Yet another letter to Colmes

[WriterX]

Colmes,

 We had a rather dire situation today. I was not present for all of it so I hope reports from Carrot or other Janissaries may shed more light.

 I awoke abruptly to calls of an attack at the Sand Gate, the Melek were attacking. By the time I arrived they were inside of the City, but held at the gate itself. I aided the defenders in pushing the Melek back, and then ordered a charge beyond the gate to break the gathering Melek host.

 There were some injuries, and one Janissary, guarding the Sand Gate, may have died in the assault.

 Based on subsequent information from those present, a man was carrying a lot of "excellent meats", apparently a lizard hunter. The Melek took notice and tried to capture said meat, and I presume a skirmish occured in front of the Gate of Sand, with our forces overwhelmed and pushed back into the city.

 The Lizard hunter was knocked out, all of his meat stolen, and apparently his shoes as well.

 What worries me more is not how this incident came about, but that fact that for the first time, as far as I recall, since the Great Ash Storm, the Melek have broken into the City. While they did not harm the populace, nor cause any significanct damage, it worries me that the gate fell at all.

 I know it is difficult to deal with the Melek, especially since they tunnel beneath the sands. There is no way of stopping them from surfacing right in front of our gates or walls, but we should consider more decisive measures, in case of attacks on the Sand Gate.

 At the very least I would suggest doubling the guard at the Sand Gate, and either repairing or modernizing the gate so that it can be sealed, giving the defenders time to organize a response and sally forth.

 The only downside of this response may be that if people at the Sand Gate are ambushed they might lack the time to retreat back into the city before the gate is sealed. At the same time we do have two other gates that we may use to outflank any attackers.

 I write this letter in haste, and thus my thoughts may be scattered, but seeing the Melek inside of the city made my blood boil. If this smaller raiding party managed to overcome the gate, I fear what will happen if a more significant force arrives.

Legate Marcellus Saenus

 

[Blue41]

Legate,

As it happens, the purpose of the quarry is to resolve exactly this issue: the dismal state of the Sand Gate. You will recall all of the ruckus some four weeks past when the Cinquefoil Rose attempted to liberate the conscripts toiling there at the behest of Legates Gloamingdaith and Argyris. All workers currently employed at the quarry gather stone and rock for the explicit purpose of constructing a wall around the new district, which will be centered on the Sand Gate.

You should know this. You should remember this.

For my part, and anyone with sense, it seemed obvious that any workers left out in the sun would make a tempting target for an Orc raiding party. Indeed, one might wonder why our Legates would approve such an all-consuming, expensive process during a war for the right to survival on the very Disc. That is all one might do, loudly or quietly. Ultimately the decision itself was theirs to make.

Lt. R. Colmes
Warmaster