In An Age Before – Part 123
Chapter Eighty-four
The Siege of Osgiliath – The Third Age of the Sun
'Twas 10 Gwaeron 1437, and having routed the king's host upon the field of battle, Castamir felt he had disproved even the voice of Sauron. Touched by a triumphal mania, his self-regard knew no bounds and he foresaw his eventual victory as certain. As the great kings of bygone days he had strode the west road to victory. Now 'twas but a matter of time ere the throne and the rightful rule of all Gondor would be his.
Despite their losses in taking the Pelennor Wall, Castamir's host still numbered 'nigh fifty-two thousands strong. A full two days they took in ordering their siege camp, and creating a leaguer about the city wall that stretched from north to south upon the western bank of Anduin. A great press of Men stood watch o'er the road leading west from the city to Minas Anor and also to points north. No further reinforcements could come to the king from Anórien or Lebennin now, and the very same wall which had held back the tide of Umbar became a rear defense to the enemy's south.
From the battlements the king watched his foe set their encampment beyond the range of the defensive batteries. The ladders which had been so useful to them in taking the Pellenor Wall were of insufficient height for scaling the walls of Osgiliath. Yet the king's relief therein was short-lived, for soon sharp-eyed Rangers marked Castamir's troops lashing those same ladders together in pairs end to end, making their length sufficient to top the walls of the city. More troublesome still were the engines of siege being slowly drawn forward from the enemy's winter camp. 'Cross the Pelennor Fields the defenders could make out the shapes of catapults¹, wooden siege towers, and worst, a mighty ram upon a carriage of many wheels approaching on the road. By mid-Gwaeron these were parked amidst the enemy's camp, a threat for future days. ¹(Catapult is actually a general term for certain artillery that does not use gunpowder, and refers to several forms of siege engines employing torsion, tension, or gravity. These include the ballista, mangonel, and several kinds of trebuchet. The type used by Castamir's forces is currently called a counterweight trebuchet, in which the shot is propelled by the acceleration of a rigid arm connected to a falling counterweight. These should be familiar to all who have seen the siege of Minas Tirith in Peter Jackson's film, Lord of the Rings.)
'Twas not only Castamir's troops who had labored ere the siege. Within the city the preparations made years ago were finalized. And from the east gate, a stream of citizens, elderly, infirm, and mothers with children made their way hence to Minas Ithil, for unlike Pelargir aforetime, Osgiliath was not as yet beleaguered from both east and west. For that time the king still held all Ithilien and the east bank of Anduin from the Poros northwards. Still, many were the sad partings in those days, for war had finally come to the City of Kings.
Now the siege of Osgiliath began with the dawn of 14 Gwaeron 1437. Castamir's soldiers drew forward their catapults and initiated an artillery duel with the king's Men upon the walls. Solid and flaming shot arced back and forth 'twixt the Pelennor and the city, and great was the damage to the outer precincts of Osgiliath, yet the defense was earnest and the wall held. The barrages continued all the rest of that month, sometimes through the nights as well so that few got sufficient rest, and though the king's artillery kept that of Castamir at bay such that 'twas only the outer precincts of the city that sustained major damage, soon the defense was conducted amidst the rubble of much of the city shy of the causeway itself. This conferred the singular advantage of providing abundant shot for the defense, whereas the Men of Umbar were soon compelled to seek stones at the feet of Mindolluin, at a distance great enough to spare themselves being targets for the artillery of Minas Anor.
But disadvantage was shared by both sides, for shot that fell upon the Pelennor Fields left a crater and could oft times be reused by the enemy, whilst shot falling upon the city wrecked cumulative damage. Strong were the walls of Osgiliath, both thick and tall, and the west gate 'twixt its towers would have confounded for a time even the Fist of Tulkas, that vaunted ram which had broken the gates of Minas Ithil in the War of the Last Alliance. Yet even the strongest wall may be breached by repeated impacts from sufficiently large shot, and even the stoutest gate may be shivered by the repeated strikes of a large enough ram. And any fortification will fall if its defenders art driven hence.
So 'twas that after a fortnight's bombardment, accuracy and luck had delivered heavy shot to the same targets enough times to damage several positions upon the walls, whilst the gate itself had taken multiple impacts. By 1 Gwirith, four sections of the battlement atop the wall were impassible and no archers could be posted thither, the worst damage being at two positions bracketing the gate. The gate itself, though from afar it appeared sound, was indeed splintered upon its inner face two-thirds of the way to the top upon the right side, and thereby weakened 'nigh its upper hinge. Castamir ordered his artillery moved so as to focus all shot upon the gate and the weakened portions of the wall, and for another three days concentrated their fire thither. By the 4th those segments of the wall showed profound damage with that to the northward side of the gate being the worst, for thither the wall was wholly breached for the topmost third of its height, creating a clear weak spot for an infantry assault.
