Chapter 36; Surprises;

Characters of the chapter

Aldéric Chaput, Ambassador on behalf of the Circles of Magi

Andharr Kronos Lord of the Upstart House Kronos

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

Grey Worm Master of War on the Small Council of Queen Daenerys, High Commander of the Royal Army

Yann Robespierre Major General of the Orlesian army

Cursive/Bold text is in Orlesian

Daenerys was on dragonback, circling above her army, observing their advance. The interrogation of the Orlesian prisoners had yielded her knowledge of the imperial plans, and now she was bringing her army to the aid of the North with all available speed. Along the way her forces had had run ins with forces of House Kronos and the Orlesians supporting them. Unlike House Blackstar before them her enemy had focused on harassing her army, operating in several small detachments around her army, rarely more than a few hundred soldiers in each. It was hard to estimate how many enemies there had been surrounding her forces, since the number and size of detachments seemed to always shift and change. They had hit her army it while it was on the march or encamped for the night, always melting away before serious forces could be brought to bear to quash them. Each time such an attack had happened it had slowed her army down, frustrating their progress. Between larger attacks her enemies nibbled had at her army, adding more souls to their tally. Scouts and foraging parties left the camp and never returned. Guards watching over the camp were found in the morning, murdered at their posts, making the rest scared to perform night duties. Even worse, the enemy had been hitting the supply trains heading to her army from the territories of the South Kingdom. An army marched on its stomach, and these constant raids were straining her ability to keep those bellies full. The situation had been alleviated somewhat by restored contact with the Vale.

As soon as her forces had secured a crossing over the Trident she had dispatched a splinter force to retake the Bloody Gate. After initial difficulties in so doing her forces had gotten a lucky break. Loyal forces of the Vale trying to retake the bloody gate on their part had realized what her soldiers were trying to do and had waited for the splinter force to attack again to commence their own offensive. Falling under attack from both sides at once, the Bloody Gate had soon been in Royalist hands once again, securing land access to the rich farmlands of the Vale. The army of the Vale had not been fully assembled she had learned, having been hit especially hard by the Orlesian assassins. Many more were tied up trying to locate and destroy a raiding force sent by House Blackstar. Nonetheless the Lords of the Vale had promised her as many troops as could be spared. The ones assisting in reclaiming the Bloody Gate had joined her splinter force, and more were to follow them later. But the good news had been soured when the splinter force had been ambushed and nearly wiped out on its way back to her, several enemy detachments combining their strength to take them down. It had been the biggest victory her enemies had gained with these recent attacks.

In response to the attacks she had taken to flying around with Drogon, patrolling around her army, destroying any enemy group she happened upon. But the enemy had proven canny, seeking to hide themselves in woodlands and other areas that could hide them from hunters overhead. If spotted anyway they always scattered in all directions to limit the number she would manage to kill, later reforming themselves and resuming their attacks. For every enemy unit she had spotted and burned another had evaded detection and had been able to continue assaulting her army. The final results had left much to be desired. Grey Worm had done his part by sending out small forces to hunt for the enemy as well, but these had proven to be even more ineffectual than her efforts. If the force sent out was too large the enemy had simply stayed away from them, leading their pursuers on a pointless chase across the countryside. If the force sent was too small they were at risk of the enemy detachments combining themselves and wiping them out, just as they had done with the troops that had taken the Bloody Gate.

There was no doubt in her mind that if she had concentrated the bulk of her forces to the effort she would have been able to root these raiders out and eradicate them. But there had been no time for that. Instead she had tried to ignore the harassing forces as much as possible, only engaging in battle with them when she had to. She kept her army moving northwards, trying to cover as much ground as was humanely possible every day. The rapid pace with which her army was advancing and the constant engagement was tiring her troops out, but she had little choice. The one good thing to result from these constant attacks was to bring them more prisoners and captured imperial dispatches, and thanks to them she was by now aware of what had happened to Jon's army, and that Orlesians were now in control of Moat Cailin. Now she was racing the clock to get to her family in Winterfell in time to save them, and the ally she had in the North Kingdom. Such had been her haste to reach them that she had actually considered leaving the army behind and using Drogon to bring the fight to the enemy on her own. But after conversing with her advisors she had been forced to conclude that doing so might be unwise. Tyrion had been right in advocating for caution at the beginning of this war. The way Jon's army had been vanquished was proof of that. Even Aegon the Conqueror had not sent a single dragon against a force this large, and what she now faced was worse than anything he had come up against. She needed the added security her army would bring. Still, the option to do otherwise remained to her and she would use it should circumstances turn truly dire.

