Roderick Dustin and Ser Corwyn Corbray looked over the maps alongside the captains from Longtable, Bitterbridge, Ashford, Tumbleton, and Ser Garibald Grey. Ser Garibald had recently arrived from the riverlands to bring what rivermen could be spared after the region had seen relative inaction as the war raged everywhere else. With the Tullys and Blackwoods doing well in keeping the peace alongside the few thousand northmen left by Cregan Stark, any men that could be sent south had come.
Lord Dustin and Ser Corbray had separately interacted with Ser Garibald once, both of them meeting him while they were passing through the riverlands. However, he had done well at the Gods Eye and was seen as a competent leader of troops, so the commander of the so-called "Winter Wolves" and the spare to Heart's Home had welcomed his presence.
Another good addition to their army were the bowmen under Robb Rivers, a bastard of Raventree Hall. Having already achieved merit in the riverlands, the men of House Blackwood were given important positions in the army.
As for the men of House Merryweather and House Caswell, the premature departure of their lords left their respective castles under the regency of the lady mothers of their young heirs. Following the recommendations sent from King's Landing, the lady regents and their captains emptied all of their gold and food from their castles and moved north, staying alert from any threat from the "green" dragons that could strike from the air. Fortunately, many were able to arrive at Tumbleton in good order, with the Ladies Caswell and Merryweather being sent to the capital with the future lords for their safety.
Soon afterwards, Lord Ashford arrived with who and what he could take with him, as Aemond refused to respect his neutrality and thus fled before Vhagar could burn him. With the addition of the Ashford men, the men of the Reach that had declared for Rhaenyra now numbered eight thousand. This greatly reinforced the army under Lord Dustin's and Ser Corwyn's command, which included the two thousand men of the "Winter Wolves" in addition to the five thousand given by Cregan Stark and the six thousand Valemen.
Bolstering their strength were Sers Hugh and Ulf, both of whom were publicly humiliated by Daemon and Cregan after they made unwise comments towards Rhaenyra, Baela, and the Lady Nettles. Even though all in the tent knew that the dragons Vermithor and Silverwing would be powerful tools against their coming foes, all were not looking forward to working with dragon riders of low birth and who before now damaged their chances of moving upwards.
Most importantly, Hugh and Ulf came into the tent and expected all to listen to them, as they thought their achievements in bonding with dragons allowed them a say in making battle decisions. However, Lord Dustin was quick to tell them otherwise.
"Since when did boys become allowed to mix themselves with men?" Roderick Dustin made clear his disdain for the two knights who clearly knew nothing of strategy.
"We have orders from the Queen and Prince Consort themselves to fight alongside you against the usurper army coming this way," Ser Hugh puffed his chest out.
"Fight alongside us, but not command with us," Ser Corwyn corrected. "How about you stay by your dragons and allow the grown-ups to make the difficult plans?"
Ser Ulf blinked in anger. "Who the fuck are you to tell us to stand by our dragons? In case you've noticed, we have dragons and you're just the spare to a lord."
"More than what you can say for yourself, boy," Ser Corwyn countered. "You're just a bastard of low birth and not even all of the riches in the world can change that fact."
"You dare?" Ser Ulf gritted his teeth as he was about to draw his sword, which didn't impress Ser Corwyn, who looked very bored and merely showed his house's Valyrian steel longsword, Lady Forlorn.
"I would be very careful with how you behave yourself, boy," Lord Dustin came to Ser Corwyn's side. "Lord Stark and Prince Daemon gave you a beating and Her Grace is still not pleased with you. If you misbehave before us, you might suffer more consequences."
"Is that a threat?" Hugh took a step forward, attempting to be menacing by trying to show his ire through his eyes. "You should know, I ride the dragon of Jaehaerys the Conciliator. Should I act how did with Rogar Baratheon?"
Lord Dustin scoffed. "If that's the only threat that you have, you are beginning to tire me. It seems that without your dragons, you are nothing, just like before this war started. And if we have to make comparisons, you two are fish compared to Her Grace and Prince Daemon."
"We suggest that if you want to be in this tent, shut up and let the men do the talking," Robb Rivers added.
"Oh, we're supposed to listen to you, a bastard like ourselves?" Ulf sneered, only for Lord Dustin to headbutt him and making him fall to the ground. Despite being old, he was far from harmless.
