The keep's main hall was packed with wounded and terrified militia, maybe forty of them out of the eighty that had started the day
Jade's chest throbbed where the shield had hit him, every breath felt like broken glass but his UI said nothing was actually broken, just severe bruising
Around him men were being tended to by the few servants brave enough to stay, wrapping wounds with torn cloth and distributing water
"Yuzon," Jade managed to gasp, looking at Mataranas, "where's Yuzon?"
Mataranas shook his head, his face pale, "didn't see him come down from the walls"
"He could still be up there," Numerius said, wiping blood from his eyes, the cut on his forehead was still bleeding, "or he got out before they surrounded us"
"Or he's dead," Nathaniel said from his corner, his voice hollow
"Shut up," Jade snapped
"I'm just being realistic"
Jade tried to stand again and this time managed it, leaning heavily on his spear, he stumbled toward the keep entrance where Captain Aldric was coordinating the defense with his remaining soldiers
The doorway was a chokepoint, three soldiers in full armor holding it against raiders trying to push through, bodies were already piling up on both sides
"Captain!" Jade called out
Aldric turned, his face splattered with blood that wasn't his, "what?"
"My friend was on the walls, is there any way to know if the archers made it out?"
"No," Aldric said flatly, then his expression softened slightly, "the wall positions were supposed to fall back to the keep but in the chaos some might've gotten cut off, I don't know who made it and who didn't"
That wasn't good enough.
Jade turned and headed for the stairs leading to the keep's upper levels
"Where are you going?" Mataranas called after him
"To find Yuzon"
"That's suicide, the walls are probably swarming with raiders"
"Then I'll be quick"
Numerius grabbed his club and stood up despite his injury, "I'm coming with you"
"You can barely see straight"
"Neither can you," Numerius said, gesturing at Jade's limping gait, "let's go"
They climbed the stone stairs, passing more wounded on the way up, the upper levels of the keep had arrow slits looking out over the courtyard
Through them Jade could see the carnage below, raiders were looting bodies and setting fire to the stables, some were still engaged with pockets of militia resistance but the fight was clearly over
The stairs kept going up, past the third floor where servants' quarters and storage rooms sat empty
"There," Numerius pointed to a narrow door, "that should lead to the roof"
They pushed through and emerged onto the keep's flat roof, the cold air hit them immediately
From here they could see everything, the burning courtyard below, the northern wall where the archers had been positioned, bodies scattered across the battlements
"We need to get over there," Jade said, pointing to where the roof connected to the wall walkway via a narrow stone bridge, barely three feet wide
"That's a long drop if we fall," Numerius muttered
"Don't fall then"
They moved carefully across the bridge, Jade's injured chest making every movement painful, below them raiders were celebrating their victory, shouting and drinking
The wall walkway was worse than Jade expected when they reached it, bodies everywhere, arrows scattered like fallen leaves, blood pooling between the stones
They crouched low, moving along the battlements toward where the archers had been positioned
A sound made them freeze, someone grunting with effort
Around a corner they saw him, a lone raider hacking at something on the ground with an axe, his back to them
Sturgian Raider - Level 6
The raider brought his axe down again and Jade realized with horror he was mutilating one of the fallen archers
"We have to go through him," Jade whispered
Numerius nodded, gripping his club tighter
They moved together, trying to stay quiet, but a loose stone shifted under Jade's boot
The raider spun around, axe raised, his face twisted in a snarl
Jade thrust his spear forward on instinct, the point caught the raider's side but the armor deflected it, the man swung his axe and Jade barely ducked
Numerius came in from the side, his club smashing into the raider's knee with a crack
The man howled and stumbled, Jade thrust again, this time catching him in the throat where there was no armor
Blood sprayed hot across Jade's hands and the raider went down gurgling
They stood there breathing hard, staring at the body
Jade had just killed someone.
Actually killed someone.
The raider twitched once then went still.
"Come on," Numerius said, his voice shaking, "we need to keep moving"
Jade pulled his spear free, trying not to look at the blood coating it
They continued along the wall, checking bodies as they went, most of the militia archers were dead, torn apart by raiders who'd climbed the walls during the assault
Then Jade saw a familiar bow lying broken beside a pile of bodies near the corner battlement
"There," he pointed
They rushed over and started pulling bodies aside, three dead raiders piled on top of each other
Under the third one was Yuzon.
