The following hours, eight to be exact, were filled with us carrying and organizing everything from outside to inside the Logistics Hub. It was a lot, especially the innumerable number of carts that came from the Logistics tent.
This was truly tiring and monotonous with all the back and forth, carrying things, some heavy, some not. Of course, with me not knowing where anything goes, I consistently either had to follow someone carrying the same thing as me, or get help from one of the Logistics personnel.
I even spotted Bronti while working, though I did not get to speak with him as he was just as busy as I was. By the time we had finished, the day had darkened, and I was sweating buckets in my armor.
Our unit was currently huddled together outside, catching our breath. It was the captain who stood up first, stretched, and motioned for us to follow.
"Time to clean up, eat some chow, and turn in for the night. Debriefing and assignments will happen tomorrow," Captain Ogman said to us as we followed.
It didn’t take long before the building we were heading to became apparent. Another one of the gargantuan-sized warehouse buildings. This one, being one of the four - story buildings with the various walkways shooting out the top floors toward other buildings.
I caught up to the captain in the lead as I had a few questions I wanted answered. "Captain, I am completely new to this place. Could you help explain the buildings and how bunking works here?"
He slows his pace as he ponders for a moment. "Right, I keep forgetting you are a recent addition to this army. Well, there are two main barracks. Barracks A, which is where we and all the other assigned Knights stay. Then Barracks B, which is where the unassigned Knights along with garrison Knights stay." He points at two buildings respectively: the one we are heading toward and another building further to the left, to which a few of the upper walkways connect to.
"You’ll see when we get inside; there are countless small rooms on every floor. Each unit of twenty-five has its own room which comes with the same bunking type as the tents, and a small recreation area. Other than that, each floor has a shared recreation space, a large communal shower and bathroom," the captain continues to explain.
"I see. Oh, and how do we know which room is ours? Is it already preassigned? What about chow?" I ask back.
Captain Ogman shakes his head as he answers. "Oh, no. Each room has the same designation as the tents and the same layout as the encampment. Well, not exactly the same, but it follows the same kind of rule. From west to east, A-B sectors layout. Since we are B4D7, we are on the first floor, one of the center rooms in the second row. The first floor covers sectors A-H, second floor is I-P, third floor is Q-V, and the fourth floor is just W-Z. There are some numbers skipped, as in the camp they represented non-unit tents."
He takes a quick breath before pointing toward another building, this one in the center between all the others, and the highest number of upper walkways, connected to almost every building, including the keep. "That’s the Chow Hall, and I’ll show you how it works when we get in there later."
When we get to Barracks A, the first thing I see is a desk, with a familiar man laying against it, with a small room behind him. "Oh, Lazlo," I muttered lightly in surprise at seeing him here.
"Oh, yeah, Lazlo, the quartermaster who coordinates with Logistics to get us whatever gear we need, and also handles unit placement for the unassigned Knights if there are units that need filling," Captain Ogman says as he hears me.
"Then why are we still not a full unit? Is it because we had too many losses from the recent battles that there aren’t anymore unassigned Knights?" I asked, feeling like I already had the right idea.
"Exactly, though we are just one of the unlucky units that didn’t get a full refill. The majority of units were able to get all the Knights they needed for their units," he replies with an annoyed tone.
As we walk, I see the first room to the left and the sign next to the door reading "A1A1," showing that the captain was correct. Following that, we’ll eventually get to our room. I can already see thousands of Knights walking throughout the vast hallways of the building.
Luckily for me, the captain already knew exactly where our room was, so I just calmly followed him and the rest of my unit through the building as I took in the scenery. I even spotted the communal recreation room, where I spotted various furniture and other things I did not recognize.
Eventually, we arrived at the door with the sign that read "B4D7," indicating our room, which was approximately where the captain had explained it would be, center of the first floor. The captain led the way, opening the door, stepping foot inside first.
"Alright, most of you already have your chosen cots. For those of you it is your first time in the room, pick an empty cot, settle your gear in, and take off your armor. Then head to the showers to get cleaned up. Feel free to go to chow on your own if you want, or wait back here for me and we’ll go together for those unfamiliar," Captain Ogman says, specifically looking at me multiple times as he spoke.
Doing as he said, I pick an empty cot at the back of the room, placing my bag with the very few items I own on the desk at the foot of the cot. Then, I start to strip my armor off, like everyone else is doing. Most of everyone, including me, has a simple linen shirt and shorts on underneath the armor, though I think I will have to get some more ordinary clothes since this is the only pair I have.
A few of the guys practically had nothing underneath their armor, except what looked like some simple undergarments to prevent chafing. Which I guess is possible to be comfortable like that since the armor does have some cloth on the inside, however thin it is.
"Time to see what the showers are like here," I mutter lightly to myself as I follow the others to the communal showers.