The Homecoming 126.

Up The Wall...

He slips and almost goes down, almost falling off the raft he and some of the others are on.
"You okay?" asks Tramel, a soldier he just met today, who hails from the very east of the Harkonin fief. Who helps him to stand, as those holding the ladder, struggle to keep it steady against the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
"Right you lot, start heading up after those two" says a soldier who has taken over command of those on this raft, and the one further to the right, since there's no squad leaders with them.
He looks up the ladder, and watches the two who are already on it, heading up, rung after rung, trying to get to the top of the wall on this side of the massive castle.
He looks back behind him, to across the moat. To where the road on the south side of castle Lé Dic is.
He faintly grimaces, and is glad he's not back there. As there's an enemy knight back there. Who the others have identified as the famous sir Percavelle Lé Dic.
Who has killed a number of their own knights. And is now killing those common born soldiers like themselves. Who have been ordered to attack him.
From what little he knows of battle. And he knows little. As this is only his second. The first battle he was in, was when the Lé Dic army was wiped out, back across the border in baron Harkonin's fief.
And he was at the rear, amongst the camp followers. And didn't see any of the action.
But what little he does know of combat from he's witnessed this morning. Is that he doubts anyone will even touch the famous sir Percavelle. Who is hitting the baron's soldiers, and sending them flying through the air.
"Magic" says one of the others on the raft, who spits in disgust into the water, as he too looks back across the moat. And watches the heavily armoured knight who is the former earl of Lé Dic. Who dispatches anyone who gets close to him.
"Right you three, up you go" says the soldier in charge who looks at him, and Tramel, as well as the soldier who just spat into the water.
"You get up onto the parapet up there, and you kill as many as those unbelieving Lé Dic bastards as you can!" loudly adds the soldier in charge of them on the raft, as well as the raft next to their's.
The common born soldier who looked back at sir Percavelle Lé Dic and spat into the water. Is the first one up. Followed by Tramel. Then he goes up after him.
Glancing back, and he sees the soldier in charge give him a nod of encouragement. Before turning to help another soldier onboard the raft. Who has swimmed over from a raft, that was put out from the bank across the moat. Before it was sunk by a shot from an enemy ballista above the south gate of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
He looks up, and briefly pauses as he waits for Tramel to go up a couple of rungs. He starts going up the wooden rungs too.
As he does, he sees Tramel's boots, and legs shaking. From the scaling ladder, which isn't exactly steady. Or from fright. He's not too sure.
What he is sure of. Is that he's shaking too. And it's definitely from fright, as well as the unsteady ladder.
Which he feels momentarily push away from the south wall of castle Lé Dic. Before it settles back down against the face of it.
He doesn't look up. Where he guesses the enemy are trying to push the ladder off the wall. Besides, he doesn't look up, for the simple reason that Tramel and the others on the ladder above. Block his view of what's happening right above them.
He could swing out to the side, to get a better view to the top of the ladder.
But, he's definitely not doing that. He's having trouble going slowly up one rung, after another.
He's barely above those on the raft below, and the soldier in charge of them, is yelling at those further up the scaling ladder, to hurry up and to top the wall.
"Watch out!" shouts a voice from above which he recognises as the soldier who spat into the water. Who is directly above Tramel.
He flattens himself against the ladder, and hugs it to him. And holds it for dear life and closes his eyes.
He hears a scream, and something, someone really. Passes by him, to his right.
He opens his eyes, and breathes a sigh of relief when he hears a splash. He looks down, and sees one of the two soldiers who were further up the ladder. Now in the water, holding his bloody and ruined face.
It looks like he can't swim. As he struggles to keep a float, and try to get to one of the two rafts that are fairly close to one another.
And though the soldier in the water is wearing very little in the way of armour. Like a lot of the common born soldiers on both sides of the battle.
He's finding it difficult to keep a float, as he splashes around with one hand, while holding his bloody face with the other.
He shakes his head slightly, and looks away from the soldier struggling in the water. And resumes his climb up the scaling ladder to the top of the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
He puts one shaking hand on the wooden rung above him. Followed by his other hand. He waits a moment as Tramel goes further up the ladder. Then he pulls himself up, grasping the next rung with his left hand. Then he blinks as something skims across the wall directly infront of him.
It takes him a moment to realise it was a quarrel from a crossbow. He looks away to the right along the battlements, and sees about forty feet further along that way, an enemy crossbowman pull back behind a merlon. Most likely to reload his weapon.
He blinks in surprise as he realises that someone has just tried to purposely kill him. Something that hasn't happened yet in the battle, until just now.
