Unkarra Gate (1st draft)

Chapter 29.2

Bernhiller House was not like Stamrin House. It was built for defence; it was build of stone walls and parapets, and his men were not able to penetrate these walls. He did not expect them to, nor did he wish them to. He wanted that for himself. He was simply happy with the slaughter that had taken place already.

His feet sunk into the packed dirt road leading to the front gate. Defender's arrows rained upon him from above, but he either knocked them aside with his massive shield, or they bounced off his heavy armour harmlessly. The assault of a stronghold had become something of a game to him. There was one trick the defenders would use next - one he had been caught with in the past - and that was burning oil. It had taken him several weeks and many blood sacrifices to heal him better that time he had been burned by it. It hadn't stopped him, but was ever wary of it afterward.

They would expect him to assault the gate. They would expect him to busy himself with it for some time. But this was the game, and he knew it far better than any other at this point.

He approached near in the final minutes of red cast daylight. He could hear the yells from the wall. He could hear them call him the demons King. It made him smile.

He increased his pace when he was nearing. He built his jog into a run each bound covering large distances as he managed the weight of Housebreaker. He neared the wall far more quickly than the defenders expected, and did not hit the gate as the expected. He struck the stone structure of the wall itself, at what Ronclay deemed to be a key structural point. Housebreaker collided with the stone with massive force. The stone which he contacted exploded into dust and rubble; a shock was felt through the entire tower as cracks formed throughout the structure. He stepped away from the wall, and took aim at the other side, swinging Housebreaker with great force once again, exploding stone and shaking foundations. Twice more he struck like so, until he began hearing the sounds he wished to hear: The cracking of stone from above.

He walked away from the crumbling stone structure, to better observe the destruction. Inside the gate tower, directly above the main gate, the defenders had indeed been readying the burning oil, in generous quantities. There were also many burning torches, in men's hands, improvised torch holders and those upon the walls. Ronclay's blows with Housebreaker had knocked men down, a barrel being readied had been tipped, more than one torch had fallen upon the floor.

Ronclay watched on as the burning tower collapsed upon itself. Screams came from the destruction; distant cheers came from the invading forces scattered across the battlefield.

Now the suns had set, and the world was cast with the light of the burning inferno which was the pile of stone rubble that minutes earlier had been Bernhiller House's single best defence. Through a gap in the flames, Ronclay entered the courtyard of the house, upsetting the stones beneath him tremendously under the weight of Housebreaker.

This inner courtyard showed the winter framework for covering up from the cold; it now caught fire. Within there were quite a few people, but only a few were immediately ready to challenge Ronclay, the black Demon King, walking through fire, sporting a demon beast on his arm.

But several men did find the courage to attack. The first man's attack was brushed aside as inconsequential, and Housebreaker bore upon him, brutalizing his insides with a massive thrust and its jagged teeth. Ronclay had to thrust his shield the opposite direction from Housebreaker to avoid throwing himself off his feet, and in doing so began a rotation. Rather than stopping this rotation, he continued with it, and swung Housebreaker into a man's head, decimating it, leaving nothing but a body below the shoulders. A third man met a similar fate; Housebreakers maw dripped with blood.

What remained of the men who did not flee to whatever exit they had available formed ranks to face Ronclay. He smiled at the courage men found in numbers.

He initiated his assault on the men by throwing Housebreaker at them, followed by his counterweight shield. The two heavy iron objects crushed several men, and their ranks were thrown into chaos.

He then unsheathed his sword; its Airdenlon steel shone in the firelight. He had taken the sword from house Teshiller after wiping out their line. He cared for lineage no longer. He only cared for domination.

The sword was said to be crafted by the masters of the forges of Airdenlon themselves. The blade was five feet in length, it was a straight taper from the hilt to the point; it was especially effective at piercing armour.

But few of the men facing him had any effective armour at all. Once he started swinging his sword, men were dismembered by the dozen. It was but a minute's work and he had slaughtered or routed all the men opposing him.

He took the time to clean his sword before placing it back in its scabbard. He then found House Breaker and his shield, and armed himself with them once more, so that he could break down the final defences of Bernhiller House. The house itself was at the far side of this courtyard; the grand door stood before him. It was a heavy wooden door with a stone archway. It was sturdy construction, but not as defensible as the outer wall. There were no parapets of defence towers above this gate.

Marching with confidence, he gained momentum for this strike against the door. After the first blow, the door held, but wood splintered and hinges shook. Ronclay smiled to himself. He enjoyed a good challenge. As he beat on the door repeatedly, two men rushed him from behind, hoping to catch him unaware. Their sword blows deflected off his heavy plate armour with little more than a scratch. They had stuck on Ronclay's back swing of House Breaker, and rather than interrupt his assault on the door, he adjusted his counter swing of the shield on the next blow, putting his strength into the swing of the shield more than the strike of House Breaker, and connected with the attackers with the heavy iron, sending them flying in a heap from the immense impact. A few more blows and the door burst apart, and the torch light from within fell upon him.

He dropped House Breaker and the shield, and drew his sword once again. The slaughter had just begun.