Coming of the Red Anchor
Whispering Wood and Riverrun
Jon
"Do you understand why I did what I did?"
"Not really my lord, it seems dishonourable to have threatened him that way" Jon said eventually after asking Warrington about the incident at the Twins. His father wouldn't have done that and Lord Stark was Warden of the North, surely he'd have found a better way.
"We tried to do it honourably and in a peaceful manner but Walder Frey would not budge. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? A large crash, a load of pushing to and fro until one breaks. In this case we broke him with the threat of great force and the slight use of it." Jon snorted.
"If you call demolishing half a keep slight" he japed and Warrington smirked back at the boy.
"Aye I suppose it was a bit much but you can't deny it worked right?"
"I guess."
"Sometimes all you can do is use force because that is all the other knows. Might is Right as some say. Now how goes the training? Both yours and the helping of my troops?" Jon sighed. He had been forced to help train a number of the soldiers in the use of a sword, even training with Warrington a few times. To give him character and know the men he was told. Indeed he had realised that perhaps he'd been lucky having Ser Rodrik train him and his brother personally compared to most of the others here who either hadn't held a sword before or only had basic skills. As for the other training, Bronn was a harsh task master who fought as dirty as his mouth. Most of the time he ended up in the dirt because he'd gotten an eyeful of it and then been pushed to the ground. He remembered what Bronn had said once about those tricks when questioned on it.
"You want to fight fair go to a tourney, fighting in a battle though? You fight to win by any means or you fooking die. Remember lad war ain't no song, war is hell, you fight to win or you die." That had humbled him and forced him to fight harder, and harder he'd fought. He still couldn't decide if he like Bronn after all that though.
"Aye the training goes well, Bronn knows what he's doing" Jon finally replied to Warrington who stood beside him on the main deck of the Silence as it led the Britanican fleet south.
"Yes he does, he taught me a couple of tricks too while he taught my son."
"My lord" came a voice from behind them.
"Ah Admiral, are we making progress?"
"Yes sir, we're just rounding Banefort on the port side. They'll likely see us sailing, they just won't know where we're going. In other news word has just come from Stoneyport; the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch was attacked and injured in his quarters almost two moons ago by a Wight, or so they claim. Mormont cut it with his sword Longclaw and then threw a candle at it to set fire to it. They was a second one killing a few men out in the courtyard apparently. Anyway the main news is that he's going North with three hundred men on a ranging to find Benjen Stark and to see if the news of a new King-Beyond-The-Wall is true."
"Really a Wight? News of the Long Night is becoming more and more a reality I fear. I have to say fighting zombies is hardly something I ever thought I would be doing" Warrington complained with a sigh. "Have word sent that obsidian can kill them. At least it gives them something if we need to buy time. As for this war, have the Bush send a drone equipped with mapping, sonar and thermal imaging. I want scans of both Casterly Rock and Lannisport by the time we approach them" Warrington commanded, a plan already coming together in his mind.
"Aye I'll have word relayed back, but Casterly Rock sir? That place is impregnable, or so they say."
"Ha, give me ten good men with climbing gear and I'll impregnate the bitch" came the slightly northern and sarcastic voice of the local sellsword. The three turned to the man who was leaning on the side of the ship while casually sharpening his dirk. Warrington merely arched an eyebrow at the sellsword.
"Could you really?" Jon looked on in confusion not understanding quite what Lord Warrington was up to nor why he would take Old Nan's stories of Wights and ice spiders seriously.
"Aye if you pay me enough and get me the right things, there's half a chance I could" Bronn replied with a shrug.
"Well then, let me explain what I want done." The next few minutes showed off the technological capability of the house along with the strategies its people could come up with. What Jon knew for certain was that he was glad they fought for his father and Robb and not against them.
Ned
He was angry at his bannerman, or bannerwoman he guessed. Angry they hadn't told him they knew and angry they'd told Ser Barristan. And of course he just had to blab everything to Stannis. He sighed. Gods he hated politics, war and southron games. He liked House Britanican as a whole; they'd done much for the North and adapted relatively quickly to their new home all while still holding on to their roots such as by electing their lord and having some ranking system for their soldiers and navy. It was an odd thing since he knew of no others with a similarly complex command structure though the Golden Company might but he could admit that it made them far more organised and adaptable than most armies. Still, he was angry at them. Their reasoning for telling was annoyingly accurate and made him wonder if he had done enough to hide everything or even just plan what he was going to do. "Why did you tell Ser Barristan about Jon?" he remembered asking shortly after they left Dragonstone.
