The watch shift was miserable.
Jade sat on a log at the edge of camp with Yuzon, both of them fighting to keep their eyes open while the rest of the militia snored around dying fires
"See anything?" Jade whispered for the third time
"Trees," Yuzon said flatly, "same trees as five minutes ago"
"Just checking"
"Stop checking, you're making me paranoid"
The forest was dark and full of sounds that probably meant nothing but could mean bandits, every rustle of leaves or snap of a branch had Jade's hand going to his spear
By the time dawn came he was exhausted and jumpy, his back ached from sitting on the log and his eyes felt like sandpaper
Torvald roused the camp with his usual cheerfulness, which meant shouting and kicking people's boots
"Up! We're burning daylight!"
"The sun isn't even up yet," Nathaniel groaned from his bedroll
"Then we're burning pre-daylight, move it!"
They broke camp quickly, eating cold rations while packing their gear, Jade's muscles protested every movement but his UI showed another small Athletics gain so at least the suffering had a purpose
The march resumed with Torvald setting the same brutal pace, the road climbed into hillier terrain now with the forest giving way to rocky outcrops and scrubby grass
Around midmorning they crested a hill and there it was.
Lord Eristan's castle sat on a rise in the distance, stone walls maybe twenty feet high with a single square keep rising another two stories above that, it wasn't impressive by Bannerlord standards, more of a fortified manor than a real castle, but it was still bigger than anything in their village
"That's it?" Numerius said, sounding disappointed
"What were you expecting, Camelot?" Yuzon asked
"I don't know, something with more towers"
The approach to the castle took another hour, the road became more defined here with cart ruts and hoof prints, other militia groups were converging from different directions, farmers and craftsmen in mismatched gear carrying whatever weapons they could scrounge
By the time they reached the gates there had to be sixty or seventy militia members milling around in the courtyard
The castle's interior was cramped, a single courtyard surrounded by stone walls with the keep taking up most of the space, stables and storage buildings hugged the walls and everything smelled like horses and unwashed bodies
A man in actual armor, chain mail and a proper helmet, stood on the keep's steps shouting orders
"Militia from Pravend over here! Jaculan to the left! Sort yourselves out and wait for assignments!"
Torvald led their group toward the Pravend section where they joined the cluster of their fellow villagers
Jade scanned the courtyard and his UI helpfully identified the armored man as Captain Aldric - Level 8 Soldier, which was both reassuring and terrifying since it meant the level system applied to everyone here
"Level 8," Nathaniel whispered, clearly seeing the same thing, "we're so dead"
"He's just one guy," Numerius said, though he sounded uncertain
"Yeah and there's probably more inside"
Captain Aldric finished his shouting and descended the steps, walking through the militia groups with a critical eye
When he reached the Pravend cluster he looked them over like he was inspecting livestock
"You lot fought off a bandit raid I hear"
"Yes sir," Torvald said
"Good, means you won't piss yourselves at the first sign of trouble," Aldric's eyes swept over Jade and his friends, lingering for a moment, "you five look young, how much training you got?"
"Two weeks sir," Jade said, trying to stand straighter
"Two weeks," Aldric repeated, then laughed, it wasn't a friendly sound, "well you'll learn fast or die slow, either way the raiders don't care"
He moved on to the next group, leaving them standing there
"Encouraging guy," Nathaniel muttered
They were assigned to the east barracks, a long stone building with a thatched roof that was already packed with militia from other villages, straw mattresses lined the walls in two rows with barely enough space to walk between them
"Find a spot and stow your gear," one of the soldiers said, "evening meal's in two hours, don't be late"
The five of them claimed mattresses near the back, Jade threw his pack down and sat heavily, his legs grateful for the rest
Around them other militia members were doing the same, talking in low voices about the raiders and what they'd heard
"Sturgians are tough," one man was saying, "fought in chain mail with axes that'll split a shield in one swing"
"I heard there's two hundred of them," another voice added
"Two hundred? We don't have half that many soldiers here"
"That's why they called the militia, we're fodder to slow them down while the real soldiers do the fighting"
Nathaniel's face went pale, "did he just say fodder?"
