Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:
Spawn Hades: No that's about right in what's going to happen. Don't ask how I can write it. It's Queen of Vampires and no Shamath isn't an original character, he's the guy that Arkhalla falls for exactly the reasons you stated and her just slowly growing a heart like she is with Peter and well the romance ends as one can expect, she dies. Buuuut since Peter is the one she's falling for, things will end differently, somewhat.
Yorhart Meltz: No, the Spider is his, we'll see why Peter seems to be the one that freed Shamath. Just think 'Trojan Horse'.
Dr Sugarcakes: True, but he's not even aware of the meetings and Arkhalla's court planning a coup'. But I'm thinking of having it that Peter is beginning to suspect something after the campaign against Carcosa is over.
gunman: Yeah, poor Shamath is in for a rough time but it does serve a purpose as we'll see here soon.
cabrera1234: She-ra is from He-Man right?
KasugaRomio: Ummm I wouldn't say awesome… more horrifying and crossing lines so far it's not even funny. Brace for how cities were conquered back in ancient times because it ain't pretty.
henchmen213: Who says the dog is normal? As for Peter being as strong as John Carter, I'm not sure how strong he is compared to Spider-man given he's on a world with less gravity so he's by a technicality stronger, but I will say that physically speaking, Peter's stronger than his mainstream counterpart thanks to the amount of times he's killed and well having sex. Gotta love that Chaos and Tantric energy boost eh?
Cyclopz: I have something dark in mind for the dog, what it is, and wheatear it'll be good or bad is a secret. I was just going off what people would do back in those times and just made it that they were vampires, might mean more gore and horror but I don't feel like I forced them to be edgy. Even in stories set in modern times they've been brutal to people.
Krolikson: You're probably going to be less interested in what happens this chapter and the next two. Won't blame you for bailing.
Okay I just got to get this out now because I know if I don't I'll regret it.
THIS CHAPTER AND THE NEXT TWO WILL HAVE SCENES OF RAPE, TORTURE, PRACTICAL GENOCIDE, INFANTCIDE, AND A HOST OF OTHER DARK CONTENT! NOT ALL IN THE SAME CHAPTER BUT I FIGURED I SHOULD WARN YOU ALL NOW!
Had to get that out because I don't want some reader at the end post a review saying, 'Oh you went too far here, this is sick'. Yeah well, I've given ample warning in the last chapter and right now. If you don't want to see this stuff, come back in chapter 13 which is after the siege. So yeah warning given, and for those who are understandably squeamish, either see you in chapter 13 or don't bitch about the horror your about to see if you decide to power through it.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or ARH characters seen, mentioned or used
"K-Kaine…" a nervous twenty-two-year-old Peter glanced at his larger, more powerful brother in worry as they had arrived in Manda-Han just a few days ago to aid the city in its war against the Legions of the Goblin King.
"Hmm?" Kaine sounded as he glanced at Peter while sharping his sword.
"Do you think… do you think we'll-"
"Survive this?" Kaine asked with a raised brow before he shrugged "Maybe…"
"That's not very reassuring" Peter said with a frown as he gripped the handle of his own blade while they watched dozens of warriors of Aranece pass them by to help fortify the city.
"Better than giving you false hope" Kaine reasoned as he examined the blade and made out his reflection in it "Just stick close to me little brother and you'll be fine"
"Little brother…?" Peter said with confusion "We're twins. I'm the same age as you!"
At this Kaine stood up, showing he was a good half foot taller than Peter and smirked down at him "True, but I'm the taller one"
"Size isn't everything" Peter deadpanned.
"Tell that to the chambermaids" Kaine snickered.
"How could I, when they all seem to prefer you over me and will barely glance at me when your nearby" Peter scowled at the larger man before he sighed and went back to securing his armor.