"Because he needed to know before heading to Daenerys my lord" the major had replied. "He needed to know that Rhaegar's son still lived and given the circumstances now posed a credible candidate for being king. Stannis is too rooted in law and justice thus making for a harsh but just king while Renly has the charisma to rule but not the brains. And Tommen? He is too soft and uneducated in ruling, plus he is a bastard of incest who would not be accepted by anyone. Jon, or Jaehaerys as you named him, has the name, the northern sense of justice and honour, and can be educated in leadership and politics by my superiors back home my lord. Jon can also probably rally more troops and houses to him than the others, especially if Renly and Stannis stand aside" she had explained and deep down knew she was right.
"Do you have the proof to support his claim?" she asked him as they stood on the deck while the ship sailed through the Bay of Crabs. It made Ned sigh tiredly knowing he'd likely need it, especially for the Tyrells and Martells.
"Aye, there's a chest containing letters and items that can be considered proof with Howland Reed at Greywater Watch. I believe one might even have been written by Elia Martell but I cannot be sure."
"Why not keep them at Winterfell?"
"First place anyone would look, either in my solar or in her crypt. Greywater Watch is solely under Howland's control with an extremely low chance of being infiltrated and he is loyal to me plus it has the benefit of him already knowing and rarely leaving his keep" he explained.
He'd kept Jon safe because of the threat Robert and the Lannisters posed, he didn't want to risk the last piece he had of his sister or to have to choose in a war between his blood and his almost brother. Now he was practically offering Jon up although placing a few armies in between but it still felt like a betrayal of his oath to his sister. He just hoped Jon understood when he told him at Riverrun, assuming he arrived in time and Rob secured the area around the castle. Gods he hated the war.
"I suggest you send for them so as to be handed over to Jaehaerys once he is brought to Riverrun."
"You assume he will want it?"
"No I'm assuming Robb will destroy the Lannister host there and then Jon will accept it once the truth is revealed and he is told who the others are and their faults" Sheppard answered.
"Aye true enough I guess. Now we just need to formally name Stannis Hand once we declare Jon as Jaehaerys just as he wanted as a reward. Personally he can have the damn position as I just want to go home to Winterfell where I belong." Sheppard nodded in agreement, Stannis would make a good Hand.
Robb
The march south from The Twins was quick and quiet. His great-uncle Brynden 'The Blackfish' Tully had arrived with a few hundred horse and was now conducting scouting and harassment against the Lannister troops who may be scouting or foraging for supplies. It had brought his total host back up to almost twenty thousand while Lord Bolton was taking another five thousand including over a thousand horse down the Kingsroad for his diversion. Thus here he was heading south on the west side of the Blue Fork and just passing Wendish Town heading for Riverrun.
He and his cavalry had mostly pulled ahead by this point leaving the infantry behind, so the reality was that he had three hosts; five thousand with Bolton, eight thousand (which he was leading south) which was purely cavalry, while another eleven thousand was almost a day behind him led by Maege Mormont. Annoying as it was, it meant he was making faster progress to Riverrun which was the main thing. Also annoying was that Lord Frey had refused to send any troops with him keeping the Twins out of the war, thankfully they didn't really need the troops yet but hopefully once Riverrun was free Lord Frey would change his mind.
"Nephew" came a shout and he turned in his saddle to see the Blackfish ridding up from a nearby wood.
"Uncle, any news of Riverrun or the Lannisters?"
"Indeed, a couple of my scouts have found the encampment that the Lannisters have set up. It's split in three due to the Red Fork and the Tumblestone. Looks like they finally decided to do a proper siege at last, likely in response to rumours of your approach south. Estimates say the host is probably around ten thousand to fifteen thousand, perhaps as much as seventeen thousand."
"So if I hit each camp one at a time we'd outnumber them?"
"Aye you would but it wouldn't be easy getting at them as we'd still have to cross the Tumblestone and the Red Fork to get at any of the camps" Brynden explained as they continued riding.
