Chapter Twenty-Nine
General Torris sighed as the scouts reported no signs of Tophetian soldiers. Could they have been lured away from Ontharn to weaken the forces at Castle Dythia? Tyulia was nothing more than the charred remains of buildings and bodies. The soldiers had not been able to find any survivors, and if they did...
What condition would they be in?
The elderly Selintan sighed and looked up at the darkened sky, praying for a sign. They would stay a few days, then march back to Ontharn.
It was a grim morning and a cloudy day when the Tophetians began their assault on Castle Dythia. Link stood on the highest parapet with three dozen or so Selintan soldiers.
'If the sun appears, it will be to our advantage,' he thought, looking down at the merciless warriors. 'Small hope, but maybe it will work...'
"Should we begin firing, sir?" An guard asked nervously. "I'm not very good with the bow, I should've taken more archery classes, aye, but—"
"Hush," chided another guard, "we've not time to hear your nervous sputtering, Miles." The chastised guard flushed and fell silent.
"We'll wait a while longer, hopefully Viru will send more of his soldiers to attack the gate, and that way even stray arrows may find a mark," the Hero of Time stated, keeping his eyes on the distant figure.
The guards on the lower bulwark were having a better time, though, as after the gates had been thoroughly soaked, the fire would not hold to it and soon died out. Tophetians muttered curses as they continued to assault the massive wooden entrance.
"King Viru, sir? The gates won't set alit," a young Tophetian soldier reported, shifting from foot to foot nervously. The King of Tophetians was not known for his kindness to bearers of bad news. But Viru seemed almost cheerful, grinning wickedly as he hailed a familiar figure on the parapet.
"They won't, eh? Well, then, we'll just have to crash in," he announced, motioning for the soldiers to pick up a large battering ram they had salvaged from the beams of a building in Ontharn. "Have the warriors at the ready, their visors down and their armor tight. Those guards aren't up there with Sir High and Mighty for no reason a'tall."
"They've begun to pick up a battering ram, Link!" A guard from the lower bulwark bellowed up. "I think you should begin firing!"
"We'll wait a bit longer!" he shouted back. "We'll not waste arrows so soon!"
"Do you think that's wise, really?" Mystu, Lance's friend, asked nervously, all but scuttling around the upper parapet.
"If the guards aren't skilled archers, then we can't hit them good from this distance. We'll have to wait until they move in closer."
"Gods, but I wish Torris and his fellows were here," the guard named Miles groaned. "They've good archers among them, Stephen being one of them."
"Didn't I tell you to shut it?" The second guard growled. "It's no use wishing for things we obviously ain't got, and it's doing me no good to hear your whining voice."
"Both of you, hush. Miles is just voicing what we're all thinking," an older guard snapped. "And you, Jacob, one would think you've got the most seniority here. I've not the ear for your insolence any more. Now both of you, stuff it until we get the orders to fire."
"If there only was a way to get word to Torris," Mystu said helplessly, peering over the edge. Link pushed him back slightly.
"You don't want to get hit," he cautioned. "Duck!" The guards ducked just as a volley of arrows whirred by their heads like angry wasps. "Damn, they've got good archers! Begin firing!" Link shouted, gripping his own bow and drawing an arrow. The Selintan guards retaliated as best they could, but not an arrow aside from Link and Miles' found a mark.
"I've been hit!" screamed a guard, clutching his chest and tumbling over the side of the parapet. It was a long drop to the castle ground and all present (including Link) winced when they heard the crunch of metal and bones far below.
"This is no use," the Hero of Time muttered to himself. "They're not sufficiently skilled to hit enough Tophetians to make a difference."
"Would a catapult help? Mystu inquired anxiously. Link looked at him sharply. "Just... just a suggestion..."
"There's a catapult on castle grounds?" He asked skeptically. "And you didn't tell me?"
"Well... it's not the best one, but it's the one King Edward and the Hylian troops left behind. Its center is a bit off, and risky to use..." babbled the artist.
