United we Stand – Divided we Fall : Volume I

by Poly19hum

Benjamin dies in 2045. He opens his eyes in a medieval world, as the lowest of the lowest: a 7 years old thrall! Follow Benjamin, his sister and their friends as they flee the Iron Islands and fight to have a better life at the beginning of the third century AC. Their quest will take them across several Kingdoms and they will take part in Westeros' history. Blackfyre rebellions.

3. V1K3

United we stand – Divided we Fall

V I Chapter III : Plans and setbacks

"This grieved me heartily; and now I saw, though too late, the folly of beginning a work before we count the cost, and before we judge rightly of our own strength to go through with it."
― Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

Banefort, 196 A.C., second moon, second fortnight
Spring

Maester Jorgen stood on Lord Kendrick's right hand, as his advisor, in the great hall of Banefort, the ancestral home of House Banefort. The short-sighted man was overwhelmed by the four long hours of holding session. He was neither young nor old at thirty and five nameday. But this was his duty. His Lord was still quite young at ten and five and it was only his second time holding session. The unexpected death of Lord Steton, Kendrick's father, during a rush in the beginning of the Blackfyre Rebellion one moon ago at the gates of Lannisport, at the hand of Quentyn Ball, had caused quite a stir – Lord Lefford's death had however quickly made Lord Banefort's passing become secondary . Lord Banefort's heir had been fostering at Faircastle before the Rebellion had begun and came back to Banefort two days after his father had left, unable to wait longer – Kendrick had needed a month to return. The vassals of House Banefort – or their proxy, as most had followed their liege Lord in war - had leaped on young Kendrick like starved lions on a deer. Each of them had come to present their condolences and test their overlord by submitting this request or asking for his help against that slight. Master Jorgen's strabismus, despite being quite a handicap for most activity, had equipped him with a sixth sense to detect lies and half-truths. He might not see well beyond three feet, but this prevented him of being swayed by the rich clothes or the affected appearances of Lord Banefort's vassals.

The situation was quite precarious, he mused during a break of today's session. The Rebellion was a drain on House Banefort resources: smallfolk men had been conscripted, meaning there were less arms to sow and work the land, which meant less food and less tax incomes, both in kind and in money at the harbour and through toll. At the same time however, Lord Banefort had had to draw on the resources to arm the levy and feed the men. All of this in end winter when the coffers were at their lowest. He would have to discuss swiftly about a marriage arrangement with Lady Aubra, Lord Kendrick's mother in order to ensure the future of House Banefort. The dowry would be most welcome. Maester Jorgen suppressed the need to pinch his nose in irritation as he looked at his Lord's left, where Lady Aubra should have been. She was the first daughter of late Lord Crakehall and was sometimes behaving quite like a spoiled child. She disliked ruling and was therefore not present at the holding session – it wasn't a place for a Lady to be, after all, she had said. A mindset her son had totally shared.

Lord Kendrick was a typical young lord, trying to hide his inexperience and his ignorance behind an air of self-importance and striving to sound assertive. He wanted to look strong for his vassals – and that was indeed required if he wanted to be respected. But their flattering comments were making him think he was succeeding when in fact he was being played. But Maester Jorgen could not take part every time, or the new Lord of House Banefort would be perceived as weak. So, he intervened only when the requests being made were absurd or when the young man was on the verge of making an ill-thought decision. Even though, he would have to discuss with the young Lord quickly about the state of his House's finances. They wouldn't be able to continue with the current lifestyle and the last decisions he had taken would empty the coffer more than was wise if some safeguards were not put into place.

The last grievance of today's session was shorter than the previous one. Lord Kendrick wanted doubtlessly to spend his afternoon and his evening with some more simulating activity.

