Coming of the Red Anchor
The Fallacy of a Stag
Kings Landing
Tyrion
Tyrion watched pensively from the battlements. He was overlooking the Mud Gate, the weakest of the city's many gates and the most obvious point of attack by Renly's host in part due to its accessibility by ship and foot. Of course the fool also had enough troops to attack all the gates simultaneously but the Mud Gate was where it would likely start. He just had to hope that all the scorpions and catapults which lined the walls were enough along with the 7,500 men he had including gold cloaks, knights and men from Stokeworth, Hayford and Rosby. Over three thousand men alone were based here at the Mud Gate with another two thousand at the Kings Gate plus a handful at the Lions Gate while his brother Jaime waited on the Street of Steel with some of the remaining troops for use to bolster any weak spots.
His surprise of wildfire would have to even things out and, like his father had commanded, a number of choke points and barricades had been constructed near the gates which were likely to be attacked in order to bleed the enemy further. In all he had a plan, a good plan if he admitted himself. Now all they had to do was wait. Wait for the mass of enemy soldiers wait across the Blackwater. Already he could see a few ships, mostly Stormlander vessels along with a handful of ships from the Redweyne fleet, approaching. 'So now it begins' he thought idly.
Renly
Renly was smug. He had the most men (70,000 from the Reach and 20,000 from the Stormlands), the most money, the better arms and now his ships were here to ferry he and his men across the river. It was a clear, sunny day and his men were well rested from the night before and now his time was at hand. He glanced to Loras with whom he had slept wonderfully the night before and who was standing resplendent in his armour as his commander of the Kingsguard. He would've liked Ser Barristan to have joined him, the prestige and renown he could have gained from that man, but no, he had joined with the Starks and their supposed Targaryen. It mattered not truly, once he was done here he would end the Targaryens too. He would finish what Robert could not and then they'd see who the better brother was.
Around him his Kingsguard stood although Brienne was with his wife and her family rather than here. It would not do to have a woman on the field even if she was as good as she was. No it was better that she stood guard with Margery and that old shrew Olenna. "Are we ready Lord Tarly?" he asked eagerly to his military commander.
"Yes Your Grace. The vanguard is ready to board the ships and ferries we have seized while the rest is marching along the kingsroad to attack the Kings Gate and Lions Gate. We are ready" Tarly reported promptly. Good man Tarly; tough as nails, blunt and an excellent commander. Stern though but so what, you need to be to command 70,000 men.
"Excellent, I will lead the vanguard of ten thousand with my Kingsguard and show everyone the way now. Robert did the same at the Ruby Ford and so must I now. Tarly, you will take the main force of forty thousand and ready the reserves as you deem fit. My ten thousand will take the Mud Gate and with the others begin to encircle and close in on the Red Keep. Victory is at hand gentlemen, now lets skin some lions!" he ended with a jape. It seemed to work as many in the vicinity cheered.
He watched from the river bank as his men were slowly rowed over to the larger ships and boats to be ferried across to the other side. Excited chatter could be heard as men talked of the plunder they would gain, a few even rowdily suggesting having a good time with the bitch Cersei. In all honesty he wouldn't mind if they did, she certainly didn't deserve to be be treated well after betraying Robert as she did and maybe it would teach her to be humble for once, the arrogant cow. He then quickly got into the row boat with his Kingsguard and sat at the front, watching the other boats as they went. The small boat slowly moved over to one of the larger riverboats which were to ferry him and his troops across the river safely as he observed the other larger boats and small ships fill with men and begin to slowly make their way across the large stretch of water which separated him from his target.
Bells rang out from the city before him announcing that the city was under attack. Renly grinned happily, this was his moment, his chance to shine and show Westeros just who was the better Baratheon. "It sounds like they want to play some music!" he called out to his ship and a few nearby. "Lets make some noise ourselves. Sound the drums and horns!" At his command a few drummers and those with horns began to sound, calling out their own sounds to announce the attack while providing a beat for the rowers with the pounding of the drums.
Slowly they approached the riverbank upon which Kings Landing sat a short distance from. Sailors began lowering or bringing round the smaller row boats and landing rafts for his soldiers and himself to climb down to. "Begin to fire upon the walls! Archers and scorpions cover our approach!" he commanded to the ship's captain who gave a short nod while hurrying about barking orders. Renly then descended down the side netting and sat at the head of his small row boat once more before they then began to row for the shore, half a dozen similar boats were already ahead of him approaching the bank while even more followed him.