Kaine frowned at the words Peter used before looking around them to see more and more warriors pouring in 'Hmm… this Goblin King's army must be formidable if master Anansi is bringing in so many warriors. I wouldn't be surprised if he's recalled everyone to here'
And if he recalled everyone, that meant Maximus would be here somewhere…
It was then that he saw Peter looking at him with worry as he said something. Kaine cleared his mind of the murderer of his and Peter's parents and gave him his full attention "I'm sorry?"
Peter's frown deepened as he spoke "I asked what we were going to do after the battle?"
"Well for starters, see if Maximus was killed in the fighting" Kaine said as he sheathed his sword on his back "And if he isn't, see if we can rectify that. If not then well there's always next time I suppose"
"And after that?" Peter asked with a raised brow.
Kaine thought it over for a moment before he smiled "I'll speak to lord Miguel about letting us become wanders. We can head for the southern cities that you've always wanted to see, maybe see if the stories of Ur's undying legions are true or not. Spread the order's name and influence and maybe find you a woman to produce me a niece or nephew"
"Well if you want any of that, then you're going to have to make sure that whatever woman I can gain the attention of never meets you" Peter said with a chuckle.
"Oh, and why's that?" Kaine asked with an amused but confused expression.
"Because every woman we've ever met almost always leaves me for a night or several in your bed" Peter deadpanned.
"Well something tells me that we'll find my future sister down there that won't be charmed by me and since when have I ever been wrong?" Kaine asked with a smile.
"Last night when you said that three pinches of that explosive powder from out east will do in destroying that bridge the Goblin King's army was hoping to use to outflank us" Peter said with a blank expression.
"Besides that!" Kaine snapped.
"A year ago when I warned you not to sleep with that lusty chambermaid that turned out to be a man but you said I was mistaken" Peter said with a smirk.
Kaine scowled at his shorter sibling "I hope your future wife smacks the sass out of you"
"I'm told it's one of my most endearing qualities" Peter said with a laugh before it sobered as he looked out into the distance and saw faint whips of smoke on the far end of the dark forest that acted as a barrier between the Goblin Army and Manda-Han.
Kaine followed his gaze and stared at the ominous fumes for a moment before he slipped his helmet on and tapped Peter on the shoulder "Come on, Captain Hedwin's is expecting us soon"
Peter grunted at that as he slipped on his helmet and followed after his twin "What are we going to do anyway? Destroy another supply route for the Goblin King's forces?"
"No, he said something about booby trapping the forest and securing it before falling back here to fortify the city further" Kaine said as they passed over a hundred Aranece warriors marching towards the inner parts of the walled city.
"Ugh, Hedwin is commanding us?" Peter groaned which caused Kaine to smirk.
"He is a rather descent tactician" Kaine said.
"Yeah… and a sore loser" Peter grumbled as he looked back towards the forest and as the sun began to set.
…
"So… that's Carcosa" Peter said as he sat on his horse and stared at the distant city of Carcosa, the heart of the kingdom that Arkhalla wants to conquer and destroy. He has to admit, he was impressed.
The walls of the city stood at over a hundred feet high, were roughly twenty feet thick and even from here Peter could make out several catapults mounted along the ramparts. And this wasn't taking into account the tens of thousands of solders camped around the outside of the city.
Carcosa, big as it was, couldn't house over forty thousand troops, not without creating some serious problems inside like overcrowding and moving troops fast and effectively.
'Hmm, we're gonna have to either get that army inside the city or draw it away. Can't risk setting up camp with them there to simply march towards us at dawn' Peter thought as Nobu made a sound which caught his attention "Something to add Nobu?"
"We're going to have to camp farther away to avoid being attacked at dawn, but then we're faced with the problem of moving our army here fast enough to attack, breach and conquer the city before daylight" the eastern Vampire said with a frown.
