The Homecoming 111.

A Knight & His Castle...

On the south wall battlements of castle Lé Dic, sir Percavelle Lé Dic guffaws as one of the Harkonin soldiers holding on for dear life on one of the beams across the moat where the drawbridge housing has opened.
Loses his grip, and falls to the water below, and onto one of the spikes just below the surface of the water. Which goes through his stomach, and out though his back.
He was the only one of the twenty five or so enemy soldiers not to fall when the canopy to the drawbridge suddenly opened up beneath them as they were crossing to the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
And he held on for quite some time, as some of the defenders upon the wall with bows and crossbows shot at him, all miraculously missing. Until his strength finally gave out and he eventually dropped to the water below.
The former earl of Lé Dic who is grinning, looks over to his right to where Riley Hait the mercenary ranger calls out to him "Percy you might want to help out over there!".
The heavily armoured knight looks to where the ranger Hait is pointing along the south wall parapet. To where the sole remaining Harkonin siege tower on this side of the castle, is in the moat near the wall.
It's one of originally three siege towers that the baron had on this side of castle Lé Dic. One was destroyed by multiple trebuchet hits as it came up the road from the south. While a second, or what's left of it, sits smouldering in the moat a bit further to the right from where the main gates on this side of the castle are.
Now the last one, of five in total that's been brought from the Harkonin fief. The other two are on the east side of the massive castle.
Is further to the left of the gates here on the south side of the castle that's been the home of the Lé Dic family for over four centuries.
"Righto!" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic who then calls out to the mercenary ranger from the principality of Envadarlen "I shall deal to these miscreants who dare to attack my family's quiet abode!".
The ranger Hait rolls his eyes, and shakes his head as he watches the former paladin return his longsword to it's scabbard. And swing the shield of Saint Mar-che on it's strap, across his back.
Then the mercenary ranger who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra by the name of Zubutai Timaginson, who just happens to inhabit the body of Riley Hait.
Frowns as he sees the nobleborn knight pick up a large canvas bag that he had brought up to the battlements by the castle armourer and his assistant.
Whatever is in it must be heavy, because the heavily armoured knight who by far is the third strongest member of the group behind lord Farque and Dorc da Orc. Struggles to pick it up and put it over one of his broad, heavily armoured shoulders.
What the hell has that idiot got in that? Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman thinks to himself as he watches the former knight of the first class walk away to the left along the parapet.
The mercenary ranger who was raised and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen then shrugs his shoulders, and having run out of yard long shafts to shoot from his elven made longbow.
Hurries over to help a soldier and two townsmen, to drop rocks and chunks of broken masonry down upon the enemy who are trying to climb up to the top of the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
Sir Percavelle Lé Dic grunts in effort as he readjusts the heavy bag he's carrying over his right shoulder. The former earl of the fief that's been invaded by the army from the neighbouring fief to the east.
Chuckles under his breath as he continues on his way to the stretch of wall that the enemy siege tower is coming close to.
There a number of soldiers and townsfolk are waiting for the massive, fifty foot tall siege tower, that was designed by baron Harkonin's former war engineer, Tovis.
That section of the wall is the heaviest defended by far, and though a couple of the castle servants hurry away further to the left, to help others push a scaling ladder off the face of the wall. There's at least a dozen, soldiers, townsfolk and castle servants. Waiting between a pair of merlons for the Harkonin siege tower, to drop the top part of the front, to form a bridge between it and the battlements along this side of the massive castle.
"Good, good" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic after he grunts and drops the heavy canvas bag he's carrying, which clunks when it hits the parapet.
"Well done chaps" adds the heavily armoured knight as he sees that firepots have been lit, and that most of the defenders he's joined, have either heavy spears, and in the case of two of the castle servants, a jousting lance they must of taken from an armoury next to one of the stables in the castle.
The defenders, soldiers, servants and townsfolk, alike all grin or cheer as they see that their former earl has joined them to help repel the attack from the enemy siege tower upon this part of the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
"Remember men, even though you lot are commoners, you are of the Lé Dic fief, my family's fief and this is my family's castle!" declares the knight who is both nobleborn and ordered "And we shall not let this rabble who calls itself an army, from that fief to the east ruled by that despot Harkonin spawn, top the walls of my family's castle!" adds the heavily armoured knight in his loud voice that illicits cheers, not just from the defenders he's joined.
But also from others along the battlements on this side of the massive castle that's his family's ancestral home. He has a loud voice, and can been heard quite easily over the sounds of battle.
"Bother" mutters sir Percavelle Lé Dic as an enemy arrow shot from an archer across the moat clangs off the breastplate of his heavy plate armour, then the knight in the order of saint Mar-che yells out "Lé Dic!".
It's answered in kind by those with him, and others along the parapet to either side of them.
"Lé Dic!" once again shouts the former paladin, who grins as it's repeated by many a voice along the battlements on this side of the castle that's been the home to his family for generations.
The heavily armoured knight then bends down, and opens the heavy canvas bag at his feet, Sir Percavelle Lé Dic softly chuckles as he looks at what's inside the canvas bag.