THWUNK! He glanced behind him to see the forward scorpion that had been mounted on his ship fire its five foot long bolt before being reset as the crew readied another bolt. He turned back to the city but failed to see any damage on the walls. "For House Baratheon and Justice! Death to the Usurpers!" Renly called out to rally his men. Cheers echoed around the bay as his men shouted back with glee. Renly hopped out of the boat and unsheathed his sword while holding his shield in the other hand, a shield that had his rampant gold stag on a green background with a rose in its mouth. It matched his equally green with flecks of gold plate armour. "On me men! On me!" he shouted, Loras at his side grinning. He felt a few thuds against his shield and saw a few arrow hit the dirt nearby. 'Already they fire upon us' Renly realised worriedly before hearing a gargle and seeing a man ahead of him drop down with an arrow in his neck.
"For Renly! For House Tyrell! For good Queen Margery!" Loras yelled out rallying the men of Highgarden who had joined the vanguard. They were committed now and Renly looked along the grounds and riverbank before the city walls seeing men with raised shields rush forwards while carrying the ladders needed to climb the walls.
"Get those against the walls! Climb and seize the gatehouse and towers!" Another group of men carried a long heavy tree trunk that had been shaped to a point at one end for use as a ram.
Cries filled the air along with the thuds of scorpion bolts crashing against the walls or just as often shooting away from the walls to the ferries and sinking one or two. Regular thudding could be heard from the Mud Gate as a group of Stormlanders tried to batter down the wooden doors while they were pelted with spears, arrow and rocks. More men landed and kept landing as additional ladders were brought ashore and up to the walls all while suffering under the arrow fire from the bowmen on the walls. Some three thousand were now ashore and encroaching on the walls with ladders and a few spare battering rams. It was likely that one in ten fell from the sustained arrow fire sent down by the desperate defenders at the overwhelming number which had descended upon the southern gates. Men were climbing the ladders quickly enough but just as many were crying out and falling to the ground with arrows lodged in their sides or necks. The vanguard was paying a heavy price to breach the gate while they still whittled down the defenders.
Renly breathed heavily inside his equally heavy plate armour, nerves starting to build now and he could see the same in Loras and his Kingsguard. None of them had been in battle before and the tilt-yard and tourneys did not prepare them for this. "Come my friends, we shall show these lions that roses can prick and stags can stab. Up and at them!" Renly called out to them, trying to encourage them and himself.
It was at that point a sound came from overhead and Renly looked up and spotted a number of barrels being flung over the walls towards his ferries and river boats as well as parts of the vanguard that was just landing. He frowned wondering what it could be when they smashed into their targets and exploded in large balls of green fire. It erupted from its unfortunate victims and began expanding rapidly, burning through wood and flesh equally quickly while thick smoke, tinted green, began billowing up into the air making it thick with heat and ash. Screams and cries of surprise rang below the city walls as men panicked, some trying to climb faster to get away form the flames or some running to other areas along the walls. "By the gods!" Loras exclaimed.
"S-seven h-hells" Robar spluttered in shock.
"Climb! Climb you fools! Make them pay for this evil sorcery!" Renly shouted, encouraging his troops in the right direction. Some obeyed but others just ran for sections away from the demonic flames. Renly began climbing too with his shield raised above him but only after Robar Royce and Loras had, it was time to take the walls himself. He just hoped that other sections of his army were holding too despite the wildfire.
Randyll Tarly
Tarly watched stoically as parts of the army were pummelled with wildfire held within barrels. One was dangerously close to his king but he could do little from his position near the bridge by the tourney grounds and the Blackwater. "Knock that blasted gate down men! You see your king suffering, so help him by breaking those gates down!" he ordered sternly. He looked about, surveying the field.
They had the numbers but the defenders, despite being only two thousand, were putting up an admirable defence even with the odds being against them. The main host had yet to breach either of the gates but a fair number of soldiers had secured portions of the walls along with a tower or two. Regrettably the wildfire was reeking havoc on the forces near the Mud Gate and it was slowly spreading his way, burning ships, row boats and men as it went. Hundreds had certainly burned, more likely a few thousand or so were dead by fire or drowning while trying to escape the flames. The green fire from the darkest of the seven hells was burning brightly as thick smoke was rolling off it and up into the relatively clear blue sky, creating a fog of war through which nothing could be seen.
