Frostbound

Day 28. Today was the day.

There were clouds in the sky providing an overcast that looked like it would later turn into rain. A strong wind blew through the camp to add to the somber atmosphere. It seemed the weather was going to add to our troubles along with the wave.

We all ate breakfast together and the conversation was kept light. Some of the nerves were coming back from previous waves and I was glad that it seemed people were heeding my warnings.

I didn't want to unnecessarily worry people but I didn't think I was going to be wrong. Today's wave was going to be hard.

We had been through enough waves by now that we all knew what to do. Everything was set up and ready to go well before noon when the wave would come.

It was decided that standing in front of the wall would be too dangerous this wave so we would stick to being inside. With all the practice of previous waves, we could now throw the javelins accurately from behind the wall without having to see what we were aiming at.

Someone in the guard tower would shout out the marker and we would throw it the appropriate distance. It was usually one of the rangers that did it. The number of javelins that I put metal spearheads on was fewer than I would have liked but there was nothing that I could do about it now.

I spent the hours from breakfast to noon pounding out the last of the breastplates that I could make. I felt that those were more important than the spearheads right now.

My father found me in the forge an hour before the wave.

"Chris, everything's going to be fine. You don't need to keep worrying so much." He said trying to get me to calm down. I knew he was trying to help but I couldn't stop.

It would be a waste of time to argue with him now so I kept silent. He didn't know everything was going to be fine and it would accomplish nothing pointing that out.

"The wall will hold and we'll get through this wave just like all of the others." He said while patting me on the shoulder.