Though magically exhausted from the ritual spell, Meesei did not have time to wait and recover. She had already prepared a magicka potion beforehand, and drank it promptly as soon as she set the fog in motion. It would recover her magicka by the time she reached the fortress itself. The soldiers around her began their charge as soon as the horn was sounded, and as soon as she was able, she motioned for her pack to follow. They would need to move quickly, for Meesei intended to lead from the front. 

As soon as they entered the clearing, Ri'vashi's soldiers immediately joined into their planned formation. The heaviest armored warriors were at the front, with all of those on the very front line being shield bearers. As well, Ri'vashi had ensured that many of those just behind the front were Cathay, Cathay-raht, or simply tall. They would not only be able to use their spears easily over the heads of those in front of them, but their shields could help better protect those behind them. At the center of their formation was the vanguard of their initial assault: Snishi and two other Senche-raht from the Orcrest clan. Fully-equipped, they were among the most fearsome combatants available to the Khajiit. Snishi was armored in overlapping metal plates, connected by chainmail, with layers of cloth underneath. The armor was extensive, covering the majority of her body and head, including her underbelly. It was a very expensive set of armor, certainly, considering that one could purchase a house and a decent plot of land for the same price, but there were some advantages to the intense focus on military Ri'vashi had enforced in her clan. Even without being lycans, Senche-raht were massive in terms of size and strength, and if an enemy force was not prepared, they could break through nearly any defensive line almost without effort. In this case, that was exactly what they planned. With the fog concealing them, the enemy would not see them until they were nearly upon them. Whatever defensive line the enemy had established within the gates, the Senche-raht would break through. 

There was some disarray in the seconds following the opening of the gate, and the first barrage of arrows and spells from Fendros' group, but it did not last long. The defenders were well-disciplined, and followed their officer's orders without hesitation. By the second volley, those who were not wounded returned fire on Fendros' group, since they were not yet obscured by the mist. Evidently, the fortresses defenders were prepared enough to have practiced firing from their walls, because they knew exactly where to aim for their first volley to be on its mark. Fendros' group consisted of nine people, including himself, and two were wounded in the very first volley. One, a Bosmer woman, was hit straight through the stomach by a steel-tipped arrow, while another was burned in the explosion of a fireball. Neither were dead, but if Fendros intended to save them, they would need to be pulled back into the mist immediately. 

Ahnasha, meanwhile, came running out of the front gate as fast as her powerful legs would allow. The defenders in the courtyard had not reacted quickly enough to stop her, but those on the walls would not let her go so easily. As soon as the Altmer officer saw the werewolf sprint out into the clearing below them, she ordered a group of archers to fire upon her. Though, Ahnasha did not intend to make it easy for them. She started out running straight ahead towards the mist, which would be the shortest distance to safety. However, once she felt enough time had passed for an archer to nock an arrow, she pulled to the left, towards Fendros' group. As a result, the first volley missed by a wide margin, but they only became more accurate from there. She dashed and dodged to the side as much as possible, which made her a harder target to hit, but also caused her to take longer to reach safety. The mist was advancing towards her just as she was sprinting towards it, but just before she could make it into the fog, one of the arrows found its mark. It hit in her upper back, or possibly the lower neck, and caused her to roll forward onto the ground. The fog rolled over her moments later, obscuring her from both the enemy archers, and Fendros.