The bells cried out with urgency, their ringing loud and persistent. Each strike echoed throughout the room we were staying in. My still half-asleep mind cursed the churches for being so obnoxious so early in the morning. I turned on my side hoping to ignore it; I was enjoying sleeping in an actual bed for the first time in far too long. It was futile since the ringing grew louder and faster, its panic amplified by the sound of people yelling and running.

I was mostly awake from the commotion, “shit! That can’t be.” Anzo turned to face me, with a seriousness he rarely showed, “the sounds of war,” he replied solemnly. I jumped out of bed with more enthusiasm than when I was a child on Christmas. Of course the cause for my energy wasn’t excitement, but dread. From the second floor of the inn I couldn’t see over the wall, but I could see the men running to the eastern wall grabbing whatever weapons they could find. Women and children taking refuge in various places, rather it was their homes, the temples, or a few other public buildings.

I watched the panic as my mind struggled to grasp everything. It was impressive how quickly the men gathered, trained soldiers and guards separate from the “militia” who were mainly using farm equipment for weapons. All the while women and children were running the opposite direction towards the center of the city.

“Why is this happening?” Everyone else’s worry had spread to me, for everyone to panic in such a way. “They want their city back, but we’ll die before they can have it.” Anzo said looking angrier than before. “First things first, we need ta get ya ta a safe place, then I’ll join the others.” His expression softened as he looked at me. “I refuse,” my resolve was absolute as I stared him in the eye, “I will fight with you.” He stammered before finding his words “but… no… it’s just… ya will do as I say and ya will be safe with the others.” His concern was touching, but I wasn’t backing down, “No I won’t, if you fail then I’ll be a slave, let me fight for my freedom and your life!” I was screaming at this point my frustration nearly bringing tears to my eyes. “Battle is no place for a woman, let ma fight with honor without worrying about ya.” I could tell he wouldn’t back down, his values would never agree to let me join him, but I wouldn’t back down either.

We argued for far too long given the urgency of the situation. Instead of wasting more precious time I “agreed” to wait at the Cigognier Temple. Anzo gave me a questioning glare, his distrust apparent, but even he also felt the urgency of time. We quickly gathered a few of our things and raced to our places. He was going to stop by the cart to get his axe as I ran towards the temple. As soon as I turned the corner and out of his sight I made a left instead of going straight for the temple. There was no way I was going to let this battle play out as I hid.

I decided to join the untrained men instead of the proper soldiers. I was watching the men stand around as a man on horseback road back and forth in front of them. “We will fight for our homes, we will fight for our families, and we will remind these Romans why they should stay out of our lands!” He gave a dramatic pause as everyone cheered, “The gods favor those with honor; these invaders have no honor. We’ve seen how they treated our brethren, what they did when we had talks of peace in times past. Now is the time for glory, so you will be remembered as the brave who defeated the Romans for time immemorial!” All the while the men were cheering, chanting, and cursing the Romans. Satisfied with the response he was getting he continued, “This is still a central crossroads for the Roman legions, although they have gathered on the eastern wall, we believe they will flank from the south after the battle begins. They must not pass through here.” All the men quit cheering as they listened to the details. “You will leave through the western gate and wait in the woods. If you here the trumpet sound thrice you will storm from your hideout and flank them. If they begin wrapping around the wall you will destroy them without mercy.” The men cheered again, but the enthusiasm from earlier had died down. “Do not fear death, the gods bless those who die with honor. Instead fear defeat, think of your women and children as you kill those bastards!”

Raising his sword he rode from right to left, each man shouting louder than any sports fan I’d ever heard. After crossing by all the volunteers he met up with the other officers who had given a similar speech to the guards and soldiers. Everyone from the reserve raced towards the western wall. No one realized the stupidity of the plan as they gathered at the western gate. The guards atop the wall with bows drawn looked outside. Satisfied that they didn’t see any opposition they yelled at the men who waited anxiously. “We will open the gates and you will do as instructed. Keep it fast and quiet, our victory may very well lay in your hands.” Once the gates opened it was chaos as the men began pouring out. However, what no one expected, would change the tide of battle.

Before even half the men could exit the walls hundreds of cavalrymen stormed from the woods we had planned to take refuge in. The result was disorganized chaos as some men charged, others tried to retreat into the gate, and those still inside who were clueless kept pressing forward. The design of the gate quickly revealed its flaw, by opening outwards, it was impossible to shut with so many men in the way. Rather they planned for it or not, the cavalry rode even harder to exploit our confusion. Slicing into the unarmored men with ease as they chopped down the ranks. This wouldn’t have been a complete disaster if it were just the cavalry but another 200 infantrymen were following quickly.

I tried yelling for everyone to fall back into the walls, but I couldn’t be heard over the clashing of steel and the screaming of the dying. The distance between the gate and the Romans continued to be cut down as the guards tried in vain to shut the gates. It was less than a minute before the cavalry were at our walls; the infantry not far behind since they weren’t having to fight the hundreds that lay dead. By now there was few enough of us blocking the gate to try shutting it, but whenever the groups of men would try the scorpiones* would pick them off. This futile effort continued for nearly five minutes as another 30 died in the process.

With the overwhelming strength of the assault and the lack of gear or training, the volunteers retreated to wherever their will carried them. Most ran to protect their families, some to protect their fortunes, and others to protect their lives. This is when the battle turned into a massacre.

I scrambled with the mass retreat, not hoping to go up against a cavalry division with a dagger. As I ran to the eastern wall I heard our trumpets ring thrice. Not only had they broken through our western wall they had begun the siege on the south. The walls we hoped to protect had turned into a prison as we waited for certain death.

*scorpiones – a type of mounted artillery piece, highly accurate used for killing people instead of sieging
walls, could fire 3 bolts per minute (resembled a little ballista or a mounted crossbow)