Lorule's War - Part 3
The next day went as the former. Qin continued to siege the fortress on all sides while a small portion engaged the incoming Termina and Lorule army. Ladders were made long enough to reach the top of the wall, but this proved to be a flimsy tool as they could only go up single-file or the ladders would be knocked down. Such as it were, in this period, a proper siege would typically last years. The officers considered it foolhardy to project a plan to take the fortress in a matter of days, but that hadn't deterred the royal palace nor the generals. Because unknown to the lowly officers, it was also this period in which was invented a new method of war: the siege weapon.
For the next day and night and day again, Ouhon Mitagi set himself and his task force to work in making a simpler one from his memory. The Qin army could see the forest behind them torn down quickly, but did not know what it was being made.
-Link-
Link's unit was moved to the front to replace another unit that had grown weary. His unit grabbed all the rope they could, took a set of ladders on their shoulders, and rushed to the fortress wall under cover of shields. When they reached the wall, Link could only gape and stare up. The wall looked so much larger up close than away!
"Tie the ropes to arrows and shoot!" He yelled. He waved over the shieldbearers and hid himself beneath his own. A rock fell against it, nearly knocking him down with its sudden force.
His archers aimed up and fired. With the wind's help most of the arrows were able to make it high. The arrows were made in a hook-fashion so as to be difficult to peel off. The defenders easily pulled the hooks off the stone and threw them back down, but a few managed to wedge themselves in tight.
"Alright! Let's get to climbining!" Link instructed. Most of his unit of three hundred huddled together under the shade of the fortress. A number of ropes aorund them were successfully wedged into the stone above.
"This is suicide!" 'Bucktooth' Hei Bi yelled.
"Got any better ideas?!" Link demanded.
"How about not dieing!"
"I agree with his idea." Den Yuu affirmed. "Let's go with 'not dieing'."
"Look, big guy," Kyo Gai inserted himself, "We all got a lot to live for, but options are few. We could assist with beating down the front gate-" the tatoo'd man pointed towards the front of the fortress nearby. However, this was where easily half of the defenders huddled together alone to shoot arrows down at and defend. Even as they watched, a pot of boiling oil was poured down from above onto those unfortunate enough to be at the gate trying to beat it down with a battering ram. "I'd rather die being stabbed in the gut a million times than boiled alive!"
As the one who had been pierced in the gut by a number of arrows, Den Yuu nodded grimly in agreement. As the one to have been burned with demon fire, Kyou Kai also nodded in agreement. Hei Bi whimpered a bit, but sucked in his noise, grit his teeth, and looked up to face his death.
"I miss Lee's boobs..." Hei Bi whispered, referring to his now-fiance from back home.
Link chuckled and said sarcastically, "That's the spirit. Die thinking of that. I'm sure she'd appreciate that."
Link left the cover of the shield wall and activated his Gift briefly. It might take a few tries to establish a proper foothold for the rest of them, but he wanted to give them a fighting chance. "I'll go first and push them back enough for you to put your feet on solid stone. After that, its all up to you guys. We need to take this wall to gain access to the fortress."
"I'll be right behind you." Kyou Kai said.
Link smiled warmly. It was nice to know his shadow would be with him. "Then give me a few seconds head start."
He took hold of the rope, planted his feet on the stone, and pulled. With his feet on the solid stone and a firm grip on the rope, despite gravity pulling him back, he was able to slowly ascend up the side of the wall. The rope went taught more, and he knew without looking back that more had taken hold and were climbing right behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other ropes also having passengers ascending, the quickest being Kyou Kai easily.
Arrows and stones fell, but thankfully being in the shadows, he managed to avoid detection. The fortress wall shook and he lost his footing momentarily. Below him a few fell off the rope and landed onto the cushioning of bodies below.
"Hold on!" Link yelled. Now the enemy would realize they were there if they hadn't suspected already. "Brace yourself!"
The shaking did not stop though, it only got worse. Link lost his footing as well and could barely hold on. The rope shook from side to side with the rumbling, and from behind him grew a noise. Above, the defenders stopped shooting arrows and stones down around his general position, but aimed far above. Turning, Link could only gape.
A literal tower of wood on wheels came barroling at him. It was as high as the fortress wall itself.
