When all of you have joined her on the gate tower, Beatrice points out some key features of the western front of the battle.



The keep faces the bay and the west; for now, the bay is protected by a net of iron and silver and the naval forces of Coldwater, and you can see the battle happening out over the water and around the tower that anchors the net. It seems impossible that the net won't fall, but while it lasts the bay will stand fast. Things will get worse after that.

A large section of undead forces are assembled before the Aguille Gate and the Keep; a lot of them are pushing south, although you see skeletons and wights disintegrating constantly as they push against the consecration of the land. More are attacking the walls, repulsed by militia and the siege engines of the Keep. You see the many flags of the tribu of Blackwater among them.

Beatrice points to a specific flag, bronze with a skull and a gear. It flies from a large group of ships anchored along the western coast.



"The Onager are leading the assault this year. Artificer necromancers, mechanics. The Keep has been stopping them from unloading their equipment, but the assault on the gate got too heavy and we had to retarget our own siege engines."

You can see huge, shambling shapes moving around the ships, unloading and assembling equipment... undead giants. They've already erected a hasty giant-scaled shield wall to protect the ships and the half-constructed seige engines. You see catapults, trebuchets, ballistas... and the repulsive siege engines of the undead giants themselves, each one piloted by a necromancer.



"There will be a short lull while their gayants finish assembly, and then bombardment will begin. They'll target the Keep primarily... you'll only need to worry about strays. Not much you can do about a flaming ball of tar or a ballista bolt, but they've been known to fire worse things."

"Just stay ready... infantry may break through, or a stray catapult shot may start a fire, or Maiden knows what other devilry. But it's going to be quiet before it gets loud, so stay ready."