Jade didn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes he saw the northern tree line, imagined raiders pouring out with axes and shields, imagined what it would feel like when his spear actually hit someone
Around him the barracks was full of similar restlessness, men tossing and turning on their mattresses, some whispering prayers, others just staring at the ceiling
Nathaniel had given up pretending to sleep around midnight, sitting up with his knees drawn to his chest
Numerius was the only one who managed anything close to rest, though even his snoring was fitful and broken
The first hint of dawn came as gray light filtering through gaps in the roof thatch.
Then the horn sounded.
Three long blasts that echoed across the castle, soldiers were already moving in the courtyard, shouting orders
"Up! Everyone up! To your positions!"
The barracks erupted into controlled chaos, militia members scrambling for weapons and armor, some still half-asleep and fumbling with straps
Jade grabbed his spear and checked his mail coif was secure, the padded gambeson underneath was already making him sweat despite the cold morning air
"They here?" Numerius asked, pulling on his club belt
"Don't know, that might just be the wake-up call"
They filed out into the courtyard with the rest of the militia, soldiers were directing groups to their assigned positions
Captain Aldric stood near the keep steps with several other officers, his face grim in the early light
"Militia to the walls! Archers to the battlements, spearmen and shields to the courtyard reserves! Move!"
Jade's group got separated in the rush, Yuzon was directed toward the archer positions on the north wall while the rest of them were pushed toward the courtyard formation
"Wait," Nathaniel said, grabbing Yuzon's arm, "what if this is the last time we see each other?"
"It's not," Yuzon said but his voice wasn't confident, "just don't die, any of you"
"You too"
Then the crowd pushed them apart and Yuzon disappeared up the wall steps with the other archers
Jade, Numerius, Mataranas, and Nathaniel found themselves in the courtyard reserve, a formation of maybe thirty militia members standing behind the main gate with shields and spears
Torvald was there too, organizing them into rough lines
"Shields front, spears behind, if they break through the gate we hold this courtyard or die trying, understood?"
Murmurs of acknowledgment.
"I said understood!"
"Yes sir!" came the scattered response
Jade ended up in the second row again, spear ready, Mataranas was three spots to his left with his metal-rimmed shield, Numerius somewhere in the back with the other reserve fighters, and Nathaniel had somehow ended up near the front despite his earlier doubts
The courtyard filled with the sound of armor clinking and nervous breathing.
Minutes passed.
Then more minutes.
The sun was rising now, burning off the morning mist and painting the castle walls orange
From somewhere on the battlements a soldier shouted, "movement on the road!"
Jade's heart started hammering.
"How many?" Aldric called up
"Can't tell yet, they're still in the trees!"
More waiting, every second felt like an hour
Jade's hands were sweating on his spear shaft, he wiped them on his tunic one at a time
Beside him another militiaman was muttering prayers under his breath, the same phrase over and over
Then drums started.
Low and rhythmic, coming from the north, the sound of an army on the march
"Here they come!" someone on the wall shouted
The drums got louder, closer, joined by the sound of marching feet and rattling equipment
Jade couldn't see anything from the courtyard, just stone walls and the sky above, but he could hear everything
The raiders were singing, some kind of war chant in a language he didn't understand, deep voices carrying across the open ground
"Archers ready!" Aldric's voice rang out from somewhere
On the battlements Jade imagined Yuzon drawing his bow, hands probably shaking just like everyone else's
The singing got louder.
Then it stopped.
Silence except for the drums, still beating that steady rhythm
"They're forming up!" the lookout called, "looks like they're gonna try the gate!"
Aldric's response was immediate, "oil ready! Rocks ready! Wait for my signal!"
Jade could feel the tension in the courtyard formation, men shifting their weight, gripping weapons tighter
Someone near the front threw up, the sound making several others gag
"Steady!" Torvald barked, walking the line, "you break formation and I'll kill you myself!"
Not exactly comforting but it focused attention.
The drums suddenly increased tempo, faster now,
Then they stopped completely.
In the silence that followed Jade heard a single voice shouting in that foreign language, probably their commander giving orders
"Here they come!" the lookout screamed
The sound of charging feet hit like thunder, war cries erupting as the raiders rushed the gate
"Archers loose!" Aldric commanded
The snap of bowstrings echoed across the battlements followed immediately by screams from below the walls
Jade's UI pinged with notifications he couldn't focus on, combat was starting and he couldn't even see it
"Loose again! Don't let them reach the gate!"
More arrows, more screams, the dull thud of bodies hitting ground
Then a massive crash shook the gates, wood splintering as something heavy slammed into it
"Battering ram!" someone yelled
Another crash, the gates shuddered but held
"Oil! Pour it now!"
A pause, then screams of a different quality, agonized and terrible, the smell of burning flesh and wood drifted into the courtyard making Jade's stomach turn
"Keep shooting! Don't let up!"
The arrows kept flying, Jade could hear them whistling overhead as archers targeted anyone trying to work the ram
But the crashes against the gate kept coming, steady and relentless
"Gate's not gonna hold!" Torvald shouted to Aldric
"It has to! Reinforce the barricades behind it!"