"Ser Robb distinguished himself well at the Gods Eye, while you two were sitting on your asses and still being the green boys that you are now. You have no right to speak to him as if you were equals," Lord Dustin rubbed his forehead.
"So, we'll see say this once more. You are not here to command us. We will accept your services, but you will follow our instructions, as Her Grace didn't say anything about what exactly you can do," Ser Corwyn said. "If you don't like this arrangement, I suggest you go back to King's Landing. But you'll also have to explain to the queen why you returned and why you didn't follow her orders. Which will you pick?"
Ulf and Hugh were steaming, but seeing the futility in arguing further, they begrudgingly bobbed their heads before moving to the table where the maps are.
"Right, so what we know so far is that Criston Cole is leading an army made up of mostly Lannister men and those sworn to the Hightowers, alongside a contingent from House Tyrell and House Fossoway. We should expect to be outnumbered, with two or three of their men for every one of ours," Lord Dustin began.
"What's more, they will have mounted knights and other cavalry with them, more than what we have now," Ser Corwyn said. "If we attempt to fight them on open ground, our flanks will be vulnerable from heavy charges."
"So, our first task is to negate their advantage in cavalry. We can use pikes and the bowmen under Robb Rivers to take them down," Ser Garibald offered.
"They'll likely expect that and given Ser Criston's more aggressive tendencies, he's not going to want to waste any more time than necessary to deal with us," Lord Dustin replied.
"How much time do we have before Ser Criston and his army will arrive at Tumbleton up from the rose road?" Robb Rivers asked.
"With an army of that size, I would give them ten days. But Ser Criston will not allow his troops to rest because he wants to defeat us as soon as possible," Lord Dustin repeated.
"So maybe five days, give or take," Ser Corwyn concluded. "That's just enough time to gather our defenses and wait for him to come."
"My lords, I would like to point out that the danger from the air remains, since either Daeron or Aemond will come from the sky to burn us," one of the Caswell captains stated.
"Maybe that's why Her Grace sent Sers Ulf and Hugh for that possibility," Ser Garibald looked at the two dragonseeds. "I would suggest that they fly above the fray and rain fire on the enemy while we attempt to contain them at the town."
"Tumbleton itself does not have the proper defenses we need to hold off Ser Criston and his troops. But… we can try to dig ditches and create streams using the Mander," Lord Dustin glided his hand over the river. "That can create enough of a marsh where they won't be able to bring their horses to bear on us."
"That can work," Ser Garibald nodded. "I live very close to the Red Fork and I saw how muddy the ground can be and how the shores made horses ineffective in battle."
"Given the time and numbers that we have, we can create a system of ditches and small streams sufficient enough to counter their knights," Ser Corwyn thought aloud. "We can also form into solid squares to provide as much protection from their charges should they attempt to do them anyway."
"Not to mention, we can rain down arrows on them once they start to slow down in the mud," Robb Rivers added.
"My lords, what would happen if Daeron or Aemond show up during the battle? I might feel more at ease with Vermithor and Silverwing flying above us, but if I had to choose between them or the two riders with us, I'd have to place my wager on the former," one of the Merryweather captains admitted.
"Lady Mysaria said that Daeron was still in Oldtown but given how he burned the city to protect his nephew, he might not be there for long and might join. At the same time, that is still an unconfirmed report and therefore cannot be taken into account," Lord Dustin explained.
"And Aemond just married Floris Baratheon and recent reports still place him at Storm's End, where he's undoubtedly devoting 'some' attention to his new layd wife," Ser Corwyn made light of the situation, causing some chuckles at how Aemond "One-Eyed" could be even capable of affection.
"So for now, we don't have to worry about Daeron or Aemond coming to burn us. But if they do, Sers Ulf and Hugh can distract them while we move to withdraw. Best not suffer casualties against dragons," Lord Dustin tapped on the map. "In the meantime, they can damage Ser Criston's troops with dragonfire and maybe make the battle not even happen."
The captains nodded their heads in agreement, with Sers Ulf and Hugh still stewing over not being given the respect that they think was due to them.
"Our goal at Tumbleton is to cause as much damage to Ser Criston's troops as possible. Given that he's the best commander serving the usurpers right now, any damage that he sustains will negatively affect him. He's a disgrace to the white cloak and thus breaking his army here will neutralize him as a threat," Ser Corwyn spat into the ground, earning roars of approval from the captains.
