When the tide of men finally stopped, they began to turn back around, press their way out of the gates, and look for other ways into the city.
It bought Gwen and her people the time they needed to retreat. Gwen was pleased to see this plan working—it had been a finishing touch that she had added to the war plans. It allowed them time to marshal the citizens, to gather the old men and women, the children and usher them from their homes and through the arched gates leading down to the lower city. To save time in the descent, Gwen had had iron poles installed up and down the walls, and dozens of citizens at a time grabbed and slid their way down the mountain, landing on the lower levels in an orderly fashion.
The plan worked like clockwork, and within a matter of minutes, all of the Silesians of the upper city were safely past the second set of city gates, and descending down to the lower levels. Gwen stood outside the gates, waiting for the last person to exit, making sure no one was left behind, Steffen and Kendrick standing loyally by her side. Finally, assured everyone was gone, she passed through, and as she did, four rows of heavy iron spiked gates came down behind her, one after the other. It would not be easy to penetrate, especially as they were embedded in stone walls a dozen feet thick.
Gwen joined the soldiers on next line of defense, the upper parapets, behind the bars, at the Canyon’s edge. She took up a position beside Steffen, Kendrick, Godfrey, Srog and the others. Hundreds of Silesian archers knelt there, waiting to hold this final line of defense.
Down below, Gwen could already see the first of the Empire troops scaling the walls into the courtyard, lowering ropes and ladders for the others to follow. Within moments, dozens followed, already charging right for them, towards the second set of iron gates. But only so many men could filter through at a time, given that they could not charge through on foot, their way blocked by the huge pit before the gates.
Kendrick knelt beside her, holding his own bow, waiting.
“NOT YET!" he called to his men, all awaiting his command.
The men got closer and closer, and the air filled with tension.
"FIRE!" Kendrick screamed, standing with his bow.
Hundreds of Silesian soldiers stood with him, among them Godfrey, Steffen, Srog, Brom, Kolk—and even Gwendolyn—and a hail of arrows fell from the sky, stopping dozens of Empire soldiers in their tracks.
The archers immediately restrung and fired again. And again.
They managed to take out the first round of men, to keep the courtyard empty of them, filling the ground with their bodies. The Empire had been caught off guard, unprepared for a counterattack after they had breached the gates.
But no matter how many they killed, the Empire soldiers kept coming. Soon, on their heels, there arrived a discipline squad of archers, who took a knee, raised shields in unison to block the hail of arrows, then fired back.
Gwen ducked as the sky filled with arrows heading their way. One sailed by her head, just missing.
Some of the other Silesians were not as fast as she, and a few of them screamed out, wounded, and collapsed over the stone wall, hurling down, dead.
Gwen stood and fired again, and was surprised to see she actually hit one, in the throat. She felt a hand pull her down as an arrow flew by her ear. It was Steffen, beside her.
"There are advantages to being short, my lady," he said. "You do not have these. Follow me and stay low.”
Steffen peaked over the edge, leaned over with his bow and fired three quick shots, taking out three soldiers nearing the gate.
"You do not need to be tall to kill a man," he said to her. "If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it is this.”
The fighting went on for round after round, arrows flying incessantly, screaming erupting from both sides as bodies mounted. Empire bodies piled up in the courtyard as hours passed.
Still, more and more Empire troops scaled the walls like ants. The only saving grace for the Silesians was that the Empire was trickling in, unable to charge over the pit at the gate.
And then, everything changed. Gwen watched with horror as a squadron of Empire soldiers appeared with long wooden planks and laid them down over the pit at the entrance. One by one they covered it up, and soon, they managed to cover it completely, building a bridge. They didn’t try to rescue their soldiers trapped below; instead, to save time, they smothered them, building a bridge over their heads.
With the makeshift bridge laid, hundreds of Empire soldiers rushed into the inner courtyard, at a dizzying pace. They all let out a battle cry, charging for the gates.
Gwendolyn's heart dropped. Her men were running out of arrows, their ranks dwindling, and she knew their time was numbered. They couldn’t continue to hold the line, to hold back this many men for long.
The Empire soldiers parted ways as a huge iron battering ram was wheeled forward by two dozen men. They charged forward and slammed it into the iron gate with a crash. The ground shook beneath Gwen as the metal bent.
These four iron gates, which seemed indefensible, were already proving vulnerable.
"CAULDRONS!" Kendrick screamed.
Silesian soldiers rushed forward, and as one they poured huge cauldrons of molten tar over the edge.
Screams arose from below as dozens of Empire soldiers were doused in the thick liquid.
"ARCHERS!” Kendrick screamed.
The archers stepped forward, this time armed with flaming arrows, and fired down at the soldiers doused in tar, setting them on fire.
Screams filled the courtyard as the flames spread, and dozens more died. Bodies piled high at the gates. It would have been enough to stop any other army.
But not Andronicus.
The Empire troops kept coming. And coming. There was no end to them.
Gwen watched in horror as the battering ram was taken up by others, who rammed the first gate so hard that they knocked it off its hinges. The Empire troops erupted in a cheer. Only three gates to go.
“My lady, we're nearly out of tar and—" Srog reported urgently.
Before he could finish there came another crash, so strong it sent Gwendolyn stumbling back; she peered down to see they took out the second iron gate.
"It’s time to retreat to the lower city!" Srog said.
Gwen realized he was right. She nodded, and without hesitation Srog called out: "RETREAT!”
Gwen's soldiers turned and gave up their posts, sprinting down the back staircases from the rear wall.
Gwen joined the others in hurrying down the stone steps, descending flight after flight, passing dozens of soldiers standing guard on her way down, all taking positions at every level. There came another great crash, and Gwen looked over her shoulder, and with a pit in her stomach, watched the third iron gate give way.