To War 109.

Summer. The Corlinda Corner.

Though night has just fallen, the enemy continues to attack the west wall of castle Measum, just as Tovis the war engineer predicted.
The allies of the crown and king of Melaurn, predominantly from the provinces of Moleau, Mofosild and Olind.
Are mainly targeting towards both ends of the long wall along the west side of the large castle, that's the ancestral home of the local nobleman, lord Measum.
Towards the southern end of the west wall, not all that far from the southwest corner tower of the largest castle in all of southern Melaurn.
Shur Kee the monk kicks an enemy soldier in the face, staggering the man backwards.
The short, statured monk spins, dropping down into a crouch as he does so. And he kicks the staggering enemy soldier, sweeping his legs out from beneath him.
The enemy soldier, who is from the province of Olind, screams as he topples off the back of the parapet.
His scream comes to an abrupt end when he hits the ground thirty feet below.
Spinning back up, Shur Kee who is an honorary member of the personal council to lord Farque.
Steps back, and one of the goblins, holding a burning torch, shoves it into the face of another enemy soldier from the province of Olind, who has just topped the wall.
That soldier screams as he clutches at his burnt face before he falls backwards off the scaling ladder he's standing at the top of. And falls to the moat below, hitting the water with a loud splash, that cuts off his screams.
Both the physical adept, and the goblin with the burning torch step back again.
As two other goblins, lift a small barrel up onto the top of the wall, between the two merlons.
One of those two goblins thumps it with the butt end of his axe, wincing as he does so, as the barrel clearly cracks.
Then they roll it off the top of the wall, where it falls down to the moat, and the enemy at the base of the wall, holding the scaling ladder.
The goblin with the burning torch goes to hurry forward, and Shur Kee the monk holds up a hand, and says in the common language "Wait a few moments".
"Yes councilor" says the goblin with the burning brand, who steps forwards and waits.
They hear shouts from the enemy down in the moat, as they realise what's in the barrel that's just been rolled off the top of the wall.
The contents of which, is now pouring from the cracked barrel, and is on the surface of the water at the base of the wall.
The goblin with the burning torch looks at the monk in the strange white clothing, and the even stranger looking conical shaped hat.
Shur Kee waits another moment, then nods his head and says "Now".
The goblin with the burning torch steps forward, and drops it off the top of the wall, and steps quickly back.
There's a whoosh as the naphtha floating on the water goes up in flames.
Then there's a low thud, as the naphtha remaining in the cracked barrel, explodes.
The acolyte in the philosophical order of Bru Li glances down to the moat, and winces as he sees a number of the enemy on fire.
Ducking down into the water, which does nothing to put themselves out. Infact it only makes it worse for them.
One of the enemy at the edge of the flames floating on the water, tries to run away towards the bank on the otherside of the moat.
He must of had a bit of the naphtha on his clothing and armour. As suddenly he goes up in flames, starting on his back and legs, as the heat ignites the naphtha that's on him.
He does make it to the otherside of the moat, where he gets out of the water, drops to the ground, and rolls around trying to put the flames out.
It does nothing to put the fire out, infact it engulfs him in flames even more, as the water on him spreads the naphtha fueled flames.
He lies there on the ground, burning to death. While others enemy soldiers scatter to get away from him.
Meanwhile in the moat, those on fire are dead. And their bodies continue to burn. The scaling ladder that was up against this section of the wall, is on fire too. With the flames heading up the ladder.
While more of the enemy, who were in the water, and were just out of where the floating naphtha was.
Have all hurried away to the left, and the right. Towards where the southwest corner tower of castle Measum is located, or in the other direction.
As they all know how dangerous it is to be around naphtha, especially when it's on water.
Where once it's alight, you can only wait for it to burn out. Which takes some time when it's on water.
As water just spreads it around, making it more deadly than it ordinarily is.
"Mmmmmm that smells so fucken good" murmurs Dorc da Orc, who looks down, and away to the right, and sees the burning patch of the moat, and the burnt bodies in the water.