"Where is it?" The nineteen-year-old demanded, hunching down against the protection of the wall.
"It should be in the outside armory, near the stables," Mystu replied, cringing as several arrows found their mark among the Selintan guards. "But it'll take twenty men to budge it!"
"Never mind, tell the men to keep firing, I'll go get it," Link responded, crouching down as he darted back into the castle by way of minaret.
Lance leaned over and fired an arrow neatly into the head of a Tophetian on the battering ram. Before any of the enemy archers could sight him, he ducked back down.
"All this warfare, a tricksy process," remarked the sailor, nocking another arrow to his bow. "I'd not give up sailing to be a soldier, nay."
"Nobody will ask you to, Lance," Miyako replied, raising up and firing. She nodded satisfactorily as her arrow took a soldier through the chest. "There's one."
"How do you think Link is doing? The arches up there ain't hitting nobody, aye," Lance commented, squinting at the higher parapet. "I don't see 'im," he added when the guards rose up to clumsily return fire at the Tophetians. "Hey!" He rolled out of the way as a stray arrow bounced off the stone. "I ain't no enemy!" Lance shouted indignantly.
"Sorry!" A voiced called down apprehensively.
"Guards they may be, but that's all they're good for," the red-haired girl stated, taking a breather beside her friend. "I'm almost out of arrows, you?"
"All gone, matey, I'll get some more."
Link found the dusty catapult in the outside armory, where the large ballistas and heavier weapons were kept. He shoved open the massive doors and strode inside. The catapult was large, but its wheels seemed to be in working order. It would take a strong back to push it, but with the help of his gauntlets, no doubt the work would be quick. He noticed a large store of arrows in the corner and marked it for future reference.
'Now, to get this thing rolling,' he thought, moving around behind it and finding the right place to push. With all his might he managed to roll it forward, slowly but steadily, and when it was completely out of the armory, he took a quick breather and looked inside for ammunition. There was nothing that would be destructive enough to fling at the Tophetians... perhaps he could improvise, though.
"Shiver me timbers, 'tis the Hero of Time himself!" Lance called out in a wheedling tone, appearing from the castle's side entrance, grinning broadly. "So there y'are."
"Is something wrong?" Link asked, resuming his position at the back of the catapult. The sailor shook his head.
"Nope, they're still attackin' and we're still defendin'. I came to grab s'more arrows, 'tis all. And what scheme are you hatching?" Link grunted as he forced the catapult further towards the castle's front grounds.
"Seeing as the guards aren't very good with bows, I thought we might need to use a little more force in keeping them at bay. We can't depend on any of the troops returning in time to pull our asses out of the fire." The sailor raised his eyebrows at Link's curt speech, but went into the armory to retrieve more arrows. "Can you find anything we could launch at them?"
"Furniture would work, though I'd not think that Queen Eloisa would agree to let you use her fine dining set against them," the dark-blue-haired young man replied laughingly. Link glared reproachfully at his irrepressible friend. "Well, 'tis true. We're a bit short on large rocks 'round these parts, but..." Lance stopped and shook his head. "Never mind, it's not possible."
"What? What's not possible?" Link stopped pushing the catapult and looked back at Lance.
"You're an Earth element, this I told you, but you've not been learned in the skills of usin' it, so 'tis pointless for me to say you could call stones from the earth. It'd be a mighty useful skill."
"When the war is over, give me the name of a good teacher, then," the Hero of Time replied, turning his attention back to the task at hand, "and I'll learn. But for now, just see if you can find anything."
"Aye."
"At the rate they're going, they'll be in here before afternoon," Miles stated anxiously, wiping his sweaty face with his sleeve. "Lookit that! The gates are crackin as I speak!"
"Wherever the boy went, let's hope he's come up with a good idea," Jacob grunted, letting another arrow fly.
"There he is!" Miles exclaimed, pointing to the enclosure below. "But what's he want with that catapult? I thought King Edward said its aim was off."
