As soon as the bright, reedy tones shot from the horn through the gaps in the stilts like bolts of light, the Collosean sailors took out their swords and advanced. The burlap bag of fish held by the slim Collosean dropped in a wet thud, and then came the stamping of feet on wet soil. Ukeo gripped her Father's sword ready, the silver-laced handle fitting well in her calloused hands. Jac pointed the pike forward in one muscled arm, eyes keen in the darkness, and Qalun, the slighter of the two brothers, took out his long dagger from his waist pouch and crouched into a fighting stance.

  The leader of the Sailors made way directly for Ukeo, the smallest target, but before he reached striking distance, Jac jumped forward and swung the heavy butt of the pike into the Collosean's prim, ovular face. He reeled, and then stood, a spout of blood already flicking from the corner of his mouth, and grappled with the handle of Jac's pike. Ukeo braced for the two others encroaching upon her, the squat woman with buzzed hair who had been holding the bag, and a baby-faced recruit boy.

  As he neared further, he looked even south of 18, a child still, with his unwashed skin and twig-like legs. If he were a few years older he'd have her number in strength and speed, but he still looked underdeveloped, spindly. Ukeo went for the short-haired Sailor, leading with the hilt of the weapon as Jac had done, aiming for her cheekbone, but the target ducked gracefully and, twisting her foot into the ground, threw an uppercut into the base of Ukeo's unarmoured chest. The blow forced her diaphragm upwards, winding her instantly, feeling as though all the air in her body had been ripped out by an invisible hand. Ukeo hobbled backwards a few steps, barely holding onto the sword, but managed to balance herself while taking short, urgent breaths.

  Now the young boy stepped forward, knife in hand. He pointed the blade forward menacingly, an air of swagger in his steps. Ukeo noticed a look of panic flood the face of the Sailor who'd just struck her. The boy lunged awkwardly at first towards Ukeo's chest, but he seemed to struggle with his footing in the darkness and he teetered mid-air towards her legs. She dodged easily, and brought the pommel of her sword down hard on the base of the boy's skull. He let out a wheezing moan and an exit of breath, before collapsing in a heap, unconscious.

  The squat Sailor's expression turned from panic to wild anger. Ukeo wondered in that moment if they were siblings. Up close she could tell they shared the roundish face bespeckled with freckles. She charged, her sword now pointed forward also. Ukeo calculated this, the poor decision making brought on by untamed rage. Suddenly, to her right, she heard the unmistakable sound of Qalun yelping in pain. Fear flooded her veins. Had her best friend received some mortal wound? She couldn't rush to him though, not with the semi-serrated tip of a Collosean shortsword slicing through the air towards her neck.

  Ukeo backed up again quickly, this time into the dank stilt beams that held up Qalun's house. The Sailor swung again, wildly, but struck true Ukeo's sword, knocking it from her grip. It pirouetted in the air before landing noiselessly on the soft ground. Ukeo felt exposed, panicked. A quick glance to the right revealed Jac still grappling with the Collosean Leader, and Qalun out of view somewhere behind him in some state of injury. She pressed herself against the posts, feeling their cold touch wetting her thin overshirt, sending shivers through her. The Sailor was now smiling at her, savouring the moment in some mingled stupor of drunkenness and retribution.

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  She opened her mouth, 'You're gonna get stuck good now you peasant bit-', but she stopped short her taunt, her eyes distracted by something directly over Ukeo's shoulder.

  Then, Ukeo heard the sweet sound of footsteps, of grunting and yelling and the returning cry of the Ruskelite fellowhorn, before witnessing, to her left, a band of her neighbours, led by Old Scuggs, launching between the beams to join them. The dumpy Recruit stumbled at the sight, muttering apologetic words, but they fell on deaf ears. Two of the Ruskelites were already on her, knocking the sword away with an axe, before pinning her to the ground.

  To the right, Jac was standing over the Collosean Leader, his pike firmly embedded in his belly, and Jac himself bloodied and bruised about the face. Ukeo hurried to her feet and ran to where she'd last seen Qalun, dodging a couple of the oncoming Ruskelites on the way. As she rounded Jac, who seemed to be staring down the the felled Collosean in a sort of unbelieving trance, she gasped at the sight of Qalun splayed out on his side, facing away from her, another dead Ruskelite Sailor next to him.

  She hurdled over him and dropped to her knees to see his eyes closed and his face rested on on his right arm, and in the shadows she could make out the slick blackness of blood in the darkness covering the half-occluded side. She put one hand to his chest, and another over his mouth. He was breathing softly, as one in deep slumber, but his pulse was far from strong. Ukeo slid her hand underneath his chin, wincing as the warm blood soaked her palm and trickled between the gaps of her fingers.

  'Come 'ere!' She called to Scuggs, who was carrying a lantern, 'quickly, please!'

  Scugg's jogged over, his substantial belly heaving with his heavy steps. 'Is the lad okay?' He asked.

  'I think so, hold the light above him.'

  Scuggs did as told, holding the copper lantern aloft. Ukeo, still cradling Qalun's cheek, slowly turned his face up to the light. A sickening pain came over her heart. His right cheek was slashed deep. It looked shredded, threads of muscle protruding, bubbling spurts of blood pouring outwards. The cut ran from his chin and up into his eye, which was swollen to the size of a tangerine.

  'Stone the crows...' uttered Scuggs. 'They've taken half his face off.'

  Ukeo felt a writhing anger. Her best friend would be scarred forever, if he lived that was. She saw Jac rushing over, pike in hand. He must've been shaken from his deep thought. Ukeo put a bloodied hand up, 'wait Jac' she called, but it was too late. Jac yelped a noise far higher in tone than his usual dulcet voice, and collapsed next to his brother, heaving breaths as if breaching from a deep dive.

  'The bastards...' He said, voice groaning with strain. 'Is he alive Ukeo?!'

  'Yes,' said Scuggs, answering for her, 'but he needs patching. Quickly!'

  'Where's the other?' Asked Jac, looking with tremendous fury at the lone Collosean lying near Qaluns feet. 'There were five. Where's the other?!'

  Ukeo and Scuggs looked around frantically. Jac was right, there were only the four remaining: Two dead, two still alive.

  Then, their attention went to the gap in the stilts, and beyond it, in the distance, the Collosean border.