We didn’t have to walk far before we heard a man yelling out orders. I led the group over to him. He was a bald, skinny man with a worn look. He was wearing piecemeal armor, but it didn’t look nearly as nice as the dungeon gathered assortments I was used to wearing. I actually hadn’t found any particularly good armor lately, and various fights had destroyed several of my best pieces. The one thing role-playing games never taught me was how easy it was for armor to break down and be destroyed. Well, maybe part of that was my own personal life choices, but I didn’t want to get into that at the moment.

As we approached him, a sudden explosion nearby caused the earth to shake and the soldiers nearby to start moving with a bit of speed. The man who appeared to be in charge bellowed out some orders.

“Get some water on that!” He yelled. “Get some archers on the walls! Keep those magicians back!”

“This is less like a bandit attack and more like a siege.” Ruby muttered.

“You, are you soldiers sent by the Capital?” The man noticed our group approaching and immediately barked that question in our direction.

I tried to look confident, resting my hand on my sword. “I am Lord Deekson, I’ve come…”

“Whatever! Get to the wall! I don’t have enough men right now.” He eyed the women behind me and made a face. “I guess a bunch of slave women will have to do. I asked the city for reinforcements, and they sent me some haughty noble.”

The somber expression on my face slipped to a frown. As I went to say something, Ruby grabbed my arm and pulled me along. The man was already barking orders at other people, not paying us any mind. That was probably for the best, as Shao was giving him a dangerous look, and even Miki looked like she wanted to bite him.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“He’s a busy man. It’s best not to get into fights here. You may be a Lord in Chalm, but in Regency you’re just a C-class adventurer who took on a quest. Technically, you’re not even that, as I’m your mentor.” Ruby advised. “In short, follow after me. Although you are helping out Aberis, officially, you’re working under Adventurer Guild bylaws right now.”

I nodded, although the frown didn’t leave my face. I motioned for the other girls to join me, and we followed Ruby up to the wall. As I glanced out over the field, it was definitely an eerie sight. There wasn’t a row of people waiting outside, or a group of tents blocking our spot. In fact, there didn’t appear to be a single bandit in view. They were all hiding in the forest beyond. If I squinted hard, I could just make out movements hidden within the shadows.

What made the battlefield so frightening wasn’t the bandits waiting to flood into the city, but their absence. In their place was a massive field. Not a single body remained on it. They had either been picked up or reincarnated. Their old bodies turned to dust as their new bodies were assembled with Resurrection. Yet, it was still clearly a battlefield. It bore countless scars. There were arrows, abandoned equipment, carts, craters, and smoking holes.

The land was pockmarked from uncountable battles. There was another boom, but this one came from another wall. People ran to that wall to try to protect it, but it was clear that the bandit’s attacks could come from any side at any moment. They were just buying their time and slowly bringing the city to the breaking point. Without intervention, the city would fall to bandit hands in days, maybe weeks if they were lucky. Then, all of southwest Aberis would be lost, and even Chalm’s connection to the country would be severed.

This was more serious a problem than I had been led to believe. Thankfully, we were there.