And as he holds onto the ladder. He wonders if he'll even get to the battlements above. Or if he'll die like so many others have done so this fine spring morning, in the battle for the massive castle that's been the home of the Lé Dic family for centuries.
He continues on up the scaling ladder, glancing to the right. And the other ladder that's up about fifteen feet away. Where those on the nearby raft, have just started up the ladder that they've put up against the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
He slightly shakes his head in disbelief as he sees one nibble soldier, fair race up that scaling ladder.
He's the first of the baron's soldiers up that particular ladder. And he's the first one to be killed climbing up that ladder too.
He blinks as the fast moving soldier on the next ladder looks his way, and grins as he passes him by while scampering up that ladder.
Until he falls off the next few rungs, with most of his head missing, and the rest of it a bloody, pulpy mess. When a large rock is pushed off the battlements above and hits that soldier right on top of the head.
As that near headless soldier, falls and slams into the raft below. Sending a couple of soldiers on it, into the water. And the scaling ladder to slide to one side, before those holding it. Catch it, and set up against the face of the south wall again before it has a chance to drop into the water.
He briefly let's go of the ladder he's on, and touches his head. And wonders if the pot helm he wears will be able to withstand a rock, or anything else pushed off the battlements above.
He rather doubts it as he grabs onto the rung infront of him again, with his free hand. Takes a breath and resumes his climb to the top of the wall.
And though the top is about fifty feet above the water. He never really realised how high that is, until he nears the top and glances first up, when the soldier who spat into the water back down on the raft, shouts "He's on the top!".
Then next, he looks down and sees how far he and the others have climbed. He was shaking before, now he's fear quaking in his boots as holds onto the scaling ladder as he see how high above the moat he is.
He looks up, when directly above him Tramel yells at the soldier above him "Get up and help him!".
He looks up, when Tramel looks down and says to him "Hurry lad, there's not that many of them up there by the sounds of it".
He nods his head, and though he's shaking, as is Tramel above him. The two of the them hurry up the last handful of rungs.
As the soldier who went up first out of the three of them. Almost jumps up to the top of the wall, to join the other Harkonin soldier who has made it up onto the battlements, here on the south side of the massive castle that's been the home of the Lé Dic family for many generations.
He climbs another rung, and reaches down with one hand, and draws a dagger. They all have short weapons, daggers or hand axes for the most part. As well as their main weapon. Which is usually a shortsword. Those with more experience, who have been in plenty of battles. Might have a two handed axe, or a hammer.
It's only squad leaders and officers who have longswords and broadswords. Like knights do. As they've trained to use those weapons.
While most of the common born soldiers like him. Those who are conscripts, levies really. Only have the most basic of training with weapons. Usually teaching them not stab themselves, or their fellow soldiers in baron Harkonin's army.
And to swing their weapons at the enemy. Who will always be those in the Lé Dic army. It's just the way it is in this part of the kingdom of Druvic.
Keeping a tight grasp on his dagger in his right hand. Which he's been told, will serve him better at the top of the wall than his shortsword. Well, at least until he's standing on the parapet.
He heads up the next two rungs, when he sees Tramel top the wall, and disappear over it. As there's shouting and yelling from the battlements directly above him.
He goes up the next rung, there's only one more. And he needs to stand on it, to haul himself up onto the top of the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
He quickly looks down, rather wishing he didn't as he sees how high up he is. Basically forty five feet above the water. And he sees that others are making their way up the scaling ladder he's on now.
He looks back up, takes a deep breath. And climbs onto the last rung, and with most of his body leaning against the top bit of the wall. He reaches up and over to grab onto very top of the wall, so he can pull himself up, and over.
Leaning over the top of the wall, someone grabs him and pulls him up and over. The next thing he knows, he's falling. Not far, about three or four feet, and all of a sudden, he finds himself lying on the parapet of the south wall of the massive castle.
"Get up youngster!" shouts Tramel, who must of hauled him over the top of the wall.
He blinks as he finds the older soldier from the east of the Harkonin fief, standing infront of him, looking back down at him.
He scrambles to his feet, then spins around, when Tramel yells "Lookout, behind you!". He instinctively shoves his right hand out as he spins around.
He stands there in shock, with his dagger in the guts of an enemy soldier. An enemy soldier, with a dazed look on his face, and a head wound, that's bleeding profusely.
He yanks his dagger free, out of the enemy soldier's stomach, and boiled leather armour.
The Lé Dic soldier doesn't say anything as he falls down. He looks at the enemy lying on the parapet. Not quite believing that's it's the first person he's ever killed.