"If any of us manage to sight Ser Criston on the field, do not kill him. Capture him if possible, as he'll be more valuable alive," Lord Dustin ordered. "Her Grace will decide whether to use him for ransom or punish him as a traitor, although all of us can agree that we prefer the latter." Sers Corwyn, Garibald, and Robb Rivers and the other captains grinned.
"You have your orders, men. See to it that they're followed," Ser Corwyn prompted everyone to leave, but he, Lord Dustin, Ser Garibald, and Robb Rivers stood in the way of Sers Ulf and Hugh.
"What?" Hugh grew impatient.
"I really do hope that the both of you are more than your bastard status," Robb Rivers gave his honest thoughts. "Do well here, and Her Grace might forgive you for what happened at court. If the gods are willing, she might reward you."
"Why the fuck would you tell us this?" Ulf spat.
"He's trying to help you, boy," Lord Dustin crossed his arms. "You best take his advice, because look where he is now. He's definitely going to have a better station than he had before for his services and that can happen to you too, if you follow our orders. Do you understand?"
"Just don't be in our ways," Hugh pushed past the elderly men while Ulf took another moment to give nasty looks to each of them before following his companion out of the tent.
"I have a feeling that they're not going to perform to the best of the abilities, my lords," Ser Garibald noted.
"If that happens, we can just inform Her Grace and she'll take care of it for us. Only a dragon can kill another dragon," Ser Corwyn simply said.
"What our concern should be is that the right dragon sits on the throne and that is the Queen. If we defeat Ser Criston, we'll be one step closely to winning this war," Robb Rivers assessed.
"Aye, we shall," Lord Dustin patted the Blackwood bowmen on the shoulder. "Now, let us prepare. We have a battle ahead of us."
"Shields up! Take cover!" Ser Corwyn shouted as the square he personally commanded received incoming volleys of arrows and crossbow bolts. The missile troops of their enemies outnumbered and were of better quality than their own, even though the ones led by Robb Rivers were of comparable quality. After their own bowmen were forced to withdraw, the enemy were able to advance and got within striking distance for their own archers. Fortunately, they were able to avoid major casualties since they were able to get into formation fast enough.
Lord Dustin and Ser Corwyn oversaw the troops dig the ditches and redirect the water streams of the Mander in order to counter the heavier cavalry of Ser Criston's army. It astonished them how much could be done in the course of five days and with enough motivation. By the time the enemy army came into sight, the ground was muddy while they themselves had established good positions in Tumbleton and in the town's immediate surroundings.
After the volleys ceased, the enemy foot marched forward and attempted to attack their own infantry. Looks like Ser Criston recognized the danger, Lord Dustin thought. But their pace slowed considerably once they reached the mud, with the Lannister and Reachmen armor weighing them down. What's more, their struggle to maintain their speed made them fall out of formation.
"Ser Robb! Reorient your archers and let loose on them! The rest of us will advance on the enemy!" Lord Dustin ordered.
"My lord!" Robb Rivers complied as he ran off to relay his orders.
"Lower pikes!" Ser Corwyn yelled out as their infantry prepared to impale their foes.
As the distance between their troops and the enemy's closed, the Lannister and Reach bannermen sped up, using some extra energy in order to gain the momentum needed to adequately strike against the infantry squares. However, the pikes thrusted forward, preempting their collision with their shields and thus blunting the charge. Many of the "green" troops fell, while the rest hesitated after seeing their comrades get taken down.
Lord Dustin and Ser Corwyn observed as their troops held firm and held off the first wave. The combination of the mud and their display of determination caused the enemy to turn around and return to their own lines. But sooner than they expected, large force of mounted knights charged through the field, almost ignoring those who attacked in the first wave. Some of the Lannister and Reach footmen were trampled to death by the charging horses, but most were able to return to their lines in good order.
"Tighten formation! This is it!" Ser Corwyn cried out. Their troops clustered closer together while raising their pikes slightly upwards.
The bog that they created caused some of the Lannister and Reach knights to fall off of their horses. Unfortunately, a majority were able to push past the mud.
"Steady!" Lord Dustin screamed at the top of his lungs as the first of the heavy horse collided with their infantry squares.
The force gained from a knight charging on horseback was more than enough to push through several rows of men before it inevitably lost energy. But to their chagrin, the "black" infantry held firm and held their pikes tight as their sharp heads struck man and beast alike. Many knights fell off their mounts when they couldn't push past through most of the line and were left at the mercy of the pikes.
