“They’re coming!” a Gilead sentry shouted.

King Sturdy Axe stood on the roof of the Command Tower, located in the middle of the southern wall. It was the highest point on the four walls of Gilead, and from his perch, he could see all the approaches to the castle. Hundreds of goblin archers from the Black Eye Tribe were advancing from every direction.

“Signal archer attack, all four walls,” King Sturdy Axe commanded, his tone calm and collected, as if he conducted warfare on a daily basis. Dwarves with crossbows bustled about, taking up various firing positions.

“Signal catapult launch, four volleys at medium range, one in each direction,” King Sturdy Axe ordered.

The Command Tower flag dwarf signaled the catapult positioned just below. A moment later, the first large stone hurdled past the Command Tower, flying north. It landed outside the walls of Gilead, crushing several advancing goblins. Three more volleys followed, fired in different directions, all with the same results.

The dwarven rams’ horns sounded and the air erupted with missile fire. Dwarves were too short to use the bows of men, so they opted to use the smaller crossbows with steel bolts, often magicked.

They were a good match for the goblins who used a much shorter, somewhat cruder, version of the longbows of men and elves. The dwarves held the advantages of height and protected positions, while the goblins held the advantage of heavily superior numbers.

King Sturdy Axe watched the battle unfold, with the first barrage of goblin arrows whizzing all about. One goblin arrow struck the west wall flag dwarf in the shoulder. He was quickly replaced, while the battle raged and both goblin and dwarf blood began to flow.

The largest number of Black Eye archers attacked both the east and west walls. Commanders Iron Fist of the Mountain Dwarves and White Fang of the Woodland Water Dwarves managed to drive off the attackers, although dwarf casualties were high. Some boo gah drums sounded and an even larger force of Black Eye archers, about a thousand total, advanced on the south wall. 

King Sturdy Axe had his flag dwarf signal for reinforcements to the south wall. As soon as they arrived, an intense exchange of bolts and arrows erupted, lasting nearly an hour. Casualties were again high on both sides, including the south wall flag dwarf who took an arrow through the throat.

King Sturdy Axe, along with most of his dwarves, had been focused on the attackers at the south wall when the ram’s horn sounded a blast of alarm from the north wall. Column after column of goblin archers had taken up positions there.

There were too many to count, but King Sturdy Axe had to guess that it was at least five thousand Black Eye archers launching this newest attack. The air became dark with goblin arrows, killing many dwarves positioned on the north wall and towers.

King Sturdy Axe signaled all of his remaining crossbow reserves to the north wall, and ordered the catapult to fire continuously into the enemy ranks advancing there.

It took thirty minutes of fighting before the continuous pounding of the catapult rocks finally drove the large goblin force back, but the cost was high. Most of the crossbow dwarves originally assigned to the north wall were dead, along with some of the reserves.

Within minutes, all four walls reported specific numbers and the news was grim. Of his four thousand crossbow warriors positioned on the walls, a fourth had been killed. Another two thousand were wounded from slightly to severely, leaving just about a thousand unharmed.

A very high cost for just the first day of battle, but the Black Eye Tribe had also suffered. When they retreated, they left a couple thousand goblin bodies strewn about the fields at the foot of the walls of Gilead. The struggle for the dwarven stronghold had a very bloody start.

                                              *     *     *

Back on the roof of King Wilsom’s palace, Lord Haven was watching while Trader Town prepared for war. It was quiet down below, because he had ordered that all of the women and children be moved into the palace.

He continued to look about, and noticed that there was trouble at the East Bridge. The chains that pulled the bridge in were tangled in the main sprocket and it had only been retracted about a foot.

A captain named Weser was wrenching on a large pick, trying to separate the chain, while six men unwound it from the main sprocket. Weser was a skinny, but muscular man, with incredibly talents as a mechanic. He was in his mid-fifties, and walked with a limp from an old wound.

It appeared as if his crew would have it fixed rather quickly, when a goblin drum began beating and fifty large Bone Breakers appeared. They had come out from some nearby boulders brandishing spears. Several of them launched their spears, killing two of Captain Weser’s men.

Lord Haven looked about for nearby help, and spotted Lord Torse’s squad carting some boulders towards the palace, only a half a field from the East Bridge.

Lord Torse, and his twin brother Lord Tagtor, commanded the two roving city patrols of eight men each. They were easily recognizable, because the city patrols wore a highly polished black armor designed especially for them, due to their mostly ceremonial duties in a trade community such as this.

