Joshua discovered very soon that guard detail, especially for newer recruits, was not glamorous, prestigious, (except to a few,) or safe, although he had rather expected that last one, seeing as the whole reason he was a volunteer and actually got into the guard was that a wave of beasts had wiped out a substantial portion of the guard previously.

Despite this, he was learning, somewhat, how to fight, and survive, given a fortified position. Specifically this one. But the general principles should be the same for most forts, right?

He slept in the barracks with the other new recruits, and had a semi experienced sargeant to yell at them and keep them in order. (The old one had gotten eaten by a Dichot, a multi-headed canine of moderate size). He learned how to keep a basic kit, how to stab dummies with a spear, how to do a little sparring, ballistae supply, crossbow use, weapon upkeep, and most importantly, how to take and respond to orders: "YES SIR!" -and then figure out how exactly you were supposed to accomplish that if you didn't already know. The best way was to follow what the more experienced or knowledgeable guardsmen did.

His mana affinity saw some use, although not much more than the little odd tasks he had done before; Lighting torches, rooms, or lamps, with either of his affinities, for places that either could or could not have fire. Campfires were not done that often, as it was summer, and already plenty warm on the walls.

He had been there long enough, however, that he had fought some beasts from the walls, using both his spear and his crossbow. He had been there, or called there, for three different occasions when beasts attacked the walls. The third one, the whole town had gotten lucky, as they had just renewed their Fire repelling wards recently, and the majority of that group was flameborn, and mostly lower-class beasts, just fiery bulls and fireball sheep and goats, although there had been a couple of flame wolves as well. The wards made their strengths weak, though, and they were dispatched in the end.

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He was also on the walls near the southwestern gate when the youth showed up. When he first saw them, they appeared to be simply another traveller with a large load on their back. As they neared, however, he saw that the the traveller had a rather unusually shaped load, and that the traveller looked rather small for such a light load. Then they were at the gate, and everyone could see what amounted to a youth, hardly older than Joshua himself, with a rather basic pack... and an extremely large oblong package on the youth's back, longer than they were tall. Joshua's watch partner, a much more experienced guardsman, got rather quiet at this sight.

The unidentified youth paid the entry fee for those unknown, although there seemed to be an issue with change, and then entered quietly. Joshua's partner heaved a sigh of relief after a couple more minutes, and then turned to Joshua.

"Kid, if you see that youth around town, do NOT aggravate them, push them, or be rude to them at all. if you have to do anything, be polite, professional, and calm."

He seemed to be finished, but Joshua didn't see why, so he asked.

The veteran guardsman gave him a glare. "What? Did you not see what they were carrying?"

"Well, yeah, a couple of packs. The one was absolutely enormous, although it can't weigh that much, since they could carry it without too much trouble." Joshua shrugged. "Is he a merchant or a peddler?"

The older man grunted. "No, kid, they're a combat specialist." He indicated the direction the youth had gone. "That massive pack? It's not trade goods. It was their sword."