Post by The Smith on May 11, 2008 18:00:02 GMT -5
Avery paced the battlements of Dragonstone every morning, looking out to sea and over the island. Following him was what seemed to be a small army of stone masons and other assistants. Avery continually stopped his progress, pointing out and making observations to his masons who had their assistants busying scribbling notes.
Dragonstone's masons and engineers, personally supervised by Avery himself, had completed a thorough survey of the most probable routes of attack for an invading army attempting to land on Dragonstone island. While an individual person could potentially cross anywhere, an army of thousands of men attacking the citadel had only three feasible paths of entry through the steep terrain up to the walls of the castle. Clearly any mass attack from the direction of the Dragonmont was out of the question, but the oppostie direction was far more vulnerable.
Avery had spent hours studying the the advanced, Valyrian techniques of masonry the written records of which, had been largely lost in the Doom. Despite the loss of many of these ancient works, the techniques of Valyrioan masonry was very evident in the walls of Dragonstone causing it to look unique among all the castles in Westeros, except for perhaps Driftmark, which was Dragonstone on a smaller scale. Dragonstone’s walls were carved into the shapes of dragons, and thousands of gargoyles carved into various shapes sat high upon the the curtain walls and served as crenellations.
Avery had long been concerned about the paths that led from the shoreline up to the Citadel, providing easy access to the citadel for a hostile force. While the terrain itself was hostile, well beaten paths from the shoreline commonly used by the small folk or traders or more ominously smugglers, tended to negate any defensive advantage. Using his rapidly increasing knowledge of construction and fortifications Avery had designed an innovative solution in defending the approaches to the Citadel.
Using the rocky terrain as a natural wall, Avery had had his masons build three small stone hold fasts close to the sea, one on each of the main paths that would allow the easy access of an enemy. One of them led straight from the harbour to the front gate of the castle. Where it could be done, his masons utilized the rocky outcrops of the cliffs surrounding the low lying beaches whenever possible to reinforce the holdfasts stone walls and maximized the height advantage of his position whenever possible.
At each location, Avery had his men gather large rocks and stack them against a series of wooden boards which were reinforced with wooden supports. If needed the men could cut the supports releasing an avalanche of large rocks down to block the path or crush a marauding force. A sortie from the defenders would then follow.
At two of the three holdfasts Avery stationed 100 men. The holdfast that guarded the path from the harbour was built on a larger scale. It could hold 200 men. Within each holdfast he built a tall observation tower where guards were posted both day and night with a continually burning fire. In the event of detection of a large approaching army or approaching fleet the tower would sound a horn during the day and extinguish its light at night to warn the other small holdfasts and the main citadel of an enmy’s approach.
Avery hoped his new defenses would not be needed. While his small holdfasts would severely slow and perhaps damage an army it would be impossible to hold the path against a large force. If the captain in charge of the holdfast believed he could not hold the holdfast then his men were to retreat to the main citadel.
Meanwhile work continued on strengthening even further Dragonstone Castle’s defences. Avery now set up mangonels on the walls and consulted with his engineers on thickening the base of the Dragonstone’s curtain walls to prevent possible mining attempts, if the castle was ever brought to siege. Given the abundant amount of stone ion the island, Avery had a well used stone quarry from which the hard basalt was cut and shaped for Dragonstone’s wall.
Avery was pleased to note that the smiths' chain for Dragonstone Harbour was getting longer and would soon be ready. It has been some months since he had commissioned it.
With food and water being slowly stored and several wells beng dug in various secret locations close to the castle, his lieutenants felt quite confident in resisting any attack that rumnours suggested would be coming..
Avery was not quite so sure. There was still much to be done.
Results:
Avery Baratheon improves to Expert in Fortifications (Engineering)
Dragonstone Citadel further improves its defences.
Three small stone holdfasts two of which can hold 100 men and the third 200 men, are built close to the coast. They control the possible paths to the Citadel, taking advantage of the natural terrain for defensive purposes..
