`Why are you so nervous?' Arthur just said nothing. `You really have nothing to worry about'

He stepped a few paces away from Arthur and started talking more formally `Our finest knights over there will do their absolute best to protect you. With our army and our professionalism the town of Ashford will be-'

`We're up against zombies you idiot! What are we supposed to do against them?'

Norman just stood still with his arms folded `I've fought them before, you can get rid of them just like any other enemy, they have a tendency of being complete idiots too, so really this is an easy task. What you really need to look out for are the necromancers, they can be incredibly powerful sorcerers. However against someone like you or me they're hopeless: they often know absolutely nothing about sword fighting and are usually just old men.'

A smile returned to Arthur's face and he breathed a sigh of relief

`So... should we get going?'

  `Wait, I'm not finished! You know the basics about commanding an army, right?' Arthur started thinking for a while, and later replied:

`I've been taught about this for years, you have the infantry with one or two solid lines, you have your cavalry on the flanks, the archers behind the main line, the magicians also behind the main line and me in a safe spot' 

`That's right, Arthur, you know your stuff, as I said earlier, you have nothing to worry about.'

Norman then paused for a moment. `I have a few more questions for you. Do you immediately go for the elite forces or do you avoid them?' 

`Usually you avoid them, aim to exploit the weak forces and leave them for later, or hope that they flee'  Norman then nodded `Indeed, though personally I would kill them before they ever have a chance to flee. As long as you have cavalry you can always do that' 

`Last question for you Arthur, what is flanking and what is the best way to perform it?' 

`That is when you attack the sides or the back of the enemy, the best way to do is to use your infantry to pin them and then charge the enemy with your cavalry'

Norman nodded again.

`You know your stuff Arthur, lets get going'

Just before Arthur left the room, he turned back and looked at Norman again `Do you think Juliet has anything to do with any of this? She has a whole fetish for the dead after all.'  

`I don't know... necromancers are often either just bandits or hooligans, if she is then she'd be declaring an all-out war against us' Arthur then opened the door `Don't forget your armour, Arthur, without that you'll very much be a dead man. Don't forget your horse either'

Arthur was still in his prince clothes and forgot all about those things. Although he could have just put on the armour of one of the soldiers, he had a special sort of armour to which allowed him to both move freely in order to cast his spells and be protected at the same time. On the way out of the castle he went to the armoury of where his armour was stored. It indeed was a special type of armour; it was made mostly of leather but it had silver plates on it. It was decorated in blue and it was possible to wear a cape over it. Arthur choose his royal blue cape to put over it.

But most importantly the armour was enchanted: it had a limited effect in being able to repel swords and arrows, which is what allowed kings and other elite soldiers to run into battle freely. However if they were absolutely barraged with arrows they'll be dead in an instant, so they still had to watch out for themselves. As for the horse, the stables outside the front of the castle had one specially waiting for him, a white horse named Queen Mary. As he mounted her she was eager to see him, even though he just mounted her without thinking too much.

Arthur had then finally left the castle, as he was walking across its bridge his nerves returned to him. He took one last look at the castle, it was quite a stunning building; it had round towers and made of grey stone. The windows were narrow to allow archers to fire out of them without having to worry about being shot dead themselves, the walls allowed troops to fire off the roofs while being being protected by battlements. It was very much a military based castle, built in a period when there were wars were commonplace. There were flags aplenty too, they were royal blue and white, which were the Rosethorne colours.

Arthur was looking at it still thinking that it might be the last time he will ever see the castle again, and set off towards Ashford. Doing this Arthur and his army were leaving the capital city of the Rosethorne Kingdom. It was a beautiful medieval city, with large cathedral at the east, a very large marketplace near the centre of the city and even had an arena in the west. Most of the buildings were well made with stone walls and wood crafted on the walls as decoration. The rich areas had very large and elaborate mansions, sometimes they were even palaces. It had a large solid stone wall that could be walked upon in order to protect the city. Norman was also riding a horse and was right next to him 

`Arthur, there is another garrison waiting for eastwards of Ashford, that's the town that's been attacked by the way' Arthur nodded, though he was still nervous. Norman also told him 'I've sent a messenger to inform them that we are on their way, though I'm not sure how they're going to think of the idea that you're going to be the one commanding them, I did write in the letter that I thought you'll be fine in the role, but they can be really picky about that stuff'

Once the army was combined there were eight hundred footsoldiers, two hundred standard cavalry units, two hundred archers and thirty Royal Knights, which were elite knights sworn to protect the Royal family to the death.