"What the-!"
The tower of stone stopped just before slamming into him, instead pinning him into the stone fortress. With barely a foot of space left between the wood on one side, and stone on the other, Link was able to let go of the rope and take a firm hold on both sides. Above him a part of the tower collapsed onto the fortress stone to create a bridge system, and immediately there was yelling and the clanging of metal. From inside the wooden tower he could near the constant slamming of boots rushing through what sounded like a building.
Link took a firm hold of the siege tower and looked around. While a few had fallen off the rope to the ground below, the rest were safe. They had managed to take advantage of the siege tower's positioning to climb easier, and those below had run out of the way to keep from being run over. Thousands of Qin approached the tower to enter it and begin ascending above.
They had gained access to the fortress.
Pointing to those still with him, Link barked, "Get to climbing! I don't know what this thing is, but we have an entrance! Get above and help out!"
Kyou Kai nodded and lead the rest on ascending up onto the tower. Looking down, Link yelled, but was unheard. Growingly, he snapped a large twig off the hastily-made siege tower and dropped it on Hei Bi's head. "HEY IDIOTS! GET IN THE TOWER! WE HAVE A WAY UP!"
Not one to leave them behind, but to be on the front lines making sure they made it alive, Link rushed faster in his ascent. Nearing the top he had to step around onto the side of it, exposing his back to arrows, in order to finally grab hold of the bridge above, but once he did, he took sight of the bloodbath around him.
Ouhon Mitagi and his unit were on the fortress wall pushing the Termina back, trying to take this part of the wall. A second siege tower, constructed as the first, planted itself further down the same wall and a unit of Qin ran into the fray. The defenders were realizing that some newfangled invention had shifted the tide of battle and were rushing over to retake lost land.
The city below was virtually empty. It was a very large city, by all accounts, but Link saw no military force in it except immediately around the gate. Only civilians cowering and hiding from stray arrows. The only military force was on the walls. In the center of the fortress was a small mansion with its own miniscule wall, easily climbable being ten feet high, and the flag of Termina on its highest peak.
"Link! How'd you get up here?!" Ouhon barked. "This is our tower! The spare one is over there!"
"Yeah well, we're taking it over!" Link teased. Even as he said this, the rest of his unit made it up the stair system inside the siege tower and rushed past them both. Ouhon sighed and shook his head.
"Just don't get in my way." The Mitagi Heir insisted. He pulled out his spear and entered the fray.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Link whispered. He motioned his unit over and they started the second stage of their plan.
Originally the Link Unit had planned to do this solo, but if Ouhon and his unit were managing to give them help, it would be all the easier. They took the same hooks and rope from one side of the wall to the other. Immediately Link and his men took hold of the rope, positioned themselves off the wall, and slid down. Those not wearing gloves ripped skin and bled from the rope burn, so a few above them slipped off when their grip turned wet, but mostly they made it to the bottom safely. No one died but a few would be hurt a while.
Link looked around quickly. In the confusion and chaos, no one noticed them descending into the fortress. Thankfully they were near a few buildings. He motioned toward them and said quietly. "In there! Take the injured and hide for a moment until more make it!"
They entered the building and momentarily stopped. It was full of wide-eyed terrified civilians.
"Oh dear." Kyou Kai whispered.
Two, whether from bravery or terror, started to run out the other side of the building screaming, but quick as a literal flash Link jumped them and knocked them both out.
"Okay, look." Link dropped the two amongst the rest of the Termina civilians. More of his men entered the building. "No one says anything. No one pulls out any knives. No one screams. And no one gets hurt."
"Don't bother." Kyo Gai whispered sadly. He carried in an injured man who twisted his ankle hard on landing roughly. Several around them tore pieces of their clothing to made make-shift bandages for their hands. Thankfully, most of them had proved smart enough to bind their hands before descending the rope, including Link.
"Yeah, but-"
"They won't believe a word you say. If you want to reassure them, then do it by simply sparing them and moving on. They will get the message."
Link gulped and looked into the terrified eyes around him. More than a few were children who were in the process of being traumatized.
To them he was the villain.
"Right." Link grunted.
A few moments more and there were enough of them to accomplish something. If they continued growing in number, they would be noticed first.
