Chapter Twelve: The Fall of Castle Town
The court had gathered for an assembly. The king sat in his throne, muttering nonsense. His attendants practically held him down as he thrashed restlessly.
Most avoided looking at him, instead watching Bustine and Val as they conducted the business of the day. Misly shouldn't be here but had wheedled the young Trevil into letting her see what he did during assembly sessions. He had agreed and bored her to death with minute details of each bill brought forward.
The Magistrate of Hateno droned on about subsidiary lending or something equally unintelligible. Shouts of disagreement traded back and forth between the differing party members, with Hateno plowing forward with barely a pause.
The heavy double doors slammed open. Bustine scowled, banging his lectern with a paperweight.
"What is this?" he demanded.
Hateno continued, undeterred.
"My lord, you must come. A messenger, an army! An army advances on the city!"
The room finally fell silent. Misly held her breath. Whose army?
"Explain!" Bustine ordered. The panting man did in short bursts of speech.
"To the west! An army, they've taken Thalin and Cryss Landing! My lord, it is the Prince!"
Alarm was building, a rumble of fear.
"What prince?"
"That Ordonian!"
Bustine was drowned out, shouts from all side demanding more information
Misly sat numb. Impossible. The prince would never…Sheik said he supported the queen! Why would he attack her own people?
"Summon Captain Kyln at once!" Bustine ordered, bellowing over the noise. "Alert the Guard. Gentlemen, Ladies, calm your-"
"My lord!" Another man came sprinting into the bedlam. "My lord, the queen!"
"What?" Bustine's beard bristled. "What nonsense is this?"
"The queen, she's alive! She's been seen marching on the Hateno road!"
Cries of shock, of realization. Calls for answers, accusations, disbelief.
Bustine stood frozen. He turned to Trevil. Trevil's face never faltered from his good-natured smile. He stood, walked to the throne, and stabbed the king through the heart.
The king's body slumped over. His crown fell to the floor and rolled across the dais. Trevil wiped his knife clean.
"Gentlemen, you have a choice. Die for the queen, or pledge allegiance to our lord Ganon."
The assembly stood frozen. Trevil spoke sharp, guttural words that hurt her head. A crack appeared in the air next to him. A sliver of darkness. It writhed, whatever evil within trying claw free.
Panic spreading through the room, people running for the doors as the portal ripped open. Misly was buffeted from all sides, watching as a shadowy form approached the opening.
The acrid scent of smoke drifted through the opening. She could see fires and buildings fallen into rubble. Trevil bowed low, calling to his master.
The Prince stepped through, boots ringing against the stone floor. He stood, sword in hand, as the people fell back in terror.
He smiled and Misly knew it wasn't him. No matter it was his face, the shoulders she had admired so many months ago. He spoke and it was like insects crawling up her body.
"Surrender," he commanded. "And I will spare your pitiful lives."
Behind him, beasts crawled through the portal. Hideous creatures, snarling, grasping. Screams drowned out his laughter. Misly finally turned and ran.
She must find Sheik. They must find a way to warn the queen.
Chaos took the city. Monsters roamed freely, lashing out, destroying everything in their path. They blocked the bridges, trapping the populace inside the walls.
Some threw their support behind Ganon, willingly or through selfish self-preservation. Soldiers fought the beasts in isolated groups, others threw off their Hylian colors.
Misly drew her cloak over her head and slipped through the palace like a ghost. The younger Trevil had fled with his mother. Where they were now, she did not know.
She moved through the abandoned service corridors, ears straining for pursuit. She slipped into an office, holding her breath as something heavy lumbered toward her. It slowed, its many legs clicking against the stone floor.
She gripped her Sheik'ah totem, willing herself into nothingness. The beast sniffed curiously at the party open door. It grunted and moved on.
She waited until it turned a corner and hurried on her way.
Sheik and another man waited in a little used tower. She dropped the food and water she carried on a dusty crate.
"What news?" she asked, still trembling from her near miss.
"The queen is still two days out, at best." They could see plumes of smoke from every quarter from the window
Sheik had aged in the last three days. "Does she know the city has fallen?"
"Surely some escaped," the second man said. He was old, his hair pure white. But he moved with the fluidity of youth.
Misly had seen the hordes surrounding the city. "Maybe not. And many would not know to warn her. Only the assembly knows she is alive for certain."