His eyes were closed, blood on his face, not moving
"No," Jade breathed, dropping to his knees beside him, "no no no"
Numerius was checking for a pulse, his hands shaking, "I can't tell if"
Yuzon's eyes snapped open.
Both of them jerked back with startled yelps.
"About time," Yuzon croaked, "I've been playing dead under these assholes for ten minutes and they're heavy"
"You're alive," Jade said, almost laughing with relief
"Obviously," Yuzon tried to sit up and winced, "got knocked down when they rushed the walls, pretended I was dead and they just piled more bodies on top, figured I'd wait it out"
They helped him up, checking for injuries, he had cuts and bruises but nothing serious
"Your bow's broken," Numerius said
"Yeah I noticed," Yuzon looked at the carnage around them, "everyone else up here?"
"Dead," Jade said quietly, "you're the only one we've found alive"
Yuzon's face went blank for a moment, then he nodded, "we should get back to the keep before more raiders come up here"
Getting back was harder with three of them, they had to move slowly and Yuzon kept stumbling from being under the bodies so long
They made it to the roof bridge and across, then down the stairs into the keep
The main hall erupted in surprised murmurs when they appeared with Yuzon
Mataranas stood up, his face breaking into a rare smile, "you found him"
"He found himself," Jade said, helping Yuzon sit down, "just needed a ride back"
Nathaniel emerged from his corner, looking at Yuzon like he'd seen a ghost, "I thought you were dead"
"Almost was," Yuzon said, "playing dead under raiders is not an experience I recommend"
A servant came over to check him for injuries, tutting over his cuts but confirming nothing was life-threatening
Jade slumped down beside his friends, the adrenaline finally wearing off and leaving him shaking
He looked at his hands, still covered in blood from the raider he'd killed
His first kill.
The man had been trying to kill him, had been mutilating dead bodies, was an enemy
But Jade had still ended a human life.
"You okay?" Yuzon asked quietly
"No," Jade said honestly, "but I will be"
He hoped that was true.
Captain Aldric appeared, looking exhausted, he surveyed the room full of wounded and his jaw tightened
"Listen up," he said, his voice carrying, "the courtyard is lost, we're holding the keep entrance but barely, I've sent a runner to try and reach Lord Eristan's main fortress for reinforcements but it's two days away at best"
Murmurs of despair rippled through the hall.
"We have maybe a day's worth of food and water here, after that we'll be in trouble," Aldric continued, "the raiders seem content to hold the courtyard for now, probably regrouping, but they'll try to take the keep eventually"
"So we're trapped," someone said
"For now, yes"
"We're all going to die here," another voice, defeated
"Maybe," Aldric said, surprising everyone with his honesty, "but we're not dead yet, rest while you can, tend to your wounded, and be ready for another assault"
He walked off before anyone could argue.
Jade looked at his friends, all of them battered and bloody but alive
They'd made it through the first assault.
Barely.
His UI flickered to life unbidden, showing notifications he'd been ignoring
Combat Experience Gained: +125 XP
Polearm Skill +5
Athletics +3
Level Up Available
Jade - Level 3 Peasant
Attribute Points: 1
Focus Points: 1
The level up barely registered, what did stats matter when they were trapped in a keep surrounded by raiders?
But then again, any advantage might make the difference between living and dying when the next assault came.
He pulled up his stats, staring at the options through exhausted eyes
His health was at 58%, his stamina nearly depleted, but he was alive.
They were all alive.
For now.
Outside he could hear the raiders celebrating their victory, singing and shouting, the sound of the castle being ransacked
They'd hold the keep as long as they could.
After that, he didn't know.
Jade spent his attribute point on Vigor, he needed more health if he was going to survive another fight
The Focus point went into Polearm, might as well double down on what was keeping him alive
Immediately he felt a little stronger, the pain in his chest lessening slightly, his grip on his spear more confident
It wasn't much.
But it was something.
He closed his UI and leaned his head back against the cold stone wall
Around him the keep settled into tense silence broken only by the groans of the wounded and the distant sounds of raiders outside
Somewhere above, through the arrow slits, smoke was rising from the burning stables
The castle had fallen.
Now they just had to survive long enough for help to arrive.
If it arrived at all.