"So perhaps we need to lead them to an ambush so we can whittle down their forces" Robb eventually suggested and the other Lords nearby nodded encouragingly.
"There is a valley with deep woods on either side and a clearing in the centre nearby that could prove perfect for such a thing though they might see it coming" Brynden suggested.
"Not if you make a lot of noise and damage their supplies with a large force to raid them. Do enough to them and they'll have to send out a large assortment of knights and mounted men to chase you down. You will lead them to the valley and then we spring the trap. The question is if we wait for our foot to catch up or do we run it now."
"Aye nephew but my scouts and outriders have been intercepting theirs so they'll soon know something's up when they don't return. We might need to ambush them sooner rather than later."
"Very well, we'll just have to risk it then. My lords, we ambush them in a few hours time. Uncle, lead us to this valley, then go cause trouble."
"As you wish lad." The lords grumbled slightly at fighting immediately but were soon silenced by being called out on not wanting to fight without numbers. The GreatJon just laughed.
"Lets show these southerons that northerners are true fighters and not those poncy knights!" he shouted to many northerners delight.
The waiting was the part which killed him the most. He had placed Lord Karstark along with the Manderlys and their various vassals to the north to assist Ser Brynden when he arrived. To the east he had the GreatJon, the Mallisters and the few Mormont horse led Alysane Mormont while he himself led the remaining horse from the Flints and Glovers plus a few Tully troops who had been rounded up by his great uncle. He'd sent word for Maege to bring his foot host a little to the east of the woods so they were not near enough to draw the Lannister horse but were close enough to assist with Riverrun afterwards.
It was faint at first but soon it grew. The noise of horses galloping was heard then by many faintly and looking south he could just make out a dust cloud on the horizon from the horse. The thunder of hooves grew closer and he nodded to his force to ready themselves. Surrounding him was his battle guard, a group of mostly heirs of various northern houses such as the two Karstark brothers, Daryn Hornwood, Asha Greyjoy who had some decent skill with a blade and bow, Ser Wendel Mandery, Ser Donnel Locke, Owen Norrey, SmallJon Umber and Alysane Mormont but she was with her fellow Mormont troops for this fight since Maege was with the foot. Patrek Mallister had also joined the group but today he was with his own forces instead.
Soon enough he saw Ser Brynden hurry into the valley and pass his position, heading deeper in towards Lord Karstark's position. A minute or two later over a thousand knights and mounted soldiers stormed into the valley, most were wearing Lannister red armour and carrying banners of Lannister, Banefort and Brax, but a few wore other coloured armour. Robb couldn't tell a precise number but he presumed it was at least over a thousand, perhaps one and a half thousand. He watched as they charged into the valley, barely slowing as they spotted the supposedly trapped force of his uncle and kicked their horses at the Blackfish, thinking they faced an outnumbered and weak foe. However it was not to be.
VAARUUUM! VAARUUM! Sounded the war horns of the Mormonts signalling the attack. Responding war horn blasts sounded from the North and West confirming the order. From all three sides Northern horses came storming out of the woods, previously hidden by their dark clothes and the dark forests. Robb kicked his horse and encouraged it faster, Grey Wind, his loyal direwolf, ran beside his master with his tongue flapping. What happened next was mostly a blur of yells, screams and blood to Robb as his host smashed into the Lannister cavalry force. Horses yelped neighed and whinnied as they crashed into each other sending riders flying and trampling the unlucky fallen. Lance and shield splintered as both forces attacked and defended. Robb belatedly remembered cutting down around half a dozen men with his battle guard doing similarly. Grey Wind jumped at Lannister horses, biting at the horse's neck or jumping up at the riders themselves. Robb parried another sword and thrust his own back into the throat of a red armoured Lannister soldier coating his blade, and himself, further in blood.
Barely twenty minutes into the battle a few yells of 'retreat' could be heard from the centre of the Lannister force but it was barely audible over the screams and clash of steel and the din of battle. The Lannister cavalry shrunk further in on itself as the Northern host pushed in from three sides and both Robb and the GreatJon tried to get their forces to begin to try and encircle them. This was helped when Ser Brynden lead his own troops around the edge of the battle to go boost this new southern line. After what felt like hours but was merely another ten minutes, the Lannister forces began throwing down their swords and shields in surrender. Only in the dead centre by Lords Brax and Banefort did the fight go on for a few more minutes until they too finally dropped their weapons.