Sheik dragged a hand over his face. "I must go to her."
"Then who will command the resistance fighters?" the man demanded.
"She must be warned. She must be told that Link has…" He couldn't say it.
"It's not him," Misly insisted yet again. "It's Ganon."
"But-"
"You weren't there. That is not the prince. Maybe he's been enchanted or he's a copy, a shadow. But it's not him."
Sheik's shoulders drooped. "I pray so. Or we have no chance of surviving this."
"The question remains how to warn the queen."
"There is a way out of the city," Sheik said. "And in, if we can get her soldiers to the tunnel. Risky, but they will never breach the walls, not without artillery. Lin-" He cursed. "Ganon will use Link's skill to hold this fortification. The only way to take the city back is to get more soldiers inside."
"Our people should be here soon," the old man said.
"Will it be enough, though?" Sheik asked, hopelessness dulling his voice. "If Ganon has Power and Courage…"
Misly looked between them. "You mean, pieces of the Triforce?"
Sheik nodded. "Link was the Hero. The Hero always holds Courage. Ganon seeks Power. He must have it, to have overtaken Link."
Three pieces and three combatants, linked in an eternal struggle for control of their world. "Zelda must have Wisdom, then."
Sheik jerked to stare at her. "What?!"
Misly explained as simply as she could. "The Enemy, the Hero, and the Lady. She is always the reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia, Lady of Wisdom and Kings. If we can free Link from Ganon…" Then the two of them would be powerful enough to defeat him.
"I must go to her!"
"You are needed here!"
"Send me." Misly gripped her cloak, terrified but determined. "I will warn her that the Hero has fallen."
"It's too dangerous."
Misly thought of Trevil's flat eyes. The stench of that beast still clung to her throat.
"It doesn't matter. She must be warned. We have no time to debate." She brushed down her skirt. It was the green silk, crumpled and stained from three days of hiding. "Where is this tunnel?"
Madame Pacquin stripped her down to her chemise, talking in a rapid undertone. "There is food and water for a week's riding, should you be delayed. Simple, but enough if you spare it." She tugged a heavy tunic over Misly's head and brandished a pair of trousers. "Can you ride?"
"Well enough."
Sheik was there, helping to pack the satchel. "This will conceal you, but only if you don't draw attention." He looped a different totem around her neck. He touched her forehead, whispering an incantation. "And a spell to give you strength."
She felt that, as if she could run for endless leagues.
"It will wear off in a few hours' time. Long enough for you to get past the barricade."
She shivered in the tunnel, feeling the weight of the city above. Her too large boots sloshed through water up to her knees. The ladder was slimy with algae.
Madame Pacquin squeezed her hands before pushing the tiny boat from the landing.
"May the Goddess protect you," she called softly.
They were gone.
Misly rowed for the opposite shore. The Irritara was smooth here, but swift. Her strokes slapped loudly, the sound echoing from the stone edifice above her. She hunched as small as she could, praying to her Goddess as she worked the screws.
Great Merciful Goddess, please guide me. She had never been the most devoted worshiper. Too busy reading obscure histories to heed her more divine studies.
Please, please protect my family. Had they managed to reach Brynn before the city fell? Did Ganon have forces moving throughout Hyrule? Please, don't let Han or Balka or Nelsin suffer. They are just children, please, oh Goddess.
It became a mantra, timed to her pulls. Please, please, please.
She hit a sandbar. The shore. She jumped out, dragging the boat further onto the beach. She was breathing quickly, but not hard. Sheik's spell kept her muscles ready, eager to move. What price would she pay for this when it wore off?
The enemy hordes moved through the outlying environs. Fires burned uncontrolled. Skirmishes broke out as they fought over food or a group of soldiers was discovered.
Misly ran through it all, clutching her cloak tightly around her. Keep on this road, Sheik had told her. The way was littered with wagons, barrels, bodies.
She refused to acknowledge the still bundles of cloth and fur lying on all sides. More humans than not, far more. How many had fallen? Could Hyrule survive this level of destruction? Where was Ordon, Drex, the Gerudo? Even the Zora or the Goron? Surely, they were concerned about the rise of Ganon in the land!
She was past the city. The road stretched before her, undulating over the rolling hills. She needed a horse.
The thought had barely formed when she heard hooves. She gripped her knife, slender and highly ineffectual, but all she had. She had to hide, but where?
