Chapter 9 - The Golden Company
"Thank you Shimmer. Come back for now, I don't want them even trying to shoot at you," Harry said.
"Of course," Shimmer said, appearing with a flash of twilight flames.
She melded into Harry's left hand, her tattoo coming to life as she entered his magical pool.
"Hound, you are with me, Jon, Ygritte, wait here for now," Harry said, walking towards the encampment. The Hound was wearing his all-black armor, but the flame-immunity enchantments also applied to heat, so the scorching sun didn't bother him. After 10 minutes of walking, he wasn't even sweating. If that wasn't magical, then nothing was.
Harry was here to get the last of a few gifts for Daenerys for their first meeting. She had tasked him to prove he wasn't a threat to her and her people, especially her dragons. He found his way here to hire the Golden Company to fight for her cause and the experienced mercenary company would be a massive boon indeed.
According to Death, the Golden Company numbers are sitting at 20,000 ground troops (Both bowmen and infantry), 2,500 heavy horsemen, and 35 War Elephants with 10-man longbowmen squads and 2 drivers that ride each elephant. The elephants on Planetos were nothing like the ones from Earth, looking closer to the oliphants from the Lord of the Rings at approximately 10-15 meters tall for fully grown males. Harry couldn't wait to see one.
The two of them approached the Golden Company, a large walled-in compound that had massive hangar-like tents made from red hides, each one easily 20 meters tall. Literal tree trunks were used to hold up the massive tents. Flags with the red spear holding a bundle of gilded skulls over a maroon background were flying everywhere, the standard of the Golden Company.
The company didn't appear to have any contracts in progress as Harry was feeling well over 20,000 souls currently around this fort.
He looked to the Hound, "Be ready, I have a strange feeling about how this is going to go."
The Hound grunted.
"Who goes there?" A bored guard asked from a watchtower as they approached the large front gates.
"Someone looking to hire the Company," Harry yelled back up to the top of the gate.
The guard snorted, "You don't have the gold."
"I have more gold than you have ever seen, let me in to speak with your leaders."
The guard scoffed as if just making the noise could buy some time to think. He finally looked away from Harry and spoke to someone behind the doors.
"Alright then, rich man. He'll take you to the Captain," The guard said, no less derisively, nodding to one opening the gate at the ground floor.
"Thank you."
They walked through the camp, finding a big enough area to allow a few elephants to roam between the tents freely. Harry got his first look at the massive reddish-gray creatures. Death was right about their size, but even the young elephants were about the size of the ones from Earth, leaving the massive adults to dwarf them.
A single bull elephant was armored and fitted with a pill-box-style platform, providing cover and shooting angles for archers, and also had a large mounted ballista on top. It was currently roaming around with just the two drivers upfront in a sort of cockpit. A series of large wooden structures served as places to 'dock' several elephants at once while boarding and loading supplies, as well as a station used for armoring them. It was well-designed.
"Captain! Some people here looking to hire the Company," The escorting guard yelled into a decorated tent.
"Send them in," Came the casual response from within the command tent. Next to the entrance were no less than 5 golden gilded skulls hanging from a red spear. Death had told him that they were the gilded skulls of the former leaders of the company.
Harry walked into the tent, the Hound on his heels, finding a huge circular table where a blonde-haired man stood to greet him.
"Greetings, Harry Strickland, Captain of the Golden Company," Strickland said.
"Hadrian Peverell, looking to hire your company if you are available," Harry replied.
"We can certainly talk about that, let me introduce the rest of my men here. Starting with my Lieutenants Laswell Peake, Marq Mandrake, and Tristan Rivers."
Harry nodded at each.
"Black Balaq, Commander of the archer company. Lysono Marr, Spymaster, and Gorys Edoryen our paymaster," Strickland finished.
Harry noticed that three men were not introduced but didn't speak about it.
"So tell me, Lord Hadrian. What do you need us for?"
"I am looking to hire you for Daenerys Targaryen and her conquest," Harry said with a smile.
This earned a scoff from the unintroduced men. Harry glanced at them but turned back.
"I have the gold," Harry waved and a pallet with polished golden bars appeared, stacked knee high. 500 golden bars that he prepared beforehand.
Everyone gasped at the obscene amount of gold and Harry spoke again, "Gold for the Golden Company, yes?"
