Chapter 36: Wolves and vipers
299/300 AC
Jon
He was sitting in Harrenhal's solar with Robb. Not for the first time he thought about how the solar looked more Northern than anything else. He guessed he had Lord Rickard to thank for that.
It was nice in some way. He missed his home and his siblings. He also missed White Harbor. They had been south for almost a year now and everything that made him think fondly of home was a good thing now. At least he had Robb, he didn't know if either of them could do this without the other.
He was also really glad for Ghost that he had Grey Wind. His loyal companion also deserved his brother alongside him. Ghost never made a sound, but it was still clear to see he enjoyed his packmate's presence.
Thinking about Ghost, he slowly shut his eyes for a brief moment. He pulled on the tread in the back of his mind that he had slowly identified as his connection to Ghost. For a split second he smelled pine trees, moss and an animal scent he immediately knew to be deer. Ghost was out hunting. He wasn't alone either. He felt the presence of another big beast to his left and judging by Ghost's reaction he was no threat. A quick sniff later thaught him it was his brother.
He opened his eyes and was once more in the solar. Robb looking at him curiously. "Ghost?" He asked him quietly. "Aye" he responded. "Is Grey with him?" His brother asked and he nodded in response.
"Good, I'm still having difficulty controlling it as good as you do. It usually works in the mornings, but once I get more tired it is hard to find him sometime." Robb explained.
"You worry too much, brother. With the campaign, the politics, your family and all your other plans it is too much to focus on your abilities. It will come, just like it did with me. I'm still only now getting the hang of it." He smiled back and his brother just nodded absently.
"Where are they?"
"To the west of here, hunting deer in the woods. I don't think we'll need to ask the men to prepare a meal for them tonight. They'll catch their prey soon." He responded, thinking about the smell of the animal that still vaguely ran in his nose.
"That's good, one less thing to worry about. Why do you think we can do it?" Robb asked.
"I honestly don't know. I've tried to read everything I could about it, but there isn't much to find about it in the south. I only found a few vague books in the library of the Crag about warging. I think the South has mostly forgotten about it. We will need to look for more information in the North. Father's library will have more information and maybe others, like the Mountain Clans or Crannogmen, can tell us even more." He responded.
"There might be another place, where they know more." His brother said, more to himself than to him as he walked over to the window. He walked over to him and then saw where he was looking to. The lake and the island in it. "You mean the Isle of Faces?" He asked.
Robb nodded. "It always intrigued me, but it was always so far away. Now it just lies there, but no one visits. It seems the closer you get, the bigger the mystery becomes."
"We could go there." He responded.
"Not now. Who knows what they'll tell us. Or what we'll learn? How long would we be there? More importantly, what would the men think? No, we can't do it now. I need to command without distractions."
"I understand." He responded. "However, we could still go there, after the war has ended." He said hopefully.
His brother looked at him and he seemed tired. "Aye, after the war we can visit." He sighed. "However, that is still far away. Now we have our present problems to deal with." He ended the conversation. "What do we do about the Tarly situation?"
Lord Randyll Tarly had marched north from King's Landing with twenty-five thousand men over a week ago. He had marched as far as Duskendale but had halted there. He was busy keeping the Crownlander houses under his foot. Most had lost nobles in the fighting in the capital, often their lords or heirs and most of their men as well. They weren't keen on following the Lannisters any longer. Still, Tarly's presence and the fear he instilled seemed to change that, as they were now falling in line once more.
Their raids could also have something to do with that. For the last two weeks, Robb had sent raiding bands deep into the Crownlands to raid. It all worked in a similar way as he had done in the Westerlands, but with a lot more restraint. They couldn't afford any sieges and the commanders needed to be a lot more cautious. In the west they had defeated their opposing army before raiding, now they tried to bait it into coming after them with raids.
As such, his brother had only sent some of his most trustworthy commanders. All groups had existed out of Karstark, Umber or Tully troops, with their respective members as commanders. Harrion Karstark had burned Sow's Horn, killing Ser Richard Hogg, its master, and his nephew in the process.
