Time to deploy the final desperate ploy to use on this advang army. If it worked for them at some point, it maybe work for us. I look up to the sky, and hope we hold out long enough. I pulverize a bunch of fish meat that I gathered from the houses, load it into the sling of one of the trebuchets, a fly out and rain on the dwarven regiments. When they see it fall apart in mid-air, they don't even bother attempting to avoid it raining on their metal armor.

  Not long after, the dwarves began advang towards the walls. They heavily trated their position based on the already damaged ses of wall. It was clear that they simply inteo bulldoze through the damaged ses, and invade using their superior numbers. The ballistae cut a little into the dwarven numbers as they advanced, but not nearly enough to actually cause any major damage. Everything we do to slow them down will be useful.

  I fired the normal steam on into them again. Despite it not being fully charged, it did cut down about 10 dwarves. I decided that the other steam on should be saved for shooting into the first breach, so as to hopefully make enough age that fighting through that area is demoralizing. A few of the ballistae on other walls have been rotated to point ihe previous breach points, rather thaside to hopefully help thin their numbers when new breaches occur.

  It's unfortuhat I'm going to have to save my mana for firing the on, rather than using it to fight the invasion. I thought about that fact as I moved toward the wall. Behind the previous breach points, we've set up barricades to help us tain any future breakthroughs, whiow seem quite likely. Despite the existenagi this world, it seems that most muactics still work. I think that fact is likely due to eadividual only having enough mana capacity to do a few magical attacks before having to resort to muhods again. Though it does allow some individuals to be more effective than they would be otherwise.

  It also es the need for certaiactics, as breag a wall is simply a matter of getting a few individuals close enough to do so. Though perhaps the fact they are using mana to break the wall down does py in our favor, sihey likely have less ma for actual bat. I suppose magi rge scale bat be seen as on par with many maes of war from earth, such as a battering ram or siege tower.

  As they once again approach the wall and begin demolishing it, I wish that we had collected leftover oils from cooking. Boiling oil at a time like this would be invaluable. Instead, I instruct Zeb to once again colpse some ses of the wall directly onto those trying to breabsp; It will make it easier for them to get over the walls, but if it take down a few of them as it happens, that's the best oute we hope for.

  After the first se of wall gave way, I retreated back up to the magic powered steam on, to fire anrapeshot into those climbing through the rubble. Onough had started to fill the gap, I fired the on.

  For the fourth time today, almost a dozen dwarves were killed by one of these bsts. Despite how many had died so far though, it didn't seem like an end was in sight. For each dwarf we mao kill, another simply repced them. I know in practice that there were likely only a few hundred, and at most a thousand, but our own vilge only has close to 200 residents. Over half of whom are non-batants. So the numbers were not in our favor here. The ballista were at least occasionally able to take another dwarf down, l their numbers. I myself was torn as to if I should go and recharge my mana, or pick up a on and try to physically repel those invading the wall.

  Then, as things were just starting to look bleak as the sed wall se gave way, from overhead we heard a loud screebsp; The dwarves initially let out a huge cheer and began fighting with extra vigor. To them, I'm sure it seemed like their protector beast had e to bless their fight. What happened moments ter though was shock among their troops, and a turnabout of ditions within the walls.

  The eagle swooped down, and nded just outside the walls on the north side, he stoar where we'd been feeding it. After hopping once or twid looking about, it proceeded to pry open not one, not two, but three dwarves, eating them on the spot. To the eagle, I'm sure it was a simir experieo the first day we fed it the strange fish bundle. Here are these small packages that smell like the fish, all running about.

  The dwarves nearby the eagle all panicked and began fleeing full speed from the area, abandoning the battle. Those a little further away began turning their attention away from the breaches in the walls, retreating from the eagle iher dire. Those ihe walls tinued fighting, but as they were slowly killed, fewer and fewer dwarves fuhrough the gaps, as the majority of the army outside the walls was retreating.

  I was very thankful that the dwarves didn't bother to dodge the fish ball I had flung at them earlier. I don't know for certain that the eagle would have decided to eat the dwarves if they didn't smell like the food it had beeily. As the dwarves retreated, the eagle took flight, grabbing an additional dwarf in one of its talons as it returned up the mountain.

  After aen mihe fighting had stopped again, with the st of the dwarves in the walls being sin. Our casualties numbered 18. The dwarves lost something near 70. Repairs were immediately started again. Rocks and stone were piled up he walls as Zeb began stone shaping them bato solid pieces.

  I retreated to the bathhouse to recharge once again, and this time, Zaka was here recharging. He held dowher bree the retty well, using his fireballs to hinder and sear dwarves as they approached the barricades. Zaka left before me, and Zeb entered havied his mana as well. The three of us have been recharging our mana a lot today. A few of the hobgoblins and oblins have been here as well though. Although none of their magic attacks are as fshy, those who throear with extreme force do use mana to do so, and have had to stop in occasionally.

  Ultimately, without this bathhouse, we'd have likely succumbed during the sed attabsp; I'm starting to rethink the deal I had with Shasta, although the whole thing is going to need reworked in light of the attacks we've suffered. I'm leaning more towards the idea of waiting for a year until I have a rger crystal for myself here to send the old crystal back to the mainnd. Ultimately, I don't want more eagles here, but I don't mind keeping the one we have. It did save us this time after all.

  As the day dragged on, we repaired our walls the best we could, and piled the dwarves bodies outside the walls after stripping their armor and ons. It started to bee apparent that it was unlikely we would be attacked again today. The wounded were treated, and the goblins in the pavilion were returo their homes. Siege engines were repaired as needed, ons replenished and repaired, and the sewer was re-sealed. By the evening the mood in the vilge was bittersweet. We had repelled the dwarves today, but if they tinued fighting it was obvious to us that we would lose. The hope, however, was that it wasn't obvious to the dwarves themselves that this was the case.

  The m, a group of fifteen individuals were the only ones who arrived. I reized three of them as Shasta, Ambel, and Katarko. Then there were ten dwarves who were in full matg armor, a single dwarf who wasn't in armor, and a human earing light armor. I told the siege engine operators to hold their fire as the group approached.

  "We are here to make peace!" shouted Shasta.

  "Asking for peaow after both sides have spilt blood? You must know that any previous ditions will o be reiated?" I yell back.

  Shasta turned and spoke to the unarmored dwarf, and after some bad forth she shouted back, "As long as the iations aren't too far from what was agreed upon before."

  I thought for a bit, are there other cessions that I might want? Maybe a few, but none should be too extreme. "Fine! However, half of you must leave your ons outside," I shouted back.

  After they plied, we cautiously opened a se of wall for their group to ehrough. hting force barely outnumbering them two to one. We didn't have a meeting pce prepared, so Zaka's house was used. A few guards were let in from each side, along with Shasta, the unarmored dwarf, myself, Zeb, and Zaka.