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Somewhere (Westeros?), 196 A.C., new moon
Spring
First day

Lucas

The storm had been our salvation. While we sailed into the heart of the storm, our pursuers were not able to follow us directly against the wind. If not for the storm, the Ironborns would have caught us back and our fate would have been unenviable. Maybe the Storm God had favoured us, declared Captain Hook. It had taken all the Captain's experience to stay afloat and hours of bailing out with Mina while Harmond and Harry rowed to keep the boat facing the waves, but we had succeeded. I had saved myself and Mina by tying us at the beginning of the storm to a long rope. At a certain point, we were carried away by a huge wave. If I was honest, our survival was a true miracle – the boat wasn't even that damaged!

Our hope of reaching the coast of Oldstones had been obliterated by the storm, however. We had beached the boat on a shingle beach yesterday after two days of intense navigation and several shipwrecks nearly avoided. We had been all knock out by our exhaustion. In fact, Mina and I were knocked out before landing – our younger age leaving us less resistant. Captain Hook and Harmond had carried to the shore and the shelter of the forest running along it.

The next morning, as I woke up, I went to the shore were our boat laid, safely beached. The three men had found the strength after all our torments to carry the boat to safety. My respect for them grew even more.

I turned around. To the south, as far as I could see, a mountain range rose into the air. Not the highest I had seen, but still, high enough I wouldn't like to cross it without sturdy equipment. – I wondered if I would be able to survey it a bit, but this was at the bottom of my priorities for now.

Today was sunny, the air was cool but calm, like it usually is after a storm. Cirrostratus were moving slowly across the sky. It would rain again it seems. My partially teared off ear was very painful right now – it hadn't been possible to apply alcohol on the wound during the storm. I was very aware that I was likely to catch a fatal infection if I didn't clean my numerous wounds quickly.

I went back to the edge of the forest where my companions were waking up. Captain Hook, pious as ever, began the day the same way he concluded it before going to sleep: saying a prayer to the Seven, holding a wooden seven branch-star necklace in his hands fervently.

Once everyone had woken up, and Captain Hook had ended his religious ritual, we went back to the boat.
The repairs for the boat would require several days, however. We decided to split in three groups: Harmond and the Captain who were very dexterous and knowledgeable when it came to boats would work mainly on the repairs. Harry and I were tasked with the resupplying. Mina would help with the food – she was not very well. Between being almost raped, witnessing several violent deaths and a whole day of fight against the sea and the storm, we – that is to say Captain Cook, Harmond and myself - were happy to let her breath a bit. Harry wasn't interested in my sister at all – I had stopped thinking of her as my technically half-sister and was in fact seeing her more as my ward, even if she was older than me. Strange, I knew, but being in this new universe was far stranger on my scale of "bizarre", as far as I was concerned.

I suggested several ideas but they were all ignored. I suppose being – again – a child did have its downsides. Who would listen to a seven years old – sorry, seven nameday – kid? For sure, back on Earth, I wouldn't… frekking reincarnation or whatever this was.

After what felt hours of "hunting" – it was clear Harry had never hunt anything walking on four legs in his life – we came back to the boat for noon, empty handed. Our stomachs were empty, too. Mina had cooked what remained of our reserves – not a lot. Unsurprisingly, Harry took a third of the food for himself. The two other men frowned but didn't say a word. We shared the rest between the four of us. It became clear that Harry was not giving a shit about us. Between his attitude and his earlier threat, I was quite wary of him, not knowing what to expect of such a man – but clearly, it was better not to expect a lot from him.

The two fishermen had used the morning to cut down a tree to replace our broken mast. The weapon of the Ironborn Harmond stabbed, an axe, had been a godsend – we didn't have any other cutting tool for this kind of task.

At the end of the meal, I went to the boat and retrieved the flask of strong ale I was able to "acquire" back on Blacktyde and began putting several drops on a relatively clean piece of cloth. I didn't see Harry approach me from behind

"What do you have here?" he used my surprise to snatch the flask away from me. Sniffing the neck of the flask, he smiled before beginning to drink voraciously. I tried to take it back but he was far bigger and easily avoided my attempts and kicked me hard for it. I found myself – again – on the floor. My back came back to my memory (no pun intended) as I felt the wounds and cuts had re-opened under the sudden shock. I couldn't suppress a moan. Captain Hook and Harmond, not having left our little camp yet, came closer.