"That is a lot of gold," Strickland said, unable to speak on the magic that just took place.
"Of course," One of the three mystery men said leadingly. "You wouldn't be passing on the original job for a different one, after having accepted already. Would you Captain Strickland?"
Strickland was surprised, but finally looked away from the gold, "Of course not."
"Now, as for you...who are you? And what is your connection to Daenerys?" The man with short blue hair and a strong jaw said. He had a blue cloak over blue leathers and an orange sash. He gazed at Harry with contempt and the early stages of anger.
"I already said who I was. It was you who failed to introduce yourself."
"A jester then," The man growled.
Harry didn't respond.
"Well, the reason the Golden Company isn't available to help that beggar queen," the contempt on his face was only matching the disgust in his tone. "Is that they are already assigned to help me take the Seven Kingdoms back from the usurpers."
Harry's brow furrowed, his anger growing at the slander against Daenerys, "Who are you?"
The pompous young man scoffed, "I am Aegon Targaryen, rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms!"
Harry spoke with his mind to Death, "Is this Aegon Targaryen?"
She laughed, "He is one from the Blackfyre line. Aegon Targaryen is already in your service."
"Huh, I see."
He returned to the conversation at hand, "You are a liar, Aegon Blackfyre. And right now, you and your guards are the only thing stopping me from acquiring the Golden Company for my needs. I, Hadrian Peverell, Master of Death, challenge you to a duel for the right to employ the Company, stand up and fight me, or run and be known as a coward."
The contempt turned to rage on the Blackfyre's face at the sudden turn of events, "You dare!? I accept! But you do need a sword or this is going to overbe rather quickly."
He stood and stormed out of the tent, Harry and the rest of the leaders of the Golden Company followed, the Hound had a rare smile on his face.
In seconds a crowd began to form around the commotion outside the Command Tent. Soon enough men were running out of barracks, only a quarter of which were armed and armored. Many troops from the Golden Company formed around Aegon and Hadrian, the former was currently stretching and moving through sword stances with a Valyrian steel longsword.
Harry summoned Black Mist, still not wanting to name it as such. The comfortable weight of the scimitar entered his hand but he didn't make any movements, he just stared at the Blackfyre boy with blue hair.
When he finally stepped forward Harry laughed, "Ready?"
"What are the rules?" Aegon asked, having taken the time to put on thicker armor.
Harry frowned again, "This is a fight, there are none."
Aegon smirked, "Good!"
He stalked forward only to find himself blocking Harry's first strike, a casual swipe with the force of a sledgehammer behind the scimitar. Aegon stumbled backward, his eyes wide at the speed and power of the wizard. Three more parries left him hanging on for dear life, only for Harry to back off with a shake of his head.
"Is that all you got?" Harry asked casually.
Aegon didn't say anything but snarled as he strode back at Harry.
He let him advance and waited to counter his attacks. A simple combination of basic strikes, marking Aegon as a mediocre swordsman, came at Harry. He easily defended, parrying and deflecting. He held off on the counterattacks to see if Aegon was just bluffing, trying to lull him into lowering his guard.
Speaking of which, Harry had been tracking the three guards wearing the red dragon symbol of House Targaryen, despite being Blackfyre's. A ruse all the way through. When Harry said no rules, Aegon agreed all too easily. It seemed the plan was for Harry to lose no matter what.
Very unfortunate for them that he could sense their souls as they approached, he just notified the Hound who slammed his helmet shut, and the enchantments activated. The snarling helm began to leak black smoke from the mouth while the eyes lit up in a bloody red light.
Harry allowed himself to be drawn into the trap, even letting Aegon lock his blade in a clash. The foolish and aggressive blue lad wasn't prepared, however.
The second Aegon's backup was in range, Harry burst into action, ducking a great sword meant to carve him in two. The disengage was only possible by casting a silent and wandless Protego into Aegon's sword pushing him back a foot. The man who swung the great sword stumbled past and the Hound stalked after him. Harry spun and sliced through the neck of the second guard. The immediate decapitation was followed around with the scimitar cutting through the arm of Aegon.
The man with the great sword turned and his eyes went wide at the sight of the Hound, but it wasn't him who was more surprised. The enchantments on Lamentation, the Hound's new great sword, activated and the Hound felt himself grow stronger and faster as he easily stepped up to the other man who had tried to kill his new boss.