A gravel pit. A half-loaded wagon. She dove under it, rolling painfully on the sharp rocks. She lay still, gasping for air now. Her legs had started to tremble. How long had she been running?
The hooves slowed and crunched on the gravel. She bit her lip, blinking back tears of frustration. She had to warn her queen!
The horse stopped and pawed the ground. Misly waited for the rider to dismount, to peer under this obvious hiding place.
They didn't. The horse nosed about, searching for edibles on the rocky ground. Misly chanced a peek.
The horse peered down at her. Saddled, but no rider. Misly wriggled free. What was this?
You asked for a horse.
She stayed perfectly still, disbelieving.
Hurry, fool girl!
"Thank you, Lady!" she whispered. It was a tall animal, much larger than her usual mount. The animal waited patiently while she clambered up. Then it snorted and moved back to the road.
Its trot moved into a cantor, then a gallop. Misly held on, eyes watering from the speed. They moved so smoothly, she could not tell how fast they were traveling.
Fast enough. Now, fly, child!
Misly fell asleep in the saddle and woke to shouts of alarm, commands to halt. She sat up in a panic.
The horse stopped of its own accord and stood blowing. Soldiers menaced her on all sides. She clutched her satchel close and gulped as they demanded answers.
"Enough," a man said, shoving through the throng. He looked up at her with narrowed eyes. She sighed in relief. He wore the colors of Ordon; this must be Zelda's army.
"Who are you?" he asked, his accent making him nearly unintelligible.
She slipped free of the stirrups. Her legs wobbled as she hit the ground. He steadied her and repeated his question.
"I am the Honorable Misly Thala Brynn. I have an urgent message for the queen."
He blinked at her. Deciphering her Hylian? "What message?"
"I must speak to her directly."
"The queen is busy. I am her-"
Misly's stamped her foot like a child. "I don't care who you are! I must speak with her immediately and you will take me to her! At once! That is an order, soldier!"
One of the others said something in Ordonian. She noticed belatedly that this tall man had a different style to the markings on his armor. An officer, maybe. Someone of rank.
He responded to his kinsman. Then, with obvious patience, "I understand your worry, lady, but the queen-"
"My worry?" she shrieked. She always got shrieky when she was angry; it was horrid. "While my people are slaughtered by shadow beasts and Ganon masquerades as your Prince, you speak to me of worry?"
He gripped her arm. "You've seen Link? Tell me-"
She jerked free and slapped him. "Unhand me!"
He gaped at her, his red cheek standing out against his tan. She turned away from him with a toss of her wind tangled hair.
"Will someone in this thrice cursed place take me to my queen?"
She almost did not recognize the woman who stepped out of the tent. She had always been stately, but now she was muscular. Her hair was bound up in knotted braids, a steely crown above her browned face.
But it was her. Her gentle smile and kind eyes.
"What is going on?" Zelda demanded. Misly broke from the agitated group escorting her and ran to her friend.
"Misly? What are you doing here?"
"My queen! You are alive, thank Hylia!"
"Why-?"
"Oh, it's just awful! Ganon has taken them city! He's disguised as the prince and everyone thinks Ordon has turned on us! Sheik sent me to warn you, to not trust him! You must march for the city at once! We are besieged, Trevil was Ganon's all along, let him into the palace! We can get you inside, but there are monsters and traitors everywhere! The Sheik'ah are coming, but we need you, my queen!"
Zelda stared down at her. "Link is in Castle Town?"
"But it's not him, Zelda. I saw him with my own eyes. I swear to you, that monster is not the man who came to us!"
Zelda soothed her. "I know, dear one. I was there when Ganon took him."
Misly's dashed her tears away impatiently. She didn't have time for hysterics right now. "My dearest, your father…your father…"
"Dead? I expected as much." The queen's face was hard.
"My queen, it is so much worse-! Trevil killed him, before the assembly. And let Ganon into the palace!"
Zelda took her elbow and steered her into the tent. "Don't worry, Misly. I'll deal with Lord Trevil before this is over. Sorrint!"
It was that tall officer. He followed them in. "Ma'am?"
"Gather the captains. And get Lady Misly something to drink." Zelda put a hand on Misly's forehead. "A topia? Who did this?"
"Sheik," Misly explained. "His people are marching to aid you but are still days away. There is a hidden way into the city, but the road is held by an army of Ganon's forces."
