Chapter 26; Taking stock and making choices
Characters of the Chapter
Daenerys Targaryen, The Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains, Queen of the of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men of the South, Queen of the South Kingdom of the Twin kingdoms and Protector of the Realm
Derek Cobbler, Kirkwall ambassador to the South Kingdom of the Twin Kingdoms
Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, Master of Laws on the Small Council
Grey Worm, Master of War on the Small Council of Queen Daenerys, High Commander of the Royal Army
Haggo Stallion Dothraki Khal, Lord of upstart house Stallion
Isabela Sailor on the Seadancer, former Captain of the Siren'sCall II, admiral of the Felicisima armada (self-appointed)
Yara Greyjoy Master of ships on the small council of the south kingdom, commander of the royal navy, Queen of the Iron Islands
Cursive/Bold text is in Dothraki
"I remember you saying that the Qunari do not make alliances." Daenerys said to the Kirwall ambassador. It was the morning after the battle to get over the Trident and she had called her advisors together in her command tent to establish a better understanding of the current situation and plan their next move.
"I still stand by what I said then." Derek replied. "I have a hard time believing Orlais and the Qunari are here as allies. At most the Qunari were aware of the Orlesian intentions and decided to make their own move at the same time. And even that is pure speculation without more to go on."
"Then why are they here? They never troubled us before. Why attack us?" She asked.
"If I had to guess? I'd say you probably aren't the real enemy for the Qunari in this. I'd say their motivation for invading here is related to their war with Tevinter."
"Seriously? It's remarkable how often these topics turn right back to them." Daenrys said with an irritated shake of her head. "Please, continue."
"As you probably know the Qunari and the Imperium have been at war with each other for the better part of three centuries. Most of that time they have fought each other to a standstill, although some say the Qunari are merely saving their strength for a more serious push against Thedas at a later time. But since establishing their forces in Essos the Imperium has been funneling money, supplies and slave labor to bolster their economy, and so their war effort against the Qunari. The Qunari could not allow the advantage to tilt in the favor of the Imperium, so they opened another war front in the narrow sea. But according to all reports while the Qunari are holding their ground, they have been unable to make significant progress against their enemy. Unfortunately for them the Imperium made it to Essos first, giving them a solid entrenched positions in the mainland, with allies among the locals to support them, while the Qunari have only a number of small bases in the stepstones to launch their attacks from. Should the Qunari wish to properly challenge the Imperium in this part of the world they will need a stronger foothold. Since they haven't had any luck in taking that foothold from mainland Essos…"
"…They'll try and take it from here." She finished.
"Precisely. Take over your lands, convert your people to the Qun and they have restored the power balance and will be in a much better position to take on their arch nemesis."
"So we are just the means to an end to them?" Daenerys asked.
"Not inaccurate. They want the Imperium dealt with and don't trust anyone else to do it, and don't much care who gets in their way in the process." The ambassador said.
"The Qunari are that powerful? To take on the Twin Kingdoms, potentially the Orlesians, and then have the power left to take on the Tevinter Imperium?" She said in disbelief.
"They once fought every nation in Thedas to a standstill. Who's to say what their true capabilities are?" Derek said with a shrug. "What is clear is that they are willing to take that chance."
"So it would seem. Fortunately it seems they are remaining on Bear Island for the time being, which does give us time to deal with Orlais." She said.
"Yes my Queen. And on that front there have been more news." Grey Worm said. "I appears that the Twins have been destroyed."
"What? What happened?" Daenerys asked, shocked.
"We are not entirely certain. The reports from the survivors are rather strange. They seem to defy reason. They speak of a red or pink light…" Grey Worm said.
"Wait." Derek interrupted. "Red and pink light? One that pulled the stones to the sky before scattering them in all directions?"
"Yes. The event left little behind except the keeps on either riverbank. Those on our side of the river sent word of what had happened. What became of those on the far side of the river we do not know. But the Orlesian force appeared here soon after, so they may have simply ignored the keep as a target. If so our people will still likely be there. In that case we might be able to retrieve them." Grey Worm said.
"Ambassador, do you know what this was? What the Orlesians used to attack us?" Daenerys asked.
"Not with certainty, but the description sounds awfully similar to something I witnessed in Kirkwall many years ago. There something similar was done by the mad mage Anders to destroy Kirkwall's Chantry, kill Grand Cleric Elthina and effectively start the Mage-Templar war. We never discovered what methods he used, but if the same thing happened at the Twins, then it seems the Orlesians managed what we could not." Derek replied.
"If this is something the Orlesians could learn to use, would it be possible for them to do it more than once?" She asked.