Similarly, Ser Brynden, Smalljon, Greatjon, Torrhen and Lord Rickard had taken other holdfasts. They were all small and relatively insignificant, however they served as an incentive for the Tyrells to march towards them. It seemed the plan had worked, but not entirely how they wanted it to.
They had wanted to draw the big army, or at least part of it towards them. There were favorable lands around Harrenhal were they could offer them battle. The area had been scouted already and the trap was prepared. Only, their enemy didn't follow. When Tarly finally marched north, they thought they had him. It wasn't the huge army they had hoped for, but defeating these twenty-five thousand would still have been a massive blow to the enemy alliance. However, the man never intended to confront them. Since his arrival in Duskendale, he had sent out scouts to locate their warbands and garrisons to reinforce the other border keeps but nothing more.
Now he was starting to send his own warbands after ours. Already Smalljon had reported a clash in which he had lost twenty-three men before they had been able to retreat properly. More of these clashes would soon follow, that they all knew.
He looked at the maps and letters again. "He's trying to do the same thing we are doing. He is trying to get us out of our position and on a field of his choosing. All the while our raiding bands clash with their counter groups. We have nothing to win from this. We still have groups of bandits and broken men running around Maidenpool and Saltpans. Maybe Tarly will even try to recruit them. The ruins of Maidenpool are rumored to be the home of a bandit lord called 'the Red Raper'. I don't suppose I need to explain the name. He might have as much as three hundred men around him. It's more important that we deal with him than those pesky knightly houses along the Crownland border."
Robb looked at him in surprise. It was true that he didn't usually vocalize his opinions like this, but it was true in this case and he wouldn't back down. They stared into each other's eyes for a while, until finally his brother relented. "Aye, you're right. We got what we wanted, part of the army out of the capital. I will send worth to the commanders to pull back to Harrenhal. It's better we save our men for the battles to come, besides the extra loot arriving will be good for the soldiers' morale."
He didn't reply anything, but he was glad that his brother finally saw sense. That feeling was soon replaced however, as Robb continued. "You're right about the situation east of here. Something needs to be done, it might also help to put Lord Darry at ease, as his lands border those troubled by the raiders."
He agreed with those words, and he was about to say so, but his brother's gaze upon him made him pause. After a while it clicked inside of his head. "You want me to lead those men, don't you?"
Robb smiled. "Aye, I do. Some more experience will do you good. Besides it will do good if these Riverlanders see someone of our family protect and help them."
"Hmmn," he responded, "you have already decided, haven't you? Nothing I can say will change your mind anymore. I know you too well to even try doing that."
His brother smiled. "I'm glad you accept your next command, Snow."
"Don't get too cocky, Stark. Wouldn't want me to accidentally charge your troops into some Reach army, would you?" He responded jokingly.
"Aye, I wouldn't." Robb responded seriously, but without any bite.
"So, what's the plan?"
"You'll take a thousand men with you and march on Saltpans. Clear out all the bandits from the Darry border and the town and then march across the lands until Maidenpool. There you give that Red Raper some taste of Northern justice. I propose you geld him before taking his head, that'll show the next guy who wants to play at being a bandit lord in our kingdom. Maidenpool won't be rebuild until after the war, but it might switch hands half a dozen times more until that happens. Don't be afraid to leave a message for the lions to find." Robb explained.
The words were harsh, but it didn't surprise him anymore. Robb had learned a lot from Lord Rickard about the cruelties of war. Once, he would have complained and maybe even responded that that was not how his father would have fought. Much had changed since that time.
He had heard many terrible stories of both Robert's Rebellion and the ironborn one, stories his father had never told them but was a part of. He had seen even more. Villages and towns razed to the ground by the Lannisters. Whole communities starved to death, with their corpses lying all across the streets. The bodies of little boys cut down while still lying in the arms of their, now dead, mothers. Girls, even younger than Arya, raped and left for dead by men twice his age. Peasants tortured, either for food, to send a message or even for the fun of some sick group of soldiers.