"How did you pass through?" this Sorrint asked.
Misly drew the amulet free of her tunic. "It will only protect one person, though."
"What hidden way?" Zelda asked.
"A tunnel, beneath the Goddess bridge. Leads to a tavern in the East End."
"Show me." Zelda rolled out a map of the country side. Castle Town occupied most of the upper corner. Wishing Han was there, Misly squinted at the squiggles crossing the paper.
"We are here," Sorrint said, pointing.
"I know!" she snapped. "I can read a map!" Sort of. She jabbed a finger at the bridge. "This one. Under the foundations. Monsters roam here and here." She actually found the gravel pit where she had hidden. Proud of her accomplishment, she looked to Zelda's thoughtful face.
"We'll need a distraction," the queen said. "Something to occupy the crytch, draw them from the bridge. Where does this tunnel lead?"
"It's a small tavern by the wall. You can trust them absolutely. Madame Pacquin aided Sheik while he hunted the conspirators."
"Pacquin?" Zelda repeated. Misly looked between her and Sorrint's startled looks.
"Yes, why?"
Zelda turned to the soldier. "Do you think he would remember?"
Sorrint scowled. "Maybe."
"Remember what?"
Zelda sighed and pressed her hands to her eyes. "Link. He used this tunnel to smuggle escaped slaves into Castle Town. He helped build it. If he suspects we would use it…"
"He would let us and slaughter us like rats in a trap." Sorrint also rubbed his face, exhaustion darkening his eyes. They were brown, she noticed, like his hair. "Question is, how much of Link's memories can Ganon see?"
"I'm not sure," Zelda said slowly. "I have only flashes, moments."
Misly watched her friend with new awe. The queen was almost a stranger, yet familiar, like someone she had met long ago. As the queen debated with Sorrint, Misly wondered at the power emanating from her.
"Zelda, my queen?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have Wisdom?"
Zelda started, turning from the map. She searched her face. "No. Ganon took it."
The room wavered, her legs trembling. Sorrint gripped her elbow and led her to a stool. She had to lean forward, head in her hands. "Then he has all three pieces?"
"No," Zelda said firmly. "Only Power and Wisdom."
"But, the Champion-?"
Zelda's face darkened for the first time. "Trust me, Misly. He does not control the Triforce."
"Drink this." Sorrint's held a cup to her lips. Before she could protest, his strong hand forced her head back, tipping the sour liquid into her mouth. She gulped it down and broke into coughing fit.
"Better?"
She scowled at him, head clearer, but ringing. "Warn me, next time!"
Others had gathered, speaking Ordonian and thick, slurring Hylian. Even a few Zora.
Zelda explained succinctly what had occurred. She outlined their options, the risks. She gave her opinion and then stood silent while they debated.
Misly tried to follow, but there were too many numbers traded back and forth, names and places she did not know, accents too thick. Rocks were moved across the map as they experimented with troop placement and lines of attack.
She rested her head in her hands, weary and a little tipsy from whatever Sorrint had given her. The noise smeared into warbling mass. It pressed on her ears and made her feel sick.
A hand on her shoulder. She looked up to that officer, Sorrint.
"Come rest," he said quietly. She shook her head, both negation and to clear it.
"What has been decided?"
His mouth thinned. "Nothing. The queen…" He considered his words. "The queen is very democratic."
Misly bristled at even this mild criticism of her sovereign. "We can't all be dictatorial savages!"
He frowned. "I'm sorry, lady, but I didn't understand that last phrase?"
He was so backward, one couldn't even insult the man properly! "Nothing," she said sullenly.
He was still puzzled. At least, she thought he was, watching her with a crease between his brows.
"What is your age?"
"What does it matter to you?" she spat back.
He smiled suddenly. "Nothing, I suppose."
"Sorrint?"
He looked her a moment more, then turned. "Yes, ma'am?"
"Walk with me."
Misly hesitated, then hurried after them. Her legs were stiff, but she hobbled as best she could to match their long strides.
Zelda saw her and included her with a slight smile. "My dear friend, how can I repay you for this service?"
Misly squeezed her hand. "Don't be silly. Seeing you again is more than enough reward."
"Your family? Your sisters?"
"Safe, I pray. Out of the city before the attack."
"But, how did you get mixed up in this? With Sheik? And the conspiracy?"
