Occupation of Ostriken

After the Battle of Ebben Field, Grand Duke Arttu's army would continue on towards Asjaer. However, the great trading city was of such a size and itself split by the Jaer river, that it would require his army to be spread out in order to effective siege it from land. As such, the Grand Duke tasked Surcount Hannu of Sjolund with taking his army south-eastward from the fields of Ebben in order to capture the city of Ostriken before moving on and sieging the northern flank of Asjaer.   Hannu was a respected and experienced commander, having fought in both domestic and external wars during his career. His army consisted of eight thousand men, half of whom were his own banners and levies, the others granted to his command by the Grand Duke. He would move swiftly to take Ostriken, allowing small groups of outriders to scout and suppress any notions of resistance in the local villages and hamlets. Ostriken itself was landlocked but defended by stone walls surrounding the centre of the city. The defenders of Ostriken primarily kept their defence within the walls of the bailey, under the command of the defeated Klenfeld of Ostriken's son.    Hannu's forces would take the undefended section of the city, taking shelter in the buildings and subduing the local population who had not yet fled. From here, Hannu would make use of the materials of the buildings, in some cases demolishing the wooden structures to make ladders and means of assaulting the bailey. As he outnumbered the defenders considerably, Hannu considered an encircling assault to be the quickest means of capturing the city and leaving the route to Asjaer open for Doric forces.    The assault carried on as planned, the walls assaulted by Hannu's forces, suffering disproportionate losses where the defenders had amassed. Despite this, the defenders of Ostriken were well beaten and were forced to retreat to the keep where the Klenfeld's son had barricaded in the remaining forces. Surcount Hannu wished to waste as little time taking Ostriken as possible, and so opted to hurry negotiations with the barricaded defenders, demanding their surrender or else the keep would be set alight with them inside.    This tactic would initially prove to be ineffective as the defenders refused to surrender, however, Hannu had his men source pitch with which to burn and had them impregnate the keep with the burning pitch. Though this likely would not have caused any serious damage initially, the defenders quickly surrendered the keep before it could escalate, exiting the stone structure with a great black cloud of smoke harrying them.