Robb sighed in relief as his battle guard got through it mostly unscathed though many sported cut and bruises, Eddard Karstark having a nasty gash on his right leg after intercepting a sword that was heading for Robb. Their casualties were light but still passed 500 or so while the Lannisters had had their entire force killed or captured. It was a great victory since it took most of the Lannister cavalry away and left them with fewer commanders to control troops at the siege. Now they just had to liberate Riverrun, but that could wait a day.
They led the prisoners to the camp of Maege Mormont and Colonel Zack Cartwright. The camp was well organised though still being built in places and the prisoners were soon sorted out and placed into wooden pens with guards and food prepared. Maege led him and the various northern lords to a large tent in the centre of camp where they could talk and plan their next moves. "Good work in getting the camp ready my lady. The men will be glad of a rest and a feast to celebrate the win" Robb commended as they looked down at a map of the Riverlands among others.
"No problem Lord Robb, Colonel Cartwright was quite helpful and has set up patrols and outriders to keep watch. Ser Brynden perhaps you'd like to look over what was decided as well?" Maege replied.
"Alright I can do that" the older man said with a shrug.
"Good and nice work too colonel" Robb added.
"You're welcome my lord" the man said from the corner of the tent.
"Now I want everyone as rested as possible, tomorrow evening we will attack the Lannister siege. They might be wary but the hopefully won't suspect anything just yet, merely thinking that the cavalry is busy riding down Ser Brynden. Colonel, those canons, what range do they have and how could we use them?"
"My understanding from the message passed on to us by your rider is that the three camps are located here, here and here" he said pointing at a very detailed map of Riverrun laid on the central table. "I would propose that we place the cannons and my troops here, on the north side of the Tumblestone just before where it splits off from the Red Fork. From there we can bombard the eastern enemy camp and pick them off if they try to counter attack. Meanwhile another force, Ser Brynden could lead it perhaps, can take the northern camp and secure our side of the river." Robb hummed thoughtfully while the other lords nodded at the suggestion.
"Yes and then I can take the remaining forces to sweep in and take the west camp" Robb added.
"What range do those barrel things have?" Maege asked curiously.
"The 12 pounder Napoleon is a type of cannon called a howitzer, this means that instead of only being able to shoot straight ahead with little to no angling it can be angled so as to shoot over the heads of troops in front of it. Think of it like placing an archer behind a row of foot soldiers. The archer can shoot straight but end up hitting a friend in front of him or he can arch the shot by shooting over the heads of those in front" Cartwright explained in as simple a manner as possible. With the comparison to the archer they nodded in understanding. "The effective range is just under a mile while elevated at five degrees, increase the elevation and you loose distance just like an archer with his arrow." The others nodded though looked stunned at the range that could be generated by the weapons.
"In that case we will go with your plan for their placement. Hopefully you can deal a large amount of damage to the eastern camp, perhaps delay them from doing much so we can take them as well. I will lead the bulk of our host to engage the western camp while Lord Karstark, you will take a thousand men with Lady Mormont to cross the Red Fork and then try to hit the eastern camp. Do what you can but I suspect by the time you reach them they may have either fled or been killed by those cannons. Still we can hope they haven't fled. We agreed?"
"Yes my lord" echoed around the tent.
"Good, now go get some sleep my lords as we'll need it on the morrow."
Ser Forley Prester woke to the sounds of shouting. Unable to quite understand it he went to the door of the tent and looked out. He was shocked, to the north of Riverrun he saw fires burning brightly in the night on the far side of the Tumblestone. 'The northern barbarians were here? They were suppose to be days away and heading for Lord Tywin. Where was our cav- Oh right Quenten Banefort and Tytos Brax led them away on a wild goose chase after Ser Brynden Tully over a day ago. Where was Lord Andros? And Lord Kevan?' He dashed back inside and put on his gambeson before then adding his plate armour with the Prester sigil on. Grabbing his sword he dashed back outside and began shouting orders at his men and trying to rouse others.
