CHAPTER 303 Druid's Warning

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CHAPTER 303 Druid's Warning

297 AC

POV THIRD PERSON

Jasper Redfort stood amidst other lords, their anticipation palpable in the crisp night air. They were waiting in darkness, ready to charge towards the north gate while the siege engines bombarded from the south where their main camp was. The minutes stretched into an hour; just as impatience began to gnaw at their resolve, the distant echoes of battle pierced the silent night.

The sound of clashing steel and shouts of combatants echoed from within the walls of the castle, sending a ripple of anticipation through the waiting army. Jasper's gaze sharpened as he turned to address his men, his voice firm and resolute.

"Prepare yourselves," he commanded, his tone brooking no argument. "The time has come. Whether they've been discovered or they might be breaching the gates, we must be ready for whatever lies ahead." If Robert couldn't open the gate, they were going to attack from this side, but they had to use the ladder they had prepared.

As the tumult of battle momentarily subsided, a tense stillness settled over the castle only for a moment. Yet, before long, the clash of weapons resumed with renewed fervor, the cacophony of steel meeting steel echoing through the night.

Amidst the chaos, the massive gates of the castle began to creak open, their movements slow. A solitary figure emerged, bathed in the flickering light of a torch held aloft in his hand. He started swinging the torch left and right, then up and down. As he continued doing this, Jasper and other lords understood. The infiltration was successful.

With a resounding cry, Ser Jasper rallied his troops, his voice a clarion call to arms that echoed across the battlefield. "MEN! It is time to kill all of those godless heathens and send them to the deepest parts of the Seven Hells!" he bellowed, his words stirring the soldiers to action.

The soldiers, their hearts afire with righteous fury, surged forward. Royce Coldwater shouted, "The time has come to show these savages the might of the Vale!" He drew his sword and continued, "For honor, for Arryn, For the Vale! CHARGE!" His words fueled the soldiers' resolve, spurring them onward as they charged toward the open gate.

...

Ser Jasper's brow furrowed with concern as he observed the lack of resistance from the walls. "Something's not right," he muttered under his breath and slowed his horse down. His gaze scanned the darkened battlements above. "They should be raining arrows down on us by now."

Robert didn't have enough men to secure the gate and the wall above, but the gate was open; other lords wanted to charge in as fast as possible. Around 3 thousand Vale soldiers had charged inside the gate, but what waited for them was not what they expected.

The gate was surrounded by thousands of mountain man soldiers, all of them fully clad in armor and holding big tower shields; it was like they were creating a steel wall around the gate, confining them in. Behind them were many rows of soldiers with long pikes, and on top of the wall and rooftops were archers raining down arrows at them.

Jasper couldn't go inside anymore. There was no room for any more man. He shouted, " Scale the walls!" soldiers with long ladders and grappling hooks got ready to create more locations for getting inside the castle, but right as they got close. Arrows started to rain down on them.

They were losing many men, but Jasper was ready for this. This was a siege, and losing men was an expected thing. As the soldiers inside and under the wall died, new soldiers took their place, and slowly, they started to march inch by inch.

Right at that moment Jasper's eyes caught an eagle diving down toward the gatehouse and as it perched on top of it, turned into a man. His cloak made our of leaves and moss was ruffling in the wind. His face was made out of bark. Seeing this Jasper know who this was and then a booming voice started talking. It was like the voice was shaking their bones.

"Men of the Vale, I will only warn you for once! Retreat now or face the consequences of standing in the way of Old Gods!" When he shouted it was like the battle was halted. The Vale soldiers didnt know what to do and mountain men started to cheer loudly.

Jasper thought of millions of things in that one moment, and he knew they couldn't retreat. What if he was a spell caster? They had 12 thousand men. They should be able to take a breached castle from 5 or 6 thousand men. He shouted back at him, "Druid Emrys! How dare you tell us to retreat when it is our land you are invading. Does this mean House Drasil is joining the war on the side of mountain men!"

Aermir released a booming laughter, "HAHAHA! Does hypocrisy run through every Vale lord's vein? Your ancestors invaded this land and took it from the First Men, and now they are taking it back. Strongsong and Newkeep are now separated from the Vale, and it will stay like that. As for the House Drasil, I do not rule that house. You should ask Lord Drasil that question. I am only here to answer the prayer of the faithful. They asked the Old Gods for protection from the Vale and the protection they shall receive. This is your last warning, invaders: leave the land of the Old Gods, or you will face their wrath!"

Aermir was putting salt on their wound by claiming their land for the old Gods and calling them invaders. He didn't want them to retreat. He wanted them to continue fighting. Jon Lynderly shouted, "How dare you call us invaders in our own land. Kill, kill all of the mountain men, and paint this castle red with their blood. So they should learn what happens when savages greed over for things they should not."

Jasper tried to rein his men in, but he could not; they were on fire because of what Aermir had said, and the fighting resumed where it had left off. Aermir smiled and said, "Fools, face your death! Narys Jelevre (Poison Breath)"

Aermir opened his mouth and breated out a thick mist of poison paralled to the gatehouse creating a collum of poisoned mist around the gate. All the men inside the mist ran out, but in a matter of a minute, they all died. Arrows started to rain down toward Aermir put none of them were hitting him.

He started summoning almost all of his familiars to the walls. He summoned Artio and Sith right in the middle of the Vale soldier group that got stuck inside the gate. A thousand of them were already dead, and before he spewed poison, thousands more had entered through the gate. They were now fighting for their lives as Artio and Sith ripped them apart.

With the help of the wind, the area of the poison mist grew two times. Some of them closed their mouth and eyes with cloths, then ran through the gate. They managed to escape successfully. Seeing this, Royce ordered his men to charge in using the same method. Around 200 men entered the poison mist, and another 200 were waiting right at the edge of the mist to go inside. Aermir smiled again and said, "perzys ondos (Burning hand), perzys ondos (Burning hand)"

Flames started to burst from Aermir's hands and created a stream of flames 10 meters long. When the flames touched the poisonous mist, it caught fire and exploded with great force. Causing the death of more than 500 soldiers. Now, the gate was covered with a sea of flames as the corpses turned into char.