No more elven headhunters were encountered that night. I thanked the Moon Maidens for this small blessing. Instead we ran into a scouting party from Gothol'gul during the morning hours after leaving our camp, which we didn't even demolish this time around, and marching on the fortified village. The rangers screening our force kept them well away from the main body of my troops. They didn't take them out either though. Instead of killing or capturing them, they let the enemy scouts escape after a brief skirmish, following them back to Gothol'gul, just to make sure that was where they had actually come from. They already knew that we were coming and it wasn't like they had gleaned any new information about us after all.

Supposedly it was one way to make sure that no other enemy force large enough to give us trouble was around. I certainly could see it working. Why range far and wide to search for an army, if the enemy's scouts could lead you right back to it? The scouts were not relying on that alone though. I still worried about running them ragged but Tortho reassured me that he had everything well in hand. He rotated his men and women to make sure everyone got a chance to rest. The addition of the harpies to their number helped as well and not just because the scouts didn't have to deliver any messages themselves. Many of the harpies were hunters and expert trackers as well after all. They knew what they were doing. It was just a whole different kind of prey they were stalking now. The dark elf captain even considered hiring some of them for good once we returned from this campaign.

When we reached Gothol'gul the people living there were ready for us. Or at least they were as ready as they could be. The few farmhouses outside the settlement's walls had been put to the torch, together with the fields and the barns. They had probably done it to deny us any resources and to clear the area in front of the walls for their archers and crossbow men. It was a rather futile gesture. Understandable but futile. We wouldn't need any of their food and the cleared fields would allow Yath'zur and his fellows to bombard the walls from well outside the archer's range of fire.

None of the wall breakers were impressed by the village's walls either. The young giant stood at my side as the gross of the rest of my soldiers started to surround the village well outside of bow and crossbow range. He snorted and shook his head. “That wall might as well not be there at all. Too many small stones. Entirely too much mortar. It isn't even really high enough to stop most of our troops. Its more like a fancy garden enclosure I would use to keep the wildlife out of the vegetable paddies.”

That earned him some laughs. Only Arngard, the human mercenary officer, shot the giant officer an amused look before adding some thoughts of his own. “A few of us might need ladders though. Not everyone is a giant of one kind or another.” He paused briefly, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. “Or you could lift us up there two at a time.”

The giant grinned at the human's rebuttal. “We could. Or we could just knock it all over. My people have been gathering additional ammunition ever since we left the fort in the pass. You know, we just pick up a shiny pebble here or there along the way.” That comment caused more laughter. Those shiny pebbles were more often than not larger than the head of any of us.

I cut in at that point. “That is what we will do. First though I'd like to give them a chance to reconsider.” I pointed at the gate facing our way. It wasn't really much to look at either. I could see from here, that the wood of the gate was old and brittle. And the gate house built around it looked like it was only the roots of the ivy growing all over it that were still holding it together. Still there were some armed men eyeing us, half hidden behind the battlements. “Can you knock that down first?”

Yath'zur nodded. “I'll do it myself. One or two ranging shots. Maybe a dozen after that to turn the whole thing into a pile of rubble. Probably less.” He looked my way. “Once all of my Wall Breakers are in position we probably could take down most of the wall, and probably the buildings right behind it, before the sun sets.”

“Good.” I liked the sound of that. “Focus on that gate first though. I want them to have a taste of what is in store for them before offering them a chance to safe their lives.”

He nodded and got going. He moved only a few steps ahead of our lines. Not because he had to get closer to hit the gate, it was already well within his range, or so he had proclaimed at least, but to make sure he had room to use his heavy sling without hitting any of the other mercenaries. He braced his heavy shield with his spears to provide cover just in case the humans should have anything behind these miserably walls that could reach him. One of his troll companions brought him a pair of stones.

At that moment I noticed Quu'za running towards us behind the encircling soldiers. She waved as she came to a stop just a few steps from me, kicking up a small cloud of dust. “We have encircled the village. We left the path leading up to the other gate open, just like you asked.” She paused to smooth some of her feathers. “There are some fresh tracks leading away from the gate on the path but not a lot of them.”

I nodded and looked back towards the gate just as the first heavy stone crashed into it. It didn't hit dead center but a little off to the side. Maybe that was for the better. The brittle wood held just long enough for the hinges on that side to be pulled from the mortar. The half broken gate now hang only from the hinges on the other side, collapsing halfway after only this one hit. Alarmed screams rose from the defenders but they were quickly drowned out by the cheers of my men and women.

