The First Siege

By Jonathan Moeller

A citadel held by brutal warriors. One knight’s boldness might make the difference between victory and death.

When orcish warriors seize Castra Liria, the Lord of the Northerland must repulse them. Sir Gareth Arban rides to battle with him, seeking glory and renown.

When he learns of a secret path into the fortress, it might mean victory, or a swift death...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jonathan Moeller
• Release date: Jun 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005877255

Jonathan Moeller

Standing over six feet tall, Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair of a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.He has written the "Demonsouled" trilogy of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write the "Ghosts" sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the "$0.99 Beginner's Guide" series of computer books, and numerous other works.Visit his website at:http://www.jonathanmoeller.comVisit his technology blog at:http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed

Book preview

THE FIRST SIEGE

Jonathan Moeller

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Description

A citadel held by brutal warriors. One knight’s boldness might make the difference between victory and death.

When orcish warriors seize Castra Liria, the Lord of the Northerland must repulse them. Sir Gareth Arban rides to battle with him, seeking glory and renown.

When he learns of a secret path into the fortress, it might mean victory, or a swift death…

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The First Siege

Copyright 2022 by Jonathan Moeller.

Smashwords Edition.

Cover design by Jonathan Moeller.

Ebook edition published June 2022.

All Rights Reserved.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by law.

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A brief author’s note

This story takes place between the events of the novels DRAGONSKULL: SWORD OF THE SQUIRE and DRAGONSKULL: SHIELD OF THE KNIGHT.

A map of the realm of Andomhaim is available on the author’s website at this link (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=4487).

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The First Siege

In the spring of the Year of Our Lord 1499, Dux Constantine Licinius of the Northerland rode to war with his knights.

For years the Dux of the Northerland had spent most of the spring and the summer in the saddle, riding to defend the lands he held and to repulse raiders coming out of the Wilderland or the caverns of the Deeps. For much of the Northerland was still held by foes of the men of Andomhaim. The ice dwarves had their fortress in the valley below the Black Mountain, and tribes of the medvarth controlled fully half of the Northerland. Dux Constantine wanted to drive the invaders from his ancestral domain and resettle the reclaimed lands with new freeholders and knights, to rebuild his duxarchate to the strength it had possessed before the war with the Frostborn.

But, as Gareth Arban had seen since he had become a squire and a knight, battle was a democracy. The enemy also received a vote.

And depending on how clever or how numerous the enemy was, he might have enough votes to force the matter.

The orcish raiders holding Castra Liria thought so.

Castra Liria lay several days’ ride north of Castra Marcaine, on the edge of the Wilderland itself. In days