"Hmm… it does sound like we're trouble when you put it that way" Peter agreed before he smiled as memories of the other night came to him 'It's a good thing Shamath was so focused on me, he didn't notice the six little spiders leap off my clothes and on to his. Now all I have to do is wait-'
'It is done…' a very faint whisper echoed through his mind as Peter and Nobu turned away from Carcosa and began to make their way back to the army. It was one of the spiders that Peter had latch on to Shamath when he 'fled' the camp'We have ensnared dozens to aid us and they will do the same to others… many will die in the coming days…'
'Excellent…' Peter mentally replied. The spiders' telepathic communication only ranged up to a few miles and since he could hear one of them from here, it meant that Shamath was captured, just as he hoped 'Once the army's officers are dealt with, begin making your way through the rest of the inhabitants of the city'
'Yesss…' the spider responded before the link was severed as Peter pulled farther and farther away from Carcosa.
'Now all I have to do is get Arkhalla to agree to the second part of my plan' Peter thought as he and Nobu raced across the darkened landscape 'Shouldn't be too hard hopefully, after all if we time this right, that city will fall in the course of a single night, well two technically...'
…
"I'm going to need twelve catapults and over six thousand men, humans, along with a hundred or so barrels of oil and be allowed to attack the city before the rest of the army arrives" Peter said as he stood before Arkhalla with the only other occupants in the tent being Bel, Narama, Nobu, three Vampiric Captains and Sin. Outside, the camp was a city of activity as men and Vampire alike rushed to assemble the numerous siege engines they will use on the city in a few days.
Arkhalla raised a brow at this "Is that right?"
"Yes, my queen" Peter said with a nod.
Arkhalla hummed at the request as she stared at Peter with a thoughtful expression "And pray tell why you need such resources and why you want me to hold the bulk of my army back while you attack Carcosa first with a vastly smaller force?"
"Partly to soften its defenses so when the rest of the army arrives, it should have little troubling in overrunning the city" Peter explained.
"And how is it that you will be able to ensure such a thing with only a dozen catapults and six thousand men when you and Nobu here just stated that over forty thousand men protect that heavily fortified city" Arkhalla said with a frown "And this is before we include the town guard and the citizens who will be less than happy to have us attacking"
"Because Shamath had unknowingly allowed some agents of mine into the city. Within the coming days, they'll be killing off Carcosa's officers before moving on to the city's inhabitants" Peter said.
Arkhalla's eyes narrowed at the mention of her absent slave "What do you mean Shamath helped get these agents of yours into Carcosa?"
The room was soon filled with a heavy tension as Arkahlla stared at Peter who struggled to remain passive under her intense gaze After a few moments he answered "We heard reports of Carcosain men in the mountain range near the scorched village we discovered a few days ago. I knew Shamath had heard these as well since he was with you when informed of this discovery and would likely head there for help if he ever escaped before we got to the city. I suppose he wanted to help them out of some sense of misplaced sympathy. So, I helped him break out of his cage and met up with him outside the camp and slipped a few of these…"
Peter held up his hand which had two small black spiders crawling over it.
"…Latch on to him. After that it was just a matter of hoping my gamble paid off"
"And did it?" Arkhalla asked with an edge in her tone, she was clearly unhappy about Peter going behind her back with this and using her own personal slave no less to achieve it.
"Yes, when me and Nobu were scouting out the city, one of them contacted me and alerted me that they had begun fulfilling their purpose. They've even gained the assistance of the city's own resident spider population to help spread their range"
"How can a bunch of spiders do such a thing?" Kuthan asked with curiosity.
"Trade secret… but let's just say that it's why the Order of Aranece always seemed to know everything. After all, who pays attention to a simple spider on a wall?" Peter chuckled.
"Hmm… interesting, is there a way to teach others this?" Sin asked carefully.
"No" Peter responded with a blank expression "And if there were… I'm not teaching you"
Sin frowned at this but didn't pursue the matter as Peter glanced back at Arkhalla "With the deaths of the army's officers and soon dozens if not perhaps hundreds of the city's people, Carcosa will fall into a state of chaos, making it that much easier to attack and conquer it"
Arkhalla held Peter's gaze for a few moments as she mulled over his plan and couldn't help but be a tad bit impressed by it. The man was far more cunning then she originally gave him credit for.
