Chapter Twenty-Seven: Construction and Training

Ever since Art brought back a large quantity of grain, the people at the timber fort in the valley had felt much more at ease.

The land reclamation project in the valley, which was only halfway finished, had come to a halt because the ground had frozen as hard as iron, making it impossible to drive a hoe into the earth. Following the plan Art had previously drafted, Cooper began working on clearing a carriage road between the timber fort and the edge of the northern dense forest. To shorten the duration and workload, Cooper and Bard set out from the fort to map the shortest and flattest route toward the forest edge.

On the seventh day after Art and his companions returned with the grain, the massive road-building project officially commenced. Most of the farmers and their wives, who were idle due to the frozen ground, threw themselves into the work. They were divided into three teams: the first cut down trees and brush along the marked route; the second cleared away roots, dug up high spots, and filled in depressions; and the third used heavy wooden stakes to pound the ground and compact it. According to Cooper, this was the fastest and simplest method of road construction. While a more refined approach would have required a foundation of coarse stone, a layer of gravel for leveling, and drainage ditches on both sides, Art opted for the simplest method due to a lack of manpower and the difficulty and high cost of obtaining stone. Even with this simplified approach, progress was slow.

While the carriage road was being cleared, construction at the fort did not stop. To thresh the wheat, the farmers pooled their efforts to build a simple stone mill and constructed a small millhouse and a bread oven next to the kitchen. In Art’s private courtyard, a sturdy log-and-thatch granary was erected using timber cleared from the road project. Bard, the old carpenter who had been helping Cooper direct the road work, was called back to the fort to specialize in crafting several simple, thick wooden round shields and ten iron-tipped short spears, using high-quality oak and ash wood harvested from the road site. Under Emma’s leadership, the women who knew how to sew worked to finish a batch of black cloaks and mantles.

Almost everyone at the timber fort was caught up in the fervor of construction, with the exception of Odo, Ron, and their two companions.

To improve their combat capabilities, Art spent every day leading the four of them in practicing basic horsemanship, combat sparring, and shield-and-spear formations. Furthermore, Art fully incorporated the formation Odo, Bas, and Kazak had used when brawling as laborers, refining it into a core part of their daily training.

This improved three-man formation consisted of one brave primary attacker armed with a shield and a blade, axe, or hammer in the lead, supported by two others behind with shields and weapons. When attacking, the lead man charged while the other two provided cover; when facing a stronger enemy, they would tighten their formation, back-to-back, using their weapons and shields for defense. The performance in practice was quite promising. This formation did not require high individual martial skill, but it demanded high levels of coordination.

Every morning, Art led the four of them in sparring with wooden staves to hone individual techniques. In the afternoons, they practiced the three-man formation and spear-shield defense, and in the evenings, Art attempted to teach them to read the common script and introduced some simple military strategy.

After more than a month of relentless daily training, Odo and his men had made significant progress in both individual skill and formation coordination. At the very least, they were no longer mere brawlers relying on raw courage and desperation. In Bas’s words, if they were to fight those guild thugs again, the three of them could easily take down seven or eight.

One evening, in Art’s wooden house, Odo and his men sat around a wooden table, yawning as they listened to Art’s dry lecture. "Last night I spoke about individual combat training. Today, I will talk about formation coordination and military discipline. You have surely realized through this period of training that if you were to spar with me individually, I could take down all of you. That is because I have been training in combat techniques since I was young; I know the simplest ways to kill an opponent. You were laborers and farmers until recently, and your individual skills cannot be improved significantly in a short time. The reason the three of you were so formidable among the laborers of Lucesern was simply because your opponents were also untrained laborers. Everyone was ignorant of real technique and held back, so those with more strength and desperation always had the advantage."

"But once you truly face bandits, outlaws, or mountain raiders, your strength and courage will not be an absolute advantage. Your opponents are desperate men who have spent years killing; some may even be deserters from armies. They have even more courage than you, and they often know how to kill you in a single strike. Therefore, when facing opponents whose combat skills are superior to yours, formation coordination becomes vital. Think back—the few times you managed to beat me during this training, wasn't it due to tight, tacit coordination? Especially your three-man formation, Odo, Bas, and Kazak. Odo leads the charge, while Kazak and Bas provide cover. When you have the advantage, you push together; when you are weak, you pull back into a defensive cluster. Whenever I attacked one of you, I had to face the sword, axe, or spear of the other two."

"Furthermore, when facing a numerically superior enemy, we must be proficient in using the spear-and-shield line formation. This formation can withstand the enemy's first desperate charge, and once their momentum is stalled, you can break into three-man squads to launch a counterattack."

Bas, Kazak, and Ron sat around the table, looking puzzled. They knew the formations they practiced daily were effective in combat, but they struggled to grasp the theory Art was explaining. Odo, however, began to understand the difference between a chaotic brawl and a military formation. He realized that the reason he, Bas, and Kazak had been able to defeat larger groups in the past wasn't just because they were strong and brave—it was because, compared to opponents who swarmed forward blindly, they had possessed a primitive form of coordination.

Art’s voice continued, and Odo snapped out of his thoughts.