“Lord Torse, East Bridge!” Lord Haven shouted at the man below. “The East Bridge is under attack!”

Lord Torse looked up, and then looked towards the East Bridge. He gave a command that Lord Haven could not hear, causing his men to draw their weapons and rush towards the melee.

By the time Lord Torse and his squad covered the distance and reached the bridge, only Captain Weser and one of his men were still alive. The bridge was twelve feet wide, with both men standing side by side, in the center, holding off the remaining forty goblins.

“Fix the bridge!” Lord Torse shouted at Captain Weser while he and his squad pushed past him.

Lord Torse blocked a goblin spear thrust with his sword and quickly chopped the beast down. A second goblin rushed him. He side-stepped, and shoved the attacking foe hard, toppling him off the bridge into the churning magical moat water three feet below. The goblin struggled for a moment, and then disappeared under the steaming rushing water.

Lord Torse and his men quickly cleared the bridge of the green foe and jumped across into the remaining goblins who had been waiting to cross. The man next to Lord Torse fell, speared through his mid-section. Lord Torse sliced through the goblin that had killed the man.

Captain Weser and his remaining warrior managed to unravel the chain and were wrenching on the sprocket handle with all their strength. The bridge began to move, just in time, because five large yorgs had rallied the goblins.

They were leading a counterattack against Lord Torse and his remaining men, killing three of them. The rest of the dwindling patrol were now being pushed back to the moving bridge.

One of the warriors in front of Torse fell when a yorg drove a spear through his shoulder. The speared warrior drove his sword deep into the belly of the yorg that had wounded him, causing it to fall off the bridge while still holding onto the spear stuck in the warrior’s shoulder. Both goblin leader and warrior toppled into the rushing moat water together and disappeared beneath the surface.

Lord Torse ordered his last two men back onto the moving bridge, now that the gap was at four feet and still growing. One man either did not hear him or did not heed his command. The man struck down two more goblins and was then speared through his chest by another charging yorg.

Lord Torse and his remaining squad member jumped the gap and turned to fend off more attackers at the edge of the retracting bridge. One goblin jumped across the gap, only to be sliced in half in mid-air by Lord Torse, spraying green blood all over both men. Captain Weser and his man continued cranking the bridge to a five-foot gap.

The largest yorg let out a hideous bellow and rushed forward, leaping into the air. He barely made the jump onto the bridge, and if he had been from any tribe other than the extra-large Bone Breakers, he wouldn’t have.

The large goblin leader teetered on the edge of the bridge for a moment, and reached out grabbing the warrior’s cloak. For a second, it could have gone either way, but then the big yorg fell backwards towards the water, dragging the man with him.

The hapless warrior let out a yelp of surprise, and then followed the goblin leader over the edge into the racing water. Both man and beast were swept away. No more goblins attempted the jump and the bridge slowly slid across coming to a rest on the city side of the moat.

Lord Torse jumped to land after the bridge slid into its closed position. He turned to congratulate Captain Weser, but didn’t get a word out. One of the remaining yorgs had thrown a spear across the moat, finding its mark.

The weapon pierced Lord Torse through the back of his beautiful armor, and after ripping through flesh, it popped out the front of the chest plate almost a foot. The gruesome spear had scored a direct hit through his heart. Lord Torse looked down in surprise, falling face first into the dust, his life gone before he hit the ground.

Captain Weser grimaced as he watched the man who had just saved him die. He and his last man retreated to the relative safety of the nearest tower, as a large boulder flew over their heads and smashed a nearby shack to splinters. The giants were back!

From his rooftop palace perch, Lord Haven could see the giants approaching on all fronts. Several were pulling large wooden carts that creaked with the weight of the boulders packed on them. Men began to run for cover when the large rocks began bouncing off buildings and towers.

The tall Lord Haven threw himself behind the three-foot wall that ringed the palace roof when a large boulder hit the palce below him, smashing through the exterior wall, and leaving a gaping hole in its wake.  The sound was terrifying each time a boulder struck a structure and people began to scream in agony. The pounding of the city went on for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, the rocks subsided, and Lord Haven was able to stand up. What he saw was appalling. It looked like every building and tower had been hit. He could see splintered wood and stone blocks from various structures scattered about the streets. Some had minor damage, while others were nearly demolished. His beautiful city had taken a beating.