Knowing that the gate was weakened, King Eldacar had ordered it reinforced with such timbers as could be found within the city, yet he knew such would only slow its failing should Castamir's ram be deployed in earnest. 'Neath the most damaged parts of the walls, soldiers piled baled hay and 'aught else that was quick to burn, and soaked all with oil. When the enemy came and set thither their ladders, they would be met by walls of flame.
Upon 5 Gwirith the bombardment continued as upon the previous days, but watchers marked the mustering of Castamir's cavalry, and the infantry assembling into siege companies with their ladders. Then, along with the archers and watchmen, the king's infantry and unhorsed cavalry readied themselves for battle.
Now having seen these things, King Eldacar took counsel with his captains in the very same room with its tall columns, lit by the south facing windows of many panes, whereat they had met years aforetime to hear the first tidings of the invasion.
"My lords, our hope of victory grows dim, and save for some stroke of deliverance unforeseen, I deem our defense shalt fail and the city shalt fall," the king said. "I thank ye for your meritorious service, one and all. 'Tis not for lack of valor or perseverance, but rather the count of our enemies that dooms my rule. Too many art they to be routed from the field by any sortie we can muster, and too easily can they be supplied from Pelargir to abandon their siege. I deem 'tis but a matter of time now ere the walls art breached. Alas for my people and the fair city of my fathers."
Beside him upon his right and left hands sat the princes Ornendil and Aldamir with somber expressions, who, having held counsel aforetime with their father, now nodded in agreement. He turned then to his left where sat Captain-General Borgil, but the Adan had 'naught to add that would gainsay his lord's assessment. Turning to his right, Eldacar caught the eyes of Helluin and Beinvír in turn, noting the subtle gleam of blue fire in the Noldo's eyes and the sorrow that marked the face of the Laiquende. Neither had 'aught to add, nor did Pengthír and the two Northmen who sat beyond him.
Meeting each other's glance, the two ellith spoke silently eye to eye.
Osgiliath was ne'er meant to withstand a siege, but rather to be a glittering gem in the South Kingdom's crown; a seat of royalty and a symbol of prosperity for the people's inspiration, the Green Elf said.
Aye, Helluin agreed, 'tis well 'nigh indefensible. Even Annúminas, amongst the hills upon the shores of Nenuial would have been more easily defended, and yet Elendil built Fornost Erain; save for Khazad-Dûm, the strongest fastness in the west of Middle Earth.
Here in the south Minas Anor and Minas Ithil art strong, yet neither is large enough to shelter all the folk that dwell 'nigh for the duration of a siege, Beinvír replied, and what king would willingly abandon his capital? Strategically, Gondor is a mess.
'Tis the legacy of the joint rule of Isildur and Anárion. And now 'tis three cities rather than one which shalt fall, and three cities rather than one whose treasures and people need be safeguarded. One king, two princes, and three palantíri, Helluin mused, all must be set beyond Castamir's grasp when Osgiliath is taken…
As if addressing their last concern, the king turned to the preparations required should Osgiliath fall.
"My lords, 'tis the duty of the king to safeguard first the welfare of his people, and to that end I shalt offer myself as hostage to insure Castamir's mercy for the folk of Gondor. His quarrel is foremost with me and his goal has e'er been the throne. I deem my captivity sufficient to assuage his wrath that it not be visited upon our citizens in vengeance. When Osgiliath falls, I shalt not flee."
Immediately the room flew into an uproar with voices raised in a cacophony of protest.
Now after allowing the din to continue apace, Helluin stood and stared each Man in the eyes 'til his voice was silenced. And when the room was finally stilled, she spoke.
"My Lord, noble as the intentions of thy heart may be, thy gesture would be for 'naught. No mercy shalt Castamir show Osgiliath's people for thy surrender's sake. Indeed, having thee in his grasp, more likely would he be to publicly flay thee as an example, and such a sight, more than any other I can imagine, would slay the spirit of thy people."
Again Helluin looked each Man in the eyes, and the sternness of her expression silenced any who thought to gainsay her.
