The Siege of Del Mitinri - RPG Fiction, Sir Walter's Story #2
Sir Walter Garley's men were grumbling. Even more than usual, and that was saying something. It was one of the privileges of being a mercenary. You were allowed, and even expected, to gripe about anything that didn't involve a wagon full of loot and a tavern heaving with beer and young available locals of whatever gender and species you preferred.
Captain Sir Walter Garley
Photo by Gio Bartlett on Unsplash
But sitting outside a fortress trying to shelter from the blazing heat of a desert summer was no-one's idea of fun.
"How much longer are we going to sit here, Rickard ?" moaned Sergeant Palomel. "Hasn't anyone told the brass running this shitshow that trying to starve the undead out is a bloody stupid idea ?" He was only in his twenties, but looked a lot older, a gnarly veteran of more battles and skirmishes than he cared to remember, the scar across his face burned bright red by the relentless sun.
The half-elf sitting opposite Palomel pulled his canvas sheet further up, trying to create a bit more shade. He sighed, echoing his comrade's frustration, rubbing the tips of his pointed ears and wishing they were less prone to sunburn. "We've got to take the place, even if it is a broken down dump. We can't move south and leave it behind us. If we own Del Mitinri, it's a supply depot. But if we leave it in the hands of the enemy it sits square across our line of retreat."
They looked up at the fortress sitting on a rise that was only a little higher than the ground around it. It's worn but still tough-looking sandstone walls were the same tone as the surrounding landscape. The only thing that wasn't a yellow-brown shade was the sea lapping at the castle's eastern side, glittering in the harsh sunlight like a mirror. The beach looked beautiful, a long, wide stretch of sand. But the foam out to sea told of shoals and rocks which made it impossible to bring supplies in by ship.
The only safe anchorage was right under the walls of Del Mitinri, and was one of the reasons the Cassarans had picked that spot for their northern sentinel. The other was that it protected the kingdom from invaders from the north, covering the narrow pass between the sea and the deep desert.
The truth was that they had only been here for two weeks. They had landed in Tiraz a month ago, hired for what they had been told was a policing job. That hadn't been exactly true, but the Company hadn't minded. They were all experienced mercenaries, and they knew how the game was played.
What had been a surprise was a week of frantic forced marching across the desert, travelling hard by night and resting in the heat of the day, rushing to meet up with the main army. That had been followed by a vicious battle just south of Abadar, and another rapid march afterwards to where they were now.
Two weeks of sitting in front of a fort that had been overrun by an undead horde. Most of those living dead had been returned to death, their shattered bones scattered across the desert at Wadi al Naffatiyeh. But there were still plenty in the fortress holding it under the command of their beast-headed demon masters.
The few siege engines the army had managed to assemble kept up a desultory barrage, periodically lobbing barrels of alchemists fire and (more rarely) pots of holy water into the castle's interior. But it was more to make the point that the place was under siege than to inflict any serious harm. The soldiers had long since given up cheering for each projectile that found a target. It was just too much effort in the energy-sapping heat.
Palomel opened his mouth to deliver an appropriately sarcastic reply to his friend, but stopped when they heard the beat of approaching hooves.
Men stirred from under their shelters, and voices could be heard murmuring "It's Sir Walter. He's back, looks to be in a hurry."
Their commander pulled his grey stallion to a halt, a huge grin plastered across his weathered face.
"Uh-oh", quipped Palomel. "No-one ever does a shark-face like that to bring good news."
Sir Walter held a hand up and spoke in a loud, clear voice. "I have fabulous tidings for you, men. His Majesty has been impressed by your steadfastness and bravery. He has asked for volunteers for a mission of the utmost importance and no little peril. Naturally, I have offered our services."
"Naturally", muttered Palomel. "No little peril. We're going to bloody die, aren't we ?"
"I heard that !" called the commander, as Palomel pulled his shelter over his head and tried to duck down. He knew that Sir Walter wouldn't actually do anything about a bit of minor insubordination. For all his flowery words he was a good leader with a knack for keeping his men alive.
"Feast yourselves tonight on whatever we have. I'll throw in a barrel of my own personal ale. Our Cassaran allies have found a man, an engineer who helped repair this place after the earthquake a few years back. He claims to know of a secret sally port our foes have yet to discover. All we have to do is stroll in at dawn tomorrow, open up the main gate and hold it for a little while until the main army can mount an assault. Just an easy morning stroll, nothing to worry about."
The men stirred, a buzz of excitement going through the ranks like lightning. Heat, tiredness and grumbles were forgotten now there was a chance of some proper action. Even Palomel dropped his façade of jaded griping. "Up for a bet, Rickard ? Bottle of brandy to whichever of us gets to the main gate first ! "
The company crept along the rock-cut passageway towards the fort's interior. It was hard for a hundred men to move silently, but they did a pretty good job of it, and their discipline meant that there was no chatter as they moved. Sir Walter was in the lead, accompanied by Felipe the engineer, marking out pitfalls and other traps as they went.
Up ahead, they could see the end of the tunnel, and steel barred gate and dazzling dawn sunlight. Rickard moved forward, flattening himself against the walls to use every scrap of cover and shade as he went to do his job. Lockpicks clicked quietly in his hands, and after a few seconds, he looked back and motioned for the company to come forward.
They burst into the courtyard in a wave of flashing steel, some moving left to create a defensive wall, while others moved right and closed into a dense wedge formation. The wedge held for a few seconds until everyone was in position, then advanced as one at a gentle trot towards the gate, a solid block of armour, shields and blades with Sergeant Palomel at the point.
For a few seconds, they were unopposed, the undead seemingly caught unaware by this sudden assault. Then the sand erupted with skeletal forms, spears and bronze kopeshes clutched in fleshless hands, as a wave of other monstrosities emerged from buildings at the far side to challenge the covering defensive formation.
A pair of mummies in tattered dun-coloured bandages stepped forward from the gatehouse, a far greater threat than the mundane undead the wedge was already smashing through. They didn't last long; Rickard might not be a heavily-armoured swordsman like his companions, but he knew how to move with discretion and use all the cover he could find. Emerging from a shadow right by the gatehouse he flung a terracotta flask from each hand. The two mummies were soaked in oil as the flasks shattered, and then bathed in flames as the burning rags tied around each flask's neck ignited the oil and their age-desiccated bandages.
The armoured wedge drove straight over the burning corpses, trampling them down in a mass of sparks, flaming linen scraps, and bone fragments. Palomel and Rickard's hands both touched the heavy wooden bar to the main gate simultaneously.
Rickard laughed "I guess that's a bottle of brandy each ! We are going to be in such a state by tomorrow morning."
Authors Note
This is a bit of fiction covering background events in the ongoing D&D story arc I've been running.
It's all stuff the players have heard about second-hand, as part of the background, rather than things the characters have done themselves. I do like them to feel that the rest of the world has stuff going on, that they aren't the only ones having a bit of excitement !
This story is leading to something that relates to setting up the next story arc once the current one is finished, so let me know if you like what I've done and want to see where it is going.......