The next day at sunrise the assault occurred, made with great vigor. Maugis allowed them to approach, place their scaling ladders, and even to commence to mount them, then at a given signal they by united effort created great havoc and carnage among them by pouring upon them boiling oil, and by burying them beneath a quantity of enormous stones; still the enemy persisted and the assault continued fiercely; but such was the awful slaughter of his troops, that at the end of an hour, the emperor, dismayed by his losses, ordered a retreat and re-entered the camp, followed by his depleted legions. He had suffered not only defeat, but disaster. This experience taught the emperor that Montaubon could never be taken by assault, and he thereupon determined to blockade the château so vigorously, and by famine reducing its inhabitants to the last extremity, force them to capitulate. In fact, hunger had already commenced to worry them, and only a short time after this siege began the awful specter of starvation stared them in the face, and soon thereafter, men, women, and children were lying around exhausted with hunger, and striving to prolong their existence by eating the buds and roots of the trees. Famine, with all its horrors, was upon them, but still the impenetrable cordon remained encircling them, and the conspirators heard with vindictive glee of the terrible straits of the inhabitants of the castle. The situation of the people behind the ramparts of Montaubon was truly desperate. They were forced to devour all kinds of living animals and even insects, and at a point where everything seemed exhausted, to add to the horror, a pest followed, which threatened to decimate completely the miserable population. Some appealed to Maugis once more to exercise his magic power to deliver them, but he firmly refused, saying: “I have already incurred the wrath of God by such efforts; not only did I violate solemn oaths that I made, by practices condemned by the wise and the good, but instead of relief, it brought only new misfortunes. I will have no more of it; rather than that I would prefer death, but I will never yield.” The majority of his captains supported Maugis in his determination not to surrender. They were undismayed by the horrors surrounding them. Said Maugis: “If I were the only victim demanded by the emperor, to save you I would gladly surrender; but you know that if we yield we shall all be put to the sword. We have no quarter to expect from Charlemagne; we must continue to resist.” These words encouraged his men and caused them to be resigned to further suffering. The awful suffering and carnage occurring within the château of Montaubon moved the hearts of all of Charlemagne’s court. All the lords, with the aged Duke d’Aymon at their head, went to demand grace for the besieged from Charlemagne, but he peremptorily refused, and when they supplicated him he answered by ordering an assault.