Ch 1 Honors end
The wind moaned as it made its way through the snow capped peaks of the Vale. Eddard had seen winter in the north, and so was not bothered by the nipping of the cold air. The same could not be said for Robert though. "If I'd known I would freeze my balls off, I would've stayed in the Eyrie Ned."he grumbled.
Eddard only snorted as he took in his best friends words. He knew Robert jested, for their journey was of the utmost importance to Jon Arryn, a second father to them both. He was going to meet with the Royces at Runestone, to foster good relations. They were accompanying Lord Arryn as it was only proper. They had been his wards for many years now. Though Robert was anything but responsible,even he held great affection for Jon, and would do anything not to let him down.
Their retinue was journeying through a particularly treacherous stretch of mountains, where there was no road but a dirt track. The ridge was wide enough, so there was no danger of falling to death. What made these mountains treacherous was the frequent presence of the mountain clans. The savages would attack any party that looked like easy prey. There was no danger for a retinue their size, but there was no harm in being cautious.
"There you go again Ned, all brooding and serious. Tell me what are you thinking now?" asked Robert in an exasperated tone. "Nothing much" replied Ned. Robert opened his mouth to pry, but he was cut of by Jon. "Let him be Robert. At least one of you has the sense to keep quiet when there's no need to speak." Jon's tone was long suffering but his eyes held amusement. As they were speaking they heard the steady beats of running footfalls. They were at the head of the retinue, and were the first to see the source. It was a scout dressed in blue Arryn livery. He ran to Lord Arryn and spoke in gasps. "My lord! Clansmen- ambush- we must" the man's frantic warning was cut of as he collapsed. Only now could they see the cavernous wound on his back, which had sealed his fate.
Jon took a moment to mentally thank the man for his warning and sacrifice. Then he wheeled his horse, going from affectionate foster father to battlefield commander in one motion. "TO ARMS!" he shouted. His retinue responded quickly with shouts of their own, most of them used to the threat of ambush in the mountains. Ned and Robert drew their weapons as well, Ned his deadly longsword and Robert his terrifying hammer. Being scions of great houses, both been trained since childhood to be excellent warriors.
"Finally!" yelled Robert. "Let's warm up this miserable trip!" Though Ned frowned disapprovingly at his friend's battle lust, it did seem to raise the morale of their knights. Their trainer and the apprentice master and arms at the Eyrie, Ser Harold, stood with them. The knights formed a defensive formation as they had been trained. Their crescent formation , with Lord Arryn and his wards in the middle, was completed not a moment too soon.
They had reached a small dip in the surrounded by foothills when they stopped. From the direction the scout had come from, the clansmen emerged, yelling guttural war cries. They ran at the retinue confident in they're superior numbers. While the retinue had a decent sized guard of 10 knights, and 2 score men at arms, the clansman numbers were far greater. There were at least a hundred emerging from the woods. The Arryn men's one saving grace would be their steel weapons and castle training, just as it had been in ages past in battles between the Andals and the mountain clans.
Ned prepared himself for battle. Neither he nor Robert were greenhorns anymore, they had both been in the chaos of battle. Robert reveled in it, while Ned was disgusted by it. Ser Harold spoke up beside them. " Don't fuck around with this cunts them quick and move on got it?" The two teens nodded. The first wave of clansmen had reached them.
They fell upon the battle line like an avalanche. A huge man, with a two handed ax swung viciously at Ned. Ned evaded the wild sing by ducking low. In the same motion he stabbed his sword upwards, pushing it through the leathers the man wore and into his gut. The blood spray was partially contained by the leathers. Ned yanked his sword free and fought his way to Robert..
He saw Robert ferociously trading blows with 3 of the clansmen, laughing uproariously. His hammer whirled in great arcs, and he moved with an agility that belied his size. Soon one was struck by the back of the hammer in his ribs and collapsed in a bundle of pain. The hammer whirled back again, using the blow as a springboard to smash in the other direction. The deadly spikes on the hammer caught the second mountain man in the head, showering brain matter and gore everywhere. In the meantime the third attempted to catch Robert off balance. He was dispatched by Ser Harold with a quick, efficient slash to the throat.
The rest of the retinue was also faring well. For every Arryn man that fell, at least five clansmen died. The clansmen became more desperate than ferocious, and it was clear they did not have the weapons or skill to defeat a great lord's party. Their numbers soon dwindled to half of the original. Most began fleeing the disastrous battle. Eddard cut down yet another clansmen, and one of them came before him and dropped his weapons.
"I surrender!" he shouted, his eyes wide. Eddard was an honorable man through and through. His enemy had surrendered so he slowly lowered his weapon and let down his guard. "Eddard no!" shouted Harold. He ran to Eddard and pushed him aside as the clansmen drew a dagger and attempted to stab his throat. Harold was shorter than Eddard,and took the strike to his eye, killing him instantly. "Harrold!" shouted Eddard. His hands seemed to act on their own as the longsword rose and decapitated the enemy.
Most of the enemy were fled. The knights and men at arms began reorganizing the retinue and seeing to the dead and wounded. Jon and Robert approached Ned who was kneeling beside the corpse of Ser Harold.
"Ned we must continue onwards. There could be more in the surrounding hills." Said Jon gently, knowing now was not the time to speak of what happened. Robert put a hand on his friend's shoulder and said nothing. He had lost his parents, had seen them sink from the top of Storm's End. He understood his friends pain.
Eddard shuddered and rose from his position by Harrold's side. Silently he turned and remounted his horse. "Let's get out of this godsforsaken place." The party was ready to move again and they continued onwards to Runestone.
They reached the seat of House Royce without event after that. Once they were settled in Runestone, lord Royce listened to their tale sympathetically. He too had lost good men to such ambushes. It was one of the harsh realities of the Vale. "Don't let Ser Harold's sacrifice be in vain Eddard." he said after the tale was finished. "Honor has its place, but the people you hold dear are more important than that."
Eddard knew it to be true. He had in fact been wallowing in self-recrimination the whole way to Runestone. He knew it was his fault Ser Harold had died. Jon and Robert had been kind enough not to say it, but he knew they thought it. Hearing Lord Royce's words stirred something within him. "You're right my lord. I have always tried to be an honorable man. But I've realized my error." His face could have been carved from stone at that moment. "Never again will I sacrifice anyone precious to me for honor's sake."
"Well said Ned, well said." Jon approvingly stated. This was a defining moment for the young man. "Enough of this depressing talk!" bellowed Robert. "Let us feast." he continued in his usual fashion. The lords and household knights all gave a cheer of agreement and began to tear into their food. Even Ned smiled a bit. Robert's antics always cheered him up. Little did he know that his vow that day would change the fate of the seven kingdoms.