You make little to no progress.

Finally, the time had come. The great fire-bombs launched in high arcs from the war-machines erected by the engineers of Helios are about to be joined by the smaller but no less effective missiles from your ships. As you stand on the edge of the balcony overlooking the rivergate alongside Atheas you peer through the darkness at your scorpion ships moving into position just behind the blockade. The Amazon ramming ships have already slipped through the gaps in the blockade and are waiting for the signal to proceed. Onboard one of the ramming ships you know that Thea is preparing her bow, ready to take down any stragglers on the walls. You were a little upset when you found out that you wouldn’t be joining her in the first engagement of the war but Atheas was insistent that you stayed where your Sisters could see you and in a safe place. Although mostly made up of a civilian militia, Athenapolis still had a number of war engines of their own and mercenary companies with the expertise behind the walls. Not enough to stop the united armies from winning the war but enough to pose a significant threat to your thin-hulled galleys.

Atheas nods to an archer standing at the base of the balcony and a signal arrow streaks into the night sky leaving a trail of green sparks in its trail. Almost immediately, the scorpion ships on the dark river below open fire on the walls and soon the flaming rounds of your fire pots were joining the streaks of burning lights that filled the night sky. The Fire Vine oil was placed in clay pots, just small enough for your scorpions to fire over the wall. A lid is then placed on top and sealed with wax and thin rope. A frayed wax soaked wick is then lit before being launched towards the white stone walls, where the jar would smash against the brick and send its contents flying towards the defenders. As the pot shatters the flaming wick flies forward and strikes the oil, setting it alight.

At first, there are a few misfires as the firepots fall short or fly over the walls and into the city, but it does not take long for your Sisters to find the range and start striking the upper part of the wall. As the flames light the night sky, sending plumes of smoke into the air, you can see the panicked defenders scurrying along the ramparts and hear the screams of men tasked with defending the gate below. As the flames rise you can see more and more of the scene even the flashes of flames tumbling from the wall as burning men leap into the waters below in **** attempts to put themselves out.

Once the wall is clear, a red signal arrow follows the green one into the sky signaling the bombardment to stop and the ram ships to charge. Soon the sound of war drums fills the air as the first wave of ships charged the walls and struck the large steel gate with their bronze-capped rams. As the first trio backpaddles away the second wave of ships rush the gate. As they strike the thick steel you see sparks flying through the air, briefly lighting up the lower half of the gate. Your galleys make five more runs for the gate, slamming into them with tremendous **** before the defenders were able to recover and re-man the walls. The ships quickly pulled back when archers appear on the walls again, firing volleys of arrows down on the rowers. The Amazon archers return fire as the galleys fall back, and you think you see Thea near the bow getting off two arrows and calming her first kill, striking a man in the face before he plummets into the churning waters below. The bowmen on the walls lack the accuracy and speed of your Sisters; even with the advantage of cover and height, few of their arrows even strike the galleys, let along the warriors manning the ships.

As your ramships move just out of the archer's range, your scorpions opened fire once more. Clearing the walls was easier this time around, as the defenders knew what to expect. Even as the firepots are flying through the sky you can see the defenders scrambling to escape the barrage, some jumping into the river behind the walls, just to escape what was coming. Not all are able to escape as you can hear a renewal of screams as your firepots strike the walls with a precision that made you nod grimly.

Once more your ships charge the gates, striking them harder and harder with each wave. They are able to get off seven more runs before being **** to pull back again by archers. Again, your archers returned fire and again the men on the walls couldn’t hit your warriors. At first, you thought the reason for their terrible aim was because they were still trying to get organized. Once you lost the element of surprise you were sure that they would set up firing lines and unleash a hail of arrows into your ships, but the arrows a scattered and poorly timed well before your scorpions started to open fire. They are not only disorganized, they lack experience and are terrible shots. Could you just be fighting the militia? And where were the heavy ballista that you were expecting to be the real danger?

Three more times your Sisters repeat the attack, first bombarding the walls, then ramming the gate only pulling back once the archers were able to retake the walls. Still, the defenders miss practically every shot. You glanced over at Atheas to see her reaction. “Something’s not right,” she confirms your observations, “Not that I’m complaining but we should at least be taking a handful of losses.”

“Could they be holding the mercenaries in reserve?” you asked her.

“Even if those men are only militia they should still be skilled enough to at least land a few hits.” Atheas turns to Seisa. It is a measure of how well the pair work together that Atheas doesn't need to say anything to her. Your spymaster already knew what she wanted. “I will have my report in the morning,” she says with a light bow before taking her leave.

"Let's get a better look," you decide to leave the safety of the platform and get closer to the action and Atheas doesn't protest as she follows you down to the river's edge along with the rest of your council. By now your ships are losing their bite as the crew manning the oars start to tire. Understandable as they had been at this for over an hour now. When the ships pull back to avoid another ineffectual arrow barrage you take a closer look at the gate. Thanks to your new position and the flames burning in and over the city you can clearly see the steel bars of the river gate. As you studied the reinforced steel you noticed something quite disturbing.

“By Aries,” you curse, “There isn’t so much as a dent!”

“What!” said Atheas in shock, “That’s impossible!” She stands by your side to look for herself. “This…This can’t be right! No loose bolts, no cracks in the mortar.”

“You mean all this time we have just been banging our heads against an indestructible wall?” asks Kyra angerly.

“Those bars can’t be indestructible,” Atheas sounds as angry as Kyra, “We’re just not hitting it with enough ****!”

“If that's the case,” you turn to your Valkyrie captain, “Anon, begin preparations on converting your ship. While you build your ram Athea will continue with her attack, I don’t want our Sisters to remain idle.”

“Is that such a good idea?” asks Laoda, “If our troops realize that we aren’t making any progress it can only hurt their morale.”

As soon as Laoda says this you noticed that one of your firepots is flying a lot lower than it should be. Instead of hitting the wall it hits the gate and explodes into a wall of flame. The fire and smoke is still enough to clear the walls but at the same time, it now blocks your path, preventing your ships from charging the gate.

“I think they already know,” you tell Laoda. “My order still stands. We will try again tomorrow to take the gate, it will hurt our sister’s moral more if we just sit around and wait for Anon to finish her ship.” You turn your attention to the growling general by your side. “Atheas, call off the attack for tonight and let out sisters rest. Kyra, sound the drums to let our sisters know that it is time for them to relive their heat. Now if you excuse me, I must retire.”