"Let's hope not. Otherwise no fortress in Westeros is safe." He said.
"That kind of weaponry… one wonders what other tricks the Imperials have up their sleeves." She said.
"This is going to cause some complications." Daenerys said. "This means that we will have no choice but to engage the Orlesians head on. There will be no easy way to getting around them. On the other hand, neither can they. It seems to me that our next move will be quite straightforward. We will move forward and engage the Orlesian army with everything we have."
"What is their exact position now?" She asked.
"That… is where things get complicated." Gendry said. "Khal Haggo has had his riders scouting before dawn. Those that have returned tell us that they've had skirmishes with minor elements of the Orlesian army, as well as troops from House Kronos. Some scouts are still out there, but so far they have had no confirmed sightings of the Grand Army."
"The troops they sent mean they know we are here. But their lack of troops nearby means their main force isn't moving against us yet. What are they up to?" Daenerys pondered. "An army of that size doesn't just vanish. I need them found, so we don't run into them by accident. I'll join the effort with Drogon as soon as we are done here." She then stated.
"Do we have any Orlesian prisoners on hand?" She asked.
"Very few survived yesterday's battle with us. Most were killed in the heat of the fighting, but there are some." Grey Worm said.
"Good. Question them. Some of them must know what the Orlesian plan is." She said.
"Of course. And afterwards?" Grey Worm asked.
"You told me earlier that the Orlesians have been letting our people go in exchange for an oath to take no further part in the war?" She asked.
Grey Worm nodded. "Since crossing the river there have been a number of people claiming to have been part of our training force that have come to us. Some of these are stragglers that escaped the destruction of their army, but others indeed claim to have been captured by the enemy. Among them the story seems to always be the same. The Orlesians took their weapons and armor, extracted this oath from them, then released them with a warning that any who return to fight them will be executed. Any who refused to swear the oath were also killed. This was what was done with those of common birth. The highborn are apparently being held for ransom."
"Still, they allowed them to live if they agreed to certain conditions. I don't think we can afford to be less merciful than the Orlesians. We will keep the prisoners with us for the time being. Figure out if any of the Orlesian captives are highborn. Perhaps at the end of this war we can arrange for prisoner exchanges rather than paying ransom." She concluded.
"I suppose that swearing that oath removes any chance of the survivors from our training force rejoining our army." She said.
"For those that were released by the Orlesians at least. Those who managed to avoid capture and made it to us have already been put into our existing companies though." Gendry commented.
"That's good to hear. We need every man." Daenery said.
"We should have no use for cowards who run." Haggo said with disdain.
"We need every man." She repeated. "And I remember the Dothraki fleeing when the dead overran them. Does that mean I should dismiss House Stallion from my service on those grounds?" She asked pointedly.
Haggo looked sour at that, and said nothing. Daenerys felt an almost immediate pang of regret at her words. She had come across as too harsh. The Dothraki were not at fault for fleeing during the battle of Nightfall. No, the blame for that belonged solely to her and Jon. It had been one of their worst mistakes in that battle, perhaps the worst mistake they had ever made. A cavalry charge was a typical way for the Westerosi to start a battle, and the Dothraki had a reputation of being absolutely devastating during a charge, something she had seen with her own eyes. They had truly thought they would have been more effective there than they had proven to be. What they had not understood at the time was that the power of the dothraki was as much about terror as their prowess in combat. Against an enemy that did not fear them they had been at a disadvantage and that had cost them.
"My point being is that just about every person in the world runs if the conditions are bad enough. Then only exception to that I know of are the Unsullied, who have been trained in a way that they truly fear nothing. What matters is that they are ready to fight for me now. They may have run away before, but they came back. Anyone who does that I will welcome with open arms, because that is what we will need to win this war. As I said, we need every man." She said, trying to keep her tone conciliatory.
"Well, on the area of troops we have some good news and bad news." Gendry said. "The Dornish troops managed to catch up with us last night, accompanied by troops from the Upstart House Silverpine, jointly adding some nine thousand men to our forces. The bad news is that they report some losses on the road. Hit and run attacks from House Sea."
"Yet more lives lost to traitors." Daenerys said, shaking her head. "Has there been any word from Jaime Lannister about his efforts in dealing with this House?" She asked.
"Not yet my Queen. It's only a matter of time though. By now the battle should have happened, or will shortly." Grey Worm answered. "The attacks on the Dornish happened before we had even sent out our warnings about house Sea, so it should not be taken as an indication of anything."
