Afternoon.

As the day moved on Helena saw the approach of three men under a white flag but she also noted troops being deployed. She spied archers being deployed on either side of the enemy formation. In front of these detachments of sword and spearmen and direct in the middle the bulk of foot troops and behind these the enemy cavalry. Helena had been joined by Cressida and they watched the advancing men until they passed the downed elephants and dead archers and riders. Helena told Cressida to make sure that no one attacked while the white flag was flying and Cressida returned and passed on the order. Helena step past the shield wall and headed out to the three men and she ensured she was past the hidden spikes so that they would not see them. She looked at the man in the middle and was taken by his youth and strong-looking body. The other two were obviously his subordinates and they finally stopped a few feet away while the leader walked on.

"I am the new commander and I wish to extend favourable terms for your surrender. There is no such thing as **** with honour just ****"

Helena looked at him with a straight face.

"Commander if I am to die allow me to choose the time and place. Is there anything else?"

The enemy commander walked back to his subordinates and they headed back to their ranks while Helena returned to her warriors. She summoned Cressida and informed her that it seemed the enemy had a new commander and this one seemed to know his business. Just then the arrows started to rain down as the warriors rushed to raise their shields but still the first volley killed or injured around warriors. Just then the enemy foot troops advanced and were at the wall pushing keeping the sides engaged while the archers kept the middle section heads down. Then the cavalry charged and Helena knew if they managed to jump the wall her commander would be in deep trouble. As they got nearer Helena judged the moment and ordered the spikes pulled up and she watched as the lead horse ran onto the spikes. The following horses were trampled and struggled then bolted over the fallen horse and crashed into the foot troops.

The carnage was complete as men fell under hooves and the screaming of the injured horses filled the air and still the arrow rained down until the trumpet sounded and the enemy retreated. Helena looked around as the last of the archers retreated and she saw her own dead and dying and wounded before her. She ordered Cressida to get a count and when she reported back Helena was startled to find that out of sixty warriors, twenty-five were dead, ten were dying and five were wounded. That left her twenty fit to fight and thirty archers plus ten scouts not much of a fighting ****. She knew that they could not hold the wall against another attack. She wondered if the next attack would come today or whether the new commander would wait until tomorrow but it did not much matter when it came. As it was the attack did not come that afternoon and the day passed into the darkness of night. Cressida called down the archers under cover of darkness ready for the next day.