The large ork grunts in satisfaction at seeing the burnt enemy floating in the moat.
Then he nods in approval as one of the enemy scaling ladders in that direction goes up in flames too.
The ork warleader steps back, and looks along the parapet, and spots Shur Kee the monk with some of the goblin battalion on that section of the wall.
"Fucken monkey havin' all the fun cooking 'em cunts" mutters the ork weaponsmith in his native language.
Then the big, burly ork from the southern polar region of the world, who is a general in the armies of Farque.
Looks away to his left, when behind him, Teabagger the Goblin Cunt, says "Boss, i mean general, they're trying to get into the tower again".
"Fucken get some" says Dorc da Orc or Dorkindle which is his given name.
The large ork, who has started salivating at the smell of the burning bodies down in the moat.
Heads along the parapet towards the nearby tower, followed by the goblin commander Teabagger, and another of the goblins from the battalion, Dickhead Thirty Something.
Already in the tower, which is taller than the wall by about fifteen feet.
Is sir Percavelle Lé Dic, along with the two goblins, Fatcunt and Fuckity Fuckfuck.
They're hurrying up the stairwell, passing an archer, then a crossbowman, who are at the firing slots as they head to the roof of the southwest tower.
Coming up through the trapdoor in the roof of the tower, the heavily armoured knight hears some of the defenders grunting with effort.
When he gets on the roof, the nobleman from the kingdom of Nastell, finds a trio of defenders.
Locals from the garrison here in castle Measum, trying to roll a large rock off the top of the tower.
"Move aside chaps, give sir Percavelle some room, wot" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic who hurries over to the three locals trying to roll the small boulder off the top of the tower roof.
They make room for the former paladin, who grunts as he helps them to roll it to the edge of the roof.
Another of the local soldiers from the garrison here in castle Measum, is standing at the edge of the roof, holding a burning torch as he looks down at the moat.
"Bit more to the right" says the soldier from the Measum garrison holding the burning brand.
"More right" adds the soldier at the edge of the roof, who goes to say something else, instead he grunts in pain. Grabs at his side, before he falls off the top of the tower with an enemy crossbow bolt in his ribs.
Fatcunt gets down on his hands and knees, and crawls forward to look over the edge of the tower roof.
He doesn't need a torch to see by in the night, and he can easily see down to the moat below.
"A bit more right sir knight" says Fatcunt, who along with his fellow goblin, Fuckity Fuckfuck, has followed sir Percavelle Lé Dic throughout the day, and now into the night.
"You heard the fine green fellow there" says the nobleborn knight from the kingdom of Druvic.
The member of the order of the Knights of Saint Mar-che grunts with effort before he adds "More right, wot".
Fatcunt scrambles out of the way as they get close to where he's kneeling at the edge of the tower roof.
Then with one last concerted effort from the large, heavily armoured knight and the trio of local soldiers.
Roll the large rock off the top of the tower roof, it falls the forty five to the moat.
Where it crashes into and through, a raft full of the enemy. Breaking it apart, smashing legs, arms, ribs and skulls as it does so.
And breaking apart the tall scaling ladder they were attempting to put up against the southwest tower of the large castle, that's the ancestral home of the local nobleman, lord Measum.
Fuckity Fuckfuck hops backwards, almost falling over, as he says "Sir knight".
As a grappling hook comes up, and gets stuck amongst the pile of rocks here on top of the flat roof, that has no merlons, or creneling or embrasures of any kind.
"Lo and behold, more of these villains for i, the great sir Percavelle to slay" says the former paladin.
Who then sourly smiles as he hears the familiar roar of his bitter rival, Dorc da Orc, somewhere down inside the tower.
Just north of the main gates in the west wall of castle Measum, Tovis the war engineer looks through his eyepiece southwards along the parapet.