I turned back to Quu'za for only the briefest of moments as I didn't want to miss the giant's next shot. “Head back to the other side and keep an eye on everything.” She nodded, turned on her heels and was gone again like the wind, kicking up even more dust.

Some archers and crossbow men on the wall adjourning the gate let loose but none of their arrows and bolts came even close to Yath'zur. The only thing the defenders achieved with that defiant gesture was that mercenaries all along the circle around the walled village broke into a bout of loud laughter.

The giant just smiled quietly and picked up another stone from the pile his men and women had set up. I counted the stones quickly. A dozen in total, including the one in his hand. That one really looked like a giant pebble, all smooth and well rounded. Even its coloring was right. It really wouldn't have been out of place in a river bed. He weighed it carefully in his hands before placing it in his sling. That sling really wouldn't have been out of place on a siege engine. He lifted it and spun it a few times, to get a better feel for the projectile, as if it were a toy.

I could see some of the men on the wall and especially those atop the gate scramble to get away from there. They were right to be afraid. Yath'zur spun the sling once more before letting the stone loose. It shot towards the gate in a straight line. This one didn't impact with the wood of the gate. Instead it buried itself deep in the right part of the gatehouse. Mortar crumbled and stones broke loose from their place, tumbling to the ground, but the structure as a whole still held, even if just barely.

After that Yath'zur sent one stone crashing after the other into the gatehouse in quick succession. With each one the gatehouse crumbled a little more and when the seventh projectile hit it all came tumbling down in a big cloud of dust to the cheers of the onlooking mercenaries. There wails of pain and panic from the defenders. Most had gotten away but apparently not all. I could see some unmoving bodies mixed in with the rubble as the dust finally settled.

I left our ranks and moved ahead to join the speaker of the Wall Breakers. The gap in the wall caused by the collapsed gatehouse wasn't terribly big but it certainly was big enough. I could see some defenders scramble to take up position atop the pile of rubble that was all that remained with spears and shields but their limbs were shaking. They had to know that they couldn't hold that gap if we were to assault them now. Luckily for them I had not intention to assault them. I wanted to preserve the strength of my troops after all. I patted Yath'zur's shoulder. “Think they are softened up enough?”

He nodded and I started gathering Mana to enhance my voice with the Lion's Roar spell. “Send out a representative to negotiate your terms of surrender! Don't make me wait! This is your only chance!” Well, that was not quite what would happen. I had no intention to actually negotiate anything. Their representative could accept the terms I would offer or they could decide not to and die.

My men and women quieted down at my declaration and after a little while I could see a figure climb down from the rubble of the broken gatehouse. I breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment I had been afraid that they would not send anyone and that I would have to go ahead and smash and burn them all together with their homes. As the figure approached I started to realize that something was off about it. It took me a moment to realize that it was a woman. A woman unused to wearing the chainmail that didn't quite fit and hung off her shoulders. A woman unused to the weight of the sword at her side, as it made her walk a little lopsided.

It was the first time I saw one of them equipped, if badly, for war. Sure human women would bear arms and armor just as often as their men on our side of the mountains but I had so far not seen a single one of them among the enemies I had faced. It took her some time to cross the distance and she stopped about ten paces from me, looking up at me, a little out of breath. Her legs were shaking a little. She wasn't a young woman anymore. Not old, but certainly older than me. There was no white in her hair, not yet, but her face sported some deep lines that spoke of hardships she must have suffered. Her bearing was noble but she was obviously afraid. Well, I couldn't hold that against her. Most people would be, if they were in her place.

I sat down, cross legged, so I wouldn't tower over her. That way she could look me in the eyes without craning her neck. “There isn't much we will be discussing. We will raze this settlement. Tomorrow morning, when the sun rises nothing but blackened rock will remain.” She swallowed hard at this blunt declaration but I continued before she could speak up. “You only have to decide if your people will burn with their homes or if they will leave and live.” Her mouth was a thin line but she didn't protest. She was all too aware that I was already offering her more than I had to.

“We have left the road leading eastward, in the direction of Gothol'uin open. You all can leave with whatever you can carry except for arms and armor. We will not stop you. Take blankets and food. Have your people take the tools of their trade if they can. Bring any animals you still have as well.” I looked towards the sun. “Do you understand me?” She nodded and I continued “Go. Talk with your people. I will expect your answer around noon.” She nodded again and turned to walk stiffly back towards the broken wall.