for the enemy to come into range. Men with pikes and longspears manned the walls at equal distances to act as a deterrent against ladders that would shortly follow. The useful shielders presented an unbreakable wall of wood and steel, lining the rampart protecting all within from missiles shot towards the walls. From the pilgrims position he could see the Lord's plan for the besiegers. It seems this commander was indeed a veteran of many a siege to be so well organized and efficient with his planning.
A disturbance within the besiegers camp drew the eyes of the pilgrim back to the attackers. Moving through the camp were groups of men chained together straining to pull the siege towers behind them, these large, burdensome machines would be able to spill attackers onto the walls in waves that could quickly overwhelm the defenders. As these machines maneuvered into position ladders were thrown against the walls, men quickly clambered up to try and get a footing on the wall and hold off till their allies could climb up to aid them. It seemed to the pilgrim the ladders would surely overwhelm the defenders just with the number that were thrown against the walls. Yet the commander once more proved his worth, with a loud roar missiles arced down penetrating deep into the packed ranks below, at this ranged the ranged defenders could not miss. Men fell back from the walls clutching limbs which now sprouted the feathered shafts of arrows. Those climbing the ladders were easily picked off by the archers, sending the men tumbling back down the ladders to land in a heap amongst those waiting to ascend. Now the pikemen began to push back the ladders, sending them crashing back upon the heads of the attackers, some ladders still had men upon them as they fell to the Earth crushing those clinging on for dear life. The attackers replied with a weak volley of missiles but very few found their mark as most thudded into the wooden crenelations that covered the wall or embedded themselves within the row of shields.
Falling back from their disastrous first attempt the attackers piled in behind the siege towers regrouping till they could push for the walls once more. This time when they advanced the siege towers soaked up most of the ranged fire leaving them covered in feathered shafts of arrows and bolts. The attackers were now able to fire back from a similar height as archers lined the upper levels of the siege tower, returning the deadly barrage of missiles. The advance was slow for the attackers yet their archers began to take their toll as men began to fall on the ramparts, pierced by arrows, once again the pilgrim thought the defenders could not weather this storm.
All of a sudden a loud thwack split the air announcing the use of the catapult the defenders had hidden within their courtyard. As the pilgrim watched a large clump of stone flew through the sky before striking the centre siege tower, crashing through the crudely constructed design. The destruction was imminent, men fell screaming from the tower as the upper levels began to collapse due to the lack of support beneath them, men were flung from their posts and sent hurtling towards the unforgiving ground landing in a bloody mess. Others were not so lucky as the stone continued to career down the hillside crafting a bloody path through the packed ranks of the attackers. A silence fell over the battlefield before a cheer rose from the defenders. Not deterred by the destruction of one of their towers the attackers doubled their efforts to reach the walls.
One other siege tower was destroyed before the attackers reached the wall with their third tower, men piled in packing the siege tower with a mass of humanity. Men jostling for space whilst they tried to arrange their gear before the storming of the walls. With a crash the ramp was lowered and the attackers erupted from the siege tower quickly overwhelming the paltry first few ranks of the defenders, men were cut down where they stood, easily slain against numerous foes. Yet the attack began to slow in pace as the defenders slowly began to hold their ground, fighting back in grim determination, one foot after the other they slowly retook their lost ground, holding back the attackers their muscles straining as the weight began to increase. Once more the pilgrim believed this was the end of the defence.
Yet in a daring move the catapult fired once more, the missile too low to strike the siege tower, instead the rock that was hurtled from the catapult scoured the wall killing both defenders and attackers, leaving nothing but bloody pulp behind, the rock traveled over the wall and landed within the siege tower. With a groan due to the added weight the structure began to tilt to the side sending men sprawling off the ramp with the sudden movement. Another loud thwack and the catapult fire once more, this time striking the siege tower true, shearing off the top level. Now without any counter balance the tower began to lean precariously to one side and slowly it began to fall sending a cloud of dust and dirt as it landed. Now the attackers were stuck inside the castle and were easy prey for the defenders, some tried to surrender yet were met mercilessly with a sword point piercing their throats.
Now the attackers piled back to their camp to continue the siege, yet in they did not stop to settle down for the night, they continued to walk through the camp and out the other side, splitting off into separate groups as they retreated beyond the valley of Alburq, so it seemed the defenders had gotten lucky and somehow managed to beat the attackers into submission. But surely it could not last....