"Any port in a storm," Jacob returned promptly. "Let's leave off this bow business and get down there to help him."
"Crates filled with dirt, that's all I can think of," Lance called as he hurried past Link to the gatehouse. "There're some in the armory, but 'twon't be enough, not by a long shot!"
"It's good enough," Link responded quickly, brushing his face with the back of his hand. 'It's getting hotter... hopefully the sun'll come out, that should slow their volley of arrows for a bit.' Just as he thought this, an arrow came hurtling down to land beside his other hand on the catapult base.
"How can we help?" Miles asked breathlessly as the guards came storming down the parapet. "We're not doing any good with these bows, we're not."
"Empty all the crates in the armory, and bring them back here," the Hero of Time answered, looking around the courtyard. "We'll fill them with dirt like Lance said, and send them over." The guards nodded hastily then took off for the armory. A moment later, several pairs of guards returned with the empty crates.
"Is that all?" Three crates would do nothing against the Tophetian mass. He could hear the protesting of the gates as they began to give way; it wouldn't be long now.
"Nay, sir, t'other guards are goin' inside the castle for more," Miles replied, rubbing his face vigorously. "Shall we fill 'em with dirt, then?" Link nodded, then turned his attention to the catapult's mechanism. It was a simple enough device; a person would place the ammunition in the rounded cup, bring it down to latch with the hook at the base, then when discharged, the lever would release the latch and the tension would send the projectile soaring.
The question remained, how much off aim was this catapult? He didn't want to risk aiding the Tophetians by knocking down the walls himself, but he could think of no other idea that would devastate them as much as a catapult would.
'We've got to try,' he thought desperately. 'That's all that matters now.'
------------------------------
Yay! More action! And Link doesn't get hurt this time! Yay again! ^_^ Ah well. Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you (from The Girl Who Loved Tome Gordon, by Stephen King) ...Too bad Stephen King's retiring. ~_~ I hope he finishes the Dark Tower series, at least. He is like unto God to me.
General Torris sighed as the scouts reported no signs of Tophetian soldiers. Could they have been lured away from Ontharn to weaken the forces at Castle Dythia? Tyulia was nothing more than the charred remains of buildings and bodies. The soldiers had not been able to find any survivors, and if they did...
What condition would they be in?
The elderly Selintan sighed and looked up at the darkened sky, praying for a sign. They would stay a few days, then march back to Ontharn.
It was a grim morning and a cloudy day when the Tophetians began their assault on Castle Dythia. Link stood on the highest parapet with three dozen or so Selintan soldiers.
'If the sun appears, it will be to our advantage,' he thought, looking down at the merciless warriors. 'Small hope, but maybe it will work...'
"Should we begin firing, sir?" An guard asked nervously. "I'm not very good with the bow, I should've taken more archery classes, aye, but—"
"Hush," chided another guard, "we've not time to hear your nervous sputtering, Miles." The chastised guard flushed and fell silent.
"We'll wait a while longer, hopefully Viru will send more of his soldiers to attack the gate, and that way even stray arrows may find a mark," the Hero of Time stated, keeping his eyes on the distant figure.
The guards on the lower bulwark were having a better time, though, as after the gates had been thoroughly soaked, the fire would not hold to it and soon died out. Tophetians muttered curses as they continued to assault the massive wooden entrance.
"King Viru, sir? The gates won't set alit," a young Tophetian soldier reported, shifting from foot to foot nervously. The King of Tophetians was not known for his kindness to bearers of bad news. But Viru seemed almost cheerful, grinning wickedly as he hailed a familiar figure on the parapet.
"They won't, eh? Well, then, we'll just have to crash in," he announced, motioning for the soldiers to pick up a large battering ram they had salvaged from the beams of a building in Ontharn. "Have the warriors at the ready, their visors down and their armor tight. Those guards aren't up there with Sir High and Mighty for no reason a'tall."
