Considering how close the Skaafin archers were to the portal, it did not take long to clear the top of the watchtower. Kaleeth was one of the first to drop down out of the portal, and her size alone was usually enough to draw the focus of her enemies. Three of the archers loosed their arrows at her as she rushed towards one of them, and all three simply deflected or even broke against her armor. The Skaafin in front of her tried to run, but being trappup on the top of the watchtower, there was simply nowhere to go. She clenched her hand around the Daedra’s midsection, and with one arm, simply threw him over the edge of the tower. 

Being that it was close quarters, Ahnasha had dropped down with blades drawn instead of a bow. There were plenty of creatures she could summon that would be useful in this sort of situation, but for a surprise attack like this, she decided on the simpler, much more direct approach of just running at the enemy before they could effectively react. She followed Kaleeth, and upon seeing three of the archers dedicate their arrows to her, she took the opportunity. She picked one that was trying to nock another arrow and dashed ahead, thrusting the dagger in her off hand towards his neck while also slicing her Daedric sword across the stomach. The Skaafin had only a bow to parry with, and while he did stop the dagger, her sword still spilled his guts in the most literal sense. Kaleeth had already thrown her target from the tower by that point, and the last of the three had managed to draw his shortsword by that point. However, Ahnasha was still just as quick and decisive. She shoved her bleeding foe back into the other Skaafin and followed through while he was staggered, sinking both of her blades into his torso. 

Lorag, despite the protection his armor provided, still found it prudent to dash and evade while charging an archer to reduce the chance of a well-aimed shot finding its mark. But, inevitably, he still reached his target and simply used his overpowering strength to smash the Daedra’s head into the stonework. 

Meesei, who had dropped through first, had not bothered to move from the spot she landed. Instead, she charged lightning through her hands and waited to see who her best targets would be. The two Skaafin closest to the stairway had decided to make a run for it to regroup with the others inside the tower, so they made for an obvious choice. The two streams of lightning Meesei shot forth found their targets immediately, and with nothing to resist her power, they dropped to the floor just as quickly. She sustained the spells until the scent of burned Daedric flesh reached her snout. 

It was easy enough for the pack to surprise a group of unprepared archers. Storming down the stairway into the tower would have been the next part of the plan, but from the vantage point they now had, Meesei spotted a complication. Daedric reinforcements from deeper in the mountain pass were advancing on them more quickly than expected. The frontlines were made up of Skaafin, while more bestial Daedra were dispersed among the ranks behind them, along with some winged twilights flying above like a swarm of bats. It was a larger force than what they had brought with them into the pass, so soon enough, their soldiers down below would be both outflanked and outnumbered. 

Meesei was not at all hesitant to make a decision. “Sabine, stay with me here. We need to signal the enemy advance, then we can assist from above. Everyone else, clear the tower as quickly as you can, then rejoin our soldiers below.”