He instinctually knew that the magic imbued in his new blade was the reason for the increased power and speed, but it felt so right to him. He slashed at the man who barely got his great sword up to block. Lamentation cut right through it, scoring a line through his tabard.
Before the man could parry another, the Hound let the momentum of Lamentation spin over the top, and just like he killed Baric Dondarian, the blade dug deep into the shoulder of the man, deep enough to cut into his heart. He was dead in seconds. The Hound kicked him off his blade and turned to help Harry.
Harry didn't need help, spinning his scimitar in a blurred swipe that sliced the lead leg of Aegon, just above the knee. The single piece of armor covering the outside of his leg was completely sheared through. He screamed as he fell forward, only for Harry's blade to cut through his throat, relieving him of his head. The last soldier had turned to the Hound but found no respite.
The Hound found that the soldier was bold enough to think he could parry Lamentation, but it was futile as the blade cut right through his straight sword as well, and the Hound finished him with a stab through the gut, the blade climbing through the chest to find the desperate vitals. He buried the Valyrian steel blade to the hilt as the man died.
After Harry took care of those three, he turned to see 6 men with crossbows all aimed at him. He blocked the first volley with a wandless and silent Protego, stopping 6 bolts in front of his hand, "Fools..."
Harry and the Hound stalked forward. The men panicked after the first shot was blocked by an invisible force. The Hound's helmet had glowing red eyes and smoke falling from the snarling mouth like saliva.
Harry had glowing green eyes and he casually walked forward, leaving a trail of black mist behind his sword.
Three of the men were shaking as they tried to run. The rest pulled shortswords out and sprinted at the two walking towers of death. Lamentation cleaved through the two on the left as Black Mist casually parried and removed its third head for the day.
The three who ran quickly fell to a series of devastating lacerations, so powerful that they were nearly dismembered as Harry made use of one of his favorites, "Sectum Sempra."
The silence after they fell was thick.
"Anyone else?" Harry asked.
After a few seconds, the Golden Company cheered, "Nice fight, lads!" "Well done!" "That'll show 'em to cheat in a duel!"
Harry turned to the Hound who wiped his blade from his kill, then back to the headless Aegon, noticing the blade had beautiful swirls of Valyrian steel, "I claim his sword as my own, by right of combat. Now, Captain Strickland, may we revisit the conversation?"
The captain in his Golden Company armor gulped then nodded, "Indeed, Lord Hadrian."
In the end, he had them sign a contract promising to pick them up in the next day or so for indefinite service for a good price. Captain Strickland was the first to sign, followed by the rest of his lieutenants and leaders on behalf of the entire company.
Harry didn't trust the fat Captain and only got sleazy vibes from him, a used car salesman. He put in a betrayal clause that would curse them should they try and break the contract or plot against him or Daenerys.
Harry just didn't have a good feeling about Strickland and thought that his loyalties might not be where he could trust. He made it clear as well, that betraying the contract, or even planning on betraying the contract would enact the punishment clauses. They were fairly vague in what the punishment was, and while they had just witnessed the magic of a sort, no one in the Golden Company could really know the power of contracts from another world.
Imagine Harry's surprise when he felt the very same clauses he spoke about activate before he had even made the gate. The guards on duty frowned as their eyes all turned gold and nothing but screams could leave their throats as they became cursed to serve him. Patches of their skin turned gold like a necrotic curse. It was clear that Death had her hand in this, the power shouldn't have applied as hard to those who didn't sign it, but it did.
Immediately after they stopped screaming, all the guards were back on their feet, as if they had never been in pain. Their eyes had all turned gold, but they seemed to be able to see still while the patches of golden skin slowed down in their expansion. He wasn't sure if they would fully turn to gold or not, but he sighed at the sight of them.
The Hound stared in shock, "The fuck is happening to them?"
Harry laughed, "They immediately planned on breaking the contract, and I thought they were notorious for NOT breaking contracts. That is literally what they are known for... fucking idiots. I guess they could have planned on reporting that they were hired to serve the Dragon Queen to someone, but I have to admit I am surprised by how effective the contract was."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I mostly thought it would affect the leaders, not everyone including the soldiers," He nodded to the nearest gilded guard.