"He's exaggerating," Yuzon said but he didn't sound convinced
Jade checked his UI, the quest was still there but no update, just March to Lord Eristan's Castle - Completed with a new one below it:
Defend the Castle
Objective: Survive the incoming raid
Reward: Unknown
Survive, not win or defeat, just survive
That didn't inspire confidence.
The barracks gradually filled up as more militia arrived, the noise level rising to a constant murmur of nervous conversation
Jade noticed some of the men were older, veterans maybe with scars and harder eyes, they sat quietly checking their weapons and ignoring the chatter
Others were young like his group, barely old enough to grow beards and looking terrified
"We should explore," Numerius said suddenly, "check out the castle, see what we're working with"
"Torvald said to stay put," Mataranas pointed out
"Torvald's not here"
Jade considered it, sitting around dwelling on the upcoming fight wasn't helping anyone's nerves
"Fine but we stay together and don't cause trouble"
They left their packs and headed back into the courtyard which was slightly less chaotic now, soldiers were directing militia groups to different areas, some toward the armory for weapon inspections, others to the walls for guard rotations
"Let's check the walls," Yuzon suggested
They climbed the stone steps to the battlements, the walkway was narrow with crenellations providing cover and a decent view of the surrounding terrain
From up here Jade could see the road they'd come from winding through the hills, other roads converged from different directions and in the distance there was just forest and empty grassland
"Not much warning time if they come from the north," Yuzon said, pointing toward the tree line maybe half a mile away
"How do you know they're coming from the north?" Nathaniel asked
"Because that's where Sturgia is, pay attention"
A soldier walked past carrying a spear, he glanced at them but didn't say anything
Jade leaned against the stone, his hands gripping the rough surface.
"You good?" Numerius asked
"Yeah just thinking"
"Don't think too hard, you'll freak yourself out"
"Too late"
They spent another twenty minutes walking the walls before heading back down, the courtyard had settled into a rhythm now with soldiers and militia going about their tasks
The keep's doors were open and Jade could see people moving inside, servants maybe or officers planning the defense
"Should we try to get inside?" Numerius asked
"And do what?" Nathaniel said, "walk up to Lord Eristan and ask him what's for dinner?"
"I mean yeah, information's good right?"
Before they could argue further a bell rang from the keep, three loud clangs that echoed across the courtyard
"Evening meal!" someone shouted
The militia started moving toward a large building near the stables, the mess hall probably
Jade and his crew followed the crowd inside where long tables were set up with benches, servants were ladling stew into wooden bowls and passing out chunks of bread
The food was better than the village hall, the stew actually had meat in it and the bread was fresh
They found seats at one of the tables and ate in relative silence, around them the other militia members were talking louder now, the food and ale loosening tongues
"Heard the raiders are three days out," one man said
"Heard they're led by some Sturgian warlord with a magic axe"
"That's stupid, there's no magic in Calradia"
"You don't know that"
Jade tuned it out and focused on eating, his UI showed his Endurance recovering from the march and his hunger bar, yes apparently that was a thing, filling back up
After the meal they returned to the barracks where most of the militia were settling in for the night
Jade lay on his straw mattress staring at the wooden beams above, the barracks smelled like sweat and smoke and too many bodies in one place
Tomorrow they'd probably start real training with the other militia, formation drills and wall defense tactics
Then after that, who knew when the raiders would arrive
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but his mind wouldn't stop racing, thinking about stats and skills and whether two weeks of training with Torvald would be enough to keep him alive
Somewhere down the row Nathaniel was muttering to himself, probably praying to whatever gods existed in Calradia
Numerius snored like a freight train
Yuzon was silent, probably already asleep or pretending to be
Mataranas's breathing was slow and steady
Jade took a deep breath and forced himself to relax, worrying wouldn't help and tomorrow would come whether he was ready or not
His UI flickered in the corner of his vision one last time before he dismissed it
Level 2 Peasant
Next objective: Don't die
Yeah, that about summed it up