2026-10-09 16:33:32The mud was iron and ash-tasty.
Kain shoved him away from him and his fingers clutched onto the cold, wet metal of his armor. His lungs seemed like they were filled with broken glass and he gulped and gulped for air.
There was no more the sound of battle now. An hour earlier the screaming had ceased and been replaced by the cawing of birds that feed on carrion. The banner of the Wolf Company was trampled in the dirt, bloodied.The banner of the Wolf Company was trampled in the dirt and bloodied.
They had been abandoned.
Kain closed his eyes, and the recollection struck like a punch to his head.
"Hold the line!" Over the sound of the teak clanging, Commander Veyr had shouted. "Reinforcements are coming! Hold the line!"
Kain had taken his word. He had returned to the enemy and his arms were burning with the power of his sword. However, after looking around, Veyr was lost. He had no more personal guards. The banners had been walked out over the ridge.
He had glared his eyes right in Kain's before riding away in his horse. He had disgraced them in front of Kain and his men and made them slaughter them so he can save his skin.
There was silence, except for a faint wail.
Kain's eyes snapped open. He turned, cringing, and there was an opening in his side, a deep slash. Half buried under a dead horse, Joren was a few feet away. The boy was only about sixteen years old and his face was ashen with shock, with tears streaking down his face. He had a broken sword in his hands, his hands trembling.
"Captain?" Joren whispered.
Here, Kain replied in a husky voice. He pulled him back as he crawled to him. "Are you hurt?"
My leg... I think it's broken.
Kain nodded. He looked past him. "Linden? Linden, answer me!"
A low noise was heard from a nearby trench. Kain stumbled over, and found Linden leaning against the dirt wall. His face had a grayish color, and there was a bad scar running down his leg on his thigh that was bleeding profusely from it.
Linden hissed, "Stop yelling!Linden hissed, “Stop yelling!” “Not yet, I'm afraid I'm not.
He looked around at the sea of corpses. "They left us, didn't they? That coward Veyr."
He did, Kain confirmed. He ordered them to stand still, and then he ran.
Joren's eyes gleamed with panic. "What do we do? There are no weapons, there are no horses we can't fight them we are dead.
"Shut up, boy," Linden snapped, wincing as he shifted his weight. We were all dead when Veyr rode away.
Kain's voice interrupted the tension, "Stop. He was weary, wounded, and frightened. He was their leader, however. Then they would all be dead if he broke.
He did a tummy fetch and retrieved his water skin. It was almost void of elements. He unscrewed the cap and knelt down by Linden. He took a few drops in his mouth.
"Drink," he ordered.
You need it more than me," Linden mumbled.
Kain replied, "I need you alive more than I need water. You're the only one who can track. Only you can get us out of here.
Linda looked at him for a long time and swallowed the water. We must find shelter, before the sun sets, or the wolves will get here first.
Kain gazed out at the sea. The sun was setting in a blood red sky. They were only through an hour of light.
"Can you walk?" Kain asked Linden.
"I can limp."
"Then limping we go, we need to find somewhere defendable.
Kain grabbed Linden and lifted him to his feet, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Joren followed them, holding his broken sword. All of these steps were excruciating, but Kain was determined to focus on the future. He managed to breathe in and out evenly.
He could hear the howling of wolves a long way out. Or perhaps it was the enemy's hunting dogs. It was not possible to see in the dark.
They fell into a small hole, covered with a lot of thorns. It was cramped and damp but it would keep them safe for the night.
Kain told them, "Get some rest. "I'll keep watch."
Joren fell down right away tired out. Kain was studying the stone while Linden leaned his back against it, his eyes on Kain.
“You're stupid, you know that? Linden whispered. “A silly person to be sitting around, to drag us out.”
"Maybe," Kain said. He walked out to the glooming forest. “But I'm not going to let Veyr win, that's not how I'm doing it.”
Kain was at the entrance of the cave, gazing at the black woods. His body wanted sleep, his mind was buzzing. How would he be able to provide for them? How was he going to get them home?
His temples throbbed with pain. He clenched his fists over his head, pressing the heels of his palms against his heads. When he looked at them, the world was different.
In front of him, another panel, a blue translucent one, hovered in the air, among the dark trees. kain blinked, but it didn't go away. It was cold and mechanical and no sound came from it at all.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
[NEW CONQUEROR DETECTED]
FIRST QUEST: Find a safe place for your remaining friends. Reward: 50 gold, Basic Rations.
Kain looked at the floating words. He streached out his hands, his fingers slipping through the blue glow. He was hallucinating. He had to be. The blood loss was taking its toll on him.
"What do we do now, Captain?"
But his voice was small and trembling behind him Joren's voice.
Kain's heart drummed in his ribs, gazing at the glowing blue panel. He didn't know what it was, or what it had to do with. It was providing him what his people needed to survive, however.
He looked to his Joren, his face a mask he didn't feel.
We live, he said," "We find a way."