Misly told her story, amazed at how short a time it had been. It felt as if the season had lasted a lifetime.
Zelda laughed as she told of her betrothal to Trevil's son. "You poor thing! Did you suffer greatly?"
Misly shrugged. "I think he was the one to be pitied."
Sorrint muttered something. Zelda shot him a quick look of surprise.
"What did you say?" Misly demanded. Unchivalrous, making boorish comments in a language she couldn't understand. She was certain it was disparaging, as he flushed a little and said in his atrocious Hylian, "Had this Trevil been suspect before?"
"No," Zelda said slowly. "No. I never liked him, but to ally with Ganon? Who in their right mind would do such a thing?"
Misly shivered. Trevil wasn't in his right mind, not with those eyes. "I searched his rooms but couldn't find anything. And he suspected me, I could tell. His son had never paid the least attention to me before."
"Too light in the slipper?" Zelda suggested. Misly stuck her tongue out at her.
"No, too bookish!" she retorted.
Zelda leaned on a barrel, clutching her side as she laughed.
Sorrint was confused again. "What is a bookish?"
That only made the queen laugh harder and Misly's cheeks flame with indignation.
"Care to explain, my dear?" Zelda chortled.
"No, I do not!"
Zelda wiped her cheeks. "Oh, Misly, my darling, I have missed you!" She turned to Sorrint. "My lovely friend here is known the breadth of Hyrule for her flirtatious nature."
Misly's blush crept down her neck.
Sorrint's brows were arched in disbelief. "Is that so."
She wanted to stick her tongue out at him, too, but would not stoop to such childish behavior. "No need to sound so incredulous. I am accounted a great beauty; I can't help it if men adore me."
He swept a critical eye over her ragged and travel-worn person. "Indeed."
Her friend's stifled giggles helped her control her swelling temper. This man could not be baited into losing his, she was sure. She decided to resolutely ignore him.
"What are you going to do, my queen?"
Zelda sobered, but still smiled. "I don't know. I will think on it. But we will march at once. Sorrint, spread the word."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Your Majesty!" A call from her tent. She sighed.
"I must go. Can you-?"
Sorrint nodded. 'Yes, my queen."
The queen strode away, so changed, yet so much the same. The sword at her back glinted in the sunlight.
"Lady?"
Misly shook off her preoccupation. She body ached and the spirits were wearing off.
"I'm tired," she said miserably.
"After such a journey, I believe it." He gestured for her to follow. "You can ride in a wagon, if you wish. Sleep for a few hours."
She nodded. "And some food?"
"Of course." He led her to a wide, low tent. "Miss Hale will take care of you."
A thin, smiling woman greeted her with a bob of her head. She didn't speak, but gestured for Misly to enter, miming eating and drinking.
Sorrint detained her a moment, his hand light on her wrist.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "The queen needed your message. Needed you."
She examined his face, square and stern. "Why do you call her your queen?"
"Because she is. Or she will be, when she marries my prince."
Misly swallowed. "And if we can't save him?"
Sorrint spoke with absolute certainty. "We will. We have to."
Misly wished she felt his confidence. Ganon had been so powerful. His mere presence had left a mar on her soul, a burn. How could the prince bear it? Could he? Or had his soul be consumed long ago?
"You are very brave," Sorrint said.
She turned to frown at him.
"Aiding Sheik. Risking your safety with this Trevil." He seemed to consider his words again. "Will this son of Trevil be worried about you?"
Misly snorted rudely. "About me? He's more likely to sob over his horses than some feathery chit like me."
Another Hylian phrase he didn't understand. "He thinks you're a bird?"
"No, chit, feathery chit. It means he thinks I'm stupid and shallow. Vain."
"Oh. Well, then he is a fool." Sorrint gave her a salute. "Excuse, ma'am, I will be needed."
Misly watched him go, his own sword riding jaunty over his shoulder. Miss Hale was back, proffering a bowl of the most delicious smelling food Misly had ever had the pleasure of seeing.
Zelda considered all through the day, as her army marched toward her home. She searched through Link's memories, good and bad, trying to find the answer.
She dreamed of the misty woods again. She did every night, but now she walked with purpose. She could see a light ahead, glowing in the distance. The whispers could not draw her away any longer.
