The walk back to the town – Carrick – was slow but satisfying. Naturally, I had my character sheet before me:

Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland

Fighter, Level 2 HP 16 AC 0

Str 7

Dex 4

Con 8

Int 16

Wis 16

Cha 4

Skills

Lunge 5

Parry 5

Wield Shortbow 3

Wield Rapier 5

You have 1 attribute point to assign.

You have 5 skill points to assign.

XP 110/200

I was heartened that the system awarded a new attribute point on levelling: one that further justified my decision to be a Fighter. The immediate question was not what attribute to increase but whether to spend it at all. If it proved relatively easy to get attributes to move up from very low scores, but very hard to say, train Strength from 17 to 18, then I should save all my level points until I’d achieved as much as I could from exercise.

Then there was the question of skill points. From the speed at which skills increased, I might have made a mistake in my Min-Max approach. I tapped Carlena on the back and asked that she wait with me while I took a breather. The cleric, however, I gestured to continue towards the town walls, which were less than a mile away.

‘Can you tell me about how to improve skills?’

‘I don’t have access to the menus that you do, so anything I can tell you is conjecture.’

‘I understand.’

‘I believe that every time where you are in a situation where you have a chance to use a skill in earnest, there’s the possibility you will increase your expertise in it. But you have to use a skill many times before you will be successful.’

‘Mine seemed to go up fairly rapidly.’

Carlena looked at me thoughtfully. ‘Tell me my stats.’

It took a moment to find the right menu, then I reported them to her: ‘Strength five; Dexterity eleven; Constitution nine; Intelligence seventeen; Wisdom seven; Charisma eight.’

‘Much as I thought. Although my Intelligence is slightly disappointing. Now, what are yours?’

Although I felt reluctant to share this information for some reason, I reminded myself she was on my side after all. ‘Strength seven; Dexterity four; Constitution eight; Intelligence sixteen; Wisdom sixteen; Charisma four.’

‘By Miya’s breath! Sixteen Intelligence and Wisdom? I never would have believed it!’ Then she laughed. ‘No offence, Sean, but I see the body of King Carlos and I see a very slow-witted man. It affects my perception of you.’

‘None taken,’ I smiled. It was the first time I’d seen the sorceress laugh and it all of a sudden, my doubts about her retreated.

‘That’s the explanation: you will learn fast with those two attributes so high. They are extraordinary, I doubt there are more than a handful of people in the world with both Intelligence and Wisdom over fifteen.’

‘What’s the maximum an attribute can be at?

‘Again, this is conjecture, but I think for a human, twenty.’

I resumed my slow walk back to the safety of the town walls. It was hard to force my thick legs into motion, but my morale was high and the aches didn’t trouble me. If I could get my core fighting attributes to increase, to at least to around eleven or twelve, then I could bump them up with my level gains. Meanwhile, I had a very advantageous situation in regard to skills. Obviously, I should spread my points widely, trusting to my Intelligence and Wisdom to bring them up fast. In time, I would be a very versatile warrior, capable of using a wide variety of weapons and actions at a high level, instead of a specialist in just one or two.

I put a skill point into each of Bash, Block, Deflect, Defensive Stance and Dodge, which would get me started in those. And I saved my attribute point for now.

By the time we reached the eastern gate of the town (a large metal portcullis that was already mostly down, I had to duck to go through), nearly four hours had passed. I hadn’t forgotten the fact that the smithy was turning out pickaxes and as soon as the iron was all used up and I had twenty-four new pickaxes, I assigned them to the miners.

The cleric was just beyond the gate, waiting for us. My instinct was to thank her, but conscious of the looks of the guards and the townspeople, I simply said, ‘be ready to do the same tomorrow.’

‘Yes, sire.’

With a promise she would join me for dinner, Carlena bid me farewell soon after and set off towards her tower, the one I had arrived at just two days ago (though it felt like I’d been here a week at least).

As I entered the keep, my thoughts were entirely on a bath and even a nap before dinner, when they were jolted into focus by the presence of Chancellor Parrin. My scout had been waiting in one of several chairs that were set outside of the solar for that purpose. My heart leapt. So much depended on his report. What did his face convey? Bad news, I thought, there was unease in the way his eyes caught mine.