No, war was horrible and a man with the name 'the Red Raper' deserved to be gelded and put down. As did all those who followed him. He would do what needed to be done.
"Which men would you give me? All from our own contingent or also from other lords?" He asked, knowing the drill by now.
"The majority will be our own levy yes, but not all. I plan to send both the Mooton and Cox contingents with you as well. The Mootons are just over a hundred strong and the Cox troops, led Ser Donnel Cox the heir to Saltpans, number around two hundred and fifty men. It will do these men good to free their homes and restore order. A mix between Northmen and Riverlands is also the best idea, I think. The other six to seven hundred will Stark men."
He nodded at the response. That would work out. The local people could also guide him and make travel a lot easier. The only problem would be to get them back with him. Most men wouldn't want to return to the army after they have seen their homes again. Especially not after these homes had been raided or threatened. Although it wouldn't do to worry about that now, he would fix that problem when it arose.
"How soon do you want me to leave?"
"On the morrow, if possible. I'll let you pick out the Stark men yourself and have the Mooton and Cox commanders over soon to tell them to prepare. You only have to promise me one thing brother." Robb responded.
"Ask and it shall be done." He replied without hesitation. This made a small smile creep on his brother's face.
"If you come into contact with any Reachmen you leave immediately, even if you haven't met your objectives yet. You come back to Harrenhall. I can't afford to lose a thousand men, especially my own over something as trivial as Saltpans of the ruins of Maidenpool. Besides, if something were to happen to you the army morale would plummet. I also can't do this without you, losing you might break me and with it our whole cause." Robb said, the latter was accompanied by a cracking of his normally even exterior. His shoulders slummed down and he looked tired.
He went up to his brother and grabbed him in an embrace. "I will leave at the first sign of trouble with Tarly's army, I promise. Besides you can do this without me, but nonetheless you'll never have to."
Robb nodded at that, as they broke away from their embrace. "It's good to have you with me, Snow. I wouldn't know what to do half of the time if you weren't at my side." He smiled weakly.
"Yes, you would. Now toughen up, Stark. You have to talk to the Mooton and Cox commanders, while I select your best soldiers and steal them away." He grinned.
His joke worked, as his grin was met by Robb's own. He made a mock bow, to emphasize his brother's kingly status and left with the same grin still on his face.
(A week later)
He had left Saltpans yesterday. There he had met with Ser Quincy Cox. Having already cleared out half his lands of bandits before arriving there, the man had been more than welcoming. Another big factor was that he brought the man's remaining family back to him. His three sons and two sons-in-law had left with his forces. Both his youngest son and the husband of his eldest daughter had died in the fighting in the Riverlands and the old knight was very happy to see the remainder of his family back.
After some negotiating, he had allowed the heir Ser Donnel Cox to remain with fifty men in his lands to take control and ensure that the situation remained stable. The other troops still followed him under the leadership of Ser Quincy's second son on his way to Maidenpool.
In total, he had already hanged one hundred and twenty-three bandits and broken men. Another sixty-four were on their way to Moat Cailin to join the Night's Watch. He hadn't forgotten his uncle Benjen's pleas for more men. He had also remembered Robb of this fact all throughout their campaigns.
Already bands of ironborn and Bolton traitors had made it to the Wall. Once they got control of Moat Cailin, big bands of bandits, broken men and Lannisters would be escorted there as well. In total the Wall would be reinforced by over five hundred men when all of their captives arrived. There could have been even more, but they made the conscious decision not to send the worst of their enemies to the Wall. These served as an example and were to be held far away from important institutions like the Night's Watch. Five hundred extra recruits would do well, as there was talk of a big ranging disappearing on the other side of the Wall. The Night's Watch would need the men.
There also hadn't been any worth from uncle Benjen in almost a year and he was feared lost. Whatever the case, he would make sure his pleas wouldn't fall on deaf ears.
