"KEEP PUSHING!" Octavius cried out as he climbed the siege tower. Reaching up, he pulled himself up the final ladder and looked at the weak garrison force left in Jaslo. The defenders desperately fought, holding a firm line against the onslaught, but their overwhelming numbers eventually told. Octavius moved forward, crossing the thick wooden platform, twirling his sword.
Jumping onto the wooden walls, a defender leapt forward, trying to catch him off guard. Raising his shield, the attack bounced off. Twisting his body, he plunged his sword deep into his stomach and quickly pulled the blade out, kicking the man’s body back into his comrades. Octavius looked at the Ammary soldiers, each with a face of grim determination, who would hold the line.
"I OFFER SURRENDER ONCE MORE! ANY MAN WHO WISHES TO LAY DOWN THEIR WEAPONS WILL BE SPARED!" So of the Ammary n hesitated, loosening their grip on their weapons. Octavius watched. So quietly slipped away, leaving to take the final rcy being offered. Those caught were grabbed and forced back, pushed to the front of the defence line, with the words ’traitor’ following them.
Octavius gave it half a minute and sighed when no one else tried to leave. "STORM THE CITY!" Crying out, the Ammary n tightened their defence, not leaving a single gap between them. Octavius lifted his shield and stepped forward, blocking an attack aid at his chest.
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Roch Marszalek looked out his window at the approaching Severian host. The walls held for an hour and a half, but eventually collapsed, the Ammar n routing and fleeing deeper into the city. Roch sighed and looked at the nearby roads. n and won quickly locked themselves in their hos as a large squad of Severian troops made their way towards his manor. At the heart of it, he saw Octavius, his armour out of place with its gold and silver ornants spread across it.
Going over to his cabinet, Roch calmly pulled out a glass and a bottle of wine, pouring himself a half glass before taking a seat. Resting his feet on his desk, he slowly sipped, listening to the sound of his workers, crying out in panic as the sound of multiple soldiers marching drowned out.
The doors flew open, and Octavius walked in, surrounded by soldiers. Roch smiled and lifted his glass. "Forgive , General. I have only one glass." Speaking perfect Gotic, he surprised Octavius and lifted his glass of wine, thinly smiling before taking a sip. Octavius watched, confused at how a man could act so calm. Thinking about it for a second, he realises this was because he was a noble and felt like his life wouldn’t be hard.
"Marquess?" Octvaius asked in equally good Gotic. Roch nodded, finishing his glass and pouring another, "You are oddly calm for a man who is surrounded by ard n."
"Am I going to die?" Roch calmly asked.
"No."
"Will you torture ?" Once again, he calmly asked, staring into Octavius’ eyes to make sure he didn’t lie.
"No, unless you give us a reason to."
"So I don’t need to fear my life or pain. Why should I be scared? I’m sure you and the rest of the fine gentlen from Severia aren’t brutes." Sipping his wine once again, he put down the glass and took his feet off his desk. "What can I do for you. The fact I’m not in chains yet ans...." Clicking his fingers, he tried to find the right words, "You have an offer. Correct?"
Octavius took a deep breath and nodded. "His Holiness is a fair man and believes in redemption for all. Our enemy is the Emperor, not the Empire, and when our mission is complete, we believe that the old Livonik regie can return. After all, a Sobieski still lives."
Rock didn’t need the offer to be split out and closed his eyes, pretending to think for a second. "No. I refuse."
"Why?"
"You’re a smart man, General Octavius. The fact that you ca here and ignored Chent proves you are capable of making good choices, but have you not stopped to think why The Empire was so confident in entering this war?" Roch leaned forward, "Because His Majesty knows he can win it. Second, I have no love for the old regi; it was fated to fall after I learnt the truth of the Empire’s plans, and quite frankly, they didn’t treat with the respect my family deserves."
"Yes, I know about that weapon. It scared a few of my n. But do you honestly think that is enough to win?" Roch chuckled and shook his head.
"You encountered the spares. I was in charge of making it ammo, nothing more, but I did have to see it work to know how to make it ammunition." Roch leaned forward. "Now, let ask, how do you think the mission across the Tears went. Do you think Severia made landfall yet? Is Nakhla already in flas? Has the march for Brookhaven already begun?" Looking at Roch’s smile, Octvaius felt sothing was wrong, "No, because that weapon shines not on land, but at sea. How do you fight an enemy that can sink your ships from a distance?"
"You’re lying."
"Why would I?" Roch said, shrugging his shoulders, "Believe what you want, but I am telling you, this war was over before it began. The Church made too many enemies, and one of them was a man whom Sol chose himself. Now, the Emperor is a fair man, but you did chop his daughter’s finger off. So there’s that."
Octavius stared at Roch and smiled, "We have you now."
"A hostage he will discard if it ans he can win the war. I am not important to him. I have no place in his inner circle; I am a simple weapons manufacturer whom my son can replace. Suppose you stord Chent however and took it. You would have General Harding and, possibly, if he hadn’t left already, the head of the Golden Bank. Two hostages he can’t ignore. But you ca here." Roch chuckled, removing Octavius’s smile. Lifting his glass of wine, he took a sip, "Unfortunate really."
Octavius took a deep breath and looked at his soldiers. "Lock him up."
"I’m sorry it went this way, General." Roch finished his glass and stood up, holding his hands out to be tied up.
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Alfred stared at the city in the distance. Frowning, he saw smoke rising from it and moved, grabbing a Telescope. Looking at Jaslo, he saw nurous ard soldiers filling the dock, a sight that shouldn’t exist. "It has fallen?" Asking himself, his heart raced, wondering if Marcus had fallen already. "SEND WORD! PREPARE TO ATTACK JASLO!"
The captain stiffened the order and took the telescope back, looking at the city himself. Seeing what Alfred did, he realised the simple docking had turned into a siege. Nodding, he walked to the back of the bridge and lifted a red flag with a white cross on it. The order was obvious to the ships behind, and as it passed along the convoy, they began to move, spreading out to assault the city from nurous directions.
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"General." A soldier rushed to Octavius as he examined the workshops, trying to understand the weapon Roch and his n spoke about. Taking his eyes off the cannonball, he stared at his soldier. "An enemy fleet is approaching."
Octavius subconsiously gulped and nodded, running towards the dock. His n were already preparing for the assault, as a minimal number of troops were left to try to keep the city calm. Octavius watched the approaching fleet and, rembering Roch’s words, felt a growing anxiety.
’No. It’s not the ti for that.’ Taking a few deep breaths, he smiled. "Chuck whatever you can into the docks. Block it as best as we can." Shouting out the command, he looked around. Thinking about the stories his n told him and the cannonball he saw, he thought, "Take shelter between the buildings, set up choke points for the landing. I want minimal n on the dock itself!"
The commanders heard his order and hastily put together the defence. Octavius watched and closed his eyes as Ramiel ca to his side. "The Templars will control the city. Use every man you have."
Octavius nodded and thanked him. Looking back at the fleet, he moved between the buildings and pulled his sword, waiting for the landing.
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