"We need to move. Ten of you stay back with those too injured to leave, tie up the civilians and leave them to the side of the room. Don't make any sounds. The rest of us will go for the gate." Link looked to Den Yuu. "You ready to do your stuff, big guy?" Den Yuu simply nodded, grimly. Link could see in his eyes that the way the civilians looked at them also perturbed him.
They rushed out of the building along the wall, and ran at the gate. Not suspecting to be struck from behind, and most of the gate defenders called to the wall to retake it, Link's unit pushed the defenders away from the gate. They were still vastly out numbered, but with surprise on their side and a small position taken just in front of it, Den Yuu was able to grab hold of the wooden beams on the gate and pulled them up. With all of its locks and foundations removed, Den Yuu opened the gate and opened passage for Qin.
Not just any Qin, but Mouki.
Link jumped out of the way in time to keep from being trampled. Mouki's cavalry dashed past, knocked aside the defenders at the gate, and made way for the mansion in the center as quickly as it could. They took the flag of Termina and replaced it with the flag of Qin. From the moment the gate was opened to the point the flag was changed, and the mansion taken, was five minutes.
Mouki was given credit.
"Damnit!" Link hissed.
-Moubu-
General Moubu and his father, General Mougou, looked up at the mansion with their own eyes. The army walked behind them as a stream all the way out the gate. On either side of them sat all of the men from the defense forces with their heads hung low, expecting death to come at any moment. Before their eyes was the flag of Qin.
"I never would have expected Mouki to be the one to do it." Moubu said. He smiled, pride welling up in him. "The boy is growing."
"He has chosen good rivals and friends to compete with." The elderly general acknowledged. He frowned, "But for such a machine of war to be built up and used... it is unprecedented."
"Precedents are meaningless in the name of victory. This day, I think, should prove that."
"You have won our bet. You trusted in the right people, but this... innovation has deeper repercussions than you realize."
The two walked up the steps into the mansion alongside their immediate guard. Several of Mouki's men lounged about the building or ran about looting it as be the right of the conquerer. Orders were already sent out for the Duke and Kei Ki to return quickly, and the army dispersed into the city to root out resistance and loot spoils.
General Mougou continued, "Lets say every army brings along these weapons to counter fortresses, then we must rethink the value we have in our own fortresses. This one claim will force us to rethink and reevalulate hundreds of years of tactics and dozens of our own command bases that, up until now, have acted as barriers against the foe."
"And this is a problem to innovate and grow because?"
"It is expensive. Security, economy, expenditures are based on standards and stability, but innovations shake that and we could bankrupt ourselves with our own gambles."
"Except the growth would fund the war machine with conquest."
"Until what? When we have conquered to the edge of the world, what will there be left to fund it?"
Moubu huffed and shook his head, smiling to himself despite the disagreement. There would be no way he and his father would agree. They never had. "I leave that to men like Ryo. My job is to win. If I must force others to struggle in an effort to keep up with me to do so, then I will sleep all the better."
They stepped up to a higher floor and looked out. The army of Qin was still entering into the city, and there was the second, smaller army lead by Hyou and Ki racing back, and far in the distance on two hills were two armies. Neither man could make out the flag or colors of the new arrivals, but it wasn't hard to guess the two were the Lorule and Termina armies.
"Then tell me, son. What would you do now?" The commander-in-chief tested him.
"I would wait a day to rest. We have the fortress and all the people in it. They will not attack while we have hostages."
"You would be better off killing them."
Moubu turned sharply on the old man, "What?!"
"If we had reinforcements to depend on, then your plan would be suitable, but we are not. The plan is not to waste time, but to shatter their armies. The hostages will not be suitable. The very men we hold a knife to will impale themselves on it to fight us from the inside while the enemy bangs on the door from the outside."
"If it comes to it, then the hostages will die." Moubu agreed, hesitantly. "But then we might as well kill them now and be done with it. No. If they rise up then they will die. I'd rather stay in control of the pace and keep the enemy dancing to our tune, than to allow them to pincer us. You think too slowly, too patiently. We have momentum. We must keep it! A day of rest, no more. Then we will shatter them and march on to Lorule."
-Link-
"Bastard stole it from us."
"We almost had it!"
