Fort Resolve:
Rain beat down on the walls of Fort Resolve. This was the third day of the siege. They would strike the walls again soon. Don't give the defenders time to sleep. Give them no rest. He might have lauded their tactics had he not been on the receiving end. They had been foolish, careless. The pilgrims and other travellers that were stuck inside these walls should have been thrown out long before the enemies got here. But they could not release them now. If the enemy realised how low food stores were within the fort they might be more inclined to wait it out. Rather than... this. The water was running in rivulets down his noseguard and into his chainmail. He'd been standing up here for too long.
The Lord General of the Imperial Legion should not have to watch the walls himself. But these were hard times. He'd heard of the madness in the east and the desperation in Aram, but he hadn't thought it would make itself all the way over here. The only comfort he had was that at least his side weren't the only ones miserable. There were no torches up here, he had to conserve his night vision. There hadn't been a siege to Fort Resolve in decades. That whelp in Grey Lake had never had the balls to do anything like this. But this... this madman Tam Lin. Thaddeus would kill him himself if he dared to set one foot in his fort. Whatever amateurs he might have had to contend with in the east were a far cry from this place. The last legion of the Empire, the pride and joy. Keeping Starkwater at bay for Luxor only knew how long. They had been the first into the Highlands, and the last to give up the corridor connecting them to the Heartlands. They had a proud history as long as the Empire itself and this was their bastion. They would not be moved by some mere rabblerouser from the east. If this was a rebellion, then it would end here. On the slopes of Fort Resolve, where the last of the Empire still stood.
His page tugged at his sleeve and pointed out into the darkness. Thaddeus tugged at his moustache and nodded. They were coming, again. This was the third time tonight. He must be running his own troops ragged to do this. It hit the wall with a crack. Nothing like what he had expected. The wall beneath him shook as it tried to withstand the impact. First the catapults. Then they would try to get someone right up next to the gate and hammer it down. Thaddeus hollered the alarum as the Fort was attacked. It would only be a matter of time now and he needed to be getting the other defences ready. In the distance he could hear the dry thwack of the catapults and this time it was all loose stones. A veritable barrage intended for those on top of the wall rather than the wall itself. He felt one hit his shoulder and the last few steps went by in the blink of an eye. Cold, muddy water woke him. He spat it out in protest. Tired and worn down the Lord General of the Legion picked himself up. Next to him his John, the page, was staring up at the sky. He was about to ask what he was looking at when he noticed the way the youth's brains were leaking out into the mud. With a groan he rose, he wasn't as young as he'd like to be anymore. His body didn't quite do what he wanted it to. He took a second to close the boy's eyes. He hadn't even known him all that well, he'd only come here a couple of weeks back, but he'd seemed like a nice enough boy. First he needed to get to the Iron Gates. He would grieve later. There was plenty of time to grieve in the grave.
The Rebel Camp:
He stood out. The Marquis would give him that. The way he wore his bronze armour with the antlers. Yes, there could be no mistaking Tam Lin. But the thing of it was, his vision was an enticing one. Out from under the rule of the Prelates and the Church. Nobility restored to its rightful place, a new start for the Arameian Empire. He talked a good game too. No less than three bishops had been driven from their lands. The army had done well. And here he was. Laying siege to the last vestige of the Empire left in these lands. He had thought that the general would simply leave it alone. As some kind of sacred relic of the past. But no, he had pointed to the map and in that voice which brooked no argument said, "We must take Fort Resolve". Apparently taking it would net them an ally. Was he talking of Jak in Irons? The faerie general laid in chains beneath the fort? Surely that was just myth and speculation.
The Marquis twisted his mouth sourly. It didn't matter. This was all something out of a fairy tale, the prodigal son returning to set the Empire aright. Who was he to argue? He heard the strange smacks as the catapults fired off one after another. That was his signal. "Are you ready men?" his shout didn't bring nearly the enthusiasm it had the first few times. The rain certainly did its part to keep anything like enthusiasm at a minimum. They were tired and worn down. But they had to get the Steel Pig to the gates. It wasn't much of a pig at all, a large tree trunk with the steel head of a boar on one end. It was suspended from a series of ropes which would let them swing it. There were shields to protect it from enemy fire and to keep the bulls dragging it safe.
With luck it would be enough. It hadn't been the last seven times, but they had to break down those doors. The catapults fired a second time and he set the men in motion. A rag tag bunch. It was mainly his own retainers, but also mercenaries and others following the promises of a great future that Tam Lin had offered them. They would take the gates this time. This time they would make it all the way up there.
The Children's Crusade:
It had been two weeks since he had been declared a captain. Two tumultuous weeks. He reported directly to the Inquisitor General now. He looked up at the grey clouds and tried to ignore the cold and the damp. If this rain would ever end perhaps they could make good time. Perhaps they could make it to Fort Resolve and from there, they would attack the usurper. The Prelate himself had tasked them. Taken them up from their lacklustre position in life and given them a chance to shine. He held tightly to his sword. There were many of them. The Prelate had given them all a chance. Thirteen thousand, a massive army, taken from the streets of Aram itself. Although still two thousand less than had left the city.
Not everyone saw it that way. He knew that. He massaged his knuckles. He'd had to punch a boy two years older than him, he hadn't been given a rank at all. He was just a soldier whereas Mork was a captain. He'd punched the boy and told him to stop spreading lies. It would be a glorious victory over the pretender Tam Lin. They would destroy this enemy of Luxor on the battlefield and break their bodies. But he would just complain. No training, not enough weapons for everyone. Who cared about these things? Luxor would provide! The enemy would run in fear when they saw their numbers and their fervour. Those that had perished hadn't done so because of lack of provisions, it was their lack of belief that had held them back.
Captain Mork knew he would win. They would come to Fort Resolve and they would be given their orders and go on to be decked in glory. The doubters had no place in Luxor's army. This was the avenging hand of Luxor and it would come down hard on anyone who stood in their way. Mork drew up the much-too-large chainmail to keep it from dragging along the ground as he walked. His fourteen winters had all been going towards this point. The enemy would quake in terror once they saw that this army would not be moved by hollow promises of wealth and power, they were guided by faith, not any kind of baser principle.
Beneath the Earth:
There was something disturbing about the way it smiled. He had to admit that much. As the torch flickered he used the flimsy excuse to check the supports. If this tunnel collapsed it wasn't going to do them much good. After all, that was what you had miners for, right? All he thought he'd have to do was mine under the city. And he was almost there. By the end of the day he would be at the wall. Which was truly nothing short of miraculous.
Lew tried not think too hard about the forces that Tam Lin had working with him to make this happen. Those kinds of deals were usually left to wizards and their ilk and he cared to have nothing for it. He was a miner, not any kind of arcanist. But this... thing. It made him uneasy. The way it was looking at him... Lew shuddered and picked up his pick axe again. "You... you can tell your master that we're working as fast as we can. With a bit of luck we'll be under the north wall by daybreak." There was only a slight shudder in his voice. Only a slight one, he almost managed to keep it steady.
The fairy smiled at him. Though it seemed to be something of a learned response. There was nothing in those eyes that smiled. This creature was all wrong and Lew knew it, just being around him made him sweat buckets. What he wouldn't have given to have a human overseer. But Tam Lin had promised him a lot of silver for this. And if nothing else, Lew was a man of his word. He would finish this tunnel beneath Fort Resolve and their wall would fall.
Spoiler: show
