27 Siege the day

Disappearing into the tunnels they had made, Zanir barred the entrance and evacuated with his men. Retreating through the maze-like area they arrived safely back at the entrance. Ever since the weapons and armor had been completed, he set the system to work on his secret weapon. Designs for modern day siege weapons. He hadn't seen anything like them here yet.

Receiving the final notice that he needed, it was time to bring them out. He would need a lot of wood to construct these large siege machines. After confirming with Reed, he quickly absorbed several trees, clearing out a small section of the nearby forest. Along with materials he needed sufficient space to bring them out.

After checking the direction and trajectory with the system he was satisfied. Zanir waved his hand to bring out a large counterweight trebuchet. Due to the size it took a few minutes for the towering monstrosity to appear. It slowly transformed from a translucent outline to an opaque structure.

There were pulleys and ropes connecting the machine together. A large sling was attached to the end of the long central beam. The bottom of the beam was attached by a hinged connection to an extremely heavy weight box. When the trebuchet is loosed, it will apply the force to the beam, transmitting it to the sling. This is then transmitted to the projectile. Large and dense stones can be hurled hundreds of feet.

This would get their attention but he needed to something else to help secure the launch site. He brought out several ballistae that had been mounted to small carts They looked like giant, mounted crossbows. These ancient projectile weapons fired large bolts. A torsion spring stored up tension when the machine was drawn. Once fired these bolts could pierce through armor.

Showing the men how to arm these bolt throwers only took a few minutes. Having used a crossbow most of them were familiar with the concept. There were two reasons he needed to demonstrate the weapons. First he wanted to test them and ensure they were safe for operation. Secondly he wanted to show his men what they could do. Zanir waved his hand to create an earthen dummy.

A vaguely human-shaped pile of rocks appeared at the end of the clearing. His men watched as he rotated the bolt thrower's stand. Turning the machine over to the correct direction, he adjusted the frame. Lining up the shot with the correct trajectory, he fired. There was an audible snapping sound as the spring released it's built up tension.

The large bolt almost resembled a spear of lightning as it tore through the air. Hurtling forward with a whistling sound, it soon pierced the test dummy. The bolt didn't stop at piercing through the dummy, it dragged the entire dummy along with it. Finally the bolt came to rest halfway embedded into a nearby tree. The force had lifted the dummy a few feet off the ground and pinned it directly onto the tree.

Reed and his men and were slack-jawed at such a display. They could easily imagine what would happen if it had been a living person instead of a test dummy. These devices were powerful and had many complicated looking parts. The bandits however were naturally inclined with weapons. After a moment of shock they approached the bolt throwers. Curiously they moved and aimed them around.

The stand was mounted to the cart and could be rotated around to face any direction. Raising or lowering the handle would adjust the universal joint and move the weapon up or down accordingly. The movements were smooth and aiming was easily grasped by instinct. While they were practicing loading the bolt throwers Zanir would continue to prepare the nearby area.

Constructing spike pits alone would hardly work as they had begun adapting to the tactic. They could throw stones out ahead which would open up and expose the pits. This time they would be in for a nasty surprise. He had the system design a pit with a thin top layer that would support about twenty to thirty people. The moment the weight exceeded it's limit, the pit would collapse. He needed something to stall them over the pit for a few moments.

"Hey Reed do you have anything sharp that can hold these bandits back for few minutes?"

"You kids have been having all the fun. It's about time you let me get involved."

Reed causally tossed out a small vine. After a moment it flashed green and began growing at an alarming rate. The vine became twisted and jagged. It soon rose up to become a large hedge. Positioning it directly in front of the pit meant they had to cut it down before proceeding. Zanir absorbed a small section of the vine.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Druid's Bramble

Type: Vine, tendril

Rating: Level 4

Description: This vine can grow and spread in accordance to Nature energy provided. The species is highly flexible and adaptable. It can release the stored energy and return to it's original size for ease of transport.]

This was certainly an amusing little vine. It would be useful for defense around the home. Maybe he could even graft additional properties onto the vine. That would have to wait for another time. For now he was satisfied with the new and improved spike pit and hedge combo. Still there was more that could be done.

Once again working with Reed he able to turn the area past the hedge into a small quagmire of quicksand. No it wasn't like the movies where people would get sucked in. That was just a Hollywood myth. It would however cause them to sink in when stepped on. This would create a bloody killzone for anyone who made it past the pit.

With everything set they gathered together to go over the second phase of the plan. Phase one had been completed using stealth and then hit and run tactics to lower enemy numbers. Zanir explained how they were going to attack. The trebuchet would launch a large stone into the enemy camp to crush them. He explained that it would cause confusion and damage morale.

As the enemy approached they would be targeted by the ballistae. The bolts were made out of wood with a stone core. They had plenty of ammunition since the materials for creation were plentiful. Running out of ammo would not be a problem at all.

Next the enemy would have to chop down the thorny bramble wall blocking their path. The concealed spike pit in front would collapse after enough enemies gathered. By they time they realized it was a trap, it would be too late.

Anyone who was able to cross the spike pit and pass through the thorny vines would land directly into the quicksand. Slowed down to a crawl they could easily be picked off. If anyone made it past all of that they had evacuation tunnels behind them. If worst came to worst they just retreat down the tunnels and collapse them behind.

Wrapping up the explanation, everyone took up their respective positions. There were a few bandits who would assist Zanir in reloading the trebuchet. The rest would man the nearby bolt throwers. Reed was also nearby to provide support in case of an emergency. Releasing the lever caused the trebuchet to activate, throwing a large stone sailing through the air towards the enemy camp.