'Once more Peter… you continue to impress…' she thought with a small grin before Bel spoke.
"How many of the city's people will your spiders kill?" he asked with a frown.
Peter shrugged "Don't know, maybe a few hundred given the amount of time that they have but this isn't my first siege and they know their role. Kill as many of the children and women as possible. Granted given the city's population and rather impressive healers I can't guarantee a lot will die like they would at another city but it's better than nothing I suppose"
"Then why bother with it?" Arkhalla asked with a curious frown "If you know that your spiders won't be able to kill them all in the amount of time they were given, why make the effort? It can't be just to crush and demoralize the city's defenders"
Peter was silent for a few moments as his eyes stared into the Undying Queen's. Finally, he spoke "I figured death by spiders is more merciful then what many of your men have in mind"
"Is that so?" Arkhalla sked as she quirked her head to the side and her eyes narrowed "Why would you take it upon yourself to do such a thing Peter?"
Peter went silent as memories of his mother's final moments came to mind. He knew that situation was different for what's coming for the women of Carcosa but to him it was still the largely same "Maybe there's still a small part of me in my cold blackened heart that hates seeing women and children at the mercy of a monster…"
Arkhalla's eyes narrowed a bit at this, she could sense there was more to what Peter said then she'd likely ever know. She concluded to investigate the manner later as best she can before nodding "Very well, and your request for a dozen of my siege engines is granted. And as a show of good faith, I'm giving you nine thousand men instead of simply six, perhaps it will make a difference or perhaps not. So long as your plan ensures my victory over Carcosa in the end"
"Thank you, my lady, you won't regret it… hopefully" Peter bowed as Bel stepped forward with an expression mixed between outrage and confusion.
"But my Queen, that's over a third of our entire arsenal of cata-"
"I am aware of this General" Arkhalla spoke in a cool tone as she glanced at the man with narrowed eyes "Or are you implying that I don't know my own army as well as you do?"
"O-Of course not" Bel said, his head lowered while he subtly glared at Peter's form. He then turned on his heel "I shall see to it that the first twelve engines assembled are ready to move within the hour"
"Very good Bel" Arkhalla said with a curt nod before she made a gesture for the rest to leave. She saw Peter leaving as well before she spoke "Not you Peter, I still wish to discuss something with you that's been on my mind for quite some time now"
"Oh?" Peter said with a quirked head.
"Yes" Arkhalla nodded as she leaned back in her in chair "It's come to my attention that there are quite a few spots that have opened in my court recently"
"So I'm told" Peter said, having a faint idea of what was coming but didn't get his hopes up too high, he learned a long time ago that hoping for the best made the pain all the worse when it didn't fall through.
"I wish to offer you a spot within it" Arkhalla said as she gazed at Peter with a grin "You've killed a grave threat to my kingdom in the form of Morbius and have taken my army and have slowly re-organized it into a descent fighting force that may allow me to expand my empire further than I ever dared to imagine. It's only fair you are generously rewarded"
"What would my duties be? If it's leading your army, I'm not sure Bel would approve" Peter said with a chuckle.
"As far as I'm aware, there is no law saying I can't have more than one general" Arkhalla smirked before it softened "But that is only part of the offer"
"What's the rest?" Peter asked with interest.
