I went and alerted the all the warriors to go reinforce all guards, reach out to the warriors spread out throughout the kingdom and tell them to prepare. There was really no use in alerting the people. That would cause a riot and make things harder for the warriors to do their job. And no warrior, no matter where their post was could afford to be distracted. We were already going to face massive losses, there was no need to add to that number.
After the warriors I gathered all the staff in the castle and sent them to the cellar where they would be safe. They knew the plan. They didn't like it, but they also knew that is where they would be the safest. And it was better than putting them in the cells. The dungeon was on the other side of the castle, that's where the criminals were kept. W
