Another wonderful contribution by Mr. Sensfan90! Thank you very much Ser Sens! =)
(Sea Dragon Point, outskirts of Dragonfort: 298 AC) Commander Xie III
"We found the remains of a small camp about six miles east, the logbooks were coded and a good deal of their equipment scuttled."
"Thank you Ser Royland. Tell your unit to prepare for another sortie tomorrow. I doubt they would have had time to setup any deeper inland but in this case I believe prudence is the better part of valor." Looking over the broken logs and burned tents of the work camp he cursed at the issues this raised, the iron ore mined not far from here was crucial to the long term plans of the Fire Nation.
"Understood sir." Waving him off he left the Captain of the Flameguard to oversee the logistics of the soldiers. It truly was a shame the man was no firebender, he would have risen far quicker in the Fire Nation otherwise. Looking over the destruction of the small workers camp he bit back a curse at the senseless waste.
He was almost beyond angry, a small problem continued to grow and he found himself unable to find a remedy. He searched for some consolation since at least it gave him an excuse to better interact with one of his two principle banners. Lord Roose Ryswell of Dragonfort was a diligent man with a young bender son, a healthy daughter and if ravens be true another child on the way. He had not reacted well to invaders on his land, protesting loudly to all who would hear.
"Another fucking group of raiders were killed last night, bastards killed six of my men before the alarm was sounded." Nodding he knew it was unavoidable to an extent, the holdfast looking over the coast between the Bay of Ice and the Sunset Sea was the smallest of the new settlements and the most isolated. For Dragonfort it was an unpleasant reality of being an almost equal distance from the Wolfswood and the Stony Shore. Though defensible it was vulnerable to covert landings further along the coast, the area still years away from a population that could eliminate such an open threat. Ser Royland had warned him years ago the area was infamous for such problems. Unfortunately those problems were supposed to be Wildlings and Ironborn, these men were not even of Westeros.
"A pack of twenty to thirty then?" It was rhetorical, all the attacks had been of similar size but training demands nothing else but to verify.
"Yes same as the last few. I think we can agree that these are proxies of some kind."
"No doubt, Pentoshi would be my best guess. They made a mistake trying to imitate Ironborn speech as they attacked, the accent is all wrong according to your own men."
"But why Pentoshi then?" Grabbing a corpse a headless man he removed his clothing, no tattoos at all.
"Because the equipment is good but not great and not a single brand among the bodies. Braavos would never send a team without properly fitting them and the rest of Essos uses at least some slaves in war. I concede it could be a sellsword company but why here? No sane mercenary would send soldiers to die in a backwater over an iron mine. The cost versus reward is simply not good enough."
"Perhaps they think it contains information over Lyanna's Bay?"
"A fair point but an unlikely one. This is the sixth attack and a force of such size taken together could have made an attempt on Dragonpoint or Frosthold. It would undoubtedly fail when confronted by your men or Lord Karstark but it would have a much more realistic chance of getting anything of the shipyard."
"Then the iron mine was likely the real target after all, merely the first one to actually reach the target."
"Agreed, they cannot sink the ships but they can make it difficult for us to build them. The climate already means productivity will be slowed when winter comes, this may push back any work beyond finalizing the Rickard considerably." He thanked the spirits, the Red God, the Old Gods and whatever the Seven were the last shipment for the Azula had departed a month previously. Had they not made quota...well his relative freedom as de facto Admiral of the Sunset Sea could be snuffed out with a word.
"They had to have gotten smart eventually, even the Ironborn have taken the hint." That was true, raids and small scale attacks had plague the area sporadically after Balon bent the knee. Within a year of their arrival they had stopped making any actual progress and vanished completely within the last year. Whoever was backing these stunts had learned enough to find an exploitable weakness.
"You know this area of Sea Dragon Point better than I Lord Roger, what do you suggest we do to avoid this in the future?"
"The easiest thing would be ending these bloody pricks at the source, no Lord of the North, Riverlands or Westerlands would threaten the Royal Fleet in any way. Which means the Reach or the Free Cities, something I doubt we can afford to actually investigate. Even if you have the right of it and these are Pentoshi that only leaves a couple dozen magisters." He bit his tongue at that, showing frustration in front of a lord let alone his troops was unacceptable. It did not however mean he was wrong.
"Unfortunately all our resources are tied up in the continued settlement, training of new citizens and construction of proper infrastructure on this land. As fearsome as our ships remain they can do nothing against those who hide in foul burrows and dark alleys far away. Frankly I was hoping you had more immediate ideas in order to protect our lands."
"Normally I would suggest we train some levies to act as a local militia but I suspect these incursions will happen far more than the odd bandit or wilding raid. Perhaps a dedicated unit of your flameguard for scouting and harassment? The hills and bogs are a deathtrap for a large army anyway; light cavalry should do the trick." Of course a Ryswell would suggest a horse heavy force as an alternative, a unit that would of course depend on his newly blossoming breedeing program to function going forward. Still the idea did have merit with a few alterations.
"The idea is sound but this unit will require the ability to operate for weeks in the hinterland to be truly effective. Which means hunters, archers and dedicated trackers. Quite a few of the Wolfswood families have made homes in Frosthold, they should cover most of the deficiencies. I will lend some of my garrison as well, it would be good to have them more familiar with the interior."
"Torrhen will want something in return, he already complains over the state of his village." Frosthold had grown out of the only true village on Sea Dragon Point, largely serving as a trading post and fishing village for Bear Islanders and Boles of the Wolfswood. While Lyanna'a Bay was very much a military settlement Frosthold was quickly developing into supply depot for the working camps and mines within the interior.
