Dawn rose on the day of battle.

After that first night’s assault, the enemy had been prepared. Our mages had to fight for control of the weather, as their mages had already cast the spells to try and clear the skies, and give them warning of our approach. Down in the masses, other mages were ready with counterspells, reducing the amount of damage that could be done, at the cost of using much of their magic just to defend the army.

Of course, not every shot was blocked, and there were always more dead and wounded after every attack. More wounded who required healing magic and supplies to be brought back into the fight. More damage to weapons and wargear that had to be repaired. And all while supplies were short, and food was scarce thanks to the success of the first night’s attacks.

Now, the enemy was within sight of Fort Coldmaw. Standing on the ramparts, I could see them in the distance, breaking camp. Last night, we did not harass them, instead making sure that everyone was well-rested for the fighting to come. But I didn’t doubt that the enemy soldiers slept fitfully, always wondering when the attack would come. They would be fatigued, which would slow their attacks and make their movements sluggish.

The scouts also noted that there was no sign of siege weapons being built. They no longer had the supplies with them, and the surrounding terrain was ill-suited to offer timber or other materials needed to build those weapons. They could build siege ladders, if they wished, but there were no trees large enough or strong enough to be turned into catapults or trebuchets.

Moreover, the attacks had destroyed much of their food stores, meaning that they did not have the time for a lengthy siege. They could not spend the time to conduct the battle properly, or their army would starve. Which meant that they would have to rush things, and use magic to try and breach the walls or cover the men advancing with the ladders.

The enemy force was smaller now. Ten thousand spears had set out to assault my lands. Judging by the scouts’ reports, there were only six thousand still alive and ready to fight, with another twelve hundred wounded and maimed to the point where it would take high-level magic to restore them. A Cure spell did not unbreak bones, restore lost limbs, or bring back a lost eye, after all.

“Looks like they’re forming up and readying the assault, your Majesty,” Captain Whiterazor said as he stood by my side, looking out over the distance through a spyglass. “They’re leaving their camp set. Not going to try and bring their supplies and wounded within range of our siege weapons, most like.”

“Yes, well, we’ll let them commit, and then the Kobold’s Guile can swing around and spend time blasting that camp into debris. When they hear the screams of their wounded soldiers dying, and see all their supplies going up in smoke, then their morale will be at its lowest.”

“And then, with the two ships and the fort, it will be like being between the hammer and the anvil, aye. It is a simple plan, but I never did trust plans that relied on fiddly bits. Simple means less can go wrong.”

“Yes, Beshaba turn her gaze from us,” I nodded as I said a traditional warding message to try and keep the Goddess of Misfortune from taking too keen an interest in us. There was always something that could go wrong, of course, but the fewer moving parts something had, the fewer things could mess up.

I took a breath, and said, “The key will be the solars. If they hide within the enemy force, using their magic to augment and support the troops, then this could get nasty. If, however, we can draw them into an aerial battle, away from their support on the ground, then that will give us a chance to take them down. If the army sees their symbols fall, it will be the final stroke.”

“Not putting too fine a point on it, your Majesty, but can ye win? I know you’re strong, being Twice-born and all, but these are angels, yeah? They aren’t pushovers, like these humans rushing to their deaths.”

“It will not be an easy fight, but I believe victory is possible, yes. From what Sanvi told me, they are all strong combatants, but the only one that truly worries me is the rogue. I’ve seen what a skilled rogue can do, if left an opening. And these angels will have the skills, and funds, to be better equipped than the normal types.

“Actually, that is part of the reason I want the fight to be in the air, rather than on the ground. There are fewer distractions, and it is harder for people to hide. That cuts both ways, of course, but I believe it balances out. Plus, I plan to cheat.”

Whiterazor nodded, and turned his attention back to the army mustering in the distance. After all, nothing more needed to be said. The die was cast, and fretting over things at this point was foolish.

“They’re sending their vanguard forward. They’re almost to the first line of trenches.”

“The first line?”

“Ah, well. We had a few extra days to kill, so the boys decided that if one line was good, three was better. Each one leaves just the road to pass across. The boys on the trebuchets already have the three gaps sighted and marked, for easy aiming. And the boys doing the traps rigged up some surprises, as well, since you said they could do whatever they liked, so long as it didn’t cut into the foodstuffs.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that!” I grinned. “So, what happened when I told a bunch of bored goblins and humans to do whatever their twisted hearts desired in the name of destroying the enemy?”

“Just watch. If it went off right, it should be visible from here.”

Moments later, it was obvious that the vanguard had reached the first trench line, as the weak supports fell away, dumping dozens of soldiers into the ground. A gout of flame erupted from the trenches, spreading to either side from the road. We were too far to hear the screams, but I had to imagine that the vanguard was not happy about their predicament.

