Jade woke up screaming.
The dream was still vivid, the raider's face as his spear went through the man's throat, the wet gurgling sound, blood spraying hot across his hands, except in the dream it kept happening over and over and the raider's face kept changing
Sometimes it was the raider.
Sometimes it was his real dad.
Sometimes it was his own face.
"Easy, easy," Numerius's voice cut through the panic, hands on his shoulders, "you're awake, it's over"
Jade's breath came in ragged gasps, his heart hammering, he looked around and saw the courtyard lit by early morning light, mercenaries moving around camp, everything normal
Not normal, nothing would ever be normal again.
"Nightmare?" Numerius asked, though his own face looked haggard, dark circles under his eyes
"Yeah"
"Same," Numerius said quietly, "been getting them every time I close my eyes"
Around them the others were waking up, Yuzon looked like he hadn't slept at all, just staring at nothing, Mataranas was sitting with his back against the wall breathing slowly like he was trying to calm himself down
Nathaniel on his stretcher nearby had clearly been awake for a while, his eyes red-rimmed.
None of them had slept well.
The sun was rising on the first full day after the siege ended and they were all dealing with what they'd done, what they'd seen, what they'd become.
Jade sat with his back against the keep's outer wall trying to steady his breathing, a mercenary came by with food distribution and handed him a bowl of stew
He ate mechanically, his body demanding fuel even if his mind was somewhere else, replaying the siege over and over
This was his third help, he kept eating because his body kept asking for more and he wasn't going to argue with it
Around him other survivors were spread out in the courtyard, most still looked like death warmed over, pale and shaking and barely able to keep food down
Willem from another village was still on a stretcher unable to stand, looked like he might not make it despite the siege being over.
But Jade felt different physically at least.
Still exhausted, still haunted, but not the bone-deep wrongness he'd felt yesterday, more like how he felt after those brutal morning training sessions with Torvald before everything went to hell
Tired but functional.
He looked over at his friends scattered nearby, Numerius was on his fourth bowl of stew despite looking like he wanted to throw up, Yuzon was eating dried meat mechanically while staring at nothing, Mataranas had his arm in a proper splint and was flexing his fingers testing the range of motion with a vacant expression
They all looked better physically than they should after three days of siege.
Not mentally, probably never would be mentally, but their bodies were recovering faster than made sense.
One of the militia members, the one who couldn't stand, had fought just as hard as them but looked like he was dying anyway from exhaustion and dehydration
Another survivor was vomiting up the food he'd tried to eat, his body rejecting it.
But Jade and his crew were eating fine, drinking water, even moving around despite the nightmares and the thousand-yard stares.
"Anyone else notice we're doing better than everyone else?" Yuzon said quietly, "physically I mean"
"Yeah," Jade said, had been thinking about it between the flashbacks, "we should be half-dead like them"
"Maybe it's because we're younger," Numerius suggested without conviction
"Willem's our age," Yuzon pointed out, "he can't even sit up"
Nathaniel was on a stretcher nearby, his face still a disaster of bruises and his broken nose wrapped, but even he was eating solid food when by all rights he should be unconscious
A healer had commented on it earlier, surprised he was even awake after the beating he'd taken.
Jade pulled up his UI, something he'd been avoiding looking at
Health: 68/110
That was up from 39% yesterday, almost a full day's recovery in the span of hours
He watched the number as he ate more stew, could swear it ticked up slightly
Was this a player thing? Did they recover faster because they had game mechanics running in their bodies?
"Check your health," Jade said to the others
They all went quiet for a moment, clearly looking at their UIs
"Mine's at 72%," Numerius said, "was at 51% this morning"
"65%," Yuzon added, "up from 48%"
"We shouldn't be recovering this fast," yuzon said, "not naturally"
Movement caught Jade's eye, Torvald was being helped across the courtyard by one of the healers, his arm still in a sling and bandages wrapped around his head
The old trainer's eyes swept over their group and something in his expression shifted, not suspicious exactly but definitely noticing something
He changed direction and limped over to where they were sitting.
"You lot look better," Torvald said, lowering himself to the ground with a grunt, "too much better physically for people who went three days without water, though you all look like you've seen ghosts"
"We have," Numerius muttered
Torvald's expression softened slightly, "nightmares?"
They nodded.
