The sound of the gates shattering echoed through the inner chambers like thunder.
Jade's head snapped up from where he'd been slumped against the wall, he had he been sleeping? He couldn't even tell anymore, exhaustion and dehydration blurred everything together
"What was that?" Numerius croaked, his voice barely working
Then they heard it, the unmistakable sound of a massive fight erupting in the courtyard, screams and war cries and the clash of weapons
But different from before.
The raiders were shouting in their language but it wasn't the usual war cries, these were panicked, confused, disorganized
"Something's happening," Yuzon pushed himself up with obvious effort, stumbling to the doorway to peer through the crack
Jade forced himself to stand, his legs nearly giving out, joined Yuzon at the door
Through the narrow gap they could see the corridor beyond littered with bodies from the morning's fighting, but now there were new sounds coming from deeper in the keep
Raiders running past in the main hall, just running, some without weapons, some wounded and bleeding
"They're retreating," Yuzon said, disbelief in his voice
"From what?" Jade asked
Then they heard the war cry, different from Sturgian voices, deeper, more organized, coming from the direction of the courtyard
"Reinforcements," Aldric was suddenly beside them, his face showing the first sign of hope in days, "the relief force actually came"
The raiders in the corridor were pulling back completely, abandoning their assault on the inner chambers, running toward the courtyard or trying to find other exits
Sounds of fighting getting closer, the clash of weapons and screams mixing with unfamiliar war cries
"Do we go out there?" Numerius asked, gripping his cracked club
"Not yet," Aldric said, his tactical mind still working despite exhaustion, "let them clear the keep, we go out now we might get caught in the fighting, mistaken for enemies"
Made sense but waiting was torture when they could hear salvation happening just beyond the walls.
The fighting in the main hall intensified, sounded like a full battle was raging, raiders trying to mount some kind of defense but being pushed back hard
Through the crack Jade saw a raider run past, blood streaming from a wound in his side, pursued by a man in mismatched armor with a crossbow
The pursuer wasn't wearing Lord Eristan's colors, they weren't dressed like regular soldiers, looked more like a brigand than proper military
Mercenaries.
"They sent mercenaries," Jade said
"Don't care who they sent," Mataranas said from where he was sitting, cradling his broken arm, "as long as they're on our side"
The sounds of fighting moved deeper into the keep, raiders being pushed out of the main hall and back toward the courtyard, the mercenaries were systematically clearing room by room with brutal efficiency
Jade could hear officers shouting orders in Vlandian, "check every room, kill anyone in Sturgian colors, watch for traps and ambushes"
Boots on stone getting closer to their position.
"Get ready," Aldric ordered the remaining defenders, "weapons up but don't attack unless they attack first, let me do the talking"
The fifteen militia members and seven soldiers still alive formed a loose line behind Aldric, weapons ready but lowered, trying not to look threatening
Jade stood with his spear, Numerius beside him with his club, Yuzon with his borrowed sword, Mataranas even struggled to his feet despite his broken arm
The door to their chamber shook as someone tried it from outside.
"Locked!" a voice called, mercenary accent, rough and practical, "breach it or leave it?"
"Check it," another voice with authority in it, "survivors might be holed up in here"
The door shook again, harder this time, someone putting their weight against the wood
"Friendly!" Aldric shouted through the door, his voice hoarse from three days of shouting orders, "Castle militia inside, we're defenders not raiders!"
Pause on the other side, muttered conversation they couldn't make out
Then the voice outside spoke again, "open the door slowly, weapons on the ground, hands visible"
Aldric nodded to the militia members near the bar, they lifted it carefully with shaking hands, the door swung open with a creak
Three mercenaries stood in the corridor, crossbows raised and aimed, wearing the golden boar sigil on torn and bloodstained surcoats, behind them were more fighters securing the hallway
The lead mercenary, sergeant by his markings, looked at the group of exhausted, wounded, skeletal defenders and his expression shifted from suspicion to something that might have been respect
Or pity.
Hard to tell.
"You're the militia that held the keep?" he asked, lowering his crossbow slightly
"What's left of us," Aldric said, his voice barely above a whisper, "started with eighty, you're looking at twenty-two"
The sergeant whistled low and turned to shout down the corridor, "found survivors in the inner chambers! Get healers up here and bring water!"
More mercenaries were moving through the keep, Jade could hear fighting still happening in the courtyard but it was one-sided, raiders being cut down or trying to flee over the walls
"Can you walk?" the sergeant asked, looking at the militia with professional assessment
Some nodded weakly, some shook their heads, Jade thought he could probably make it a few steps before his legs gave out
"We'll get stretchers for the wounded," the sergeant said, already waving over other mercenaries, "courtyard's mostly secure but there's still pockets of resistance on the walls, stay in the center and keep your heads down"
Healers arrived within minutes, older women and a few men with medical supplies and blessed waterskins, started checking the defenders immediately
Water first, always water first.
Jade took the waterskin offered to him with trembling hands and drank, the water was warm, his throat was so dry and cracked it hurt to swallow but he forced it down
Around him other defenders were drinking, some crying from relief, some just staring in shock that they'd actually survived this
One militiaman was laughing and couldn't stop, the sound high-pitched and broken.
"Easy," one of the healers said to him, "you're safe now, just breathe"
Stretchers arrived for those who couldn't walk, Jade insisted he could make it on his feet even though his legs were shaking, he refused to be carried when others needed it more
They filed out of the inner chambers in a ragged line, through the corridor littered with bodies, stepping carefully over the dead
The main hall was even worse than Jade remembered.
