The Homecoming 99.

Battle Rages...

On the battlements along the west wall of castle Lé Dic. Tamric Drubine calls out "Don't shoot at them unless they're in range".
When one of the townsfolk, who is a bowman. Complains that they're going to burn his home down if they don't do anything.
One of the soldiers quietly tells him that the town of Massic is a lost cause. And that the town is going to be burnt down no matter what they do.
When the local bowman falls silent. He like the rest of the defenders on top of the west wall, watch the Harkonin soldiers, who have ridden around from the camp to the south of castle Lé Dic.
Put the town of Massic to flame. Setting fire to the buildings and homes at the far, or west end of town. The end furthest from the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
Tamric Drubine who is in command of the western side of the castle, has his bow strung, and an arrow to it, hanging down at his side. Waiting for a chance to shoot at one of the Harkonin soldiers who ventures too close to this side of town.
With none of them doing so at the moment, he looks back to the south side of castle Lé Dic. Which is under attack by the Harkonin army.
He sees a large boulder come flying through the air, flung from a Harkonin trebuchet. It disappears below the level of the south wall.
But he hears the thud of it hitting the wall on that side of the massive castle.
The nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin wonders how many direct hits that wall can sustain. He suspectes quite a lot.
As the original builders of castle Lé Dic didn't skimp on materials. Or how thick the walls the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family are.
"M'lord" says the soldier to Tam's right. The son and heir of a former knight of castle Drubine in Sarcrin looks at the archer beside him. Who nods down at the town of Massic, and tells him "Two of them heading this way through town".
Tamric Drubine looks into Massic where smoke and flames can be seen coming from it's western side.
The nobleborn teenager from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin spots the two Harkonin soldiers riding through town. Heading along the trade road that leads straight to the west gates of castle Lé Dic.
They're throwing burning brands or torches, in through open windows and doors.
"I've got the one on the left" says Tamric Drubine "Yes m'lord" says the Lé Dic archer, who lifts his own longbow, that he puts an arrow to.
The soldier tells Tam "Sixty five yards to the inn on the corner there m'lord".
The nobleborn teen nods in understanding, knowing that he has a near two hundred foot long shot to make.
Tamric Drubine lifts his longbow, and takes a bead upon the Harkonin rider on the left. Who like his fellow soldier, isn't too worried about the defenders upon the west wall battlements, as there's so few of them.
Tam knows that if Helbe the elven thief or even Riley Hait the mercenary ranger were here on this wall. They'd be shooting at the Harkonin soldiers on the far side of town with their elven made longbow.
As their bows are that good, and they can shoot that well.
But unfortunately they're needed elsewhere in the defence of castle Lé Dic.
So Tamric Drubine and those defending the west side of the massive castle, just have to wait until some of the Harkonin soldiers burning down the town of Massic. Get careless, or more precisely, cocky. And come closer towards castle Lé Dic.
The nobleborn teen lets the shaft to his longbow fly just an instant after the Lé Dic archer beside him shoots off his arrow.
The Harkonin soldier on the right, who is about to toss a burning brand at the inn on the corner, that Tam and the Lé Dic archer use as a distance marker.
Tumbles backwards off his mount, with a shaft through his throat.
While Tamric Drubine hits the one he's shot at. In the side, as he was turning to take an unlit brand from behind him, to light it with the burning one he was holding.
That Harkonin soldier screams in pain, and falls sideways off his horse, which like the other soldier's mount, bolts away.
The Harkonin soldier lying in the middle of the street, continues to scream in pain, after he tries to get up, but only ends up snapping the longbow shaft that's in his side.
"Leave him!" calls out Tamric Drubine to the defenders along the top of the west wall of castle Lé Dic, he continues with "I don't want anyone shooting at him!".
"Shoot at anyone who comes riding this way to see what all that screaming is about" says the nobleborn teenager to the archer beside him "Will do m'lord" says the Lé Dic soldier as they hear another thud in the distance against the south wall of the massive castle. That they're trying to defend with very few soldiers and townsfolk, against a vastly superior, numbers wise at least, army from the neighbouring fief to the east.
Tam glances to his left, to where sitting down behind the merlon there, with his back against the stonework, is Shur Kee the monk.
The nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin slightly shakes his head, and faintly smiles. As the short, statured monk is sitting there, eyes closed, meditating most likely, while a battle rages all around them.