"They've begun to pick up a battering ram, Link!" A guard from the lower bulwark bellowed up. "I think you should begin firing!"
"We'll wait a bit longer!" he shouted back. "We'll not waste arrows so soon!"
"Do you think that's wise, really?" Mystu, Lance's friend, asked nervously, all but scuttling around the upper parapet.
"If the guards aren't skilled archers, then we can't hit them good from this distance. We'll have to wait until they move in closer."
"Gods, but I wish Torris and his fellows were here," the guard named Miles groaned. "They've good archers among them, Stephen being one of them."
"Didn't I tell you to shut it?" The second guard growled. "It's no use wishing for things we obviously ain't got, and it's doing me no good to hear your whining voice."
"Both of you, hush. Miles is just voicing what we're all thinking," an older guard snapped. "And you, Jacob, one would think you've got the most seniority here. I've not the ear for your insolence any more. Now both of you, stuff it until we get the orders to fire."
"If there only was a way to get word to Torris," Mystu said helplessly, peering over the edge. Link pushed him back slightly.
"You don't want to get hit," he cautioned. "Duck!" The guards ducked just as a volley of arrows whirred by their heads like angry wasps. "Damn, they've got good archers! Begin firing!" Link shouted, gripping his own bow and drawing an arrow. The Selintan guards retaliated as best they could, but not an arrow aside from Link and Miles' found a mark.
"I've been hit!" screamed a guard, clutching his chest and tumbling over the side of the parapet. It was a long drop to the castle ground and all present (including Link) winced when they heard the crunch of metal and bones far below.
"This is no use," the Hero of Time muttered to himself. "They're not sufficiently skilled to hit enough Tophetians to make a difference."
"Would a catapult help? Mystu inquired anxiously. Link looked at him sharply. "Just... just a suggestion..."
"There's a catapult on castle grounds?" He asked skeptically. "And you didn't tell me?"
"Well... it's not the best one, but it's the one King Edward and the Hylian troops left behind. Its center is a bit off, and risky to use..." babbled the artist.
"Where is it?" The nineteen-year-old demanded, hunching down against the protection of the wall.
"It should be in the outside armory, near the stables," Mystu replied, cringing as several arrows found their mark among the Selintan guards. "But it'll take twenty men to budge it!"
"Never mind, tell the men to keep firing, I'll go get it," Link responded, crouching down as he darted back into the castle by way of minaret.
Lance leaned over and fired an arrow neatly into the head of a Tophetian on the battering ram. Before any of the enemy archers could sight him, he ducked back down.
"All this warfare, a tricksy process," remarked the sailor, nocking another arrow to his bow. "I'd not give up sailing to be a soldier, nay."
"Nobody will ask you to, Lance," Miyako replied, raising up and firing. She nodded satisfactorily as her arrow took a soldier through the chest. "There's one."
"How do you think Link is doing? The arches up there ain't hitting nobody, aye," Lance commented, squinting at the higher parapet. "I don't see 'im," he added when the guards rose up to clumsily return fire at the Tophetians. "Hey!" He rolled out of the way as a stray arrow bounced off the stone. "I ain't no enemy!" Lance shouted indignantly.
"Sorry!" A voiced called down apprehensively.
"Guards they may be, but that's all they're good for," the red-haired girl stated, taking a breather beside her friend. "I'm almost out of arrows, you?"
"All gone, matey, I'll get some more."
Link found the dusty catapult in the outside armory, where the large ballistas and heavier weapons were kept. He shoved open the massive doors and strode inside. The catapult was large, but its wheels seemed to be in working order. It would take a strong back to push it, but with the help of his gauntlets, no doubt the work would be quick. He noticed a large store of arrows in the corner and marked it for future reference.
'Now, to get this thing rolling,' he thought, moving around behind it and finding the right place to push. With all his might he managed to roll it forward, slowly but steadily, and when it was completely out of the armory, he took a quick breather and looked inside for ammunition. There was nothing that would be destructive enough to fling at the Tophetians... perhaps he could improvise, though.
