Chapter 55: Act 2: Chapter 4
Eleventh day, Second Moon, 252 AC (+184 days)
"Ah, Michael. Just the person I wanted to talk to."
I looked up from my desk and saw Donovar standing at my door. I waved my hand for him to sit and waited for him to get settled.
"Good morning, Donovar. What did you want to speak to me about?" I asked.
"Weapons and armor," he replied, curtly.
I sighed as I leaned back in my chair. "I suppose I ought to come to a final decision before spring hits."
"Yes, Michael."
"Fine, let's start from the top then. Right now, you are training two different groups. One consists of young men, that will primarily be garrisoned at the castle, and perhaps patrol Redbridge. The second, made up of young boys, will have a wider variety of training and form the core of what is to be my military strength."
Donovar bobbed his head and replied, "Correct. I aim to have the second group, including your son, proficient at handling a few different types of weapons, while the first only a small selection."
"Well, the first group, the garrison soldiers, can use a halberd as their main weapon, like you had suggested earlier?"
"Aye, that is a fine choice. Good for guard duty, as well as patrolling the village. I was also thinking a crossbow would be an excellent ranged weapon for them."
"Wait, I thought you agreed with my plans for encouraging the use of longbows?" I asked, confusedly.
"I am, in regard to the broader populace. However, for garrisoned troops, the crossbow is a better weapon. The disadvantages of the crossbow are largely negated by using it atop the castle walls."
"So, crossbows just for the garrisoned men? Wouldn't it be better to just train everyone on a longbow? Easier for training purposes, and less variety in our weapon purchases."
"No," he said, slowly, while in thought. "No, while it is true that it might be simpler for the supplies, it really doesn't hold that much benefit. It is simpler t' train a crossbowman than a longbowman. While a master longbowman is a much deadlier thing to face on a battlefield than a master crossbowman, an adequate crossbowman can be trained in a shorter time and be very deadly for it."
I shrugged as I didn't care too much, what the garrison guard had. I knew that massed longbowmen could be great, and so long as Donovar wasn't undermining that, I didn't care.
"What about the younger boys, including my son?" I asked.
"They will be trained in the more traditional weaponry: sword, bow, dagger, mace or hammer, shield and eventually horsemanship. Once that training is completed, we will have to reassess to see what else is needed. They might also learn the lance or polearms."
"That sounds fine; I don't know enough to add to that. Will they learn the longbow?"
"Aye, even if none use it, the strength required to learn it will be a boon for their training. Though, a shortbow would be a boon if they are primarily mounted."
"Can they learn both the shortbow and the longbow?"
"I don't see why not. Though I would advise against having them learn them at the same time. Let us start with the longbow, and once complete, then the shortbow."
"Alright, so what of armor?"
"Well, gambeson is a must, as you already know. Typically, you would add more in layers, so next would be chainmail with a half sleeve. Depending on costs, for the garrison men, you can stop at that. If you want, you can spend more on a brigandine."
"What's a brigandine?"
"It's a type of chest armor. It's essentially a coat of plates; small metal plates are on the inside and riveted to a layer of cloth or leather. It's not as effective as plate armor, which I would assume you will buy your son, but it is better for your men-at-arms, especially since they can put it on without help from others."
Huh, so like a medieval flak jacket? Interesting. "What about other items, like helmets?"
"Helmets will need to be purchased, but I wouldn't bother with anything else for the garrison men. If they want to purchase anything else, they can buy it themselves. That is pretty much the standard arrangement in the North. Besides, most men won't bother with additional gear, especially if they are at the top of the castle walls. As for the young men, that is highly dependent on what you plan t' do with them."
I scratched my cheek as I thought. "Ideally, I would want them to be highly mobile, with the ability to deal with whatever threats to my land. The land right now is under-populated, and with few bandits, but I hope that in the coming years the population and wealth is booming. That means an increase in bandits and perhaps Ironborn raids. We need to be able to deal with that."
"Increased Ironborn raids will be a problem; we don't know how many men will attack at once. If we don't send enough men, then the men won't be able to do anything."