The Hound realized how dangerous Harry was at that point. He wasn't just someone who could kill with looks, but someone who could curse an entire company of elite mercenaries. The Hound spoke up, "They were more known for their reputation for keeping contracts than anything. If they planned to kill you then their reputation wouldn't take a hit, cause you would be dead."
"Fair enough, if only they knew..."
All of the guards saluted Harry, having immediately turned from skeptical to respectful at the activation of the curse. They seemed willing to serve him, regardless of their original dislike for the random person.
The two walked back to the Command tent, finding the same effects as the rest of the guards mirrored on their leader's faces.
"You guys didn't even wait until I left the yard?" Harry asked as he walked into the tent, the atmosphere changed upon his re-arrival.
All of the leaders rushed to kneel before him, begging for forgiveness.
"I mean, you couldn't even wait that long...I WARNED YOU by the way," Harry started ranting, "I warned each and every one of you! I said," Harry put up finger quotes, "I said and I quote: I promise that you won't like what happens should you break the deal!' I promised you that!"
The men all shook with fear, the curse having been seared directly into their skin. Into their souls.
He sighed with a shake of his head as all of them had golden glowing eyes and partially golden skin, "Alright, now that you are all bound to serve me, you will do as ordered. This doesn't mean I will let you perish in some wasted attack, but if you don't do as told from now on, you will just die. That is the Twice-Fold Curse which has affected you."
Harry gave the name of the curse that he imbued as part of the punishments, regardless of how much Death had turned up the effects. It is called the Twice-Fold Curse cause you only get one chance before death, two mistakes. The first transgression activates the curse, the second kills you. While the curse is active, it becomes difficult to resist commands from the contracted caster, and all of this is only activatable by the party that had been wronged.
"From now on you will be known as the Gold Legion, and you will be my personal army. Do not disappoint me," Harry said with finality.
"Yes, Lord!" The leaders spoke together.
He stared at the kneeling men as he mentally spoke to Death, "Why did the soldiers get affected as well?"
She laughed her eerie laugh, "They all signed their rights over to the leadership, using their marks in blood. It just extended the consequences to the entire company, animals excluded."
Harry nodded, turning his attention back to the fools kneeling around him, "Get ready for a war. I will be producing a portal outside of your...eastern gates and when I need you, you walk through."
"Yes, Lord!" They answered, but Harry didn't bother explaining what a portal was, but they would figure it out soon enough. He took most of the golden ingots back with the plan to create another portal set. This time, one side would be portable, so he could deploy the Gold Legion back and forth from their camp here to anywhere he needed them.
Their service was meant to be a gift to Daenerys, but at this point, he would just claim them as his own, hoping the Free Folk's army would be good enough. Harry had to admit that he wanted to see the elephants in action, so it worked out.
The road that pierced the encampment was solid dirt, packed from literal tons of elephants and troops crossing it. The area off to the side of the road was covered with a few meters of thick sand before harder rock could be found underneath. With a bit of transfiguration, he raised a shelf of stone 20 meters into the air.
Harry transfigured a bunch of stone and quite a few gold ingots that he had, creating the two arches next to each other. He spent a good while fixing the runes to match up and he tested it by placing the portable portal arch on the opposite side of the road. When it grew to match the size of the original, he activated the enchantments. The rock wall that had appeared behind the permanent arch was gone, instead, it was an image from the other side of the archway across the street.
"Come on Hound, try it out!" Harry encouraged. The Hound stared at the portals with the same amount of awe and fear the wizard had been able to produce from him from the start. It was disconcerting to be constantly shocked at the actions of one man.
But here he was all the same, walking through a fucking portal.
Harry smiled as the Hound walked through and he finished off the portable arch by making it solid gold. He even summoned a red spear with some transfigured ingots to look like golden skulls, a physical symbol of the newly named Gold Legion that he stuck on top of the arch.
The connection was perfectly stable and there was no lag time or instability between portals, a perfect job done. He turned off the portal and shrunk the portable side. He examined the permanent portal and decided to decorate it a bit more with golden ingots transfigured into the actual archway. It was fitting.
Harry and the Hound made their way back through the camp to the northern love birds who had been patiently waiting. Along the way, he informed a guard that they needed to protect the portal, preferably by putting up large walls around it. He got an affirmative as the guard ran off to do his bidding.
