Since the hostiles guarding the gatehouse had nowhere to which they could escape, they fought to the last man. It took some time, but they were surrounded by Gallus and Meesei's forces, and killed. On the western wall, Ra'jorr's group was having similar success, allowing them to have three flanks on the courtyard. Although, from the keep, more soldiers were pouring both into the courtyard, and onto the walls, so there was certainly going to be more resistance. 

Once the walls were cleared, Peiter and Irenya regrouped with Gallus, then moved back to the courtyard to help try to break the stalemate. Gallus was ordered to their right flank to help attempt to break through there. Their resistance was much stronger, and more organized than what they had faced at the gatehouse, but Meesei's group was advancing more quickly along the wall, so they would soon be in a position to flank them. Unfortunately, the enemy had a surprise in mind that would complicate their plans, in the form of of the fortress' most skilled guardians. 

Using the buildings to hide their advance until the last moment, Do'rhajul's elite troops sounded a horn, prompting the frontline that Gallus' men were fighting to suddenly retreat. It would give them the opportunity to try to outflank the enemy's center, had the counterattack not came just as quickly. From the alleys between the buildings, the elite troops stormed forward in a phalanx formation with heavy shields and armor, and silver-tipped spears. Their attack would have been damaging enough by itself, but the biggest threat came seconds beforehand. Without warning, two Senche-raht quite literally appeared in front of Gallus' ranks. The enemy had evidently used spells of invisibility to cloak the two massive Khajiit, which, while it would have taken a considerable expenditure of magicka, made their attack all the more devastating. They were not quite as heavily armored as the allied Senche, but they were obviously well-trained, and even had silver caps fitted over the largest of their teeth capable of delivering an almost unnecessary amount of damage. To Gallus' left and right, the Senche-raht barreled through at least three ranks of his men, crushing and tossing them aside. Then, only seconds later, the enemy phalanx clashed with what remained of their front. 

Meesei witnessed the sudden attack, but as distressing as it was, she was at least in a position to do something about it. They had been able to advance more quickly than those in the courtyard, so her forces were in a position to flank the enemy. She ordered some of her force to continue pushing along the wall towards the keep, then turned to her own pack and those she had told to stay with her. "We have to help them! Get down the stairways and contest their right flank. Archers, form a firing line on the wall and try to disrupt their phalanx with arrows from elevation. If that fails, shift focus to the Senche-raht."