"I've talked that over with Lord Stark, actually. The number of raids might increase, but the men per raid won't. If the Ironborn start sending multiple ships to villages, the Greyjoys will no longer be able to disavow those actions. After that, the Greyjoys will either have to rebel or severely punish their vassals and stop all raids. Essentially, if they escalate the issue it becomes less of our problem."
Donovar smirked a bit at that. "Fair enough."
"In that case, for the young men, they should be capable of dealing with whatever threats they face. So, more armored than the garrisoned men, and more heavily armed as well."
"Alright, so we will aim to have them equipped with gambeson, mail, and brigandine. A helmet is a must, one with frontal face protection preferably, some faulds would be good, and at least a vambrace. Depending on what they face, pauldrons or gauntlets may not be beneficial, so that can be held off for now; boots and plate for the legs can wait as well. Perhaps if we extend the faulds t' cover the thigh? It's better for the men if they can put on all their armor themselves, especially when they are in the field or on patrol."
"Aye, sort of like a protective skirt?"
Donovar bobbed his head while he thought. "Yes, that would be good for extended horseback riding, especially with a split down the middle."
"Sounds reasonable to me. How will that work for the winter?"
"Winter?" he asked, confusedly.
"Aye, the winter. The men will need to patrol during the winter as well. Doesn't make sense to abandon the countryside for years, does it?"
Donovar was a bit pale as he replied, "Winter patrols will be verydifficult, Michael. It's really not done, especially in the interior. We are lucky that the winters are so mild here, it's what allowed the people here to avoid living in villages. In Lord Stark's land, as well as most of his vassals, the people will move near their lords keep into a village for the winter. It lets the Lord keep watch over the winter and protects the smallfolk."
I chuckled as I said, "Well, we are too spread out for that to work. Can we not use the cross-country skis? That would allow for plenty of movement."
"I suppose that might be an acceptable solution. I would have to do some testing to see the usefulness of it." He grinned a bit and said, "Would have to train the boys more, as well."
I grinned as a thought popped into my head. "And perhaps instead of horses, we can use dog sleds in the winter! They are fast and mobile, maybe more so that the skis!"
Donovar tilted his head in thought. "That might be true. I suppose I would have to see. Do some trials and the like; determine how much can be pulled, how many dogs are needed, and the distance they can travel. Yes, maybe they are more akin t' horses and good for quick, shorter distances? I will test this."
"See! Not as bad as all that, is it?"
"Perhaps not, but I still need to test it out. This doesn't help us with making sure the boys can survive out there in the winter. How will they survive in a blizzard? If their food supplies spoil? Most of these boys likely can manage for short periods of time, but if they are far from help?"
I frowned and slumped a bit in my chair. "Damn. The trappers might help if we consult them? Especially if we pay them a consultation fee."
"Consultation fee?" Donovar asked, with his eyebrow raised.
"Aye. If we are going to consult them, might as well pay them."
Donovar laughed and replied, "Aye, fair's fair. That's a lot of extra training for the boys."
"That reminds me of something else I wanted to bring up. I had a few ideas for training I wanted to bring up with you. There are a few exercises I do, that might be helpful to you, especially if we expand them a bit."
"Oh, what is that?"
"It's called weightlifting. Sort of like what you are already having the boys do, but adding weights into the mix, and targeting certain motions."
I stood up and demonstrated what I was talking about.
Donovar looked mildly interested, but clearly had trouble picturing what I was saying.
"It's fine, it's just a suggestion," I said, "Come by my house tomorrow, and I will show you."
"Aye, that sounds good."
"The other thing I thought might be beneficial is more team exercises. If they need to rely on their fellows, they need to not only trust them but know their limits. Incorporating teamwork ought to help, I think. Something like all of them picking up a log at the same time or helping each other climb obstacles."
"Hmm, the boys already know the limits of the others through sparring, but the additional exercises might help. Maybe incorporate it into this weightlifting thing."
I shrugged. "Just food for thought."
"No, no! More training is always welcome! I always aim to be stronger than yesterday! If I must, I will be stronger than half a day ago, or even a moment ago! Those whom I train will benefit from this, and if they are smart, adopt such a thing for themselves!"