"I'm not. I'm simply eager to have this thorn removed from our side. House Sea is the last Upstart House south of us, the last major enemy in that direction. Once they are defeated the only enemy left in the South Kingdom are the Orlesian assassins holding the castles and holdfasts they managed to take, and small groups of leftovers. Nothing we won't be able to handle. The sooner this is done the sooner we can focus on taking on the Grand Army itself." She said.
"We will be moving against the Orlesian army as soon as we have a notion of where they have gone. If they are victorious Jaime Lannister's force will remain in the south and secure the territories behind us. I also want him to go to Riverrun. We have not heard anything form that castle since this war started. It may have fallen to enemy hands. I want him to go there and verify the situation and take the castle back if necessary. If we need his troops against the Orlesians we will send word." She commanded.
"We will find the enemy Khaleesi." Haggo declared. "And then we will face them in glorious combat. We will slaughter their men and take the women that fight in their army for ourselves."
"You will not take the women. I forbid it." Daenerys said sternly.
Haggo frowned. "But khaleesi, these are your enemies. Why be concerned what happens to their womenfolk?" He said, switching to Dothraki.
"They are my enemy. And that is why I would have you kill them. But there are lines I will not cross, even when it comes to my enemies. The women of the enemy will not be touched, and that is my final word on the matter. If I catch anyone disobeying my command I will punish them for it." She answered in the same language.
"We are the blood of your blood. If this is your command then I will see to it that they obey. But these riders have shed blood for you, and will again." He said. "They deserve prizes for their efforts. They are owed prizes." He then added.
"And prizes they will have. Horses, meat, mead, ale and wine. Gold and steel. All these things and more. I don't mind if they loot the fallen. But the women are not part of those rewards. If you want women there are plenty here who will be more than willing if they are compensated. Some were killed when the camp was hit, but many more remain. Pay them, and they will attend to whatever needs the bloodriders happen to have." She said.
"Very well, Khaleesi." Haggo said in the common tongue.
"Good. Then we can move on." She said. "Does the Orlesian fleet remain in the Bite?" She asked.
"None of the ships we have assigned to watch their movements have reported them leaving. Ships constantly move to and fro from the area, and recently they have reported a lot of activity within the Bite, but the bulk of their fleet remains where it is." Grey Worm said.
"If that changes I want to be informed at once. That there have been so few sightings of the Grand Army yet makes me think that the enemy might be planning to relocate themselves. If so we will need to be ready to move quickly to intercept them." She said.
"Back in King's Landing I sent a message to Yara Greyjoy. I directed her to focus her attention on the Orlesians as soon as her ships are fully prepared and leave the Qunari forces be for the time being. If she follows my commands she will bring her fleet around Westeros, picking up other allied fleets on the way, then engage the Orlesian naval forces and defeat them." She said then.
From King's Landing I also received this, sent for me by Yara." She said then, placing a stack of papers on the table. "Apparently a pirate captain that had a falling out with her crew gave Yara that, in exchange for her life and freedom."
Derek took the papers into his hand, examining them.
"Those papers describe a letter of marque, apparently sent to every pirate crew in Westerosi waters. In exchange for attacking ships of the Twin Kingdoms and bringing proof of having done so the Orlesians offer the pirate crews pardons for crimes they have committed before or during the war. To the captains and other high ranking crew they offer even more, promising to commission them as officers in the Orlesian navy at the end of the war. Furthermore, in exchange for half the goods seized during such raids the Empire offers to buy the rest for a good price, allowing the use of their ports for those transactions." Daenerys detailed to the others.
"That sounds like a very clever deal for the Emperor to do." Derek commented, still examining the papers. "With this move he gets a large number of pirates working for him, getting the shipping of the Twin Kingoms raided and supplies from that shipping put towards his war effort. And after the war he will have made a significant dent in the local pirate population, since a lot of the folk he pardoned will want to go on to live their lives with the riches they won from the campaign, and he will have expanded his pool of available officers for his navy. All very useful things to have in a post war environment. He's thinking ahead this one."
"Judging by everything I have seen he's been thinking ahead since long before this invasion started. He and that pet spymaster of his, Marquis Briala. I don't see any reason why they would change their ways now." Daenerys said dryly.
"There's a list here of the various groups the pirates are allowed to target as part of this deal. I note that the Upstart Houses that are in rebellion against are absent from that list." The ambassador said.
"Indeed. Which tells me something else. The Orlesians knew in advance that the rebelling houses were going to side with them. Which means the rebelling houses knew well beforehand that this invasion was going to happen. It confirms what I suspected from the first. I know for certain now that any claims there might be that this treason was done quickly, in the heat of the moment or as a hasty, bad judgement to be false. This was planned, carefully thought about and coordinated with our enemy. As cold blooded a betrayal as it could be." She said.
