Eleven – The Basis Part Five

Today there are big weapons on the program. Giant swords, axes and even a huge battle hammer. The men can’t do much with these heavy things. In fact, for most of them it's hard to even lift them. Let alone to fight with them. But a few of them instinctively know how to use them. John is one of them. The hammer seems to fit him perfectly.

"These weapons are intended for individual combat. It is not always possible to fight in formation. But with your armor and these heavy weapons, you will still be a terror to any adversary. For example, if such a hammer is shoved your way, you’ll want to dodge," says instructor Morris. "You will all have to master at least one of these weapons."

At dinner, Raidon and his roommates have to serve the food again. This time even John participates. And although he doesn't do quite as much as the rest, this time they forgive him for that. It's already a lot better than yesterday.

During the meal there is also a better atmosphere. The stories get going again and someone even gets John to tell what kind of things he used to make as a woodworker.

Then they need to wash the dishes. Today, the pile of dishes is almost twice as large as the previous day. Almost immediately they find out why that is.

"We've saved the dishes from lunch for you guys," one of the chefs jokes.

By the time the dishes are done and the laundry is taken away, Raidon and the others are only too happy to go to bed.

The next day Raidon wakes up earlier than the rest. He's always needed less sleep than his family, but since he's been here at the camp, it seems like he's sleeping even less. Maybe this is one of the things that make the New Legion so special, he thinks. As he has to wait for the others to wake up, Raidon decides to clean up John's chest, then at least that's done and who knows, maybe they'll make it through the inspection next time.

A little later, the rest wake up to the morning bell. Raidon has just finished John's chest. The stuff John needs today is even laid out.

Gareth and John's neighbor James help John make his bed today. Although John is still not happy with the help, he does allow it.

Moments later, Raidon's premonition comes true, as Quinn enters with a couple of guards.

"Stand at attention for inspection!" Is shouted. There are moans from the men. No one knows that Raidon took the time to clean up John's chest. Everyone thinks they're going to get an even worse punishment.

Quinn visits everyone. Here and there are some small things, but no big problems. When he arrives in front of John, he says:

"Well, that bed already looks a little better. But I'm afraid that you will still be cleaning toilets anyway, because that box will be a disaster."

"Yes, sir," John murmurs. He is very disappointed, because he was just convinced that they could get everything neat and then get out of punishment duty.

"Sir, shouldn't you inspect the chest first?" asks Raidon.

"You think that matters?" Quinn replies. "Then we'll do that. At least then these guards will have something to laugh about."

Then he opens the chest, and everyone looks at it in amazement. This one is completely neat!

"Hmm, maybe it won't be cleaning toilets for you after all," Quinn says. Then he turns to the men.

"Your room is acceptable. Note that the inspections will become increasingly strict, but for now this is good enough. Your punishment is hereby over."

When Quinn and the guards are gone, everyone looks at Raidon.

"How did you know!? How can this be!? When did that happen!?" Everyone shouts at each other.

Raidon just laughs.

"I woke up early this morning. I seem to need a little less sleep, so I thought, let's clean up John's chest. Apparently that was the right choice."

Everyone starts laughing.

"Did you see Quinn's face when that chest opened?" Asks Gareth. "It looked like he had swallowed a frog!"

Of course, that comment makes everyone laugh even harder.

Today, running laps is very easy for Raidon. The muscle pain has largely disappeared, making it easier for him to walk. It seems as if his condition has already become a lot better. That’s quicker than that should normally be possible. It's like he's been training for weeks instead of just a few days. Not that it's too easy now, because it's still a lot of work.

When the men arrive at the training field that morning, they see that something has changed. Instead of their usual stuff, this time there are targets made from straw bales on the field. There are also crossbows ready in racks.

"Today we are going to make a start with ranged weapons. At the end of your training you will be able to use almost all the weapons you can imagine, but for now we will stick to the crossbow," says instructor Morris.

He then shows how the crossbow works. This means that he fires a few shots at a target, shows how the reload works and also tells which points of attention there are with the weapons such as tendons and crooked arrows.

Per group of ten men, they are assigned one target with two crossbows. This way one crossbow can be cocked while the other is shot. Also, each recruit now gets his own belt with which the can be attached on the left leg of the harness.

In the beginning, almost everyone misses the targets. Raidon himself doesn't even come close to the target. Only John manages to hit the target. Which, thanks to the relaxed atmosphere, leads to hilarity. John manages to hit the target in the hand.

As more shots are fired, the men start to get better at it. At the end of the training, everyone has hit the target at least once. The recruits are pretty happy with this and even the instructors seem to be satisfied.

After lunch, it’s once again time for writing. Since Raidon is more than fed up with the rules of the clerks, he works his own way again. Comparing the words still seems to have much more effect, at least for understanding the sentences in his handbook. As a result, he is not paying attention when one of the clerks comes by to see how it’s going.

"So, you think you can just do something else?" The clerk asks in a loud voice. "In that case, you can probably already tell me what's on the seventh line of your exercise!"

Raidon picks up the practice sheet. He hasn't even looked at the practice sentences yet! Yet he recognizes most of the words at a glance.

"In the north, the final battle is being fought," Raidon reads aloud.

The clerk looks at him surly.

"Almost correct," he says. "You have the tenses wrong, but the rest is correct. I don't know how you do it, but maybe there is some truth in your way of learning. You have my permission to continue like this, but do not distract the others from the correct way of learning. Eventually, even you will have to learn the rules."

Raidon is relieved. At least he can now continue to learn the ancient language in peace.

The afternoon training is again dedicated to sword fighting. Since these are the weapons that are most important when fighting in formation, they are more often used during training than the other weapons. Raidon is now getting to know the repetitions, which allows him to follow the pace. Only a bit more practicing and then he doesn't even have to think about the moves anymore. Which is probably the intention.

The rest of the day is uneventful. Fortunately, Raidon and his group no longer have to do chores, so they can enjoy finally a quiet evening.