I was unable to sleep. The Raided village and the remains of the dead had kept me awake for the night. I felt a sense of primal wrongness with the actions of the raiders. I also was questioning what was the purpose of my awakening in such a barbaric place, in the body of a minor aristocrat. What did it all Mean?
My Wrath at the raiders had waned throughout the night, and a determination set in. I will try my best to be a good leader. I would try my best to improve things for the villagers and make sure no more innocent people had to suffer such torments, or at least all within my power to do so. I still didn't know what power I had and what power I didn't have. All will play out in the next few days once I get into the fief, I thought finally.
The Campsite was quiet, with only a few men snoring. I had allowed them to drink their sorrows away this night. Contrary to what one might believe, none of them were blooded warriors from the last war. The last war Cosmin's father had to take part in was over a decade ago, so the house guard was not accustomed to such displays. It had shaken everyone, and the morale was low.
After some more stargazing and thinking, I felt the sleep set in. I could have fought it and gone to the tent, but I felt comforted under the sky and the vastness of the stars. I felt like someone was watching over me and protecting me even though I knew no such thing existed.
The sounds of the camp awakened me. The House guard was packing up and was almost done. From a distance, I saw Ion Notice I had got up.
“Good morning, Lord Cosmin. I saw you sleeping so peacefully. I just didn't have it in me to wake you up,” Ion said in a subdued, positive tone.
“Thank you, Ion. Last night, I had trouble falling asleep, so I appreciate your consideration.” I said gratefully.
“We are almost ready to set off. We should be By Floreni Fort at Noon And the White Fortress At dusk.” Reported Ion
“Sounds good,” I said absentmindedly.
We travelled the rest of the way through Chilia County promptly. While on our way, we spotted two more raided villages, mostly husks that would get covered by time in a few years, and no one would know there was a community of people that once lived there. We were also accosted by a few runaway horses while nearing the border of the fiefs. They were bare of any equipment, but even without equipment; it was clear they were steppe horses and not the horse breed the Maldavians used normally.
“ It looks like Some escaped horses from the Tatars.” Said our horse-master.
“ It is bizarre. The Crimean Tatars usually care for their horses much better than even their own children sometimes,” Said Ion, intrigued by the odd sight.
“Well, if there are horses in the vicinity, the raiding party shouldn't be far away,” I said Self evidently.
“Yeah, that must be the case. What does Lord Cosmin say we do ?” Ion asked cautiously, ready to rebuttal any stupid ideas I might get.
“Well, we are a group of roughly three dozen lightly armoured and mounted infantry. It would be best if we group with Floreni Fort Militia and discuss any further actions .” With that, I Whistled loudly, making a waving motion into the air, and then pointed forward, hailing everyone and getting moving.
We had encountered a dozen more horses by the time we reached the Floreni Fort. It seemed like the raiders' horses stampeded somehow. This was a clear opportunity, and we would be fools to miss it.
Now, standing before the gates of the imposing yet small fort. Ion Walked forward to speak with the garrison.
“ The Lord Returns”, Shouted Ion at the gates.
Muttering could be heard, and then we could see some men staring down at us. “The lord Left With a Carriage and a hundred men. And why didn't you send a messenger ahead?” Said A man from on top of the battlements.
“ Tragedy happened, and Cosmin is the new ruling Lord” Ion Shouted, in a matter of fact way.
Ion answered some questions about what had happened and why we broke protocol in this case after two minutes, the man on top decided that this was above his station and spoke out.
“ The Commander will have to confirm your identities.” Someone told us from up on high.
We waited in front of the gates for a minute or so, staring at the men above as they stared right back at us. Just as the atmosphere was getting tense at the uncertainty, we heard a loud latch being opened in a steel and oak door. We could see the face of a grizzled middle-aged man staring at us through it. It didn't take him long before recognition appeared on his face, and he smiled.
“Ion, My Friend, It is nice to see you; you will have to tell me about what happened on the pilgrimage,” The man said, happy to see an old Friend.
“I would be happy to, but we need to sorty out some scouts and get the garrison Ready; Tatars are raiding Chilia, and their horses stampeded,” Ion said, almost mixing words together in his haste.
At the news of Tatars, a grim face set on the militia commander's face. He proceeded to open the Door, hailing us in. The man was wearing what I assumed to be civilian garb: white linens, a nice thick leather belt, and a longsword attached to his side. He also wore a funny hat that I saw some men wearing occasionally.
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“Cosmin, this is one of the men who fought alongside me and your father in the last war. He is one of the few who survived that disaster. His name is Constantin, " said Ion quietly.
Ion eventually discovered my lack of knowledge in many aspects and took it upon himself to be a tutor of some kind to me. The man in question ordered his soldiers like a machine gun, shooting words one after the other, not allowing even one question to be asked.
“Get the men suited in their heavy sets, long-spears, war-hammers, And shields. Have the Bowmen On horseback and tell them to bring two quivers each,” ordered Constantin.
The organisation of the sorty would take about an hour in the meantime. Constantin organised a scouting party consisting of three of the best horse riders he knew in the fort, along with six horses, to go to the assumed position of the Tatar camp. And bring news to us of what to expect ahead. The sorty would depart as soon as possible regardless of whether the scouting party had brought back news. We would be taking a predetermined path the garrison usually took while on training exercises, so meeting the scouts halfway wouldn't be a problem.