"Harry! What are you doing?"
"Enjoying the alcohol this lad-ass had kept for himself, why? You want some?"
"Don't you see he needs it for his wound?" – I was surprised to hear Mina's voice come to my defence – if was her first words since Blacktyde.
"He doesn't need it." Then pivoting toward me: "It's just a small cut. Stop making a fuss" he ordered me.
"It is not a small cut, Harry" – that was Harmond, speaking unlike himself, very assertively. "If nothing is done, he will get ill from it. Give him back the flask."

Harry gave him an angry glare before walking toward me, holding out the flask. As I took hold of it, eager to clean my wounds, he pulled me against him, my back against his stomach and prevented me to move with is right arm. In one swift movement, he tore off what was left on my left ear with a knife I hadn't seen him draw. I felt like a freezing kiss was applied against my head, where my ear used to be. Then pain came and I screamed as Harry let me fall to the ground unceremoniously. The next thing I knew, Mina was pressing a wet piece of cloth against my new wound with my head on her knees. The smell of alcohol reassured me that at least, this time, my wound would be disinfected. I heard the end of an argument before both fishermen came back to see how I was faring. Mina removed momentarily the piece of cloth for them to see. Blood began to flow anew. My sister re-applied the compress on my wound after coating it with a bit of alcohol again – the bottle was nearly empty. Great, just great.

"Both of you, take some rest. We will continue fixing the boat. He is gone hunting… or trying at least. He won't be back before nightfall. Try not to be alone with him anymore – both of you."
"Yes Captain. I'll take care of him, don't worry."

Once both men were gone, she kindly stroked my head. Despite being mentally an adult, I felt something inside me warm up. It was the first gesture of affection since I had woken up in this violent world. Mina started to hum a calming melody; one I didn't know but was resonating inside me at the same time. Without noticing, I felt asleep quickly, the stress of Harry's brutal action adding up to the previous days of stress – my body was still only too young to cope with that easily.

Later, I realized that this was the moment Mina and I really became family – when we both became aware of this world's merciless number one rule: he who has power wins. No moral stance holds against violence. It is only that: words against violence. The latter wins.

When my eyes opened again, the sun had moved on – I would have say almost around 4 PM , solar hour, back in my previous life. Mina hadn't moved a lot, just shifting position to avoid feeling any stiffness – as much as sitting directly on the ground could afford you feeling comfortable at least. She was still humming. She noticed my movements. Carefully, she removed the compress.

"It doesn't bleed anymore. I'll clean your wound tonight and tomorrow again – there is only so much alcohol left. Don't touch your wound, the scab is still soft."
"Can you clean the wounds on my back, too? "
"Yes, but there won't be enough alcohol for tomorrow then. Are you sure?
I nodded. One problem at the time. I had early learnt, back on Earth, that panicking when confronted with problems often led to more problems. Step by step, as my old physic teacher, Mr Moosel, used to say.
After agreeing, I stood calmly up and Mina lifted my garment while I looked around. We were under the first trees of the shore. Nearby, Harmond and the Captain were cutting the future mast. They had removed the bark and given to the lower part its shape. My eyes went to the place where Harry had pulled me against him and cut my half-torn ear.

"All done, Lucas. Lucas?" Mina was calling me tentatively. I made three steps and went to the place where my ear laid. I bent down and picked what was left of it.
"Lucas, are you well?"
"Yes" Turning to her, I inspected my severed organ – it felt weird doing so. It seemed Seymon's wound had been worse than I thought – it was not like I had been able to inspect it in front of a glass with a powerful source of light, like I would have back on Earth. And our little adventure at sea had let it fester. Harry's action, nasty as it was, had probably saved my life. How ironic, I thought bitterly. He had cut just where the necrosis ended. By no mean did this excuse him. But had he not cut it, I would probably have died in a sennight. I had been in this violent world for less than a month and I was already maimed. My future held a lot violence and pain if what I had lived until now was any indication.