On the far side of the castle he could just make out through the smoke Lord Andros Brax taking a contingent of men across the Tumblestone to assist the northern camp via rafts. But that wasn't what caught his eye, no it was movement just across the river from his own position where he saw a large force of northerners, mayhaps a thousand strong, setting up some sort of metal barrelled things while some of them by the bank seemed to be taking up archer-like positions. "Ready men, we'll take those northern curs!" Forely shouted, hoping to rally his troops and give direction. He took charge of his men, gathering them into spear and shield lines with some bowmen behind and headed towards the river where some rafts had been made earlier in order to allow them to cross.
But before they could get anywhere with that idea a series of loud booms broke through the distant shouting and clashing of steel. Almost simultaneous to those booms the ground erupted across his camp sending dirt and bodies up in the air. Blood, body parts, mud and tents mixed together sending men screaming in pain or clutching their ears from the loud booming. Forely was then knocked on his back when the ground in front of him exploded, killing or injuring almost a dozen men whom he had been pointing towards the rafts. Around him the sound faded with a ringing being all he could hear as he weakly stumbled to his feet. The ground was now starting to erupt more frequently all around the camp, scattering his troops. He staggered past some fires which were now burning hard through his tents adding to the smoke which now started to engulf the camp, the orderly spear and shield formations that he had ordered were broken and scattered, he men being routed by exploding mud.
The ringing eventually began to fade but the noise from all around him was deadened still as if his ears were covered. He stumbled back through the camp, heading away from the river while ducking under thrown mud and body parts. He made his way south to get a horse to try to rally his men or retreat if unable. He then heard a series of popping sounds, or perhaps some sort of buzzing, amongst the din of the exploding ground and the booming of whatever caused it. He turned to the river in time to see two dozen Westerland soldiers carrying spears just drop to the ground as if they were puppets who had their strings cut. He couldn't explain what was going on, it was as if the Stranger had come or the northern gods were sending smoke and erupting the ground from under him. The cries and screams of his men as they burned or were ripped apart was horrific.
He spotted the Tyroshi sellswords, and he snorted derisively at that considering they barely deserved to be called sellswords he thought arrogantly, who were striking the Lannister banners which had been loaned to them and were now trying to escape the chaos of the ruined camp. Barely escaping the chaos of the camp himself he turned to face Riverrun so as to go assist Lord Kevan but he saw Kevan's camp also burning and overrun by many Northern and Riverland cavalry, the gates of Riverrun had opened and the castle garrison surging forth to take Kevan's camp from the rear. It was a disaster. 'Perhaps I should withdraw what troops I can to Tywin or the Golden Tooth' he thought despairingly.
VAARUUM! VAARUUM! Forely turned from watching Kevan's host be slaughtered to see a charging group of cavalry heading straight for him with some foot running behind them. He looked at their banners and saw only Bears and White Suns. 'Oh shi-'. He never finished that thought as his head was parted from his body by the leading rider wearing black mail and a black wool surcoat with the bursting sun of House Karstark emblazoned upon it.
Cartwright
Cartwright kicked through a burnt out but still smouldering wooden box as his men searched the site for survivors and supplies. Smoke lingered still from the fires and cannon fire as he walked through the remnants of the Lannister camp, noting the blast craters and the mangled body parts mixed with the mud. It was not a pretty sight this part of the battlefield, more than a few of the Northerners had vomited at the ghastly sight. A sight that could have come straight from World War One. A few cries of mercy or a quiet groaning sound came from here and there as his men, along with a few Mormonts, helped those that could be helped or put those past help out of their misery.
The liberation of Riverrun, or The Battle of the Camps, as some were now calling it, had been a quick and decidedly one sided affair. Robb had hit the west camp with the majority of his host, numbering well over ten thousand, and had stopped Lord Brax from attempting to assist the northern camp which had sent the Lannisters into disarray by drawing the attention of Ser Kevan Lannister away from the northern camp and the east. Ser Brynden had taken another six thousand to hit the northern camp while Rickard Karstark and Maege Mormont took four thousand. Cartwright had just taken his eight hundred men and women to the river bank, reduced from a thousand after Lord Warrington took some back to the fleet. The whole Lannister army here was dead or captured, all 15,000 of them, including the force from Whispering Wood. And just like at the wood, as far as they knew, no one had managed to escape.
