"It's not a castle." Rose's manner was unyielding. "It has no curtain walls, no enceinte, no baileys, not even a motte or a palisade. At most it's a tower house, and not a well-fortified one. How long do you think a high-school graduate, a diplomat, and a half-crippled army captain could defend it against infantry battalions, airships, and high-velocity cannon, let alone magic? We don't have the authority to commandeer a Guard detachment, assuming there's any around here, and we don't have the moral right to talk any townsfolk into reinforcing us with a few muskets and shotguns."