Arjax takes one of the corpses daggers, then has Toramin shatter it into pieces with his hammer. He takes the remains and shivs them into the turning mechanism of the trapdoor. Not your best work, but it should slow them down.
You turn to watch the progress of Heff, and just when you see them begin taking over the top floor a strong heave from the soldiers breaks the trapdoor loose and it's pushed to the side as they cry in victory.
Bjorkus smashes said ladder.
Then Toramin will break the ladder.
A few damage rolls.
Toramin runs over to the ladder, shattering one end while Bjorkus shatters the other. The soldier at the top has a moment of terror before he drops to the ground on top of his comrades.
Across the way you see Heff and his soldiers take command of the upper level, throwing four bodies out the windows. Heff leans out the window, waving his hat through the air and calling out "Now is the time! Let us take back our city!" The men roar their approval and start pushing on their mechanism.
Bjorkus throws a fist into the air and roars before wrenching on the lever.
"Well about time. We thought you might require assistance." Lindale quips before heaving with the others.
He steadies his footing and grip.
Bjorkus really digs his hooves in and shoves, but the others fail to hold their own.
Heff peers out the window. "Ain't got all day gentlemen!"
"Come on ladies. Put your backs into it!"
Psotheos grabs a handle and pushes hard, digging his legs against the floor and using his core’s strength.
”Bjorkus, give us a chant. One, two, three...push!”
Bjorkus grunts and does as the young noble asks, starting a deep bellowing chant. "Heave! Heave! Heave!" His hulking frame swells with power as he pours all of his strength into the task.
With a heroic heave the party begins turning the mechanism and you hear massive chains rattling as the gate opens. Below you hear the cheer of the Andril army as they begin advancing. Heff laughs and raises a fist in triumph, then points back down to the ground.
Once everybody hits the ground Heff moves the regroup over to the houses. Once there he smiles. "Step one complete. Onto the castle." One of Heff's men comes running around the corner. "Heff, the soldiers know we're here! They're forming squads to comb the houses!" Heff frowns, crossing his arms over and looking towards the castle. "This is problematic. We can't be slowed down by scuffles in the street."
Before he leaves the gatehouse, Toramin would like to prevent the gate from being closed without a lot of repair work.
On the ground:
"Do you know a secret way to the secret tunnel?" Toramin inquires wryly. "Otherwise, we may need to just get there by the shortest path."
Heff shakes his head. "We have a few entrances to the underground but none of them are remotely near the castle."
Bjorkus stretches after the heavy lifting and greets Heff on the ground.
"We do it the hard way then", he rumbles.
Heff mutters under his breath, then turns to you. "I have no doubt we can fight our way through, but it will take too much time and leave a trail of bodies. Nuro will be hiding in some hole by the time we get there."
Lindale crosses his arms and asks, "What about the roofs?"
"Could some of your men do a retreating rear-guard action until our pursuers get entangled in the Andrilian advance? No standing and fighting, but a slow retreat away from wherever we are going."
Heff begins to look annoyed "What about the..." He pauses, looks up, then grins. "What about the roofs, eh?" He turns to his men. "Get some makeshift stairs, asap!" The men scramble, tearing through the alleyways and houses until they have enough sturdy pieces of furniture to make an easy stairway up. You all make your way up, getting a slightly better view of the city. Heff points to the lake on the eastern edge of the castle. "Meet there, move quickly."
At the jumping begins it's pretty clear Lindale has no leg strength. He comes up short on the first jump but manages to grab onto the ledge until the party helps him up. The next ledge is a complete catastrophe, Toramin Lindale Bjorkus and Gabriel all failing. Luckily with Arjax and Dalton's help you clamber back up. The next ledge goes no better, but against everybody cleans up ok. After that things go smooth until the final jump, where Gabriel doesn't even get close enough to get a hand on the ledge and falls into the street. After a few tense moments no soldiers come, and Gabriel places a hand and is ready to go.
Rounding the corner you see Heff already there with his men, shaking his head. "Should have just fought, would have been faster." He grins, then leads you over to a large oak tree. After a few confused looks he slams a fist on the trunk with a metallic clank and the trunk opens up to reveal a tunnel. "Should take you a minute to get in there, apparently the tunnel loops to the western side of the castle. We'll raise some hell in two minutes, so don't screw around."
Toramin will lead the way. I don't even know what Nuro looks like. Torag preserve me!
Touchè... Lindale looks slightly amused at Heffs words.
"Good luck," are the only words he says before they enter the tunnel.
"Two minutes. Got it", Bjorkus says with a nod.
"Let's go!"
The party moves its way through the tunnel, a short and boring walk. The tunnel loops around once and you enter the west side of the castle directly into the dining hall. You see a table in front of you, a fireplace at the north wall, two clearly locked doors to the east that lead to the kitchen, and an unlocked door to the south that leads to a large, open hall.
"To the throne room! Subtlety is not our main strength. Strength is our main strength."