17 Training Day

Mark stood outside the Fort as the troops piled out.

The first to leave the fort and stand in front of Mark was Little Tai, who was followed closely by a grumpy Bertrand, Lucan and Octavian. Whilst Vlad that also followed seemed jovial and fresh.

Boudica and Sakura also headed out and walked straight to Mark's side. Sakura had made it known that she was now part of Mark's inner circle. Where as Boudica was respected from her drinking exploits and earlier battle prowess.

Coyotl was soon out, followed Hilda, Rollo, Maurice, Jin and Kish. They seemed fresher than the men with Little Tai and prepared for a day of training and exercise. They were probably Mark's healthiest troops.

The last out were the ex-pirates come mercenaries. Sebastian, Hector, Leif, Belle, Anne, Vito and Francois *The Clumsy Pirate*. These had been sprawled across the headquarters floor earlier with Teech's men and their rugged looks showed the hungover state they were in.

Mark looked at his ragged band of troops, he didn't know if he should be proud of his accomplishment of gathering such a large group so fast, or depressed at their appearance.

"Good morning Red Ribbon's. After last nights brief celebration I expect there are a few rough heads." Mark announced. "The first task is to get ourselves fit and sharp, before more people join our ranks."

There was a few grunts of agreement from the crowd, but most of the looks were that of fear. Mark looked to his side and saw the stern look Boudica was directing at them, especially towards Vlad. Vlad looked back with a big wide grin on his battered unshaven face.

"So to start, I want 3 laps around the entirety of the fort, please don't fall in any ditches yet, we don't have a medic." Mark ordered.

There were grumbles amongst the crowd, until Coyotl and Hilda lead the fur wearers off in a quick run. Mark watched them go and started to jog after them, a good leader always joined in, he told himself. Sakura ran along side him and they soon caught up with Coyotl's group. Soon Little Tai and his group followed. With Boudica chasing with the ex-pirates after them.

Mark sweated profusely as he ran his laps, he had always been a keen athlete, however the heat from the sun was blaring. Sakura constantly ran by his side. He felt that this Konoichi could have out sprinted him at any time, but appreciated the fact she helped him maintain a pace.

"You are doing well Mark." She advised, "I can tell you have good fitness levels."

By the time they had ended the first Lap, Mark was leading the group alongside Coyotl, who smiled in response. Maurice also ran by his side, it seemed Maurice was conserving his strength for a big finish at the end.

They headed round the Fort peacefully, with a few cheers of encouragement coming from Teech's men whom were stood on the top of the fort walls, they hadn't yet departed for Runetown and were recovering from their hangovers by watching the Red Ribbons run rings around the Fort.

By the end of the second lap, Maurice started to pull ahead from the group, with Mark and the fur wearers strongly on his tail, there had been no notice of Little Tai or Boudica's groups, but he knew they couldn't be too far behind him.

By the third lap, people had started to drop off, sweat dripping down their backs. Maurice had a huge lead now, and would complete the run soon. Mark was impressed with the commitment from the men so far, and was happy with his choices, no one had given up yet.

By the time he finished, Mark was panting and out of breath, the alcohol having left his body. He looked around and noticed Maurice was smiling as they arrived. Coyotl, Hilda, Kish, Sakura, Jin and Rollo soon arrived afterwards.

Mark stood there happily smiling, Sakura came to his side.

"They've done well." She commented.

"That they have." He replied proudly.

Soon the rest gathered, everyone who was here was panting heavily. The last to arrive was Vlad, covered in dirt. Mark looked at him and pondered what had happened, until he caught the devilish grin on Boudica's face.

"He slipped in a ditch." She explained, smiling.

"Slipped or pushed?" Mark asked?

"Slipped?" Boudica replied, hurt by the hidden accusation.

"Tripped and slipped." Vlad added as he also headed over, a grin showing on his dirt covered face. "How is the head this morning boss?"

"The head is fine Vlad, what was that stuff?" Mark asked intrigued.

"Some personal home brew, I will make some more if you wish?" He asked excitedly.

Just as Mark was about to decline, Sakura jumped in.

"Yes please, we can use it if we ever need to torture someone."

This caused laughter from the nearby men, and a slight smile appeared on Vlad's face.

"Look there!" Exclaimed Sebastian from the back, he had a very keen eye and was pointing to the forest.

The Men quickly gathered up in to a rough formation. Little Tai, Vlad, Lucan, Octavian and Bertrand made up the front row, the strongest of the people there, they were a natural anchor. The rest gathered behind the five or stood on their wings.

Mark looked and noticed a group of people, some on horseback, pulling behind with them a few carriages stacked with boxes. He recognised the lead riders as Gan Ning and Tsubotai.

"They are ours." Mark replied, calming down the group. "But I do appreciate the quick response, very impressive. Please continue the training whilst I go meet our brothers. Run two more laps, 50 push up's each, followed by squats. Little Tai and Coyotl please take the lead. Boudica and Sakura with me please."