~~o0o~~
"Did you acquire the Golden Company?" Jon asked after the wizard and the Hound came back.
"In a sense, yes. They are now known as the Gold Legion, and will serve as a personal army of sorts."
The Hound snorted but didn't elaborate.
"Well, I have to take you guys in my trunk or you will have to suffer through a bunch of Apparation, which I am sure none of you want. So let me introduce you to my home," Harry said. He tossed the miniature trunk out and let it expand. It opened up to the Archway configuration for easier access.
"Come on then, you too Hound!"
Harry led them through the arch, the cave near the waterfall inside Peverell Manor. Jon and Ygritte stared in pure awe.
"Ygritte..." Jon said, not taking his eyes away from the sunlit lake, being looked over by a huge castle, "That right there, is a castle."
She didn't have the words, staring at the castle in the distance. Strange birds flew across the sky while fish jumped from the lake, capturing a feast of spawning bugs that were drawn to the damp environment. The sky was orange to the west, sporadic clouds emphasized the gradient of colors as the sky went from fiery orange to a deep and darker blue to the east. The waterfall next to them also glowed orange in the sunlight, and the mist looked like particles of fire as they flew out from the torrent of water.
"What is this place?" The Hound asked, marveling at the trunk he had been guarding for so long. It made both more and less sense now. More because he was guarding a home, but less as why the fuck would anyone who could make this need protection?
"I told you, it's my home. Come then, let's get some food and relax for the night. Tomorrow we will go meet the Dragon Queen."
"Is Maester Aemon in here?" Jon asked.
"He is! I had one of my servants give him a room, he will join us for dinner," Harry replied.
"I still can't believe he accepted to leave the Night's Watch," Jon said.
"I told you Jon, the Night's Watch has done its job, it's time for us to get ready for the next step... preparing to fight the undead themselves. Well, one of the next steps at least."
And there were many steps.
Harry introduced the newcomers to his House Elves, and how they could call them from anywhere for questions or concerns, but warned them to treat the little friends with respect.
"Right then Chancey, let's have a couple of rooms made up, one for the love birds and the other for this huge guy you have been delivering meals to."
"Of course Master Harries!" Chancey said.
The Hound, Jon, and Ygritte had been listening to Harry speak about the House Elves, but seeing one in her adorable little dress was a different thing entirely. Jon and Ygritte shared a look, as if saying 'We're really in the deep end now' and Harry chuckled to himself. The castle was nearly as magical as Hogwarts, if less ghosts and moving stairways, yet still worthy enough to shock any muggle.
"And have all of our guests come down to have some dinner in an hour, will you?"
Chancey nodded vigorously.
"Great, I will see you all then."
An hour later Harry was refreshed after a hot bath. He made his way down to the formal dining room, instead of his balcony where he ate most of his meals. Jon and Ygritte were there already, seated next to each other. They were smiling like school girls, they must have broken in the bedroom.
Harry shook his head and looked to the others. Maester Aemon was sitting down and inspecting the large paintings and tapestries that hung throughout the beautiful room.
He seemed content for now, "Maester Aemon, remind me to show you my library after dinner. You would be very interested in some books that we have there if you are as truly as scholarly as you seem."
"I would be delighted, this is an amazing home you have here, Lord Peverell."
"Thank you, I admit to taking a great deal of pride in this place."
Gendry was seated a few chairs down from Jon, cleaned up after working at the forge for the day. According to Willis, his House Elf who is in charge of the armory, Gendry was a deft hand at creating impressively strong and well-crafted weapons. There was nothing flashy or flamboyant about them, just sturdy, straightforward, and competent. That being said, he had an even better eye for armor design.
"Gendry, come, have a seat. How are you today?"
"Lord Hadrian," He nodded. "I am doing well. Your forge is quite impressive, the adjustable heat has been an honest pleasure to work with," Gendry replied.
Harry nodded, "If you don't mind, I would like to work with you a bit tonight in the forge. I have a need to create a set or two of armor that I can reproduce on a large scale. You just need to make me a master version of it, does that sound alright?" Harry was aware of how much he downplayed 'a set' of armor for what he had in mind.
"Just a breastplate? Or what are we working with?"