"For 'nigh on five years I have assailed Castamir well 'nigh every night through the palantíri, denigrating and demeaning him in the guise of the Dark Lord. So filled now with hatred is he, and so desperate to prove those phantom counsels wrong, that there is no degradation sufficient to which he can subject thee should thou fall into his hands, dead or alive. He is half-mad, O King, both hating and yet seeking a victor's approval from Sauron, and I would slay thee myself and hide thy body 'neath the foundations of the Barad-dûr ere I let thee become the instrument of Castamir's validation and the death knell of the morale of the Men of Gondor."
'Round the table every pair of eyes stared at her in horror. Save for the king, only Beinvír and the princes knew 'aught of the Noldo's secret campaign to undermine their foe. 'Neath her threat of regicide the deeper danger was clear; the potential threat of the palantíri. To the Dúnedain, the use of the Seeing Stones was but a page of history; a history that belonged to the kings alone. To the Men of Lebennin and the Northlands, 'twas 'naught but sorcery, a terror to be whispered of and feared.
"My Lord, " Helluin said more softly as she turned to address Eldacar, "from the fall of Osgiliath I would save thee and thy sons, for if thou live, a day may come when thou shalt again rule thy father's house. Yet even ere thee and thy seed, I would deprive the enemy of the Stones of Enerdhil, for Castamir as he now stands would be easy prey for the Greater Enemy in the East. In the hands of Sauron Gorthaur, none upon this Middle Earth would be safe, no matter the distance or their strength at arms, for what I have done to Castamir is but a shadow of what he could accomplish."
In the hush that followed, the Green Elf spoke.
"When all eyes art turned to the assault upon Osgiliath, I shalt go to Minas Anor and secure its palantír. The Stones hither and at Minas Ithil stand not in such jeopardy."
The first assault upon the walls began at dawn upon the morn of the 6th.
Against the fastness of Osgiliath came a wave of ten thousands, swarming 'cross the Pelennor behind their shields, like ants streaming to the nest, each bearing a cut leaf. The Rangers and the other archers upon the walls 'neath Pengthír's command fired volley after volley into their ranks, and though many an arrow found its mark, 'twas but a tithe of their strength. 'Neath covering fire from their own companies of archers they came to the walls and set ladders thither in the breaches whither none of the king's soldiers could repel them. Up the ladders climbed the Men of Umbar in steady columns, and though many were shot and many fell, many, many more reached the top unscathed. Thither they scrambled upon the broken walls, striving to reach the battlements and drive back the defenders. Then the fighting was hand to hand with sword and axe raised in bloody combat, and the Men of the West slew their brethren in hatred, face to face.
Upon the battlement north of the gate Helluin led a company of infantry in defense of the most damaged segment of the wall. Thither she rallied the soldiers of the city guard as the fighting raged all 'round them. Her incandescence and her cries of "Beltho huiniath", as much as the example of her swordplay, gave courage to those about her. Many were the Men of Umbar who fell 'neath the black sword of Gondolin, and yet for once she wielded not the Sarchram in her left hand, but rather her ancient dagger, forged in the Blessed West 'neath the Light of the Two Trees, for upon that day she sought not to consign the spirit of any son of Númenor to the Void.
At last the order came with a call of trumpets, and the baled hay was set aflame. Up the inner face of the wall rose the conflagration, reaching even above the breach at the top. And now many Men of Umbar roasted upon their ladders and atop the broken wall as that space was engulfed in fire. Many fell to their deaths, o'ercome by the heat and the smoke, and those who fell into the flames rather than outward onto the Pelennor were the first invaders to enter the City of Kings. Indeed 'twas the first time since its founding that Osgiliath itself was the scene of battle, for not even in the War of the Last Alliance had the city of Isildur and Anárion been assailed. Upon that day Castamir, descendant of kings, achieved that which the Dark Lord had not, and perhaps in some temple of fire far to the east, a shadow of evil gloated and rejoiced.
Long the combat continued upon the walls, bitter and bloody as Anor climbed to the zenith, and the clash of steel, the screams of the wounded, and the battle cries of the fighters rang in the spring air. Desperately the defenders withstood the waves of assault, whilst up into the bright sky rose the smoke and the heat and the spirits of the fallen.
Down from that same bright sky came the shot and bombs of the enemy, for deeming that the wall would not likely be taken by his ladder assault alone, Castamir ordered advanced his artillery. Now rather than firing against the wall and gate wither his Men still fought, his catapults rained their projectiles within the walls, and great destruction was wrought in the precincts upon the west bank. To answer them, Eldacar's artillerymen adjusted their engines to release their shot earlier, in a higher arc of decreased range, and the artillery duel continued through the afternoon, even as the fighting raged upon the wall.