The men grumbled, but did what they were ordered. With Coyotl taking the lead and Little Tai at the rear of the group. They headed off at a slow jog and Mark felt happy at their professionalism, especially from the ex-pirates.

Mark headed towards the approaching riders, followed by his small entourage. Gan Ning slowly approached on his red horse, a huge smile on his face.

"Seems we have more men." Gan Ning shouted in response to the group of joggers running around the fort.

"I'm not sure who has done better." Mark replied, looking at the large group behind Gan Ning.

"Mostly slave farmers, builders and the likes as requested, it will allow us to grow as you wish, Eduardo was very picky with the purchases but I think we have done well. I did hire us a couple of blacksmiths as well and they will get working on setting an armoury up, they were very excited at the prospect of gold."

"Thank you for the hard work. Where is Eduardo?" Mark asked.

"He's at the rear with a couple of important purchases. We also bought lots of supplies, clothing, and some cattle, who are also at the rear. Eduardo is making sure we don't loose anything on our long train." Gan Ning replied jovially.

"We also bought some more horses as requested and I have hired us a few stable hands." Tsubotai added excitedly. Horses were his passion, he would make a great cavalry commander one day.

"Do I have any gold left?" Mark asked suddenly.

"Some?" Gan Ning replied sheepishly.

"Great!" Mark exclaimed dejectedly, he didn't expect them to do this well, but now he expected he was poor again.

"Tsubotai, can you please lead them all in to the Fort. Show the builders the bunk houses, the Blacksmiths the location of where I want the armoury and afterwards, show the farmers the land around the castle. Let them choose where they feel is best for the farmland, I will have to trust their judgement as I am no farmer." Mark ordered. "I will speak with them all later, did you promise them freedom on the trip?"

"We haven't mentioned freedom to this lot yet, we felt that you may want to do that, get their loyalty and all that. They were purchased with your gold and were happy when we explained you were a caring master." Gan Ning replied.

"Very well, Boudica you can have that honour as soon as they are settled if you would like?" Mark asked.

"It would be my pleasure." She stated.

Boudica walked alongside Tsubotai and headed towards the fort entrance, followed by the train of slaves, horses and carriages. Mark counted around 30 Slaves in the crowd that headed to the fort, followed by a small variety of cattle. A couple of the slaves broke free from the crowd and took the cattle to a nearby field next to the Fort to graze. He was excited for the busy building that was to come.

Soon the remaining carriages pulled past, full of boxes of food, clothing and equipment, with one carriage holding a couple of blacksmiths playing with their tools, behind them crates of weapons and armour.

He looked deeply at the two blacksmiths:

Character Information

Name - Jorg Helmschmeid

Position - Armourer

Age - 30

Relationship Status - Neutral

Level - 3

Additional Information - In a past life, Jorg was part of the famous Helmschmeid family. He was the youngest of the brothers of armour makers and had a successful career creating some of the finest armour in the 15th century.

Skills - Armour Maker, Forge Tinkerer, Grandmaster In Training.

Potential - 4 stars

More information upon level up.

Character Information

Name - Muramasa Sengo

Position - Weaponsmith

Age - 32

Relationship Status - Neutral

Level - 3

Additional Information - In a past life, Sengo was a master weaponsmith during the Muromachi period of Japan. He was known for his violence and madness that was thought to transfer in to his blades. During the Edo time period, Shogun Tokugawa banned the use of Sengo's blades due to the amount of his friends that had died at the hands of them.

Skills - Maddening Forger, Weaponsmith King, Grandmaster In Training.

Potential - 5 stars *Warning this one is known for bouts of random madness*

More information upon level up.

Mark was impressed by the two finds, and wondered why these 2 people would be in Runetown, a pirate town out by the coast. He was also intrigued as Jorg may have built armour for people such as Vlad and Bertrand in a past life. Whilst Sengo's history directly went against that of the Honda Clan, and supported Sakura's desires. Mark thought that maybe fate had something to do with it, but left those thoughts behind for now.

Soon the carriages passed, leaving 3 more slaves and Eduardo at the rear. The slaves wore hooded cloaks and had their hands chained.

"Where did you find those blacksmiths?" Mark asked excitedly.

"They were travelling through town's selling their wares, heading on to new pastures. I mentioned our need for gold and our project and they were both excited to push their limits." Eduardo replied.

"You have exceeded my expectations." Mark added honestly.

"The gratitude is appreciated, I know I haven't joined in the way you would have liked, but if Little Tai is loyal, then so am I." He replied. "I would like to invite you to meet these 3, I think they will be a great asset, I had to use some of Captain Zheng's power to bargain for these from Crassus."

Mark looked at the 3 men. Excitement on his face, maybe this battle for Runetown wouldn't be as difficult.