"Someone dumped some naphtha on them down that end of the wall" says Tovis the war engineer, as the flames on the water light up night down towards the southern end of the west wall of the largest castle in all of southern Melaurn.
As the nearby catapult launches a load of rocks at the enemy, the young engineer from the kingdom of Druvic.
Continues to look through the eyepiece, which is magical as it allows him to see in the night.
Not that it's too difficult to see this evening. As torches are randomly lit along the top of the wall.
And a number of the enemy, on and in the moat, and some of those on the otherside of the moat, have burning torches they're carrying.
While two of the moons of Volunell, are already in the night sky, even though it's only early evening.
The war engineer who is the commander of the engineering corp of the first army of Farque.
And who is in command of the defence of the large castle, that's the ancestral home of lord Measum's family.
Looks at the enemy up and down the length of the longest wall that castle Measum has.
Tovis, who previously served in the army of a baron Harkonin in the east of his homeland, the kingdom of Druvic, before he joined the group that travels with lord Farque.
Points across to the otherside of the moat, about forty yards north of where he is just on the north side of that gates.
"There's a bunch of them there on the otherside of the moat" says the young engineer who holds the rank of captain in the armies of Farque.
Tovis takes the eyepiece, which gives him a slightly green tinged image at nighttime, away from his face.
And he says "They've got three new ladders with them" followed by "Must of built them from the wreckage of their camp".
"I see them" says Heinë the sorceress, who hasn't cast anything since before dusk.
The attractive Farqian spellcaster, along with the war engineer's adjunct, and a couple of runners who have kept close to Tovis since this attack on the west wall of castle Measum got underway just after dawn this morning.
Follow their commander along the parapet for a bit, going about twenty yards, where there's no to little fighting.
With just a local archer taking pot shots at the enemy, some in the moat, and some across on the otherside.
As a couple of the townsfolk go by with water jugs and sacks, one of which the war engineer's adjunct takes when offered.
The young engineer originally from the east of the kingdom of Druvic asks "Close enough?".
Nodding her head, Heinë the sorceress says "It is". As they watch the large group of the enemy across the otherside of the moat.
The first of whom get into the water, carrying one of the three scaling ladders they have.
A fireball leaves the top of the wall, the next moment one of the scaling ladders on the otherside of the moat, shatters apart.
As the fairly powerful sorceress cast a blast spell right after casting the fireball.
Which lights up the night on this part of the west wall of the largest castle to be found in all of southern Melaurn.
Some of the enemy in the large group scatter as they catch sight of the eight foot wide ball of liquid fire streaking through the night towards them.
Others aren't so lucky, and it hits them near the water's edge, exploding and spraying liquid fire everywhere.
The magical fire is a lot like burning naphtha in the way it behaves. Near impossible to put out, as it has to burn itself out. And like naphtha it can float on water, and rapidly spreads if it's on water.
But unlike naphtha, it burns fairly quickly, but a hell of a lot more fiercely, not to mention way more hotter.
Enemy soldiers burn like wicks or burning torches as they're set alight, enveloped in flames in one moment, and barely a burning corpse, or what's left of them, the next moment.
The fireball along with the blast spell, easily kills or injures half of the large group of enemy soldiers.
Destroying two of the three scaling ladders they have with them as well.
And though some of them with the remaining ladder, run away to the north.
Those left, mill around on the otherside of the moat, trying to decide what to do next.
As the local archer on this section of the parapet who was taking pot shots at the enemy.
Starts shooting at them, as he has plenty of light to see with the burning corpses, not to mention grass that's been set alight, to see by.
The last of that group of the enemy disperse after two of them go down after being shot by the local archer.
Tovis the war engineer who is looking through his eyepiece again, says to the sorceress and his adjunct "It's going to be a long night".
The attractive looking spellcaster and the junior officer nod in agreement with their commander.
As the battle along the west side of castle Measum continues on this summer night, here in the northeast of that province of Corlinda, in the area known as the Corlinda Corner to the locals . . . . . .