The first Greek climbed over the eastern wall with a spear in his hand.
A Trojan struck him across the face with a shield. The Greek stumbled against the battlements, caught himself, and drove his spear forward. The two men disappeared in the crush of bodies gathering around the ladder.
More Greeks followed.
Diomedes watched from below, his injured leg stiff beneath him. The eastern wall had been built on difficult ground, where the slope narrowed the space available to the attackers. It had seemed an advantage to Troy. Now it was forcing the Greeks to climb through a handful of exposed approaches, one man at a time.
That made the assault slow.
It did not make it harmless.
"Keep the shields raised!" Diomedes shouted. "Archers, above the ladders! Do not waste arrows on men behind the stones!"
Greek archers loosed another volley. Arrows struck the battlements, forcing the defenders to duck long enough for the next wave to climb.
