Heir to the Empire

53. Besieged - Ethelston

A puff of dust and smoke plummed effortlessly over the eastern walls of Ravenscourt. A second later, a loud crack could be heard confirming that another boulder had hit the wall in hostility.

Ethelston glanced over from the balcony of his room to see the six trebuchets peering over the horizon, eager to breach the walls by any means necessary.

Fourteen moons had passed since the first trebuchet was erected, and since then, they had been relentless in their pursuit to demolish the eastern wall. The entire city was on edge as the sound of the stone walls being pummelled continuously produced little to no sleep for each individual. Everyone was now eager for the fight to begin, so rest in either death or life was one step closer.

As expected, the walls had stood firm, but with the snows soon to fall, Ethelston knew that the enemy had not hedged all their bets on this only form of attack.

A couple of nights into the bombardment, he had noticed a structure embedded in the side of the hill on which Ravenscourt sat. It was heavily defended and every night and day, men had been entering or leaving it like an army of termites.

He knew what they were doing, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

The door to his room shuddered as knuckles tapped calmly on its frame. "Enter." he summoned.

As the door swung open, Erdudvyl entered, a smile appeared the moment she saw him. She curtsied somewhat unorthodox. Ethelston hadn't determined whether the gesture was condescending towards the servants that had preceded her or not.

"You don't need to curtsey on my behalf," he responded as his heart skipped a beat at her arrival.

Erdudvyl chuckled, "I just don't understand why you humans perform this gesture. It feels somewhat... Demeaning."

If it weren't for the army camped outside of his city, Ethelston would have gladly given her tutorials and lessons on the finer points of human chivalry and social standing. Still, as he turned towards the city once more, his frustrated look betrayed his thoughts and was quickly picked up by the astute elf.

"You're worried, " Erdudvyl asked.

"The walls are handling the punishment by the trebuchets admirably; however, I fear they will not stay erect for long," he replied.

Erdudvyl glided to his side, leaning into his grasp at the earliest opportunity; as she looked over towards the trebuchets and then the wall, she could not visualise his concern. "How can you tell?"

"There, " Ethelston pointed towards the structure in the hill. "They've been digging a tunnel under the walls. Once they complete it, the walls will be like matchwood. A few well-placed boulders and the wall will crumble." his fist clenched tightly, "I've known about the tunnel for some time, yet I can't send out men to deal with it. I've already lost fifty men to these damn trebuchets; I would have had to send out half of our forces to stand any chance of overcoming the guards at the foot of the hill. That's providing they didn't send reinforcements.

Erdudvyl nuzzled into his chest, feeling a sense of safety as his arm wrapped around her. "You should not frustrate yourself with these trivial things. I know you are doing all you can to win this battle; the city believes that too. People will die in this battle, that is inevitable, yet you have to remain strong for all those who manage to come out of this alive."

Ethelston nodded unconvincingly, "And if Loldirr doesn't get here? She should have arrived by now. I give the wall no more than two more moons before it collapses. After that, we will eventually get overrun."

A sigh passed Erdudvyl's lips; a frustration deep within her had pushed itself to the surface. "She will be here; she has to. Otherwise, it's not just Ravenscourt that will be in trouble. Everyone knows what we are up against; each will fight with an inhumane level of determination to defend their homes."