Jason's words still rang through my head. After all, they were indeed true.
I could just seal the mines. The Rat and his people would die like the pests they were.
But i did not want to take a chance. I wanted to be sure i get him. Also another reason was that i wanted to find out who has been helping him. Especially with the gold. While i am sure they got enough to feed themselves by robbing people on the roads, though that had gotten lesser with the formation of Western Guard, there is no way they could afford to hire so many sellswords.
So, i wanted him alive. The original Tytos or even me, when i came into this world would have been horrified at this way of thinking. He would have cursed me and called me a monster. And maybe i was or maybe not.
But they had not fought a war, they had not seen hundreds of men die in front of their very own eyes. They were not forced to fight for their life against a man who had fought more battles than i had lived years just to prove themselves. They did not fight battles knowing defeat would mean their death and death of those who they loved.
But still even if i was ready to fight in the mines, it doesn't mean i will. I am not stupid, i know this very well could be trap set for me.
But before that we had to make sure that Rat and his cronies were not aware of our arrival. The few sellswords i had on inside all had provided me with locations that the rebels used to keep watch. This included several tree houses along the road or in the forest. I had my men attack all these locations simultaneously. And after a 'quick chat' we found out that the abandoned mines were indeed the location and Rat himself was there.
I also made sure to avoid villages and roads. Which was easier said than done.
But still the day arrived or well the night arrived.
Our scouts had also confirmed the location.
" Everything is ready, my Lord." came the voice of Addam Hill beside me. The Bastard of Feastfires was one of the Knights who had leapt to join the Western Guard in a bid to make a name for themself. By all accounts he was a decent person who was good with a mace.
We were currently hiding in the woods overlooking the entrance of the mine which were about to attack. As agreed Lord Brax had led some 500 men through the Eastern hills to the other side of the mine. If the rider sent by him was right he should be in position. I had given him more than enough time.
"Well the lead the men, Ser Addam." I said.
My own host which had around 600 men was divided in several groups sprawled around the Forest
The Knight nodded and signalled around a dozen men to follow him. I saw them sneakily make their way to the mine and enter it. It was followed by sound of steel clashing but it got quiet quickly. One man in a got out of the mine. I let out a breath When i saw that he was wearing a crimson cloak and he signalled towards our direction that they are going in.
Now came the most dreading part, the waiting.
The plan was rather simple. These men were going to meet our friends on the inside and locate the armoury. Once they hold the armoury, they are going to start a few fires so that we can smoke them out.
I had no idea how much time had passed as i watched them take their positions.
But soon our patience was rewarded as i saw people coming out of the mines. They started gathering around the mouth of the mine. I waited for a while as i saw more and more men coming out. Only a handful were armed. When it looked like no more people were coming out i sounded the horn.
Most of the Bandits were startled as they saw when they saw armoured men coming out the woods.
The vanguard which consisted solely of calvary scattered all of them. The infantry which followed the vanguard crushed. A few brave ones had tried to put up a fight. Their death only encouraged the rest to surrender.
Aubrey came towards and said,"This must be at least half of them. And more than few should have been dealt by Lord Brax."
"Is he among these men?" I asked Aubrey sharply and was disappointed when he shook his head in denial.
"Hopefully Lord Brax got him. But anyway gather some men. I will take some men to look through the mines to make sure we miss nothing" I said.
A runner was sent inside the mines hoping to find Ser Addam and his men.
By the time men were assembled for me to lead, a lot of smoke had been blown away with the wind and it seemed like the fire had been dealt with allowing us to move in the mines easily.
It was obvious that most of the men had rushed outside, some of them had even left their clothes behind.
"Be wary of any ambushes." I warned the men with me.
I tried not to focus too much on the fact that most of them had made column around me intent on making sure that no harm comes to me.
It was good thing that i had warned them because just at the entrance of next corridor a shout got our attention.
I looked sideways and saw and handful of armed men charging at us.
None of them was armoured. One of them had a spear while rest either had knife or nothing at all. My guards of course easily handled them. That was also not the last time we were ambushed.
We found Ser Addam and his men soon and they joined our group. So we proceeded to clean out rest of the mine.
And then we found prisoners. Lots and lots of prisoners. Men ,Women and children of all ages. And all of them were related to someone of importance. Whether it be brother of some landed Knight, Wife of Captain of Guards of some minor lord or Grandchildren of a rich trader from Lannisport. All of them held against their will so that their loved ones could be blackmailed for money or favours, it didn't matter.
As i was ordering some of my guards to take all the common people to safety, I saw armoured men wearing Brax colours coming towards us. After saluting me, they told me that Lord Flement had found something and he requested my presence.
I followed the man with my guards as he led me to the place where Lord Brax was. We found him in a room which appeared to be bedroom combined with an office.
Lord Brax nodded respectfully when i entered and motioned towards the man sitting on the chair.
Or to be exact dead man on the chair. And how did i know that? His pale skin, rolled eyes, limp body and the fact that he was not breathing led me to that conclusion.
"He poisoned himself. Probably the moment he learned that they were under attack. He likely knew that there was no escape and that he would not have an easy death if captured alive." The Lord of Hornvale's words only conformed what was on my mind.
On further inspection of the room i noticed a burned book and ashes.
"Only after he destroyed everything which could have led us to his allies." I spoke through gritted teeth.
Oh I was angry. Very angry. All this led to nothing. I was no closer to finding more about the Rat, The Hawk and The Pig. And my mood only got worse as Aubrey bought me the information that the dead man was not person i was looking for. That he was in not the rat.
"The dead man's name is apparently Ser Harris. It seems he was indeed the original leader and the one who was responsible for leading these men until around fifteen moons ago." Which was the time i announced the formation of Western Guard.
" After another man came and took command and this Ser Harris had no trouble following his orders. We also learned that only half of these men are from Westerlands. The other half were came with the new commander. Most of these men hail from Riverlands and Reach with an odd Crownlander between them." Aubrey continued.
"And pray tell, where is this commander?" I asked him.
"He knew we were coming." And that brought a halt to my thoughts.
"But he didn't know when. They were planning on abandoning this mine soon and he apparently left to scout the location of their new base."
" And this was the man who ordered the attack on Jeyne?" I questioned the heir of Silverhill.
"It seems so. He is the man they all call the Rat after all." The Knight answered me.
"There is also one other thing." spoke Ser Rupert who had remained silent till now.
I looked toward him with a raised eyebrow.
"While most of these men are small folk, there are some men here who fought at Wendewater and not only that there are also a couple of Veterans from the Third Blackfyre Rebellion and Peake Uprising."
And that did nothing to decrease my worry.
Soon after that both men left me with my thoughts. While i was still sore over not getting the Rat, one thing was sure there would be no more bandit attacks in Westernlands for foreseeable future. Not only we had captured or killed most of these Bandits but we also had gotten hand on all their gold. Around 4200 silver stags and 300 silver moon, not counting all the copper coins. Around 30 gold dragons then, which while pocket change for a Lannister was a rather considerable amount.
While i was sure some this was extorted from the families of their prisoners or looted, they probably had another source of income. All this had only increased the number of questions with giving any answer.
But i got the feeling this won't be the last time Rat troubles me. And i was sure this was not over. Not by a long shot.
This chapter was not beta'ed, so apologies for grammar or any other mistakes. Also I am not dead, and no excuse. Hopefully next chapter will not take more than 7 months.
Also hope that everyone is taking necessary precautions in these troubling times and all of you are safe