He was glad now that he had kept most of his and the Targaryen loyalists' troops back to form the bulk of the reserve force, the devastation the fires were causing was not to be belittled. Unfortunately some were part of the main host and the vanguard with Renly. He was thankful too that his son was with the reserve, commanding the Tarly men as was his right as his only heir. His only worthy heir now that the fat slob of a boy had gone to the wall. Thank the gods for the small mercy that the boy was man enough to go and not force him to create an 'accident'.
Turning his attention back to his section of the siege he could see numerous Reachmen now climbing up onto the walls with growing sections of them now in Reach and Stormlander hands. He knew not of what Renly was doing though apart from trying to take the Mud Gate which had not yet fallen from what little he could see through the flames and smoke. Neither had the Kings Gate but the Mud Gate was the weaker of the two so it should have fallen by now. 'Incompetent boys playing at war' he thought derisively. At least the Starks and the Targaryen boy have been fighting proper battles if the stories were true. A true king learns and adapts and knows when to ask for help because he lacks the knowledge of whichever topic is at hand instead of just blundering along. The true prince was at least doing that, surrounded by Lord Stark, the Blackfish and the various lords of both the north and Riverlands, the boy would learn war well. Even those foreigners who had a large navy were proving to be valuable allies if the fall of the Rock was to be believed. Mace Tyrell and Renly on the other hand were both fools and did as they wished. Yes, Renly had accepted some advise given to him by himself and Lord Hightower, but he had mostly followed his own will and knowledge, knowledge poorly lacking in siege warfare and war in general. Mace Tyrell did the same and simply did whatever he liked and feasted with the other lords while leaving actual combat to men like himself before then claiming all of the credit afterwards. Gods that stupid oaf was annoying and foolish.
Once more focusing on the siege he saw that most of the walls on either side of the Kings Gate had fallen and nodded approvingly at the progress. He shouted commands for the next line of men to climb the walls when a rider approached from the north, a scout he'd sent to keep an eye out for any relief force. He hadn't wanted to go too far north to the Lions Gate in case he got caught between two side with the kingsroad to the north and the Gold Road to the west. It would also have spread his troops a little thin though in all honesty with a host of seventy thousand they could afford to. Renly however wanted the city today. If they'd lain siege then they could have attacked from all sides. "Lord Tarly! My lord!" the rider shouted breathlessly. Tarly turned to the man while keeping an eye to the walls.
"What is it man? Speak."
"Riders approach from the north my lord. Carrying the banner of the lion. Lannister cavalry approach, mayhap ten minutes until they arrive." Tarly hummed thoughtfully. He couldn't withdraw as he'd had no word from Renly yet on whether the Mud Gate had fallen and he still had men marching across the kingsroad bridge to reinforce his own section of the host.
"What numbers?" The scout paused thinking on it before answering.
"Over ten thousand, under twenty. Possibly five and ten or six and ten thousand?" the scout reported. Knowing he had little time but had the numbers Tarly quickly made a decision.
"Ser Gerald take the mounted to the east to lie in wait and be ready to drive them off. Ser Malcolm take what foot we can spare and form a shield wall facing north. I want it three deep with spears and shields braced for a charge. Get some archers behind them too while you're at it." A chorus of 'yes my lord' sounded as the aforementioned knights rode off to the rally the various forces as commanded. "You, Ser Hyle Hunt correct?" he said turning to a young knight in a white surcoat on a chestnut courser.
"Aye my lord?"
"Ride on down to His Grace's position, find out what in seven hells is going on by the Mud Gate and report back. I won't waste my men on a pointless fight."
"Yes my lord" the man replied with a nervous glance to where the wildfire still burned strong. The man obeyed and kicked off while directing his horse over in the direction of the Mud Gate, keeping his distance from the deadly flames.
"Do you want to bring in the reserve Lord Tarly?" asked Mathis Rowan, Lord of Goldengrove.
