Vixen and Rumblewind slung their stones—it was hard to miss, there were so many imperials. The ballistae sent bolts into the crowd, often killing several imperials at once. But the slingers were much faster, with a huge supply of stones, and Chinara reckoned their tally was at least as high as the bigger weapons.

Neither, in the end, stopped the weight of numbers the imperials had from crashing into the Apples' infantry line. The noise of spears and shields clashing thundered up to Chinara's position. The imperials were lined up so deep, she could still target them without fear of hitting allies. The ballistae, on the other hand, had gone quiet.

"They won't hold much longer." Lurin's voice behind them.

Chinara looked for Ori and Greenblade. There. She could see the glow from Goldblade. The tiefling had lost her spear and now fought with sword. Ashlyn fought by her side, Greenblade dull with no monsters to fight.

There was an acrid smell. The dwarf sapper was preparing his blackpowder projectiles.

Chinara looked down to see Randall ushering the infantry away from the ballistae carts, pulling them by the arm when they moved too slow for his liking. Meanwhile, Georg's infantry line was holding for the moment, but was being pushed back by the weight of the imperial offensive.

Randall told Georg when the ballistae were cleared.

"Now's the time," Lurin said.

The Hoffmeister ordered the retreat.

Chinara held her sling and, with a pair of tongs, the dwarf deposited a fizzing missile into the pouch. She didn't waste time, lobbing it into the air. It landed amongst the carts.

The imperials chased the Apples out of the square. Naturally enough, their priority was to secure the ballistae. They pulled at the carts, turning them around so they faced south.

Rilie sent the second projectile amongst it all.

Chinara's exploded in a massive fireball. Those closest were obliterated. Others were wounded by splinters of flying wood. The imperials backed away until the heat died down. The retreating Apples were given precious moments to get away. Just as the imperials dared to return, Rilie's missile exploded, destroying a second cart. All three ballistae were inoperable, but at least they weren't in the hands of the enemy.

Rilie peered over the edge. "We're gonna get cut off soon."

Chinara nodded. "Let's get out of here."

***

"Help me with this thing," Lothar instructed Twerk.

"I don't know how."

"Georg taught me. It's not hard."

They drew the bowstring back using the winches until it was secured in place. Lothar then placed a bolt into the groove and aimed it. "Pull that lever on my say so," he instructed the gnome.

The imperials were marching towards the walled defences of their camp in a solid line, shields at the ready. But when Lothar pointed that machine at them, the line broke.

Understandable. "Now!"

Twerk pulled the trigger. Those at the front moved out of the way, the bolt striking their unsuspecting comrades behind them. There followed a change in tactic; the imperials had decided to rush the camp. Lothar reckoned about two hundred of them.

"Shit on it," Wilson declared.

"Let them come!" Mental shouted from atop the wall, holding her battle-axe aloft to let the imperials know she welcomed their arrival. A flight of arrows met this act of folly. Jenkins crouched behind the protective battlements, but not before losing 4 hit points.

Lothar sighed. "Come on, Wilson!" They worked the winches again. We could do with Clamor and The Explorer, he realised. The Guvnah and The Harvester waited on the wall with Mental, but even those three couldn't hold back this tide.

He shot the bolt into the sea of bodies. "Again!"

***

It didn't take the imperials long to break through the barricades at the edge of Benxi's central square. Chinara and Rilie flung their stones, but the two of them made little impact. They were forced to retreat, running down the street that led south through the heart of their operations, keeping ahead of the invaders.

They left the road and ran for the barracks. It was the most defensible building they had, with stout stone walls. The training yard ballista had been mounted on the roof. But it was a building, not a fortress, and wouldn't hold out for long.

"Quick!" The Hoffmeister shouted from the doorway.

Chinara pushed herself, lungs burning. Rilie, despite her short legs, matched her all the way. Georg ushered them in, then his soldiers were locking the door and piling furniture up behind it.

"Get to the roof," he suggested, as Chinara backed away.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

They made for the stairs, passing the recreation room. Inside, the bar was still open. A few locals looked their way with fearful expressions. What had possessed them to wait it out here?

On the barracks roof they found Ori and Greenblade, looking down on the approaching enemy. A few feet away, a crew of infantry manned the last ballista.

"They're coming," Ashlyn said, nodding down.

The imperials were unhurried. Many carried ladders—the enemy were nothing if not prepared.

Chinara reckoned they were outnumbered three to one. "Not all of them though?"

"Looks like nearly half turned back," said the Durnishwoman. "Which suggests Stiff's crew managed to take their base camp."

The ballista crew fired their first bolt. It was a sighter, flying over the heads of the approaching soldiers. Some of the imperials readied bows and arrows. They'd soon be in range.

Rilie was scuffling around against the edge of the roof. "Here!" she said. "I left some ammunition for us, just in case we ended up here." She held up a rock, as if it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

"Great," Chinara called over, doing her very best to sound enthusiastic for the halfling. "Feels like all that's gonna happen is both squads get killed separately." She kept her voice low, so Rumblewind couldn't hear. That damned halfling is older than me, yet I treat her like a child.

"Stiff will come up with something," Greenblade reassured her.

Chinara smiled. Now Ashlyn was doing it to her.

***

Covering fire from the imperials kept the Apples pinned back from the battlements. Meanwhile, ladders—no doubt intended to get past their defences in the south of the city—had been brought against them. They hooked onto the top of the wall.

