2026-10-09 17:44:02Kain 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 like night shadows.
The scouts were talking jocularly around something. One of these was drinking from a wineskin. They couldn't see the two figures walking behind their horses.
Kain was the first to get to the horses. He loosened the tethers by cutting them with his knife. He then hit the nearest horse on the flank.
The horse bolted. The others followed, galloping into the darkness.
The scouts jumped to their feet.
"What the... "
"The horses! They're gone!"
"Find them! Now!"
The four men scrambled and grabbed their weapons and ran into the trees. They were unable to see Kain and Ryna sneak into their camp.
Kain went to the fire and looked at it. He waited.
The scouts took 10 minutes to realize that their horses were gone for good. Back to camp they came, rage and confusion in their hearts.
When they saw Kain they stopped.
He sat with his knife in his hand, his face placid, by a log by the fire.
"Looking for something?" Kain asked.
The scouts pulled their swords out. One of them appeared, a tall man with a scar on his cheek.
The scout replied, "You're him. "Kain. The traitor."
Kain replied that he wasn't the traitor. Veyr is. But that's not why I'm here.
"Then why?"
Kain slowly rose to his feet. He was 4-1 underdogs. But he was not afraid,
I'm here to tell you a message," said Kain. So return to Veyr and say to him, "I'm still alive, I'm making something and this is it.
Kain came close to the man with the scarred face. Their eyes met.
Say to him, "I am coming for him.
The scout's sword shook in his hand. He wanted to strike out. Kain could see it in his eyes. There was something that was holding him back. Perhaps the silence in Kain's tone was his answer. Perhaps it was the knife in his hand. Perhaps it was the fact that they knew if Kain wanted them dead they would already be dead.
"Go," Kain said. "Now."
The scouts looked at each other. Then they all began to turn around and run, one at a time.
Kain watched as they ran away into the woods. Ryna came out of the shadows, with her bow clutched in her hand.
She was right this was a very risky choice.
"When it was necessary, Kain said.
"Why let them live? They will say to Veyr, "Here we are.
No, they don't know where we are, they just know we are out here. And Veyr knows that I'm not hiding, I'm hunting.
Ryna stared at him. “You're playing a risky game.”
Kain looked at the fire. Play? I'm fighting!
In his sight, the blue panel would flicker.
[QUEST COMPLETE: SURVIVE THE FIRST WAVE.]
REWARD CLAIMED: 150 Gold, Skill Unlock — Basic Tactics.
Kain felt the warmness trickle through his chest. The new skill was knowledge of warfare that filled his mind. Features of the terrain, formations, supply routes. The battlefield came to him in his mind. He could see how to win.
However, before he could get to celebrate, the panel shifted.
[WARNING – ENEMY ARMY SPOTTED. DISTANCE: 3 DAYS.]
New quest: DEFEND THE VALLEY.
[REWARD: Unknown.]
Kain looked at the words. Three days. The army was nearer than he could have imagined.
He looked at Ryna.
“Let's get back. Let's go back now.”
They trod through the woods, even more quickly than before. The hunters went with them up to the ridge, and they ran down to the valley.
At dawn, they arrived at camp.
Kain gathered everyone. All the faces looked up at him tired and afraid.
More than three days away, Kain said, "the army is" “Perhaps less we do not have a lot of time.”
"What do we do?" Gareth asked.
Kain checked the System panel. Then he gazed his people.
“Let's take the fight to them,” he replied. "And we win."
Those who survived were looking at him. Some looked hopeful. Some looked terrified.
Kain didn't know if he believed his own words.
However, he was aware that there was nothing else for it.
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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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