The world snapped back into focus. A sharp gust of icy wind hit his face, stealing his breath. Around him, gray stone dominated the landscape, jagged and unyielding. The group stood atop a narrow plateau on the side of a mountain, with the faint outline of a fortress looming above.

  The sky was overcast, a heavy blanket of gray clouds threatening snow. Below them, a winding road snaked its way down the mountainside, its full length hidden from view by rock and clouds. It was littered with the bodies of animals and the odd soldier.

  Behind them, the fortress wall stood, battered and breached. Chunks of stone lay scattered across the road, and the gate hung awkwardly off its hinges. Jack shivered as another gust of wind howled through the broken defenses, carrying a faint, acrid smell of rot and smoke.

  “What should we do?” Jack asked.

  “Explore,” Amari declared, his tone steady and confident. “For the first hour, there are no waves. We have to make sense of the situation first.”

  Jack nodded, glancing nervously toward the fortress. The hole in the wall seemed to gape like an open wound, and the wind howling through it sounded like a distant scream.

  The group moved cautiously up the road, their boots crunching against the frosty ground. Horace was uncharacteristically quiet, his eyes darting to the still forms of the creatures they passed.

  “Shagrats and marmosets,” he muttered.

  “Keep moving,” Amari said, his voice low.

  As they stepped through the breached wall, the devastation became even clearer. The fortress was in disarray—fires still burned in pockets of debris, sending trails of smoke spiraling into the sky. Soldiers lay scattered across the courtyard, their armor dented and their weapons broken beside them. Nearby, the remains of the invading animals were oddly still, as if frozen mid-struggle.

  “Check for survivors,” Amari ordered, his gaze scanning the area.

  The group fanned out, stepping carefully over the debris. It was Marie who heard it first—a low, ragged grunt coming from near the wall.

  “Over here!” she called, gesturing to the others.

  They hurried to her side and found a soldier slumped against the wall, his breathing labored. His armor was scratched and dirt-streaked, and his face was pale, his eyes barely open.

  “W-who?” the soldier croaked, his voice barely audible over the wind.

  “The Duke sent us,” Amari said, kneeling beside him.

  The soldier gave a weak, bitter laugh that quickly turned into a cough. “We’ve… tried our best, but… they just don’t stop coming.”

  “Are there provisions in the fortress? Weapons? Anything we can use?” Amari asked urgently.

  But the soldier wasn’t listening. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. “I… I can’t do anything else to help. More… reinforcements. Hold the wall. I leave it… in your-”

  With a shuddering breath, the soldier slumped forward, his body going limp.

  A new system message flashed before Jack’s eyes:

  Quest Updated:

  Defending the Breach (Uncommon)

  Duke Spruce Beanstein has been entrusted by the royal family of Eternia with the protection of an outpost deep in the mountains, northward of the Walled Realm.

  After an ominous message from the captain of the regiment saying that the local fauna had gone berserk and were attacking the fortress, the Duke asks you to visit the outpost and see if the local garrison needs help.

  You find a soldier, who, with his last breath, asks you to hold the fortress until reinforcements arrive.

  Jack stared at the message, his heart sinking. “We’re it, aren’t we?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “It was always going to be just us, Jack,” Horace said from the side.

  Amari rose to his feet, his expression grim. He stood still for a moment, his gaze fixed on the soldier’s lifeless form. His expression was unreadable, but Jack could see the gears turning. Amari wasn’t just processing what they’d seen—he was weighing it, calculating their next steps. Finally, he took a deep breath and turned to the group.

  “We’ll need three layers of defense,” he began, his voice calm but firm. “One at a choke point farther down the road, where the aperture narrows. The second at the gate—it’s damaged, but we can reinforce it. The third inside the citadel itself, our final fallback.”

  He turned to Horace. “Horace, start working on the gate. Patch it up as much as you can. Use debris, barricades, or anything sturdy. Keep the entrance tight, manageable.”

  Horace nodded, his usual humor subdued. “Got it.”

  “Marie,” Amari continued, “prepare the citadel. That’s our last stand, and I want it secure.”

  Marie’s fingers brushed over the bomb at her belt, her expression grim. “On it.”

  Amari’s gaze swept over the others. “We also need to explore as much of the map as we can before the waves start. There might be resources farther out—herbs, food, weapons, anything that can help us hold out longer. I also want to check on the beasts down the road. Maybe it’s a clue to the kind of monsters we’re fighting. If we know what we’re up against, we can prepare better. I’ll let you know when I find the right spot on the road, Horace. You can come and meet me there to help me fortify it.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Finally, his eyes landed on Jack. “Jack, I need you to scout the fortress. Look for anything useful—wood, food, water. Anything.”

  Jack nodded, his nerves settling slightly under Amari’s steady leadership. “I’ll see what I can find.”

  “Good. Let’s move.”

  The group split off, each moving with purpose.

  While Horace started working on the gate, Jack stayed closeby to explore the central courtyard, where fallen soldiers and beasts lay tangled in the frozen aftermath of battle.

  The remains of beasts far outnumbered those of soldiers—five to one.

  Jack knelt to examine one of the creatures, his breath puffing in the cold air. It was stocky with matted fur streaked with frost and grime. It had powerful-looking hind legs, while its front claws, long and jagged, seemed designed to rip into soil, wood, or stone. Its flattened, rodent-like face was unsettling, with large yellowed incisors.

  The second creature was smaller, its wiry frame partially curled. Coarse, pale fur clung to its sinewy limbs, and a bushy tail trailed behind it. Its claws were shorter but sharper. Jack brushed a hand against its fur, only to feel the frost embedded like glass shards, making the creature's form rigid and unyielding.