He was met with silence as Arkhalla stared at him with a small grin. It took several minutes for it to click in Peter's mind and cause his eyes to widen "Oh… well then… that's uh very generous my lady"
"From someone like me it is and I've met very few men like you, Peter, that deserve such a reward…" Arkhalla said as she stood up and slowly approached Peter and placed a hand on his chest while she looked up at his covered eyes with an earnest expression "And I'm not a woman who will let a possibly once in a life time opportunity like this slip through my grasp"
She then pulled away and waved him off "I expect an answer when this battle is over and you and I stand over the ruins of Carcosa"
Peter hummed at that as he turned to leave "Hell of a motivator to survive this battle…"
"Indeed" Arkhalla said with a dark grin as she glanced down at the map that showed Carcosa and knocked the small dagger over it that was planted in the center of the name "Nothing says I'm committed to a woman like conquering a city in her honor"
Peter chuckled at this "I suppose so, now if there's nothing further you wish to discuss, I need to return to my tent and be ready to move out as soon as the men are ready"
Arkhalla nodded as she resumed her place in her throne "Of course…"
Peter nodded as he turned and made his way out of the tent and into the bustling swarm of the camp before turning in the direction of his tent. It took him a little longer than normal as men and beast of burden passed by and sometimes took up the entire pathway, forcing Peter to find an alternate route back.
'Hmm, maybe I should take Arkahlla up on her offer to stay in her tent on the way back to Ur though if I accept her offer, I'll likely be doing that anyway' Peter thought as he approached his small portable quarters and didn't even enter the thing before the small little dog that he's very reluctantly taken in and started to call Lockjaw burst through the flaps and ran around him. Tail wagging and yapping in happiness at his return while Peter stared down at the mutt with a frown 'Was kinda hoping you'd be gone by now… I left the tent's flaps open for a reason'
Lockjaw, unaware of Peter's thoughts sat on it's hunches and looked up at him with wide hopeful eyes. Peter sighed as he removed a bit more of dried meat from his belt and threw it in the air and watched the dog's gaze follow it with a surprising amount of intensity before it pounced on it.
Peter snorted at this before he entered the tent followed by Lockjaw and was surprised to see that the little mangy thing hadn't decided to try and mark it's territory in here, not that he's complaining but from what Peter's heard, it's something dogs liked to do.
'Or at least my farm's dogs did' Peter thought with a faint smile as memories of him and Kaine rushing through their parent's small field with the farm's dogs came to mind.
He was suddenly ripped out of the soothing memory by the barking of Lockjaw, causing Peter to growl in annoyance as he looked down to see it holding up a small pouch in it's jaws. Peter's brow twitched as he took it from the animal "No… you can eat later"
The dog whimpered a little at this before it wandered over to Peter's bed and leaped on to it and moved in a small circle before lying down and letting out a small yawn as it watched Peter begin packing.
…
Over several days passed before Peter's small force arrived at the city of Carcosa in the dead of night, their pace slowed because of the siege engines, and already Peter could see that some sort of hell had been unleashed in the city. The army that looked to have been organized and ready for any war seemed to be in total disarray then when he last saw it, partly because so many experienced officers have died in the past few days and so many new and inexperienced ones have taken their place.
He could also see and smell the smoke from the fires that the guards and army started to burn the bodies of people and sections of the city they believed to have been stricken by some plague when in reality it was a bunch of semi-possessed spiders. Riots were breaking out in the streets and already a few hundred soldiers have likely deserted the army along with an equal number of Carcosa's inhabitants.
Peter hummed in approval as one of his spiders continued to report in on what's been going on in the city as the men went about securing the siege engines and readying them to fire on the city. Peter could hear and see hundreds of Carcosain soldiers marshalling at the City's main gate but dare not venture out to attack the force in case it was a trap. For all they know the force was made entirely of vampires and a force of nine thousand would butcher thousands of them before the night is out and they knew the main bulk of the army is still approaching.
It was when one of the spiders mentioned a possible slave revolt that Peter decided to ask about Arkhalla's pet human while Lockjaw, who had decided to follow Peter despite the man's commands for it not to, sat beside him and rubbed it's head against his shin.
'Shamath, what has become of him? The Queen while hasn't said anything is unhappy about me using her slave for this' Peter questioned as he divided his time between watching Lockjaw rub his head against his leg and the men dig trenches around the site they've established to keep the men of Carcosa at bay.