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Chapter 12 :THE SIEGE
The first wave broke against the palisade.Kain felt the wall tremble beneath his boots where his forces and that of the enemy had engaged against the gate. Two-hundred fighting men surged towards the wooden doors, pressing back the reinforced iron gates with all of their might."Hold!"Kain bellowed, "Hold the line!"His men took up his cry. Gareth the blacksmith drove a soldier back with a hammer strike to the face, Ryna let out a string of arrows from her perch above the fray, and Linden held his spear high against a soldier in black despite his bad leg and the pain in his knee.The enemy pressed the attack, the gate groaning under the pressure.Kain glanced at the System panel that floated in his line of vision.What good was this going to do him in battle? It had provided him with Basic Tactics and Basic Fortification but those were for building and not for fighting.He needed to think of another way. Kain turned to Ryna who stood guardedly by the eastern wall."Ryna!"A shout from
Chapter 11 :THE FIRST WAVE
Kain was atop the knoll, looking at the northern pass.Below the valley, it was peaceful. The water was clear in the stream. The walls of the palisades were high. His people went round the camp, getting ready for battle. They were quiet but Kain could sense their fear. He carried a cold weight in his chest and a hum in the back of his mind.He had three days. Then two. Then one.On the last night, he called his warriors together. Twelve men and women capable of wielding a spear or drawing a bow. The rest were too old, too young, or too wounded. They remained within the palisade, and tended the fires.“It's important we don't have too many people here to hold the walls because we can't,” Kain said, his voice steady. So we won't attempt it, we will go to the pass. Ryna what did you see, Ryna?"Ryna stepped forward. The army is just one column, and they're moving quickly, they're not expecting to meet resistance."Good," Kain said. We'll get them to pay for every step, we will.He presen
Chapter 10 :THE HUNT
Kain chose five men.Linden, notwithstanding his limp. Gareth the blacksmith. Two farmers who used to be hunters. And Ryna, who was more familiar with the forest than anyone else.At midnight, they left the camp, silently moving among the trees. Kain's movements became smooth and silent as he raised the Basic skill. He heard all the noises, all the rumbles, all the inhales.The scouts were encamped in a small ravine 2 hours north of the valley. Kain sat on the ridge and watched them. Four men around a small fire. Their horses were tied up nearby. They were relaxed. Careless."Four," Ryna whispered. "We can take them.""No," Kain said. We don't come to kill them.Ryna frowned. So why do we have to be here?“It's about a message we are sending.”Kain explained the plan in hushed tones. Ryna's pupils dilated then contracted. She didn't like it. But she nodded.The hunters took up their positions on the ridge above the ravine. Kain and Ryna made their way down the hill, moving quietly lik
Chapter 9:THE PLAN
Kain couldn't sleep that night. Sitting by the fire, he looked at the wanted poster one last time before burning it in the leaping flames. Five hundred gold coins. Two hundred soldiers. A week at most.He had twenty people. Half of them were unable to fight and the other half were badly injured.The System panel floated before his eyes, the new quest glowing quietly on the dark material.[QUEST: PREPARE FOR BATTLE.][OBJECTIVE 1: Fortify the camp.][OBJECTIVE 2: Train your fighters.][OBJECTIVE 3: Create a battle plan.][REWARD: Unknown.]Kain skim read the objectives. Nothing complicated and just one task he couldn't complete because of sheer lack of time. At dawn he gathered his people together."I'm not lying to you," Kain said. "Reinforcements are coming for the Veyr. Two hundred soldiers. They will reach this valley in under a week."The survivors stared at him. Some looked anxious, some simply resigned to their fate, while others, such as Linden, just looked tired."We can't fig
Chapter 8 :THE TRADER
For three days, they stayed in the hills.Kain took his tribe to a small gorge on the north side of the valley, surrounded by dense pine forests. Eventually the scouts on the southern ridge lost interest and disappeared. However, Kain was not at ease. He knew that they would return.On the 4th morning, he called his people together.They will not be able to evade us forever, he said. Supplies, tools, food, weapons."Well, we have gold," Ryna said. “But, if we can't use it, then gold is no good.”Kain nodded. Two days to the north is a trading post run by Oren, a man who trades with anyone who will pay him. I will go by myself.I'm told, Linden said, stepping forward, “No.” His leg was mending, but he limped about. The leader of them is Veyr, if he gets hold of you then we're done."Then who?"I'm going to go," said Ryna. Said to be more familiar with the woods than anyone else, “Oren knows me, he'll deal with a woman by herself.”Kain hesitated. He did not want to put anybody in harm'
Chapter 7 :THE VALLEY
Kain and the others walked north the next two days.While Kain had the Basic Stealth skill to watch the tree line, it was the Basic Leadership that kept him acutely aware of his people and their struggles. Every time they stumbled, he slowed to let them rest.A scant twenty people comprised his following, some of whom suffered wounds from the battle while others, like the blacksmith, were simply villagers. There were three children among the survivors, which made Kain all the more determined to keep them alive. They all had their purpose, even if it wasn’t as fighters.Kain halted on the second night as the land dipped into a valley ringed by hills on either side. A thin, winding stream snaked along the valley floor and a relatively flat stretch of earth allowed enough space for Kain to pitch tents.“This will suffice,” Kain saidRyna’s brow was furrowed as she scanned the landscape. “It’s good that it’s defensible, but it hardly has walls.”“We will make it a wall,” Kain said.“We do
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