He looks up, and seeing none of the enemy that way. Well none who are particularly close. He spins back around. And finds Tramel hurrying to help the other soldier. The one who spat into the water, when he mentioned magic when they were watching the enemy knight, sir Percavelle Lé Dic.
The Harkonin soldier who got up onto the battlements before the three of them. Is down, with what looks to be a townsman, or a castle servant. Rolling across the parapet, stabbing one another with their daggers.
Seeing Tramel throw his dagger at an enemy soldier, then drawing his sword.
He draws his shortsword too. After he puts his bloody dagger back into it's sheath.
As Tramel and the other soldier face off against a pair of Lé Dic soldiers. He stops and stabs his shortsword down into the back of the castle servant.
He then rolls him off the Harkonin soldier. Who he finds dead on the parapet, from a number of stab wounds. Especially to the face and throat.
He hurries forward to help the other two, who he notices are trying to back the two enemy soldiers towards a nearby set of steps. For if they hold the top of the steps. Then they along with those coming up the two ladders that are close to one another. Will be able to hold a section of the wall. Once they do, it'll be easier for the baron's men to take this side of castle Lé Dic when they've got a firm foothold upon the south wall battlements.
Suddenly the soldier who spat into the water when they were on the raft on the moat. Yelps in fright, when one of the enemy, shoulders him aside.
And though that Lé Dic soldier is dropped by a sword blow to the head. The Harkonin soldier who hit him as he was shouldered aside.
Falls from the back of the parapet, to the courtyard, nearly forty five feet below. He hits with what can only be described as an audible splat.
He shakes his head in disbelief, as he never even learnt the name of the one who spat into the water.
"You bastard" growls Tramel. He turns when he hears that, and sees that the older soldier in the Harkonin army has downed the other Lé Dic soldier. Slashing open the enemy soldier's throat. More by luck, than by skill. Still, the same result. As the Lé Dic soldier falls to his knees, then flat on his face, as blood sprays from the slash across his throat.
"Lad, hold those steps for the others" says Tramel who then groans. It's then that he sees that there's a long dagger is in the side of the older soldier.
As Tramel staggers back against a merlon, he hurries to the older soldier. Who plops down onto the parapet and sighs.
He reaches down, to see if he should pull the long dagger out of the side of Tramel. But when he looks at the face of the soldier from the east of the Harkonin fief. He sees the older soldier slightly gasp, then his eyes close, and his head tilts to one side, then he slumps to that side, dead.
He gets up, and after looking at Tramel one last time, then he looks back, and seeing a pair of hands come over the top of the wall, where he and Tramel and others came up onto the battlements.
He moves to the nearby steps, which are only about ten feet away. He gets there, and looks down the steps and sees a couple of townsmen or castle servants near the bottom of the steps.
Looking up at him a little apprehensively as he stands there with his shortsword in hand.
Then as he hears further behind him the next of baron Harkonin's soldiers climbing up onto the top of the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
He looks along the parapet, in the direction of the middle of the battlements, above the gates on this side of the massive castle.
He blinks in surprise as he sees a figure standing about fifty feet away, looking in this direction. Someone just over six foot tall. In dark, hardened, and rather expensive looking leather armour. Not wearing a tabbard of the Lé Dic fief.
Standing with what he at first he thinks is a stave or a staff in their hands. It takes a moment to realise that it's a longbow in the hands of the individual looking at him.
Who sees has an arrow to his longbow, and has pulled it back, and drawn a bead upon him.
Something punches into him, into his diaphragm. And he's picked up off his feet, and is flung back a good, six or seven feet before he hits the parapet.
He lies there, and tries to take a breath. But is unable to, he slightly lifts his head. And finds that there's a substantial sized arrow in his sternum.
It must be near a yard in length, with at least a third of it in him, if the rest of it sticking out of him is anything to go by.
The back of his head drops back down onto the parapet, and he looks up at the clear spring sky above castle Lé Dic as he gurgles his last, and bloody breath before he dies.
Riley Hait the mercenary ranger puts another arrow to his elven made longbow. Draws back, and let's the shaft fly.
It takes the Harkonin soldier who has just climbed to the top of the wall, in the side of the neck, sending him flying backwards off the battlements to the moat below.
The ranger Hait briefly glances at the first Harkonin soldier he shot. The young one near the steps leading down to the courtyard below.
Then he orders a couple of nearby Lé Dic soldiers, and a trio of townsmen, to head that way along the parapet, to repell the enemy who trying to gain a foothold upon that section of the wall. That at this moment, is empty except for the dead bodies . . . . . .