Tamric Drubine wishes he could be so relaxed during such a tense and dangerous time. But he knows that's just not in his disposition, or in his fibre of being. Infact it's pretty much in no one's. Except for someone like the acolyte in the order of Bru Li.
Over on the east wall of castle Lé Dic, like along the south, the action is far more intense.
Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy, who has just taken out another Harkonin soldier with an arrow from his bow. Slightly winces as he hears one of the catapults down in the main east courtyard behind him, firing off another load.
This one is right behind the spy Tanith, and is the reason why he winced. As he looks straight up, and sees a trio of smoking and burning barrels go flying directly overhead, just twenty five or so feet over him.
The elf from the principality of Alínlae looks back down behind him in the main east courtyard where he hears a familiar, and very loud laugh.
The elven spy who once served in one of the more prominent noble houses in his homeland, wryly smiles as he sees Dorc da Orc looking up at him on top of the wall, and grinning.
The large ork, who is with the crew who just shot off the catapult. Is helping them to reload it.
The ork warleader is helping them do so, by simply jumping up, and grabbing onto the catapult arm, and holding onto it. As they wind, the cog winch, to bring down the cup and arm of the war machine.
Dorkindle's considerable weight, definitely brings down the catapults arm a hell of a lot quicker so that it can be loaded again.
As the big, burly ork hangs there on the steadily lowering catapult arm. He yells at the trebuchet crew further to the right in the main courtyard, to hurry the fuck up and reload the larger war machine.
"Someone's in their element" dryly murmurs Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy in his native language as he watches the warleader of the ork race.
Then the elf from the principality of Alínlae looks back at the attacking army from the Harkonin fief. And takes his crossbow from the youngster from the town of Massic, kneeling to his right behind the merlon on that side, who has just reloaded the weapon for the elven spy.
Dalinvardél Tanith or Dalin as he's more commonly referred to by the rest of the group. Shoots off the bolt in his crossbow at one of the Harkonin soldiers running towards the moat on this side of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
The spy Tanith hands the weapon back to the teenager from Massic, to reload the quick loading crossbow again. While Dalin quickly takes a shaft from his quiver, puts it to the belly of his bow, and lets the arrow fly when he's taken an aim at another target in the oncoming army.
A noble, a squire on foot. As those young teens are being used to relay messages to the squad leaders and soldiers in the front, from the officers and nobles at the rear.
It's ever the way with armies in kingdoms such as Druvic. Only the younger, less important nobles are put in any direct danger during a battle against a fixed position like a castle.
The more important will stay at the rear of their army until the defences are breached. While the common soldiers will do what they're told to do, what they've always done in wars between the nobility. Attack a castle front on, and hope to hell they survive what's thrown at them.
To the north, to the battlements there. Lisell Maera is making her way along the top of the wall. The attractive young woman is walking eastwards along the wall that has the least amount of defenders on it.
There's only a dozen soldiers with the teenager from the city-state of Brattonbury. And there's probably that amount of townsfolk with them.
All to cover the wall, that's just as long as any other wall in the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
Lisell or Lis as she's called by those in the group. Walks with her crossbow, which was originally Shur Kee the monks. And given to her in Brattonbury by the physical adept, when she first met the group, over six years ago now.
The attractive young woman quickens the pace when one of the Lé Dic soldiers calls out to her.
A few moments later, she sees why he calls out to her.
There's been a few enemy riders who have come around to the northern side of the castle.
Where the terrain is rougher that to the other three sides of castle Lé Dic. Here the ground is a bit more rocky. And just a couple hundred yards away to the north. There's the only decent sized woodland in this part of the fief.
The trade road doesn't come around to this side of the castle. Though there is a dirt packed road that leaves the north gates, and heads to the woodlands. Which is the main source of wood for both castle Lé Dic, and the town of Massic.
Now enemy foot soldiers have come around from the east side of the massive castle that for centuries has been the home of the Lé Dic family.
The Harkonin soldiers on foot around here aren't many. But gradually in one's and two's, they slip around from the more chaotic, and busy east side of the massive castle.
There's so few defenders along the northern battlements, that the Harkonin soldiers run along the edge of the moat without too much worry, looking to make their way to the drawbridge housing, even though the drawbridge has been drawn in.
That's until the two archers with Lis on the top of the northern battlements, start dropping some of the Harkonin soldiers.
Another goes down with a bolt in the guts shot from the crossbow that the attractive young woman uses.
