Bellicuse

An obscure amount of time blurred as Swain slumbered. Occasionally, he would be awakened by cries of pain, or soldiers calling for a nurse. Sometimes, he would be jolted awake by a sudden boom thundering through the halls. 

Other times, he would be coaxed awake by a dazzling radiance in the middle of the night that overshadowed the sconces hanging from the central columns. A refreshing earthy scent similar to that of dirt on a rainy day would waft over as one soldier after another's moans of desperation were quelled throughout the night. It was such a pleasant scent that he would quickly fall back into a deep sleep.

*****

"Sir Swain." A bold and deep voice with a tinge of disdain called to him from the side of the cot. 

Opening his eyes, he noticed a blonde-haired, well-groomed, well-dressed man over six feet in height whose gut was bulging out the bottom of his shirt. From this angle, Swain unfortunately caught a more pronounced view of the many odd shapes and curves the man cared so little to hide. The man had to be of decent wealth or status to afford such a… Luxurious lifestyle.

"I see you are awake. The Bellicuse is convening. Your presence is required tonight to pursue the ongoing agenda." The man spoke bluntly, hostility bleeding from every word.

"Sorry… The Bellicuse?" Swain felt apprehensive. He didn't know who this man was, but he'd clearly done something to earn his ire. 

"... The Staff Assembly." He paused, eyeing Swain for a reaction, "The Castellan council of defense."

Swain felt it necessary to reply as the man's annoyance continued to mount. All he could muster was a hesitant, "... Ah!" before falling quiet again.

The silence was deafening. Extreme discomfort flushed through his body as the quiet continued with seemingly no end. They both knew he was feigning understanding from his forced utterance.

Finally, as he almost couldn't take it anymore, the Nobleman scoffed before turning around. As he began walking away, he left one last remark, "Just be there."

Once he was far enough away, Swain could hear him muttering under his breath, "He's certainly lost his damn mind."

'Who was that…?' He felt deeply frustrated at his current situation. Swain's current station was already coming back to bite him and he'd still had many unanswered questions. 

He was curious about magic. He was curious about how long he'd been asleep. He was curious about who he should know, what he was expected to do, how he should do it, and even how to fight if it came to it. 

If, and when, the enemy breaks through the fortifications, they wouldn't trouble themselves with discerning him from any of the other people here as a "Person from another world". From the description Simon gave him, they would likely kill him along with the rest of the people here without a second thought.

The bottom line is that he was wholly unprepared for the situation he faced and, before he knew it, the world began turning as though it were leaving him behind.

Thinking this, Swain eased into an upright posture. He clearly healed much more rapidly over the time he'd stayed in this room as his body no longer erupted into mind-shattering cramps. He simply felt a soreness that burned like acid throughout his body. 

He was now well enough, however, to slowly meander his way through the various obstacles in the room before reaching his destination.

Lightly pushing the double door, it opened into a wide courtyard. After adapting to the sudden niping cold, he saw several pine trees scattered about as birds and squirrels could be seen rummaging from branch to branch. The morning sun shone through the countless pine-needles as their checkered shadows danced gleefully on the ground beneath.

In stark contrast however, there were several boulders flung about throughout the courtyard, some bloodied with an arm or two plastered upon them like a bug splattered across a car window. A tree near the walls was bent at a right angle, having snapped halfway, seemingly to make way for the giant stone.

Upon closer inspection, the boulder's original trajectory was aimed directly at where he predicted his room to be. Had the tree not been there, one of three boulders would have likely claimed his life. Perhaps that was the reason the trees were supplanted here in the first place. 

He breathed a sigh of relief, promising to thank the architect of this durable and miraculous fort… Or "Hold" as they say.

As he scanned the courtyard, his eyes settled upon the 'C' shaped wall. The ongoing siege had apparently reached a resting point, as men could be seen moving about in an orderly fashion. By his estimate, there were over two-hundred and fifty men, each carrying out one task or another.

Some men were gathering mortar, carrying it to the top of the wall with two clay-pots on shoulder-poles filled to the brim.

Others created what seemed to be an assembly line as they stood three steps apart leading to the top of the wall, passing stone by stone up the way.

Some people could be seen cutting apart the tree he was just inspecting before carrying straight logs and makeshift planks to the gate, further bracing and reinforcing it.

He even saw a number of men beneath a canopy. They were working like a well-cogged machine as they cooked a large cauldron worth of watery soup.

As his lower back started feeling sore, he scanned his surroundings for a place to rest. As he looked behind him, he finally beheld his new home.

It was a large single story keep. From this angle, he didn't know how far back it went. However, if it was as long as it was wide, the construct itself would be over eight-thousand square feet, composed almost entirely of stone bricks and mortar. Auxiliary additions like windows and doors were fashioned with easily replaceable wooden counterparts.

Protruding about three feet from the base of the keep's exterior wall was a wooden extension that ran around the entire building accenting the robust and practical nature of the building itself. Stone was difficult to replace, but wood was not. Should a boulder roll into the keep, the wood may likely act as a buffer. But for now, all Swain saw was a seat.

"Ah, there's as good a spot as any." He lowered himself as gently as his body would allow before fully collapsing on the "Bench" and continuing to observe the ongoings inside the hold. 

On the other side of the wall ahead of him would be the enemy encampment, and past the keep behind him would be the way into the kingdom.

After gaining an understanding of his orientation, he noticed a lengthy wooden building with a thatched roof that ran along the entire right side of the wall. There was one door that came out just by the gate as well as a few doors leading inwards along the face of the building that were positioned towards the interior of the hold.

He was wondering what this building was when an authoritative shout woke him from his thoughts.

"Shift change! Shift change! Shift change!" The man who wore a blue sash with yellow trim continued to shout ceremoniously.

With this, nearly every man ceased his every duty and went over to the cooking station to enjoy a meal.

Several other soldiers that were wearing plain blue sashes carried what looked like cowbells as they made their way into the building he'd been inspecting earlier.

After a few moments, several muffled repetitive dings could be heard.

"Shift change! Shift Change! Shift Change!"

'Ah, so that's the barracks.' Swain watched thoughtfully.