Chapter 26- Breach

With the warriors on the walls preoccupied in furious hand-to-hand combat, no one could offer any concerted effort to stop the Bralks battering against the gate.
The wooden surface began to dent inward from the repeated impacts.
Its destruction was proceeding faster than either side had anticipated.
Both attackers and defenders rushed troops to fight for the breach that was about to appear.
As the gates broke open, there was the strange sight of Ivos mercenaries on both sides rushing to fight each other.
Ivos viewed war as a noble exercise, in which men proved their worth, so neither side showed any hesitation in rushing to attack each other. To show mercy of hesitation in battle against another Ivos would have been an insult to them—one that would be repaid with death.
Pushing into the breaching, the two sides were shield-to-shield, trying to barge their way in or throw the invaders back.
Ivos swords were short and well-suited to close quarters fighting, but even these were hard to wield in the press of bodies.

Zilfay chewed on the stem of her yowboo pipe, thoughtfully.
”Going well, isn’t it?” she said thoughtfully.
”The fighting appears to be in a stalemate,” said Nido, sitting beside her.
Zilfay who was standing glanced to Nido and then back to the walls.
”We’re not fighting the Nymus, are we?” said Zilfay.
”Could have fooled me!” scoffed the Zadakine Commander.
”YOU are fighting the Nymus,” said Zilfay, “We Golta are fighting the walls.”
There was another round of thunderous booms and the cannons fired again, and a huge section of wall crumbled. Massive sections of stone tumbled downward, throwing up a huge cloud of choking dust.
Cheers went up amongst the attackers.
Zilfay smiled.
”See? Easily done.”
Zilfay turn to a group of Golta standing nearby, dressed in cloaks and drab grey uniforms.
”Spot, get in there, isn’t it?”
Spot, the group’s leader, was a Golta woman with ragged fur and a scruffy appearance. Her face was marked with three circular scar marks where she had no fur, from which she took her nickname. Spot claimed these wounds came from being repeatedly shot in the face, terrible wounds that she had miraculously survived.
Her Rangers were a rough looking bunch, many of whom barely had uniforms at all. The Rangers were often in a place that attracted misfits and outcasts, those who could not find a foothold amongst the strict restrictions of Golta culture.
Had Zilfay not travelled abroad to become a merchant and mercenary, she might have found a place amongst the Rangers. She always felt a great camaraderie with these rag tag troops. They even had half-castes amongst their ranks. This was one of the few professions where they could earn prestige, free of the suspicions of other Golta.
The only requirement for entry into their ranks was elite skill at scouting and soldiery.
The Rangers rushed forward toward the breach, stopping short of it and preparing their rifles. Slower to load and harder to maintain than a smooth bore musket, these weapons were still deadly in the hands of the skilled marksman.
Zadakine warriors rushed past the Golta and began climbing over the rubble of the breach in the wall.
Ivos and Nymus emerged on the top of the rubble, hurling javelins down on the attackers.
To throw javelins down, the defenders had to rise above the rubble, leaving themselves exposed.
The Rangers did not hesitate, picking off defenders with accurate shots from their rifles and clearing the way for the attackers to climb.