  He stood, brushing the frost from his gloves, and took in the rest of the courtyard. The signs of destruction were everywhere: shattered ballistae, splintered arrows, and scattered broken beams. The walls bore deep gashes, and here and there, chunks of stone were missing entirely. The fortress had been torn apart in its final stand.

  But even in the chaos, Jack noticed opportunities. The wood from the broken siege engines could be salvaged—some of it still looked sturdy enough for repairs or fires. He made a mental note to collect it later.

  That’s when he spotted the well. Tucked away in a shadowed corner near a collapsed section of wall, it was easy to miss. Its weathered stone edges were cracked and crumbling, yet the structure itself seemed remarkably intact.

  Jack approached cautiously, brushing away loose debris as he leaned over the edge. Peering inside, he was greeted by nothing but a void of darkness. The air wafting up from below was dry and stale, carrying none of the damp, earthy scent of water. He frowned and grabbed a small pebble, dropping it into the well. He strained to listen, but the sound of the pebble bouncing off the sides faded quickly into silence. No splash.

  “Great,” Jack muttered, his voice heavy. “A well with no water. Exactly what we need.”

  Having found nothing else in the courtyard, Jack decided to climb the wall, hoping to get a better view. The stone steps were slick with ice, forcing him to move carefully.

  Reaching the battlements, Jack paused to take in the scene. The wall stretched in both directions, its once-mighty structure now riddled with cracks. Frost clung to the stone beneath his feet.

  From his vantage point, Jack could fully grasp the fortress’s isolation. The winding road that led here ended abruptly at the northern wall, severing it from the world below. To the west, a sheer cliff wall loomed over the fortress, its jagged face offering a natural barrier against any approach. To the east and south, the mountain plunged into a dizzying abyss.

  As he continued along the wall, something caught his eye—a narrow set of stairs carved into the mountain itself. The steps were rough, uneven, and ancient, leading upward into a shadowy trail cut through the rock. Curiosity tugged at him, and after a moment’s hesitation, Jack began to climb.

  The trail was narrow, barely wide enough for one person to traverse. In some places, Jack had to turn sideways to squeeze through, his shoulders scraping the icy walls. Horace wouldn’t have fit here, he thought.

  Just as he was about to turn back, his vision blurred for a split second, and a soft chime echoed in his mind. A faint glow appeared on his map, a small, blinking icon he hadn’t noticed before.

  [Water Sniffing] activated.

  Water source detected: 87 meters south.

  Jack blinked, staring at the notification. “[Water Sniffing]?” he murmured. “I completely forgot I had this bushcraft skill….”

  The map displayed the location—a spot just ahead where the trail seemed to descend. Gulping, he pressed forward. The path sloped downward into a small depression, its walls narrowing into a pit. The air here felt different, damp, and heavy.

  At the bottom, water trickled from a crack in the rock, pooling into a shallow basin before seeping into the frozen ground. Jack crouched beside the pool, a grin spreading across his face. The water was crystal clear, and the soft, steady sound of its flow was like music to his ears.

  “Well, hello there,” he said softly, dipping his hand into the spring. The water was icy, numbing his fingers, but it was fresh. Perfect.

  “This solves a lot of problems,” Jack muttered. The basin wasn’t large, but the trickle was steady—enough to supply their group.

  As he stepped into the shallow water, the chill soaked into his rope sandals, but something else caught his attention. The mushy soil beneath his feet yielded slightly. Jack crouched again, his fingers digging into the soaked reddish-brown earth. It was dense, sticky, and unmistakable.

  “Clay,” he said, his voice tinged with excitement. His mind raced as he realized the implications. The minerals carried by the water had settled here, forming a clay deposit!

  Water and clay! Not bad!

  Before leaving, Jack marked the location on his map. This spot was a treasure trove, and he couldn’t afford to forget it. Satisfied, he began his descent back to the fortress, his thoughts buzzing with plans for how this discovery might help them survive the waves to come.

  Back in the main courtyard, Jack resumed his exploration. The air grew quieter as he moved away from the central ruins and headed toward the south wall. It was smaller and less fortified. It looked hastily constructed, perhaps as an afterthought, but it was still intact.

  He ascended carefully. The bitter wind picked up as he reached the top, and when he stepped onto the battlement, the view stole his breath. Beyond the wall was a sheer drop, the mountain plunging steeply into a vast canyon below.

  The landscape wasn’t entirely barren, though. Jack’s eyes picked out patches of tenacious greenery clinging to life against the harsh backdrop. Stunted pines rose from the cliffside and tangles of shrubs dotted the rocky terrain. Here and there, bright specks of white and purple marked the location of alpine flowers.

  Jack’s mind immediately turned to his hive. These flowers might not be abundant, but they were enough. His bees wouldn’t have the luxury of a meadow or forest, but these hardy plants could still sustain them.

  He pulled the pot hive from his pack, carefully setting it down on a flat section of stone sheltered by the battlement’s parapet. For a moment, nothing happened. Jack remained crouched, watching the hive in silence, wondering if the bees would emerge at all in this harsh environment.

  Then, slowly, a few began to crawl out, their fuzzy bodies catching the faint sunlight as they hesitated at the entrance. One by one, they took off, their tiny wings buzzing faintly in the cold air.

  Jack followed their flight with his eyes, marveling as they dipped toward the cliffs below. A small smile tugged at Jack’s lips. “You’re tougher than you look,” he murmured, watching the bees work.

  For a while, he stayed there, observing the hive and the canyon beyond. The fortress felt even more remote from this vantage point, perched precariously at the edge of the world. He stood, brushing frost from his knees, and took a final glance at the hive to ensure it was secure.

  Jack lingered for a moment, taking in the view. The fortress felt even more isolated from up here, perched on the edge of the world. Time to report back, he thought, climbing down carefully. There was still much to prepare before the waves began.