Between what Jon shared in the Cleric Fortress and what he experienced through the march to the second defensive line, Dreu got a better idea of Xante’s general layout. The capital consisted of five walls, four main districts and the castle. The royal family stayed in the castle which had an additional wall protecting it. He suspected that Duchess Avilina, with her influence, was also residing in the safety of the castle. Neither the Duchess nor the castle was of any concern for Dreu. He had to focus on surviving the war somehow.
Before leaving the adventure inn, Dreu took the time to ask the receptionist for any information on the war. According to the woman, the demons, for the time being, had yet to break through the outermost walls. The two sides had suffered horrendous casualties, though the exact losses for the humans were kept a secret by the capital officials. The last of the reinforcements arrived from the Cleric Fortress of Ujun the day before so all the pieces available to the king were in the capital. The stage was set for the bloodiest battle between the humans and the demons.
The only fortunate circumstance Dreu could see was his assignment to the second wall. The outermost walls were protecting the Lower District, a district that was mostly home to the lower class. The Middle District was located behind the second wall and this district was the home to the numerous guilds and the middle class. It was becoming clear that, with their recent allocation of forces, the outer walls were to be abandoned in favor of the second wall due to how little the king and the officials cared about the lower class. As Dreu and the others marched through the Middle District, many laborers were busy packing items onto mule drawn carts.
“Hurry up!” shouted a foreman. “We have to deliver all this to the warehouses in the High District before the demons reach the second wall.”
“They better pay us quadruple for the deadline they set for us.”
“Be glad you aren’t sent to the outer walls to fight.”
“Quiet down, you two!” The foreman shouted. “If you don’t want to be left behind in the Middle District, put your back into it! I for one want to go to the High District before nighttime.”
The High District was located behind the third wall and housed the warehouses, armories and barracks. This district was the most well guarded in all of the four districts due to all the valuables it held. While going through the High District, Dreu caught sight of silver knights, holy knights and many other professional soldiers. The professional soldiers paid no heed to them as they were finishing their own preparations. If given a choice, he would rather be atop the third wall with the professionals.
As Dreu approached the second wall, he heard a shout from one of the nearby streets.
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“Stop that cart!”
Dreu turned to see where the shout came from. He then focused his attention on an incoming mule drawn cart. With the mule galloping straight at them, everyone jumped out of the way to avoid it. Dreu got out of the way and saw the mule tried turning to avoid all the humans in the streets. The cart kept going straight due to its momentum and it dragged the mule with it. The soldiers too slow to react were crushed by the cart. Following the crash, many jewelry and trinkets ended up scattered on the street.
“Oh no. Oh no! Oh no!!!”
A man ran to gather up all the jewelry and trinkets. Two soldiers approached the man. One of them grabbed the man by his arm.
“You just killed our friends! Yet, you seem to only care about your trinkets?”
The two soldiers drew their daggers when the commanding officer stepped in.
“What is happening?” He asked the soldiers. “Why do you have weapons drawn?”
“This man’s cart crushed our friends.” The soldiers pointed to the cart and the remains of their friends. “Yet, he only cared about his trinkets.”
The officer then turned to the man and demanded an answer from him.
“I’m just a merchant responsible for selling jewelry and trinkets. Everything on that cart is for the Elsto Noble Family. If they don’t get the shipment, they will have my head.”
At the mention of a noble family, Dreu recalled the Upper District which was home to the wealthiest and most powerful denizens of the kingdom. During times of war when people were dying in the fight against the demons, the nobles still worried about their riches and valuables. With the professional soldiers guarding the third wall, the Upper District was quite safe behind the fourth wall. The thought made Dreu tighten his fist.
“Ah!” screamed a soldier nearby.
Everyone turned to see a demon pulling its claw from a hole in a soldier’s chest. The shattering of a window nearby saw another demon leap into the streets. Everyone unsheathed their weapons as more and more demons swarmed into the streets from the nearby buildings. Further shouts and screams atop the walls indicated the garrison was busy fighting their own battles. Upon seeing a seemingly endless swarm of demons running toward them down the many streets, Dreu looked around and only the main street they traveled through earlier was still free of demons.
“Fall back!” Bayard shouted and pointed in the direction of the High District gatehouse.
The adventurers and the soldiers followed the footman as they headed to the safety of the third wall.
“Wait!” shouted the officer. “Don’t run like cowards and fight like-”
The officer stopped mid sentence but the young man didn’t stop to check why. Dreu, urged by the screams of the dying, followed Bayard towards the gatehouse of the third wall. He dared not look behind him but he could feel the ground shake from the demon’s numbers alone. The laborers, after seeing the commotion, joined the group. Once the gatehouse was in sight, Dreu could see activity atop the gate. To his horror, the gate was slowly closing. At the rate he was running, he had no chance of reaching the gate in time.
Damn you soldiers for abandoning us!