Chapter 23. Bryden Swears to Arya
Bryden Tully was lord of Riverrun, but his rule was precarious as Joffrey could order the Boltons, Greyjoys, or Freys to attack him. His elder brother was held captive by Walder Frey and as long as Bryden and his Banners behaved his brother lived. Bryden had secretly sent out scouts to find Arya Stark. With his great niece Bryden could rally the north against his enemies, but after six years of searching his scouts returned home. It seemed hopeless. Bryden married the daughter of Jonos Bracken Lord of Stone Hedge. They had 3 children and his wife Joellene was pregnant with their 4th child.
Bryden was teaching his son Aumere Tully how to use a sword in the courtyard of Riverrun when the Captain of his house guard came running up, "Milord! Milord!"
"What is it!" Bryden was agitated, because he hated being disturbed when he was spending time with his son.
"The Banners! The Banners of the Eyrie are marching towards Riverrun in force."
His wife ran to his side, she was three months pregnant. He put his arm around her, "I knew this day would come. Joffrey has Little Finger to finish us off!"
The Captain shook his head trying to catch his breath, "No Milord! They fly the sigil of House Arryn and Lord Robin himself leads the host."
"Robin!" He looks at his wife, "Get my horse!"
Bryden rides out to meet them as they are a quarter mile from his castle. "Nephew!"
"Hail Lord Bryden of Riverrun!"
"What is happening? How did you get free? Where is Balish?"
"My cousin Arya Stark is what happened."
Arya urged her horse forward and greeted Bryden, "Hail Lord Bryden-I am Arya Stark of Winterfel-and I have come for my vengeance. Summon your Banners!"
"As happy as I am to see you going to war against the Lannisters is madness! They are too powerful!"
Arya waves for Sandor to come forward. He leads another horse forward with an armless and legless Man tied to the horse. "Fuck me!" The Captain says.
"By the gods old and new!" Bryden says as Sandor raises the head of Joffrey Baratheon.
"Now will you summon your Banners? All the Lannisters by blood and marriage are dead."
Bryden turns to his captain, "Summon my banners to Riverrun with their armies."
"I obey milord!" He replies riding off.
"Come we eat and drink-then we talk."
Over the next two weeks the Banners sworn to Lord Bryden Tully converge on Riverrun with their armies. There are Houses Bracken, Mallister, Whent, Mooton, and Volson who took Frey's place with his own house. When the Lords of Rivverun were gathered together in the grand hall Arya sat Joffrey on a table for display and she spun the tale of how she trained for ten years under different sword masters and was trained by the guild of Faceless Men. She tricked the Martells and the Tullys into an alliance and then made them declare war on the Lannisters. Then she went to King's Landing and killed Tywin Lannister, several members of the King's guard, Master Pycel, Queen Margaery, and then she had all the courtiers killed. Joffrey's arms, legs, and cock were cut off. Then she killed Tyrion Lannister and his family. Peter Balish fell to her wrath after freeing Robin Arryn.
"Lords of Riverrun the blood of Hoster Tully runs in my veins! I am as much apart of these lands as any of you! I ask you to fight with me and repay those bastards Walder Frey, Balon Greyjoy, and Roose Bolton what we owe them!"
"AYE!" All the banners yelled.
"Rout the whole lot of them!" Robin yelled.
"SILENCE!" Bryden yelled standing on the table he sat at with Arya, Robin, Sandor, and Gendry. "As much as I want vengeance-I have a family to think of."
Mallister threw his goblet across the room, "We all have families Lord Tully, but they will sleep better when we kill those fucks in Winterfel-The Iron Isles and the Dread Fortress!"
"And then there is my brother-Lord Edmure!" It grew quiet again, "My brother is held captive by Walder Frey-The minute we march on the Twins-My brother is dead."
Arya stood up and got on the table with him, "What if I can guarantee the safety of your brother."
"Bullshit!" Lord Whent said.
Gendry jumped up, "She can do it-Look at Joffrey-Do you still doubt?"
Whent sneered at Gendry, "And what does the Bastard of Robert Baratheon know of these things?"
Arya snatched a dagger from her thigh and threw it at Whent. Everyone froze as the dagger vibrated in the table. The blade stuck in the wood between Whent's left two middle fingers. "I'll stick the next man who refers to Gendry as a Bastard. He is more a son of Robert Baratheon than that shit Joffrey." Joffrey was asleep even with all the noise they were making.
Whent took the dagger and threw it back to Arya hilt first-she snatched it out of the air staring him down. "My apologies daughter of Stark." He looks at Gendry, "Apologies sir!"
"No offense was taken."
Sandor banged his fist and stood, "Do not underestimate Arya-She has overcome much to get to this point. If she says she can get your brother out and unharmed then she can."
Bryden walked up to Arya and stared her in the eyes, "If you can do all you said and free my brother..." He dropped to one knee. "...Then I swear to serve the Lady of the North."
She bid him to stand up and they interlocked arms, "Give me a three day head start-By the time you all arive Edmure Tully will be free and I will open the front gates as well-Kill them all, but save Frey and his fucking daughters, sons, and grandchildren alive. I want that shit to witness the deaths of his family and then I will cut off his legs, arms, and cock-He can give Joffrey some company."
"HAIL ARYA! HAIL ARYA! HAIL ARYA!" They kept shouting.
Two days later Arya, Gendry, Sandor, and ten men left for the Twins. Three days after that Bryden and Robin lead a combined army of 72,000 troops towards the Twins.