"Not yet Mathis, we need to know what Renly's situation is. If he has taken the Mud Gate then I will order the reserve to assist him there while the bulk of the host here will dig in and hold this position to deal with the Lannister relief force" Randyll replied bluntly before they all instinctively ducked as another five barrels came hurtling over the tops of the high city walls before exploding into the damned greens flames of wildfire, blocking passage between his portion of the host and Renly's. It also claimed the lives of three dozen men-at-arms who died before any could even reach the river. Their screams rang in the ears of all nearby while the stench of burning flesh hung in the air.
"Seven hells! Where did they get all this?" Lord Rowan exclaimed, barely keeping his horse from rearing at the flames and noise.
"No doubt the pyromancers came forth and offered it" Randyll spat. "That order should have been put to the sword to end this hellish substance, especially after what the Mad King did with it."
"Aye you're not wrong, I don't know why Robert kept them around."
"Probably in case someone ever wanted the wildfire in a war, just like now. Or more likely he didn't care, being too busy drinking and whoring" he commented with disgust. A rider came up to them covered in dirt and sweating heavily.
"My lords, we have secured the gatehouse and have opened the gates to our men" he reported.
"Good, now all we need is news of His Grace and we can begin to encircle the Red Keep. Have the men at the gatehouse rest and have the fresh troops move in to secure the city" Tarly commanded.
"Yes my lord though a number of barricades have been erected on the route to the Red Keep, it will make things difficult."
"I see. Doesn't matter, get the men to rest and allow the fresh troops to handle it then, we have more than enough men to allow that" he replied dismissively. "Now we are getting somewhere" Tarly said to his fellow lord who nodded in agreement, it had taken too long to breach the walls.
Renly
Renly was fighting harder than he ever had before. Even his spars with Loras and those in the Red Keep with the guards there had not been this bad. He knocked aside a strike by a gold cloak, a young grubby looking man, and buried his sword in the man's neck before turning and parrying a spear and then swinging his shield around to knock them off the wall. Beside him Loras stood, swinging his sword and shield in sync, carving a path through the poorly trained and under equipped gold cloaks while the archers retreated to other parts being ill prepared for swords.
More Stormlander men and a few from the Reach climbed between merlons and onto the wall walkways. "To the Gatehouse!" Renly called out, ordering his men to focus on the structure housing the Mud Gate once more. They had tried several times to breach it but they had yet to succeed as numerous men had been placed in, on and around the gatehouse. 'Likely because it was the weakest one' Renly thought idly while stabbing at another gold cloak who got pass his occupied Kingsguard. They had managed to take sections of the wall on either side but had yet to breach the gatehouse itself or break down the wooden gates.
Two groups of soldiers had already failed to knock down the gate with battering rams, though they had managed to greatly damage said doors, and they had given that up in favour of climbing the walls and taking it that way. He had not yet seen any of the Kingsguard of the boy king Tommen but he knew that Ser Jaime and others had to be around, but where were they? Slashing at another gold cloak he took a breather seeing that most of the wall had fallen now to their sheer numbers and grinding down of the enemy. Of his own Kingsguard, none had fallen, much to his relief, though Robar had a bloody cut on his right arm and Bryce Caron had a nasty gash on his left leg and was limping slightly, likely a lucky hit by a spear. Still, many bodies littered the walls, mostly Lannister men or gold cloaks, their blood now staining the stonework while more bodies had fallen over the side to land within the city. He noted that a small portion remained on the walls to keep those within the gatehouse bottled up while the bulk of his vanguard moved down into the city to open the gates. It saddened him that he was down to only a thousand or so when he'd started with ten. The wildfire had taken half of his force while the arrows and scorpions had cut down more of his men and that was not including those killed while assaulting the walls and gatehouse itself.
Just when he thought they might have a chance Renly heard shouting and cheering and turned to see a large group, perhaps a few hundred, were coming along one of the streets from the Red Keep to reinforce the Mud Gate and to charge his men. What stopped him momentarily was that at the head were two rather fearsome opponents; Sandor Clegane, also called the Hound, and Ser Jaime Lannister himself, resplendent in his gold and white Kingsguard armour with a white cloak billowing slightly behind him. He gulped nervously and warned his own guards while hurrying others to take the gatehouse so as to bring forth more men. He breathed deeply, steadying himself. 'We have the numbers, we can do this, I can be king' he thought to himself reassuringly. He just hoped Lord Tarly and the main force were having a better of things than he was but that hope got reduced when he noted a fresh burst of green flames and more smoke coming from the direction that Lord Tarly was in.