"Breastplate, shin guards, bracers, and helm. Some basic weapons as well, you can make a few of them, can't you?" Harry asked with a challenging smirk.
Gendry laughed, "That shouldn't be a problem, do you have a design you would like?"
Harry nodded, "We can deal with that later, let's enjoy some food!"
After another delicious dinner that thoroughly blew the minds of those from this world, Harry had Chancey show Maester Aemon to the library. Harry hadn't decided how to breach the topic of their difference in worldly origin, something the Maester would no doubt find out on his own, but he figured the old man would enjoy it regardless. Harry went with Gendry down to the forge, making sure the Hound had a bottle of whiskey for his entertainment after the meal.
Gendry and Harry headed down to the workshop. They were currently leaning over a workbench where he had the supplies to design and plan things out.
"Right, so, I want medium-weight splint mail, with one larger breast piece that I can use for enchanting purposes. It would be nice if it was vaguely t-shaped with scale mail for the rest. Maybe sitting on some leather, but long enough to go to at least mid-thigh," Harry said, drawing out a basic idea of what he wanted.
"Aren't they in the desert?" Gendry asked. They had been talking about their destination over dinner, the harsh desert climate of Slaver's Bay will be a drastic change from the north of the wall.
"They will be, but I plan on enchanting a bit of cooling into the armor." A brilliant idea crossed his mind, "If they are from the north, then they might enjoy a bit of a frosty aura."
"Frosty aura?" Gendry asked.
Harry nodded, summoning a small sheet of metal, he drew a quick runic array with his wand. He spoke to Death in his mind, "Is there a way to access the Dementor aura, but on a smaller scale?"
She laughed, "Not exactly, but one without the Death aspect might be something like this."
Death projected a rune to him. He didn't recognize it but copied it onto the metal sheet all the same. When he activated the rune sequence the metal frosted over and let out a billowing aura of frost.
Gendry's eyes opened wide at that, "What in the Seven?"
"Alright... that was a bit too much, let me adjust it a bit," Harry said. He Transfigured the metal so the runes were erased. It released a pulse of frosty energy as it was cleared.
"I think I just discovered the name for this new army...the Frost Legion," Harry nodded.
"And each soldier is going to be uh, frosty then?" Gendry asked.
Harry nodded, "It would make sense, they are used to the cold."
Gendry nodded, "Before you finish that, let's finish the design so I can start."
"Right," Harry put down the metal piece and picked up the quill once again. He laid out how the splint mail would line up around the central piece, all connected to a medium leather tunic/coat. The tunic would go down to mid-wrist in sleeve length and down to the knee while being covered in splints of metal.
Gendry nodded and went to start forging. Harry went back to the drawing board, designing a pair of leather boots with simple shin guards. The bracers went from just over the wrist joint and up to the forearms. He then worked on the helmet drawing a design for something called a gjermundbu helmet, something that was used by the Vikings on Earth, though this would be made from stronger metals and enchanted.
It covered the top of the head and over the eyes leaving the lower face exposed. The back and sides of the helm would be fit with chainmail that hung down to the shoulders, protecting the neck from slashing attacks.
"Perfect. Gendry, this is the finished concept for each piece, I'll get a leather coat fitting soon, Willis?" Harry asked.
The armory house elf appeared with a light crack, "Yes, Master Harries?"
"I need a leather coat produced to these requirements, it will need to be ready to accept splint mail that will be bound to it as well," Harry said, showing the picture to the curious elf.
"Right away master, from basilisk?"
"Ehh, let's use some basic leather for now, I will save the good stuff for another time," Harry said, then it hit him that he did need a set of basilisk armor for both Jon and Ygritte. He made sure to let Willis know to measure the two of them in the morning. The elf had a real talent for leatherworking.
It would be very difficult to make copies of basilisk armor, as it was filled with magic. Magical metals were easy to copy, but that is something that was meant to be worked on further, designed to be forged into other things. Leather from a magical snake was different.
That also reminded Harry that he needed to enhance the weapons both of them wielded, including a set of runic enchantments for Jon's Long Claw and a new bow for Ygritte.
"Now for the city guard..." Harry went back to the drawing board, this time drawing a lighter chest piece of ring mail with better leather boots for long days of standing. The guard helmets were much more open, taking on a shape that is closer to a helmet called a sallet. The bracers were smaller than the ones for the army, and overall heat would be managed by wearing less thick gear.
