The not-immortal Blacksmith - Interlude - The Kid II
Excerpts from the journal of "Liam the Kid" Part II
I'm in the Army now. I skipped the rank of "Recruit" and went strait to "Private". It has been several days and I've been given 11 recruits to train while I await my posting!
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Either these kids are utter crap, or The Goddess gave me more power than I thought she did. It has been a week, and the poor guys are almost dead. I guess I'll have to slow training down a bit.
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A corporal challenged me to a match today. Said I wasn't good enough to train recruits. Now I remembered the lessons of Sir Maxwell, and asked him to clarify the challenge, I don't want to become some lord or something. He said, and I quote, "A little kid like you got no right to be teaching soldering to people. Fight me for the job." So I punched him in the nuts, just like I was taught. He went down. Then I pulled my short sword (A beautiful patterned steel blade that the master gifted me for my birthday), pointed the tip to his throat, and asked, "Do you yield?" He yielded.
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It's been two weeks, still no assignment. A platoon from the regular army are now in with my training squad. They can barely keep up with my squad. What are they teaching these people? Master would be displeased.
I got a new recruit today. She is a "kittenish", a Cat Folk from Demonia.
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Three weeks in, and no assignment yet. The regular army platoon has been recalled to the front. To bad, I was starting to like them. I keep forgetting that I'm only thirteen here, so I can't actually drink anything but ale yet. The platoon will be replaced tomorrow.
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Week four draws to an end. Training has been going well. My recruits are coming along nicely. I have decided to only fully train them in short sword, shield and spear. I think the full breadth of weapons training that I had would overwhelm them. The platoon of regulars is being replaced again. I assume it will be a recurring thing.
I have heard rumors of the local recruiting stations being over-run with volunteers. I wonder what that's all about.
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Week five has ended, and due to good hard work and accomplishments, I have given my men the weekend off to enjoy the town. They have been advised to go in pairs, tip well, and be nice. I also gave them each some pocket coin to help them in getting their fun.
Tomorrow morning, I have a meeting to discuss my future, as I am becoming dissatisfied with all the waiting. I know Master Maxwell will be displeased with me, but I am chafing to put my skills and my men to the test.
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Well fuck me sideways. I have been given bad news after bad news. I have been promoted to Master Sargent. I have also been given 100 recruits of various species and expertise to train up and build into a single cohesive unit. Time to think about all of those leadership seminars I either slept through or was high as a kite during.
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My men have returned. Only a few cuts and bruises for their trouble. I was never called to account, so I assume it was nothing to worry about. I have informed them that shit rolls down hill, and gave them each a pat on the back and their new stripes. Corporals. All of them.
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The first week of training has gone well. As I lack all of the skills of my Master, I have been forced to create the obstacle course the old fashioned way: Manual Labor. But it is complete.
I divided up all of the recruits into eight person squads after a few days of learning about them. About a third of the recruits are from Demonia and therefore Mixed Blood of one sort or another, another 12 are Beast Men, the rest are humans. The four that were left, I kept for myself, as they already have some reasonable measure of magical skills, and one of them is a pure blood Demon.
We will be doing the obstacle course in the morning as a full unit, and then running it as squads in the afternoon.
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The obstacle course has been a huge success! All those ninja movies from the '70's didn't steer me wrong. The regular troops and even some elite units have been using it as well. "We" still hold the record for best time.
I will say that keeping discipline within the ranks hasn't been fun. The racial insults are still flying fast and furious. I may have to use a cudgel on a few of the men if they keep it up.
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Week three of Boot has come to a close. I had to hang recruit Osterman yesterday. He showed some promise, but he was to fond of trinkets that weren't his, and of other peoples private parts. He won't be missed.
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We are at the halfway point in training. I have had to slow down a lot with the number of people involved. Supply crew and "others" have been showing up all along. I have been forcing them to "participate or leave". The military ones protested, until I called the base commander over and presented my point of, "If they're near the battlefield, they may end up on it, if we are attacked in camp." Command agreed, well actually, he shook his head and said something like, "It's your unit. If they don't like it, they can petition to leave".
I am not exactly popular with the support staff, but the "others" like me well enough.
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It is halfway through week five of training. I am now in need of magical supplies so that we can continue on our training regiment. The support staff have now fully signed on to my training. Apparently being able to K.O. an enlisted when he steals from the food tent went over pretty well.
I have some feelers out looking, but it may all be already gone for the war effort. Probably could have used Osterman for this, but, he really needed gone.
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Score one for the Mixed Bloods! We will be able to do the aptitude assessments after all. I don't want to know where the supplies came from and I didn't ask, I just hope no one got killed.
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Everyone passed their martial exam yesterday. The command staff was very surprised. I did overhear one Captain remark that I should just be left in charge of training the recruits, he was quietly dressed down by a First Lieutenant from Intelligence. Strange things are afoot, I think.
Tomorrow Magical testing begins. As does archery training.
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Basic testing has taken most of three days, has been grueling, and successful. 87 of our 99 recruits have some magical ability, not strong mind you, but some. Everyone will be attending the lectures on the basic fundamentals of magic, even the support staff...I should probably test them as well...
The troops with the best magic stats will be getting specialized training in magic, while the rest will be learning the techniques I was taught on how to best "inconvenience" an enemy spellcaster.
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The Mages Guild is not happy that I am teaching magic to the "Uninitiated". I have been formally charged with breaking guild law. This will be so much fun.
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Command has had a chat with the guild, but they will not stand down. I will have to face their charges. Or find a way around them.
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I have an idea. I don't like how much time it will take, but it might work. All I have to do is pass their stupid test, and get my teaching credentials. It's a stupid plan. I expect it to fail.
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Plan failed. I even took the day off to try it. Apparently I am not the only chosen one to have tried that rout. Assholes. Next plan is to challenge them for the right to teach. I will need a second. I bet Grexireg the Demon would love to do it.
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Grexireg had to decline for religious reasons. Fiona, the Kittenish recruit who joined us late, volunteered to be my second. The challenge has been delivered.
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Challenge accepted.
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The challenge was grueling. Hard. Painful. Nothing compared to what Master Maxwell put me through. Fiona was allowed to assist in some of the challenges, as she qualified as a "proper familiar". That title almost got the guild's dean of students killed, as I was only barely able to hold her back.
It was nice to have my troops on hand lending me their moral, and on some embarrassing occasions immoral, support.
As things stand, I am now "Honorary Professor, Magical Studies" of the Guild of Magic. Suck it, assholes. I can teach my classes in peace.
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Dearest Goddess,
It has been twelve weeks since I enlisted. Our training is complete. Tomorrow we depart for the northern front, where we will confront the enemy head on. We will be the tip of the spear, and the rest of the army will be our haft. If you see Master Maxwell, please tell him that I WILL make him proud.