Worrying about the future had to be put aside as more dire needs had to be solved first. Mainly: food and water. As we were looking for food, Harry and I had found a stream nearby. Water was crossed from our list of problems for now.
With Mina, we used some ropes to make several traps. Mina joined me and after observing me, helped me create several traps similar to my first one. I showed her how to make efficient traps for rabbits and hare. We went into the forest and I showed her where to put the traps, how to fix it and how to recognize what animal would use which path. Mina had never seen a forest – there wasn't any on Blacktyde. Ironborn weren't known for their farming skills either. From what I had seen, they had cut every single tree to build boats and hovel. They took the wood they needed for new boats by cutting illegally trees directly on the mainland.
After setting the traps, we went back to the boat. While Mina rested, I went to help the fishermen in the short time we had before dusk.

At first, They were reluctant to let me work with the repairs. I could understand them. We didn't have a lot of tools or material to repair, not enough to waste at least. But I hoped that after several hours of common work, they would begin to trust me with not too tedious tasks – my back was still a mess. I learnt techniques and tricks I had never seen nor heard, even at Cyrus Smith's construction sites. With few tools, Harmond and Captain Hook were able to cut down a tree and turn it into our future mast. They would need at least two more days for the mast if all went well and two others for the various repairs to the rudder and the hull. Thankfully, we had put the sail away when the wind became too strong and it wasn't too badly damaged. When there wasn't enough light to work, we stopped.

Captain Hook assured us we were on the mainland.

"I'm in Westeros" I remember saying to myself, as the last rays of sunshine were leaving us in a thick darkness- this being a new moon, the third one from the year 196 After Conquest, according to Captain Hook.
We had made it. We were free, free from the Ironborn. I wouldn't live like a slave nor an Ironborn. I felt hope coming back.

At night, beside the fire, we all worked on the sail to forget our empty stomachs – except Harry who was looking aimlessly into the fire, grumbling about who knew what. Between the two seasoned fishermen, Mina and myself, the sail was back to good condition quickly – it was true that sailors were very nimble with their hands. I suppose, when your life at sea depends on your dexterity, it is a powerful nudge to excel at something. In fact, it was the first evening I enjoyed, feeling freer than I had felt for years.

Back on Earth, the last time I had felt that free was before the Fall, when I was exploring huge regions with few or none other human in the vicinity and I could rest for a night, just starring at the sky without the sound of any motor, no light coming from any town in the surroundings and no network for my mobile phone to ring. Or when I was at home, in our secluded cottage with James and Nicolette. Sure, I was on an unknown planet, in an unknown region with few resources… but even with Harry and his egoistical behaviour and violent outburst, I felt hope come back. We were alive, we were free to go wherever we wanted and I was not alone. Clouds had gathered- in the sky. We slept on the ground, close to the fire to avoid feeling too cold.

What a day, I thought before drifting to sleep.

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Second day

The next morning, I awoke before my brethren. Dawn was illuminating the still dark sky with pastel rose and red fingers. I took the spear beside Harry, who was still snoring, and went in the forest to check our traps.

The night hadn't been peaceful. My back had hurt like hell and I had to sleep on my stomach or on my side to avoid putting any pressure on it. There wasn't a lot of clothes to use as a mattress… these were rough conditions to sleep outside when injured.

Add to this that Harmond had been having difficult nightmares and had awoken thrice yelling, I didn't feel really rested. Harmond's nightmare were very probably related to his past. I was no psychiatrist, but it looked to me as if he had suffered a great deal under his Ironborn masters – both physically and mentally. His introvert nature had been at the same time underlined and demolished by the way he had attacked frenziedly the Ironborn guard the night we escaped. I felt sorry for him. Post traumatic Stress Disorders were nasty and had the potential to ruin one's life.

