Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Siege of Syrn: Part VII

Dirk was awoken at dawn the next morning by a loud bell clanging in the barracks. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he threw on his tunic and boots and went out into the courtyard. Already people were out there, and most of them were armed. Feeling slightly out of place, Dirk went back inside and found his armor and weapons.

After dressing himself properly, he again went back out into the courtyard. The men were milling about, talking to one another, inspecting and comparing their weapons, and a few were leaning against the wall, looking like they'd rather be back in bed.

The courtyard itself was about 2500 square feet, each wall being about five hundred feet in length. In this courtyard, there were about seven hundred soldiers, most of whom, by now, were dressed and armed.

After a few minutes, a tall, important-looking person entered the square from outside. He was followed by a small procession of guards dressed in bright red uniforms, and a person with a horn. That person blew the horn, and instantly, everybody formed ranks.

The important-looking person walked up and down the ranks, shoving a person so he was in line with his rank here, or pulling one forward there. After a few moments, he finished his inspection. Then he walked to the front of the mass of troops.

When he reached the front, he began speaking:

"Soldiers of Aidar, as some of you undoubtably know, a massive army of Thargonites is less than two days march away. The size of their army is such that they cannot pretend that they do not mean to invade us. Therefore - since they do mean war, this fortress will be their first target. Their operation has been conducted largely in secret, and our spies only two days ago confirmed the rumors." He paused for a moment. "The army that is in front of us is more than twenty-five thousand strong. In all our barrack's here, we have little more than three thousand. In the next day, every single one of you will be counted on to perform your best in making the fortress ready for an attack. Anyone who does not perform to standards will be punished."

After this anouncement, the man turned and strode out of the barracks. His party followed him, leaving many bewildered soldiers behind in their wake.

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