She was only glad that she had gotten Robb out of harm's way well beforehand. Had that not been the case her worry would have prevented efficient decision making, only sealing the fate of those he wished to protect. That did not mean she was free of concern for those that remained, anything but. Jon was her husband and the love of her life. Sansa meanwhile had in eight years slowly transitioned from an adversary to a friend and valued ally. And the North… the North was required if her own kingdom was to remain free. But that consideration paled before the need to keep Jon and Sansa safe from harm. They were the family she had never had, and she would go to great lengths to protect them. That was why these raids had vexed her to considerable extent. They slowed her down, every moment lost bringing that much closer the loss of the people she cared about. It had been a great relief when the assaults had come to an abrupt halt recently, the majority of the enemies surrounding them breaking off and fleeing northwards along the Kingsroad, the rest keeping their distance. The reverse side of the coin had been that this had been a clear signal that Moat Cailin had fallen to imperial forces, one more reminder that time was running low.

She was continuing to fly overhead just as her army was making ready enter the marshlands of the Neck when she noticed something happening on the ground that caught her attention: The marching column had apparently stopped moving, some kind of commotion at the front. She diverted Drogon to a descent and as she approached she saw almost immediately that this was not an attack against her forces. Even so she thought it best to investigate. As she landed her dragon to the swamps just next to the road she could see the problem: A sizeable mound of hay, mud, wood and rocks had been piled on the narrow road, blocking the army's path. Grey Worm, and a bunch of other soldiers had gathered in front of it.

"My Queen! Someone has erected a barricade here! Our soldiers will need some time to clear it!" Grey Worm said when he spotted her.

"Could we get our troops around it instead?" She asked, not liking the notion stopping here to work instead of continuing their advance.

"Unfortunately no. Foot soldiers and horses might make it, though it would slow them. But the carts would get hopelessly stuck in the mud." Came the reply.

She nodded. "Very well. But work fast. Time is of the essence."

Grey Worm turned to the cluster of soldiers around him and set them to the task. Remaining on dragonback she observed them work. They continued for while, shoveling away the mud, using their hands to pull off larger chunks of debris. Then suddenly there was movement inside the wall of mud. There was a spray of dirt and one of the soldiers fell on his back, something protruding from his throat. The other soldiers stopped in their work and retreated away.

Realizing that the soldier on his back was not moving, Daenerys made to dismount to take a closer look, Drogon lowering himself towards the ground until she could step down. The moment her feet touched the ground she sank in the mud up to her ankles. In that same instant she felt something hard break under her heel.

A blast of fire shot upwards, enveloping her in flame. Anyone but her would have been badly burned in that moment. But fire had never been able to harm her, and this time was no different. Meanwhile her armor shielded her from the metal fragments brought up by the fire, save for a few that traced tiny cuts on her unprotected head, but nothing more life threatening. Even so the suddenness of the blast was enough to make her lose her balance and fall over, landing on her back in the mud. For a frightening few moments she was sinking, her armor pulling her down, water seeping in through the joints, the soft soil preventing her from standing up or holding on to anything. Then she felt hands going under her armpits and pulling her out. Looking up she could see Grey Worm above her, dragging her back.

"My Queen, are you unharmed?" He asked as they reached a relatively solid patch of ground and he released her from his hold, letting her sit up.

"Reasonably so." She said, still spooked. "But what in the hells just happened? Just before the explosion I felt something under my foot. I wonder what it was?"

"Maybe we can find out." Grey Worm said.

"One moment Your Grace. Please remain here, for your own safety." He told her, then moved to where the explosion had happened. He plunged his arms into the mud, feeling around. He pulled out an object he found and returned it to her.

It was a piece of blackened and twisted metal, so badly damaged that it was hard to tell what kind of shape it had had before. The thing had remnants of a glass center, probably globe shaped originally . Daenerys guessed it was the portion she had stepped on.

"What kind of a device is that?" She asked, eyeing the thing.

"I've never seen it's like My Queen. It seems to be made to explode when stepped on. It was submerged so it would be hard to see. I'm thinking it was planted here in the hopes our forces would stumble on it as we sent them to circle around the barricade." He said.

"Could be. In that case I'm glad we didn't send troops or carts here. They would have been blown sky high." She said.