As I arrived to the first traps, I noted dejectedly that the first two were empty and the third had worked but another animal had eaten the captured rabbit. The fourth hadn't been able to hold the hare it had caught. My stomach was grumbling and I was feeling unfortunate before I came to our two last traps: they were holding back a hare and a rabbit of medium size respectively. I quickly killed both animals with a whiplash and set the traps again, as I had done for the others. I felt elated not to return empty handed.

To say I was welcomed back warmly at the camp would be an understatement. Even shy Harmond smiled at me appreciatively.

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Around midday, it began to rain again. It slowed the progression of the repairs. Mina had once again cleaned my wounds which were now healing correctly.

I had been hesitant if I should be dividing the rabbit and the hare with Harry, but in the end, it would have created more issues and I doubted I would have won. I was but a kid and it would be stupid to attract Harry's fury. Yesterday's clash between Harry and the two fishermen had underlined a fissure in our group but it also highlighted that Harry, despite being alone, could easily defy both men. When I reflected on it last night, after being awoken by Harmond's nightmares, it became obvious to me: Harry was at the height of his physical force, being twenty something and a miner. Captain Hook, on the other hand, was older and while fishing was a physical activity, mining made Harry more muscular. Harmond, despite being about the same age as Harry, was not confrontational. This left Harry free to justify his actions, as long as it wasn't life threatening to anyone. And clearly, neither Captain Hook nor Harmond were ready to fight Harry. I didn't like this but I was unable to do anything against it for now. I would have to be very careful around him.

After eating the leftover of the morning meal at noon, I laid out several more traps. On the road, I spotted a beehive. I came back later with Harmond and with his help, we used smoke to retrieve the honey inside. Beside feeding us, I used the honey to clean my most severe wounds. It wasn't as efficient as alcohol, but when in need, I could not look a gift horse in the mouth.

This night, we relocated their camp next to the stream, a bit further from the boat.

Day three and four after our landing went smoothly. The Captain and Harmond almost finished repairing the boat. My traps provided us with several more rabbits and a boarlet. By this point, Harry had stopped hunting – or trying to at least – and helped carrying the mast to the boat and putting it in. My back's wounds and mangled ear continued to heal nicely. There wasn't any infection and the inflammations were receding. I felt a bit more rested despite Harmond's difficult nights. After the second night, Mina and I decided to move away when going to sleep. She was in fact even more affected by Harmonds' nightmares and shouts. She had taken to look twice a day at my wounds and it had brought us closer. Moreover, I believe she wanted to protect me from Harry by not sleeping near the man. It was nice knowing I could rely on her.

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Fifth day

Today was our fifth day since our landing. The three adults were discussing what we should do, now that our boat was repaired sufficiently to be considered seaworthy. Harry and Harmond wanted to set sail as soon as possible eastward, further from the Iron Islands. Captain Hook wanted to try out the boat for a few hours tomorrow. He wanted to be sure we would not have to land in an emergency in a less welcoming environment – the shore between our current camp and Oldstone was rife with reef and we would have to sail further from the coast than what we would normally do. We needed more food too, Mina judiciously pointed out to the three men, while I was writing simple words in the dirt as I had begun to teach Mina how to read.

Finally, it was decided that the next day, Captain Hook and Harmond would test the newly repaired boat while Mina and I would hunt and Harry would fill several goatskins with water.

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Sixth and seventh day

When the two fishermen went for a trial with the repaired boat, Mina and I went in search of our next meals. I had put several traps around the camp, and more traps further than in the previous days. We had already caught two rabbits and a hare. Harry was at the camp, cooking them and preparing the goatskins. We went up through the coastal forest, higher in altitude as we walked southward. At one point, we emerged in a clearing and were able to catch sight of a village, west of our camp, four or five miles. Mina was joyful and asked if we could just go there. She was quite dejected when I explained to her how the chances were slim at best that the villagers would welcome us. It wasn't a coastal village and that for a good reason: even I we didn't know exactly where we were on the on Westeros, it had to be in the vicinity to the Iron Islands. Any connection to it, be it as a thrall, could only be in our disfavour. I hoped that our presence wouldn't be noticed by the villagers – the next days proved me how wrong I was.

