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Though it was far away, you could swear you heard the shattering of pottery as the bolt from the ballista slammed into its target. Within a second, the black smoke started to rise, and then the flames began to rise as well.
<span class="mu-i"> ''Den roten Hahn auf dem Dach, es tut mir gut.'' </span> The red rooster on the roof is an old Tauten proverb for when someone's house is on fire.
To say that you were in danger was a lie; you were safe. Ironically enough, the walls that kept you out also protected you from the fire. It was day when they launched the bolt, so most people should be out and about, not asleep.
The eagle-eyed among the camp could see that the men of the walls began to thin out, their number diverted to help save the city.
<span class="mu-i"> ''To the wonders of alchemy!'' </span> Was the common toast among the tents that evening. In Ullsby the night sky was now illuminated with an orange glow; they had clearly been unable to quell the fire in time.
<span class="mu-i"> ''There is nothing magical about alchemy; anyone with knowledge about their ingredients and a basic setup can do it. It requires no magical talent at all.'' </span> Sophia had thus reprimanded someone who wished to congratulate her on making the ethanol.
Come the morrow, the fire had died down; two city blocks, of what you could see, had gone up in flames, taking who knows how many with them and dehousing the survivors.
It should have a good and proper effect on their morale. What good would their walls be if you could reach them in their very homes?
Or at least, that is true of the citizens. The garrison most likely get their own housing, typically built directly attached to the wall, thus making it harder to hit, though you suspect that at least one of the barrack buildings has burnt down.
All the ethanol in the world, however, could not distract you from the fact that you were still outside the walls, and they were inside. And you suspected that even if you burnt the entire town to ash, the garrison would simply bivouac on the walls.
What shall you do next?
>I have slighted their houses; now I shall slight their walls with my trebuchet.
>Time to mine under the walls. How did that work song go? diggy-diggy hole?
>More ballista fire, hollow out their morale.
>Ask Sophia for magical help.
>Their commander doesn't want to surrender, but perhaps someone else might be more persuasive.