"Down with the stag usurper men! Lets teach these roses the cold steel of the West and the Crown!" Ser Jaime called out to the mix of Lannister and Crownland soldiers. With a cheer, the group charged forward and began a deadly melee with his force of soldiers who'd surrounded the gatehouse and been in the process of opening the gates. Cries and shouts along with the clash of steel rang in the air by the gatehouse as the Lannister led forces tried to repel Renly's men. The last vestiges of the gatehouse guard burst from within, led by a dwarf of all things, and sallied forth to attack the beleaguered and tired vanguard forces.
With Clegane and Ser Jaime leading them his own men were being slaughtered and he could see looking over the walls back at the river he was not going to receive any aid. Ships lay burning and fires still raged, burning across the land and water, blocking further passage between the kingsroad and the Mud Gate. He was trapped in effect and he suspected the Lannisters knew that given their charge against him. He saw similar looks or realisation on his own Kingsguard.
"Your Grace we should try to regroup with Lord Tarly and the bulk of the men by the Kings Gate" Robar suggested hesitantly.
"No! We can still win this, we have the numbers. I will beat Ser Jaime while you take Clegane. Once those two are dead the others will yield or die by our blades" Loras argued fervently.
"Loras are you sure? It's Clegane and the Kingslayer, I do not want to be another king to that title" Renly said uncertainly, glancing around and seeing two more men die at the hands of Clegane as he punch one, hacked another to death before he then stabbed the punched one in the gut.
"Of course I'm sure, I'm the best sword in the Reach and I bested Ser Jaime in the joust on occasion too" Loras said arrogantly. With that pronouncement Renly then nodded slowly in agreement.
"We will hold against Clegane, defeat Ser Jaime and end that stain on the Kingsguard name" he commanded with a hopeful smile at Loras. Loras returned it with a confident smirk and the group descended to the street via steps down from the walls. Behind them a group of twenty men, fresh from climbing the walls, followed. They soon engaged the outer troops commanded by the Kingslayer cutting them down quickly though taking a few losses from the twenty accompanying men.
"Well well what have we here? A lost stag and a little rose, come to bend the knee to King Tommen?" Ser Jaime japed. The man skilfully parried a strike from a Reachman before grabbing the sword hand of the man and then plunking his blade through the man's chest. Loras grimaced at the end of another countryman before turning a furious gaze upon the Kingsguard member.
"You will pay for those you have slain here today Kingslayer" Loras decreed angrily.
"Well why don't you make me?" Ser Jaime returned with a grin. Loras charged over to the man, the two exchanging strikes and parries as they circled each other. They slash and stabbed at each other while also pushing against the other when they locked blades. Renly watched from the side while fighting off other Lannister men or gold cloaks who tried to earn a name by killing a king. His own Kingsguard were fighting well despite tiredness and small wounds. He noted Clegane was cutting through other men near the gate house, removing arms, legs or on one occasion a head. He then saw another get struck in the back by the dwarf up on the wall and realised it was Tyrion, The Imp.
Plunging his blade into a gold cloak's under arm and sending blood spurting out of the open wound, he turned at a familiar but pained cry. He soon spotted Loras retreating back clutching at his now empty shield arm, the arm itself hanging awkwardly at his side which Loras grasped protectively. "Seems you're not as good as you thought little rose, too busy sheathing your sword in a stag maybe?" the Kingslayer japed pointedly and Renly flinched slightly at the hint to their true relationship. "Once I've ended you I'll kill your lover. Always wanted a stag pelt for a rug and antlers to go on the wall. I couldn't do that to Robert for his dishonouring of my sister as he was my king, the drunken oaf, so I'll just have to settle for a rose and a young stag." Jaime grinned and closed in on Loras.