"Push them back!" Ser Corwyn ordered as the pikemen slowly marched forward, their pikes aimed at stabbing and killing any man who was stuck and struggling in the bog. The pike heads were designed to pierce through the gaps in the armor segments, making it that easier to kill those in full metal plates and thus increasing the chances of inflicting high casualities.
At the same time, some of the Lannister and Reachmen knights managed to push through and made it to the rearguard of the "black" army. All they had to do now was to fight the reserves personally commanded by Lord Dustin, Ser Corwyn, and Ser Garibald, which included the "Winter Wolves."
"Take them down!" Lord Dustin charged forth, striking a horse's head with his mace and causing it to fall on the side. Bringing his mace up, he swung downwards and caved the knight's helm in.
The rest of the reserves followed suit, inspired by the example of Lord Dustin. Ser Corwyn borrowed an axe and cut off a Lannister knight's leg off, forcing him to the ground and finishing him off with a swing to his torso, crushing his breastplate. Ser Garibald made use a pike and struck a knight off of his horse, with some of his men piling themselves on him and stabbing him in the exposed parts of his armor.
One knight managed to survive being taken off of his horse and charged towards Lord Dustin, thinking that his age made him weak. But he was proved dead wrong, as the leader of the "Winter Wolves" swung his mace, knocking his sword out of his hand. He spun around and struck him in the waist, causing him to fall over and allowing him to strike at his skull.
Ser Corwyn unsheathed Lady Forlorn and took on two knights of House Tyrell. He cut across one's leg, causing him to scream out in pain, while the other was struck in the head with Lady Forlorn's pommel and stunned. Ser Corwyn stomped on that one's throat, crushing it, while thrusting his Valyrian steel sword through the first one's exposed neck.
By now, most of the knights that had managed to charge past the infantry squares had either been killed or taken captive. However, they weren't done. In the distance, horns blared as Lord Dustin, Ser Corwyn, Ser Garibald, and Robb Rivers looked to see more men-at-arms advancing on their positions, trying to maneuver their way through the corpses of both man and horse. Despite the mud on his armor, all could recognize the white cloak tied to his shoulders.
"It's Ser Criston. He's trying to save what he can of his army and maybe get back his momentum," Ser Corwyn observed.
"It's probably his rearguard. There's less than a thousand of them coming with him," Ser Robb pointed with his finger.
"It's an act of desperation. His first two waves have failed, but I'm curious as to why the other troops are holding back," Lord Dustin tried to see more clearly.
Indeed, despite the losses that they suffered, there were still a good number of Lannister and Reachmen cavalry and men-at-arms standing by. Maybe they are hesitant to attack us, or they don't like Ser Criston. Either way, he's trying to make them attack by leading by example.
But then, a very unexpected thing happened. The rest of the enemy army turned around and withdrew from the field, leaving Ser Criston to charge alone with his rearguard.
Not wanting to question their good luck, the commanders seized their chance. "Men, forward!" Lord Dustin shouted as they left their positions and took a quick pace towards the rogue kingsguard. Naturally, Lord Dustin and the "Winter Wolves" took the lead.
Pushing their way through the mud, Lord Dustin and his northmen pushed against Ser Criston's men. Having seen two waves falter in front of their eyes, the remaining men were hesitant to continue. Against more motivated and more eager foes, it would only be a matter of time before they too fled.
Hitting his way through the rearguard, with a mace strike on the head there and mace swing on a leg on another, Lord Dustin finally came face-to-face with the Ser Criston, the one who gave the kingsguard a bad name.
"Lord Commander, at last we meet!" Lord Dustin smiled.
Ser Criston stabbed a northman in the chest before noticing the Lord of Barrowton. "Your time is past, old man! You are not long for this world!"
"Are you sure you're not talking about yourself? You will go where all traitors go," Lord Dustin readied his mace.
"Do you not know death when you see it, old man? This is my hour!" Ser Criston raised his sword as he charged on horseback towards him.
Ducking under his sword, Lord Dustin acted quickly by pushing against Ser Criston's horse with his shield, causing him to lose balance in the mud and fall off. But he quickly recovered and stood in his stance, ready to do battle with the old Lord of Barrowton.
No more words were exchanged as Lord Dustin and the Lord Commander of the "green" Kingsguard traded blows with their weapons. Criston attempted to stab Lord Dustin, only for him to avoid it with his shield and try to strike him in the leg with his mace. However, the Cole knight was quick and avoided getting his leg crushed by jumping out of the way.
