Dravincia

by Blake Severson

  “I think that will work out best for us. I don’t want the bandits circling to another entrance or spreading out too far along the wall. With the gatehouse open, I know those idiots will probably try and charge their way through it. I plan on having Samson in the doorway to show them the folly of their ways. I am hoping we can get a couple of archers to volunteer and pick off anyone who tries to jump the wall while we hold the gate.” Arthur told him.

  “That sounds like a good plan. I have had two people already offer their skills. James said he had a bit of skill with the bow, and Zeke offered to help as well. I am assuming the bowyer knows how to use a bow since he offered.” Daniel told him.

  “Good, grab the two spare bows we have from work orders and get them to those two along with a couple of bundles of iron arrows for each. I’m going to ask if we have anyone else to volunteer to take up the armor and a blade. I don’t want them fighting at the wall, but I do want them guarding the inn, and I want people taking shelter here in case anyone sneaks past us and tries to cause trouble.”

  “I’ll go get the bows and arrows, you find the people,” Daniel said as he raced toward the back.

  Arthur turned to face the crowd and climbed up on top of a chair to get a little height.

  “Everyone, please be calm for a moment and hear me out!” He called over the crowd.

  Everyone slowly stopped their frantic talking and looked to him.

  “I understand everyone’s worries. The people I warned you about have shown up much quicker than we initially expected, but do not be worried I have faith that the group of people I have been fighting with can hold them off. Two of your villagers, Woodsman James and Bowyer Zeke, have volunteered to take up a bow in defense of the village, and I cannot thank them enough.

  My group plans on holding the gatehouse closest to their approach, and I will rely on those two to keep the walls clear if anyone tries to climb over them. That being said, I would like to find two volunteers who would be willing to don armor and stand guard at the inn to protect the villagers that shelter here. I would also like for people to gather their families and get them to the inn.”

  Arthur looked around expectantly. There was a palpable silence that stretched on before a gruff voice in the back said called out, “I’ll stand guard.” Arthur swung his view to the man in question, but he wasn’t someone that Arthur recognized. He was a burly man with dark black hair. His eyes were dark as well, but he looked like he was built to fight.

  “What is your name, good man? I don’t believe I have seen you around before.” Arthur asked.

  “I am Toren, Lord Mayor. I don’t have many skills, so you haven’t seen me doing work orders. I would like to take this chance to make myself useful, though.” Toren said.

  “Well, come over here with us, and as soon as we are finished here, we will get you geared up,” Arthur told him. “Anyone else?”

  This time a younger man came forward and called out to him. “I will, Lord Mayor!” He said with a fire in his eyes. The young man couldn’t have been much over 16, but Arthur knew that in a medieval society such as this, the young man was more than welcome to fight. He wasn’t overly comfortable with it, but, in all honesty, they were just guards. He didn’t expect them to fight.

  “What is your name, brave young lad?” Arthur called to him.

  “My name is Noah.”

  “Well, Noah, come to us so we can get you ready. Everyone else, gather together, and take shelter. We will be getting our armor and weapons ready and heading out to stop this force.”

  The people wore nervous looks still, but they weren’t in quite as much of a panic as before. Some wandered their way into the inn and found a seat while others dashed back out to their homes. He assumed they were gathering the family to return. Arthur and Daniel found Rowan, and they walked out to the cart loaded with weapons. Zeke came up to him as they were grabbing the gear and handed him a bundle. It was the arrows he asked him to make last night with the new arrowheads he had made attached to them. Arthur clapped the man on the shoulder.

  “Fantastic work Zeke and not a moment too soon. These will be useful.”

  Zeke just nodded in approval. Arthur gave the man a dozen of them and told him to make the shots count. He turned and gave a score to James as well, who had made his way over to the group.

  “James, these are special arrows. Use them for the leaders or if someone is in trouble and needs help quick, otherwise just use your normal arrows.” Arthur told him.

  “Understood Arthur.” He said.

  “Good Man.”

  Arthur took the rest of the arrows and handed them to Vana. She got a devilish gleam in her eyes as she read the description.

  “These will do perfectly.” She said to him with a grin.

  “Well, I know you will be able to put them to good use. When we wrap this up, I’ll try some more designs I think you might like.” He told her, matching her smile.

  “I look forward to it.”

  They got Toren and Noah geared up in the iron armor they had and gave each of them a standard iron sword with an iron dagger to put on their waist. Arthur hoped they wouldn’t need them, but he wasn’t going to leave them unprepared.

  Vana and Allendria had gathered around him, so he thought it was time to present them with their armor. He handed out a set of the leather armor he had made and enchanted to each of them. They each looked on their armor with appreciation.

  “Thank you, Arthur. Feels a little better having some protection.” Vana told him.

  Allendria walked up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, as well.” She told him in a husky voice.

  They all ran into the inn and set about getting their armor on. Once Arthur, Allendria, and Vana made their way back out of the inn, he spotted Samson, James, and Zeke and gathered them all together.