Seeing his friend and lover killed was not something he wanted so Renly jumped at the Kingslayer with sword and shield raised and the two began to exchange blows before then countering and parrying each others attacks. Renly tried knocking the sword to one side while slashing with his own sword only to find Jaime's longsword back in place to block the strike. The man moved quickly and elegantly, proving why he was known as the best sword alive apart from Ser Barristan. Again another crinkle of anger rose at the loss of the great man to a dragon bastard. Loras soon joined him and together the pair pushed back Ser Jaime, dancing around his blade while their three cloaks all fluttered and twisted with their motions. The clang of steel rang repeatedly as each blocked, turned, slashed and blocked again, Renly attacking from the left and Loras trying the right. Neither got anywhere as the Kingslayer was everywhere, keeping them both at bay with seeming ease.
It could not last though, both Renly and Loras were tired while Jaime was fresh. Loras gave out first due to the injured arm. He over extended himself too far and earned a punch to the side of the head, sending him spinning away and then sprawled on the ground. The older man then turned like lightning on Renly, and while he fought hard he knew he was no match for the Kinglsayer by himself. More blows were exchanged as he was pushed back and Renly saw out the corner of his eye others were falling back. He could see Robar Royce had grabbed Loras and was dragging him back to the steps by the walls which they still just barely held, his vanguard remnants over run.
He didn't last long just by himself as he had predicted. Ser Jaime struck hard and true, aiming near the base of the blade and above the cross-guard so that he lost his grip and the sword fell to the ground with a clang on the cobbled paving. He used his shield to batter the man away and block some of the next few blows but without the sword the Lannister's confidence grew and his own plummeted. Renly stumbled back raising the shield to block an over head strike but it suddenly changed and swung in from his right knocking his shield arm away from his body, leaving him clear and open.
What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion, as if dragging out the moment to extend the bitterness of the defeat. Ser Jaime grinned and began to swing his sword, his movements hiding what the final blow would be. A scream from behind sounded like Loras crying out which made him smile slightly knowing that he still lived. Others called out in surprise, horror or glee and he noticed that much of the fighting seemed to have stopped, the quietness of the moment as haunting as it was bittersweet. Then he felt a breeze of movement and a slight pain in the neck before he saw himself falling sideways and his body slumping to the ground. 'Oh, I've just lost m…'
Jaime
Ser Jaime looked down confidently at the defeated and beheaded stag. He was the Kingslayer so it was only appropriate he supposed. Calming his expressions he turned to the under a thousand remaining men that made up the formerly ten thousand strong vanguard. Tyrion's ploy had worked, but then Tyrion's ploys usually did he thought with a grin. The wildfire had burned much of the landing craft and fleet which made up the vanguard while they still held their precious cargo leaving only three thousand to be dealt with by the walls. With the wildfire blocking off paths for reinforcements to approach they could deal with the vanguard before turning on the main army, assuming they held at the other gates too. That Renly was foolishly here was a boon as the enemy will fold even quicker now. "Surrender now and you may be spared. Or don't, it'll be more fun that way" he called out with a sardonic smirk.
"Fall back! Retreat to the Blackwater!" one of Renly's Kingsguard shouted.
"The king is dead! We are doomed!"
"The Seven curse us for following a pillow biter" another cried, this one in reach colours.
"Retreat!" came the cry from another Kingsguard. This time it was Loras Tyrell of all people Jaime thought. "You will pay for this Kingslayer! You will pay!"
His grin left his face as a scowl replaced it upon seeing the bulk of the enemy vanguard beginning to climb back down their ladders and form a disorderly retreat. "Cut them down! Don't let them escape! Secure the walls. Archers get back in position and unleash upon the enemy" he ordered angrily. Men scurried about and those that surrendered were quickly disarmed and herded to one spot while the remains of his relief force and those who had withstood the attack on the gatehouse began cut down those fleeing or still resisting.
To his annoyance, the remaining Kingsguard of Renly managed to flee the walls along with half the remaining vanguard though it was a tired, battered and demoralise group which did. Arrows and scorpion bolts flew after the group, cutting the size down further at it hounded the fleeing soldiers. Knowing it was the best that could be done he ordered the others to stand down and begin escorting the few hundred prisoners to the cells. A loud warhorn sounded to the north and he could just make out the thunder of hooves in the distance over the noise of the roaring flames behind him down by the river. He glanced at Tyrion who stood holding an axe alongside a squire nearby and they exchanged nods and glad but tired smiles.
