“Damn, they made such commotion with that horn signal only to wake up everyone and explain that there will be no training the next day. What the hell? We literally spent three more days just gathering everything to be ready to head out. What was the purpose of that? To show off that they had a huge horn? Yeah, the best idea to use in the middle of the night! At least we weren’t asleep, but crap that was dumb to wake up everyone so in the morning every single soldier would be sleepy after a nervous night with their own thought about unavoidable danger and possible death very soon. Such a pretentious deed turned into a real joke. Hilarious!”
Robert couldn’t calm down even after an explanation that it was an ancient tradition to signal at the moment of signing the decree. Periodically he returned to that topic, despite a warning not to be heard by a knight. On the other hand, Wolf was the one to agree about the stupidity of that, but because of different reasons.
“They could at least give us another payment and give the day off. Fuck, we are heading to the war, and we didn’t get any free time for possible last enjoyment!”
“Maybe Baron wanted to avoid deserters. The number of guards has definitely increased in the last few days,” Paul mentioned, adjusting his backpack.
“That was simple greed! Less alive – less to pay. At least your priest wouldn’t get money for another round of ale evening, Monk.”
“You are too loud, Lawrence. The sergeant had already glanced at you a few times…,” William tried to reason with him, but was interrupted.
“And what, he will punish me? How? By not giving me a FUCKING salary? Or just sending me to death? Oh, wait a minute…,” Lawrence raged , turning it into a real torrent of curses.
“Oh, by the way, Wolf, it was surprising to know that you have such good skills in haircut and shaving. I guess having so much hair has its own benefits – you have a lot of practice material,” seeing the frowning face of Daniel, Robert quickly decided to change the topic.
“Very funny, Stick. No, my father was a barber, so he taught me a lot. If we’ve got our salary, I would ask for payment from you… of course, as we are friends, a lower price is natural. However, real money is when it comes to toothache,” sighed Lawrence.
No, never happened and I am damn happy about that… I don’t even want to imagine what I would do without my regeneration. Just calluses on my feet from my first day would put me on the bed for some time. Someone even joked about me being a lizard with my bruises healing very fast. Need to be careful about that.
“I thought you were in a street gang, with all your aggressive behavior and appearance of a thug,” William was surprised.
“Never judge anyone by their appearance,” Paul couldn’t be him not to mention words of wisdom, no matter how obvious they were.
“Yeah, Aspen, from your high noble face anyone would think that you are an arrogant dickhead, but nope – just an ordinary one,” William only rolled his eyes at Rob’s comment.
“I just sometimes can’t control my emotions… That’s where my rage is coming from… I wanted to be a barber back in the day but was stupid enough to beat the shit out of the village headman’s son because of a few personal insults. From there my future was doomed, one thing led to another, often bloody, so I decided to find the way out – to sign into the militia and try to become a guard.”
Soon, their talk died out, and Robert turned his attention to his surroundings. The columns of soldiers were walking along the road, accompanying tens of carts with food supplies. After that signal and huge commotions because of it, they hastily move out from the camp after a few days of gathering. Their belongings were double-checked; training axes were exchanged with battle ones, and everything was done to prepare them for future war. Daniel turned special attention to boots and footcloths, making everyone understand how important it was for any warrior.
The next five days went in constant marching from dawn to sunset with a single break to eat. It wasn’t hard to notice that they were in a rush – sergeants didn’t even give them time to set up proper tents to decrease the time needed for everything, except walking. Because of the pace and their heavy bags with all the equipment, armor, and weapons, almost everyone was dead tired by the end of the day. Even cold ground didn’t stop them from falling asleep immediately after eating – such huge exhaustion. Carts, which were pulled by local donkeys, carried only additional supplies, food, and knight’s belongings. Robert wondered how the damn donkeys managed to keep up with them, looking as always while humans were barely holding. These otherworldly monsters with long ears appeared to have a terrifying endurance, almost on par with knights.
The latter, to Robert’s surprise, walked together with everyone, clad in plate armor. Of course, that referred only to ordinary ones. Baron Highmoon and his elites went ahead from the start, using their mounts and even coach. Rob only managed to catch a glimpse of Baron’s drake. That lizard horse was much bigger than he had anticipated, easily creating the feeling of danger just from its simple presence. Moreover, the dark-scaled predator moved very quickly even with a full armored rider on it. Together they created an image of the real tank in front of infantry with small caliber rifles.
I hope I will not meet it on the battlefield...
The first long stop was in the village on the border of Sebastian Highmoon’s barony. They spent almost a full day on much-anticipated rest. That gave the possibility to take care of some soldiers, who managed to become ill from constant tiredness and coldness. One idiot even thought he could singlehandedly lift a completely loaded cart when its wheel broke. After that, his back refused to bend at all, and he barely could lie without screaming at bumps. First casualties before even getting to the battlefield.
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All of Robert’s squad almost didn’t even speak at that moment, being happy just to have a few more hours to lay without motion. Rob finally managed to enjoy the food without needing to swallow hastily everything, and even with the unthinkable ability to ask for an additional portion. Only William wasn’t very joyful – his beloved went back to her dad, distancing their next meeting until the end of the war.