"The glory was ours!"
"Technically didn't we steal it from Ouhon-"
"No, shush! It was ours!"
Link sighed amidst the grumbling. He and his unit sat around camp fires in the night, reflecting on the day. They had few losses, but there was a sour taste in the men's mouth as they had hopes and dreams shattered. The plan was to take the fortress themselves. Open the gate, allow the army to enter and cause an upheavel, while they run to the mansion and do the exact thing Mouki did.
"Ouhon is probably pissed." Someone reflected. The thought only made Link smile.
Link laughed, "You guys should have seen the look on his face! He all but called out us as roaches crawling out of his wooden tower thing to take his glory from him for ourselves! It was almost worth giving Mouki the flag just to see the shock on Ouhon's prestine jawline!"
"I'm glad you think it worth giving it up for that." Yet another voice said. This voice was new and made Link turn. Mouki entered the light of the fire with some of his own men following suit. Link's eye twitched in aggravation. Not merely the sight of Mouki, but because Mouki was proudly wearing the Termina flag around him like a robe.
"Show off." Link grumbled.
Mouki laughed and approached. He came close and sat with him. "I wont lie, its comfy too. Have a feel."
Link's hand twitch to feel the flag, if only to know what it would be like to have been the one to pull it down, but he held back. He looked away from Mouki, which only made his rival laugh more.
"Link! I know how you feel, but this was a fortress. It is too big for any one person to lay claim to. Everyone who played a role will receive their due one way or another. For most it is looting riches, but for some of us it will be acknowledgement. None of us could begin making a firm position until Ouhon stepped up. You capitilized on it, and you expanded it further by opening the gate for me. Whether you like it or not, we work well together and won because we know each other so well."
Link glared at him sideways. "You knew what my plan was?"
"Yep." Mouki grinned. "I'm just that smart, I know you that-"
"My men told you while we were sitting back in the reserves, didn't they." Mouki grinned wider. Link continued, "Thats why you wanted to be back with us. You knew I'd come up with something and our men get along..." Link sent a withering look at his men, who shrank back guiltily. Some whistled to themselves and pretended nothing had happened. "Too well."
Mouki chuckled, "Ah, don't act angry. That was just teamwork! Oh, I know. Here!" Mouki took hold of the flag he wore and tore off a corner. He held it out to Link.
Link looked down at it, and back up to him. "What?"
"Its a trophy. Consider it a token of thanks. Couldn't have done it without you!"
Link, again, looked down at the corner of the flag and back up at Mouki. This time suspecting him. "What's the catch?"
"Gah!" Mouki fell back with a hand to his heart. "You wound me! Straight as an arrow! I'm just giving a token of friendship and honor between comrades! There is no catch, no strings, nothing! I am just thankful."
Link sighed while his men laughed at the melodrama being shown off, before finally snapping the cloth from his hands. "Fine-"
"That'll be 9 million rupee."
"I FAROREKIN KNEW IT!" Link cursed. He threw the cloth in Mouki's face before tackling his peer. The two collapsed back, one growing and the other laughing. The men rushed back to keep from being caught up in it, and they toppled the campfire across the stone floor. The light went out. Mouki's and Link's men stepped in to pull them apart, namely by pulling Link back, but he offered no resistance.
Link couldn't offer resistance. He was too stunned by what he saw.
As soon as the light from the campfire went out and his eyes adjusted, he realized the distance was brightened by a red light and smoke.
"Fire." Link murmured.
His voice was quiet, but instantly caused a stir. Everyone looked in the direction he gazed in.
A portion of the city was on fire.
"Fire!" His men gasped.
Link jumped up, "Let's go! People might be hurt!"
Immediately he rushed down into the city with his men behind him. Mouki saw where Link was going, saw the men stirring below, and knew what was transpiring.
"Let's go." Mouki sighed. "Before he does something stupid."
Everyone rushed onto the scene of the fire. It was occurring in a lower district of the city where it was poor and sickly. Link briefly passed Ouhon, but had no words with him with his focus being on the fire.
And he stopped as soon as he reached it, and gaped in horror.