"Normal," Torvald said, "had them myself after my first real battle, they fade eventually, or you learn to live with them, either way you keep moving"
Not exactly comforting but honest.
"Still," Torvald continued, his eyes sharp despite his injuries, "I've been training militia for twenty years, seen men after sieges and long campaigns, your bodies don't bounce back this fast from what you went through, minds take longer but physical recovery, you're healing wrong"
Silence.
What could they say?
"We got lucky," Jade said finally, "maybe the youth thing helps"
"Maybe," Torvald said, but his eyes lingered on each of them with that look, "or maybe you're just built different, either way don't waste it, we're moving out tomorrow"
"Moving out where?" Yuzon asked
"Back to Pravend," Torvald said, "Captain Rodrik's contract was to relieve the siege and secure the castle, he's done that, Lord Eristan's sending a proper garrison to hold it, we go back with the Golden Boar for protection on the road"
"What about payment?" Jade asked, the practical part of his brain finally engaging, "we held the castle, that's got to be worth something"
"Captain Aldric's handling that with Lord Eristan's steward," Torvald said, "militia gets paid for service, wounded get extra, and there's supposed to be a bonus for holding against impossible odds, should be sorted by tomorrow before we leave"
Made sense, even in medieval warfare people expected to get paid.
Torvald stood with obvious effort and limped away, but Jade caught him glancing back once with that same thoughtful expression
"He knows something's off," Numerius said quietly
"He suspects," Jade corrected, "difference between suspecting and knowing"
"What if he figures it out?"
"Figures what out?" Yuzon asked, his voice still flat, "that we're from another world? That we have video game mechanics? He'd think we're insane"
Fair point.
The day passed slowly, mercenaries preparing to move out, survivors being tended to, Lord Eristan's officials showing up to survey the damage and start organizing repairs
Jade and his friends stayed mostly quiet, dealing with their own thoughts, every time Jade closed his eyes he saw the fighting, the blood, the faces of people who'd died
By evening Captain Aldric gathered the surviving militia, he looked rough but was standing on his own
"Lord Eristan's steward has authorized payment," Aldric said, his voice carrying across the small group, "standard militia pay is 5 denars per day, you all served three days, that's 15 denars base"
He paused, looking at them with something like respect.
"But you didn't just serve, you held a strategic castle against overwhelming odds for three days with minimal support, Lord Eristan is paying a bonus of 35 denars to each survivor"
Murmurs of surprise from the militia.
"That's 50 denars total," Aldric continued, "plus an additional 10 denars for anyone wounded requiring medical treatment, which is all of you"
60 denars, Jade's UI confirmed the payment with a notification
Payment Received: 60 Denars
Current Funds: 60 Denars
In the game that was decent money for early level, enough to buy better equipment or fund a small warband for a week.
Here it was three months wages for a peasant farmer.
"Payment will be distributed tomorrow morning before we march," Aldric said, "Lord Eristan's steward will also be writing letters of commendation for each of you, might help if you're looking for better work or want to join a proper military unit"
The militia dispersed quietly, just exhausted people trying to process that they'd survived and would get paid for it.
That night was worse than the first, Jade woke up three times from nightmares, each time taking longer to convince himself he was awake and safe
Around him the others were having similar problems, Numerius gave up on sleep entirely around midnight and just sat staring at the stars
Morning came eventually and with it more food, Jade checked his health again
Health: 89/110
Almost full in less than two days, his body was healing at an accelerated rate while his mind struggled to catch up.
The others looked similar, physically improving rapidly, mentally still processing.
They found a quiet spot away from the main camp to talk about their stats
His stats were displayed:
Jade - Level 4 Peasant
Vigor: 3
Control: 2
Endurance: 2
Cunning: 2
Social: 3
Intelligence: 5
Available Attribute Points: 1
Available Focus Points: 1
One level up meant one point to distribute, he'd been ignoring it during the chaos.