Gods he hate the green flames he thought as he looked over the walls at the still burning flames. He was glad this was the only stockpile people knew of. If Cersei or their father found out about the stockpiles under the city things could get worse. Thank the old gods and the new that no one did and it would eventually dissipate, no, dissolve? No, what was the term Tyrion used? Oh deteriorate, that was it and then it would become useless. He just hoped it was all still there. Maybe he should check just to make sure those bloody alchemists hadn't rediscovered those barrels Aerys had placed around the city. He shook his head and refocused on the battle. Well at least he knew now what Tyrion had been hiding, reinforcements. Their father, Tywin Lannister, had arrived.
Tarly
The news was grim. Ser Hyle had returned barely minutes ago reporting that the vanguard had be crushed and repelled despite just barely securing the weakest gate. Of course, knowing that, the Lannisters had thrown everything at that gate leaving this one open to his more concentrated and unrelenting assault. Now they were down a king, and effectively down ten thousand men who had made up the vanguard. He himself had lost another two thousand taking this gatehouse thanks to the fucking wildfire and archers on the walls. Not only that but the Lannister cavalry was now in sight so his men were forming a shield wall with spears and archers. Hopefully they could hold them off enough for him to come up with a plan.
Technically speaking, in theory he could win this fight. With the walls and gatehouse secured, he could bleed the Lannisters out here and end them once and for all before moving into the city and dealing with the remaining gold cloaks and others who were within. Unfortunately it would be very costly and highly likely that he'd loose over half the host in doing so given that there was likely more wildfire nearby and the impending cavalry charge. Considering all that, it was likely a better option to withdraw and preserve the Reach's forces. The Stormlands had made up the bulk of the vanguard and the remains were in his own group so they were likely to want to withdraw and go over to Lord Stannis. That he could allow given Stannis served the dragon king and was not the enemy of the Reach. Not yet anyway depending on what the foolish flowers decided next. He turned to Lord Rowan who was sitting nervously upon his horse, surveying the field as the Lannister horse charged into the prepared spear and shield wall. "Your thoughts Lord Rowan?"
"Not good Lord Tarly, not good at all" the man replied sourly. "We could win if we tried for sure, but the cost? No it would cost too much. I say withdraw and rest the men. If the young Stag is dead then we must decide on what is best to do. Bend the knee to the boy Tommen or the supposed Targaryen the Starks are touting despite the boy previously being raised a bastard though I understand the reasoning behind why. Still, does the lad know how to lead or command or how to rule?"
"No more than the boy Tommen but the Targaryen lad at least has a true claim and seems to be leading and fighting with his men, that counts for something in my book given what was said of Robert's children by Stannis and Stark."
"Aye true enough. If we believe the Starks about him though. Admittedly the Starks are known for bluntness and honesty so why shouldn't we believe them" Lord Mathis Rowan said with a shrug.
"Indeed. Very well, sound the withdrawal, have Ser Gerald charge the Lannister and keep them occupied while we retreat. We'll reform the other side of the bridge with another spear and shield wall before leaving for the Kingswood to rest."
"Yes Lord Tarly. You heard him men, get those on the walls off 'em. Abandon the city. Get Ser Gerald moving and fighting those lion bastards!" Lord Rowan shouted, men galloping off to pass along the orders. Those that remained with Tarly and Rowan looked on bleakly, they hadn't thought they could loose this battle. Indeed they outnumbered the enemy by some margin but with Renly dead they lacked a reason to remain.
"Fall back, we're done here" Tarly said gruffly and he turned his horse to the bridge to lead the nearby foot and attendant lords and knights away from the battle. The Battle for Kings Landing was over.
AN: Sorry for the delay again but I had lacked the energy to write anything and had been enjoying too many good stories on here that I got distracted. Hope you all enjoyed the battle and it was relatively easy to understand. Normally numbers should have won this but if the vanguard, ferries/boats and your king are destroyed or dead even outnumbering an enemy you aren't likely to stay which is what Tarly points out. To summarise relatively clearly, the vanguard is demolished by wildfire and then by those men on the walls led by Tyrion and then the relief force by Jaime. Tarly takes the Kings Gate with few losses but Tywin arrives and Renly dies before he can exploit it further. I hope you all continue to follow this story and I will try to get the next one out as quickly as I can. Until then.