"If that was the reason it was put here then odds are it is not the only one." She began to say. Just then the sound of an explosion in the direction of the road confirmed her suspicions. Turning their heads they saw a trio of soldiers that had been coming to their aid, only for two of them to stumble into a similar trap as Daenerys has set off. Both lay on the ground now, ablaze. A third one moved to the side from them, only for there to be a metallic clang that made the soldier fall over screaming, his leg sheared off below the knee. He thrashed around for a time before bleeding out. Daenerys and Grey Worm could do nothing but watch the scene in absolute shock, unable to go to the aid of the soldiers for the risk of meeting the same end.

"Shit." Grey Worm swore. "Stay on the road! Stay on the road!" He shouted to the remaining soldiers.

"They're all around us it seems." She said nervously. Then she glanced at the path Grey Worm had taken the tracks easily visible on the muddy ground. "And you just ran straight though the… it seems you are supremely lucky my friend. You managed to get to me without setting off any of them."

Grey Worm nodded as he understood what he had managed to do. Luck had never been something he had thought wise to rely upon, but now he had to agree that luck had been with him. "We cannot stay here. The road appears safe for the time being. We should return along my tracks, it's most likely to be the safest route." He then said after a moment of thinking.

"Yes. Good idea." She said in agreement.

"But let me go first, just in case there are more traps." She said as Grey Worm was about to start down the path. "Fire cannot harm me. If end up setting off the traps I will be unhurt. That leaves only the other kind." She explained.

"I should go first Your Grace. You are our Queen. You should be protected." Grey Worm tried to argue.

"Not by getting yourself burned to a crisp in my name. There's no sense in putting you at risk any more than me. You are just as important a leader in this war. This way will be less dangerous for both of us." Daenerys said firmly.

Accepting her point Grey Worm nodded reluctantly and the pair headed for the road, dreading every step they took. When they finally reached the road again they breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Flame traps. I wonder how the Orlesians managed that. Somehow I'd guess they have more to do with alchemy than magic, this time at least. I seem to remember they have some knowledge of such things. The other kind seemed to be a good old fashioned bear trap." Daenerys contemplated, looking in the direction they had come from.

"But what about the one that killed him?" She continued, turning her gaze to the man that had been killed clearing the barricade.

"Some kind of spring mechanism I would think. When the mud on the barricade was disturbed it sent a bolt into his throat." Grey Worm replied.

"I guess we should return to clearing the barricade. I just hope there are no more traps within it." He said.

"There might be another option worth trying." She said, noting how worried the soldiers looked about continuing the work.

"Move back from the barricade, all of you. A good bit back." She told the soldiers. They backed away, she and Grey Worm following suite.

"Drogon!" She called out when she was satisfied that everyone was sufficiently far away, and the dragon stirred at the sound of his name.

"Dracarys!" The Queen said, pointing at the barricade. With a deep rumble Drogon drew a breath and unleashed a jet of flame at the mound. Even at a distance the heat was intense making everyone except Daenerys shield their faces from the flames. Everything flammable within the mound caught fire in an instant, while the pressure from the continuous stream of fine pushed the mound over, clearing the obstacle in their path in a matter of moments. What was left was a thin layer of debris and small fires that soon guttered out for lack of fuel.

"That was… efficient." Grey Worm said.

"Yeah. I just wish I had thought to do that from the first. There might be four less dead people today." She said, bowing her head.

"But it will end here. This trickery worked on us this time, but it will not work a second time." Then she straightened her back a look of determination in her eyes.

"Tell our forces to double check the area where barricade was to ensure there are no more surprises for us. Then get them moving forward without further delay. I'll ride ahead with Drogon as we march and destroy any other obstacles in our path. But be on the lookout for other kind of tricks and ambushes along the way. I'm starting to think anything could happen. We need to be prepared for that." She said in a businesslike tone.

"Understood Your Grace. I'll get our troops moving again." Grey Worm said with a nod. "Before you leave with Drogon you should get those cuts looked over." He added, pointing at her face.

Puzzled, she brought he hand to her forehead, surprised when her hand came back bloody. In the past few adrenaline filled moments it had been easy to ignore the pain from those cuts. Now that the situation was calming down they were entering her field of attention again.

"They don't feel serious, but all right. I doubt it will take long. But then I must be off. The North requires our aid and we mustn't tarry in getting to them." She said.

"Very good Your Grace. Once we arrive at Moat Cailin we will need to make a plan for the siege. That will be a difficult battle for us, but if the Orlesians could manage it, so can we." He said.

"There will be no siege. We don't have time for that. As soon as we get that far I intend to destroy the castle so we can get by more quickly." She said with a shake of her head.

Grey Worm gave her a surprised look. She had spoken nothing of this in the recent days. "My Queen, Moat Cailin is critical to the defense of the North. King Jon will not be happy if you destroy it." He said.

