While Westbridge looked familiar from a distance, things have visibly changed in the month since the royal entourage left for Lindridge. All damage since Duke Charles’ fateful siege of the capital had been completely repaired by now. The battlefields themselves already were cleaned up months ago. The bodies had been buried and the fallen weapons were collected immediately after the victory. Now, even the individual broken fences were replaced.

  The earthen ramparts constructed by the rebel soldiers still remained, but they weren’t exactly considered ‘damage’. The slopes were smoothened out close to where the roads passed through them, but the rest of the walls weren’t a problem. They would simply serve as an outline of the borders for one of the nearby villages. A terrain feature with a slightly unusual history.

  Theoretically, a future foe could use them against the defenders, but the risk was abysmally small. The ramparts were far away from the city walls. Too far to serve any real function. They were only intended for a singular battle, and it was unlikely that similar circumstances would occur again. In fact, it was just as likely that this terrain could benefit the kingdom in a future conflict instead. And that’s assuming that another enemy somehow made it all the way to the capital.

  But that wasn’t the most surprising change. By the river, off to the side of the city, a new palisade had grown in the meantime. In the exact location of the new army camp.

  Duke Jan, recently promoted from his position of count, was clearly hard at work. His troops used their experience from the war and set up a fortified position, defending the flank of the city. Of course, it would have been even better if the walls were stone, like the ones surrounding the rest of the city, but those take longer than a month to set up.

  “Impressive work,” Varre said, looking out of the window, “I’m curious what it looks like inside.”

  Benjamin smiled. “If your majesty would prefer, we could adjust the schedule a little bit. It’s not like there’s any parade waiting for us.”

  While the visit of a monarch was always a major event in provincial cities, Westbridge was well used to it. There was no need to make a grand show every single time the king happened to pass through the gates. The previous times, he was traveling at the head of an army. In those cases however, the parade was intended largely for the soldiers, rather than their commander. Now, this was just a personal visit.

  A messenger was quickly dispatched to the military camp, while the caravan slowly meandered down the cobbled road. They could see the city from far away, from their position atop a small hill. It would easily take several hours to reach the base, so the soldiers inside would have time to get ready.

  Fortunately, it was enough. By the time the royal entourage arrived at the gate, the doors were thrown wide open. The structure itself was clearly temporary. Even the one surrounding Ashbourne looked sturdier, though admittedly it was far smaller too.

  The logs were loosely held together with rope, just as they had around the siege camps during the war. The towers were short and crooked, and rather than sticking out of the walls, creating good lines of overlapping fire, they were built inside of the perimeter. At least they attached some flags around the gate, to show who the area belonged to.

  The overall effect wasn’t exactly imposing, but it would keep out uninvited strangers. And even if some deranged group of desperate bandits tried to assault the camp anyway, they’d have to contend with the two thousand soldiers sitting inside.

  And they’ve had far more training than most commoners.

  The footmen lined up on both sides of the road leading deeper into the camp. Their backs were straight, and they held their weapons steady. While their gear still wasn’t finalized, Duke Jan made sure to send out the most outfitted ones to the front of the welcoming party. The first ranks wore chainmail armor and metal helmets, while the ones behind them made do with gambesons.

  Perhaps this was intentional. Varre recalled that the exact composition of the troops was a point of contention between the various commanders. A professional army was a very radical idea, and no one knew exactly how to best utilize it. Should it be made up completely of heavy infantry? What about archers? Cavalry? Siege engineers? And if budget was no issue, perhaps even some dedicated wizards?

  The caravan travelled all the way down the perfectly straight road to a large square in the center of the camp. They passed several large buildings on the way, but this was to be expected. The base was intended to house two thousand soldiers. The population of a decently sized town.

  Jan and all of his high ranking officers stood at the far end of the plaza, waiting for their liege. They dressed up in their best plate armor, though with the limited notice they didn’t have the time to fully shine them.

  “Welcome to Westbridge,” the duke said with a short bow, as soon as the monarch left his carriage, “what brings you to us so soon? Have you began to miss the army life already?”

  Varre smiled at him and shook the man’s extended hand. “It’s good to see you again. I see you’ve been hard at work. Good. I was worried you were sitting around, twiddling your thumbs and wasting my money.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jan shot him a wink, “with the rebellion over we don’t expect any ruffians to attack us any time soon, but we still need to get the men some shelter before the snows.”

  “Is that what the buildings around us are?” the king gestured around the square.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Indeed. I can show you around if you’d like.”

  The monarch agreed and the men started walking around the compound. Now that the welcoming ceremony was over, the soldiers returned to their duties. Partly to get them out of the cold, and perhaps more importantly, to show off what exactly they had been up to all this time.

  “The armory is finished. Well, the temporary one at least,” Jan explained, “for now it’s just a large barrack filled with spears. We’re keeping it under heavy guard, but we’ll want something a little bit better eventually.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Varre asked.

  “We’re going to place it here,” the duke pointed to a spot of cleared ground close to one of the walls. A pit was dug in the soil and the sides of it reinforced with wooden logs. “As the second most important building here, I’ll want it to be made out of stone. At least the ground floor. We’ll have reinforced doors, iron bars, and guards inside around the clock. No one will be able to sneak in.”

  “Second most important? What’s the first? The command center?” the king suggested.

  “You mean the officers’ quarters? Of course not,” Jan laughed, “I meant the mess hall of course.”

  “Fair enough,” Varre smiled, “but why are we placing it here? Wouldn’t it be better at the center of the base? So everyone can reach it quickly?”

