I dismounted and stood beside Domitus as the taunts and insults were flung in our direction. Gallia rode up on Epona.
‘What are we waiting for? Are we going to sit here all day while they ridicule us?’
‘We are waiting for the engineers to ensure that everything is in place.’ I cocked my head at the walls. ‘Are they upsetting your girls?’
She took off her helmet, her hair plaited behind her neck. ‘Nothing they have not heard before. But they may be frightening your cataphracts. Or perhaps your legionaries, Domitus?’
‘Don’t worry, Gallia, when the city falls I will get some of the boys to slice off the balls of those on the walls and present them on a silver tray to your girls.’
She frowned. ‘You are all heart, Domitus.’
At that moment Marcus sauntered up, looking very pleased with himself. He bowed his head to Gallia and raised his hand to Domitus and me.
‘All is ready, sir.’
‘Excellent,’ I said, ‘please begin.’
Marcus looked at Gallia and then at me. ‘Actually, sir, I was wondering if the queen would bless the first shot, for luck you see.’
I looked at Gallia. ‘Well?’
She smiled at him. ‘I would be delighted, Marcus.’
She dismounted and handed me Epona’s reins. ‘Make yourself useful.’
I led Remus and Epona after Gallia and Marcus as they walked over to one of the machines; one of the giant ballistae that fired stones. A member of its crew lifted up one of the large missiles stacked in a great pile behind the machine and stood holding it. It was obviously heavy as he was straining from the effort.
‘If you would lay a hand on it, lady,’ said Marcus, ‘then we can begin.’
Gallia, clearly delighted, placed her palm on the stone. The crew cheered and then the stone was placed on the wooden channel from which it would be launched. Marcus raised his hand, lowered it and the ballista was fired. The stone shot through the air and slammed into the gates with a loud crunch. And then the other machines opened fire.
Large stones and pots filled with naphtha flew through the air and smashed into the gates, shaking them and then covering them in flames as the clay pots burst and the naphtha ignited. The missiles of the smaller ballista — stones and iron bolts — were directed at the walls and towers that flanked the gates; the stones striking the torsos and skulls of those lining the walls. The crews worked like frenzied ants, loading and reloading their contraptions and sending a hail of stone, fire and metal at the enemy. Marcus had sited his machines well. They did not shoot haphazardly but were directed against where the two gates met and against the walls where their hinges were located. I did not know how old those gates were, but they appeared ancient and would not withstand such an onslaught for long.
The crews sweated and cursed as they loaded the missiles and then loosed them at the gates and the walls. Great gaps began to appear in the latter as chunks of brickwork were ripped out. The gates themselves shuddered every time they were hit and the flames continued to eat away at the ancient wood. I and thousands of others looked on in awe at the devastation that was being unleashed upon Uruk. There was no one on the walls now, no jeering soldiers, only the dead and the dying. The rest had fled for their lives. Then the cheering began, a great wall of noise coming from behind me as the Duran Legion raised their javelins and began beating them against their shields. The men chanted ‘Dura, Dura’ as the city’s defences were pounded without mercy in front of them. Then the horsemen joined in, raising their weapons and shouting the name of their own city. I hoped that Chosroes, wherever the miserable wretch was cowering, could hear the voices of those who had come to repay him for his treachery.
The hail of iron and stone continued. One or more of the naphtha pots must have got wedged in the arch above the gates, because suddenly there was a loud crack and then that part of the wall erupted in flame and caused a great part of it to come crashing down on top of the gates. Marcus immediately ordered his men to halt firing their machines and came running over to me.
‘The wall’s collapsing around the gates, see there,’ he pointed at the gap where the bricks had fallen to the ground. ‘I will direct the missiles above the gates, we can chip away until the whole lot comes down.’
‘How long?’ I asked.
He looked back at the torn section of wall and the smashed and burning gates. ‘Two hours, I’d say.’
I slapped Marcus on the arm. ‘You are truly a craftsman. Two hours will do fine.’
Marcus smiled and ran back to his machines to reposition them.
‘Domitus, send a rider to the Exiles to bring them here to the southern gates.’
He saluted and called over a courier. I gave the order for the horsemen to stand down except for the scouts that were carrying out reconnaissance, and I also ordered that the legion stand down, the men taking off their helmets and lying on the ground, leaving only a cohort to guard Marcus and his men. Then I called a council of war.
‘The gates will soon be breached,’ I said, ‘and when they come down we will storm the city. This day Chosroes will rule in Uruk no more.’
‘When we go in,’ said Domitus, ‘most likely there will be a reception party waiting for us, archers and slingers, no doubt. Casualties might be heavy in the first wave.’
‘I will instruct Marcus to keep sweeping the walls with his ballista,’ I said.
‘Just make sure they don’t start shooting wild. I don’t want my men cut down from behind,’ added Domitus
‘What about my horsemen?’ asked Nergal.
‘They won’t be able to ride over the rubble,’ I replied. ‘In any case there will be columns of legionaries going into the city so you and your men will have to sit and watch, I’m afraid.’
‘We could fight on foot to support Domitus and his men,’ he suggested.
‘Not a bad idea,’ remarked Domitus, ‘archers are always useful to have around.’
‘Very well,’ I said, ‘Nergal, dismount half your men to support the attack. But they are to go into the city behind the first cohort. We don’t know how many enemy soldiers we are facing yet.’
‘Not many,’ mused Orodes. ‘Chosroes lost thousands at Dura and I doubt he has enough men to man his defences fully.’
‘Perhaps,’ I said, ‘but your saw the number on the walls. In any case cornered men often find a courage born of desperation. I don’t want to give them any easy victories. If I am killed then Gallia will command the army.’
They all looked at each other in surprise.
‘Why should you be killed?’ asked Gallia.
‘Because I shall be leading the cohort that storms the city.’
They tried to dissuade me but my mind was made up. I had brought the army to this place. It was my decision to storm Uruk and it was therefore only proper that I should be in the first formation that broke into the city. I dismissed the council and afterwards, when we were alone, I held Gallia close.
‘You understand why I have to do this, don’t you?’
Her eyes were filling with tears. ‘Not really.’
‘I cannot sit on my horse and watch other men go where I should be. There is no honour in that.’
‘Who cares about honour? Honour will get you killed.’
I kissed her on the lips. ‘I care about honour. I must do this, Gallia.’
She stepped back and wiped her tears away with her sleeve, then composed herself.
‘Go then, and may the gods protect you.’
She turned and left me without looking back. I followed her outside where Praxima was waiting on her horse holding Epona’s reins. Gallia vaulted into the saddle, placed her helmet on her head and rode away back to her Amazons without giving me a second glance. Orodes was at my side as I walked out of the camp towards where the cohort was forming up to storm the gates. Marcus’ machines were still pounding the gates and the surrounding masonry, which was now full of gaping holes.