They had past the Quiet Isle three hours ago and had already crossed the border with House Mooton, or so the commander of their troops had told him. Almost all of this territory was being terrorized by the infamous warlord that had settled in the ruins. The only downside of his work at Saltpans had been that many bandits had fled towards Maidenpool. Apparently they realized they couldn't beet him alone and were banding together. He wouldn't put it past these bandits to try to lure him into an ambush, especially with their now enlarged number, and because of this he had sent out extra scouts.
One of these scouts suddenly returned, as he saw a horseman riding over the hill. The man raced towards him. He only slowed down when he was very close. "My Lord, I have ill news." He shouted out, clearly out of breath.
"Calm down, good man." He told the man, urging him to take a few breaths first. After he had done so, he asked. "What is this ill news you speak off?"
The scout immediately started explaining. "The Red Raper and his band of men have left Maidenpool and are waiting in ambush, less than an hour's ride from here. They took many of our number in surprise when we were riding through the area. To my knowledge, I'm the only one of my squadron that managed to escape."
That was indeed grave news. Ser Brynden would curse him for the loss of a dozen of his expert scouts. Those men weren't easy to replace. Much more important was the ambush. "Did they see you escape?" He asked, as calmly as he could. He tried to think of all possible scenario's but needed to know this first.
"No, my lord. I was scouting from higher up ground and saw what happened to the other scouts. Before I could do anything, they were assaulted by a force ten times their size, the only useful thing that I could do was warn the army before they met the same fate." The Riverlander soldier explained.
"You did well, you should be proud. Your companions will soon be avenged. For now, you will be given something to eat after the hard ride. If you ride through to the center of the line, you'll find some food and water. After that come back here, to show me where exactly the ambush is to take place." He told the scout, who nodded eagerly.
"You three," he pointed to some of his men, "go get my commanders. Tell them to ride to the front as fast as possible." He had barely stopped speaking or the men had already turned their horse.
Not much later his commanders had gathered, while the scout also returned. As they had continued to march further east in the meantime, the scout now estimated that they were half an hour from the ambush site. When that was mentioned the Mooton captain said he knew the place. He also mentioned a path further south from it, from where they could attack the bandits in the rear.
The ambush would take place out of a forest to the south of the road. To the north of the road there was only the Bay of Crabs. The enemy would try to slaughter them in a surprise attack and drive the rest into the Bay.
After triple checking the plan, he quickly allowed the Mooton captain and all his men to split off and march south. He had another eighty of his own riders dispatched to accompany the captain and he prayed it would be enough.
The word had been passed along the line to expect trouble. His soldiers were asked to stay on guard without being too obvious about it and most made it work.
After a while the road swung a little closer to the bat and he saw the forest up ahead. It was situated on a hill next to the path. He had positioned men with big shields on the outside and had asked them to switch their sword hand on the march to the left so they would be better protected from missiles when the attack started on their right.
Sure enough, soon they marched on the path and he felt the danger. Ghost became very restless and it made him look up. When he saw a glint of metal reflecting the sunlight, he knew they were there. "MEN, IN POSITION! ARCHERS PREPARE TO SHOOT! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" He shouted.
Immediately his army formed up and lines were drawn. "MEN IN THE SECOND AND THIRD LINES GET YOUR SHIELD ABOVE THE HEADS OF THE MEN IN FRONT OF YOU IF YOU HAVE ANY. ARCHERS BEHIND FIRE AT WILL, AT ANYTHING YOU SEE MOVE!" He shouted above the sound of swords being drawn and men hurrying into position.
His men obeyed without hesitation and soon a makeshift shieldwall was being formed in the Valyrian style. He had read about it in a book from the library at White Harbor. It had always intrigued him and today proved useful.
Mere seconds later a horn was heard. Dozens of men came running through the forest at once. They screamed and wildly swung their swords, while spears were thrown and arrows shot at them from up high.
This brazen scare tactic might have worked on untrained levy, but his men were all veterans of at least one battle. No Stark infantry actually fought at the Green Fork, but all had seen the carnage of a real battle. Besides that, they had been hardened after months of marching and training under Lord Rickard's guidance.