“Hah!” Whiterazor cried, before giving me a toothy grin. “The boys took all that old kitchen grease that had been stored up out back, with some alchemist’s fire to make the spark. Originally, the idea was to dump it on enemies who got too close to the walls, and light it on fire. But one of the humies got it in his head to mix it with that peat sludge from the marshes. Makes it burn hot, and keep burning, and water only makes it worse. Nasty thing is it clings to skin, and don’t kill quick or clean. That first trench is full of the stuff. I reckon that it’ll still be burning in a tenday, unless someone finds a way to put it out.”

I nodded. “Fear of fire is a primordial thing. Even the most hardened warrior has to respect it. And the army will have to walk between the two flaming pits in order to advance.”

“Aye, and they aren’t getting those soldiers out of the pit that easy, either. Spikefoot got the boys together, and made it so that there are spikes angled down, on either side, so that no one is crawling up out of that pit, and reaching down to help won’t be easy. They’ll get to listen to the sods burn.”

“Excellent,” I nodded. There looked to be four or five hundred soldiers in the vanguard. All but a handful had fallen into the trap, as the covering did not fall away until there was enough weight on it. While not enough to declare victory, it was a good way to begin this battle.

It was also enough to cause the enemy general to hesitate. The first approach failed, so what would they do next? After a bit (could have been minutes, could have been an hour), I saw more troops moving though the smoke, funneling towards the gap left by the road. Not just troops, though. Cavalry. “Are the trebuchets ready?”

“Aye, your Majesty. The first loads are normal stones. They’ve got some other nastiness planned for later, but they want to start off with everyone knowing that the ‘bridge’ has been sighted in already.”

“Sounds good. Looks like they are about to try cavalry. Probably hoping they can slip around and harass us while the army makes its way through that gap. Let the first couple through, and then fire into the middle of the unit.”

“As you wish, Majesty.” Whiterazor waited a moment, watching the enemy forces. Then, he turned to the nearby runner, and said, loud enough that the soldiers nearby could hear, “Tell the trebuchets to fire a volley. Let’s teach these horse boys why they should never have come to Coldmaw!”

As the soldiers cheered, I heard the trebuchets, already loaded and ready, release. Their massive arms swung, and sent stones flying through the air. Sure, it might not have been as impressive to look at as the Will of Winter sending a full broadside into a bunch of dragons, but I still smiled as I saw the stones landing in the road. Man and horse went flying as first the stones crashed down, and then proceeded to roll a short ways.

The cavalry balked, and was momentarily in disarray. I even saw one horse cry out in terror as it stumbled and both horse and rider fell into the flaming trench. Unfortunately, their officer must have been skilled, because he quickly rallied the force, trying to get them out of the killing zone and back into formation. Half their number was across when the second round of shots hit, killing or wounding more.

Then, the smoke and flames from the first trench were snuffed out, as magic forced the two sides of the trench closed. They used their mages and druids to move the earth, as we had in making the trench. No doubt they had hoped to use such spells to raise ramps in front of the walls, or even to bring down the walls entirely. The fact that those spells were instead ‘wasted’ on a trench, well out of bowshot from my walls, already made the efforts the troops went through a win, in my books.

“Ooh, they buried their vanguard with that,” Whiterazor chuckled darkly. “That won’t play well with morale, I promise you. Especially when they get to the next trench.”

I nodded. “I can’t say that I’m surprised. Have the archers and the others keep track of the cavalry. Don’t let them get any bright ideas.” Looking back to the enemy, I frowned. “Their main forces are moving forward. I guess they think that is all we have for outer defenses?”

“Well, the next lesson is going to be painful for them, then. The boys put two hundred feet between each trench line, so they’ll be coming up on it soon enough. After that, they’ll be through the bottleneck.”

“Hmm,” I nodded, idly, as the sky began to cloud over as a Control Weather spell took effect. Right on time. “Signal the Kobold’s Guile. They can begin their attack on the enemy base. Raze everything to the ground, but pull back if the angels show up.”

“At once, your Majesty,” Whiterazor nodded, before sending a runner off to signal to the ship.

Turning back to the evolving battlefield, I frowned. “ I do not like the fact that none of our spotters have seen the angels, yet. That means they are hiding in a human guise, looking for a chance to strike. I don’t like it when my enemies start trying to be clever. Perhaps I should do something to personally draw out these angels, so that they can’t hide themselves away. Something visible from afar.”

“As you wish, your Majesty, but you might want to wait until after they cross the third trench. That probably has the nastiest surprise in it.”

“Ooh, well now I have to find out what it is!”