Food and water is stored in various secret locations within Dragonstone Castle.
The chain intended for across Dragonstone harbor continues to be forged.
Dragonstone's masons and engineers, personally supervised by Avery himself, had completed a thorough survey of the most probable routes of attack for an invading army attempting to land on Dragonstone island. While an individual person could potentially cross anywhere, an army of thousands of men attacking the citadel had only three feasible paths of entry through the steep terrain up to the walls of the castle. Clearly any mass attack from the direction of the Dragonmont was out of the question, but the oppostie direction was far more vulnerable.
Avery had spent hours studying the the advanced, Valyrian techniques of masonry the written records of which, had been largely lost in the Doom. Despite the loss of many of these ancient works, the techniques of Valyrioan masonry was very evident in the walls of Dragonstone causing it to look unique among all the castles in Westeros, except for perhaps Driftmark, which was Dragonstone on a smaller scale. Dragonstone’s walls were carved into the shapes of dragons, and thousands of gargoyles carved into various shapes sat high upon the the curtain walls and served as crenellations.
Avery had long been concerned about the paths that led from the shoreline up to the Citadel, providing easy access to the citadel for a hostile force. While the terrain itself was hostile, well beaten paths from the shoreline commonly used by the small folk or traders or more ominously smugglers, tended to negate any defensive advantage. Using his rapidly increasing knowledge of construction and fortifications Avery had designed an innovative solution in defending the approaches to the Citadel.
Using the rocky terrain as a natural wall, Avery had had his masons build three small stone hold fasts close to the sea, one on each of the main paths that would allow the easy access of an enemy. One of them led straight from the harbour to the front gate of the castle. Where it could be done, his masons utilized the rocky outcrops of the cliffs surrounding the low lying beaches whenever possible to reinforce the holdfasts stone walls and maximized the height advantage of his position whenever possible.
At each location, Avery had his men gather large rocks and stack them against a series of wooden boards which were reinforced with wooden supports. If needed the men could cut the supports releasing an avalanche of large rocks down to block the path or crush a marauding force. A sortie from the defenders would then follow.
At two of the three holdfasts Avery stationed 100 men. The holdfast that guarded the path from the harbour was built on a larger scale. It could hold 200 men. Within each holdfast he built a tall observation tower where guards were posted both day and night with a continually burning fire. In the event of detection of a large approaching army or approaching fleet the tower would sound a horn during the day and extinguish its light at night to warn the other small holdfasts and the main citadel of an enmy’s approach.
Avery hoped his new defenses would not be needed. While his small holdfasts would severely slow and perhaps damage an army it would be impossible to hold the path against a large force. If the captain in charge of the holdfast believed he could not hold the holdfast then his men were to retreat to the main citadel.
Meanwhile work continued on strengthening even further Dragonstone Castle’s defences. Avery now set up mangonels on the walls and consulted with his engineers on thickening the base of the Dragonstone’s curtain walls to prevent possible mining attempts, if the castle was ever brought to siege. Given the abundant amount of stone ion the island, Avery had a well used stone quarry from which the hard basalt was cut and shaped for Dragonstone’s wall.
Avery was pleased to note that the smiths' chain for Dragonstone Harbour was getting longer and would soon be ready. It has been some months since he had commissioned it.
With food and water being slowly stored and several wells beng dug in various secret locations close to the castle, his lieutenants felt quite confident in resisting any attack that rumnours suggested would be coming..
Avery was not quite so sure. There was still much to be done.
Results:
Avery Baratheon improves to Expert in Fortifications (Engineering)
Dragonstone Citadel further improves its defences.
Three small stone holdfasts two of which can hold 100 men and the third 200 men, are built close to the coast. They control the possible paths to the Citadel, taking advantage of the natural terrain for defensive purposes..
Food and water is stored in various secret locations within Dragonstone Castle.
The chain intended for across Dragonstone harbor continues to be forged.