For days it had been a guerilla battle, the men of the Steel Fist making miniature strikes upon the forces of the Manshrew alliance which were working to take hold of the town.
But the day had come which Claus had awaited with no anticipation, the drums rang in the distance.
-"It's time." Claus said while staring out from one of the arrow slits in the keep. As he ran towards the keeps gate the drums grew to a crescendo with at least twelve deep war horns sounding the attack.
He stopped in front of a window to see the scores of banners marching into the town on a sea of troops. Andrew had gotten tired, he was seizing the town with utter force and would probably go for the keep at the same time.
-"INCOMING!" Was heard roared from somewhere when the wall next to Claus exploded as a trebuchet boulder smashed right through.
The siege engines were working overtime, a final hail before an assault. Claus had used the technique himself in the siege of Krypola.
-"They will charge within minutes, positions, POSITIONS!!!" Claus boomed out as he finally reached the gatehouse, troopers were running to and fro, carrying stones, munitions and water to posts, many were standing put and the crossbowmen were already beginning to shoot through the slits.
Knowing his men, this meant enemy troops were already within optimum crossbow range, which in turn meant that the enemy were making great progress in taking the town outside.
-"Sound the retreat, i want any of the men outside back inside the keep. Then seal the hidden passages!" Claus roared to a runner, whom ran to a balcony and sounded his bugle, which was followed by another bugle. Shortly after a massive stationary horn call sounded the retreat into the town.
He knew some of his attack teams were doubtlessly dead or surrounded already, but at least he wanted them to have a chance at getting back with this warning.
A great impact shook the room Claus was residing in and a trooper fell to the ground while others held on tight. The Manshrew siege crews had managed to topple an ancillary tower, which was toppling over the main gatehouse. Luckily the fortress of Clarm and specifically its stronghold was designed to withstand anything. Even dragons the stories claimed.
-"Steelhead! Look to the main street!" One of Claus' lieutenants shouted to him, he looked out and saw what he was referring too.
A massive elephant sounding its presence, it had massive ivory tusks, covered in decorative plates. It wore gleaming heavy armour decorated with brass and orange cloth beneath. The massive elephant bull trumpeted again and it was coming directly for the gate.
-"Hizreus balls!!!!" Claus roared as he began to run towards a stair which went up to the remaining ballista tower over the entrance.
Claus realized he had at least one comfort, unless Andrew wanted to kill his own men, he'd stop shooting with the siege engines, and he was correct. The final barrage had silenced, but from up here Claus could see the Orange banners and the massive bull marching along the main street. Enemy siege engineers were fastening chains to the gate as his troops shot bolts at them.
But shield bearers were protecting the engineers, so albeit with casualties the chains were properly fastened.
-"Aim for the head, we need to take it out!" Claus ordered the ballista crew, their chief engineer making adjustments before roaring.
-"NOW!"
The massive bolt flew straight, it was a perfect shot. With massive force the bolt slammed into the head of the massive elephant bull with enough force to send it stumbling across the street, crushing a couple of men and a banner.
-"YES!" Claus shouted, seeing the bolt stuck in the head of the elephant. It made a frustrated sound but to the defenders horror, the bull reassumed its place in the middle of the road and began to march towards the gate again, the ballista bolt still stuck in its massive armour. With just a trickle of blood showing it did anything at all.
-"NO!!!!" Claus roared out as Manshrew engineers were fastening the chains to the elephant which began to pull at the gate which creaked violently with the might of the Uzgob bull.
Claus was already running, he had a plan, a stupid plan.
He ran towards the upper levels of the gate, atop a ladder and to a roof.
-"Sir, what are you doing!" A concerned trooper who had followed him called out to him.
-"I'm going to kill that monster!" Claus yelled out pointing at the elephant. An arrow pinged off his helm making him lose concentration for a second before returning to smash at a banner pole with his mace.
-"That's suicide! You'll die!" The trooper shouted.
With the effort making itself known in his voice, Claus added.
-"If i don't... we, will, all... DIE!" On die, the banner lost structural integrity and began to wave in the wind. Claus let no time be lost and climbed up on a roof, one of his troopers on the inside looking at him confused before returning to shooting.
Manshrew arrows were constantly striking the roofs, for a second Claus realised how high up he was and just stared down upon the mad scene below. The handlers chanting, heave, heave, heave in unison with the elephants motions. The gate would not be able to take more, and if the gate fell, the Manshrew's would surely win this day.
-"I don't do this a lot, but Timtos! This better work or i'll beat the crap out of you as a ghost!" Claus said before taking a running start and launching himself at the banner pole which began to slowly fall over the massive bull below. With the constant anger and fear filled roar of Claus filling the entire battle scene.
The pole was too short, so Claus used it to launch himself unto the elephant, sword tip first with a roar.
The impact was massive, the elephant even felt it. Claus' sword broke in half with the force and he slammed into the elephant and rolled over to its right side.
-"It's their leader! Get him!" One of the Manshrew engineers shouted, another soldier screamed as he charged for Claus with a two handed mace.
Claus was barely able to move from the pain when he saw a crossbow bolt hit the man's jugular. With that Claus' adrenaline began to keep up with the pain and he rolled under the elephant as an halberd head slammed into the ground where his throat had been.
He had let go of his sword handle, it was too cumbersome to roll with, he still had the ricasso with the blade.
As he looked up he saw something which made him glad. The belly was not as armoured as the top, sure there was armour, but there were weak points and he saw one right at the elephants throat.
With an anguished scream, he took his blade and made a two-handed thrust into the bulls jugular, or at least he thought it was it.
The scream of that elephant would haunt many men for years to come, as it began to panic and flail its trunk and its front legs as it rose to its hind legs. Manshrew animal handlers were using their goaders to try and calm the beast, but to no avail.
The massive feet slammed down at the sides of Claus, who were frozen with fear. He had no time to react when the beast with a stumbling motion swiped its right foot to its left. Flinging Claus into the wall of the killing ground before the elephant toppled over, blocking entry to the gate. His world went dark as the elephant's head slammed down over him.
As the bull twitched slightly, three Manshrew men were cut down as they got stuck in the killing ground. Behind the fallen beast the troops were in disarray, the plan having failed and thus, confusion began to take hold.
The Manshrew alliance had taken the town in full. But the stronghold still stood, with a massive obstacle in the way of getting a ram or other siege device to the gate, the prospect of another similar charge was complex.
However, with their leader missing, the defenders had taken a massive toll themselves. Roogel took command over the Steel Fist and the defence of the stronghold.
