"GET THE WEAPONS!" Trebuchets swivelled, and archers changed aim, and killed and crushed as many of the crew members as they could. Ark finished what he'd started. He'd taken kegs, and stuffed cloth into the spouts. He dropped some into a trebuchet, then used a peice of flaming wood to light them.

Then the trebuchet let go. The explosions knocked out plenty of troops, and damaged a lot of machines.

***

A commander watched the retaliation and said, "Forget breaking in. Kill the defenders, then deal with the gate."

***
Ark shouted, "LADDERS!" Seige ladders were being moved up, and to match, all the sword and various other weapons armed people stepped forward with weapons at the ready.

OOC: Jad, you're making it out to be that it's only the weapons doing anything. And besides, there's more stuff we can do this way, and the weapons will probably start again eventually.

ooc: it's called hammering your opponent.

"Ladders. Archers, FIRE!!!" The archers peppered the charging troops. A small shed like structure also moved toward the gates. "MAN THE MURDER HOLES! BATTERING RAM!!!" The ram Slammed into the gates. Several more grenades exploded over the troops on the gate killing a squad of archers.

OOC: Ok, what the hell just happened. Archers are usually far above, so you can't reach them without your own ranged weapons.

And grenades? They have CANNONS. Which are NEW. You keep bumpin' up everything Cid has done to extremes.

ooc: A mortar launches a shell called a grenade over a target. The grenade bursts in the air. Raining fire and death down on the target. Mortar's aren't meant to do structural dammage just collateral. Mortars were invented about the same time as mobile cannons. Leo DiVinci also worked on a way for improving mortar fuses so they had fewer duds.

"Well if something needs to be done now, let's get to it," Vace said.

He was a much better soldier then he was tactician, so he was left to deal with fighting as he saw fit, although he was given a command rank like the others. He traveled through the castle until he made his way into the sewers, and instead of taking the secret passage in the sewers, he followed the sewers. Eventually it lead to a small town right outside the castle, one of the ones that had been evacuated. He made his way through the sewers until he found a way out, and found himself on a mostly deserted street, save for a few idle soldiers marching through, making sure Alban soldiers weren't hidden in the buildings. Vace made his way into a dark alley, then started to wrok his way through the twon to the exit.

<If I want to make the biggest distraction, I'll want to find where they keep the goblin powder for those big weapons of theirs, THAT should make a nice big boom when it goes.> Vace thought, carefully making his way through the city, avoiding guards.

OOC: It's normally just called, you know, a shell.

IC: The first ladder got closer...closer...closer...there. The first man left over, and met Ark's sword.

He pulled it out, and turned to the next guy. He parried his attack down and to the side, and slammed his knee into the guy's gut, drew his dagger, and slammed it through the armour and into his back. The dagger was lightly glowing as well.

He pulled it out, spun, and slashed a man's throat with it, knocked aside a strike with his sword, and stuck the dagger through his throat before spinning past him, and hitting the ladder with his shoulder. It wavered a bit, and fell back to Cid's troops.

"KNOCK THE LADDERS DOWN!" Ark spun to his next opponent. He parried his attack up, and stabbed him in the gut before pulling away.

He jerked back as an arrow hit him. The leather armour, and the chain mail stopped it from getting him, but he felt a broken chain rung dig into his flesh.

Gin ran down the stairs. ordering them baricaded where possible. He joined a contingent of palace gaurds in the gateway of the city. "Form ranks! We have to hold this position as long as possible. If the door is breached we have to keep the advance halted for as long as possible. FOR ALBA! AND OUR FAMILIES!" The palace gaurds shouted in return. "Brace the gates." The wood of the gate began to groan in places.

OOC: Dude, you're going to SO hate what I'm eventually going to do at the end of the chapter.

IC: Ark jerked a throwing dagger out, and let fly. It caught his target in the face, snapping his head back.

Ark spun, and held his sword in two hands. He slashed, knocking the man's sword wide, shoulder barged him, then held his sword in his left hand as his right hand drew his dagger and stabbed the man while he was on the ground.

He turned to another coming, but his Temple Guard cut him down. He noted two of them were gone.

With frenzied purpose, he beat his way through another series of enemies, then kicked a ladder down. A quick run to the side brought him to a pot of oil right above the gate. He tipped it over, dropping it on the battering ram crew. He hoped it would stall them enough for Gin to get a bit more ready.

(OOC: Hopefully, this will be ok Celes)

In Aviona
A young squire was running through the streets, then took to the air, and flew to the highest tower. He reached the doors, then threw away etiquette and courtesy, and threw open the doors to the High Council.

"SIRS! NEWS...ITS-"

"Please, there is no need to shout, what is the news?" A templar said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Its Alba. They've, well, they are being attacked, and they've sent they're women and children here for shelter. They request our help! And I don't think they have long!" The boy said, all in one breath. His wings had drooped considerably.

"Then we shall send help...sound the order. All dragoons must find a Wyvern and ride to Alba, and all the other riders should help the escapees." A rather frail looking man with huge wings said from his seat in the middle of the semi-circle. When no immediate action was taken, a larger and more imposing man at the end stood up.

"The Council has spoken. GO!"

***

Jude landed in the midst of an enemy platoon, and saw the machine. Quite a pathetic looking thing actually. He slashed away a few blows then grabbed the short end of the device, and shoved it into the ground so it was perfectly vertical. The fuse had already been lit, and as he jumped away, he grinned as it shot and soldiers ran frantically to escape.

He saw Tama slashing his way through a few soldiers, and Jude kicked away a stray soldier who would have cut Tama's head off.

"I'll back ya up." Jude said simply.

ooc: What part of "We lose this battle" did you miss BM? They said it will take three days or more to get to Aviona. It hasn't been one. Just fight the battle.

Gin watched as the top of the gate tower became engulfed in flame. "They either have a cabal of wizards with them. Or they also have trebuchet loaded with Aethenian Fire."

as if to answer his question a ceramic jar landed in the street nearby bursting into flames.