"He will like it far less if we do not reach him in time because we were held up. If necessary I'll make it up to him later on. That castle burns." She said.

"Understood my Queen." He said.

Daenerys turned back towards the camp to look for a healer to see to her injuries. Drogon, seeing that he was not needed took to the air, to return to her when she needed to ride him next.

"I'm coming Jon. Hold on just a little while longer. I'm coming. I'll save you." Daenerys thought as she walked.

Days later...

"So I understand that you will be leaving us, My Lord?" Major General Yann Robespierre asked as he walked to Lord Kronos in the yard of Moat Cailin.

"Marshal de Rozien has requested my presence, and that of my army. Most of my troops are already on their way to him, and now I must join them." Andharr replied as he oversaw the saddling of his horse.

"I understand. I have as many soldiers with me as could be fitted inside the walls, but the rest of my division has been recalled to the main army as well." Robespierre said.

"Hopefully those numbers will be adequate for your efforts." Lord Kronos said, then mounted his horse. "Good luck to you in defending this castle, Major General. I'll pass your regards to the Marshal. And Major General, might I make a request of you? Destroy the Queen. Destroy her pet monster. Destroy her armies so your Empire can bring her kingdom to its knees. That it is what I will ask the Marshal to give me, the price I want the Dragon Queen to pay for taking my son from me. I would ask the same of you." He added darkly.

"A tall order, but Maker willing the Grand Army will be able to give you exactly that. I and my soldiers will do everything in our power to help that along. You have my word on that." Robespierre said.

"Thank you. Take care." Lord Kronos said. Then he and his entourage of personal guards rode out through the northern gate, heading to Winterfell.

Some moments later Aldéric came to the Major General. "Ser, I have a report on the status of the device. It has now been installed and is ready to be activated as soon as it is required. I also came to deliver you a warning about it, one that needs to be brought to the attention of everyone else in the castle. Once it has been activated no one except mages should attempt to approach the device. At close proximity it emits intense cold, enough to quickly kill an individual that has not been prepared properly. We mages have means to get close to it safely, so we will attend to whatever maintenance it should need."

"Very well. I'll get the word out. Doubt many would want to get close anyway. Magic creeps them out. But if you need anything from us, tell me, and I shall see to it that you get it." Robespierre said.

"Thank you. Meanwhile, as you requested, the mages that could be spared have been deployed to the towers, ready to provide fire support. I will be joining them myself when the enemy arrives." Alderic continued.

"Good, good. I only hope your device works as intended." Robespierre said.

"Have faith, ser. The device is the product of some of the finest minds in the circle. Our theories and the construction of the design have been checked and re-checked hundreds of times over. It will work. I'd stake my life on it." Alderic said confidently.

"You will have to. As must we all. If the device works it will allow us to hold for a very long time thanks to the terrain of this place and our own preparations. If not we could all be dead in a matter of minutes. So faith, as it happens, is all that we have right now. I acknowledge that your device and the theories relating to it have been verified thoroughly and I appreciate that. But the device has never been tested in field conditions. Until that has been accomplished you'll forgive me if I do not give you a full vote of confidence." Robespierre replied. Then he noticed one of his soldiers running across the yard to him. In front of him the soldiers and saluted.

"Ser, outer sentries report forward elements of the enemy have been spotted on approach. The dragon is with them." The soldier said.

"Very well. All soldiers are to report to battlestations immediately. Recall all the teams we have working outside the walls at once. Even if their tasks are incomplete they are to drop everything and return." Robespierre commanded.

The soldier saluted and went to relay the Major General's orders.

"First Enchanter, have the device powered on the double, then get to your post." Robespierre told the mage. Aldéric nodded and left as well.

"The moment of truth." Robespierre thought, looking around himself as the castle became alive with soldiers rushing to get to their positions.

A while later...

"At last, here we are." Daenerys thought, immensely relieved, as she flew high above Moat Cailin. The journey to get this far over the past few days had proven arduous. Their path had indeed been blocked by more barricades, each of which had been destroyed by her. The traps dug directly into the road had proven to be more problematic. Sometimes her soldiers spotted the disturbed earth and were able to stop the marching column in time. More often these traps were not spotted until someone stepped on them, causing casualties among the tightly packed marching units. Afterwards any remaining traps had to be located and dug up before the march could continue, which was dangerous work and took considerable time. Going around was never an option, since the terrain continued to be horrible and the enemy had consistently laid more traps on the sides of the roads. Any forward progression required them to remain on the road, which on the other hand meant that even the tiniest interruption could stop the entire army.