Men stood in the street pillaging and plundering. They held torches in their hands and were setting the buildings alight. The residents who hid fled out into the streets from the smoke and flame, but were grabbed and thrown to the ground. From there, it varied. Some were stripped of their belongings and tied up. To Link's horror, it did not stop there. At the men's whim and desire the woman were either tied up and placed in a fenced off area with other captured woman, or were stripped down in the street and raped where they were. The children did not suffer a much better fate.
"What the-" Someone gasped.
Link couldn't move. The noise coming from the district was, at first, the crackling of fire, but when he realized what was transpiring, it turned to the wailing of children and begging of woman and the death gasps of the elderly until it filled his ears. His eyes had, at first, saw only fire, but then he could not look away but only see the blood flooding the ground. In his memories he saw himself as a slave, and though he was treated well, he knew these woman and children would not be.
His shock and horror was shared by the rest of his men, such as Den Yuu, as they were fathers and husbands themselves, and Kyou Kai, who, being a woman, could easily find herself in the same position.
These were not the enemy doing this. This was them. This was Qin.
"Link." Mouki said, neutrally.
Link slowly turned to him, wide eyed and nearly traumatized. Mouki and Ouhon stood nearby, watching grimly what was playing out. Ouhon stood with his arms crossed and stone-faced, but if Link had been paying attention (which he was not) then he might have noticed the hidden rage coiling inside his eyes.
"Don't do anything stupid." Mouki whispered.
"What is this?" Link asked. "Is-is this what we are?"
"This is war." Ouhon said. "Everyone does this."
"And that makes it right?!" Link snapped.
"It is the law. The law does not protect the enemy. There is an allowance to plunder and spoils, something even you have claimed."
He had, Link realized. He and his men and claimed spoils off the dead in battle, but there was one key difference. "Not like this..." Link whispered. "These aren't soldiers!"
"And the rules of war do not discern a Din damn difference." Ouhan answered, far deeper and more gruffly than usual.
Link nodded. His immediate shock slowly passed, but not the horror. He knew what he needed to do. He needed to stop this. "Well, even if the rules don't, I will!"
Link turned and ran down the stairs into the district. He did not have to run far, as the pillagers caught sight of him and their leader approached.
Link stopped when he saw the leader. The leader of the pillagers had a crying infant by the hair and a sword lazily laying on his own shoulder in the other hand.
"Which unit are you?" The leader asked.
"I-I'm Link." Link gulped.
The leader nodded, suddenly smiling widely and with approval. "Link! From Link's unit? Good show! I'm glad to have met you! We heard of you and your accomplishments. For being such a small unit, you have seen much more than most! It shows, you handed this city over to us easily!"
Handed the city over... to them. Link nearly threw up as the gut-punch hit him. He had personally allowed this. He had literally, and figuratively, opened the gates to... this.
"I need you to stop." Link said, weaker than he usually did. His eyes drifted from one obscene scene to the next.
"Stop?" The leader asked. His glee turned to a frown. "Oh, are you laying claim? There is more to the city than just this. There is a whole city out there! Take whatever you want! Lay claim to what is yours! Why bother yourself with this area? Its poor, filthy, and stinks. To the spoils go the winner."
"No." Link forced himself to breath. Between the smoke and his own beating heart, he felt woozy. The world spun and drifted, and if he wasn't focused, he might have passed out already. He struggled against the panic attack taking hold of his limbs. After taking a moment to simply breath, Link said more firmly, "I need you to stop."
The leader looked at Link for a moment, suprised. They said nothing as they looked at one another. Slowly the men around him stopped their heinous actions and saw there was a second unit that had approached.
"I am a one-thousand man officer, and you are a 300-man officer. As much as I respect you, you have no right to order me around."
"That don't matter." Link pleaded with him. "What good is this campaign then if we do this to everyone we conquer? Are we to be the very demons our enemy claim? If so, then what right have we to claim their lands? Acts like this, like what you are doing, only emboldens them and justifies their hatred for all of us. It doesn't belong in war."
"Link." The man said, with increasing impatience. "I think you fail to realize what you are. Every profession handles a currency. For some it is lumber, for others crops, for others, hide, for others, education. You and I, we are soldiers. Our currency is..." He held out the child by the hair and lowered his sword."
"Dont!"
"Death."
The man plunged his sword into the child's neck.