But there was more, a notification blinking in the corner of his UI
New Perks Available - Polearm Skill Tree
He selected it and a tree opened up, three rows with two options each row
The first row showed:
[Cavalry] - +10% damage with polearms while mounted | Your cavalry deals +5% damage with all weapons
[Pikeman] - +10% damage with polearms on foot | Your infantry deals +5% damage with all weapons
Both were unlocked and available, he could only pick one
The second row was also available:
[Braced] - Increased chance to dismount cavalry | Your infantry deals +10% damage against cavalry
[Keep at Bay] - Knock back enemies with polearms on foot | Non-mounted troops in your formation get +1 to polearm skill
The third row:
[Swift Swing] - +15% speed with swing polearms | Your infantry and cavalry get +2 to polearm skill
[Clean Thrust] - +10% damage with thrust polearms | Your infantry gets +5 to polearm skill
"This is exactly like the game," Jade said, "three rows, two options each, look at the secondary effects"
"What about them?" Numerius asked
"They all buff troops, not just me," Jade pointed at the descriptions, "Cavalry gives my future cavalry +5% damage, Pikeman gives infantry +5%, these aren't just personal power boosts"
"Same with mine," Numerius said, looking at his own tree, "my Two-Handed perks have secondary effects that buff my troops too"
Yuzon was frowning at his Bow tree, "so we have to choose between personal power and buffing soldiers we don't even have yet?"
"We might have them eventually," Jade said, thinking it through, "if we're stuck here long term, if we end up leading warbands or joining armies"
"That's a big if," Nathaniel croaked from his stretcher
"Everything here is a big if," Jade said
He looked back at his choices, trying to think practically
First row, [Cavalry] versus [Pikeman]
He'd been fighting on foot during the siege but in Calradia cavalry was dominant in field battles, mounted combat was king and if he ever got a horse the mounted damage boost would be huge
Plus the secondary effect buffing cavalry troops was more impactful than buffing infantry in most situations.
But was he being selfish? Pikeman would give him more power right now since he was fighting on foot, and if he did end up commanding troops, infantry were cheaper and easier to get than good cavalry.
"What are you thinking?" Mataranas asked, watching him
"Trying to decide if I should pick what helps me now or what might help later," Jade said, "Cavalry is better long-term but Pikeman is more practical right now"
"Go long-term," Yuzon said, "we already survived the worst, if you're planning your build you should plan for when you actually have troops to command"
Made sense.
Jade selected [Cavalry]
Second row, [Braced] versus [Keep at Bay]
[Braced] gave him a better chance to dismount enemy cavalry and buffed his infantry against mounted units, [Keep at Bay] gave him knockback and increased his formation's polearm skill
[Braced] seemed more universally useful, anti-cavalry was valuable and the infantry buff was solid.
He selected [Braced]
Third row, [Swift Swing] versus [Clean Thrust]
His current spear was a thrust weapon but the swing polearms in Bannerlord were devastating, long glaives and bills that could cleave through armor
[Swift Swing] would make those faster and give his troops +2 polearm skill across the board, [Clean Thrust] would boost his current weapon's damage and give infantry +5 skill
The troop buffs were different, +2 to everyone versus +5 to just infantry
He thought about it, thrust polearms were more common and his current fighting style relied on them, the +10% damage would help immediately and the +5 infantry skill was a bigger boost than +2 to everyone.
He selected [Clean Thrust]
The moment he confirmed the choices he felt the changes, not physical but mental, muscle memory shifting, instincts adjusting to account for new capabilities
Knowledge of how to fight from horseback with a lance, how to brace against charging cavalry, where to thrust for maximum damage
It was surreal.
"What'd you pick?" Numerius asked
"Cavalry, Braced, and Clean Thrust," Jade said, "went for versatility and troop buffs"
"I went full damage," Numerius said, "Heavy Hitter, Confident Fighter, and Fluid Swings, figured if I'm gonna swing a club I want it to hurt"
"Accuracy and power for bows," Yuzon added, "took Archer, Dead Eye, and Mounted Shooter"
"Shield bash and defensive stuff," Mataranas said
They spent a few more minutes discussing their choices, comparing builds like they used to when planning campaigns in the actual game
Except now the builds mattered for survival.
"Attribute point," Yuzon reminded them
Jade looked at his available point, he'd been stacking Intelligence for faster skill gains but after nearly dying multiple times maybe survivability was more important.
He put the point into Vigor, his health maximum jumped from 110 to 120.
Better to stay alive and learn slower than die as a glass cannon.
Around them the Company of the Golden Boar was breaking camp, mercenaries loading wagons and checking equipment, preparing to march.
Time to go home.
If Pravend could still be called home after everything that had changed.