The attack came shortly, all thought of calling an assembly was wiped from the commander’s mind. He felt grateful they had been preparing since the first scout. He had not delayed and sent off a message immediately to the nearest large town.

The Log walls had an interesting construction, buried several feet into the ground. Rocks and gravel around the bottoms, and packed sand underneath. There were also braces, smaller logs wedged into a triangular shape between the outer logs. This made the wall sturdy, but against enhanced soldiers it wouldn’t be enough.

Arrows flew at and over the walls, the miners took shelter in the cave while the soldiers used their shields to block the arrows. The Londean archers responded, while the rest of the soldiers manned the walls with quiet fortitude. The smiling man returned, with a look of intent. This time he thrust his fist towards the gate, and an energy blast rattled the gate violently. Luckily it held. That would be a problem if it didn’t.

“Shit,” the Londean commander muttered. “No wonder that bastard was so confident, he’s a blasted Purple!” his men weathered the assault, fear wavered in their eyes, before being stamped down.

The Londean archers, realizing the biggest problem was the Purple, aimed at him, firing vigorously. He blocked their shots, but in doing so, he was unable to attack. He stepped back to the tree line, where he would be harder to hit.

The commander assumed he tested the gate early, in order to see how strong it was. And if it broke, allowing them to overwhelm the defenders, better for them. This man was sharp. He was only a high level Blue, and that divide between Blue and Purple was large.

The arrows fired, volley after volley. Raining down into their camp. Dray saw out of the cave, the rain of arrows clattering against the ground. He shuddered, imagining being struck with so many arrows.

Then the arrows stopped. The soldiers peered out from under their shields, while the commander watched the enemy, trying to determine their next course of action.

Suddenly, a force of men jumped out of the woods and sprinted towards the gate. With shields lowered, they rammed into the gate. There was a heavy crash, and though the gate rattled, it still held. The Londean archers leaned over and fired directly at the gate crashers, but the Nilbuzinian attackers covered their heads with shields. The arrows were blocked and the Nilbuzinian attackers retreated in short order.

The Londeans gathered together, to figure out who they had lost. The commander turned to the miners, “I need you to dig a pit, between the outer wall and the middle wall.” The commander didn’t explain further, but his conviction convinced them he had a plan. The Miners got to work. They were miners, they had experience moving large amounts of rock and dirt. Now, their lives would depend on their skills. The picks and shovels came out and they started working. Making sure there was space between the pit and the middle wall, they dug deep. In less than an hour, a good amount of progress had been made. Another hour, the pit was as deep as a small child.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The commander looked out from his post in the gatehouse. The enemy had started reforming. Their soldiers had rested, and made repairs. They would come again, soon. What rolled out of the forest was not surprising, but still put fear in the hearts of the defenders.

A massive log, on small wheels, rolled out of the forest. It had been carved to a point and that point was aimed towards the gate. The soldiers stood by it, waiting for the command to be given. Dray’s mouth was dry, the best view he could get was from the back. Though, even at the back, he could tell the battering ram was more than a match for the gate.

The miners had dug until the pit was the height of a man. The commander had said it was good enough, so they had retreated. Once behind the middle gate they could only wait.

The battering ram clattered as it rolled towards the gate. It smashed the gate, breaking it in two. The splinters flew and the soldiers ducked out of the way. However, the wreckage of the gate was still there, and was in the way of the invading force, so they had to roll it back out. Once the battering ram was removed, the soldiers charged forward, shields in front of their faces.

The first soldier fell into the pit, and was fired upon by the Londean archers. Then several more, before the following soldiers realized what had happened and held their fellows back.

The enemy leader smiled, interested by this tactic. He immediately ordered a bridge be built. A stopgap to cross the ditch. His men began working, while others wheeled the ram backwards and in position. The Londean soldiers gasped, wheezing while trying to rest quickly. The Londean commander looked over the middle wall, to see what the enemy was doing. He noticed them working on cutting more trees.

“They’ll build a bridge.”

He turned to his men, “gather our accelerants.” The men hurried to carry out his order.

A short time later the bridge was finished, and the enemy began to form up once more. This time they protected themselves with the bridge and ran forward, their feet pounding against the dirt in an unsteady rhythm. Arrows clattered off the bridge they held above their heads, and their determination carried them on. They managed to drop the bridge into place before ducking down into the pit. They protected themselves with shields, and withstood the fire of arrows.

However, the commander had other ideas and began to douse the bridge and the invaders with the fire accelerant. Other Nilbuzinians had reached the ram and were aiming it towards the bridge. They clenched their teeth, and muscles were strained to start the heavy battering ram rolling. They managed to move from a trot to nearly a full sprint before it reached the bridge, the men roaring out.