After taking my throne and ordering the servants to leave, I called the chancellor close.

‘Well?’

‘They are moving an army towards us.’

‘How many troops?’

‘Sixty spearmen, twenty axemen, forty archers, thirty light cavalry, ten heavy cavalry…’ he paused, ‘with them are two commanders, one from each faction, and a shaman with a sabre-tooth tiger pet, I couldn’t determine their levels.’

They had about twice the number of troops we did. And strangely that gave me some hope. Given Greyland’s tiny army, it could have been a lot worse.

‘How long have we got?’

‘They will arrive at Three-Ways tomorrow, probably near enough to noon.’

This was happening too fast. If I could have even had just a couple more personal levels, I could make a real difference to what happened in the melee. It was unfortunate too that the tower machicolations wouldn’t be in place for this battle, one day and eighteen hours remained on that timer.

Perhaps I was looking worried, because Parrin asked, ‘can we stop them?’

I smiled. ‘Of course we can. In fact, I think they’ve made a mistake. They didn’t bring their full army?’

‘No, this is about half.’

That really did feel like a mistake. If they had risked everything on overwhelming us, that would have been far more dangerous. Perhaps they were worried about losing control of our farmland in the event of being thrown back. Or perhaps the two rulers were not entirely of the same mind. Whatever the reason, the encouragement I offered the chancellor was not at all bluster. ‘A lot will depend on how you, Lord Arval and Carlena perform, but this will be a battle we can win. We have a ballista, they don’t have anything with the same range?’

‘No.’

‘Because of that, they won’t be able to mass their archers to eliminate ours and then drive us from the walls. They will have to come on fast and try to storm the fort while we are on top of them. And that’s a big advantage to us.’

‘True enough sire.’

‘Send a messenger on a fast horse with those figures to Lord Arval and tell him I’m coming; order a horse and cart big enough to carry me; let Carlena know to meet us at the fort tomorrow, early, and the cleric too, and any of the archers in the hospital able to fire a bow.’

We shared a look – for my part I tried to convey confidence and determination – and then he was striding out of the hall, his rapid footsteps echoing in the empty room. One day I would lead my armies from the front. If we survived this attack. But even if I couldn’t fight in a battle effectively, I could be there to encourage the soldiers and give orders.

After a wash and change and a meal (fish again) I went outside the keep to where a man sat on a long cart, which was drawn by two horses. I was going to have to travel through an uncomfortable night on those bare planks and over a bumpy road.

It really was a painful journey, several times I was jolted so badly even my bulky body rose off the planks. As best I could, I distracted myself by reading up on the game menus, giving particular attention to the stats on the soldiers. It was possible to get details on each soldier type, so our 33 archers, for example, read as follows:

Greyland Archer

Fighter level 0

Ranged attack: 15

Melee attack: 8

Armour Class: 2

Hit Points: 5

Skills:

Wield Longbow variable, according to experience

Wield Shortsword variable, according to experience

Monthly Upkeep: 2sp

I had also been keeping an eye on the town menu and just after dawn, 4 iron ingots appeared in the resources area. That was excellent, it showed that applying steel pickaxes to mining really was an effective way to increase production. I allocated the ingots to the smithy, meaning I would have 48 new pickaxes in due course. Assuming we survived the day ahead.

Lively birdsong accompanied the spread of grey light across the sky. Because we were making our way down a valley, I didn’t see the rising sun, only a pink glow that became a bright yellow sun by the time it rose high enough to cross the shadows of the horizon. It was a beautiful day and I was struck by the realisation that it might be my last. Unlike a game, this could be the end for me. I was placing myself in proximity to 160 or so enemy soldiers who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if they could. And there was no possibility of escape if it all went wrong, not with this body.

Did every soldier feel the same, the morning before battle? A heightening of all the senses? An appreciation of the sky, the breeze, the birdsong? Even of the breaths I was taking. Yes, I felt a certain amount of fear, but it was very much in the background. I had to do what I had to do.