"After discussing coordination, let us talk about military discipline. Strictly speaking, we are not an army yet. The border patrol unit we are about to form is merely a civilian militia intended to capture thieves and defend against mountain tribes. However, we must still have the discipline of an army. I believe you will never forget the experience of being hunted by that band of outlaws in the woods! I have always felt that those outlaws were no ordinary men. They were certainly deserters from an army, or at least had soldiers as their elite core. They hounded us for an entire afternoon! Think about it—without absolute discipline, could those bastards have been that persistent?"

"You might ask me what military discipline is. To that group of outlaws, discipline meant that once the leader gave the order, they would pursue until they dropped dead. After we officially form the patrol unit, everyone must obey military discipline—if you are ordered to charge, you charge even into a rain of arrows and spears; if you are ordered to retreat, you retreat even if there is a mountain of gold behind you. I demand this of you, and in the future, you will demand the same of your subordinates. You must know that I provide not only tempting grain and pay, but also sharp steel blades for those who break the rules."

The men might not have fully grasped the concept of military discipline, but they would never forget that day they were hunted by the outlaws. Moreover, in their simple way, they believed that if they ate a man’s grain and took his wages, they should obey his commands.

Odo spoke up loudly, "The Master is right. Just like when we used to brawl—if you lot didn't listen to me, failing to step up when needed or failing to run when necessary, we would have been driven out of the city by the guild thugs of Lucesern long ago. So, from now on, we will absolutely obey the Master’s orders!"

"Right, even if I don't know what this 'military discipline' is, if the Master tells me to charge, I charge; if he tells me to retreat, I retreat," Bas responded enthusiastically, and Ron and Kazak followed suit.

The ice on the creek in front of the fort began to thin; the coldest part of deep winter had passed.

The frozen earth in the valley began to soften, and Cooper stopped the carriage road construction to focus on plowing the newly cleared fields.

As the weather warmed, Art, having spent half the winter cooped up in the valley, decided it was time to head out and establish the patrol unit.

On a late winter evening, Art called Cooper, Odo, Ron, and the others, along with Lawrence and Scott, into the wooden house in his private courtyard for a simple banquet.

At the end of the banquet, Art said to them, "Gentlemen, two years ago today, this place could not even be called a timber fort, for there was only a dilapidated wooden hut and a forest hunter barely clinging to life. One year ago today, the old steward Cooper arrived, and through his diligent construction, the broken hut became the current timber fort, now with two houses, a stable, and a yard full of pigs and sheep. Today, there are five or six houses, over forty people, and large tracts of fertile land... Most importantly, there is hope in the fort, and everyone can see a peaceful and prosperous life beckoning. All of this is the result of the efforts led by those of you sitting here."

Everyone listened quietly, especially Cooper, who had been there from the start and shared the fort’s fate.

Art continued, "You are all the people I trust most, and the valley timber fort needs your continued dedication."

"Scott and Lawrence, your main responsibility from now on is to assist the old steward in managing affairs in the valley, especially the plowing and sowing of the newly cleared land; I need you to take the lead."

"Lawrence, in addition to leading the agricultural work, you are also responsible for the safety of the people in the fort. I will set aside some of the short spears and wooden shields the old carpenter has finished, and tomorrow I will select several strong, brave men from the villagers to form a fort guard. You will serve as the captain. The guards will plow and farm in their spare time, and when idle, you will lead them in patrolling the surroundings. I authorize the fort guard to hunt game in the mountains. Furthermore, each guard member will receive fifteen pounds of grain per month as pay, and you, as captain, will receive twenty pounds. Scott, you will join the guard as well, and we will select three others from the men who participated in the defense against the refugees."

After making arrangements for Lawrence and Scott, Art turned his gaze to old Cooper. "Cooper, just like last time, you will be in charge of all matters in the fort while I am away. Additionally, once the plowing of the new land is finished, you must immediately organize men to go to the various villages and settlements south of Tineč to purchase wheat seeds. We have two thousand five hundred denarii remaining, and I will leave you one thousand five hundred of those. You must purchase the seeds before the spring planting, otherwise, once spring arrives and refugees and bandits begin moving about, it will not be so easy to buy grain. As for the shortfall in seeds, I will find a way."

"Do not go to the Ryan Estate. I have been to the other villages and settlements and have already spoken with the local lords and squires. Just tell them that you are the men sent by Art, the Warden of the Southern Frontier, to purchase grain, and they will help transport the seeds to the edge of the northern dense forest. Lawrence, you will lead the guard to accompany the old steward when that time comes."

Having finished the arrangements for the valley, Art shifted the topic to the formation of the patrol unit.

"Odo, this time we are going to the northern border of Provence to recruit patrol soldiers. You all go to the storeroom to prepare equipment for ten men and one month’s worth of rations for fifteen. We depart tomorrow afternoon."

The men acknowledged the orders and went to make their preparations. The night passed in silence.

The next afternoon, Cooper, Lawrence, and Scott helped Art’s group load the weapons and grain to the edge of the northern dense forest. This time, Art took both the blue mule and the bay horse. The carriage parked at the forest edge was loaded with five hundred pounds of hulled barley, ten iron spears, fifteen self-made simple black wooden round shields, ten black cloaks, and some swords, axes, hammers, felt blankets, and cooking utensils. Art and Odo’s group were all fully armed and donned in black cloaks.

The group rode on horseback and traveled by carriage toward the giant boulder pile to the north. They arrived at the boulders by evening, camped for the night, and then turned southwest toward the northern border of Provence.