To their surprise, orcs fought at ground level at south gate. There was a battering ram for the gates but dead bodies lay around it. Orcs had pushed out away from the walls and there was a melee line as their last-ditch defence held the main army in check.
"O Light, may Lumiaris's divine protection be upon you… Light of Protection… fuck, I'm out."
"Stop trying before you fall over," said Roland.
"We're getting in there", insisted Demit. They asked an injured Warrior what had happened. He had bandages covering his eyes so he did not know he was talking to Volunteers.
"Orcs jumped off the wall and scattered us", he answered.
"There's supposed to be more of y-us", said Roland.
"Bastard Wren Waters took off at the first sign of trouble, bringing half our force with him for 'protection'. He's left someone else in charge 'to report back with victory'". He winced as Demit used her last medicated bandage on him.
"Since he took most of the Priests, we're short on healers", he continued. Injured people were lying unattended, while Priests with worried looks tried their best meditating to the side to recover magic. Mages were among them too. They left for the melee line. A Warrior Man-at-arms called them. They were to be split according to roles. It was the nature of a pitched battle.
"Archers form line!", he said, pushing Roland in one direction.
"Warriors, get in there and plug the gaps!". Demit, robes concealed under her armour, kept her head down and advanced with Brewary. Jakson joined them.
Roland joined the archer line, raised on some hastily dug earth rampart. The orcs wore different colour paint and hair from Clan Zesh, and their clan archers were more accurate. They fired into the melee below, and the crenellations protected them adequately. This was a fight of attrition. Humans were being worn down slowly as the orcs killed more than they could. They could've won, but when the Orcs gave a surprise attack to defend the gate from the outside, Waters took off with an unreasonably large detachment to protect himself. The orc boss was in the thick of it, in orc full plate and wielding an orc warbrand. It was not a tool for subtlety like Brewary's Zweihander. It chopped and cut savagely, backed by the weight and length of the weapon itself.
Regulars looked at him like a mangy, diseased dog had walked up to them.
"Make sure you don't hit one of us, mercenary", a Hunter said. You know what? Fuck this. Roland pulled out his elemental coated bodkin. Time to find out what this does. Penetrator sailed through the air. Roland watched its arc as if it were slow motion. The orc boss was hit mid-swing and the arrow embedded itself in its right arm just as it passed in front of its chest. Roland's heart sank.
Suddenly, a burst of lightning crackled out of the arrow. The boss roared and spasmed, but remained standing. In that small window another Warrior stepped up and with a cleave, took off its head. It was Anthony Justin. The 2 lines roared and ramped up their brutality. Orcs wanted revenge for their leader, and humans were glad to see the tides turn.
"Get down!". Roland felt himself falling and saw sky. Puzzled, he looked at himself, at the orc arrow sticking out of his chest. The pain registered. He coughed up blood and hands grabbed him. The last thing he saw was Hunters hiding behind their wooden screens from an arrow shower as he was being dragged away. They were all looking at him. He blacked out.
The line was packed. Brewary held his Zweihander like a spear and stabbed and parried. Demit was behind and to the left, hammering over the shoulder of a Paladin. The Paladin looked tired and was using her shield as protection. Jakson couldn't be seen anywhere. It was a shoving and battering match, waiting for some other lucky gap to open and be exploited. A burst of electricity stunned the orc boss. Anthony Justin stepped in and took its head off. Everyone cheered as the orcs roared in rage. The orc fighting the Paladin grabbed the shield and stabbed down, killing her. Demit punished the orc with a Smash to the head. There was finally some room. Brewary swung Rage Blow horizontally, which the Orc jumped back to avoid instinctively. Forward Thrust pushed it back further. Rage Blow again, cutting the orc to his right. A gap had opened in the orc line, filled quickly by yelling Soldiers. The flank turned and the fight became a grapple. Jakson found a way to crawl in, grabbed an orc arm and stabbed his Stiletto into its neck.
The three fought through the mess. As they were in front, they reached the battering ram first. Jakson disappeared again while Brewary and Demit grabbed a bar. Cheering began as the last of the orcs died and positions under the hide and wood roof of the battering ram were filled.
"Shields! Archers!". Anthony Justin's voice carried across. Archers from the human line peppered the walls. Paladins raised shields and protected whoever they could. A shield wall formed. Those covered with plate activated Steel Guard and used their bodies as shields, holding their swords vertically to protect neck and groin.
"Pull!". The ram was pulled back. With a yell, everyone pushed, the ram banged against the door.
"Pull!". A yell and a bang.
"Pull!" Another yell and a bang. Arrows came down from a murder-hole above. Mages stepped into the already narrow space under the hide roof.
"Delm hel en balk zel arve!". The gate splintered and caught fire. The bang was deafening. A small crater formed under the door.
"The gate! We need to break only the gate! Use Fire Pillar, aim for the middle", instructed a Mage. The other nodded. They drew sigils.
"Delm hel en rig arve!". Fire pillars burned the gate fiercely. It crackled and the heat was uncomfortably close. Somehow it didn't bother the Mages. The battering ram slammed and the gate broke in slightly.
"One more! Pull!". With a roar and a crack, the ram crashed through and the gate became ajar, it's bar broken. The humans cheered.
"Delm hel en ig arve!". Fireball flew into the gap and burned an orc who wanted to shoot through. The mages turned to the crew manning the ram.
"Pull, get the ram out of the way!". Some warriors came up and helped move the ram. One of the mages died to an arrow from the murder-hole. Hunters arrived, firing into the gate gap. Paladins with shields leading, Frontier Soldiers pushed the gate open and streamed in.