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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 1328817" data-attributes="member: 15470">Issue #8: The Seige of Kratys Freehold. Episode 2 of 6As the first light of the sun reaches the top of the tower, and the smell of Miriel’s cooking wafts across the compound, morale begins to lift. With the coming of the sun’s light, it is almost as though the gods themselves are smiling upon us, and we begin to believe that we can prevail, despite the disease tribe’s superior numbers.  It is Taniday, the 18th day of Charder, and we can only hope that Tanil grants us luck today.With the early morning light, Goldpetal sends his two hawk companions out east and west to see what they can spy. He warns them to be careful to stay above bowshot range, flying well above the level of the trees. He discovers that the bond between he and the hawks is stronger than he had expected, and he is actually able to speak with them, when they return. The hawks tell him that they saw a camp to the southwest where something big is being assembled. They see a flock of people around it. They also see a really big person that they don’t like at all. They describe him as shiny and clunky. They tell him that there are other small flocks of people and a few individuals in the woods. Goldpetal comes down from the tower to have breakfast with the rest of us, and tells Paks what the hawks report. He adds that he thinks it may be a catapult, or some siege engine designed for dealing with our walls. He keeps sending the hawks out, at ten-minute intervals, to check and see if a large group of rat men is moving towards the freehold. The smith, Brand, also informs Paks that he has completed the repairs on five suits of chain mail, which she issues to townsmen.Shortly after breakfast, still early in the morning, Myrs announces that the catapult is complete. Her crew is tired, but proud as they tromp into the dining hall for well-deserved food and rest. We all gather around the catapult, with Taryn and Myrs, and debate how to make the best use of our new weapon.“There are the dead-eater corpses,” Chuck suggests. “We haven’t wanted to touch them due to the disease; they need to be burned. Why don’t we coating them in pitch, light them, and catapult them onto the enemy’s siege engine? With any luck, we could burn it before they complete it.”Taryn shakes his head. “A wildfire through those dry, empty fields could be worse for my freehold than the ratman attack.” It is late summer, and all of the grassland we came through to the freehold is dry. It would burn easily. “What do you suggest we throw?” asks Goldpetal. “I don’t know. Bricks,” Taryn suggest. “We also have some chains and caltrops.” “Why don’t we send parties out into the woods to attack those archers?” Miriel suggests. “Its only a matter of time before one of them gets lucky and wounds someone.” Paks vetoes this idea. “No. I want to lure the ratmen out to attack our siege engine, where we are defended and they are not. Attacking them in the woods would be suicidal.”“What keeps the ratmen from burning us out?” asks Telryn. We all look fairly horrified. “Nothing,” Paks answers for us all.“Let’s fill sacks with pitch,” suggests Chuck, “And splatter the rat men camp. That’d make them less likely to play with fire.”“Or give them the idea,” Paks says. “Telryn, can your owl get a more accurate view of the camp?”“His name is Chester,” Telryn says. “And yes, he can. I also have a flask of Alchemist’s fire, which we could dip arrows in to shoot when the rat men approach the walls.” “Right,” Paks says. “Here’s the plan. We’ll load that barrel of nails into the catapult, and fling it towards the camp where the hawks saw that siege engine. They won’t have any warning, and we should catch a lot of them out from cover. Then we’ll start ranging on the catapult with corpses; when we get the range, we’ll switch to firing bricks. Telryn, Goldpetal, you keep the birds watching the camp, and spot for us. Everyone, remember the positioning we discussed last night: if we can force them to attack us, run to your station. Don’t wait for an order.”We load fifty pounds worth of nails, the maximum load the light catapult can handle, into the cup at the top of the catapult arm. Myrs, a former combat engineer, sets the range and angle as best as she can, and we fire our load of nails into the ratman camp. Telryn, whose telepathic connection with his familiar lets him give us immediate updates, tells us, “It worked! The rat men are scattering into the woods. Some of them are clearly injured, and some lie still on the ground.” He chuckles. “There is much chaos!”“Good,” Paks says, “Re-load.”It takes about fifteen minutes to re-set and reload the catapult, and we load about fifty pounds, or a third of a dead-eater corpse. The ratmen seem confused and discouraged, and have not attacked us.  We launch the gory payload at the rat men’s catapult. Though it overshoots, we get good ranging information. Goldpetal, standing atop the tower, scans the edge of the forest through the telescope. Other than the few ratman archers behind their blinds, he doesn’t see much activity. Shortly, however, the hawks warn that the rat men seem to be regrouping. We begin to reload the catapult, and after another fifteen minutes, we launch another fifty pounds of dead-eater corpse at them. This time, we hit the catapult. Despite the unconventional nature of our projectile, we’ve damaged it somewhat. From what Chester tells us, through Telryn, we’ve clearly set back their work on it, and we begin to load the catapult with bricks. “Okay,” Paks says. “They won’t be able to complete it, as long as our catapult is functional. They’ll have to attack. Be ready.”She is proved right within minutes. “Here they come!” shouts Goldpetal, and one of the guards with him begins to ring the alarm bell. We have only a short moment to ready ourselves.</blockquote>

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