  “I appreciate your help,” Arthur said as he looked to Zeke and James.

  We are going to proceed to the gatehouse that covers the road they are traveling. Once we arrive, I want Zeke and James to keep a little bit of distance. I want you to be close enough to cover the wall with your bows but enough of a range to escape if needed. Try and stay the max distance you are accurate at. Your main job is to shoot anyone who tries to climb it. Vana will assist when she can.”

  “Samson, I need you to be my gate door. Use that armor well and sit in the doorway to block them as much as possible. I will be covering your back and helping fill gaps as needed. Allendria, You are the support for everyone. Take shots when you can and disable enemies. If anyone gets through us or over the walls, they are yours. Any questions?” No one said anything. Arthur wanted to take Rowan with him, but he couldn’t afford to lose the man and his skill. He would be better keeping their two volunteers calm guarding the inn.

  They took off at a brisk walk toward the wall. The group didn’t want to run and tire themselves out for no reason, and they still had a little bit of time anyway. They reached the wall and got to their positions. Arthur decided to burn some raw mana and created a small hump in front of the gatehouse entrance and a slight dip right behind it. It wasn’t overly noticeable, but it was going to trip some of them up. It would also give Samson a spot to hold them a little easier. While they were getting set there was a surprise prompt that popped up. Arthur noticed that everyone had the same surprised look at it.

  Defend Alem’s Crossing

  Requirements: Level 12

  Rewards: 25000 experience, 7500 skill experience to allocate as you choose, unknown rewards also possible.

  Description: The village is under attack. Rally your friends and defend the village. Go forth protectors of righteousness and end the threat.

  Do you accept this quest? Y/N

  They all quickly accepted yes with excitement. The group spotted the bandits as they finally came within view. The bandits stopped, and it was apparent they couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were seeing. The stone wall had thrown them for a loop.

  There was so
me barely audible yelling for a couple of minutes, and then they moved forward. When they were within a hundred yards of the gatehouse, Arthur called to them.

  “Stop where you are by the authority of the Mayor of Alem’s Crossing!” He yelled at the group.

  They came to a quick halt and started looking around. Arthur could tell they were muttering between themselves about what they had heard, but they were too far away to hear anything. One man started to make his way forward. He was quickly followed by two others, trailing slightly behind him. It didn’t take long for Arthur to realize the man coming toward them was the leader of the group they confronted. Arthur never did catch the man’s name. The two directly behind him were Xavier and Alex. Alex was still missing his right hand from where Arthur had removed it with his sword. They made their way toward Arthur and Samson at the gatehouse and stopped when they were thirty-five yards away.

  “What the hell do you think you are doing, and where did this wall come from.” The leader said with a sneer.

  “I am here telling your rabble to leave my city. You have no formal reason to be here and look like a group of bandits. This wall is none of your concern. If you come to this city with hostility, you will be forcefully removed.” Arthur told him in a grim tone.

  “Oh, it’s your city now?”

  “As a matter of fact, it is. I am the mayor of this city and, as such, have the authority to tell you to fuck off.” He told the man.

  The man chuckled to himself. “You sure do have some balls. I guess I should be polite and introduce myself since I never did the last time we met. I am Lazaru, leader of this band of merry men.” He said as he gestured at the group.

  “I don’t foresee us having any problem getting past your handful of defenders with what we brought, and when I do, we will burn this city to the ground. I look forward to killing all the residents as a reminder to those who decide to stand against us. Naturally, we will take our time with the women first, but in the end, all will be shown the same fate.” He said with an evil grin.

  Arthur’s rage was starting to build at the callous attitude this man had for people. “You are welcome to try, but I can promise you that you will not leave the fight alive this time, no matter how many worthless thugs you have brought.”

  “Well, you were certainly interesting for the little bit of time I knew you.” Lazaru turned and looked at the people with him. He made a waving gesture with his hand, and the group rushed for the gate. He stayed behind with his two companions as the rest of the group rushed them.

  Most of the group looked to be wearing barely serviceable clothes and were holding either crappy looking clubs or somewhat rusty daggers. None of them were wearing quality weapons of any kind. They ran at them at full speed with murder in their eyes, and Arthur took a few steps behind Samson. He had a feeling this was going to be a fierce clash. He pulled his sword and dagger up to the ready and waited for the crash. Samson stood resolute with his right leg braced backward slightly while bracing his shield with his left shoulder and holding his sword down by his side. The man was braced to accept the charge.

  The enemy covered the distance quickly, but it wasn’t long before Arthur saw an arrow zip past him at incredible speed and slam into one of the charging enemy’s throat. He grabbed his neck, dropped their weapon, and collapsed as the man sputtered on blood. The rest of the group kept running, and a couple of them even ran directly over their fallen comrade. Before the group made it to Samson, another shot had sped through and taken one in the chest. Vana was sure making good use of every chance she got.