"But how was this done? Not all the New Houses betrayed you, and we knew nothing of the plans of the metalfaces. If we knew we would have warned you." Haggo said.
"You would have, My Lord. And for that loyalty I am thankful." She said. "But… I hate to speak ill of my allies, but some of them may have simply weighed their options and decided to let this war happen, to then win favors by supporting me. Perhaps they thought it best to side with someone of known quantity rather than a foreign Emperor they don't know for sure they can trust." She said.
"On the other hand maybe they were left in the dark after all. Just about every one of the New Houses has had dealings with the Empire in the past, just like many among the nobility. That would provide the Orlesians good opportunities to get close to the New Houses and figure out which among them would turn on the rest of us and which would not." She added.
"And only once they knew did they contact them about the plan they had in the works." The ambassador finished for her.
"Yes." She said quietly.
"All these clever tricks… all these plans and secret deals the Empire has made… they must all come to nothing in the end. Orlais must not win this war. That just cannot be the way this story ends for us. Yesterday was a good start in our efforts. We showed them that even without a dragon to aid us we are a formidable force that is worth taking seriously. Now we must build on that victory and take down the masters of these traitors. In yesterday's battle we defeated some of them. That was also a good beginning. In the days to come we must simply do the same on a larger sale." She said then, directing her words to the entire tent.
Isabela walked through the halls of Pyke, occasionally eyeing her surroundings with some distaste. She had been to many places in life and she had gotten used to most of them. But this was not a place she cared much for in terms of comfort. The way everything somehow seemed persistently soaked, the damp coldness that lingered everywhere. On sea such matters didn't really matter to her. There those things were just a part of the experience. But on dry land she wanted different things, for a change of pace. Give her a filthy tavern like the Hanged Man over this place any day! Unfortunately the locals weren't very invested in trade. They didn't seem to like to buy things, so an establishment like a tavern was not really a thing they did.
When it came to the people that lived here Isabela had yet to form a final conclusion. Like people everywhere they seemed more varied than at first glance. Some were okay, some were plain nuts. The majority of them were just fucking grim! Good sailors though.
"At least Yara is nice to be around." She thought. Never would she have thought she would think that way of the woman that had been hunting her down for two years. But she had had time to get to know her new captain with the time spent on her ship, then more time spent here on the Iron Islands getting the damaged Seadancer repaired and Yara's armada prepared for war. The two of them were more alike than she had first thought: Self-confident women with free souls that loved the sea. Yara was the more political of the two, but what else could be expected from the Queen of the Iron Islands, not to mention the daughter of a man with aspirations of being King of the same? And Yara wasn't bad looking either…
Finally Isabela arrived at her destination, knocking at the door before entering when she heard the call to come in. Inside she found Yara sitting on a chair, her feet on the table, reading a letter. Yara did not respond to Isabela entering the room, instead keeping her eyes on the letter. Isabela leaned on the doorframe, looking at the other woman, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Eventually the Queen of the Iron islands heeded her presence, peering at her over the letter she had been reading.
"Is there something you wanted to tell me, or did you come here just to watch?" Yara asked.
Isabela chuckled. "Sorry." She said. You know… I could do other things besides watching if you like? I have been known to do that." She added after a pause.
"Have you now?" Yara said, keeping her voice level, raising an eyebrow.
"Mm-hmm." Isabela hummed affirmatively, smiling. Then her expression turned serious again. "But seriously speaking yes, I did have something I came to tell you. Just got word from your boys. Your ship has been all fixed up and your fleet is officially ready to set sail. Now we are just waiting on you to tell us which way to go. Do we go south… or north?"
"What's in there? Bad news?" She asked as she noted the frown on Yara's face, how her eyes had drifted back to the letter.
"You could say that." Yara said, slamming the letter on the table. She then stood up and walked to stand in front of a nearby fireplace. "It's from the Dragon Queen. She uses a lot of fancy words, but the general message is this: She thanks us for the information sent about the deal the Orlesians have made with local pirates and about the Qunari attack, although about the latter she seems to know more than we did. By her words we weren't the only ones to be attacked. The Qunari have apparently also hit Bear Island, cutting off all contact."
"Could explain a few things. We were near Bear Island when the attack happened weren't we? The reason we were attacked might have been simply because we got in their way." Isabela commented.
