TNL 36 – Recruitment Part Two
The next day, Raidon has three groups of three men investigate. He keeps the last soldier with him in the garrison. Raidon and the soldier go first to the office of the major who commanded the garrison. Here Raidon finds maps and other papers that could prove useful if they use the city. Since these papers will require more study, they will save them for now.
Then they visit the other offices. Here they mainly find documents that are useless to them. Only at the last office they find something they could use. The soldier outs of a cry of surprise and with a huge smile, he hands Raidon a third-level soldier's manual.
"Maybe you can learn something from this, Sergeant! In any case, it looks a lot better than the damaged one from the palace."
During the search, Raidon and the soldier find out that this 'city' was not a city at all. Ports like these were called naval bases. This naval base was designated by the number three seven five.
"Well, in terms of names, they weren't very creative," Raidon notes.
Furthermore, it appears that a naval base was not under the direction of the garrison. In a naval base, not only normal soldiers were present. It had a garrison the size of a battalion, but there was also a second battalion of marines present. These two thousand soldiers were supported by hundreds of others that comprised of support personnel, sailors, traders, farmers and more. All this was under the command of a commander. A commander was someone who fell outside the standard ranks and had a certain location under his command. A commander was not supposed to fight, but mainly to take care of the administration.
Raidon decides to go with some soldiers to look for the commander's headquarters the next day. This was not in the garrison, but had its own building.
"Probably that beautiful building across from the temple," Raidon murmurs.
The other groups come back and they discuss what they have found.
"It seems as if the ships are still in good condition. If we had sailors, we could start using the ships right away, Sergeant."
"The forge is also in good condition. There are still parts, weapons and large stocks of iron and coal."
The last group has found row after row of barracks.
"There is something to be found inside here and there. Here some coins, there some clothes, some weapons." The soldier who reports this hands Raidon something.
"These can also be found in almost every barracks: Manuals."
The rest of the afternoon they spend on exercises, eating and in the evening even cleaning a room in the barracks. The intention is that soon, enough of it will be cleaned so that if necessary the entire New Legion can take refuge here.
When the sun rises the next day, Raidon sets out with four soldiers to the commander's headquarters. The other six soldiers go back to investigate the city in two groups.
The commander's headquarters is opposite the temple. Opposite the barracks of the garrison is a huge canteen. The headquarters is locked, but eventually Raidon and his men manage to get in. Once inside, they find out that the commander also lived here. On the top floor a very spacious bedroom. There are also a few rooms for staff.
"Not enough to put it into use," Raidon concludes. The barracks are a much better choice for now.
The ground floor is much more impressive than the ground floor of the barracks. More than half of it is occupied by a reception hall. The rest consists of offices, just like the first floor. The second floor consists of the office of the commander and some other important administrators.
In the old commander's office, Raidon finds many more documents than in the barracks. There are maps, lists, and bills here, in short, everything. Raidon also finds a letter on the desk. It states:
The fifth battalion of the seventh legion, together with the remaining marines and other personnel, will leave the naval base to make the crossing to the capital on the continent. The naval base will be closed by the priest until she or another battalion returns.
Now Raidon knows how it is that no one ever came into the naval base to loot. It was protected by Mithras! This not only ensured that no one could enter, but also that people forgot that this place existed. In addition, the decay of everything within the walls has also slowed down enormously. Dust and birds have made a lot of dirt, but almost nothing has really broken in all those centuries.
All in all, they find little else in the office that is of immediate use. The documents should only be reviewed once later. That's going to take a lot of time. To be on the safe side, they do another round through the building, but they find very little that they missed the first time.
When they are back at the barracks, they find a very enthusiastic group of soldiers there. One of the other groups has come back before because they found something, namely the pantries. Here are still items from the former garrison and it is huge. There really is a lot in there. Everything from food and wines to sails for the ships. There are also tools for farmers, blacksmiths, tanners and more. There is even seed in airtight packages.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The other group returns a little later with news that in the arsenal are not only armor, but also weapons and projectiles for bows and crossbows. There are even things like parts of catapults and other devices that they don't even recognize.
For Raidon, it's clear that they're going to stay here. There's too much they can use to leave it all behind. The rest of the week they continue to find things that the former residents have left behind. One of the most important discoveries is the library. Upon closer examination, they find a huge amount of soldiers' manuals. In addition, the other series such as specialists and marines are also present. And that's just the beginning of the knowledge that can be found in the library.
Raidon is particularly impressed by a history book. The book recounts part of the oldest history of the ancient legions:
In the second year after the landing of the fifth legion, the plate armor was developed by the first new priests of Mithras.
The usual Lorica segmentata or chest harness fell into disuse because the plate harness offered better protection.
Furthermore, the plate armor was blessed by Mithras, making various benefits available to members of the legion. In this way, some properties of the carrier were strengthened.