  The group made it to Samson, and the loud crash that followed made Arthur visibly cringe. The guy who was in the lead had tried to swing his weapon, but the sheer speed at which they ran caused the rest of the group to push him right into Samson’s shield, and it crushed him on the spot. He fell in a heap of broken bones. The rest around him had quickly slowed and were trying to get in swinging blows. A few of the idiots managed to hit their allies. It was apparent they didn’t have a lot of training and were not used to fighting in a bottleneck like this. There were around thirty of the raiders who had assaulted the place, and most had stalled in their charge. Luckily none of them seemed to be smart enough to use a bow, so it was all poorly trained melee fighters.

  The raiders had spread out slightly as they waited at the bottleneck. They couldn’t get more than three people in the gap at a time, or they wouldn’t have room to properly swing. The rest looked on in eager anticipation. Samson was making spectacular use of his sword and shield as he would bash one to stun it and use that chance to swipe at another. After the initial clash, Arthur stepped up beside him and started fighting one of them on his side.

  The man hadn’t been paying attention and was swinging an overhand blow at Samson when Arthur stepped in under the man’s arm and buried his dagger into the man’s chest. Arthur quickly stepped back, even with Samson, to keep either of them from being attacked from the side. Seeing the man go down, shifted some of the attention to him, and he had two people clamoring to hit him with their daggers. Arthur wasn’t overly skilled in melee combat, but was using their swings against them and parrying their swings toward their nearest allies hoping to make them hurt one another. On one of the swings, he was able to get a firm push on the redirect and caused the man to stumble into the other fighter facing him and stab him in the leg. During the second man’s shock, Arthur took advantage of the opportunity and lunged forward to impale the man on his sword. He pulled out the sword and spun to slash the other man in his neck. Both fell to the ground, unmoving and bleeding profusely.

  You have dealt 140 damage to Bandit (1)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).

  You have dealt 160 damage to Bandit (2)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).

  You have dealt 140 damage to Bandit (3)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).

  Arthur didn’t even have a chance to catch his breath before two more people took their place. One of them swung at him, and he blocked it with his sword. The other person facing him swung toward his head with manic glee on his face. Before Arthur had a chance to react, an arrow went right through the man’s eye, and he collapsed to the ground twitching. Arthur used that moment to drive his dagger into the ribs of the man he had blocked. He stumbled backward and fell into the crowd behind him.

  You have dealt 140 damage to Bandit (4)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).

  “Arthur, we have trouble!” Allendria yelled.

  “What is it?” He yelled back.

  “Too many bandits have gotten over the wall. They are making their way toward your back.” She told him.

  “On your back Samson.” He called to his friend. He spun around and put his back to Samson. Arthur worked to hold off the people that were trying to swarm them from the rear. Some of the others who had made it over were trying to rush their ranged defenders as well.

  Arthur held his ground to protect Samson’s back as the man dealt with the people still trying to push in the gate. He was taking wild swings and bashes with his shield trying to plug the entire gap, and he moved side to side. He wasn’t doing a lot of permanent damage, but he was doing an excellent job of stalling them.

  Three people rushed Arthur together and started swinging. Arthur was able to push one blade out of the way with his dagger and block another blow with his sword, but the third hit made it through. He was able to deflect it slightly with a bracer, and the blade caught him in the side. If not for his armor, it would have done tremendous damage, but he had slowed it enough for it not to be terrible.

  Bandit (7)(Level 12) has dealt 60 HP damage to you with Rusty Iron Dagger.

  The Bandit who had hit him was struck from behind with fire and stumbled forward. Arthur took that chance to put a dagger in his hea
rt.

  You have dealt 220 damage to Bandit (7)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Heart Strike).

  Bandit (7)(Level 12) has Died.

  Congratulations, you have learned Light Armor for a 100 experience bonus.

  Congratulations, you have progressed to Level 4 in Small Blades. Your attack speed has increased by 8%. Think you could have used a larger blade.

  Arthur’s attack had left him open, and the Bandit on his side was able to score a slash to his thigh.

  Bandit (7)(Level 12) has dealt 40 HP damage to you with Rusty Iron Dagger.

  Arthur leaped backward to get himself some space. He couldn’t go too far back, or he’d run into Samson. His eyes fixed on both of the enemies in front of him. He took a quick look and saw some of the club-wielding bandits rushing Zeke and James. Vana was running and shooting her bow at the same time, trying to keep the distance. She was trying to assist the other two, but she couldn’t with the people she had that were pursuing her.

  Allendria was standing to the side dodging attacks and sending in occasional sprays of fire at people to get them to back up. He saw her score a hit and burn through one of the bandits assaulting her with her concentrated flame, but she still had two others on her. He couldn’t see the number of people behind him that Samson was squaring off with, but based on what he was hearing, there were probably at least eight of them on the other side of the iron wall now known as Samson.

  The situation was looking grim, and he didn’t know what they could do. He had lost a little less than half his health already, and they still had a large number of people to fight off. He took a glance around at the villagers and his friends with a sigh of despair as he turned his attention back to the two he was facing off against.