"Could be." Yara said with a shrug. "But that's hardly the issue here. In the letter the Dragon Queen acknowledges the danger posed by the Qunari, but tells me to ignore that problem for now and focus on dealing with the Orlesians, on the grounds that they are the more immediate problem for the Twin Kingdoms in general."
"Oh, well, that's…" Isabela stammered, at a loss for words.
"Damn her!" Yara cursed. "She'd have me leave my own homeland defenseless to chase after her enemies instead. The Orlesians may be the closer threat to the Twin Kingdoms, but the Qunari are certainly the closer enemy to me. She knows that. But she's commanding me to do this anyway. Damn her for asking for this!"
"Will we do it?" Isabela asked.
"What?" Yara asked, turning to look at her.
"Will we do what she commanded you to do, or are we doing something else? What do you want to do?" Isabela asked again.
"I… I'm not sure…" Yara said, hesitant. A moment of silence followed as she tried to come to a decision. "What do you think I should do?" She finally asked.
"It's not my call to make." Isabela said at once.
"I'd like to hear you opinion anyway. What do you think I should do?" Yara insisted.
Isabela sighed, looked at the ground, then crossed her arms and walked to look out of a window nearby.
"You have a strong fleet, and good sailors to handle it. But there's no way you can take on the Qunari all by yourself. The only way you'll even have a chance against them is if you've the rest of the Westerosi backing you up. And they can't help you as long as they're busy with the Orlesians."
"So you think I should do what the Queen says?" Yara said.
"I think she has the right of this. She needs us to help her out, and we need her. But again is this isn't my call to make. It's yours. And I think you need to make a decision soon. Your people are ready to go, and waiting around is not going to help matters, whatever you decide." Isabela said.
"I see. Thanks for offering your point of view." Yara said. "You kept saying we. Does that mean you're coming with us?" She asked next.
"Of course I am. What else would I do?" Isabela replied.
"You're not a slave you know. You do get to choose. That's the deal we made. You kept your end of the bargain, now you can claim your part any time you like." Yara said.
"I can, but I think I already explained my situation. I want my ship back, and I want to make Harwyn pay for taking it away from me. Honestly speaking it's one more reason I want you to chase after the Orlesians. He will be with them, or he will be somewhere along the way. So to break this down my choices are to come with you and maybe get my life back. Or I can stay here. Not a good prospect. Not trying to offend you, but there's nothing here but rocks, water…" Isabela said.
"… birdshit and a lot of very unattractive people. That's what everyone knows about the Iron Islands. We more than anyone else. That's why we have developed a habit of sailing elsewhere and taking the nice things we can't get at home from other people. You saying it as it is doesn't offend me." Yara finished for her.
"That's good to hear." Isabela quipped before continuing. "If I stay here I'll be stranded. Not just for a few years but for good this time. Your people don't like to buy or sell, so I my chances of buying a new ship and crew are basically nil even if I had some coin on me. I couldn't even build myself a ship since your dear murderous uncle had most of the trees hereabouts cut down building his armada, and those few that remain are all owned and jealously guarded by someone."
"If that's what you're worried about I could just drop you to some other port along the way. It would be no trouble." Yara offered.
Isabela shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but it won't change much in the long run. Even then it would take far too long to get me back on my feet. And I don't just want *a* ship. I want *my* ship. Honestly I think my best option is to come with you. In fact I'd prefer it if I really get to choose. I wanted to have the option to walk away, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'll pick it at the first opportunity. It's alright really. I like the company. I don't mind doing this."
"Well alright then." Yara said. "I just wanted to make sure you remembered you have a choice in this. Though I suppose sometimes a person may have all the choices in the world and yet be left with only the one."
"I'll get back to you with an answer about where to go soon. Soon as in within the day. I'll need to think about this." She added.
"I'll get the word out." Isabela said with a nod. She was about to leave, but at the door she stopped, turning back to Yara. "Oh, ah, about that whole, uh, *doing more than just looking* thing, if I was being too forward…"
"I'd have told you if you had been." Yara cut in. "Trust me, I'm a woman who speaks her mind. Don't worry about it. I'm not promising to take you up on your offer, but, ah, consider it noted." She said with a wink.
The pirate gave a final smile and departed.
"Maybe I like the company too…" Yara said after she was sure the other woman was really gone. The she turned her attention back to the fire, her expression turning serious once again.
"Damn you, Daenerys. Damn you…"She said, staring into the flames, grasping her chin deep in thought, trying to come to a conclusion about what to do. Go north and defend her home from the Qunari threat, or do as she had been bid, and start moving her forces southwards to bring the battle to the Orlesian navy.
Many more hours would pass before she finally came to a decision.