She pulls back on the underside of the weapon, pulling it back into firing position. And she takes a bolt form her quiver, and quickly reloads the fast loading weapon that was designed by Dorc da Orc.
"Save your arrows for any squad leaders, or anyone getting too close to the gates" says Lisell Maera as she passes behind one of the two archers on top of the north wall of castle Lé Dic.
The soldier in the army of the lady Linara Lé Dic nods that he will, as he looks for a suitable target. There's only about twenty five Harkonin soldiers around this side of the castle at the moment. But every so often, another one, or a pair of them come around from the east side of the massive castle.
Lis who is glad that she isn't wearing a cloth over her face as many of the defenders along the east and south walls of castle Lé Dic are doing due to the many troughs of human, as well as animal excrement dotted along the tops of those walls.
Gets to the wall tower that's at the northeast corner of the castle, which she hurries through to get onto the east wall battlements of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the nobleborn Lé Dic's.
There the teenager from the largest city-state on the western coast of the Southlands, sees an enemy siege tower on the trade road, just thirty yards, less than a hundred feet from the castle walls.
It's been pushed forward by dozens of soldiers. As the horses teams that were hauling it, have been taken away after so many of them were shot and killed by the defenders upon the wall.
Lisell Maera looks along the length of the east wall, and spots the massive figure of Dorc da Orc hurrying up the steps near the east gates of castle Lé Dic.
And as trebuchet sends a large boulder flying over the east wall, towards the Harkonin army. Going well over the nearest siege tower as it's too close.
An answering boulder flung from one of the Harkonin trebuchets further down the trade road, where it's sitting an angle. Thumps into the east wall of the massive castle. Sending chunks of stone flying. Then water spraying up against the wall when it drops down into the moat with a large splash.
Lis who grimaces as she wouldn't mind helping out those defending this side of the castle. Heads back through the corner tower when she spots some more of the Harkonin soldiers hurrying around to the north side of the massive castle.
Before she does, she shoots off the bolt in her crossbow at the enemy soldiers heading around to the north side of castle Lé Dic.
She was aiming for what looked like a squad leader, but she got a nearby soldier instead, hitting him the back of the left leg, and dropping him.
"Better than missing i suppose" mutters the attractive young woman as she heads through the corner tower, which only has a few townsfolk up in the top, who are acting as lookouts, calling out things that they see.
"There'll make for the drawbridge housing!" says Lis in a loud voice as she heads back along the top of the north wall, she continues with "Unless they bring around platform rafts for the moat, and scaling ladders!" the teenage orphan from the city-state of Brattonbury then silently adds, they definitely don't want to do that.
For Dorc da Orc, along with Tovis the war engineer have devised something to counter that once they learned of some of the hidden secrets of the massive castle.
Infact around all four sides of castle Lé Dic, and it's moat that's fed by a river, that comes from the northwest of Massic.
The Harkonin army don't want to be putting their floating platforms into the water in the moat. Which they will do, as Tovis help devised that method of attack for them.
Along with his unique siege towers, which Harkonin soldiers will push into the water, and will drop to the bottom of the moat.
As the ladders are out the back of them, and the first platforms inside the siege towers are two thirds of the way up them.
They're designed to been sunk down into the water at that level. And still have the tops reach the top of the massive walls of castle Lé Dic.
Lisell Maera knows that Tovis wouldn't have them doing that now, after he knows what the original makers of the massive castle have designed within the walls, to help defend it.
The attractive young woman from the west coast of the Southlands, knows that even if they had more defenders manning the walls of castle Lé Dic.
Dorc da Orc, Tamric Drubine, sir Percavelle Lé Dic, and Helbe the elven thief, who along with Tovis the war engineer have devised the defence of the massive castle.
Would still want the Harkonin army to reach the moat in large numbers. Which undoubtedly they'll do, especially along the east and south sides of the castle, with so many of them attacking the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
And from what baron Harkonin's former war engineer has told the rest of the group. There's even more of the baron's army, and war machines coming from the Harkonin fief.
"That's if we're even still around when that lot gets here" Lisell Maera murmurs to herself after she reloads her crossbow, and leans it on top of the wall between two merlons.
Takes aim, and lets the bolt fly, taking the Harkonin squad leader she aimed at a little earlier and missed. Hitting him right in the face as he goes to run towards cover behind some of the rocks that are dotted across the ground on the north side of castle Lé Dic as the battle continues to rage . . . . . .