Field Marshal Etzel was standing on a hill, when a strong wind from the west blew his cloak over his head. He straightened it again and looked back towards the recently erected palisades and wooden ramparts that surrounded the capital in a very, very wide radius. "That was fast," he noted briefly to himself. He had not expected the insurrectionists to be able to surround the city in such a short time and over such a long distance. But his scouts brought him good news. The mill where the underground escape route from the royal palace ended had remained outside the wall, albeit only just. This was in the north. In order not to give things away right off the bat, the army commander would attack from the west. The element of surprise was already lost, because an enemy scout had spotted them before.
Etzel thought again for a while. "Perhaps I should have the scouts ride around the entire works to scout out any weak points in the defences. Yes, I’ll do that. Either way, we will concentrate our forces and attack at a specific point." Having finished his mental soliloquy, he ordered the scouts to do just that. He then discussed the strategy with the generals. Then he waited for his scouting party to return. As he sat there, he began to clench his fist in anger. "Those goddamn heretics!" He would have loved to destroy them all. Especially since they currently had a smaller manpower than his army, he was tempted to just beat them in a direct battle and scatter them. The only problem with this was, that the defences they had set up extremely quickly did not allow for a fair confrontation between one army and the other. It was also more important at the moment to be able to escort their Highnesses safely out of the city.
Soon afterwards, the scouts returned and informed him that the defence in the south-east was somewhat sloppier. This was not enough for the field marshal of the royal Ordanian troops. Hence, the attack on the western palisades was begun. The army moved out of the small wood, where they had been holding out, and over the small hill. Then they charged the barricades. The besiegers sounded the alarm and immediately the first arrows started flying. A few men fell, but they still managed to reach the wooden rampart, around which a small trench had been dug. Now the real fight began. When they were close enough, their archers were finally able to fire their arrows at the "defenders". They did the same. Stones were also hurled over the palisades at the men who had come right up to them. There was carnage right next to the wall. Some of the attackers tried to climb up the wall, although this had not been explicitly ordered. Meanwhile, more and more of the "Martyrs" on the other side came to repel the attack.
This was exactly what Etzel had hoped for! He delayed the retreat of the troops even longer and actually made it look as if they were trying to break through the ramparts. Meanwhile, to the north, a small detachment of Camenian mercenaries crept as close as possible to the mill there. The arrows and stones flew in increasing numbers at the large army of the field marshal, who had sent almost all of his troops for the attack. Their losses were increasing, as were those of the enemy. Finally, the army commander gave the signal to withdraw. The Martyrs’ Brigades cheered, but it didn’t take them too long to realise, that the attacking army wasn’t withdrawing, but rushing northwards along the palisades, which they couldn’t man nearly enough. Theodor, who was in command, had now also arrived on the battlefield! The man was wearing jet-black armour with a helmet in the shape of a bear's head. He was wondering, "Did they just distract us by storming the western rampart so that we would concentrate our defenders there, only to attack somewhere else? No, that doesn't quite make sense."
His assessment was half correct. For Etzel the attack was a distraction, not so much for the purpose of attacking, but more so to allow Her Majesty to escape. While this was going on, the city gates of Greifenburg opened and a large part of the city garrison stormed towards the ramparts in the north-west. This called many of the defenders stationed in the north into action, who immediately left their positions on the northern wall en masse to meet the regiment troop, that were sallying out. Hooves were now trampling on both sides of the defences. They were apparently trying to meet at a point where they could tear down the wall, break through and defeat the besieging troops.
This would fail! Theodor hurriedly sent his best men to prevent the enemy troops from the city and those of Etzel meeting. A few of the regime's cavalry troops even managed to reach the wall from the inside, but then they got pinned down by the Martyrs from the north and south. Theodor also was in the thick of the action. Another slaughter ensued. The man in bear armour knocked one opponent off his horse and rode straight on to the next. He grabbed his spear and hurled it at a cavalryman at close range with tremendous force. Direct hit to the heart! Other fighters were already beginning to back away from him in fear. The queen's cavalry commander put up a good fight, but in the end he had to order his troops to retreat behind the city walls. Theodor took up the chase to make sure that they would conclusively clear off. The man seemed unstoppable!
At the same time, bloody fighting continued at the palisades. Finally, however, the enemy army gave up and retreated northwards. Joyful cheering and roaring broke out among the besiegers. Many of their comrades were now lying dead on the field, but they had repelled the breakthrough attempt. What they did not realise was, that the leader of the regiment troops, Etzel, was aware that he might not manage to break through. Out of pure ambition he tried anyway, but half of the intention behind this endeavour was actually to distract the siege troops in order to ensure the safe escape of the ruling house. Under the escort of the mercenaries, they had managed their escape in the north.