And even in her dreams she hesitated. What should she do? How to sneak her army in? How to take the gate? Should they trust such a route? She needed each of her soldiers if she was to win. Every death gave Ganon a greater chance at victory.
She had been lucky in her nearly seven years of rule. She had never faced a war, never battled an enemy on her own soil. She had always been the more powerful of two adversaries, her might tempering the aggression of lessor nations.
Now, she was the weak one. Now, she knew the men she sent to fight and die. For her, for her throne.
For their freedom.
That truth gave her courage. She had to stop him, no matter the cost to her or her people.
Use it.
Zelda sat up in the darkness. She slept on the ground by her Lieutenants. They had not even taken time to pitch tents. She stood and walked carefully to top of the rise. The sentry acknowledged her and faded back into the darkness.
She looked north and west, toward her home. Her enemy and her prince.
The way will be prepared for you. Trust in him.
She touched the hilt of her silvery Sword. I do, she told it.
She went back to her bed and lay looking at the stars until the sky began to lighten.
It had been many years since she had come to the city. Impa stood on a small ridge, the last of the Faron range before the great field and the capital of Hyrule. The sun was just rising and her people were on the move.
They sang as they marched. Their battle hymns startled the birds into flight. Soon would be the time for stealth. But now they rejoiced in their purpose.
The smaller towns and villages along this road were abandoned. The populace had fled when news of the city's fall swept out into the countryside.
Raphio joined her, balancing his great-sword over one shoulder.
"Any word of the queen's army?" he asked.
"Moving north along the Hateno Road." Impa said, enjoying the dull sunrise. Behind the clouds, the faintest pink and purple glowed. One never knew which sunrise would be their last. "They will reach the city by nightfall."
"Then we must pick up the pace," Raphio said cheerfully. "Oi! Sil! Yhella!" He jogged down the hill to join the column of Sheik'ah.
Impa touched the token at her neck. It warmed for a moment, then faded. He was alive, somewhere in the city. Ganon's magic obscured him, blocked their connection.
Impa smiled, her scarred lip tugging it into a leer. She would enjoy breaking the Shadowlord's magic.
"My lord? The queen's army has been sighted! They are advancing on the Hateno."
He rose from his lounge in the Hylian throne. The king's body still lay where it had slumped to the floor. Its fetid stink was masked by the beasts crouched in the shadows.
"Good. They will try to breach the gate."
The man, a Hylian, swallowed nervously. "And…"
"And?"
"And there is another army, from the west."
Ordon. He smiled. "And?"
"And the east."
Sheik'ah. "Tell me, any Goron seen tumbling down from Eldin? Or mighty Rito soaring through the sky?"
"No, my lord? There is word of fleet of ships up the Menoat."
The Zora always did stick their tails in everyone else's business. "Prepare to meet them. If the queen is sighted, alert me at once."
"Yes, sir."
A cowardly man, regretting his decisions. He would die with the rest of them. "Go."
Ordon kicked the crytch free of his sword. There were different clans here, but they died the same. His men rolled over the first wave and broke the next on the same advance.
These crytch had never faced the Demon Watch.
Once in the outlying borough, the crytch could retreat into alleys and doorways. It split the Ordonians' force. But they trained for this, fighting in pairs or alone, regrouping, circling, always moving forward.
Men fell. Their comrades carried them on. Healed them if possible or left them resting in Ordona's arms.
Ordon stood breathing hard as the last of the crytch in this quarter fled. The city loomed above them. The bridge rose majestic to the gate. It was a death trap he would not send him men to die in.
They gathered in the plaza before the bridge. The rumble of battle from across the delta could be heard over the roar of the water.
"The queen!" Someone shouted, pointing to a flag snapping in the wind. "Do we join her?"
"No," Ordon said. They had to divide Ganon's forces, split his attention. Ordona had been perfectly clear. They were to hold this bridge, attack from the west. "We hold here and wait."
The battle-thirsty soldiers grumbled at their bridle. Even a thousand strong, the largest gathering of their kind in a generation, they were no match for the might of Ganon.
So, they defended and watched. Small groups of roaming crytch attacked throughout the afternoon and evening. Sorties from the city were sent to test them, pick away at their strength. Arrows flew thick and the beasts fell long before they reached their line.
The queen was being pushed back. As the light faded, her army retreated along the road. They were rebuffed at each attempt to flank. They had no chance alone.
Ordon stood firm and waited.