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Chapter 18: The War in Molamse Part 3

Janice was with Gorston and making sure she was visible. She walked the lines in full view of the walls where rocks smashed mostly harmlessly off of it. Occasionally one boulder would get lucky and smash into the top where the master's soldiers were. Still, the attack was still just a diversion and it was working. Reports said that the masters were focusing most of their soldiers on the walls where Janice was attacking.

“Eeskit is late," Gorston grumbled as he watched with an extreme disinterest. “The signal should have been given by now." His brown eyes scanned the tops of the walls for the sure sign that Eeskit had made it through, smoke.

“It's a long ways to go," Janice said and gave the ox a reaffirming pat on the side. “He'll give the signal soon enough."

In truth, Eeskit was late and that worried Janice. What if something had gone wrong? A lot could happen. Maybe there was a random patrol that spotted them and now Eeskit's half was fighting in the sewers. Janice didn't think that they were betrayed because Sha was still here with her now.

“I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Sha said from the other side of Gorston. “The rat is very cunning and honestly he scares me some."

The ox snorted. “You haven't heard all of his tales. That rodent could kill us all and make it seem like an accident. He's not the kind to be late." The ox turned and looked up, his eyes squinting slightly. “What's that?"

Sha and Janice looked up to where Gorston was gazing. At first neither saw until Sha pointed. “There!"

Janice saw it then. Dark clouds had formed at a point over the city where it had been clear skies just a few moments before. Even then, it wasn't many clouds. They swirled and spiraled into a short funnel before spitting out a single fiery tear that fell hard somewhere out of sight behind the walls.

“That can't be good," Gorston grumbled. “Probably safe to say that Eeskit's expedition through the sewers failed." He then turned to Sha. The otter shrieked away. “I wonder why."

“I swear," he stepped back, ears flat. “I didn't betray you. I promise.My family is still in there."

“Can't trust a master," Gorston growled and hefted his ax up. “Never trust a master."

“Now hold on," Janice stepped between the two. “If he did betray us, he wouldn't be here."

Gorston eyed the otter and then Janice. He sneered and lowered his eyes. “Of course."

He wasn't convinced. Janice knew that, but as hard headed as he was, he was obedient and loyal. This small thing would hurt his pride, but the ox was strong.

“Even if we did get rid of him, it doesn't change anything," Janice said and rubbed at the space between her eyes. “They still have the walls and we can't take them from the front."

Gorston peered up the walls and at soldier up there in their bronze armor and yellow clothes. “You go," he said.

“What?"

“You go. Sha goes with his family. Leave the city," he said with a stern look. “You have people out there for you, this Kieth and Anthony. You've also avenged Jason as well. What do I or any of the rest of us have? Nothing. We expected to die anyways. We at least die fighting here." He turned to her and for once, the murder in his eyes was gone. “You have given us more than we could have ever hoped for, freedom to choose our own fate." He gave a sideways glance to Sha for stealing his line.

Janice regretted telling Gorston so much about herself. “I can't abandon you all," she said. “I haven't done all of this just to run away in the end."

“You set out to set us free. You did that," Gorston knelt down to be eye to eye. It was almost comical to see the eight foot ox bent over to such a degree. “Now go and find your friends, your family. You don't need to worry about us anymore." He stood up and turned his back to her. “Go."

Janice stood there for a moment. She wanted to argue, to order and demand that Gorston let her stay and fight and yet she knew that she would lose that argument. All around her, the other slaves, her people, were watching and none made a move or a noise when she walked away.

“Wait!" Sha suddenly shouted, breaking the silence. He was pointing again, at the tops of the walls. The soldiers were panicking up there as huge oily black smoke come rising from behind the walls. A bit later, an explosion shook the earth as well and one of the towers on the walls exploded into a fiery eruption.

“The signal!" Gorston shouted. “We need to attack." He looked at Janice for orders.

Without a moment's hesitation, the last scene forgotten, she drew her sword and held it up. “Attack!"

A great roar rose from all around her and the slaves charged the walls.

The arrows that came down was light. Most of the soldiers were busy with something atop the walls.

Slaves hefted up makeshift ladders and began to march ahead with both eagerness and the air of terror since many had only just picked up their first weapon. The walls were imposingly high and a few of the ladder fell apart as they were raised, but most held just fine as latches on the tops of the ladders hooked onto the wall. Then the climb began.

Janice was among the first to go up a ladder. He sheathed her sword and began the long climb up.

Gorston was too big for a ladder and instead was bringing up a battering ram. The gate to the high class district was made of thick wood with iron rivets. It was strong, but not invincible. If anyone could break it down, Gorston could.

Janice's arms began to ache half way up, but she kept going, climbing higher and higher towards the uncertainty at the top.

Arrows whistles past Janice from a nearby tower as she climbed. More than once they came close enough for her to feel the wind stir at its passing and she was helpless about it. All she could do was climb faster.

Another arrow hit where her foot was just a moment ago and someone also yelped in pain below her. She didn't look, but instead was shaken when the tower exploded.

Eeskit didn't bring any explosives which perplexed Janice as to why the towers were exploding, but she didn't question the blessing.

For a brief moment, Janice let herself look down and around. Her entire ladder was filled up behind her. Faces of a dozen species filled with determination, fear, uncertainty, strength. Yet, they were all behind her.

“To the top!" She hollered and climbed with a new sense of purpose.

No one tried to stop her from clambering over the top of the wall. There was no one there to stop her as she quickly drew her blade and helped the next one behind her up.

The entire top of the wall was barren minus a few bodies. There should have been hundreds on this section of wall alone. She should have been fighting tooth and nail to live each and every second while up here.

“Where did they all go?" A jackal with a scimitar asked and looked around with the twitch of someone who was probably on withdrawal from some sort of addictive substance.

