"Look at them all," said Cerol. Everywhere they looked, it seemed, there were human soldiers setting up camps.
"That banner," said the Commandant, pointing. "The one in the northeastern camp. I know that banner..."
Jalew Quenirezif, Law-Giver of The Clear Realm, turned to his lieutenant, Erod Nacugil.
"Did our scouts find any ways in?" he asked.
"No sir," Erod replied. "All entrances are sealed. Shall I prepare plans to storm the walls?"
"No, Erod. Even if we managed to breach them, we'd still be playing into their hands. They undoubtedly have all sorts of insidious traps waiting for us."
"And even if we made it into the fortress," he continued, "we'd only wind up fighting in dark, underground passages that they know better than we do. Best to let them come to us -- they'll have to cross open terrain, making them easy targets for our archers."
"Assemble our champions, and as many other soldiers as we have equipment for," said the Commandant. "Quenirezif is too smart to charge blindly into our defenses. Tell the hospital to prepare for casualties."
"Sir, are you sure this is wise?" asked Duck. "Our troops will have to charge a long way across open terrain, making them easy targets for their archers. Our new training regimen hasn't really begun -- our conscripts are going to be slaughtered."
"They'll die for the glory of Bellwaxed!" said Commander Idenkon. "And once our champions make contact, we'll show those humans a thing or two."
"But the humans have brought their own champions," said Duck. "I see the banners of Enthep Ketaslastret, who's said to have stopped charging elephants in their tracks with his pike."
"There's also Stasbo Timtathixil and Lebo Dotogiki, both crack shots who can supposedly hit a dwarf in the eye at a hundred paces," she continued.
"And there's Zin Pujiebka, who they say can decapitate a dozen foes with a single swing of his axe."
"And, of course, the Law-Giver is no mean opponent himself," she finished. "Our champions may be a match for them under normal circumstances, but not when they're also dealing with dozens of well-equipped human soldiers."
"So what do you think we should do, Duck?" asked the Commandant.
"I think we should just ignore them," said Duck. "Everyone's inside the walls and the entrances are sealed. We have everything we need. We can keep an eye on them, but there's no reason to fight when we're at such a disadvantage."
"I don't like it," said the Commandant, "but I see what you're saying. We'll try to wait out the siege."
"This is madness!" said Commander Idenkon. "The dwarven thing to do would be to charge out and face them in battle, regardless of the odds!"
"With all due respect sir, that's a terrible idea, and it's exactly what they want," said Duck. "The Law-Giver himself has come -- he's clearly hoping to finish Bellwaxed once and for all."
"...and once we've crushed their champions," said Jalew, "we'll storm Bellwaxed and end this troublesome fortress once and for all!"
"An admirable plan, sir," said Erod. "I have only one question."
"Yes?"
"Where are the dwarves? Shouldn't they have charged us by now?"
Life in Bellwaxed continued in a relatively normal fashion, albeit at a slower pace.
Armor production continued, and idle dwarves were ordered to haul rocks around, to keep their mind off the enemy outside. Particularly troublesome ones were set to work creating a prison, to remind them that disruptive actions have consequences. One day, Cerol approached Duck in the dining room with a grim look on his face.
"What is it?" asked Duck.
"It's Rakust Solammeng," said Cerol.
"Who?"
"The weaver who was demanding supplies we already have," said Cerol. "He gave up a while ago, and just sort of sat down in the middle of the floor, quietly crying. It looks like he finally died of thirst."
"Well, put him in a tomb," said Duck. "Poor dwarf."
"There's another thing," said Cerol.
"Yes?"
"Another of our weavers has seized the same workshop," said Cerol.
"He's demanding the exact same materials, and like Rakust, he's not gathering them."
"Well, see to it that he's closely watched," said Duck, sighing.
Jalew's champions were unhappy.
"We're just sitting here," Zin complained, "looking at their walls. I'm sick of this. I want to
kill something!"
The other champions voiced their agreement.
"I know you're bored," said the Law-Giver. "But give it time. I know the dwarven character -- they can't stand to leave us out here in their territory, totally unchallenged."
"I just can't stand the thought of them camping in our front yard!" said the Commandant. "It's driving me crazy that we're letting them do that, totally unchallenged!"
Most of the officers shouted in agreement.
"Listen, I know it's frustrating," said Duck, "but we've got to prioritize here. The survival of Bellwaxed is more important."
Commander Idenkon spoke up. "You call
this surviving? Cowering behind our walls? What's the point in surviving if this is what it's --"
He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in," said the Commandant.
The door opened, and Kel Sakrithstukos, the newly-elected mayor, entered.
"Good evening, gentledwarves," he said.
"What is it, Kel? We're having a war council here," the Commandant said.
"This concerns the war," he assured them. "I know I'm not really a military dwarf, but I've been looking at the humans' positioning, and I have an idea."
Duck finished loading the ballista. Fortifications had been carved in the southern wall, due north of one of the human camps, and a ballista constructed.
As she aimed the weapon, something bothered her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Clear the area!" she shouted. Cerol began shooing away curious dwarves, clearing Duck's line of fire.
Checking her aim one last time, she fired.
Enthep Ketaslastret, Pikemaster, gazed at the fortress with vague interest. A few days ago, they'd noticed dwarves carving what looked like arrow slits. But Enthep and his men were well out of range of the walls, and the dwarves hadn't bothered to try shooting them. He figured they were preparing to defend the fortress against a direct assault of the sort that Jalew had explicitly ruled out.
As he watched, though, something burst out of the fortress and began gliding towards his forces.
"Incoming!" he shouted. "Watch yourselves, men!" His troops scrambled to get out of the way, but one wasn't quick enough. The object -- it appeared to be a giant arrow -- hit his horse.
The arrow fell to the ground. The horse whinnied, annoyed but unhurt.
Enthep looked back towards the fort. Another arrow appeared, but as it approached, a gust of wind blew it wildly off course.
"What is it sir?" asked Jasmuk Tolisishes, his executive officer.
"Damned if I know," Enthep said. He pointed at the fallen arrow. "That blue metal at the tip -- adamantine?"
"If that's adamantine," said Jasmuk, "it is severely overrated."
"Ow!" somebody said. Enthep looked over to see a soldier rubbing his elbow, another of the arrows floating gently to the ground beside him.
"Damn!" said Duck.
"What's going wrong?" asked Cerol. "Those ballista bolts are made of
adamantine."
"That's exactly the problem," Duck said. "Getting hit by a ballista arrow isn't like being stabbed with a spear -- it's more like being trampled by an elephant," she explained. "But being trampled by an elephant wouldn't hurt much if the elephant only weighed as much as a rabbit. Adamantine is too lightweight to make effective ballista arrow."
"But it's all we've got!" said Cerol. "We don't have wood to make more arrows!"
"I know, I know. But we've got plenty of rocks," Duck said. "I'm going to go get some rest. Have this ballista taken down and replaced with a catapult. Deconstruct the training pieces if you need parts."
Duck carefully aimed the catapult. The humans were pretty far from the walls, but they were still just barely in range. "Stand clear!" she shouted. Bystanders ran for cover as she pulled the firing lever.
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Topic: Bellwaxed: Humans and Harpies (Succession Fort) (Read 40129 times)