Just across the river from the MacDuff province was the English province of East Yorkshire. The seat of the province was York. The Clan's plan was to cross the river, storm the coastline, and then ride to York, which was five miles inland. There, they planned to sack the city, and hopefully word would get to English forces in the Wallace province, forcing them to retreat back to England to reclaim the city.
JANUARY 29, WESTERN COASTLINE OF MACDUFF PROVINCE
The Clan, along with 1,000 Scottish men, 150 Fire Nation troops, and 50 Water Tribe troops, and the Notre Dame monks, reached the riverbank. The monks came along to collect the bodies of any Scots who would die in the invasion in order to give them a proper burial.
It was the middle of winter, so snow was everywhere, and ice covered the river. However, the river was flowing fast, so the ice thinned. The dilemma was getting across the river. They couldn't use boats, because the ice would pile up and prevent them from making it very far. And they couldn't walk across the ice, because it was so thin that the risk of people falling through was too high.
"Now what?", William said.
"It's all over now", Campbell said.
"If only you guys were airbenders.", Aang said.
"Well then go. Fly to York. We'll meet you there.", William said.
"I'm not going to sack an entire city all by myself. Too much risk."
"Hmm...If only we had tunnel so we could go under this frozen hazard."
Katara then came up with a brilliant idea. The Gaang had used it during the Hundred Year War to cross the Serpent's Pass.
"William, that's it!", she said.
"What?"
"We'll make a tunnel!"
"How?"
"Us waterbenders can bend the water to create a tunnel down in the river. We'll go from this riverbank, down to the riverbed, and then back up to English riverbank on the other side."
"Are you sure this will work?"
"There's enough of us to do it. Besides, they'll never expect it. We'll be able to storm their beach without warning."
"I like the sound of that...alright then. Let's get to work."
The Water Tribe soldiers then created the tunnel and everyone safely crossed to the other side. Their were about 200 English soldiers along the coast and they didn't expect it. They were defeated within 20 minutes.
The group then rode about three miles before setting up camp. The next morning, they packed up and rode on horseback the rest of the way to York.
The city was led by the Duke of York, who also happened to be Longshanks' nephew. He was up in an archer tower on the other side of the city wall overlooking the townspeople when a soldier rushed up and said, "My lord, they're coming!"
"Who?!"
"Clan Avatar and the Scots! On horses!"
"How many?"
"At least 1,000. Maybe more."
"Alright then. Bring all the food and civilians inside, double the wall guards, and close the gate. Now!"
"Yes sir!"
The soldier then ran and ordered it. Within an hour, all of York's civilians were brought inside, extra guards were put on the city's east wall, and the gate was closed and sealed shut.
At sunset, the Clan and the rest of the Scots reached the east wall and began their attempt to force open the gate. Unbeknownst to York, they had prepared for forcing open the gate by building a long, twelve-wheeled battering ram.
As night fell, the Scots used the ram to try and bust open the gate. There were about three dozen soldiers operating the ram. They kept pushing it forward until it hit the gate, pulling it back, and then pushing it again. While this was happening, archers from the top of the wall were shooting arrows at them, resulting in a few deaths.
Although the ram still had yet to push open the gate, it was getting closer and wearing down the guards, who were now doing everything they could barricade the inside.
From the top of the wall, the Duke was looking on. A soldier came up to him and said, "Sir, we still have time. We can get you out if we leave now."
"No. I'm not about to tell my uncle that I've lost him the greatest city in Eastern England.", the Duke said.
The ram once again hit the doors, as the English soldiers tried to keep it shut. Soldiers at the top of the wall then poured buckets of oil on the front of the ram, which also splashed onto a few Scots at the very front. Flaming arrows were then fired, causing the front of ram to go up in flames and the Scots up front to catch on fire.
"Come on! We have to help them!", William yelled.
He, Sokka, the Freedom Fighters, William Jr, Robert, and a couple more Scots then ran up and grabbed the ram and pulled it back while everyone else was looking on behind them.
When they reached a certain point, he yelled, "Right here! Stop!" He then looked back and yelled, "Aang! Give us a boost!"
As the group pushed the ram forward, Aang blew a strong wind into the back of it, making it feel lighter, and helping them push it faster. For a really long moment, the ram inched it's way closer and closer. It then hit the gate extremely hard, both opening it and setting it on fire.
The Scots and everyone else then yelled in celebration and charged towards the entrance. By sunrise the next morning, the city of York had been sacked.