As far as weapons for the main force of infantry, he designed spears, 2 meters in length, a short sword for their side weapons, a rondel dagger for armored enemies, and a round shield known as a Rotella to finish things off. He then thought about it and decided to make a few different groups of soldiers, one would have longer 2-handed long pikes instead of spears and shields.
If he were to have 10,000 soldiers in the legion, the breakdown would look like this: 3,000 pikemen, 2,000 archers, and 5,000 standard infantry. Speaking of, he would need to get some kind of wood strong enough for his pikes, spears, and longbows. Harry designed the pikes to be 5 meters long, including a mean tip that was simple enough for mass replication yet retained a fair amount of intimidation.
"Alright, Gendry, I think that is everything," Harry said. He had condensed his plans into four pieces of paper.
The first page was for the standard infantry with the 2-meter spears, Rotella shields, short swords, and rondel daggers along with all of the armor. The second was the pikemen with the 2-handed 5-meter long pikes, side hatchets, and rondel daggers. The third page was the longbowmen, who would still have a short sword along with the arrows needed. The fourth was the lighter setup meant for the future Yunkai guards. They would have short swords, medium-length spears, and lightweight and breathable armor.
Gendry walked back over from preparing what he would need to inspect the finalized designs.
"The armors are all pretty similar, aside from the guard stuff," He noted. "I would make the archers set a bit lighter for full mobility and replace their left bracer with a wrist guard, to protect against the bowstring."
Harry nodded, impressed by the smith's knowledge despite his young age, "Great, let's go with that. I will source some wood, just remember that I need one full set for each of these, if you don't mind."
Gendry laughed, "It is an honor to do so, Lord Hadrian."
Harry laughed and summoned some gold from his pouch, "Don't think you won't be getting paid either, cause I am not one for forced labor."
Gendry's eyes opened wide, "Uhh-"
Harry cut him off, "Just do it right, okay? I will be making copies of them with magic instead of mass production, so any flaws will be copied for every piece. I want perfection instead of production speed."
Gendry nodded gravely, "I will do it right."
"Now, do you know of any good wood out there?"
Gendry thought for a second, "There are the Ironwood trees from Bear Island by the Wall. Incredibly strong stuff, very hard to draw for bows, but they would be fantastic for spears and pikes."
"I'll be back," Harry said, Apparating to his Gold Legion compound. He found a guard on the wall with a long bow.
"Hey lad," Harry started.
"Aye, Ser!" The Guard saluted after recovering from the shock of Harry appearing with a crack of magic.
"Tell me about that long bow you have there," Harry said.
"Of course, Ser! Made of Yew, 2 meters long, heavy draw weight with a hemp string, incredibly sturdy," The guard said, showing the draw length and weight.
Harry nodded, "And the arrows?"
"Yes ser, arrows are best made from ash, medium weight for the right amount of piercing power, range, and accuracy. This is known as a bodkin point, perfect for armor piercing and arrow retrieval."
"And this is better than a barbed point?"
"Well, a broadhead arrow, the barbed ones you are speaking of, does more damage against unarmored flesh or lightly armored troops. The bodkin point is meant to pierce mail and to a lesser degree, most types of armor," The man said.
Harry nodded in thought, "You keep both arrow types on you?"
"Aye, ser, good to have a few options, though in large-scale combat, it's best to understand who and what you are up against so you can prepare the right type of arrows. That can change during a battle, depending on where you are focusing attention. I'd say for most conflicts you want about a 70/30 ratio of bodkin to broadhead arrows, but if you need only 1 type, then I would just go with a broadhead."
"Wait, why the discrepancy?" Harry asked, looking into the cursed golden eyes of the man. He didn't seem to mind the fact that he was being magically compelled or not, almost like archery was just a passion of his.
"Well, broadheads are more effective for hunting, and if you can't feed your troops then you are in trouble. Not that you can't with Bodkin, but they don't do enough cutting damage to properly take down beasts and such. I say 70 percent bodkin for conflicts against armored forces, knowing that you still have the option to switch to broadheads for utility."
Harry made a permanent copy of the bow and one of both types of arrows, "Thanks."
The man nodded and Harry left. He was almost ready to meet with the Dragon Queen.