"The Karstarks are a powerful family in the North, I say with no insult that ceding you the smaller of the settlements years ago was because it was one less headache at the time. The area that became Frosthold was the only real settlement before my people arrived and I had hoped the transition would have been smoother to a new administration. In fairness to the man Lord Torrhen is being pushed hard from within Karhold to increase their relative power which naturally conflicts with the wishes of the Mormonts, the Crown and the officers of the Flameguard. Petty family politics and all that, the Red Priests are a constant shadow in his walls. Frankly this new formation may be an easy excuse to reassign some undesirables for a period of time. I believe the Northern saying is two birds with one stone."
"Have there been any shall we say unfortunate discoveries?"
"Of the bending? Not so far, the specter of the Butcher remains strong within Westeros. That graduates from the Scorching Bear Academy have slowly made it easier to conceal with all understanding the necessity. Torrhen despite his problems has kept the hard line in this matter, he should given it will be his head. Besides there is a reason I tolerate the excesses of R'hllor in the face of several complaints, they do their job very well."
"I admit your ability to keep those fanatics from burning us all is comforting."
"Yes well their orders are clear from their superiors within Dragonstone and Volantis, those who disagreed were long since killed or exiled deep into Essos."
"Let us hope it stays that way. Any ideas who you plan to give command?"
"Ser Royland is the obvious choice but I simply cannot afford to lose the Commander of the garrison within Dragon's Cove for any length of time. Though it comes with its own difficulties Commander Chang and Lord Stannis have given me a list of young officers to be bloodied if at all possible."
"Does the Master of Ships expect war then?"
"A conflict of some sort, we have evidence the pirates in the Stepstones were financed from elsewhere. They may even be the same group who sent these raiders. It could be nothing but the usual of course. The Three Daughters plan against each other all the time in that blasted archipelago or it may be a piece of a large puzzle."
"Regardless I can sympathize with the need to separate the green boys from the men."
"As do I, nothing is more pitiful than losing good soldiers to a poor officer's incompetence." The two fell into a comfortable silence after that. The damage was done and it was time to move on. Whether this idea would come of anything was irrelevant, it was unfortunately a necessity.
"Any troubles while I was occupied Dacey?" Sitting himself down in their private chambers, it was a relief to see fresh bread and cheese waiting for him. Bless her heart, his she-bear had even made sure the servants had cold drinks ready for them. He was not a man of ale back in the Fire Nation or the front in the Earth Kingdom but living in the North had certainly taught him to appreciate the taste.
"Nothing beyond the usual complaints from the smallfolk and merchants over this and that. A few servants needed a kick in the arse, a cook was caught stealing food." Smiling he relaxed a bit as his wife placed a mug of ale upon the table in front of him. Kissing him on the cheek she took her own seat.
"So what you're saying is that apparently everything went well while I was gone." Sipping the drink, he laughed as Dacey shot him a look, with a small smirk creeping on her face.
"Yes husband, the land did not fall into anarchy without your exquisite oversight. Some good news as well, Maege and Azula sent another letter." Perking up at that bit of news he immediately grabbed the letter, chuckling he noticed that the handwriting had improved.
"Our daughters are making a name for themselves, second and fifth of their entire age group. I bet if it was anyone else but the daughter of Lady Baratheon she would have been the best."
"Well you have to admit they both have advantages the other don't."
"Well yes what chance did they have against the might of the Stag and Bear?" Rolling his eyes he read the letter once again, a small frown appearing on his face. His daughters spoke of a few names more and more.
"You've liked the letters less and less, has something happened to the girls?" He swallowed nervously; years of building Sea Dragon Point had given Dacey a disturbing ability to threaten others while sounding calm and sweet.
"I should be happy by all accounts, yet something bothers me over a few of the names she mentions. I can't help it. Maybe…maybe it's just a father fretting over his daughters."
"My little sister practically gushes over the academy, she even told me the girls had made several friends, including the young Baratheon." That had been a curveball, when the Firelord had suggested they would be companions for her youngest he merely thought one would be a piece to keep him in line or perhaps as a reward for his service. Though not quite the same as Westeros, it was expected for a woman of her station to have ladies in waiting. To hear the young girl had approached her daughter on her own was unexpected but likely for the best in the long run.
"I'm happy she had found friends, the tone of her letters has certainly looked brighter since they met. However as much as Ty Lee sounds like a sweet girl I fear Maege, Lyanna and Azula for that matter do not appreciate the full situation. Maege especially was not sent far away to make friends."
"Xie, what's bothering you? You told me the girls had been sent for training. They are getting it and apparently flourishing."
"Azula is there to train and learn as is young Lyanna, Maege despite my hopes may be for something else. I hate thinking of this but truly there is no other way to frame it. Maege is a living weapon, a walking siege engine or ballista. A power rare and dangerous even among the most powerful of my people's great benders. Other students have noticed, it is not a coincidence that Commander Chang, Zha Meng and Lee have contacted me personally over the past several months."
"….a hostage?"
"No, well not quite as she is a Mormont by name and blood after all. Being barred from returning home would raise very unwanted questions over what is really happening on Dragonstone. A single raven to Winterfell and even the Firelord would have to compromise. No I fear we will soon receive and offer we cannot refuse in return for a longer commitment abroad."
"Such as?"
"A position, an honor or a gift that cannot be denied. Maege will be placed where she can do the most damage or act as the greatest deterrent. Either way I suspect I will not see my child for some time."
"Is there nothing we can do?" Dacey looked rather forlornly into her mug, a sad sight if there ever was one.
Taking a long bitter chug of his ale he shrugged, "Well if Azula starts shooting off lightning we might have a chance."
