The pirates outside the castle sang drunken sea shanties as they rhythmically rammed the golden dome shield with their makeshift siege machine, which they had stolen from the nearby barracks. The machine was a haphazard construction of wood and metal, with wheels that creaked and groaned as they pushed it against the shimmering energy barrier.
"Ram, lads! Ram!" one burly pirate with a patch over his eye shouted, his voice slurred from too much rum.
The pirates around him cheered and shouted in agreement. "Aye! Break that shield, and we'll have the castle!"
"It's a win-win, mateys!" another pirate added, raising a tankard of rum. "Either we breach this dome, or we drown the whole city!"
A scrawny pirate, showing a glimmer of reason, asked, "But if we blow up the dam now, won't we drown with the city?"
Laughter erupted among the pirates, and some jeered, "We're the ones blowing up the dam! We won't drown, you landlubber!"