I struggled to maintain a blank face at his enthusiasm. I settled on saying, as wisely as I could, "That is a very wise outlook on life."
Donovar grinned and said, "Thank you, my lord! I will sort this out, and if I cannot, I will run around the castle in the snow ten times! If I cannot manage that, I will do 200 pushups!"
I struggled to resist rolling my eyes, as Donovar was always passionate about training. He was an odd duck, but I could see why Lord Stark liked him.
Donovar was two years younger than me, and he still participated in the defense against Redbeard's wilding invasion when he was 14 years old. According to Lord Stark, he had ended up fighting alongside Artos Stark, Lord Edwyle's uncle, and saved his life in the battle. Thanks to Donovar's actions, Artos was able to avenge his brother and kill Redbeard.
When he was asked what boon he wanted for his actions, after the battle, Donovar asked to be taken into the Stark's men-at-arms and to be properly trained!
Donovar had a history of being crazy about training and was not shy about sharing his love of it, at least according to what my tired son told me every night before stumbling into his bed.
"Ah, before I forget," Donovar said, "You will need t' choose how their loyalty is displayed. You can have them wear a surcoat, paint the brigandine t' your liking, or have some other special type of distinction, such as the King's Landing Gold Cloaks."
"Well, I decided on my House's sigil. It is green and gold, parted per pale, with the green on the left. A sun is emblazoned in the center, with the rays of light being sickles on the right pale, and stalks of wheat on the right. The color of the sun is the inverted colors."
"Ah, green and gold. Good colors."
"Hmm, well I like the idea of emblazoning a small coat of arms on the brigandine to signify that they fight for me. That won't really work if we can't afford the brigandine immediately though. Perhaps we can paint the helmets green? That's pretty distinctive." It actually reminded me a lot of the green berets, as well.
"Green helmets would work; it is similar to the Gold Cloaks, so it would be accepted by many. A surcoat or cloak would also work."
I grimaced at the thought. All I could think of was the scene in The Incredibles with the old lady talking about how bad capes are for superheroes. Granted, my men were in no position to be sucked into a jet engine, but I figured the principle was sound.
"No, I don't want anything that can be caught or trapped and used against my men. What about tools?"
"Do you mean, like axes and such?" At my nod, he continued, "Normally, a kit for a man-at-arms that is travelling would include his bedroll, knife, perhaps an axe, and depending on what is occurring, food."
I leaned back in my chair as I thought. The men would have long distances to travel and might not always have access to a village. Food and shelter would be critical. "Alright, well the men should all definitely carry an axe. Have one carry a sort of combination between an axe and a pickaxe; where it has an axe blade on one half, and a pickaxe on the other. That should help in a variety of situations, but we don't need every man to carry it. Another man or two should carry a shovel; another should carry rope, and someone else carries some fishing gear. Every man should also carry some cooking ware: a pot, a spoon, etc. Once we get patrols going and get a feel for how many men in a group, we can change up those numbers as needed."
"Aye, that sounds fair. That should let the boys handle anything that gets thrown at them."
"Food is another issue. It might be important for them to rush somewhere, so they will need rations to be able to feed them. On a regular patrol, we can schedule them enough time to do some hunting or buy food in a village, but that won't always work. I think dried food would be best for this. I've been working on something that could be really beneficial, especially once our food production increases. The first, is a ground up, dried beef or goat. I call it borts, and it is very lightweight, and once thrown into boiling water, creates a very nice soup. That with some dried, ground up corn, grits, can easily make a meal. Some dried cheese, and maybe fish will keep them healthy and keep the hunger away when quick responses to something are required. Some horse fodder would be good as well, so they don't have to let the horses graze."
Donovar nodded. "Aye, that sounds good. Bland, but good.
"Well then, is there anything else we need to think about?"
Donovar shook his head, and replied, "No, I think that covers everything, Michael." He stood up and gave me a small bow, and said, "I will be off then. I left the boys training under Lord Stark's men, so I don't want to leave them too long, or they might go soft!"
I smiled as he left my office. A good man, if a bit crazy.