Here Be Dragons - 1 by Sharon Penman (best ebook reader android TXT) 📗

crossbows may be more cumbersome than our bows, but they have a greater range."As if to prove his point, behind him a man screamed, fell forward into the dirt. Up on the walls, an English bowman gave a triumphant shout. Encouraged, his comrades loosed their own arrows down into the bailey. The Welsh drew back, retreating behind a wall of upraised shields.When enough wood, sand, and fagots had been thrown into the ditch, Llewelyn signaled and the battering ram was brought up, a huge tree trunk capped in iron, sheltered by a large-wheeled shed fireproofed with raw cowhide.Ednyved ducked behind the shed, gave the battering ram an approving pat. "What are your orders?""Whilst we seek to break through with the ram, turn the mangonels upon the walls. Now I want every bowman we have aiming up at the walls. Have the scaling ladders ready."Ednyved gave a pleased grunt. "Consider it done," he said, crawled under the shed to confer with the men crouching within. Llewelyn raised his right arm, dropped it sharply. At once the air throbbed

207the twanging of Welsh longbows, and the battering ram began peaking across the baileyRV the time the shed reached the curtain wall, the castle defenders rajnmg every possible sort of missile down upon it stones, lances, torches, even quicklime But it continued to creep inexorably forward, ke a huge shelled turtle, leaving a trail of deflected weaponry in its ke Once within range, the men inside jerked on the ropes, straining ntil the massive log began to swing back and forth, gathering momenturn and smashing into the portcullis There was a splintering, the iron einforcements held, but the wood buckled, and theWelsh raised a cheerThe capture of Mold Castle would be a signal victory for the Welsh, andLlewelyn had left little to chance, his army was equipped both with the huge crossbow machines known as balhstas and with the even larger mangonels, catapulthke devices capable of launching boulders of considerable size He watched as his largest mangonel was dragged forward, as a windlass was wrenched to pull the beam back, as it was loaded with heavy rocks, and then released The beam jerked back to a vertical position, propelling the rocks into a deadly overhead arc Some shattered against the castle walls, others plummeted down into the inner ward Not waiting to savor their success, his men were already reloading the mangonel Llewelyn paused long enough to shout, "Good lads'" and then sprinted across the open ground toward the lean-to being set up by the ditch "Bring out the second mangonel," he panted "And keep your shields up They're launching red-hot bolts from the walls, I just saw one go clean through a man's belly "So far, all was going according to Llewelyn's expectations The battering ram continued its relentless thrusting Up on the walls, men were lowering large hooks, desperately fishing for the ram, but the arrow fire was too intense for any man to risk exposure for long, and they were grappling blindly"Llewelyn1" Rhys raced for the lean-to, flung himself down a split second before an arrow buried itself in the wood above his head It had all but grazed his hair, yet he said only, "Close, that one Llewelyn, they signal from the ram They've broken through the portcullis, have reached the door ""Now1" Again Llewelyn raised his arm, let it fall "Do not let up, drive them off the walls'" And as his bowmen obeyed, launching arrow after arrow with eye-blurring speed, he pulled his sword from its scabbard, brought his shield upWith wild yells, the Welsh rushed the castle walls Those up on the elements threw down stones, flaming pitch, more than one Welshan Was engulfed in fire, rolled screaming upon the ground But Llewe-

108lyn's bowmen had achieved their aim, forcing many of the English t0 retreat, and the Welsh headed now for these exposed areas, threw seal ing ladders against the walls, and began to scramble up, trailing ligu thong ladders over their shoulders.By the time Llewelyn reached the walls, the battering ram vvas smashing through the oaken door. He was among the first to plunge through, fought his way clear of the gatehouse to find many of his rnei already within, clambering down their thong ladders to head off the English retreat. Of the buildings ranged along the curtain walls, only one was not of wood: a squat, two-story tower. Seeing themselves overwhelmed, the English soldiers were running for this, their last refuge, and Llewelyn shouted, "Christ, cut them off!"But even as he raced for the keep, he knew they'd be too late. Men with torches were standing in the doorway. When most of the soldiers had made it to safety within, they scattered brushwood upon the stairs, tossed their torches onto the pile. The stairs ignited at once. One of the torchbearers was too slow, took a Welsh lance in his chest, and tumbled down into the flames, but the other ducked back inside; the door was slammed and bolted behind him.SMOKE hung heavy over the inner ward; the wooden buildings had been put to the torch. Llewelyn and his captains had gathered in the gatehouse, were measuring the keep with speculative eyes.Rhys gestured toward the charred ruins of the wooden stairway. "Even if we built a platform and then forced the door, all the advantages would lie with them; they could smite us down one by one as we sought to enter. Better we should build a mine, tunnel under the wall, and bring it down about their ears. Or else use the battering ram to smash into the cellar.""The River Alyn sinks underground here; the ground is like to be too wet for tunneling." Ednyved took up a flask, drank, and passed it around. "But we could use the battering ram, though it'd be slow going. What say you, Llewelyn?"Llewelyn considered. "If we go across the battlements, we can enter onto the roof of the keep. If we then stuff burning brushwood down the