Forged Destiny [Book 5: Ch. 10]

Of course, that also meant there were less sentries watching them since the majority were keeping an eye on Magnis. There were still some around, but it wasn't like they paid any attention to the Hero walking among the equipment and occasionally stopping to inspect them.

What could a Knight do, anyway? He hadn't even drawn his sword.

At least, that was what I imagined they were thinking as I rested my hand on the cladding attached to the front of the siege tower before me. Most of the thing was wood, but there was a fair bit that wasn't, especially the mechanical aspects such as the winches and chains holding bits of it together. I kept my face hidden as I faked an approving nod, all the while my eyes glowed a faint blue.

It wasn't a pattern I `Engraved` onto the metal this time, but rather a line scored into it. And then another line, and another, and another, and over and over on the exact same spot until the metal was worn and pushed aside, creating a deep chasm. It wasn't a Skill I could really hope to use in melee since it took a good ten minutes on each tower, but it did work. I could even push it through connected metal, allowing me to touch the cladding on the front and trace the pattern over a hundred feet above me – so long as there was enough metal to work with.

[...]

A loud crack reverberated through the air, cutting Blake off. It was a dull and distant thing followed by an ominous creak, but such was the sheer volume that no one could miss it.

[...]

Her eyes widened as she saw something. "The towers!"

No sooner had she gasped the word did the first fall. I heard it, but turned to watch nonetheless. The dark shadows were just that, silhouetted against a night sky that was a mix of purple and blue, dotted with stars. The black shape of the first tower seemed to waver slightly, before – with a horrible groan – it folded and bent in on itself. It almost seemed to shrink, but the cacophonous noise it let out didn't resemble that in the slightest. It crashed to the floor, waking everyone in the encampment.

The second fared no better. That one toppled to the left, catching onto the third, which should have stood firm – or at least deflected it. But no, the third was weakened too and shattered on impact, several struts giving way and causing it to collapse inwards and to the ground. It kicked up a dust cloud that covered the encampment, though that did little to hide the sound of a few more siege towers being destroyed.

[...]

"The siege towers were damaged as expected, sir. It was no structural fault which caused this and no blame should fall on the engineers. We came across evidence of tampering that damaged the foundations."

Blake tensed. I let out a long breath.

"What kind of tampering?" Corvo asked.

"Scored and broken metal – as though someone cut through it. There was also some parts that appeared… melted. It was odd, sir. Some of the metal had twisted and set in odd patterns, like a pool of water turned to iron. The wheels too, in some places, had burn marks that indicated fire or extreme heat.

—Forged Destiny [Book 5: Ch. 10]