Moments ago...
Kotys stuck close to his comrades, forming a locked shield canopy; the muffled breaths and huffs between clacks of metal against wood surrounded him, and there was an intense musk of sweat and testosterone exuding from the collection of raised, unwashed armpits.
"Argh!"
A soldier next to him let out a strangled cry and collapsed from an arrow that slipped through the shields and hit his knee.
Kotys grimaced and brought his shield closer to cover the soldier.
"Who is that?!"
"A madman!"
He suddenly heard shouts from his companions and turned to discover a figure sprinting past the side of their formation.
"Who was that!?" He wondered out loud and a sweaty soldier looked at him with tense, reddened eyes and whispered.
"They've unleashed the daemon."
*Clack!*
The ladder before them rose, hitting the wall, and Kotys felt anticipation surge through his veins, alongside a swirling sense of unease.
He felt like throwing up, but he didn't; he was blooded, young but experienced.
A few ghastly skirmishes and a day of siege warfare would do that to you.
"So fast!"
"He's going alone?!"
"He's possessed of a daemon! Of course, it craves his death!"
Kotys let out an annoyed sigh from his position at the back of the formation.
'What are they yelling about?!'
He opened some space and peeked toward the ladder
'Who is that climbi— What! Rainer?!'
His eyes widened in shock, seeing Rainer run up the ladder like a warrior thirsting for blood.
Below, Commius had quickly began climbing after him.
Kotys let out a breath of relief at this.
'At least, he would have assistance up there.'
Soon, Rainer stopped and arched his head as if looking for something, and then, he moved again but he slipped.
'Ancestors above!'
Startled, he instinctively pushed forward as if to go catch him but he was deep behind the formation.
Luckily, Commius was quick to support him, and for a second time, he let out a breath of relief, albeit a tad annoyed for losing composure.
'I haven't even confronted an enemy and my heart feels like I've dodged two javelins thrown at me!' He inwardly complained. But then, the unbelievable happened.
Commius tugged him aside.
Kotys' mouth fell open, and even as Rainer fell, his eyes couldn't believe it; even as gravity pulled him out of view and the silent thud filtered into his ear, he stood in disbelief.
Disbelief at the betrayal of one who might have really been the son of a god.
Wasn't that bad luck?
Apprehension flashed through his eyes.
'Wouldn't the Roman god of war seek vengeance?'
He wondered before remembering Rainer mentioned he wasn't a god, or the son of one.
Ahead, his comrades had begun scaling the ladder a few meters before him, without regard for Rainer. Kotys appeared lost in strange but oddly familiar, dull achings; thinking Rainer had died.
Despite the loud horns and drums sending out signals, he stood transfixed. His thoughts were only broken by the cry of the one he thought was dead.
"Boiling oil! Disperse!"
Kotys smiled triumphantly.
'Good! He survived! Wait! Oil?!?'
Kotys' eyes swerved up in time to indeed see a large, steaming pot being tipped over, and he gasped in horror.
Some soldiers on the ladder hopped down to the side and the ones gathered at the ladder scattered, or at least tried to.
Many ran, but a majority in their panic pushed and slammed into one another, and the formation pushed back in one fell swoop. Many fell; even he had to stick a leg back to support himself.
Above, steaming oil came in a laminar flow, beautifully reflecting the sun as it streamed down mercilessly on its victims below.
He watched Commius still on the ladder, too high to jump away and too low to prevent the oil from being poured; hunch down and stabilized himself on the ladder while placing his shield over his head, but slightly angled back.
The steaming oil hit his slightly inclined shield and splashed backward, spreading over an even wider area.
*Sshhh*
"Arrrgh!"
"Nooo!"
"Father!"
The force upon Kotys was even stronger now and he staggered back, almost falling on his butt.
The soldiers soon dispersed, and what remained was the muffled cries and acrid smells; the nauseating smell of charred meat and burnt hair.
He brought his arm to his nose, eyes squinted amid the vile steam.
Mind now void of the threat of enemy archers, he dropped his guard and carefully walked forth.
Before him were spread horrors soldiers who had served ten times as long as he had, never laid eyes upon.
A soldier amongst the pile cried weakly, ignited clothing and armor now stuck to his skin. Many lay dead; grotesque, heat-ravaged bodies and limbs transformed into blackened, necrotic ruin.
The damaged survivors writhed in shock, and outer layers of skin sloughed off like parchment, revealing the cooked, glistening, and bubbling tissues beneath. Their metal armor and arms now welded to their bodies by the superheated oil.
It was a gruesome scene, probably one of many he would encounter during his military career.
"We deal in death, Kotys. It is our trade."
His mentor, Vibius' words came to him like a distant bell.
Kotys reached his breaking point and retched, throwing up.
He gasped, feeling panic grip him like a fabled monster of nightmares. His ears rang sharply as all other sounds faded, all except for his ravaged breaths.
*Bang!*
A steaming shield hit the ground and he was startled out of his shock.
Kotys looked up to find Commius slowly continuing his climb, and then he looked around at the wailing men before him, comrades, friends.
He couldn't help them, and that fact cut his heart like a knife.
Kotys looked up, his eyes reddening.
'I can only avenge them.'
His grip on his spear tightened as his sharp eyes scrutinized the battlements. He suddenly leaped over the bodies onto the ladder, gritting his teeth.
'I will make those walls bleed!'