  “That’s where we’ve put up the mustering area. The men need a square for roll call and the like. No, we’re putting it here, in the deepest, most defensible part of the camp. Right next to where the gate is going to go,” the duke said.

  An area of the city walls was already marked out for demolition, though the surface was still solid.

  “What’s on the other side?” the king asked.

  “That’s the craftsmen quarter,” Jan explained, “I’ve spoken with your Treasurer and he bought out some of the buildings there. There is a wide street not far from here, so we will be able to connect to it. Once the gate is in place, that is.”

  “Smart thinking. I take it you are waiting until the palisade is replaced?”

  “Exactly,” the duke nodded, “Johan already ordered the stones from the quarry, but they’ve only started to arrive recently. It will take months before we have the full shipment. At the very least. Luckily we have a lot of free manpower,” he said, glancing at a pair of soldiers carrying a log nearby, “but it’s not like we can build anything while the ground is frozen. Still, with any luck, we should be done before the harvest season next year.”

  “That fast?”

  “It’s easier than you think,” Jan shrugged, “we need two straight wall segments. That’s easy. And then we can put something shorter alongside the river.”

  “I thought castles take years to build!” the king protested.

  “They do,” the duke agreed, “decades even, sometimes. But we’re not building a castle here. Most nobles are limited by their budget and have to either sell much of their property, take out loans, or simply build them at a very slow pace. And from the budget you’ve given us, that’s not going to be a problem.

  “We also have plenty more hands to work with. We can’t have the soldiers train all the time, so they can help with the construction directly. Aristocrats like me, typically use our own peasants. Using your serfs is free, unlike bringing in labor, but you can only use them for a few weeks a year at most. You wouldn’t want to risk impacting your harvest, would you?”

  “That makes sense,” Varre scratched his chin, “and will you start building the new gate at the same time?”

  “Yes. We’re gonna need a little more than some planks and nails, so we’ll want to have quick and efficient access then. The soldiers will be enough to keep things nice and secure for the few months we’ll need. Unless you’re expecting another war in the summer!” Jan joked.

  The king cringed at that statement. “Don’t jinx it. There are… troubles. But I think I’d rather discuss it with the Council before I start spreading panic,” he paused, then added, “even with my commanders. Sorry.”

  The duke turned serious. “I see. Good, then do so and let me know as soon as you can. I’ll make sure to have the men ready, whatever happens.”

  “Hopefully it’s nothing,” Varre raised his hands defensively, “but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Now, what about the rest of the buildings?”

  The men resumed their walk around the compound. All around them, the soldiers busies themselves with carrying supplies and hammering nails into planks. The presence of the monarch, and the sixty Royal Guard tailing the formation was very motivating.

  “I think you’ve seen the docks already, but we’ve expanded them since last time,” Jan gestured towards the river bank, “we have built another berth, so more ships can stop at the same time.”

  “Is this where the stones arrive?”

  “Yes, from the quarries up North,” the duke nodded, “eventually, we’ll want to make this a part of the finished camp, perhaps keeping it just outside of the defensive walls, but that’s something to solve in the future. For now, we had to prioritize.”

  Several areas were laid out on the grass close to the docks, though by now most of it was trampled down. Piles of large, square stones, wooden logs, and planks were arranged into several sections.

  “They can stay outside for now,” Jan explained, “well, we’ll need to get the planks indoors before the snows, but that will take a few hours at most. And we don’t need any specialized buildings to store them. We can just place them in corridors and empty rooms.”

  “Then what did you start with? Barracks? Officers’ quarters?”

  “We need to get the men out of the tents as soon as possible,” the duke pointed to a few of the canvas structures still remaining in the open areas of the compound, “it’s a little cramped for now, but many are already sleeping inside of barracks. We still need a couple more weeks to finish the last few buildings though.”

  Varre looked up at the sky. “Will you make it in time? It’s already mid-November.”

  “Hopefully. It shouldn’t take more than a few weeks. And if we’re too late,” Jan shrugged, “we’ll place them inside of the city until we’re ready.”

  “I suppose that’s fair. They don’t have to walk very far,” the king agreed.

  “No, but it’s not the best for discipline. We’ll need to make sure they show up on time and don’t go wandering off anywhere. It’s already a problem with some of the officers,” the duke sighed.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, we can’t have nobles sleeping on the ground can we?” Jan asked rhetorically, “for now, we haven’t even bothered to place any beds inside of the barracks. The men make do on bedrolls. It’s better than sleeping in tents, and time is limited. But folks like me need better standards. Luckily most of us have some sort of property inside the city. And those that don’t stay in the inns. Or friends.”

  The tour continued, as the commander led Varre around the entire compound. The mess halls and kitchens were largely finished too, though the buildings were only temporary. In the future, they’d be outfitted with stone basements and cellars for the storing of food supplies. A few of the other warehouses were finished too.

  By the time the men finished, they explored every nook and cranny of the camp. Right now, construction was the number one priority, with mustering and training being placed on the back burner. It was imperative to house everyone before winter.

  “Well Jan, I’ve been impressed. I can see now that I left this army in capable hands,” Varre said as he extended his hand again.

  “Thank you,” the duke smiled, “now let’s hope we don’t get to see it in action.”

  “Let’s.” the king agreed.

  I was partially inspired by the Sforza Castle in Milan, and partially by the slightly more modern, 16th, and 17th military forts. Like the old town of Fredericia, with multiple individual barracks and buildings.

  It's a little more futuristic than the rest of the setting, but so is the very concept of a professional army! Varre is bringing in new ideas after all!