“ I will be joining the Sorty,” I said in a Matter of Fact manner.
“ That is not wise, Cosmin; attacks on the Raiders often end in disaster.” Said Ion worriedly
“ I will not Cower as My men fight those Scum.” With finality, I gestured to Ion that it wasn't to be put into question. It was final.
“ There should be a few sets of new armour yet to be allocated. Speak with Quartermaster Adrian; feel free to take any weapon you please. Hopefully, it won't be needed, but you never know “ Trying to be helpful, Constantin said from the side.
“ Ion, I will require assistance as to what is best to wear and what I should expect, " I Instructed. I was aware of my lack of experience in warfare, my horse riding had improved thankfully, and now the horse went in the direction I wanted most of the time, unlike a few days ago when the horse decided where to go. The breakthrough came suddenly one morning after waking up, and I have grasped the basics ever since.
“ The Quartermaster should be in the keep; let's get you suited. '' I Had been wearing mostly civilian garb and a heavy padded jacket. Good against slashing weapons but not so much at poking weapons.
With Ion leading the way, we took a few minutes to get to the armoury. As we approached the quartermaster's table, I could see him angrily muttering and desperately trying to copy the information from one piece of parchment to the other. It looked like he had spilt some ink on the first piece and was trying to figure out what was written, but with little success.
Ion got his attention with a cough. The quartermaster glanced up and said, in an irritated tone, “ And what would the two of you idiots want at this time? Can't you see I'm busy?”
Now annoyed himself, Ion Spoke in an angry tone. “Watch your words; this is the Lord who employs you.”
“Haha, This isn't a lord. He is a mere child, maybe two years weaned from his mother’s tit.” Said the Disagreeable quartermaster.
“I am here to get suited. Just unlock the Door,” I said irritatedly.
“Here, unlock it yourself.” The quartermaster proceeded to throw the keys at me. I caught them easily and went around the Man to the door behind him.
“I will speak with Commander Constantin about this encounter,” Ion told me. I nodded and proceeded with my task. The man had crossed a line with his unnecessary insults; he would probably be reprimanded and have his wages cut, but I didn't let him distract me any longer. I couldn't afford to be in a bad mood before a fight.
I opened the door and saw a small room with two windows leading to the fort's interior. They were just enough to see where you were walking but not much farther. With the lack of light, Ion borrowed a candle from the hallway and brought it inside.
Looking through the armour and weapons, I was simultaneously impressed and disappointed. The weapons were well made and maintained; nothing was rusting, and you could see the gleam of oiled metal everywhere. There were a few swords and sabres, But the overwhelming majority consisted of warhammers and spears. As for the Armours, I saw some chainmail vests and iron helmets, yet there were no metal breastplates or anything more significant. Whether it was because of a lack of funds or the lack of full suits of armour existing, I didn't know.
Even with my bravado, I was not excited to go into battle. I felt responsible for joining the men, and I knew that I needed to gain prestige and accomplishments whenever I could. I was expecting some complications once I got to The Main Aureni Hold. Even with my brother kidnapped and all my close family dead, there were still plenty of distant relatives who might try to undermine my authority. So, I needed to cultivate a reputation and respect from the men.
Getting suited took about ten minutes. Wearing a new set of chainmail over a new gamberson and with a new iron helmet on my head made me feel much safer. The helmet was slightly oversized, and so was the chainmail; thankfully, the Gambeson was just the right Fit. Overall, I couldn't recognise myself. There was a mental dissonance, and It just didn't seem right for me to wear medieval armour. I never had an interest in anything medieval and had never thought about it, so finding myself in the situation was rather strange.
I had also equipped a small shield and Warhammer. The shield didn't look imposing or like it could do anything, but Ion insisted that I take a shield and use a war hammer since it didn't need as much skill as slashing or stabbing with a sword would take. He also instructed me to run if it looked like we were getting overwhelmed.
With the final preparations finished, I got onto a healthy and experienced warhorse. It was one of the ones The Count had gifted me. It was probably a mistake, as such a war beast could be sold for two dozen burden horses.
I stood to the side of an impressive gathering of men, two hundred strong, all armoured and ready to fight the murderous raiders. There was an undeniable sense of tension. Many times, The Tatars had survived overwhelming odds and won decisive victories. There was a reason they raided with impunity wherever they pleased without any retaliation.
The march started with the men expectant and with high morale. Some good news was that the raiders had to travel light and were in small groups since anything more significant would have had the news of their presence travel through the whole Kingdom in a matter of a day or two. So, the odds were decent.
Two hours later, we encountered the scouting party. They trotted over to us; the scouts looked excited.
“Lord Cosmin” They gave me a Bow on their horses.
“Please tell me the Situation”, I encouraged them.
“Their camp is in disarray. There was a fire, and all their horses stampeded. The camp is lightly guarded, with only sixty men guarding the captured people. They also have groups of men coming and going, about five strong,” the scouts said breathlessly after rushing his words.
“We have to strike as fast as possible”, Said Constantin just beside me.
After discussing a few more details, Constantin and his righthand man went on to organise the men into a simple, wide formation. The cavalry followed, ready to strike either side of the formation.