The Battle for Cainfield Citadel (Playthrough of Castle Panic)

Sir Owain of the East, commander of the army at Cainfield Citadel, looked over the battlements at the army assembled there. They had the supplies necessary for a lengthy siege and a sturdy castle wall, but they had never faced a force with twelve foot trolls that could climb right over that very wall. If he hadn't trained all of his men personally he would be more worried about how they would react to these invaders, but he knew they were ready for anything these monsters could throw at them.

The first attack of the battle went poorly for both sides. A giant boulder, pushed along by several rock trolls, headed straight towards the keep. It collapsed a large section of the wall but also flattened one of those climbing trolls on its way.

Another reason for Owain's confidence was due to Esorin the Sorcerer who had recently taken up residence at Cainfield. In exchange for his own tower and laboratory to conduct his mystical experiments, he would bolster the keep's defenses. As a warg riding goblin and a humongous ogre raced towards the castle, dark clouds formed above the battlefield and bolts of fire rained death upon them.

The monster horde didn't waste any time sending in their biggest and baddest monsters. A basilisk arrived, paralyzing the defenders with fear. Esorin had Owain clear out the tower facing the beast as quickly as possibly. If the situation weren't so dire, he might have asked a few more questions before following through on the orders, as Esorin used a minor earthquake to collapse the tower, crushing the basilisk and a by-standing troll.

"Esorin! Give me more warning before you purposely destroy our own castle!"

"I'll see what I can do," Esorin replied, already in the throes of another spell. The pieces of the just-fallen tower lifted back up into the air and formed new walls around the castle. Esorin looked over at Owain and winked.

While Esorin was performing his wondrous display, the non-magical defenders were still at work dealing with the invaders. Sir Bertelemi the Swift, riding into the thick of battle more quickly than most, charged headlong into a group of monsters. He threw a lance high into the air, striking a phoenix, then ducked behind his shield just in time to avoid the explosion that followed. A nearby troll mage was not so lucky.

Sir Niall the Flame, not quite as fast as Bertelemi but does come with a flaming sword, ventured into the battle next. He dodged the magic blasts and fists of the troll mage he battled with and left it flaming in his wake.

How does that saying go? Fight fire with fire? The enemies must have heard that phrase because they sent their own magic users to counter our mighty wizard. This conjurer had the ability to call forth new creatures out of thin air. Now, things were starting to look grim.

As more and more enemies exited the forest and headed towards the castle, Cainfield's archers attempted to discourage them from leaving the protection of the forest with some extra help from their resident wizard. One magnificent shot managed to take down the behemoth of an ogre with a single hit.

As the invaders pressed towards the stone walls, the battle became more fierce and dangerous. Swordsmen dodged enemies while also avoiding the boiling oil that was poured from the ramparts. A wild barbarian, Belnir, who happened to be drinking at the tavern within the castle walls at the time of the attack, put his drink down long enough to pick up his battle axe and separate a climbing troll from his head.

After his first taste of battle, with alcohol and adrenaline pounding through his veins, Belnir entered a bloodthirsty rage and became an army himself on the battlefield.

It was no surprise when no new enemies left the safety of the woods for quite some time.

Come to bolster the troops, a terrifying chimera landed at the edge of the forest. Letting out a powerful roar, he began moving towards the citadel.

This did little to deter Belnir who continued to race around the battlefield in a frenzy.

Again, the enemies held back. Even the chimera decided there were easier pickings elsewhere and flew off to find a field of sheep to ravage.

Goblins, orcs, and trolls (oh my!) may be slow to learn, but eventually they realized that if they could take down the wizard's tower, they could put a stop to the powerful magic that was wreaking havoc on their forces. They concentrated all of their efforts on that tower and before long it had crumbling down. Esorin, battling to the last, went with it.

From there, things began to quickly slide downhill. More of the wall and towers were torn down. More of the fighting men were left dead, dying, and injured across the battlefield. In this darkest hour of the battle, a multi-headed hydra arrived from the north, looking to end this skirmish once and for all.

The defenders would not simply lie down and die, however. No matter how damaged the castle was, they still managed to keep the beasts out. Sir Owain regrouped his men, inspired them to fight for king and country and all of that. Knights rode, archers fired, and a brave swordsman dueled a hydra, even managing to force it back from the keep.

Sir Niall was still out there, waving his fiery sword and severing limbs and heads from monstrous bodies. Archers from the wall distracted a lone orc while Niall battled a a club-wielding ogre.

The hydra had finally swept away the pesky swordsman, when he stepped in a tar trap and was stuck in place. Another short reprieve for the defenders.

The wounded ogre made his way towards the wall with two orcs in tow. They were met by a small contingent of dual-wielding swordsmen who were armed with magical weapons

As the battle raged, both sides took terrible losses. Cainfield was reduced to a single tower that the remaining defenders gathered around for their last stand.

Sir Raoul of the Lake, arriving late to the battle as he had been out hunting, entered the fray as soon as possible. He slayed the great hydra beast with a single chop of his sword while the worn out and wearied barbarian battled beside him. Belnir was cut down, but not before dealing tremendous damages to the attackers.

Things were looking dire indeed. Creatures were beginning to swarm into the center of where Cainfield used to stand, looking for innocents and wounded to kill. When, all of a sudden, what was that? It sounded like a barbarian battle cry, but, it couldn't be! Belnir, seemingly back from the grave, rose from the corpse-littered ground like a phoenix from the ashes, and leaped back into battle. The evil creatures fell before him like trees.

In the wake of his fury, the remaining defenders quickly propped up some temporary walls and structures to prepare for the final assault.

In the end, it proved to be just enough. Sir Owain surveyed what remained of Cainfield. It was not much. They suffered many injuries and causalities, not to mention the severe damages to buildings and crops. The silver lining to this dark cloud was that the enemies had obviously thrown everything they had at the castle and were utterly defeated. It would be many, many years before they were able to mount an assault force again. This would give them time to rebuild. And rebuild they would.