“I don't know, but we need to get to the gate house," Janice said to the few who were now up on the wall with her. Her group had made it up first and now the rest of those on the other ladders were starting to reach the tops as well.

Janice gathered those that she could and began racing off towards the gate house where Gorston would be making his assault. She could see arrows flying from there and a mass bodies pressing towards the gates town below. It was a sea of all kinds of color and a cacophony of battle noises. Perhaps that was where the soldiers went.

To get to the gate house, Janice had to go through two towers. The first one was empty since it had been the one to explode on her way up the ladder. The second one had about a dozen soldiers inside. They were surprised to see here and she used that opportunity.

They were scattered about a large room littered with weapons and arrows. They must have been runners to supply the gatehouse. Few had their weapons on them.

Janice dove for the one closest to her, a bird of some sort with white plumage. It squawked when she hit it and tried to scratch at her face with strangely scaled hands. She hacked at it with the ferocity of her gladiatorial background and it quickly fell silent in a pool of blood.

Already those following her charges at the rest, but they weren't organized and easily got in each other's way allowing the better trained and deadlier soldiers to arm themselves.

A younger looking horse tried to slash at a solider with a large cleaver, but the wolf quickly partied the attack and countered with a violent upward slash that took the horse's entire muzzle off. The soldier then ended that fight with a quick jab between the ribs.

A soldier blocked a crippling blow from a club with his shield. The bronze disc still rang as he then sliced the shins of his would be attacker, but was then jumped from behind by a duo of ferrets and stabbed repeatedly in the neck.

While the slaves took harder hits, they had more numbers which took the fight, but as the last soldier was dispatched, Janice knew that they wouldn't be able to continue fights like that and yet her heart sank as she went out of the tower and onto the final stretch of wall to the gatehouse.

There were hundreds of soldiers there. They were all there and beginning to make their way down the stairs of the gatehouse because the gate was ready to break. Already, companies of spearmen were at the other side of the gate with their spears lowered.

Gorston was down below along with nearly a dozen other large slaves and they were making quick work of the gate with their battering ram. It was a grisly sight. Bodies surrounded them and they were littered with arrows. Their fur was dark with blood and yet they still hammered at the gate. Each strike sent splintering shards of wood and bent the metal that was bolted to the gates.

The archers atop the walls were still letting loose a desperate flurry of arrows down at the slaves, knowing that if the gate held, then the attack would fail as well.

Janice knew this too. Even if she took the walls, there would be no chance to push off of them and into the city. The narrow stairs that led down favored the well trained soldiers.

“Strike hard and fast," Janice said to the growing number of slaves with her. “Don't let them stop Gorston. Kill the archers."

Without listening for any reply, Janice charged with her sword held high and gave a roar that startled several soldiers and even got one to charge. The former champion of their city was coming for their heads.

A soldier took up the challenge and ran at Janice with his own blade held high. His helmet was crested with a menagerie of feathers that marked him as a captain and therefore one of the more skilled present to face Janice.

Iron met iron with a sharp clang and Janice was surprised to feel herself pushed back at the encounter. The captain, a mule or a donkey, grunted and then pushed back against Janice enough to throw her off his blade.

She jumped back several feet and managed to catch a quick strike with her sword, stopping it a few inches from her neck before she slid the blade down and off of hers. She then drew up the sword in an uppercut, but the captain was already out of the way.

“This petty rebellion ends today with your head," the captain spat and charged Janice again. He swung from the left and once his blade was parried, from the right. He went back and forth with a flurry of quick and punishing swings that kept Janice on her toes.

At this point the slaves and the soldiers were charging into each other. Hundred of bodies crashed in a deafening crunch of meat and metal. Yells for glory and screams of pain filled the air, but they kept their distance from Janice and the captain. This was their fight.

Janice managed to twist around the captain as one of his swings came in slow and gave her blade a wide swing. She hit, but the blade slid off of the captain's bronze armor.

“Sloppy," the captain grinned and pulled a long dagger from his belt so he was wielding it in one hand and his sword in the other. He attacked again.

He came again and again. Janice barely managed to get away with her life, but not unscathed. Her arm hurt from a deep cut along the shoulder and she had another one by her shin that was profusely bleeding. She had only ever managed to get so far in the coliseum because no one else there had an inkling of how to fight. She felt like one of her old opponents facing this captain. It was just a matter of time before he get his blade somewhere she couldn't walk away from.

An overhead swing came down at Janice's head and she raised her sword up, bracing with both hands and watched as the blade smashed into hers. Her blade bent back and dug into her shoulder, further wounding it and she cried out in pain.

The captain, seeing his opening to end the rebellion, brought up his sword again.

The sun glinted off of the blade, dripping with fresh red blood that drooled off of it. It was the end and Janice closed her eyes while collapsing to her knees in defeat.

The blow never came. Janice was swept off her feet suddenly and she had thought that she had been hit by a massive force and it must have went her flying because she couldn't feel the ground beneath her. In a way, she was correct.

Opening her eyes, Janice saw the blackness behind the hood of someone.

“Who?" She uttered.

“Jason sends his well wishes," the figure said in a metallic ringing voice.

“Jason?" She asked and looked around. She was flying, or rather, being held by the figure who was flying. He had a halo of knives a massive metal wings that carried them away from the walls. The city was small beneath her, the people even smaller. She looked back at her would be saver." Jason died."

“Not untrue," the figure said. “But not true either." He turned them back towards the wall where Janice could see the battle in its entirety. Much of the high class district was in flames at this point, but not because slaves had overrun it, but because there were other figures, angels, she knew, attacking the soldiers beneath them. Heaven had interfered on the behalf of the angels.