"Shiver me timbers, 'tis the Hero of Time himself!" Lance called out in a wheedling tone, appearing from the castle's side entrance, grinning broadly. "So there y'are."
"Is something wrong?" Link asked, resuming his position at the back of the catapult. The sailor shook his head.
"Nope, they're still attackin' and we're still defendin'. I came to grab s'more arrows, 'tis all. And what scheme are you hatching?" Link grunted as he forced the catapult further towards the castle's front grounds.
"Seeing as the guards aren't very good with bows, I thought we might need to use a little more force in keeping them at bay. We can't depend on any of the troops returning in time to pull our asses out of the fire." The sailor raised his eyebrows at Link's curt speech, but went into the armory to retrieve more arrows. "Can you find anything we could launch at them?"
"Furniture would work, though I'd not think that Queen Eloisa would agree to let you use her fine dining set against them," the dark-blue-haired young man replied laughingly. Link glared reproachfully at his irrepressible friend. "Well, 'tis true. We're a bit short on large rocks 'round these parts, but..." Lance stopped and shook his head. "Never mind, it's not possible."
"What? What's not possible?" Link stopped pushing the catapult and looked back at Lance.
"You're an Earth element, this I told you, but you've not been learned in the skills of usin' it, so 'tis pointless for me to say you could call stones from the earth. It'd be a mighty useful skill."
"When the war is over, give me the name of a good teacher, then," the Hero of Time replied, turning his attention back to the task at hand, "and I'll learn. But for now, just see if you can find anything."
"Aye."
"At the rate they're going, they'll be in here before afternoon," Miles stated anxiously, wiping his sweaty face with his sleeve. "Lookit that! The gates are crackin as I speak!"
"Wherever the boy went, let's hope he's come up with a good idea," Jacob grunted, letting another arrow fly.
"There he is!" Miles exclaimed, pointing to the enclosure below. "But what's he want with that catapult? I thought King Edward said its aim was off."
"Any port in a storm," Jacob returned promptly. "Let's leave off this bow business and get down there to help him."
"Crates filled with dirt, that's all I can think of," Lance called as he hurried past Link to the gatehouse. "There're some in the armory, but 'twon't be enough, not by a long shot!"
"It's good enough," Link responded quickly, brushing his face with the back of his hand. 'It's getting hotter... hopefully the sun'll come out, that should slow their volley of arrows for a bit.' Just as he thought this, an arrow came hurtling down to land beside his other hand on the catapult base.
"How can we help?" Miles asked breathlessly as the guards came storming down the parapet. "We're not doing any good with these bows, we're not."
"Empty all the crates in the armory, and bring them back here," the Hero of Time answered, looking around the courtyard. "We'll fill them with dirt like Lance said, and send them over." The guards nodded hastily then took off for the armory. A moment later, several pairs of guards returned with the empty crates.
"Is that all?" Three crates would do nothing against the Tophetian mass. He could hear the protesting of the gates as they began to give way; it wouldn't be long now.
"Nay, sir, t'other guards are goin' inside the castle for more," Miles replied, rubbing his face vigorously. "Shall we fill 'em with dirt, then?" Link nodded, then turned his attention to the catapult's mechanism. It was a simple enough device; a person would place the ammunition in the rounded cup, bring it down to latch with the hook at the base, then when discharged, the lever would release the latch and the tension would send the projectile soaring.
The question remained, how much off aim was this catapult? He didn't want to risk aiding the Tophetians by knocking down the walls himself, but he could think of no other idea that would devastate them as much as a catapult would.
'We've got to try,' he thought desperately. 'That's all that matters now.'
------------------------------
Yay! More action! And Link doesn't get hurt this time! Yay again! ^_^ Ah well. Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you (from The Girl Who Loved Tome Gordon, by Stephen King) ...Too bad Stephen King's retiring. ~_~ I hope he finishes the Dark Tower series, at least. He is like unto God to me.