Siege!
You decide that siege towers would provide you with one epic thrust to take the fortress and make a battle to be remembered. Construction begins immediately on these massive wooden mobile towers. The towers are fitted with metal plates for protection and a specially designed gate will drop down and allow troops to pour into enemy walls quickly and effectively. The plan is simple, towers will be position in a circle around the entire enemy fortress and be pushed inward, hopefully all landing simultaneously to overpower the enemy. It takes almost a month to complete construction of all these towers as well as to arm your troops for the up and coming battle. You replace pitchforks and clubs with maces and pikes and replace cloth armor with leather armor for all the troops you possibly can. Still you are not pleased with how the majority of the troops are outfitted but hope that their overwhelming superiority in numbers shall do.
The public grows fickle and is beginning to lose faith in the Church's ability to protect them from the forces of evil. The attack is planned for the morning, and you mobilize all of your troops. Your most zealous and powerful warriors shall be at the top of the towers, and they are to be the first ones to combat the enemies head on and hopefully make way for more of the Churches crusaders. Archers shall fire arrows to cover the siege towers approach and even if a few towers are lost, the armies will divert movement to the remaining towers.
The sun rises on the eventful day and the men are hopeful that victory is upon them. They fight with God at their side and they do not even consider the possibility of defeat. There are twenty towers in all and they are a site behold. Like titans moving across the earth they begin to roll across the landscape. The earth shakes as the troops begin to move and the rumble of massive wooden wheels fills the air. You look up to the fortress and imagine the fear the infidels must be filled with, knowing there end is at hand. The towers begin taking fire from flaming arrows when they are halfway to the walls. Then, catapults begin launching pots of burning oil and heavy stones at the towers. Three towers are crushed by flying rocks and two more are set ablaze to the point where men are jumping out of them to escape the fire. At this point the forest people are decimating any exposed troops with clouds of arrows. They seem to be launching arrows at an incredibly rapid rate, so many fly so quickly from those crenulations while the archers themselves are barely visible.
It is too late to call of the attack so you press it on, sending in all of your archers and slingers to cover the towers. They are butchered by the forest people's superior accuracy and before long the landscape has a thick coating of carnage. By the time the catapults reach the walls, only seven remain, the rest crushed by rocks or abandon burning in the battlefield. Troops rush out of the towers eager to exact their revenge but they are pelted with pots of burning oil and arrows. The few burning troops that run through and charge the enemy warriors are slaughtered. Troops rush up the seven remaining towers to their doom. While the enemy must be suffering losses you know they are minimal. Soon, the remaining towers are set ablaze by burning oil and troops on the ground remain nothing more than empty sacks of flesh riddled with arrows. Your army has been decimated. The towers burn throughout the night, but their flames do not damage the stone and metal fortress, so strong is its construction. When the flames finally die down hoards of birds arrive to feed upon the carrion. It is horrific site, the bodies of fellow soldiers being feasted upon by nature. Every time men are sent to try to negotiate or recover the bodies they are met with arrows. The bodies are never recovered and given a proper burial.
The only explanation for this pitiful defeat is that God has abandoned you. There is no hope left; the infidels are left to inherit the earth. If this was a test of faith you have failed. You realize that there is no reason for you to remain upon this earth so you unsheathe your sword and run at the castle as fast as you can. Uncharacteristically, the forest people do not shoot to kill you. Instead, they hurl a small stone at your head which bounces off your helmet but knocks you to the ground. Then four arrows in rapid succession pin you to the ground. One arrow in each wrist and one in each ankle leaves you pinned to the ground in a cross. You find yourself unable to move as the birds come in and feast upon you while you still draw breath. It is a fitting punishment for your failure.
The public grows fickle and is beginning to lose faith in the Church's ability to protect them from the forces of evil. The attack is planned for the morning, and you mobilize all of your troops. Your most zealous and powerful warriors shall be at the top of the towers, and they are to be the first ones to combat the enemies head on and hopefully make way for more of the Churches crusaders. Archers shall fire arrows to cover the siege towers approach and even if a few towers are lost, the armies will divert movement to the remaining towers.
The sun rises on the eventful day and the men are hopeful that victory is upon them. They fight with God at their side and they do not even consider the possibility of defeat. There are twenty towers in all and they are a site behold. Like titans moving across the earth they begin to roll across the landscape. The earth shakes as the troops begin to move and the rumble of massive wooden wheels fills the air. You look up to the fortress and imagine the fear the infidels must be filled with, knowing there end is at hand. The towers begin taking fire from flaming arrows when they are halfway to the walls. Then, catapults begin launching pots of burning oil and heavy stones at the towers. Three towers are crushed by flying rocks and two more are set ablaze to the point where men are jumping out of them to escape the fire. At this point the forest people are decimating any exposed troops with clouds of arrows. They seem to be launching arrows at an incredibly rapid rate, so many fly so quickly from those crenulations while the archers themselves are barely visible.
It is too late to call of the attack so you press it on, sending in all of your archers and slingers to cover the towers. They are butchered by the forest people's superior accuracy and before long the landscape has a thick coating of carnage. By the time the catapults reach the walls, only seven remain, the rest crushed by rocks or abandon burning in the battlefield. Troops rush out of the towers eager to exact their revenge but they are pelted with pots of burning oil and arrows. The few burning troops that run through and charge the enemy warriors are slaughtered. Troops rush up the seven remaining towers to their doom. While the enemy must be suffering losses you know they are minimal. Soon, the remaining towers are set ablaze by burning oil and troops on the ground remain nothing more than empty sacks of flesh riddled with arrows. Your army has been decimated. The towers burn throughout the night, but their flames do not damage the stone and metal fortress, so strong is its construction. When the flames finally die down hoards of birds arrive to feed upon the carrion. It is horrific site, the bodies of fellow soldiers being feasted upon by nature. Every time men are sent to try to negotiate or recover the bodies they are met with arrows. The bodies are never recovered and given a proper burial.
The only explanation for this pitiful defeat is that God has abandoned you. There is no hope left; the infidels are left to inherit the earth. If this was a test of faith you have failed. You realize that there is no reason for you to remain upon this earth so you unsheathe your sword and run at the castle as fast as you can. Uncharacteristically, the forest people do not shoot to kill you. Instead, they hurl a small stone at your head which bounces off your helmet but knocks you to the ground. Then four arrows in rapid succession pin you to the ground. One arrow in each wrist and one in each ankle leaves you pinned to the ground in a cross. You find yourself unable to move as the birds come in and feast upon you while you still draw breath. It is a fitting punishment for your failure.