The camp's defences were all well and good, but not without soldiers to man them. Lothar looked behind, where a trio of thieves, a warg, and a bear waited. This wasn't their kind of fight. His loss of focus was punished when a stray arrow struck his shoulder for 2 damage. Could have been much worse.

He directed the ballista down as far as it would go, unable to see where he aimed. "Pull!" he shouted.

Wilson obliged, but they had no way of knowing if their bolts were doing any damage.

The first imperials appeared, bravely putting their heads above the wall.

The Harvester sent one of those heads spinning back over the edge. Vytenis then pulled Alfie away, gesturing behind Lothar.

Lothar turned to see Bletcher approaching the wall, the Staff of Warning clutched in his one hand.

"The gods have decided to intervene," he declared. Sometimes the boy seemed lost. Now, he was full of confidence. There was a surge of power. Then, the entire south wall of the camp was collapsing down onto the imperials below. Lothar was coated by the dust cloud that swirled up, particles getting in his mouth, nose and eyes. He rubbed, sneezed, and blinked, trying to see what kind of chaos the wizard had wrought.

Plenty of imperials lay under the rubble. Some were struggling out of it, or asking for help, while others lay still. Bletcher had evened the odds at least a little. At the expense of their defences, of course.

Behind the chaos, Lothar saw more troops arriving, and his heart sank. For a moment, he'd allowed himself some optimism. He squinted, rubbing his eyes some more. There was a standard with a red sun. By Gehenna, it isn't more imperials. It's Guan. The captain had used some initiative, not to mention guts, and brought his troops over from the lumber yard.

"Allies!" he bellowed. "Form up to attack!"

The Apples gave him confused looks, staring at Guan's force until realisation came.

The Guvnah trod carefully into the rubble, finding a safe route. The Harvester blocked Mental, forcing her to wait. Twerk got Hubert and Sharptooth to wait too. The pair of them growled and bared their teeth, understanding that more fighting was coming.

Lothar left the ballista and drew Slayer, following where Alfie trod.

The imperials eyed their progress nervously. Their officers gave the order to form up. Shields came together and iron tipped spears threatened. But behind them, Guan's soldiers advanced.

***

There can be guilt, being a slinger.

Down below, The Hoffmeister and the two dwarves would be in the thick of the fighting, as the imperials forced their way inside the barracks. On the roof, Greenblade and Ori risked their lives beating back imperial attempts to access the roof. The tiefling had a spear blade to the thigh for her troubles, while Ashlyn had been stuck with an arrow while hacking away a ladder.

All Chinara had to do was sling stones. It was easy enough to keep an eye on the archers and evade their missiles. Usually, being a slinger was the safest proposition. She reached for her next missile.

There were none left.

She drew her short sword and went to join Ori and Greenblade.

"I don't have another weapon," said Rilie.

"Here," Chinara said, taking the knife from her belt and offering it. "It's about time you learned to use something else." She looked at the halfling. "Looks like a sword in your hands. Hold like I hold mine."

Rilie's face turned serious as she copied Vixen.

"Come on," Chinara said, shaking her head.

Another ladder went up, the top a few feet higher than the roof, and they reached it before Ori. The tiefling gave them a wide-eyed look. They'd have no joy trying to move it, and Chinara reckoned if she tried to chop that thick wood all she'd end up with was a bent sword. Instead, they waited, either side, for the first imperial to appear.

As soon as he did—not even close to reaching the roof—they both lent over and began stabbing. Rilie reached too far and teetered on the edge. Chinara watched in horror as the halfling struggled and failed to right herself. Finally, she flung herself backwards and scrabbled to safety.

Chinara poked the imperial one more time and he lost his balance, falling to the ground.

Rilie got to her feet and shrugged. "I quite like it. But I prefer the sling."

"You're not allowed to use a knife again." Vixen looked for her next victim. Instead, her eyes were caught by a new force approaching. She noticed the banner with the red sun first. Then, she saw a brown bear; a warg; and Alfie Goodfellow. "They made it!" she cried.

Ori and Ashlyn looked down with relief. The relieving force was big enough, combined with Georg's infantry, to trap the enemy in a pincer.

"I'm going down to help," Chinara said, still aware that she'd had it easy so far. She pointed at Rilie. "You're not allowed to come." She turned to Ori and Greenblade. "She's not allowed to come."

There. They had an excuse to stay here as well.

"People will need my healing," said the tiefling, joining Chinara.

"I—" Ashlyn began.

"—No," Ori said. "Stay with Rumblewind."

Chinara had never heard her speak with such authority. To anyone. A strange look passed between the pair.

If I didn't know better, the Alinko said to herself as she and Oripione took the stairs, I would say they're shagging.

MISSION COMPLETE

SUCCESS: Benxi was retaken

Some of your mercs improved their stats:

Twerk:

Agility +1

Bletcher:

Intellect +1

Stiff:

Intellect +1

Hit Points +1

Vixen:

Skill with slings: master

Agility +1

Lurin Veinfinder:

Intellect +1

Rilie Rumblewind:

Skill with slings: expert

Skill with knives: novice

Intellect +1

Sharptooth:

Might +1

Grit +1

Hit Points +2

Hubert:

Might +1

Intellect +1

Hit Points +2

Some mercs levelled up:

Stiff is now Level 8

Hubert is now Level 2

Some of your soldiers improved their stats:

Apple Infantry:

Skill with spears: competent

Skill with siege engines: competent

Apple Infantry: 99

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