A raging inferno roared once more at the base of the stone precipice as the creatures below clamored up their ladders. The three surviving siege towers now stood against the fortress' walls and the mammoth ramps pressed hard against the restraining poles of the defenders. Arrows thudded into uplifted shields, occasionally finding flesh and toppling an attacker into its companions. The ogres climbed inexorably upward, some with five missiles buried in their flesh. Crossbowmen, however, were more effective as their steel quarrels passed through shields and the bodies beneath, sometimes piercing...