The commander, who less than half a minute ago had barked the order to open the gate, now stood frozen in disbelief at his own mistake.
His eyes followed the lone rider galloping away down the road, the massive barring plank balanced across the man's shoulders like a trophy of war, which in a certain way it was.
It was surreal, and of course, he needed some time to process what had just happened and how much he had fucked up.
A hollow silence hung in the air for the briefest of moments, broken only when the distant sound of the soldiers below crying at the misdeed that was done awakened him..
"Archers! Loose! Loose, damn you!" He ordered as the few bowmen stationed along the battlements scrambled to obey, their fingers fumbling at bowstrings as they tried to pick out shapes in the shifting dust beyond the gate.
"Quickly, bar the gate!" the commander roared next.
Still even with all that had happened, he could not yet place the allegiance of the force outside.
