Arutha said, “They are brave, to stay behind.”
Guy said, “Brave, yes, but they’re not planning to die.” Even as he spoke the archers on the rooftops were reaching the last line of houses. They lowered ropes to the street level and quickly slid down. They ran toward the citadel, tossing aside weapons as they ran. From behind, attackers swarmed after them. As the attackers were halfway across the open area used as a market, bowmen upon the wall of the citadel launched a flight of arrows. The Armengarians who were fleeing ran to the edge of the moat and dove in.
Arutha said, “They’ll be shot down if they try to climb the wall.” Then he saw they didn’t surface.
Guy smiled. “There are underwater tunnels into the gatehouse and other rooms contained in the wall. Our boys and girls will come up, then the entrances will be sealed.” A particular bold group of goblins came running after and leaped into the water. “Even if those scum find the tunnels, they’ll not be able to open the trapdoors. They’d better be part fish.”
Amos came from within the citadel. “We’ve everything ready.”
“Good,” answered Guy, regarding the top of the citadel where Armand observed the fighting in the city.
A yellow banner was waved. “Ready catapults!” shouted Guy. For a long time nothing happened; at last Guy said, “What is de Sevigny waiting for?”
Amos laughed. “He’s watching Murmandamus leading his army through the gates, if we’re lucky, or at least waiting for another thousand or so to come inside.”
Arutha was studying the nearest catapult, a giant mangonel, now loaded with a strange-looking assortment of barrels lashed loosely together. The barrels were similar to the small brandy casks used in inns and alehouses, holding no more than a gallon. Each bundle was composed of twenty or thirty such casks.
Amos said, “The signal!”
Arutha watched as a red banner was waved and Guy shouted, “Catapults! Fire!” Along the wall a dozen of the giant catapults heaved their cargo of barrels which arched high over the roofs of the city. As they travelled, the casks spread out, so that they struck the outer bailey in a shower of wood. The crew reloaded with a speed Arutha found astonishing for in less than a minute another launch was ordered and another flight of casks was sent. While a third flight of casks was prepared, Arutha noticed smoke coming from one quarter of the city.
Amos saw it, too, and said, “The little darlings are doing some of our work for us. They must have started a tidy fire to punish us for not staying around to die. It must be something of a shock to be standing next to it when it starts raining naphtha.”
Arutha understood. As he watched, the smoke increased rapidly and began spreading along a line indicating that the entire outer bailey area was catching. “Those barrels at every corner?”
Amos nodded. “Fifty gallons in each. The first block we broke the barrels, so it’s all over the ground from the buildings to the wall. A lot of those murderers have been traipsing about in it and will likely find their feet and legs are covered. We have barrels in every building and one on every roof. At the time the horses were taken out of the city, during the second phase of evacuation, we also halted controlling the flow of oil upward. Every basement in the city is now ready to explode. The city’s going to provide a warm reception for Murmandamus.”
Guy signalled and the third flight of casks was sent. But the centre pair of catapults heaved stones wrapped in burning oil-soaked rags, which coursed across the sky in a fiery arc. Suddenly an entire area near the barbican in the outer wall exploded with bright light. A tower of flames rose upward, climbing higher and higher. Arutha watched. A moment later he heard a dull thump, followed quickly by a hot breeze. The flames kept rising and for the longest time seemed likely never to stop. Then they began to subside, but a tower of black smoke continued to rise, flattening out in an umbrella over the city, reflecting the orange glow of the inferno below. “The barbican is gone,” said Amos. “We stored a few hundred barrels under the gate complex, with vents to let the flame in. They go with a bang. If we were half the distance closer to the wall, our ears would be ringing.”
Shouts and curses sounded from the city, as the flames began to spread. The catapults continued to launch their explosive cargo into the flames. “Shorten the range,” Guy ordered.