'He lives, one of my sister's watches over him in the dungeons as he's beaten and tortured. He told him that he was willing to tell them everything he knows but they still tortured him. The one that took part in it the most was the Carcosain general. He seemed to enjoy it for some reason"the spider said in confusion.
"Heh, looks like Shamath has met his first monster" Peter said as he leaned against one of the siege engines, a trebuchet to his mild surprise, and watched the city knowing that in a few minutes the attack would be underway "Wonder if he'll still be as naïve about the world around him when this is all over"
'I will have my sister help free him when they leave the dungeon to aid in the defense of the city' the spider offered.
'Might as well' Peter responded as one of the men approached Peter after helping set up the last catapult. Lockjaw saw the unknown human approach and began to growl at him. Peter had to hold back a chuckle as the man jumped at the sound.
"The trebuchets are ready for firing my lord" the man said nervously as Lockjaw's growls increased, the little mutt even went as far as baring his teeth at him.
"Good" Peter nodded as he pushed himself off the catapult and approached the edge of the camp where the defenses were being made with the man in tow while Lockjaw ran around Peter's feet "Heh, Carcosa is in for one hell of a night"
"What are you going to do?" the man asked as Peter came to a stop at the edge of the defenses and crossed his arms as he stared at the city.
Peter glanced at the man with a blank expression before he let out a grim chuckle "I'm going to do to Carcosa what the Goblin King had his men do to my people at Manda-Han"
"And what's that?" the man asked as the catapults were being loaded with heavy barrels filled with oil while a few behind those were loaded with large balls made up of wood, cloth before they were soaked in oil and tied up by chains and lit on fire.
Peter sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck "We're going to burn them"
And then, the siege engines launched their projectiles at the city and the army outside it's gates. Normally trebuchets only had an effective range of close to over a thousand feet but given a few modifications made to them and the fact they were on a good-sized hill near a little under third of a mile away allowed them to stay out of the range of Carcosa's defenses while being able to still inflict some serious damage of their own.
Peter watched as the oil barrels were launched first, some hitting the upper battlements of the walls, sending men scurrying for cover and some hitting the troops outside the gate. Quite a few died from impact the barrels while a handful made it over the wall and into the city. The oil filled barrel onslaught continued for another few minutes, Peter needed as much of the men at the gates, the walls and the wooden made buildings behind the wall soaked as much as possible before he gave the order to fire the ignited projectiles.
Lockjaw watched the barrage with a quirked head, his ears moving as he could pick up the sounds of men screaming and running for cover along with those of the people still inside.
Finally, Peter glanced at the man next to him and nodded "Light them up"
The man nodded as he rushed back towards the trebuchets loaded with the lit projectile and issued the order to fire. Peter watched in silence as the balls of fire soared through the air like shooting stars before they began to slam against the oil covered sections of the walls and lit up within seconds, forcing the men nearby to rush for cover.
One fire ball in particular landed in the assembled troops at the gate that were preparing to launch an assault on the Urian's position and scattered as the flames erupted within their ranks. Scores of men caught fire and began to scream in agony as they began to burn.
Peter winced at that, while they were the enemy he couldn't help but feel a modicum of pity, burning was no way to go in his mind.
'Then again if I have to pick being eaten alive by vampires or death by fire, I'll choose the flames every time' Peter thought as more and more of the city began to light up as the oil fired from earlier began to light up in small infernos that grew as they found purchase on numerous wooden structures or Carcosain soldiers that were either to slow to get out of the way or had yet to clean themselves of the oil.
It was then the inexperience of the officers began to cause further damage as a few officers tried to make a dash for the Ur encampment. Peter watched them approach before he sighed and shook his head and glanced at one of the conscripts holding a torch and gestured him for him to come over to him.
The man obeyed and Peter snatched the torch when he was close enough "Did the men set it?"
"Yes…" the man nodded as he watched the approaching men near.