Blood everywhere, coating the stones and pooling in low spots, bodies of raiders and defenders mixed together in piles where they'd fallen, the smell was overwhelming even after three days of it
But sunlight was streaming through the shattered entrance and fresh air was replacing the stench of death and siege
The courtyard beyond was controlled chaos.
Mercenaries were securing prisoners, a dozen or so raiders who'd surrendered or been captured wounded, most were dead though, bodies being dragged to the side and stacked
The keep's defenders who'd been trapped elsewhere were being gathered in one area near the well, healers moving between them with supplies
Jade counted maybe twenty-five total survivors from the original eighty militia and thirty soldiers who'd been here when the siege started
Over a hundred dead in three days.
The number hit him like a physical weight on his chest.
Captain Aldric was being helped toward the healer station, his legs finally giving out completely, two mercenaries catching him before he fell
"We need to find Torvald," Jade said suddenly, scanning the courtyard, "and Nathaniel, they got separated from us this morning"
"Check the stables!" someone shouted from across the courtyard, "there's someone alive in there!"
Several mercenaries ran toward the partially burned stable building, Jade felt his heart jump
They emerged a minute later carrying someone between them, covered in hay and blood
Torvald.
The old trainer was wounded but alive, blood streaming from a cut on his head and his left arm hanging at a weird angle, but he was conscious and talking
"Where's Nathaniel?" Jade asked immediately, pushing through exhausted militia members to reach Torvald as the mercenaries laid him on a stretcher, "was he with you?"
Torvald's eyes focused on him, took a moment to recognize who was asking, "you made it, good"
"Nathaniel," Jade pressed, his voice urgent, "where is he?"
"Lost him in the servants' quarters," Torvald said, wincing as a healer started examining his arm, "raiders cornered us, I got the kid and some servant girl to hide in a privy, told them to climb down into the sewage pit"
"The sewage pit?" Numerius said, his face twisting in disgust
"Better than getting hacked apart," Torvald said, "I jumped out a window when more raiders showed up, haven't seen him since, figured he either got out or died down there"
Jade's stomach dropped, Nathaniel had been hiding in a literal shit pit for who knows how long
"So he could still be down there," Yuzon said
A mercenary sergeant walked past and Jade grabbed his arm, "have you checked the drainage tunnels? We have a friend who might be hiding down there"
"We found two survivors outside the walls earlier," the sergeant said, "pulled them out of the sewage drainage, both in bad shape"
Jade's heart jumped, "where are they?"
"Medical area near the gate"
They rushed over as fast as their exhausted legs could carry them, Jade nearly tripped twice on loose stones
Near the gate were several stretchers with wounded being treated, and there
Nathaniel.
His face was a disaster, nose clearly broken and twisted to one side, one eye swollen completely shut, the other barely open, covered in bruises that were turning purple and yellow
And he was covered in sewage, the smell was unmistakable even from several feet away.
"Holy shit," Yuzon breathed
"Literal shit," Jade corrected
They came closer and Nathaniel's one working eye focused on them, something like a smile tried to form on his ruined face but couldn't quite make it
"'ey," he managed through his broken mouth, the words barely understandable, "'ought you were ded"
"We thought you were dead," Jade said, relief flooding through him so intense it made his knees weak, "what the hell happened to your face?"
"Raideers," Nathaniel mumbled through swollen lips, "got bet up tying to... trying to elp"
"H-he tried to... to s-save us," a woman on a nearby stretcher said quietly, wrapped in a borrowed cloak, "from the r-raiders, they b-beat him"
Jade glanced at her, young, maybe nineteen, face bruised,
"M-my grandfather and... and M-Maria," she continued, her voice breaking, "they're g-gone"
Nobody knew what to say to that.
The woman pulled the cloak tighter and turned away, her shoulders shaking.
'…'
'…'
'…'
'…'
"Did you actually crawl through the sewage tunnel?" Numerius asked trying to lighten the mood, still staring at the filth covering Nathaniel and the girl
Nathaniel nodded slightly, even that small movement seemed to hurt, "only wey out"
"That's the most Nathaniel thing I've ever heard," Yuzon said
They sat down on the ground beside the stretchers, too exhausted to stand anymore, Mataranas lowering himself carefully beside them
The five of them who'd started this together, all somehow still alive
Three days of absolute hell and they'd survived when so many others hadn't.
Around them the Company of the Golden Boar was securing the castle, already starting to loot with professional efficiency
Jade's UI flickered to life with notifications he'd been ignoring
Quest Complete: Defend the Castle
Experience Gained: +450 XP
LEVEL UP
Jade - Level 4 Peasant
Renown Gained: +15
Reputation Gained: Hero of Pravend
Reputation Gained: Survivor of the Siege
Trait Unlocked: Veteran (Minor combat bonuses)
Jade stared at the screen
That's it?
Fifteen renown, a couple titles, and a minor trait?
They'd held a castle for three days against impossible odds, watched over a hundred people die, killed dozens themselves, and this was the reward?
In the game it would've been fine, just numbers
But here, after everything they'd been through
"What'd you get?" Numerius asked
"Fifteen renown," Jade said flatly
"Same, seems low"
"It's understandable in the game," Jade said quietly, "but when you're actually the one fighting, when you watch people die, well"
He didn't finish.
"At leasht we shurvived," Nathaniel slurred through his broken mouth
Yeah, they had survived
For whatever that was worth.