Morning came alive with the sounds of groaning wood and screaming stone. Trebuchets of various sizes and calibers whipped and cracked and jolted in a song of pure destruction. Regis watched on as the counterweights swung down fiercely, tipping the firing arms up and over, their payloads soaring. Stones sang through the air in a graceful arc as they collided into the rebel fort over and over and over.
There was something about a proper siege that got the blood pumping good and hot, Regis thought. The sounds. The smells. The utter skill needed to fling a stone several hundred paces. You could easily kill a man solely with sword or ax, but to crush him under a boulder, well, that was just plain ingenuity.
"Load!" Regis roared over the chaotic din.
Guardsmen moved quickly to pull the crankshafts back, several firing arms reeling back in slow, methodical deliverance. Those not pulling were hauling the next batch of stones to be tossed, grunting and shoving and cursing all the while.
"Release!" Off in the distance, Regis could see Civis standing on a nearby hill.
The man had his sword out, the enchanted piece of metal shining bright despite the gloomy forecast. A troop of Guardsmen raised their flatbows in response and released. The air thrummed as a heavy rain of arrows rose into the sky before descending on the fort like a horde of locusts. Some sank into wet earth, but most were able to soar up and over the shabby palisade, hopefully sinking into a rebel bodies if the Gods were kind.
"Give them no quarter men! Arrow or stone, let these Sons of the Dragon Emperor choose their death today!"
The Guardsmen whooped up a cheer that left Regis swelling with pride. Firing arms were winched back and locked into place. Stones were loaded into their slings. One by one, the flags were raised.
"Loose!"
And the process began anew. On and on it went, well into the afternoon. By then, the hill had been reduced into nothing more than churned mud, pockmarked with deep round gouges. The rebel fort was in an even worse state. It's outermost palisade was nothing more than fragments now, barely kept together by its lashings. The walls beyond weren't fairing much better. Here and there, Regis could make out broken timber where his stones had struck the fort. One wall, in particular, had a hole punched clean through it, a nearby tower completely blown off its rafters.
And yet no white flag was raised. No courier was sent bearing a message for parley. The rebels held on, unmoved, sitting firmly upon their muddy hill in their splintered fort, content on being pummeled into a slow, painful death.
"Any luck?" Civis asked, appearing beside Regis. He kept his gaze focused on the fort, eyes glinting with rumination.
"Not a lick," Regis said, stroking a few fingers through his beard. "I'd wager I'll run out of stones first before they surrender."
"And I arrows. Heard Culter and Nox aren't faring much better."
"Umm?"
"Tried to sneak into the caves to see if it would lead into the fort. The rebels had to collapse the damn thing just to stop them."
"Any casualties?"
Civis puffed his cheeks. "On both sides, unfortunately. Mostly recruits on our end." He ran a hand over his mouth, fingers digging into flaxen stubble. "Still, they were good men."
Regis kicked at nearby pebble, not knowing what to say. Men die. They all do. Better to die honorably than not at all, and the recruits had done precisely that, but most people didn't seem to share that sympathy. So he continued kicking his rocks and trying to think of something reverent. Luckily he didn't have too. Someone rounded one of the tents, feet slapping in the churned mud with an odd excitement in their step.
"Oh gods," Civis cringed. "It's him. What's the bookworm even doing here? Shouldn't he be with the Captain jotting in his stupid tome or something?"
Regis cuffed Civis across the chest, hard enough to nearly pitch him over.
"What was that for?" Civis said after catching his breath.
Regis merely glared at him before turning away just as Libro crested the muddy hill they were standing on. The lad stopped a few strides away, hands over his knees, breathing heavy as he tried to gather his bearings. Civis was busy rubbing at his chest, eyes hard and flinty but having enough common sense to keep his trap shut.
"What's going on, Libro?" Regis asked. "News from the Captain?"
Libro shook his head as he unfolded himself. "Even better. I've got an idea."
"An idea?" Regis cocked an eyebrow skyward. "Pray, tell."
"I was reading in the Archive last night when I came upon an interesting discovery," Libro unchained the hefty tome from his belt and pried the pages open, holding it out before them.
Regis blinked at the confusing mess of scribbles before looking back up. "You know I can't read, right?"
Libro balked and pulled the Archive back, cheeks blushing as he flipped through the pages. "Sorry, sorry, I tend to forget these sorts of things sometimes. But right here," And he jabbed an ink-stained finger against the tome. "It tells of one of the old Captains who was in a similar situation we're in now. Nothus, I believe that's his name, had cornered a Gaulvic army back in the tenth century, on a hill no less, and he came up with a most brilliant solution."
Regis tried to match the lad's enthusiasm despite his lack of understanding. Every word came out like an arrow, speeding past before he could get a proper grasp on what he was saying. So Regis nodded along and smiled as he would when his children used to babble at him.
"And just what did this esteemed Captain come up with?" Civis asked, his tone thoroughly unimpressed.
Libro shot him a sidelong glance before continuing. "The turtle!"
"Turtles?" Civis wrinkled his nose. "What in the seven hells do turtles have to do with anything?"