His archers responded and soon some of their attackers came rolling from the hill as corpses, rather than enemy fighters. He soon saw fear and surprise in the eyes of some of the attackers but still they charged. Hundreds of men soon pounced on his long stretched makeshift shieldwall.
He himself had gotten off his horse and hidden behind the wall to protect himself from the projectiles. However as soon as contact was made, he pushed himself to the front together with Ghost and his sword started singing. On moments like this he missed wielding Ice, but there was nothing he could do about it. It had been his father's sword and belonged to Robb now.
Ghost had leaped on two attackers from behind the shieldwall and was mauling their faces into a horrible mess. In the meantime, he had already disposed of the first attacker and saw a second with an axe run at him. The men wore good chainmail, although it was a little worn down. From the colors on his battered tabard, he could see this man had once belonged to the retinue of House Brax. First, he had raided the Riverlands as part of the Lannister army and then he had deserted to keep raiding while the army left for King's Landing. He couldn't think of a more despicable calling.
He effortlessly deflected the axe swing with his sword and stepped forward inside the man's guard. He hit him on the head with the hilt of his weapon and then knocked the axe out of his hand. Normally he would have given him the time to surrender now but seeing that he had grabbed a dirk from in his belt, he did the only thing he could. He sidestepped and swung his sword in an upwards arch, cleaving the man's hand right from his arm. Before it could hit the floor, he had adjusted his body's stance and cut the man's neck open. The body hit the floor and he tried to ignore the sounds the man was making while choking in his own blood.
He stepped over the body, ready to dispose of another enemy when he heard another horn. This one sounded very familiar and he smiled. The Mootons had already arrived. Soon the sounds of battle were heard from inside the forest and a lot of the attackers stopped and looked around in surprise. That was, of course, the stupidest thing they could have done, unless they had planned to be picked off by his archers.
"CHARGE MEN!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He himself charged in the flank of an enemy who was battling one of his men and threw him on the floor. He rolled on top of him and quickly stabbed his dagger in the opening of the armor around the armpit. He instinctively knew that he had time, as he felt that Ghost had his back and he didn't need to look up.
When he finally did, he saw a man crying and screaming on the ground, his whole left arm torn from his shoulder. Ghost was holding two more men back and he charged the right one. His direwolf didn't need any command to know what he expected, as if they had done this a hundred times before. They charged together as one. Ghost slashed at the left brigand's face with his paw, while he sent a flurry of sword strikes towards the right one.
Soon he broke through the defense of the enemy in front of him and he stabbed him in the belly. He instinctively looked left, to see how Ghost was doing. Just as he looked, he saw the direwolves teeth go around the neck of the man on the floor and a sickening crunch was heard as Ghost snapped his spine.
This was all that was needed for all the enemies around him to start fleeing. Some of his men immediately ran after them. He saw three brigands go down with arrows stuck in their backs and more followed. When he looked to the right towars the rest of the battle, he saw that the enemy was starting to break on the whole front.
"ONWARD MEN! TO VICTORY!" He shouted, as he raised his sword and the call was soon taken up all along the line. He ran forward but was soon passed by Ghost who raced forward. He saw how his direwolf snapped at the ankles of multiple enemies. He didn't even bother to finish his targets, as the soldiers in behind took care of them when they reached the fallen enemies.
Not much later he had reached the top of the hill and he saw fighting all around him. His men were clearly winning, but still resistance was much fiercer than down below. He ran into the thick of the fighting and slashed at a brigand's back, who was just about to finish of a Mooton men-at-arms. The man screamed in pain and that was all his ally needed to stick his dagger in the brigand's stomach.
He ran deeper in the forest and was soon charged by a man wielding a vicious looking mace. He sidestepped to dodge the first attack but didn't have any time to counter as this was followed up by a vertical swing aimed at his arm. He caught the attack on the cross-guard of his sword and punched the man in his face with his left. If he had to guess from the sound it made, the mailed glove had just broken his nose.
Briefly stunned the man took two steps back. Not wanting to give up his momentum, he himself stepped forward, still clamping the mace with his sword. In a move he had once learned from Ser Rodrik, he pushed both their weapons up suddenly to bring the man out of balance and swept his hind leg from under him. He quickly broke his sword loose and stabbed down into the man's chest.
