This day brought exciting news from the north. A sizeable force of the enemy’s allies had been caught and destroyed in an attempt to raid the supplies staged along the route to the south. With help from the local population, the garrison commander of Sipper had set a trap for them.

The enemy under one Prince Palacus Enkidu had ridden head long into the ambush set for them. Being so eager to reach there prize and hampered by terrain they had ridden through a defile in order to reach a major supply point. There they were pinned by arrow fire while the infantry closed off both exits. The Prince and his men had stood bravely until the futility of their situation became apparent, some even taking their own lives rather than yield. The Prince had been taken captive and was now in the custody of one of our northern friends. Most all of his force was killed with the reminder taken captive.

The siege had also gone quite well. The enemy had built wooden covers over the heads of their troops. It was a boon dared not dreamt of before. Most of the water supply to the city had been blocked and diverted in the night. Then the siege engines had begun their rain of fire into the city and atop the walls catching hundreds of the ill repaired troops in the storm. The cover was meant to stop the simple arrows of the horse archers but proved useless angst the great bolts fired from the Greek machines. What is more, the fires forced the soldiers to use the precious water to prevent the city from burning completely making drinking water more precious than all the king's gold.

Word had come from the south that troops were on the move from Ur but that the other cities were remaining neutral to the goings on so that their supplies would have to be packed all the way with them. The need to cart the supplies would slow their movement.
Necessary preparations had already been put in place for such a move on their part.

Mean time reinforcements had begun to arrive from the east. A strong contingent of infantry had completed their march and was dispersed to key points. Burnaburiash was most confident that his mix of forces could deal with anything the enemy my try to hurl at him and the ground had been prepared long ago to receive them.

It had been reported that the enemy was using poisoned tips on their arrows. This was a sign of great desperation, but one the enemy would pay dearly for in the end. Luckily, losses were not great but still Burnaburiash’s first thoughts were for his people. This coward’s trick would make the men less willing to give quarter to the poorly trained militia and conscripts within the city and fare more ferocious toward those from Ur.

Burnaburiash wished to avoid unneeded blood shed, and resolved to send emissaries into the city in the morning.