Three Ways was the area at meeting of two valleys at the confluence of two small mountain rivers with a bridge over the emerging river. The fort was a wooden tower on a rocky outcrop to my right, the river I was following was on my left. Extending from the tower and all the way to the riverbank where there was another, much smaller, tower was a wooden palisade. There was a gate where the road passed through the wall.

My first impression was positive. We had control of the main route up towards Carrick. In theory, you could march along the other side of the river, in the narrow strip of rocky ground before the hill began to rise steeply. That would let you bypass the fort, but it would be slow going and we could harass the enemy from our side of the river. The walls of the hillside were even steeper near the main fort tower, including slaps of sheer rock in places. There was no way an army could skirt around us.

A picket of a dozen light infantry called on the cart to stop and as soon as they saw me, they stiffened to attention. With some difficulty I got myself out of the cart and over to the soldiers who looked at me with solemn expressions.

‘Show me to Lord Arval.’

A guard saluted and led the way towards the main fort tower; before we were half way there, a cluster of soldiers came out of it, Lord Arval at their head, body armour shining silver in the morning light.

‘Well met, sir, well met!’ Lord Arval offered his hand and shook mine earnestly. ‘I have made my dispositions, but I’m glad you are here to check them and lead us in the battle.’

‘Thank you, Lord Arval. I don’t suppose this world has invented coffee? No. Some hot water then if you can, while you explain your set up.’

‘Certainly sire.’ He gestured an aide to obtain my drink, then began his account. ‘Our light cavalry, twenty-four of them, are scouting further down the road. They will bring us word of the enemy advance.’

I nodded.

‘The ballista is on top of the main tower.’

‘What’s the maximum range for it?’

‘I can show you, if you’ll come up to the palisade walkway.’

It took some effort, and I nearly had to ask for a push from behind, but I got up a narrow wooden staircase and stood with the paladin above the gate. Ahead of me, the road turned left to cross the bridge and then follow the river downstream on its left bank. That valley was where our opponents would arrive from. From here I could see the other stream and the mouth of the other valley, which was around the corner to the right of our main tower, with the stream running across the ground ahead of us to the main river about four hundred yards from where I was standing.

‘See that reddish rock beyond the bridge?’

‘Yes?’

‘The ballista can hit that. I know, I had them fire at it.’

While it was good that we could be shooting at the enemy as they crossed the bridge, I wasn’t sure about placing the ballista crew in a position where they could be fired upon once the enemy was over the crossing. Not at all.

‘All along the palisade will be our light infantry. They have been hauling rocks up ever since we heard the news. Also about half the archers. Only fifteen can fit alongside the ballista crew on the top of the tower.’

Lord Arval looked at me and then continued.

‘I was thinking that the twelve heavy infantry and four heavy cavalry should be there on that rise, as our reserve.’ He pointed back the way I had come from.

‘And what about you and the sorceress?’

‘It seems to me, she should be on the small tower, nearest the bridge, and myself with the reserve.’

For a while I studied the position and everyone waited silently, the only sound that of our flags flapping in a light breeze.

‘Suppose you were their general, what would you do?’

Lord Arval looked thoughtful and rubbed his bald head slowly as he considered the ground ahead of us. ‘I’d probably rush my archers to the main tower and try to silence the ballista, maybe having prepared screens first, so as to protect from incoming arrows from the walls. If I succeeded, I’d clear the palisade next, as much as I could.’

‘I think the same. So would you consider putting our ballista with the reserve? Too far for their arrows to reach but within range of them?’

‘We’d lose the opportunity to fire when they are crowding the bridge.’

‘If they are smart, they will cross in single file.’

‘What if they stand close to our walls? We might not have the elevation for the ballista to see them?’

‘We could put Carlena here, she has a fire dart spell that would do a great deal of damage or drive them off if they come close.’

‘Aye.’ He had a distant look, probably I did too. We were trying to imagine what the battle might look like. Though as any writer on warfare would tell you, no plan survives contact with the enemy. ‘Aye,’ he said again, more decisively, ‘I think you are right.’