He took a deep breath and pulled his sword loose with a twist, as to make sure the man would die. He looked around and saw most of the bandits flee, his soldiers hot on their tails. However, a group of around thirty of them was still doggedly resisting some fifty yards to his right. They were surrounded and had no where to go.
He ran over there, clenching his sword as he reached out to Ghost to come to him. As he moved past his soldiers and he reached the first enemy. The moment he crossed swords with him, a familiar white animal ran past him. On his way, he knocked the opponent in front him over and he quickly ended him with a slash across his neck. Then Ghost leaped on another attacker. He quickly followed after him, as he saw one of the outlaws charge at his companion with a spear. He made it in time and slashed at the spear viciously. It flew to the side, the enemy only just barely managing to keep hold of it.
Remembering all his lessons of fighting against spearmen, he knew he had to close the distance. He waited until his opponent attacked him once more and deflected the attack with a subtle move of his wrist. He then stepped inside the man's guard, raised his sword and knocked the spear down. In one fluent motion, he pulled out his dagger, turned and buried it deep in the man's skull, right through his left eye. The lifeless body, with his dagger still inside the eye socket, fell lifelessly to the ground moments later.
He again gripped his sword with two hands and went into a defensive stand, as he expected another enemy to come at him, but none came. He looked around and saw his enemies look at him and Ghost in horror. Seeing their expressions, he calmly ordered. "Surrender. Surrender now or die like that, you have the choice." He said, as he pointed with his sword at their mauled companion in front of Ghost.
They looked at him in fear and soon they all surrendered, all but one. This was clearly their leader, as he started shouting at the men around him "to keep fighting". Seeing how his attempts to rally his companions were in vain, he stepped forward towards him and challenged him. "You fight me! One on one, we'll see how well you'll order my men after that."
He merely scoffed at the notion, noticing the blood red tabard the man was wearing. "Were you any honorable man or a noble, I would accept. With you, I don't see any reason to do so. I won't filthy my sword with the blood of a rapist."
"Ha, you scared boy? And rapist? You probably never touched a woman, hah!" The man taunted. Obviously trying to tempt him into a fight.
He merely locked eyes at the man. After a few seconds he commanded "Ghost" in a low voice and more wasn't needed. His direwolf next to him stalked forward. The bandit leader clearly recognized the danger and knowing it was his only viable choice, he charged the direwolf.
Ghost however was prepared for this. He quickly ran towards him and scratched the right leg out from under his opponent with his paw. He followed it up with a bite and tore off the man's sword hand at the wrist. Just as he was going to go in for the kill, he called him back. "Ghost, no. We have more use for him alive." The wolf stopped immediately. He felt the connection at the back of his head and knew his companion would obey. He wondered if he could have commanded him by simply thinking the words, instead of saying them.
Ghost held his head just in front of the brigand leader, who was crying from the pain at his now stump. All around him, men were stupefied by how short the fight had been. He didn't bat an eye. Ghost was a killer when he needed to be and that filth deserved his wrath.
"You, take those men into custody." He ordered his men, as he pointed to those who had surrendered. "The two of you, take this rapist peace of shit down the hill. The king ordered me to geld him before I took his head." All soldiers agreed quickly and ran to take care of his orders.
(The next day)
They had made camp close to the battle site yesterday. They had used their positioning to loot the enemy camp and hunt some more of the bandits that had hidden themselves.
Now they were well on their way to Maidenpool. They had some three hours to go until they reached the remnants of the city. His scouts had already reported that the site was nearly empty. The bandits had taken most of their number to ambush him and he had killed or captured most of them, some two hundred and fifty by his estimation. The other hundred or so were scattered across the land and wouldn't be able to get back to their stronghold in time.
He expected less than a hundred enemies to be present and would make clear work of them. Yesterday, he himself had taken the heads of the worst of the brigands and hung their bodies from the trees. The other captives he had sent towards Darry and Saltpans. He would let the local lords deal justice, as he didn't have the time for it himself. They would be offered the black or would be hung to show the local populace that order had been restored.