The next day Baron’s forces were divided into two parts. Two-thirds of the militia together with most of the knights and Highmoon himself went ahead to the point of meeting joint forces because the current level of conflict was escalating way too quickly. At least that is what Beaver told, again referring to his unknown, but truthful sources. The rest, under the leadership of two knights, were tasked to escort a food supply. This time it was a real caravan of around one hundred carts, filled with sacks, which were defiantly prepared beforehand and could feed thousands for a long time. Considering a dirt road, the slow speed of donkeys, and the number of carts, it would easily take thrice the time to get to their destination. Robert’s first squad together with the second, armed with the same axes and shields, and forty halberdiers belonged to this group.
It was the second day of their trip, but fortunately, nothing had happened. Fields with crops changed to grassy ones only to be later replaced with green forests. The ground on the road was trodden enough for carts to move freely without being stuck in the mud. The absence of recent rains helped a lot. Still, often even the smallest accidents made all convoy to waste time.
“What about you, Paul? We have me, who was called literally a Flop, a failure in other words. We have a failed barber and thug. We have a failed fiancé of a noble daughter. What did you fail to be here with us?” Robert asked when a new stop emerged. Another wheel was broken, so it would take at least half an hour to replace it.
“My priest’s post. I think that sometimes words are not enough. We need to follow the guidance and teaching of our God, but not everyone wants to do it, creating waves of evilness, which will lead to new waves. In such cases, the source must be destroyed. However, this way of thinking opposes some principles of the priesthood. Therefore, I had to find my own way, which, fortunately, was in the history of our God. The paladins – God’s warriors that follow him with their mace in the hand. That’s why I joined militia – to gain the needed war experience, so I can start to teach future combat priests in our church.”
It was one of the longest Monk’s speeches that Robert had heard outside of religious monologues. What was more - his reasoning was so grand, that his own willing for ordinary life felt lowly.
But so what? We had different lives. We have different circumstances right now – his God doesn’t want him to hunt strong beings during apocalypses. Nope, pizza and hamburgers are a good reason to live for me. The goal must be achievable, and specific, but hard. Mine is! Where the hell I can find a hamburger in this world?
“See that, Aspen! That is a goal! Not yours running for the skirt!” Wolf laughed loudly.
“It’s not only about her but also my promise to my master,” William shook his head, not continuing further.
“I bet she will not wait for you for years to become a knight! Who will need an old maiden?” Wolf was again there to support his friend.
“Good point. Women in villages tend to worry about the age of marriage. Don’t think nobles are in the same position, but it can influence your timing,” nodded Paul in agreement.
“Then your best bet is to keep your love on a high note. Maybe give her a present next time you see her?” proposed Robert, falling into a thought. He wasn’t experienced, but movies and books gave him some idea of what to do.
Ha-ha-ha. I never had a girlfriend, but had sex, while he is opposite… oh, Leonard, I managed to do it, while your perverter soul will be forever deprived of it…
“What present? I need to repeat that we never got our last salary! He will need to sell his body to buy anything!”
“Hm, you can always make something… or use something special that is valuable for you as a symbol of unbreakable love… or just something pretty. With the addition of a few compliments, it can help. For example, that flower looks great, despite being widely spread. What is it called?” asked Robert, pointing to the plant with blue-purple buds and slightly reddish leaves. It was almost glowing from the inside, making it hard to miss. He never saw it in the poisonous forest or on the way to training camp, but after they went to war, it started to appear everywhere.
“Don’t know. I don’t think I’ve seen it before. On the other hand, I never was in plants… Your advice, Robert, sounds good. Especially the last one. I will think it over,” William nodded with a serious face, before going silent. Wolf tried to laugh about giving grass as a present, but nobody listened.
The stop didn’t last for long but gave enough time for Robert’s ability to restore his stamina. Wearing a backpack on top of the not-the-lightest armor didn’t give any possibility to relax while standing. The sergeant forbade them to sit down. At least Rob managed to hang his helmet on a hook on the belt together with his axe, freeing his hands from additional weights. Walking in the helmet wasn’t comfortable at all. Even his shield also hung on the backpack, making it hard to reach it immediately, but easing the traveling. He wasn’t alone in this. Most unhappy ones were halberdiers – their weapons didn’t provide any possibility to carry aside from their own shoulders.
That made the contrast between them and the knights huge. For the latter, as William explained, armor was like a second skin. With their physique, they didn’t feel any burden wearing it all the time. On the contrary, it was their custom not to appear outside in ordinary clothes and unarmed. Of course, there were exceptions, but overall knights wore their armor with pride. Moreover, the less visible damage it had like scratches, the more skillful the knight wanted to appear before other eyes.
“Sergeant commanded to move,” William touched Robert, waking him from his haze of thoughts.
I guess military service in all worlds is the same – more time in training, traveling, and waiting than actually fighting…
The road further went uneventful until the very evening. The setting sun was sending its reddish light through dense green leaves. Most of the wildlife was finishing the day, giving way to the night dwellers. The caravan was already in search of a place to set camp, as they didn’t manage to keep the needed speed to get to the planned point. Most of the soldiers were quite tired by this point, longing for the rest. Coachmen were not different. All talks died out with most thoughts being occupied by images of warm food and sleep. All eighty Baron’s warriors were stretched out across all convoy into groups with 3-5 men in each. They had around a dozen in vanguard, but, by this point, no one kept proper order. Even two leading knights had been sitting in carts for hours already. Therefore, when Robert heard a strange commotion, he didn’t react in time, out of habit cursing another breakage of a heavy-loaded cart or the idiot, who somehow managed to get hurt, creating an unwanted stop. William had to push in shoulder to attract his attention. A few seconds later loud scream sounded throughout the convoy.
“Enemy’s attack!”
Crap, I might jinx it…