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The failed troops of the Kingdom of Ordania marched off together. Her Majesty now rode among them under their protection. "You see, Your Highness! I promised you that nothing would happen to you under my aegis. Did you notice how I blocked the arrows of the rebels with my shield?" Gawein once again adulated himself. Gabriela replied: "Indeed! We will give you credit for that, my lord." - "Thank you very much, Your Highness!" The man wore his usual smug expression as he rode off with the queen, her son, several ministers and other court officials. This evening they would sit down with the field marshal and discuss the next steps. One thing was certain: Gabriela and her son had to be taken to safety, as they had no intention of being present during the fighting, consequently only putting themselves in danger.
Without realising it, Etzel had made the right decision, because two days later the great army of the revolution reached the area around Greifenburg. When the guards at the wooden palisades saw the dragon creeping slowly but inexorably over the hills, they could hardly believe their eyes. What a mighty behemoth of an army the Martyrs’ Brigades had managed to raise! The bell was rung and the gates were opened for the arriving army. It would take a while to organise and accommodate everyone here. The titanic walls of the fortified city could already be seen from afar. Wenzel was awestruck by the incredible size of the monumental bastions of Greifenburg. How were they ever going to conquer them? First of all, August, Wenzel, Tassilo and the other army leaders rode to the army commander's tent. The lad jumped down from his horse and immediately into a huge puddle of mud. Those were everywhere here, as the ground and everything that grew on it had been completely trampled down by the many horses and troops. Wenzel traipsed over to Theodor, who immediately greeted him in a friendly manner, or what was friendly by his standards. When the field marshal saw the limping August approaching, he kept a stiff upper lip and asked no questions, but instead went straight back to business as usual.
"Thank God you're here now. With the number of men I had, I wouldn't have stood a chance here! So, the situation is as follows: Our contravallation, meaning the outer wall to defend against relief troops breaking through the siege, has already been completed. Moreover, it has already proven its efficiency. The army they deployed at the beginning of spring has already bounced off our defences. But they will certainly try again. However, with the gigantic reinforcements we have now received, it’s impossible for them to break through here. So far, I have only repaired or reinforced the outer defences. Now that you are here, we can start with the circumvallation, i.e. the inner siege ring of the city. We'll make a plan right away to put the men on work detail for digging trenches and building palisades. By these means we will then gradually work our way closer and closer to the walls."
One of the generals then asked: "So, are there any of our moles left in the city?" Theodor replied immediately: "I'm afraid not. They were pretty much all eradicated on "the big day". Unfortunately, we no longer have any control from within the city. However, many of the inhabitants of the surrounding area and soldiers who were outside the city have defected to our side, even if most of the people have fled. This has effectively "cleansed" the ranks of the regime, which means that our dear Greifenburg here will not capitulate so easily." The general signalled his understanding of the situation. It was not ideal, but as could be expected. Greifenburg was predictably the biggest challenge, which is why Theodor had taken on this task. He was, thus far, the undefeated leader of the Martyrs’ Brigades.
He continued: "Our strategy is to undermine the walls of this fortress city and bring it down. We also have a number of other siege tactics and devices in preparation. I will leave the rest to General Ulrich." Now a much younger man than Theodor appeared on the scene. He had a look that could kill on its own and a luxuriant beard. Ulrich, whose father was a veteran of the Kashar Wars and who had defected to our side, now spread out a pile of blueprints and designs for all to see. He began to explain:
"The plan is to undermine the wall under the Lion Bastion. This is the southern bastion, between the Zeer Bastion in the south-west and the Iron Bastion in the south-east. With..." Wenzel now had a question, which earned him a judgemental look from the man. He asked it anyway: "What exactly is a bastion now?" Visibly annoyed, the military man replied: "A defence structure that protrudes from the fortress wall so that you can reach everything directly in front of the wall that you can't otherwise see well from the side." The lad was satisfied with this explanation. The explanation continued. "We’ll be undermining the walls. The tunnels will be supported with wooden beams and the tunnel entrances will be protected by a solid wooden roofs. Once we have reached the base of the wall, flammable materials in the tunnel will be ignited, which will also burn the wooden support beams, causing the tunnel to collapse and the undermined wall to come down with it. We will of course also build siege towers, catapults and trebuchets. I have the construction plans for these here and a number master builders have already been assigned. But now we have countless more. Well, that's it in general. Everyone will receive more detailed instructions depending on where exactly they are employed. Any more questions?"
Nobody come forward. Thus, the introduction of the whole thing could be ticked off. The conquest of Greifenburg had now fully begun.