He felt quite confident, as he talked with the Maidenpool commander. The weather was quite enjoyable, the sun shining with a light breeze coming from the bay. They were making very good time and only token resistance was to be expected from now on. Still, he had done the diligent thing and send out scouts far and wide in every direction.
Even so, he was quite surprised when two scouts came riding towards him. Another ambush? That couldn't be true could it? The outlaws shouldn't have the men left to set that up anymore.
"Lord Snow, we bring news." The first scout started, as he respectfully lowered his head. He gestured to the man to continue.
"Our group of scouts has clashed with another group of outriders. They wore tabards in orange with three black castles on it. We managed to fight them off and they fled to the south-east. We almost managed to catch one, but he escaped in the end. We don't know anything more from them or where they came from, I'm afraid." The scout explained apologetically.
"Do you have any casualties?" He asked routinely. "No, my lord. Only small wounds were received and all of our group will be able to carry on with their duties.
He nodded at the man and thought about his words. Three black castles on an orange background … he knew that signal but where did he know it from? Suddenly it hit him. He had refreshed all he knew about the Reach when in Riverrun. They were expected to fight them at one point, and it was better to know your enemy. The signal he was thinking about belonged to House Peak.
That meant Tarly was close by, or at least part of his force was. He wanted to push forth towards Maidenpool, root out the brigands and bring order back to these lands, but Robb had given him clear orders. it would also be the most prudent, if Tarly heard who was in Maidenpool he might rush and encircle him with a few thousand men.
No, they had to leave. He gave the order towards his men to halt and called all his captains towards him and gave his order. Most looked completely abashed, but almost all fell in line after he told them of the clear orders he had gotten from the king. The only ones who didn't accept his words so easily were the men that hailed from these parts.
They had looked forward to restoring their homeland and maybe see if their families were still alive. This possibility was now denied to them and they didn't like it. He spent some time explaining them that they had dealt with the greatest part of the bandit threat. He also stated that any reclamation of Maidenpool would be undone by the Reachmen anyway, possibly with more destruction in its wake.
It was this last argument that won them over and so an hour later his army turned around and marched back the way they came from. He also sent out more riders to try and locate the Reachmen force, one ambush was more than enough to his liking.
He sighed. His campaign had started so well, but now it ended prematurily. Technically, he had reached all his objectives. He had brought back order to the lands of House Cox and taken care of some two hundred outlaws on their lands. He had diminished the threats to the lands of House Darry. Finally, he had brought the 'Red Raper' and most of his small army of brigands to justice.
Still, it irked him that he hadn't been able to free the lands of House Mooton like he had done with those of House Cox. Deep inside, he knew that it would never have lasted anyway. Tarly was too close and most of those lands too separated from the real frontline. Nevertheless, these were loyal Riverlanders that were suffering. He clenched his teeth and rode on, back to Harrenhall as silent as Ghost beside him.
Oberyn Martell
He looked on the waves of Blackwater Bay, as they crashed into the hull of the ship. The ship he was on was called the 'The daughter of the Royne'. It belonged to a rare trader hailing from Planky Town. He was one of the children of the Greenblood who provisioned his people with goods from outside Dorne. In the meantime, the man also made profits in Sunspear and the places he sailed towards to get goods from.
It had been an incredible stroke of luck that he had been anchored in King's Landing at right this time. If he hadn't, his life might have been forfeit. The worst thing was that it would have been for something he hadn't actually done. He was not called 'the Red Viper' for nothing and he knew he deserved death for many of his deeds but the one he was accused of here wasn't one of them.
He had arrived in the capital at his brother's behest to take his place on the Small Council. Everything had gone just about how he had expected it, although the weakness of the Lannisters surprised him. Oh, the 'Old Lion' tried to mask it of course, but he saw right through that farce.
