Under Siege

[Thunder]

Boulders rained from the sky.

Soldiers pointed and shouted, running for cover as the missiles struck the wall and tore through the stone, sending shrapnel and archers flying to the ground far below. Those unfazed by the nearby explosions of rock continued their barrage of arrows and stones on the besieging forces below. The commands and shouting of officers could hardly be heard over the din of the invading army. The outlying buildings without the city’s walls were nearly impossible to spot through the midst of the orcs, ogres, and mercenaries that raced for the walls with ladders in hand. Archers were quick to shoot those carrying scaling equipment, but there were so many it was hard to keep them away.

Thunder shouted to several nearby soldiers when a ladder landed heavily against the parapet near him. Holding his shield out for cover, he and two other men pushed the ladder from the wall, which dropped it and several scaling orcs into the seething mass of bodies below. An arrow glanced off Thunder’s shield, forcing them to duck behind the wall once more.

“Knight-Paladin!” Thunder barely heard the voice above the noise all around. He looked over to see a boy hurrying up to him, huddled over in near terror. He beckoned the youth over.

“What is it, lad?”

The child was breathless, as though he had run the entire length of the city. “Lord Mayor Davram… desires your… presence… at once! One of the walls has… been breached!”

Thunder was suddenly attentive. “Breached? Which wall?”

“A smuggler’s entryway… near the south gate. Civilians were attempting to… enter… the city and let in the invaders behind them. Several dozen are in the streets.”

“Return to the Lord Mayor, I shall plug the hole.”

The page needed no further prompting and scrambled from the walls with little dignity. Chuckling to himself, he whistled shrilly to two men brandishing bastard swords from several parapets down. The two scurried over to him.

“There is a breach.”

“So we gets a real fight then, oy?” said Lews, the larger of the two, from the depths of his closed helm.

“If you want to qualify it as such. Come.”

Thunder hurried down the battlements with the two behind him.

“Had eno’, pal’din?” an officer grinned at him as he approached.

“Quite.” Thunder smiled lightly as he opened his helm to see better. “I need as many men as you can spare.”

“I would have figured th’ three o’ ye Everwatchers more th’n fit fer any task. Here now, take th’ ten o’er there.” He pointed to a group of soldiers milling about at the base of the city wall nearby.

“My thanks, captain.” Thunder nodded and turned to the ten.

“This lot seems as likely to fall upon their own swords as hit their opponent,” Marcos, the shorter of his companions, spoke lowly.

“Maybe the orcs’ll trip up on ‘em and fall onto ours.” Lews chuckled to himself as he removed his helmet to reveal a heavily scarred face.

The soldiers noticed his obvious destination and stood, unsure of how they should react to his approach.

“Your captain has lent me your blades. We must secure the city!” Thunder shouted as he approached.

The soldiers stood dumbfounded.

“The time has come to wet our blades, boys.” Lews bellowed. “Let’s get a move on!”

They scrambled for their shield and weapons before hurrying to fall in behind them as they started a fast march through the semi-empty city streets. Refugees from surrounding towns huddled in alleyways and faces peered at them between the boards that covered building windows. Every eye that fell upon them glinted with fear and hope.

“Marcos,” Thunder said quietly. “You’ve been here longer than I. How prepared is the Lord Mayor defensively?”

Marcos pursed his lips furtively. “Raven’s Bluff has always been among the most defendable port cities in the Vast. The surrounding villages and towns were built with the understanding that in the event that Myrkyssa Jelan and her army, or any army for that matter, returned, that their homes would likely be destroyed again. Davram, like the Mayors before him, realizes that there is a great amount of hope that rests on the city’s defenses. This is of course stating the obvious as it applies to most every city in Faerun.”

“The city’s fortifications?” Thunder prompted lightly.

Marcos nodded absently. “When Myrkyssa last assaulted Raven’s Bluff several seasons ago, Davrom realized changes needed to be made. Luckily for us, Myrkyssa gave time enough for those changes to be made. Unfortunately, she learned from her mistakes as well it would seem.”

“Howso?”

“Did you count the number of damned orcs out there? You can smell their stench from the wall. Her tactics may have changed more than I see, but all I’ve seen is sheer numbers.”

Lews guffawed. “Numbers never won nothin’.”

Marcos grimaced slightly at that. “The Lord Mayor’s efforts to increase fortification of the city will likely make some difference. There are mountings on the outer wall that allow the use of siege engines—”

“Which we got none,” Lews interrupted.

“The construction of an inner wall in the event of a total breach of the outer walls—”

“Which ain’t wholly finished.”

“Would you be still, you big lout?”

Thunder and Lews laughed, a sight that seemed unnerving to the following soldiers.

“We have entered a temporary alliance, if you will, with both the Thieves’ Guild and Smugglers’ Guild to secure the sewers and secret entryways to the city.”

“How much did that cost us?”

“Although Davram did not seem pleased at the idea of negotiating with criminals, he seemed to have come to an agreement with them. As to what those terms were, I was not present for the actual exchange.”

“It seems to have not been enough,” Thunder noted quietly.

Marcos waved the remark away. “They’re in their line of work for the money, someone trying to secure their family into the city likely paid them a tidy sum to let them in. No one bothered to check and see if anyone else was nearby to see their entry. People get careless.”

They could now hear swords clashing against shields and the screams of civilians and soldiers alike. Several groups of civilians sprinted through a nearby street intersection toward the inner city.

“Make safe the city!” Thunder shouted as he secured his shield and unsheathed his bastard sword.

Lews cackled as he replaced his helmet and armed himself. The soldiers mirrored their preparation and met their increased pace. As they approached the street from which the sounds of battle ensued, they could see there were more than a few dozen invaders. Scores of orcs and red-banded mercenaries swarmed in the streets from the south wall. Fighting could be seen on the south walls around the gate towers. Few soldiers remained, and what number were left fought in small groups along the edges of the surging army.

Thunder turned to one soldier. “You! Head for the Mayor’s safehouse. At any garrison you come upon, send as many men as can be spared. If we do not succeed in driving these back, the outer city is already lost.”

The soldier broke from the group and ran in the indicated direction.

“The rest of you, let us do what we can. Stay together!”

“An’ try to keep up, oy! Helm’s might!” Lews roared as he barreled toward the onslaught.

Thunder sighed before rushing to catch up.

As he approached the enemy line, his sword blade glowed a dull bluish hue. He raised his shield as orcs and mercenaries alike met their advance. Shock ran up his shield arm as he slammed into the wall of flesh. He pushed back with his shield and bashed it into one opponent, running another through with his sword.

Helm, protect thy servants, Thunder prayed, as we protect those in need. Guide our hands that we may see thy justice done.

Light as bright as the sun enveloped him and he fought on.