Ser Criston and Lord Dustin remained calm, both being warriors with years of experience under their belts. But alas, being young had its uses and it allowed Ser Criston to remain focus while the years were slowly getting to the old lord. Quickly and suddenly, the Cole knight swung upwards and slammed his sword down hard on Lord Dustin's shield, similar to the effect of a hammer striking on the anvil. The force was so great that Lord Dustin fell to the ground, using his shield to protect him as Criston kept pounding on the shield.
Roderick then attempted to strike back with his mace, but this was a move that the kingsguard expected, allowing him to slightly adjust his sword and swing to the wrist, cutting off of his hand. The Lord of Barrowton cried out in pain while Criston delivered by the blow by kicking aside his shield arm and stabbing him in the belly.
But just as he did, he was struck in the head with someone's helm, dazing him just long enough for some of the "Winter Wolves" to grab him, disarm him, and tie him up while some others tended to their lord.
A younger man might have had a chance to survive his wounds, but Lord Dustin was past his prime and despite still being deadly, his body was close to giving up on him as he bled profusely from his belly wound.
Ser Corwyn, Ser Garibald, and Ser Robb pushed through the men and knelt before the dying lord.
"Did we win?" Lord Dustin asked weakly.
"We have. Ser Criston is in our custody," Ser Corwyn held his hand.
"Ser Corwyn, please see to it personally that Ser Criston makes it to King's Landing in chains. I don't think I'll be able to savor such a sight after all."
"I will, my lord," Ser Corwyn tried to comfort his comrade.
Lord Dustin felt himself becoming weaker. "I know… go… to the gods… please… let… them… know… how… I… lived." And his vision blackened, finally ending the long life of Lord Roderick Dustin.
The members of the Winter Wolves said silent prayers to the old gods while Ser Corwyn and Ser Garibald prayed to the Seven.
The rest of the day was spent burying the dead and escorting the prisoners including Ser Criston under heavy guard. After the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard made some disrespectful remarks on Lord Dustin, Ser Corwyn had him gagged as he personally placed him in a cart, tied up and stripped of his armor. He also took off his white cloak and rolled it up in his sack, wanting Rhaenyra to decide what to do with it.
As for Ser Garibald and Ser Robb, they were left to oversee that the remains of the Tumbleton battle was cleaned up. Suddenly, the forms of Vermithor and Silverwing descended and landed in front of them, with Hugh and Ulf still on their backs.
"Where the fuck where you two? You could've helped," Ser Garibald said in anger.
"We were busy chasing after those that retreated. Best not allow them to rejoin the fight," Ulf shrugged.
"That's something you would do, going after men with their backs turned," Ser Robb scoffed.
"Where are Lord Dustin and Ser Corwyn?" Hugh asked.
"Lord Dustin has been killed in combat and Ser Corwyn is on his way back to King's Landing with Ser Criston Cole and some other prisoners," Ser Garibald crossed his arms.
"Ah, one is dead and another not here. Shame, I would have liked to show them what our thoughts were after their display of disrespect to us," Hugh gave a sick grin.
"What are you talking about?" Ser Robb blinked in confusion.
"Because you're a bastard like us, we'll give you a head start while we wreak our revenge against those that wronged us," Ulf stated cryptically before Vermithor and Silverwing took off in the air and flew towards Tumbleton. They shocked Ser Robb, Ser Garibald, and the rest by unleashing dragonfire on the town.
"WHAT?!" Ser Garibald cried out.
"They've betrayed us! Everyone, run for your lives!" Ser Robb urged the troops, knowing that they stood no chance against dragonfire.
Robb Rivers and Ser Garibald Grey were among the fortunate few that managed to escape the carnage as Tumbleton and the surrounding areas burned. What was for sure, the situation of the war had changed, for the worst.
"We have to go back to King's Landing with all haste and let them know that Ulf and Hugh have betrayed us," Ser Garibald recommended.
"Aye," Ser Robb agreed. "Let's move!" The knights and the few galloped northwards up the rose road as fast as possible, leaving behind two dragons now on the loose.
A/N: The battle was based on the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302). Like in canon, Ser Criston Cole suffers a major defeat and the dragonseeds betray the "black" cause, but unlike in canon, Criston will suffer a fate more befitting of a man like himself. As for the dragonseeds... may the gods protect them for whatever punishment awaits them for traitors.