[b]War Room[/b][hr]
"[color=#239C89]Indeed.[/color]" Balthazar said in agreement. The Prince and his retinue certainly had a way of attracting strange folk. "[color=#239C89]As for Sir Siegfried, we've yet to receive word from him. He has sent no riders or messengers ahead to meet us, perhaps so as not to alert the invaders.[/color]" The lord explained, before moving to address the Duke's other concern. "[color=#239C89]Rest assured, however: unless they have been delayed for some reason or another, we can expect their arrival tomorrow.[/color]" Siegfried could be a stubborn old fool with no regard for subtlety... but he could be relied upon to do what was necessary, when it was required of him.

The man watched as the Duke took off his crown-- a gesture that would be dangerous in a public crowd. After all, to do something like that would be to show weakness. Still, if the spymaster knew anything, it was that the weight of the crown was immense. In a gesture of solidarity, Balthazar leaned backward in his chair, allowing the tenseness in his body to slacken, if only for a moment. "[color=#239C89]I believe we've earned ourselves a moment of respite, my friend.[/color]" He says, finishing his report and setting aside his pen. It will take some time for new reports to come in, and it was important to take rare moments like this to recuperate. 

"[color=#239C89]All things considered, our forces have been holding out quite well.[/color]" Balthazar mused, recalling the casualty report from memory. "[color=#239C89]It is my hope that by the time this concludes, the damage to the city's infrastructure would not be too great.[/color]" The walls would need repair, as would the gate and the keep itself, but overall, things would hold for now.

He hoped that if all went well, things would stay that way.

[b]Co-GM IC[/b]:

[b]North Gate[/b][hr]
The soldiers atop the walls rallied at the sight of their Prince, having charged headlong towards the enemies without fear. The men engaged the orcs in battle, and while it was quickly made evident that these invaders were not mere untrained goblins, but bloodthirsty warriors, they managed to put up a good fight. That is, of course, until Naysein began her battle-song. In an instant, her magic weaved its way into their hearts, and soon, a guardsman could indeed match an orc warrior in battle.

Leonidas dueled Bhakk Ashenskin, Zatana faced Ghukk Bonecrusher, and Naysein and the soldiers faced off against the orc warriors. The walls were a battlefield all of their own, the sounds of swords, steel, and song echoing for all to hear. As archers and riflemen dealt with the orcs in the battlefield below, so too did the guardsmen fight atop the walls. It almost seemed as if many of them were now timing their attacks to the bard's ballad, the rhythm of battle made literal in all its forms.

The prince finished off his opponent, a flash of golden light upon his hammer, while the assassin executed her target, her daggers slick with orc blood. The defeat of the orc lieutenants-- the blood brothers Bhakk and Ghukk, quickly crushed enemy morale, which was only exacerbated by the bard's blades and songs. Soon, the orcs are driven from the walls, leaving only stragglers... and the grappling hook that remains.

[b]West Gate[/b][hr]
The men atop the walls, though at first afraid, remembered their training and quickly formed up behind their lieutenant. Rudolph and his shield wall began pushing towards the goblin honor guard, the more experienced men at the front. They prepared to clash against Adgak and his goblins, but of course, they weren't the only ones atop the wall. Merik quickly closed the gap between the two forces, landing in the center. His words intimidated some of the goblins, but the presence of their warchief made it so that they did not hesitate.

Merik's sword swings were powerful, and drove many of the goblins back. The unlucky few caught by his first attack were cleaved in twain, thrown off the walls, or both. Soon however, with a shout from their warchief, they reformed ranks, now much harder to displace. Rudolph and his men were quick to assist the lizardman before he could become too surrounded, the two shield walls now face-to-face.

The goblins' tall shields and heavy armor made it difficult for the riflemen and bowmen to score any kills, but occasionally, a projectile would make it through the overlapped plates of metal and find purchase in goblin flesh. If this didn't kill, it would distract the enemy long enough for Rudolph or one of his men to finish them off. Adgak and his honor guard however, were not to be trifled with. They made sure that for every goblin killed, a soldier or two was killed. The warchief himself was no pushover, either-- he would wade through the ranks, strike at an opponent's legs, and retreat before he could suffer any reprisal.

These goblins weren't receiving any reinforcements, the fodder still having run for the hills. However, the effects were beginning to wane, and a few of them have begun to watch the battle take place on the walls. The defenders would have to defeat these goblins soon, or they would rally, and the siege on this part of the wall would start all over again! Perhaps they could try to kill their warchief, rout the honor guard, or try to dislodge the grappling hooks... whatever they choose, they cannot let this battle prolong. 

[b]East Gate[/b][hr]
Faira and her men pushed forward across the walls, the reinforcements being a boon in that regard. She and the more experienced guardsmen killed the goblins in their paths, while the less experienced conscripts provided support. The lives of several men were lost in the push to reclaim the wall, but for every man that was killed, they had taken the lives of a few goblins. This ruthless calculus meant that eventually, the goblins, whose main strength were their numbers, were eventually defeated.

The mercenary rode the ladder down onto the fields where Manald was engaging the other troll. Her use of fire quickly put a stop to the troll's rapid regeneration, as the flames would cauterize their wounds and stop them from healing properly. With the axe troll thoroughly dead, the fiery dagger was sent flying in the direction of the hammer troll as the lycanthrope continued his charge. 

The troll at the gate was hard at work in its attempts to break down the gate. It let out a roar as pain shot up its body, courtesy of Faira's dagger. It turned around to see Manald wielding an axe and moved to block the attack, but it was far too slow, compared to the swiftness of the Beastman. The axe found its mark in the creature's heart-- not quite the head, but while an attack like that would be a deathblow for most other creatures, this was a troll. 

The hammer-wielding troll dropped its weapon, pulled the flaming dagger from its back, and opted to engage Manald in close quarters. Meanwhile, the goblin forces, without a ladder to climb, decide to try and attack Faira, sensing the lack of her other weapon. The riflemen and bowmen atop the walls continued to try and kill the goblins around her, but there were quite a few of them. Desperation and fear fueling their attacks, the enemies continued their assault.

[b]Sewers[/b][hr]
Both men and goblin alike were surprised when Drana's magic caused a wall of fire to erupt from the ground. Now that the enemies were thoroughly stopped in their tracks, this gave the heroes time to allow the militia to regain their bearings. A combination of combat, tactics, and magic were used in conjunction to push the goblins back. Near the fight's climax, Acrius lobbed a cluster of bombs at the wolves that were carrying the rest of the explosives, causing an earth-shaking detonation.

When the dust settled, Acrius would find himself mostly unharmed, damage to him prevented by the magical barrier. With the goblins' entrance to the sewers cut off, the few enemies that remained were quickly killed. Damage to the city's sewer system would be expensive to repair, but it was worth it-- better to deal with that down the line, than to face goblins and orcs within the city itself. As a result, it's quite likely that the sappers would try to seek alternate entrances to the city from different angles; likely one of the gates. 

There were a few casualties, but thanks to the pair's assistance, most men would walk away alive, if a little shaken. The men that were injured had anything from sword cuts to missing limbs (though these were mostly fingers and toes), courtesy of goblin explosives. In spite of it all, one thing was for certain: the sewers were secure for now, and the defenders could choose to reinforce another part of the city's defenses, or report to the War Room, if they so chose.