Soldiers rushed forward with more wooden beams, wedging them against the gate as it buckled inward with each impact
The crashes were getting worse, splinters flying with each hit
On the walls the archers were firing as fast as they could draw, Jade imagined Yuzon up there, arrow after arrow, trying not to think about what he was hitting
"Archers falling back!" someone shouted, "they've got shields up, can't get clean shots!"
"Then aim for the ram carriers!" Aldric commanded
Another massive crash and this time wood gave way with a terrible cracking sound
"Gate's breached!" the lookout screamed
Through the shattered gates Jade could see them, figures in mismatched armor and fur, axes and swords raised, faces twisted in fury and bloodlust
Sturgian Raider - Level 6
Sturgian Raider - Level 7
Sturgian Raider - Level 5
His UI helpfully identified them as they poured through the opening
"Shield wall forward!" Torvald roared
The front line surged ahead to meet them, shields locking together as raiders slammed into the formation
The sound was deafening, metal on wood, screams and war cries mixing with the clang of weapons
Jade couldn't see anything clearly, just chaos and bodies pressing forward
"Second line advance!" Torvald ordered
Jade moved with the others, his spear lowered over the shoulders of the men in front, trying to find targets through the press of bodies
A raider broke through on the left, cutting down a militiaman who'd raised his shield too slow, blood spraying across the cobblestones
Mataranas stepped into the gap immediately, his shield taking an axe blow that would've split someone else's skull
"Hold the line!" someone was screaming
Jade thrust his spear forward at a raider trying to push through, the point caught the man's shoulder and he howled, grabbing the shaft and trying to pull it away
Jade held on, bracing his feet and pushing back, someone else stabbed the raider from the side and he went down
The formation was barely holding, raiders pressing from all sides now, more pouring through the ruined gates
"We're being pushed back!" Nathaniel's voice, high with panic
He was right, the shield wall was giving ground step by step, the courtyard filling with raiders faster than the militia could stop them
"Reserves!" Aldric's command cut through the chaos, "Hit their flanks! Break their momentum!"
Numerius and the other two-handed fighters charged in from the side, clubs and axes swinging, it created momentary confusion in the raider ranks
But there were so many of them.
For every one that went down two more came through the gates
Jade pulled his spear back and thrust again, this time hitting a raider in the leg, the man stumbled and someone else finished him
His UI was going crazy with notifications but he couldn't spare attention for them
The shield wall collapsed on the right, three militiamen going down under a coordinated raider assault
"Reform!" Torvald bellowed but it was too late, the line was breaking
Raiders were in the courtyard now, spreading out and engaging militia in small skirmishes all across the space
Jade found himself separated from the formation, backing toward the stables with his spear up
A raider came at him, Level 6 with an axe and wooden shield, grinning through a beard matted with blood
Jade's training kicked in, he thrust low trying to get under the shield, the raider blocked and swung his axe
Jade barely got his spear shaft up in time to deflect it, the impact jarring his arms
They circled each other, Jade's heart hammering so hard he thought it might burst
The raider feinted left then came right, Jade fell for it and took a shield bash to the chest that knocked him backward
He hit the stable wall hard, breath exploding from his lungs
The raider raised his axe for a finishing blow
Then Mataranas appeared from nowhere, his shield slamming into the raider's side and sending him sprawling
"Get up!" Mat shouted, already turning to face another attacker
Jade scrambled to his feet, gasping for air, his chest screaming where the shield had hit
Around him the courtyard was complete chaos, militia fighting raiders in desperate clusters, bodies on the ground, too many bodies
Where was Nathaniel?
Where was Numerius?
Where was anyone?
A horn sounded from the keep, three sharp blasts
"Fall back to the keep!" Aldric's voice, hoarse from shouting, "Fighting retreat! To the keep!"
The remaining militia started moving backward, still fighting, trying to maintain some kind of cohesion
Jade moved with them, his spear finding targets almost on instinct now, thrust and pull back, thrust and pull back
They reached the keep steps where soldiers in actual armor had formed a proper shield wall, holding the entrance
"Get inside!" one of them shouted, "We'll hold them here!"
The militia poured through the keep doors into the relative safety of the stone building
Jade stumbled inside and immediately collapsed against a wall, his legs giving out
His UI was flashing red with damage notifications, his health bar down to maybe sixty percent from the shield bash and various cuts he hadn't even felt getting
Around him other militia members were in similar states, bleeding and exhausted, some crying, some just staring at nothing
He scanned the room desperately
Mataranas was there, his shield arm hanging limp
Numerius was there too, bleeding from a cut on his forehead but upright
Nathaniel was
There, in the corner, curled up with his sword still in his hand, shaking
Where was Yuzon?
Jade tried to stand but his legs wouldn't cooperate
Outside the sounds of fighting continued, the soldiers at the entrance holding against the raider assault
But they were trapped now, holed up in the keep with the courtyard lost
This wasn't a defense anymore.