Lord Haven found himself staring at one of the towers near the West Bridge. He could not understand how it was still standing. Large sections of it had been knocked asunder and it was leaning severely. It looked like a strong breeze would topple it into the moat. He could see some movement on the roof, and realized that there were men still alive there.

One of the East Bridge towers was also heavily damaged, with half of it gone. The palace had only been hit once. Although Trader Town did not have walls, there were four stone barricades at each corner of the city.

These barricades were built as defensive positions and were almost half a field long. They all seemed to be intact. After the dust settled, an aide rushed onto the roof.

“Lord Haven,” he blurted, “Initial casualty reports are in. A hundred and fifty-five men have been killed and at least double that have been wounded. About twenty citizens were also killed. They were aiming mostly for the towers, but it looks like we survived the brunt of it.”

For now, Lord Haven thought, while he watched the giants pulling the now empty carts away. They would be returning, carrying more death.

                                           *     *     *

The men of Frontier Fortress could hear the victory chants of several thousand Skull Crushers down in Kaylor Pass. The glow of a giant bonfire could be seen just below where it topped out, lighting up the twilight sky. The goblins were celebrating the capture of the pass, but King Quaid was not worried about them right now, his concern was for his oldest son.

Lord Prince Jayden had brought his brother in a few minutes earlier, unconscious and bleeding heavily from the left side of his chest, where the remainder of the shiny black shaft of the arrow could be seen. Blood was also tricking from both corners of Lord Prince Benhurst’s lips.

The dying man’s eyes fluttered open, and realizing where he was, he spoke with labored breath, “Father, I have failed you.”

“Your plans were good son. Your men killed many goblins today,” King Quaid reassured his son, and then turned to the royal physician and said, “Bring some of the healing waters from Timber Lake!”

“Sire, it won’t help, he is too deeply wounded,” the royal physician said, his face wrinkled in dismay.

“Bring it!” King Quaid shouted, his voice booming through the royal quarters, his waist long hair braid swinging back and forth when he yelled.

“Father . . . make them pay . . . make them . . . pay . . .” Lord Prince Benhurst spat out the words, blood mixed with spittle.

The prince’s face grew calm as he stared at the broken arrow shaft protruding from his chest, and said, “I wonder where they got such fancy arrows?”

He drew one last breath and crossed over into the land of the dead. King Quaid stared at his eldest son for a few moments, and then looked at Lord Prince Jayden.

“I want all archers and crossbowmen to take up their stations on the outer walls. You are to go to the South Tower and take command of the ballista and the defense of the Main Gate below. Don’t let the enemy breach your position. Do not abandon your position unless you hear the bell in Hogarth’s Hall sound. If it sounds, fall back to the hall,” his father scowled in anger. “I’ll be on the North Tower with the catapult. We’ll honor your brother’s last request and make them pay for every inch of this fortress. We’ll spill their blood and cover the fields to the very gates of Hogarth’s Hall!”

Hogarth’s Hall was a small stone fortress in the center of Frontier Fortress, which had been the seat of power during Hogarth’s reign, many centuries before. Originally it had been called Kaylor, named after the giant that Hogarth himself had killed in the nearby pass that now bore its name. Men of the Glen still often referred to the kingdom as the Frontier Fortress at Kaylor.

The Hills of Hogarth had several huge cedar groves scattered across it. These trees were as tall as giants and as big around as horses. Giant cedar posts from these trees were used to build the eighteen-foot walls around Hogarth’s Hall.

The posts came to sharp points at the top of the walls, with large wooden platforms attached to the insides, at heights that allowed the archers to shoot from between the sharp post points at the top. These pointed parapets allowed for excellent cover for the men positioned there.

Five of these platforms protected the ancient Hall of Hogarth, and each could hold six to eight men comfortably. The platforms were accessed from the courtyard by large sturdy wooden ladders.

Sections of this wooden wall had been replaced at various times, throughout the years, although the main hall was still the same stone building that the first high king of the Glen had ruled from centuries before.

A second, much larger cedar post wall, had been built surrounding the outer buildings that had sprung up over the years. This exterior wall was designed much the same as the interior wall, except it had fifteen archer platforms that encircled the fortress.

This second larger wall was where the archers of the kingdom were now taking up positions, as they prepared to defend their home from the goblin army that had come to destroy them.