Our little hunting trip had been the occasion to discover a bit more our camp's vicinity as we went farther than we had in the previous five days. I must admit I was curious about this new world's environment – the geologist in me was eager to take a closer look at the resources and the shipwrecked part of me wanted to use any available edge. I was very surprised to find that most plants were familiar to me.

This world's version of clothes didn't include pockets, unfortunately. I had nothing to carry the samples I would have normally gathered and I could only try to memorize where was what. The soil had a red tinge. We came upon a scree of flint higher in the foothills of the mountain, approximately one hour and a half of walk from our camp, in the middle of the deciduous trees. The soil wasn't overly fertile – which explained why we hadn't met anyone so far.

During our trip back to our camp, my thoughts drifted to my latest astronomical observations. The second night on the mainland, I had finally had the occasion to look at the stars – on Blacktyde, I was either to tired or the sky was clouded. I was quite astonished to recognize the stars. I gazed a while at it, not believing my own eyes. The North Star was there, as well as Ursa Major and other constellations. What it meaned, I wasn't sure. Was I still "on Earth" but millennia back in the past or millennia in the future? Was this an alternate reality? My mind was full of theories. But after hours spent thinking hard about it, I had decided to put this in a corner of my mind for when I would be bored – like when we would sail to Oldstone's shore.

By the time Harmond and the Captain came back, Mina and I were skinning the two hares we had caught during our last trip. The success of the trial and the fishes both fishermen had brought back weren't the focus, however. It was the child – well even if he was older than me, he was a child! – who they had found drifting in a boat without sail nor oars. He was severely dehydrated and in hypothermia. From his clothing, it was clear he was highborn. He was unconscious by the time they arrived. We disembarked him and put him close to the fire. We had planned to sail east on the morrow. The nearby village was a problem as villagers could have seen the smoke of our fires and alerted the local law enforcement, whatever how they called it. Mina was not very keen on sailing again – she wanted to go to the village. But the three men spoke against it and told her once more what I did earlier. There were no chance smallfolk that close to the Iron Island would welcome us.

In the end, we decided to use the next day to hunt for more food – we would need more with the additional mouth to feed while sailing to Oldstone. By dusk, the boy awoke. Mina and I took care of him, helping him eat and drink. At the beginning he didn't speak, clearly, he was in a state of shock. Mina was however able to get his name: Dagon. He was brown haired, had a round face were the first signs of adolescence were coming out. His eyes were brown, almost black. Apart from the dehydration, he seemed to be in good health.
He wouldn't say however from where he hailed or why he had been found unconscious.

We decided to set sail the next day, not wanting to overextend.

Naturally, it was the moment Lady luck decided to leave us.

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That's it for chapter III. At first, it was a 10 000 long chapter, but I decided to divide it in two to publish it faster.

I hope you enjoyed this little 'robinsonnade'!

Answers to reviews

Thanks to my first reviewers! It is most welcome and the only reward I get from this story – beside my own for writing this story, that is!
Here are some answers to your reviews.

Guess: Thanks for your comment! Yes, I mean to keep the story to the level of technology and political system reasonably possible in a lifetime. Thanks for your message.

Guess: I follow the genealogical tree from A wiki of Ice and Fire. The death dates given for Barthogan Stark and Brandon Stark are between 184 and 209 and 184 and 212 respectively. The Skagosi Rebellion happened during Daeron II reign. The timeline chosen works so far, I believe. But I will add a little note about this in chapter V1K5. Thanks for your comment!

Revo777: yes, these are parallel stories indeed. I'll let you discover what will happen to Lucas and the other characters in the following chapters. Mostly, the story will be realistic – with some surprises however! Thanks for your review!