For example, soldiers with a natural talent for tactics became better at this, or found it easier to learn strategy as well. Or soldiers who were good at logistics no longer had to count to keep track of their accounts.
It also became possible to create a corruption-free army.
Mithras made sure that all parts of the legion were linked together.
For example, promotions were awarded automatically if the soldier earned them, the soldier could more easily absorb the knowledge from a linked textbook to become a better soldier, and the soldiers' bodies developed much faster to enable them to wear the armor more easily. In addition, it was also possible to attach various weapons to the armor.
Maybe a very simple thing after all these mystical qualities, but still an important one. On the armored legs of the armor it was possible to fasten a gladius and a crossbow, while on the back there was room for a large weapon. These weapons were attached in such a way that the wearer was not bothered by them (apart from a slightly larger weight, which was reduced by the extra muscle strength that the soldiers received).
This makes a lot clear to Raidon. That the harnesses were special was already clear to him. But now he knew much better what to expect from the harnesses. Extra reason to continue reading the books in the library.
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Brandon is busy. After the battle of the pirate base, he first had to set things up to take care of the wounded. Raidon had left almost immediately to go after the pirates, leaving Brandon behind to clean up the mess.
"Apart from the hundreds of dead pirates, we also have to decide what to do with their base," Brandon told his squad leaders. "Raidon and I have decided that we are going to leave a garrison here and that will be Mateo’s squad."
In doing so, he looks at the squad leader. "Your squad has no injuries, at least not bad enough that they can't do their jobs. I think you'll need them all to make something out of this place. The rest will go back to Aran with me the day after tomorrow. There I will send two more squads to Lenn in Fort Alpha, along with the rest of his own squad. Who those squads are, we'll see then."
Brandon looks around the group again.
"For today, our job is to clean up the pirates' bodies. Mateo, you are going to look for a building here where you and your squad can set up a garrison. Gareth, I want you to deal with the freed prisoners. Also see if there are a few who want to stay to help the garrison. That's enough orders for now, I think.
The second day in the pirate base is a lot more fun for most soldiers. Mateo has found the headquarters of the pirates and decided to set up in garrison in there. The entire pirate village consists of a large house, in which the garrison is now set up, about twenty smaller houses, three warehouses and a single well on the square in front of the large house. The whole thing is enclosed by a wooden palisade with two towers at both ends at the harbor.
Gareth has found a whole bunch of volunteers to help the garrison. And now that the corpses have been cleared, the soldiers of the New Legion can engage in looting the base. Everything of value that will not be immediately useful for the garrison is gathered in the port. There it is loaded into the fishing boats and sent to Aran, along with Gareth's squad for surveillance.
For Brandon, this is a day when he can really develop himself. He has taken on the entire administration and everything that is found, he lists neatly.
"Organizing is really something for Sergeant Brandon," Mateo eventually remarks to his fellow squad leader John.
"Fortunately, yes, imagine if I had to do it. Then we had nothing to eat within a week."
"After a week? I think you'd have everything eaten within a few days. Big pig that you are."
By evening they have searched the whole village. The first loot is already loaded into the fishing boats so that Gareth can take it to Aran the next day.
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When the fishing boats arrive in Aran, Gareth sees that they are already being met by Morris. How did he know we were arriving here? Gareth asks himself.
A little later, that question is answered.
"Welcome back, Gareth, did you have a good trip?"
"Certainly, it was a nice trip. But how did you know we were going to be back today? All the boats are loaded with loot and I had them all with me."
"Not all boats. Ryker returned the day before yesterday in a small one-person boat. That man likes to be the first to arrive with news. He told you that you would probably arrive today. I have to say that I am impressed by the knowledge that man has of the ocean."
"Well, that explains that. A small boat would not be missed when loading the loot."
"Indeed. But now I'm guessing it's time to unload, isn't it? I think we're holding things up."
With the help of an army of helping hands, the entire loot was loaded from the boats within three hours and taken to the garrison. Here are all available clerks were already waiting.
"I think we need a little more people than these two, Morris," Gareth's dry comment is.
"Well, as you know, we don't exactly have a lot of staff available."
"That may be the case, but we’ll still be working next year like this. Maybe it's time to hire a few more people. With this loot, we have enough funds to take on a few extra clerks. Oh, and while you're at it, make sure we get some good kitchen staff. Because I'm ready for a good dinner, after the shit we had to eat on the island."
"I will ask the mayor if he knows any people that need a job. The old garrison must have employed more people. Especially since our two clerks have been with us since the beginning. Where are the clerks of the garrison? I think the mayor has something to explain if he has withheld those experienced forces."
That same day, Morris manages to get eight extra clerks from the mayor and even an extra cook along with her students.