It was a decisive victory for the North and the Riverlands as it liberated their capital and now allowed for the rallying of the river lords to mount a campaign against the Lannisters who had invaded their lands. That it reduced the Lannister army permanently was a plus and the captives were a bonus. Kevan Lannister along with a few minor nobles, mostly heirs or second sons, would prove useful as hostages. From what he heard apparently there had been some Tyroshi sellswords amongst the camp he'd bombarded that had tried to strike their banners and join them but they'd been cut down by the Karstark/Mormont cavalry charge and his own soldiers firing their rifles across the river. Oh well, they wouldn't have offered much and wouldn't have been trusted much either.
Tywin
The battle against Robb Stark's host had proven to be quite easy. Almost too easy but then he was a green boy. The wolf pup would no doubt sue for peace now he had beaten back the boy's vanguard force so easily. Yes it had retreated but he managed to kill a good few hundred of it before it had fallen back up towards the Twins. He just had to hope his brother Kevan had finally subdued Riverrun as it would give him and the king, he grimaced at the thought of the young boy Tommen as king, full control of the Riverlands thus allowing him to march unopposed through the lands to destroy the wolf pup and then turn south to deal with Renly Baratheon and the damned roses. That Stannis had not declared himself king nor declare loyalty was troubling but as long as he did neither he could afford to wait Stannis out. Renly on the other hand was a real threat with almost a hundred thousand men at his command, the Stark boy had barely twenty, less now with this defeat, and Stannis had around five. Yes he needed to head south soon.
"My lord?" a call came from outside his tent.
"Enter" he replied, and he turned to see a messenger in Lannister red plate armour come through holding a scroll. "You have word from my brother?" The man gulped nervously and shifted on his feet uneasily. A slight sense of dread came over him a the soldier's reaction. "What has occurred then?"
"M-my lord, it seems the northern host has liberated Riverrun with the death or capture of the entire army including your brother my lord. This note has a full report from our scouts." the man answered while handing over the note.
"Summon my bannermen" Tywin said coldly and the soldier bowed and practically ran form the tent. The note confirmed the news; the entire host killed or captured with Kevan now a hostage along with a few other nobles.
xxxxx
"How could it happen? Lord Kevan taken, the siege broken, the host destroyed... this is a catastrophe! And why divide the host in three, that's just asking for trouble" complained one man once the council had been assembled and then informed.
"He had no choice Ser Harys" spoke up another in Kevan's defence. "Anyone who lays siege to Riverrun has to split their force into three due to the two rivers on two side plus the sluice gates which forms a moat on the third side. What I can't understand is how the Stark boy got there while he was attacking us?"
"That's because he wasn't here. There were only those five thousand men we fought yesterday" Twin finally spoke.
"Then where was he?" one man asked dumbly.
"With his other fifteen thousand men at Riverrun you fool! Though from what the scouts report it seems that he had around twenty thousand there which means he has at least twenty five thousand at his command."
"But we only have eighteen thousand here?"
"Well done, I'm glad someone here can count Ser Flement" Tywin replied snidely. "My condolences for the loss of your father Lord Brax as well." The man shrunk back from Tywin's retort and nodded his head stiffly at the condolences.
"Perhaps we should sue for peace my lord?" Ser Harys said hesitantly.
"Two battles do not make a war, we can still win this if we raise another host, isn't that right my lord?" another countered and asked hopefully.
"True Ser Marbrand, we could probably raise another ten thousand which would give us parity with the Stark boy but he will no doubt begin to rally the Riverlands to his side now. That would most likely take his forces to well over thirty-five thousand while we'd be stuck at around twenty-eight. No, we will raise two hosts. My son Ser Jaime will bring the Crownlands to us since Renly is still at Highgarden and is barely moving while also still gathering his forces. Meanwhile I will send word to Casterly Rock to raise another host near Oxcross. Then we will march into the Riverlands and destroy the wolf pup once and for all. For now we shall fall back to Harrenhal to dig in while we wait. Ser Marbrand you will screen our movements south while I send off Clegane, Loch and Vargo Hoat to burn the Riverlands south of the Red Fork. We will win this war, it just might take longer than expected. Now go ready the men, a new phase has begun."
AN: So what did people think? The cannons were quite hard to do just right so I hope you got a feel for the chaos and death both they and a cavalry charge would cause. Also I've tried to incorporate a few resolutions to complaints people had about ned and Stannis so hope that worked.