Three hours later, the moon was completely hidden behind a blanket of dark clouds.

Captain Renard, a seasoned Frankish veteran, crawled on his stomach through the muddy grass.

Behind him, a thousand lightly armed Frankish warriors followed his exact movements.

Every man’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest. They had all seen the devastating power of the Iron Kingdom’s weapons during the day. The idea of sneaking up to those very same walls was terrifying, but the promise of endless gold from Duke Odo kept them moving forward.

Renard slowly lifted his head, peering through the tall grass.

Just as Duke Odo had predicted, the Northern soldiers had lined the battlements with burning torches and hanging lanterns, creating a bright ring around the city.

But Renard smiled. The Duke had been right about something else, too.

About two hundred yards to the east, right near a heavily reinforced stone bastion, there was a massive gap in the light. A stretch of the wall, nearly fifty feet wide, was completely draped in dark shadows.

The torches on either side didn’t quite reach the middle, leaving an unlit pathway directly to the base of the wall.

"Fools," Renard whispered to his lieutenant, "They ran out of lamp oil. Their supply lines are already failing."

Renard gave a series of quick hand signals. The thousand men shifted their direction, moving slowly toward the dark gap in the torchlight.

They reached the massive stone wall without making a single sound.

"Raise the ladders," Renard whispered into the dark, "Quickly. Quietly."

The men began to carefully lift the heavy wooden ladders, preparing to hook them onto the stone ledges above.

Renard felt a small, shallow pit dug directly into the earth. And resting inside that pit, right against the stone foundation of the wall, was a smooth, round object.

He traced his fingers over it. It felt like thick clay. He reached up slightly and felt a coarse hemp rope attached to the top of the object, hanging slightly from the wall above.

Renard’s brow furrowed in confusion. He crawled a few feet to the left and felt the ground again.

Another shallow pit... Another clay pot resting inside it. There were dozens of them placed exactly where the men were currently standing with their ladders.

"Wait... what is that?" Renard muttered to himself.

His lieutenant leaned down next to him. "Did you find something, Captain?"

"Clay pots," Renard whispered, "They put clay pots in the ground. Are they trying to store wine outside the walls?"

Why would an enemy leave a perfect, unlit gap in their defenses and then bury clay pots directly in the path?

"Captain!" one of the soldiers whispered, pointing straight up.

High above them, leaning over the stone battlements right in the middle of the dark gap, were two massive silhouettes.

The dim light from the distant torches caught the face of Commander Bjorn, and the wild, grinning face of King Erik.

"Good evening!" King Erik shouted down cheerfully, "Are you lost?"

Renard’s blood ran completely cold. "It’s a trap! Fall back! Drop the ladders and run!"

But it was far, far too late...

Up on the walls, Bjorn stepped back, gesturing to a line of fifty musketeers who immediately stepped up to the edge.

"Fire." Bjorn commanded calmly.

Fifty flint levers snapped forward. Fifty sparks ignited the black powder in the firing pans.

The volley of musket fire tore downward into the darkness. The lead balls easily shattered the clay pots resting in the ground, striking the stone foundation behind them and creating tiny sparks.

Those tiny sparks instantly touched the densely packed black powder inside the shattered clay.

A chain reaction of explosive hellfire erupted at the base of the Calais walls. The night sky was instantly turned as bright as the midday sun by a blinding wave of orange and yellow flame.

The deafening roar of the explosion shook the dirt from the stones and echoed for miles across the empty plains, causing the Frankish knights sleeping a mile away to jolt awake.

As the smoke began to clear, revealing a massive crater where the Frankish sneak attack used to be, Bjorn smiled.

"You see, Erik?" Bjorn said, patting his musket.

***

Chalke Gate, Great Palace of Constantinople

The Mese, the grand main avenue of the city, was flooded with thousands of citizens. They were hanging out of windows, standing on top of market stalls.

"Where are they going?" an old baker whispered loudly, "I haven’t seen the Domestic assemble the grand host like this since the border skirmishes! Are the Bulgars marching again?"

"No, no, look at the banners!" a merchant argued, pointing a finger toward the massive purple flags. "They are marching to the harbor! They are boarding the grand fleet!"

"Look! Mama, look at that!" a young boy suddenly squealed.

The children of Constantinople were wide-eyed, completely captivated by a sight they had never seen before.

The Domestic of the Schools loved these new wagons. General Nikephoros had an army to organize.

"Alexios!" Nikephoros barked.

A young, eager lieutenant trotted up on a brown horse.

"Yes, General!" Alexios responded.

"Look at the infantry lines," Nikephoros commanded, "They are entirely too loose. This is the Imperial Vanguard! When we step off those ships in the Frankish lands, I want the Northern men to see a wall of Byzantine steel!"

"I will tighten the formation at once, General!" Alexios said.

Nikephoros nodded, pulling on his horse’s reins to slowly trot down the massive line of soldiers.

Satisfied with the men-at-arms, Nikephoros guided his horse further down the avenue, moving past the infantry and approaching the siege division.

There were massive traction trebuchets dismantled and stacked onto the wagons. Beside them were the ballistae.

"General Nikephoros!" called out the Chief Engineer, a bald man named Silas. "The siege engines are securely tied down for the ocean voyage."

"Excellent work, Silas," Nikephoros praised, "If these Frankish knights turn their greed toward our borders, I want them to receive a proper introduction to Roman artillery."

Silas let out a laugh. "An exceedingly polite introduction, General!"