Siege of Bouan

The Siege of Bouan occurred in the early shoots of the War of Chavoy, between families Delafose and Jeannin at this time, though the conflict would later evolve into one between the House von Leitner and House Devereux. The siege followed standard military procedure and came to an assault on the Bouan fortress, concluding with the murder of Jean Jeannin."'Stop them. Shield me with your corpse if you must!' (Jean Jeannin)"

History
Bouan, the chiefmost fortress of the Duchy of Chavoy stationed across the river city Vandelans, was a focal point of any would-be invasion in Chavoy. After the land was ravaged by the Scourge, the title fell through a number of families and ultimately fell on the young Madame Adeliz Delafose, but had already been subjected to the uprising of warlord Jean Jeannin. When Adeliz and her husband Hamelin Delafose arrived, they were ambushed. With Adeliz captured, Hamelin courted the aid of Austerian magnate Reinhold von Leitner and received royal just-cause for war against the warlord usurper.

With Leitner troops, Delafose marched through Chavoy virtually unopposed — Jeannin's forces were unprepared to wage full-scale war and banked on Hamelin either being unable to raise troops or hesitating due to his wife's captivity. Towns and holdfasts surrendered with no reproach, and the Delafose-Leitner alliance soon controlled swaths of territory in Chavoy. They then set struck at Bouan.

Battle
The siege took two months in total, with Leitner troops entrenched and the use of trebuchets employed later on. Bouan's larders were near-empty, and Jeannin's forces reportedly consumed animals down to diseased rats, while the prisoners and court were left to starve and may have later been cannibalized. By the end of the second month, a mutiny occurred and released the southern gates in the night. The Leitner troops were quick to notice, and immediate Jeannin attempts to retake the gatehouse crucially failed. From there, the Leitner troops secured the walls and then the courtyard, when Jean used the moat and chaos of the battle to flee alongside his captive, Adeliz. A stray arrow struck Jean in the leg, causing him to order his men to leave him behind and escort Adeliz north for Casteljaloux.

Jeannin may have bled out if the arrow struck an artery — or he might have died to the route as his escape was discovered by the remaining defenders, crushed underneath the stampede.