Even worse, after the first days of entering these forsaken marshlands the raids against her army had started anew. Orlesian soldiers unlike any they had encountered hit her army with five to ten man squads, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. They picked off a handful of soldiers with arrows before disappearing like specters. A part of her had wanted to resume patrolling the army's route with Drogon, but she had thought it best to focus on forward progress. And finding such small groups of people with a dragon would have been challenging anyway. Fortunately those small groups meant that the damage they could cause was fairly limited. Even so it was one more reason her army could not stay here.

All these delays and interruptions had made her frustrated and angry, frequently snapping at her advisors when she had had to stop to rest, burning with the knowledge that time was running short. She regretted her outbursts of course, knowing that her advisors were not to blame and deserved better from her. But the feelings of anxiety had simply refused to leave her during these past few days. Nonetheless she had vowed to apologize when her army got out of this place.

Her moods along with the mood of everyone else had been made all the worse by the fact that there was no real room here to set up a proper camp. Beyond the narrow road the terrain was a treacherous quagmire where tents could not be set up, let alone any other structures. Most of them had been forced to sleep on the ground. In the narrow confines of the road communications had been difficult, ensuring that supplies could get from one end of the column to another was even harder. How the Orlesians had managed to take Moat Cailin at all she did not know, but she suspected that the answer lay in the torn down remnants of wooden platforms built on stilts she observed near the castle as she flew.

Fortunately and at long last the nightmare of passing through this area was coming to an end. Now only this final obstacle stood between her and leaving this miserable place behind. Then there would be no more delays in getting to the ones she cared about, no more worrying whether she might arrive too late.

She directed Drodon to a descent, heading straight for the castle. As she approached enemy archers began to send arrows at her dragon, but she paid this little mind. Arrow fire could not penetrate the Drogon's hide. She herself was a small and hard to spot target by comparison, and encased in high quality armor besides.

In moments she was in range to strike. "Dracarys!" She shouted and from Drogon's mouth flames departed towards the wall, the enemy soldiers seeking shelter.

Then the most unexpected thing happened. Less than fifty meters from the castle's walls the flames stopped, hitting a clear bubble-shaped barrier that there had been no evidence of some moments earlier. The flames skidded along the surface like water on glass. And where they touched the barrier the flames turned blue and promptly vanished. Daenerys and her dragon flew over the castle spewing more flame as they went. But as they passed she realized that the castle was completely unscathed, her attack having no effect whatsoever.

"What?" Daenerys breathed, utterly stunned. What was this? What had just happened? How could this be?

Turning around in the air Daenerys headed back for another attempt. Along the way she began to feel a strange tingle in the air, prickling at her skin. Sensing immediate danger she made Drogon do a sharp turn I to the right. And not a moment too soon. For just at that moment a forked tongue of lightning shot upwards from one of the towers, only barely missing her and Drogon, making her gasp in surprise. The noise made by the lightning was deafening and as it dissipated it left behind a scent of ozone. Other magical attacks began to fly at them. A ball of blue light impacted against Drogons neck not far from where she was sitting, bringing with it a wave of bitter cold and making Drogon give an annoyed growl. As the light dissipated patches of ice were left behind, shortly breaking up ad falling off from the motions of Drogon's neck.

Bringing Drogon back around from the sharp turn, Daenerys circled around the castle, unleashing more flames against it. As before the flames impacted against an invisible barrier, turned blue and vanished, causing no damage. This time she happened to catch a glimpse of blue light coming from somewhere deep inside of the castle, one that grew and faded in concert with Drogon's breaths of fire. Realizing that her attacks were ineffective and staying here would only pointlessly endanger her and Drogon she retreated, heading back towards her army.

On her way back she could barely wrap her head around what had happened. It was so unthinkable… Drogon stood defeated, rendered harmless by this defense the Orlesians had put up. This… was not something she was used to. Indeed, until now something like this had only happened once before, and then against the supernatural threat of the Night King when dragonfire had failed to kill him, never against mere men. With a single move the enemy had completely altered the rules of this situation.

This had been her only plan to get her army past this obstacle quickly, and it had failed. Suddenly she did not know what to do. And that was a sensation she hated more than anything else.

Should she leave her army behind after all? But what would happen to them if she did that? And for all she knew her enemies had this same defense with them wherever they went. Furthermore that strike of lightning had almost got her. Had it connected it might well have killed her, perhaps even Drogon, and no doubt these Thedosians had more from where that came from. With that she was once again reminded how dangerous it might be to engage them without support. But Jon needed her, and soon…

If things didn't change, she might have to chance it…