‘And the advantage of my idea is that we keep everyone under cover for the duel between ballista and their archers. Your way, we might win, but are likely to lose a lot of troops.’

‘Very good sire. Shall I order it moved now, we need time.’

‘Go ahead.’

It took over an hour before the ballista was set up on the rise behind the palisade, even with a pulley to lower the equipment down the side of the tower. Not long afterwards Carlena arrived with Chancellor Parrin, the cleric and two more archers, who had recovered enough in the hospital to participate.

The cleric was put in the reserve and then the four of us: Arval, Parrin, Carlena and myself went to the small tower while we talked over the plan. In short, it was to win the artillery duel and therefore be able to have the infantry throw rocks and spears from the palisade without fearing incoming arrows.

Time moves slowly before battle. It was still early in the morning and I wondered if it was worth feeding our soldiers in the near future or not. I asked Lord Arval.

‘Does a soldier fight better on an empty or full stomach?’

‘No one knows sire. There is a story of an emperor who had the same question. So he took two groups of twelve soldiers and had them fight. One group did so after a hearty meal, the others with no food inside them.’

‘And?’

‘Inconclusive, sire, I believe the no-food side won, but only by a man. Personally, I find a small amount of food, especially fruit, optimum.’

‘Very good, distribute it now, in case the enemy are making good speed.’

Our opponents did not, however, arrive until after a long, long wait, the sun well past midday. Then time began to move rapidly, beginning with the return of our light cavalry: a distant dust rising into the clear blue sky, then the sounds of their hooves and finally the sight of them clattering across the bridge.

When they were drawn up beside the four heavy cavalrymen, Lord Arval had the gates closed and barred.

‘Ready sire?’

‘Not quite, gather the soldiers, I’ll speak to them.’

Lord Arval nodded approvingly, while Chancellor Parrin’s long, bearded face was inscrutable. He probably had years of practice at hiding his feelings from Carlos. Carlena, however, was clearly sceptical.

From a rock on the rise, with a good view of the cavalry to my left and the infantry below, whose faces were tipped up towards me, I tried to remember some of the rousing speeches I’d heard in films.

‘What day is it?’ I asked Chancellor Parrin in a low voice.

‘Twenty-fourth of the month of Abya.’

‘Soldiers of Greyland!’ I began, my big body proving good for this purpose, with my voice strong and echoing from the rocks. The men looked at me with hopeful expressions. ‘This day, the twenty-fourth of the month of Abya, is forever going to be remembered in the history of our realm. For it is on this day that we will turn the course of this war.’

Lord Arval gave a roar and shook a spear, which encouraged many of the men to do the same.

‘And you are the lucky ones. There will come a time when vast armies under my command will conquer the twenty-five kingdoms. And they will all know that it began here, with just a few of us, a lucky few. A band of warring brothers.

‘You will be able to say, with pride, I was there that day. With King Carlos, with Lord Arval, Chancellor Parrin and Sorceress Carlena, when we smashed the army that tried to invade our mountains and sent them fleeing back down the valley.

‘It will be a tough battle, they have more soldiers; but we have much the better position and the advantage of the ballista. Let no one think of retreat. Either we hold this fort or the enemy capture Carrick and enslave your families.

‘This is where we make our stand. This is where they will break. Fight for yourself, your comrades and your families at home.

‘Those recruits in years to come who were not here will think themselves cursed. And listen in silence when any of you speak. You who fought at the battle of Three Ways!’

Lord Arval gave another roar and this time there was a really satisfying response, one that resounded all around us.

‘Positions!’ Our paladin, now on his horse, led the troops back to the palisade.

Before she left, I called Carlena over. ‘I think today might be the day for your potion.’

‘You might be right.’ She looked at me with an expression I’d never seen before from her: respect. ‘You spoke well.’

Passing me a small bottle of turquoise liquid, she said, ‘just drink and name the creature. Make it one around your size or it might fail. You will have eight minutes.’

‘Good luck.’

‘And to you.’ She walked towards the gate and her position.

Before Lord Arval had returned, a new sound came from the valley beyond the bridge, an ominous deep series of thuds. The enemy were coming, marching to drums of war.