[WP] The gun will be fired at the end of the story.

...

"Soldier, Report! The barricade, how is it holding?" Stepping with confidence, the Captain marched along the floor, nods earning salutes from both the wounded and the readied men despite their worried expressions. "Second Rank?" He prompted.

"Sir!" The exhausted looking man standing beside the arch of the stairway jumped to attention, straightening out their helm as they did so. "We're holding well enough, nothing is getting up the stairwell without taking a spear or an arrow. Fires they've tried can't seem to catch."

Continuing his pace, the Captain stopped just shy of the threshold out into the winding staircase, peeking ever so slightly around the corner to confirm the bloodied pile of furniture and corpses that littered the steps. "Hmm..." Nodding slowly, he pulled back, just as a screech sounded from below, and a stray shaft and fletching ricocheted of the wall nearby. Unperturbed by this incident, The Captain gave a rough click of his tongue, as he moved back into the second-floor encampment. "And the windows? Nothing trying to grapple in?"

"No sir, we've been waiting for it, but nothing yet." The Soldier responded quickly, pointing along the broken planes of once perfect glass, now nothing more than jagged shards and edges. "Battlement teams have said that they've seen some signs, so we're sure they're thinking about it- surely. Below a few ropes are being passed around, and several trees have been cut over by the meadow, spyglass caught a good look of that on' the morning."

"Right, right." Stroking at his beard with a brooding expression, the Captain risked a quick glance beyond the nearest window, again ducking back just as a stray arrow streaked passed to shatter on the stone walls. "Certainly are a lot of them..."

"Sir: three-hundred in the courtyards alone, by our best estimates." The tired looking soldier followed as the Captain began his stride once more, heading towards the watch-tower passage with a quick wave-away at the raising salutes that responded to his presence.

"With me, Second Rank. Sola, I'm heading up. You're in charge." The commands issued with a simple and matter-a-fact manner, as they took the next set of stairs passing another barricade. The Captain showed little to any concern as more screeches ushered from around the winding steps of blocked stone. "Noisy things, Goblins." He muttered, Second Rank soldier hot on his heels.

Heavy hands pushed open the final set of doors on the battlement of the watch-tower, catching them men with bows and slings leaning back in cover with distant stares off-guard. Several jumped up, hands reaching for swords or spears just as recognition to the two figures arriving passed along- hands making for rough salutes.

"Captain!" A grizzy looking man in armor shouted from the far side of the rooftop, crouching low beside the fallen corpse of a less-fortunate soldier. Two arrows were pinned into the dead man's chest, apparently having passed with ease through the leather armor strapped there. "Fourth Rank Fredrick went down last night to one of their volleys, but I think they're finally starting to run out of arrows." Was all the explanation received before the soldier continued. "I've taken over command in his stead, sir. My name's Braldinel, but the others call me Bral' for short. Third Rank, Sir."

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"Noted Bral, I'm sorry to hear about Fredrick." The Captain crouched down low, gloved hands settling against the stone parapet beside him for a steady knee. "Have you found it yet?"

"Sir, yes sir." Bral gave a wry grin, beaming stained teeth over a grime-covered face. "We found 'im. Tracked him too, he's still in the open, far side by the stables. A big 'un, for certain."

"Show me." The Captain commanded, settled in to peer over the wall-top, ignoring the blood splatted along the ground where he crouched. "We'll deal with that first."

"Yes sir." Came the reply, grin turning wider as the grizzly soldier motioned several other men to move aside, leading the Captain and Second-Rank on an awkward ducked walk to the far side of the watchtower's battlement before fishing out a small looking-glass. "Aye... there's the bastard, still waiting right out of bow range."

"You already take a shot, I'm guessing?"

"Sir, Fredrick gave it his best." Bral motioned back to the corpse still leaning against the far wall. "Standin' there... Chief like that is baiting us, that he is."

"Clever thing, for a Goblin." Another soldier grunted. "He knows what he's doin' I'd say. Done this before, mayhaps."

"Very clever." The Captain took the glass, eyeing it carefully before returning it to Bral's hands and unslinging the device over his shoulder. "We'll deal with him now. Second-Rank Ronalde, run down to the second floor and tell the Sola and men to raise a ruckus. Three volleys from the windows there, then have the men duck and wait."

"Sir!" The waiting soldier responded quickly before heading towards the door, briskly rushing down the steps with echoed thumps of boot and stone as the Captain carefully fell into a cross-legged seating position. Calmly, his free hand fished through a small pouch on his belt, until he pulled free a single metal piece.

"Normally, I try not to use these, Bral." He said, idly tinkering with the strange contraption resting on his legs as he took the metal piece and pressed it into place with a careful hand.

"Use what sir?" The soldier asked, eyeing the brass piece. "Magic item, mayhaps?"

"Sort of like that, sure." A sliding bolt pulled back, Captain eyeing it closely, clicking his tongue with a look of displeasure. "See, I've gotten better at magic, learned a few tricks recently. Do you know any magic Bral?"

"No sir, never had much of an' interest in such things"

"Well, a bit of air condensed in the proper manner, a spark and flame- a tiny explosion. Those can be done without too much effort once practiced." The Captain leaned forward, rising to a crouch as he continued. "Still not good for much, but it seems to get me by when things are up close." Leaning forward, the odd device fell with a light thump, sliding up along the stone as the Captain followed it, eyes peering though an odd portion of metal and crafted work not all that unlike the looking-glass moments before. "But for times like this, there's nothing like the original, ."

"Can it be done, Captain?" Bral leaned in, noting the distance. "Truly, from this distance?" Far below, a shout raised up, spears and arrows launching from the windows of the second floor in a burst to fall several green figures with cries and shrieks.

"Oh, it can be done." The Captain muttered, breath hissing out as the wooden instrument fell to his shoulder. It was much in the way one much set a crossbow, as his eyes narrowed, arms positioned ever so carefully to guide the length of metal and wood. "But first, you should all cover your ears."

"CRACK"