'Neath the westering sun tired Men clashed, and upon both sides longed for a respite, but after 'nigh on five years of failure with his nights tormented by taunts and ridicule, the Lord Castamir was committed to take the city without delay, and unlike the king, most of his troops were as yet unfought. So when Anor fell to kiss Mindolluin and the shadows lengthened upon the Pelennor, he ordered forward another twenty thousands and advanced his siege towers. Trains of oxen, bearing upon their backs large shields of soaked wood and rawhide, dragged them towards the city wall, rolling slowly upon sturdy wheels that creaked 'neath the great weight of their burdens.
Darkness fell and Ithil rose. In the hour when Men at peace would have raised a glass in fellowship after a day's labor, or tucked their children into bed, the siege towers reached the curtain wall of Osgiliath. From their highest levels, companies of archers shot defenders off the walls, for so tall were those towers that bowmen could aim down o'er the embrasures of the battlements and into the masses of soldiers upon the wall walks. Thus did many of the king's Men fall in the first moments of the tower assault. Then the massive gangways were dropped, forming causeways from tower to wall 'cross which hordes of Castamir's soldiers charged.
E'er more desperate became the defense. With their ranks increasingly thinned by the arrows from the archers atop the towers, and well 'nigh exhausted after a full day of combat, Eldacar's soldiers began to fall back, driven hence with great loss from those places where the towers had disgorged companies of fresh foes. Step by step they ceded the walk way atop the wall 'til the enemy from one tower converged with those from the one adjacent, and the last defenders trapped 'twixt them were slain, or fell to their deaths in the bailey below.
So through the hours of the night the battle for the defense of Osgiliath was lost, and at an e'er quickening pace Castamir's troops poured onto the wall, taking it yard by yard 'til they gained the north tower of the gate. Fiercely they fought their way down the stairs within to the passage that crossed o'er the gate from the north tower to the south tower inside the limited barbican.
Ne'er had Osgiliath been designed to be a true fortress. It lacked even a portcullis before its gate. Yet possession of the barbican ensured a much safer approach to the gate for the besiegers without, and worse, the windows on its inner face gave Castamir's archers an elevated firing position directly o'er the gate. Each loss, wall, tower, and barbican, forced the defenders back and made the next loss all the easier for the enemy to attain. 'Twas not long ere Castamir's troops held the exits from the towers into the bailey within the walls, and then, supported by their archers directly above the gate and in the towers and walls adjacent to it, they drove Eldacar's Men back and won control of the gate. Thither, after a struggle with the reinforcing timbers that had been placed behind the gate, they heaved away the heavy beam holding the gates closed and dragged them open.
Thus the entrance to Osgiliath was won in the hour past midnight, and Castamir's soldiery poured into the city in their thousands like a flood tide fountaining through a hole sprung in a dike. Back the defenders were forced in retreat, step by step down the main road from the gate to the causeway.
As she had in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Helluin stood at the fore of the rear guard, rallying a mixed force of Soldiers of Gondor, City Guards of Osgiliath and Minas Ithil, Rangers, armed irregulars, and even a few Northmen. As e'er, she slew her foes with unnatural speed and assurance beyond the prowess of any mortal, for the bloodlust of battle was upon her. And yet, as at the Fall of Gondolin so long aforetime, she could see that the situation was hopeless, and despite all her efforts this king's city too would fall.
And whither, by the Valar, is Beinvír with the Palantír of Minas Anor?
She took another quick glance about her, and in the light of many fires marked that some fifty feet away the king and his personal guard still fought valiantly, yet they too were retreating step by step.
This will ne'er do! 'Tis long past the time for Eldacar's withdrawal, for the city is lost and he must not be taken this day. He must win free with his sons and the Seeing Stones, so to give hope to his people after their city falls.
'Twixt strokes with Anguirél and parries with her dagger she seized the shoulder of the Man closest to her and spun him 'round to face her, warding off their attackers as she commanded him to bear a message to the king. To her amazement, 'twas none other than Boromir, the hunter that she and Beinvír had met upon their first day in Osgiliath, five years ago.
"Boromir, heed me for the time is short. Go thither to the king and say thus, the city is fallen and 'tis time for thy escape. Take thy sons and the Stones and flee north to thy kin. Now go!"
To his astonished eyes she pointed out the king with her dagger whilst she hewed the head from the closest attacker without sparing their foe a glance. For a few heartbeats he was paralyzed by the flare of sapphire emanating from her eyes and the intensity of her glare. Then with a swift movement she slew another of their enemy, driving her sword upwards into his chest so that the distal handspan exploded out of the top of his skull. As she whipped her arm outwards to fling the body off her blade, she hissed, "Go!"
To Be Continued