The next day started the same, pot banging and soldiers yelling, formation drills until everyone's legs shook
But something was different.
The soldiers moved faster, sharper, their voices had an edge that wasn't there before
Captain Aldric stood in the courtyard with his arms crossed, watching the militia stumble through their formations with an expression like he'd tasted something sour
"Faster! The raiders aren't gonna wait for you to figure out which end of the spear to hold!"
Jade's row advanced in the shield wall, trying to keep pace with Mataranas in front, his spear kept drifting left and nearly poked the guy next to him
"Watch it!" the man hissed
"Sorry"
They drilled for three hours straight, no breaks except to drink water, by the end of it half the militia was limping and everyone looked ready to collapse
Aldric finally called a halt, "alright listen up"
The courtyard went quiet except for heavy breathing.
"Scouts spotted the Sturgian force this morning, they're two days out, maybe less if they push hard," Aldric's voice carried across the assembly, "that means tomorrow we fortify, the day after that we fight"
Murmurs rippled through the militia, some nervous, some resigned
"How many?" someone called out
Aldric hesitated for just a second, "hundred and fifty, give or take"
The murmurs got louder, Jade felt his stomach drop
A hundred and fifty raiders against what, maybe eighty militia and thirty soldiers?
Those were terrible odds.
"We've got the walls," Aldric continued, raising his voice, "they've got to come to us, that's an advantage, archers on the battlements will thin them out before they reach the gates, shield wall holds the courtyard if they break through"
"If?" Nathaniel whispered beside Jade
"When," Yuzon corrected quietly
Aldric kept talking about tactics and positioning but Jade barely heard it, his mind was stuck on that number
Hundred and fifty.
Level 8 soldiers with actual armor and training, not farmers with two weeks of practice
The formation drills suddenly felt very inadequate.
"Dismissed for midday meal," Aldric said finally, "be ready to work this afternoon, we're reinforcing the gates and stockpiling arrows"
The militia scattered, conversations breaking out immediately
Jade's group headed toward the mess hall but none of them were talking
Inside they grabbed their bowls and found seats at an empty table, the stew tasted like nothing today
"Hundred and fifty," Numerius said finally, breaking the silence
"We heard," Nathaniel said, staring at his bowl
"That's a lot"
"Yeah"
Yuzon was eating mechanically, his eyes distant, "the walls help, funnels them into kill zones, archers can do real damage if we've got enough arrows"
"Do we?" Jade asked
"I don't know, didn't see the stockpile"
Mataranas was quiet, just eating slowly like he always did, his face unreadable
Jade checked his UI for the hundredth time that day
Jade - Level 2 Peasant
Polearm: 35
One-Handed: 30
Athletics: 20
Leadership: 30
Experience: 78/200
The numbers had gone up but they didn't feel like enough, what was a Polearm skill of 35 against a Level 8 Sturgian raider with an axe?
"We should check the walls," Yuzon said, standing up with his half-finished bowl, "see the approach, figure out where we'll be positioned"
It was something to do at least, better than sitting around thinking about the odds
They left the mess hall and climbed the steps to the battlements, the walkway was busier now with soldiers moving supplies and checking equipment
From the north-facing wall Jade could see the road stretching into the distance, forest on either side with hills beyond
Somewhere out there the Sturgian force was marching closer.
"They'll come from there," Yuzon said, pointing to where the road emerged from the tree line, "probably hit us at dawn, that's standard raiding tactics"
"How do you know?" Numerius asked
"Read a lot of military history, also it's what I'd do"
A soldier walked past carrying a bundle of arrows, he glanced at them, "you boys militia?"
"Yeah," Jade said
"Archers?"
"One of us," Jade nodded toward Yuzon
The soldier looked Yuzon over, "you any good?"
"Getting there"
"Better get there fast, we're short on archers and long on targets," he kept walking, disappearing down the steps
Yuzon stared after him, "that's not encouraging"
They spent another hour on the walls, watching soldiers prepare defenses, barrels of rocks were being positioned near the gates for dropping on attackers, spare weapons stacked at intervals in case someone's broke
Everything had the feel of frantic preparation, like trying to patch a leaking boat before it sank
"We should help," Mataranas said
"Help with what?" Nathaniel asked
"Something, anything, just standing here is making it worse"
He was right, the waiting was almost worse than the actual fighting would be
They climbed down and found a group of militia hauling sacks of grain to the keep's storage
"Need extra hands?" Jade asked
The man in charge, some village elder from another town, nodded gratefully, "aye, grab a sack"
The work was mindless but exhausting, lifting heavy sacks and carrying them up stairs into the keep's cellar
Jade's UI pinged Athletics gains and his Strength slowly ticked up but mostly it just hurt
They worked through the afternoon until the sun started setting, by then everyone was covered in sweat and grain dust
"That's enough," the elder said, "get food and rest, tomorrow's gonna be busy"
Dinner was quiet, the mess hall packed but subdued, even the usual loud talkers were eating in silence
Jade picked at his stew, not really hungry but forcing himself to eat anyway
Around them other militia members were doing the same, some writing letters by candlelight, others sharpening weapons or checking armor
Preparing for tomorrow like it might be their last day.
"I should write something," Nathaniel said suddenly, "to Hilda, in case"
"In case what?" Numerius asked
"You know what"
Jade didn't argue, if Nathaniel wanted to write a letter that was his choice
They finished eating and headed back to the barracks where Nathaniel borrowed some parchment and a stub of charcoal from another militiaman
He sat on his mattress writing slowly, crossing things out and starting over
Jade lay down and stared at the ceiling, his body tired but his mind refusing to shut off
Tomorrow they'd finish preparations, reinforce weak points, drill one more time
The day after that the raiders would arrive.
A hundred and fifty of them.
Against a castle with maybe a hundred defenders total, half of them barely trained militia
The math didn't look good.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but every time he started drifting off his brain would jolt him awake with images of axes and shields breaking and people screaming
Beside him Numerius was already snoring, apparently unbothered by impending doom
Nathaniel was still writing, the scratch of charcoal on parchment soft in the darkness
Jade rolled over and pulled his thin blanket up, the barracks was cold tonight and he could hear wind whistling through gaps in the roof thatch
Tomorrow, he thought, just get through tomorrow
Then the day after that, fight and don't die
Simple plan, probably impossible to execute
His UI flickered in his vision one last time before he forced it away
Quest: Defend the Castle
Objective: Survive the incoming raid
Time Remaining: 1 Day
Yeah, he knew.
Sleep finally came in fits and starts, restless and full of half-formed dreams about running through forests and fighting shadows that wouldn't die
When the pot started banging the next morning it almost felt like a relief
At least waiting was over, now there was just work to do
And after that, the fight.