"Get ready men!" calls out sir Percavelle Lé Dic as the enemy siege tower groans and leans forward a bit, a sign that those who are in, are gathering at, and towards the top of it.
Firepots are picked up, and are prepared to be thrown. While the former earl of Lé Dic, who is the uncle of the young girl, who is the lady of the fief. Grunts as he grabs something in the heavy canvas bag, and pulls something on it, essentially arming it, before he lifts it up.
The knight in the order of Saint Mar-che who strains to hold up what he's taken out of the bag, calls out "Watch out for archers and bowmen they have in there!" then he says to a townsman, holding a heavy spear "Be a good fellow and help me with this" followed by "Be prepared to biff it forward when i say so".
"Yes sir Percavelle" says the townsman, who tentatively grabs one end of it, while the others around them move out of the way when they see what the heavily armoured knight has pulled out of heavy canvas bag.
Just then, the near top ten feet, of the front of the siege tower falls forward, and crashes down onto the top of the wall between a pair of merlons.
Firepots are thrown at the top of the siege tower, which this one has a roof. While a handful of bolts and arrows come flying back at the defenders upon this section of the wall.
But for the most part, those Harkonin soldiers who were waiting at the top of the siege tower, rush forward.
"Now!" shouts the former paladin to the townsman holding the other end of what the nobleborn knight pulled out of his heavy canvas bag.
They throw it onto the bridge that's been created between the top of the siege tower, and the battlements when part of the front of the Tovis designed tower came down.
Then those with spears, and the two holding the lance, shove their weapons forward at the oncoming enemy.
But it's what the knight in order of saint Mar-che, and the townsman he had helping him. Which "Attacks" first.
It's an animal trap, infact a series of them, that are all linked together, forming a line of them about nine foot in length, or width in this case. As it was thrown out across the width of the temporary bridge between the top of the Harkonin siege tower and the top of the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
It's armed by a single rod at one end, which takes a bit of strength to do, as it opens up all the traps. Which are usually used to trap fairly large game.
Though it isn't used to trap game this day. It's used to trap soldiers from the Harkonin fief who are trying to gain the battlements along the south side of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
A half a dozen soldiers from the fief across the border to the east step into the traps as they rush to the top of the wall.
Some step perfectly into a trap, which slams into an ankle or shin as it shuts firmly closed. Some hit a plate so cleanly below the jaw of a trap. That it chops off the foot below the ankle or shin.
While others don't hit the pressure plate so square on, and the trap shuts snap a little late. Slamming around a booted foot that's being lifted in mid step.
Yells and howls of pain come from those crossing the makeshift bridge between the top of the siege tower and the battlements here on the south side of the castle Lé Dic.
Then those who stumble forward with a crushed foot, or even missing foot. Slam into the spears and one lance pointed at them.
Screams and shouts come from both attackers and defenders as those Harkonin soldiers die on the tips of Lé Dic spears.
"Lé Dic!" shouts the former earl of the fief in encouragement to those defending this section of the wall of his family's ancestral home.
He's answered in kind with a chorus of "Lé Dic" from his niece's soldiers, the castle servants and the townsfolk.
Then they and the heavily armoured knight briefly pause as a Harkonin soldier, on fire from his boots to his hair, staggers forward from the top of the siege tower.
Swinging and waving his arms about wildly, as flames and smoke pour off of him. Before falling off the side of the makeshift bridge that was created when the top bit, on the front of the fifty foot tall siege tower came down onto the battlements between two merlons.
"Huh" murmurs sir Percavelle Lé Dic as he watches the burning Harkonin soldier hit the water below. Then after a slight pause, he picks up the heavy canvas bag, which is considerably lighter. And shoulders it.
"Tally ho chaps!" shouts the former knight of the first class, who then leaps up onto the bridge between the battlements and the enemy siege tower. And crosses it, jumping over a couple of the wounded Harkonin soldiers, who are lying flat on the makeshift bridge, with an ankle or leg stuck in the row of game traps.
"Follow me lads!" shouts the heavily armoured knight who doesn't look back as he runs into the smoke at the top of the siege tower
Knocking down a Harkonin soldier who has just thrown off his cloak that was on fire. And shoulder charging another one who is trying to reload a crossbow in the smokey environs at the top of the siege tower.
The nobleborn knight spies the steps that go down into the siege tower, and eventually go out the back of it.
The former paladin not caring about his safety, since he doesn't ever think about it. Dives head first down the steps, crashing into some Harkonin soldiers who are climbing to the top of the siege tower.
Back up on the battlements along the south wall of the massive castle, a  couple of the Lé Dic soldiers, veterans who have fought beside their former earl in the past. Look at one another, and one rolls his eyes, and the other wryly smile.
Then they, and another, younger soldier, climb up onto the temporary bridge. One of the veterans soldiers looks back at the other defenders along this section of the wall and tells them "Don't let any of them onto wall".
Then he and his two fellow soldiers cross the temporary bridge to the top of the enemy siege tower, heading into the smoke as they follow after their former earl, sir Percavelle who they can clearly hear from somewhere further down in the siege tower, shouting "Lé Dic!" . . . . . .