Into Crown Junction

III-XLI — INTO THE TOWN [INTRO — PREDAWN | 6/8 ~66 | TREMOLO GUITAR | MUTED TRUMPET | LOW SHAMISEN | NO DRUMS] [MALE BARITONE — third-person throughout] [VERSE 1 — FIRST LIGHT] First light hadn't touched the roofs When movement crossed the northern field. Crown Junction slept behind its timber, Riflemen above the walls. Jack waited in the darkness. Sarah watched the eastern sky. Then somewhere overhead came one low sweep of wings. Jack looked up. “Della.” [VERSE 2 — ROOK] [LOW PERCUSSION BEGINS] Rook crossed above the palisade Before the guards could understand. Blue-white fire flashed along him. [CRACK] One rifle never fired. Rook banked. [CRACK] Another post went silent. Then another. Della drove him down the wall. Men abandoned firing steps And scattered for the ground. Jack dropped his hand. “GO!” [VERSE 3 — THE RIDERS] [SYNCOPATED PERCUSSION | TEMPO ~82] Riders burst from darkness, Bundles tied across their saddles. They reached the timber wall. Dropped brush. Bottles broke. Then wheeled away. Fast. No cheering. No wasted time. They cleared the open ground Before Crown Junction understood. A tiny flame climbed one post. Then another. Then the whole north wall began to burn. [VERSE 4 — WAIT] [ARRANGEMENT PULLS BACK] The Allies watched. That was the hardest part. Fire climbed dry timber. Smoke rolled south across the town. Inside Crown Junction bells began to ring. Men ran toward the walls. Buckets passed from hand to hand. Some climbed through heat and smoke to throw water from above. More followed. Too many. Timbers cracked. Jack heard it from the field. Sarah: “There.” The burning wall leaned inward. [WOOD CRACKING] Then disappeared behind a tower of sparks. [VERSE 5 — SUNRISE] [BRASS ENTERS | TEMPO ~96] By sunrise Crown Junction had no northern wall. Only fire. Broken timber. Smoke. And open ground. Jack raised his rifle. “Forward!” The answer came immediately. [GUNFIRE] Windows flashed. Doorways flashed. Roofs flashed. The Allied line moved anyway. [VERSE 6 — WAGONS] Wagons rolled before the riflemen, Heavy timber taking lead. Men advanced behind the wheels. Shots hammered wood. Horses screamed. One wagon stopped. Another passed it. A man fell. Then two. Then more. Sarah shouted through the smoke: “KEEP MOVING!” County rifles answered windows. Forest arrows arced overhead. Shots cracked from every direction. Still the wagons rolled. [VERSE 7 — ROOK ABOVE] Rook came screaming overhead. Della swept him down the street. [CRACK] Defenders scattered from the rooftops. [CRACK] Men abandoned barricades. Every open position became a killing ground. “GET INSIDE!” The order carried through the town. Doors slammed. Windows opened. Rifles appeared. Jack saw what had happened. “We've driven them into cover.” Sarah: “And taken away their movement.” Jack: “Fair trade?” A bullet struck the wagon. Sarah ducked. “Ask me later!” [VERSE 8 — HARDER NOW] Now every house became a fort. Every window held a rifle. Every alley hid a gun. The defenders couldn't maneuver— But neither could they be swept from streets they'd already left. Della circled overhead. Rook couldn't reach through timber walls. The rest belonged to those on foot. Jack drew his revolver. “Close up!” [STACCATO STRINGS] “WAGONS FORWARD!” [VERSE 9 — THE PALISADE] The last hundred yards cost more than all the first. Smoke hid the rifle flashes. Splinters crossed the air. Men fell. Others filled their places. Then the lead wagon struck the fallen palisade. Stopped. Jack climbed around it. Sarah beside him. Jamie came behind. Forest fighters followed. Della and Rook crossed overhead. And suddenly— they were through. [HARD MUSICAL HIT] [VERSE 10 — INSIDE] Jack stepped onto a Crown Junction street. Gunfire echoed everywhere. Left. Right. Above. Sarah pointed toward the center. “IRON CHAIR!” A rifle cracked from an upstairs room. The Allies answered. More men poured through the breach. Then more. Then hundreds. County banners entered Crown Junction. Forest Folk followed. Della's riders came behind. The semicircle outside became a river flowing in. [OUTRO — FULL TEMPO, NO RESOLUTION] The palisade burned behind them. Crown Junction burned ahead. Rook wheeled above the rooftops. Della searched the streets below. Jack raised his weapon. Sarah shouted: “KEEP MOVING!” The army surged past them. They had crossed the wall. They had entered the town. They had not won. Not yet. [GUNFIRE + DRUMS CONTINUE] [CUT]