"It's what Nothus called his military formation," said Libro coldly. "The turtle. He had the guardsmen create a shield wall around them, and then they marched up the hill. It took the Gaulvics completely by surprise. I'd say we could do just the same."
Regis tapped a finger to his lips. "Well, well. That's not a bad idea."
"You can't be serious." Civis gave a revolting look.
"Come now. It's not every day we get a Chronicler's wisdom on the matter. Why not humor the boy?"
"Because he doesn't know what he's talking about."
"I trust him," Regis said, his mind already made up. "So should you. He's a Tribune last I recall, and our brother in arms. I say we give it a shot." Civis could not have been more unconvinced. "It's better then what we've been doing," Regis added. "Don't you think?"
Civis threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine, but I'm not going to be held responsible when this whole plan of his goes to shit." He stalked off down the slope, boots sloshing in the thick trodden muck, as he muttered unhappily. "Tactfully unsound. He'll make a horse's ass out of us yet."
Regis clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, doing his best to stay positive. He had to agree with Civis somewhat. He was never keen on the advice of dead men. It's what made them dead to begin with, but at the very least the Chronicler was trying. "So, how should we start?"
Libro blinked in surprise before turning back to the tome. "Well, we'll need men and shields, of course. Can't have a proper turtle without shields. Shovels maybe, if we need to dig up the fort's palisade."
Regis counted the list on his fingers. "And what if the gate's closed?" He asked. "You'd be surprised how much a locked gate will muck up the works. Take it from me."
Libro rubbed a hand over the wispy stubble on his chin as he knocked his brains around for a bit. "I don't think a ram is going to work in this case. Lugging it up the hill would be hard enough with the shields. Do we have any left over pitch?"
"Course we do. No use for it now given how much rain the skies pissed out yesterday, and I reckon more will be coming soon. So to answer your question. Plenty."
"Then we'll use that. Combined with a little bit of flame, and we'll have the whole fort burning down to its foundation."
Regis blinked in surprise. "A bit drastic. Don't you think?" He never liked the idea of using fire. It was unpredictable, prone to catching you aflame as much as the enemy. Back in Danic, he'd seen it devour an entire forest in a day that would take an ax a year. No, he did not like fire one bit.
"Wouldn't you say these are drastic times?" asked Libro matter of factly.
Regis pursed his lips as he mulled it over. The lad did have a point. It was not every day the Empress gave deadlines. Regis hadn't thought about it much till now, but then he recalled the look in Dux's eyes. The sheer desperation hidden behind them.
"Well...I...hmmph," Regis jawed on his words. "Fine, we'll have it your way, but I don't think it'll work. The rains have soaked that fort up good. No way it'll burn today."
"Tomorrow morning then," Libro peered up at the forecast. "Skies willing, of course."
"Yes. Skies willing." Already a legion of dark clouds were beginning to form across the sky, winds howling eastward, the faint rumble of thunder over the hills. Regis had watched for weather long enough to know that a storm would be passing over soon with clear skies tomorrow. Gods, how he hated fire. More so then he hated rain.
"Well, I shan't waste your time any longer," Libro slapped the tome shut and chained it back to his belt. "I'll report to the Captain and let him know of the plan."
"Right then," Regis gave a wave as the lad turned to leave. "See you bright and early tomorrow."
Libro faltered. "Pardon?"
"Tomorrow, when we all try your turtle thing out. I'll see you then."
"Oh," Libro stood there awkwardly, fingers brushing against the spine of his tome. "I hadn't planned on joining on you all. You see, with me being the Chronicler and all, I'd thought you'd be the one to take the lead on this. You did want to charge up the hill after all."
Regis couldn't help but laugh at that. "Hah, good one, lad. Quit pulling my leg here." Libro went pale as milk then instead of being tickled pink. The laughter died out once Regis realized he wasn't kidding. "Come now, it was your plan, to begin with. You need to be there to make sure it's followed through."
"Well...I...,"
"It's what the Captain would do," Regis added.
"And just what would I be doing?"
Regis turned, surprised to see Dux standing right behind him. He had a grim look about him, although the smile on his face said otherwise. Even with the fresh winds, he still had a sheen of sweat about him.
"Captain Dux!" Libro went stiff as a board, unfolding into a proper salute. "What are you doing here?"
"At ease, Chronicler," Dux said. "For all our sakes. I was just coming by to see how things were going. Now, about my last question?"
Regis thumbed over his shoulder. "Libro says he's got an idea on how to take the hill."
"An idea, does he?" Dux cocked a curious brow. "Sounds dangerous. Let's hear it."
Libro licked nervously at his lips, spluttering like a fish out of the water as he told the Captain everything he'd said to Regis, although the lad had been wise enough to leave out his reluctance to fight.
"Well, what do you think?" Regis asked.
A muscle feathered in Dux's jaw, veins flexing over his temples. "What do I think?" He looked up over the gouged muddy hill, eyes staring hard over the broken, stubborn fort. "I think it's better than nothing is what I think. When can you start?"
Libro swallowed hard. "Tomorrow morning."
Dux gave a tight-lipped smile. "Then tomorrow it is."