Chapter 3: The Siege

            The day had come. James and his men were ready to attack the fort. It had only been roughly 30 hours since he had talked to the fort leader. But it would only take James 2 hours to prove why refusing the peaceful option was a horrid idea. James was atop his steed and was wearing his battle armor, he gave a large speech to the men and they were all fueled with a burning passion to storm the fort with no mercy and take it through bloodshed. James order the men to begin a shield wall while others would carry the ladders to the walls. The men did exactly as James said and they began executing their plan. As the men approached the walls with ladders, the fort archers began trying to pick off men who lacked shields.

Before even reaching the walls, James had already lost 5 men to the arrow rain. He ordered that his men let out a war cry as they raised the ladders and began climbing. James lost many men just on entering the fort from the ladders. He lost 23 men once they reached the top. Once the army got a foothold on the top of the walls though, that’s when the battle changed, James was already down 28 men but quickly his men were all working together with such great success that they managed to make quick work of the defending garrison. By the time the air was cleared of screaming and the clanking of metal swords, James was victorious. James made a head count after the battle and determined that 37 men had suffered fatal injuries while 26 had suffered minor wounds that would take some time to heal. He also noted that the enemies had lost 89 to death and the rest were all wounded on the ground. James ordered the survivors be taken as prisoners of war and thrown in the fort prison. James also noticed the fort leader was among the bodies and he ordered for him to receive treatment with the soldiers. He wanted to also be alerted to when the man awoke and was able to speak.

            James and his army then took full control of the walls and began to prepare for any armies to come to try and retain the fort for their kingdom. The men waited and after a multitude of days, everyone who was wounded had been healed. James was proud of men and threw a feast for all his men once they seemed sure that no one was coming to take the fort back. This was the first of many feasts he would throw.