Peter took a few steps forward and waited until the approaching force was only a few hundred feet away before he threw the torch into the air and watched it sail through the dark sky. It landed just shy a few meters short of the approaching Carcosains but Peter wasn't aiming for them… he was aiming for the oil drenched ground they were on.
Within the span of a second a massive inferno of fire erupted followed by the howls and agonized screams of the Carcosains. Lockjaw whimpered at the sound, more from the volume of the screams then the fact men were now burning alive while Peter looked on with a blank expression.
With his enhanced eye sight, it was like he was right there with them instead of hundreds of feet away. He could see how men's flesh started to burn, how their armor began to melt and glow from the goring heat of the fire. Men bumped into each other as they staggered around in absolute agony while trying to find a way out of the fire. Their screams drowned out each other's as they collapsed by the dozens, many still alive as the flames slowly ate away their flesh until after a time, the screaming stopped and all Peter could see was numerous cooked corpses lying on the ground, some in piles up to his chest with their limbs bent and sticking out at odd angles with some falling off completely as the fire ate away the muscle and bone holding them together.
For a moment, he wasn't in Carcosa watching as the trebuchets ceased firing their fiery projectiles and related with oil filled barrels, but instead in a dark smoke-filled forest as he, Kaine and over three hundred warriors of Aranece found themselves boxed in with a wall of fire on one side and over three thousand soldiers of the Goblin King's army on the other.
Peter was dragged out of his memory by the sound of Lockjaw growling and looked to see another man had approached him, the leader of this legion of Conscripts. The man gave Peter a bow "My lord"
"Status commander?" Peter asked as he nodded towards the trebuchets.
"We've gone through a fifth of our oil barrels my lord. As you requested, I had the men hold fire and wait until the flames in the city die down before we resume our attack" the man said as he straightened himself before nodding towards the inferno that was ranging on a few hundred feet from the camp "Shall I have the men begin setting the next oil field when those flames die down as well?"
Peter considered it before he received a message from one of the spiders in the city.
'The general has called for the men outside the city to pull back behind the walls' it hissed lowly, likely watching the order being given now 'He's also having those to badly wounded to be put out of their misery and the healers to focus on the soldiers rather than the city's inhabitants'
'Have the ensnared spiders that are still alive to begin going through the healer's tents with the wounded soldiers and leave a few left to watch over Shamath. After that, return to me' Peter ordered.
'Yess…' the spider responded before ending the connection while Peter glanced at the conscript commander who was still waiting for an order.
"Yes, but use less oil this time. Maybe we can get a few more shots at the city before the Queen arrives with the rest of the army" Peter waved the man off as he took his seat against a small boulder that was jetting out of the ground.
"Of course, my lord" the conscript nodded as he turned and made his way towards the rest and begin to issue Peter's orders.
Peter watched the men and couldn't help but envy them a little as they set about making any modifications or repairs to the trebuchets under the combined light of the torches lit in the camp and the light coming from the burning city not too far away. After all, as close as they were to the city, they couldn't hear the same things that Peter did over the sounds of the fires raging inside the walls and the yells of hundreds of soldiers and alarm bells.
But Peter could… he could hear every scream of every man, woman, child or animal as they were caught in the growing inferno and screamed out in agony for help. He could smell the burning of flesh filling the air quicker than burning wood or oil. And soon the sounds, smells and images of the battle of Manda-Han rushed through Peter's mind and seemed to combine with the ones he was experiencing here until he could no longer tell the difference between the two.
'We're going to burn them. We're going to burn them I said… and well we are' Peter thought as he sat there, staring at the fires spreading in the city while Lockjaw laid down next to him and rested his head on the man's thigh and let out a soft whimper.
Peter let out a sigh as he made out the individuals cries of people, dogs, cats, horses, birds and what even sounded like an elephant or two in the city "This is why I fuckin hate sieges..."
…
And done.
Next chapter, the siege continues as the rest of the army of Ur arrives, meanwhile far to the north, another Spider falls to a mysterious enemy…