It was clear the Lannisters were weaker than they had ever been since the dead of the old Lord Tytos Lannister. They weren't out of the game yet, but they were treading on a dangerous path. Many concessions had been made to the Tyrells for their alliance. Margeary was promised the crown, that prick Ser Loras was made a Kingsguard as well as another son of one of Mace's friends. Lands and tax reliefs were promised to almost all the loyal lords of the Reach and prestigious positions in the newly formed City Watch were given away by the dozens. He had even heard whispers of a possible marriage between Willas and the dowager queen or another Lannister. He surely hoped for the fate of his friend that these were unfounded, but you could never know for sure.
The city was a disaster. The battle of the Blackwater had destroyed much of the city's infrastructure, most notably the whole of Flea Bottom was gone, and it didn't stop there as some surrounding neighborhoods, as well as other parts of the city, were wiped of the map due to fires too. The biggest problem however was the loss of population and manpower. The city, which formerly had around half a million inhabitants, now only sported half of that.
He hadn't been able to believe his eyes when he saw that and had gone to investigate. It seemed that around a ninety thousand people had died or fled in the first riots combined with its crackdown by the imp. The weeks of riots had caused many fires and food shortages that had cost the lives of thousands of the smallfolk. There were also many reports of large groups of people fleeing across the Crownlands, as well as some that went into the Reach and Stormlands at that time, so ninety thousand should be reasonably correct information.
However, the bigger hit had come with the battle of the Blackwater. As thousands of the city's inhabitants had joined with Stannis, the population had been viciously sacked in response. Not only those that had taken up arms or their families, but whole quarters of the city had been violated by the victorious army during and right after the battle. The battle itself had taken the lives of tens of thousands of citizens, they were either killed in the fighting, butchered in their homes or they died in one of the many fires or stampedes that followed it. However, the biggest shock wasn't the amount of deaths, but the amounts of people fleeing.
Some twenty thousand people reportedly fled into the Reach in only a few days' time, most gathering around Tumbleton. Another ten thousand or so disappeared in the Kingswood, many of those scattered into smaller groups and marched into the Stormlands. Maybe they were hoping to hide among Baratheon loyalists.
The biggest groups hadn't marched south though, they had marched north. Between fifty and eighty thousand men had fled to the north and north-west. Some fifteen thousand people had stayed in the lands from Rosby to Duskendale in this second wave, while a few thousand marched to Rook's Rest and beyond to Cracklaw Point. The Small Council had tried multiple measures to have them return to the capital, but to their dismay only a few hundred did so.
The biggest group marched into the Riverlands by a dozen different paths. This movement had taken place over a span of many weeks or even months after the sack and as such it was hard to track how many people actually marched there. Most agreed that between forty and sixty thousand smallfolk fled towards their enemies. In truth, it was not so surprising they sought refuge with the Lannisters' enemies. Besides, the Riverlands had been deeply depopulated by Tywin and it had procured a lot of food from their raids in the west. They had both land, food and work aplenty. If he had been a lowborn citizen of King's Landing after that carnage, he might have tried his luck in Fairmarket, Stoney Sept or the surrounding lands as well.
To his shock, still people were leaving. Everyday dozens of people could be seen that had packed up all their belongings and were leaving the city. As small fighting broke out in the north again, most of these went south to either the Reach or towards the Baratheon lords that had bent the knee in the Stormlands or southern Crownlands, but some dared to go to Duskendale still. The conclusion of his inquiry had been that the city had indeed depopulated at a frightening pace and that it was still losing population at a slow rate untill this day.
This investigation, together with his duties on the Small Council had taken most of his time, that was until that messenger arrived. His problems had all started with that damned messenger. If he was honest, he respected Robb Stark for doing something so bold. When the messenger had called Joffrey an incestuous bastard without blinking, all hell had broken loose in the throne room. The blonde prick had screamed to kill them all for everyone to hear, while the queen mother hadn't behaved much better.
The Kingsguard had had the man and his companions on their knees at sword point in seconds, but still the messenger didn't blink. The man himself had been some Ryswell cousin and he had balls of steel that one. Without even so much as looking towards the blade that was at his neck, he looked up to Tywin Lannister and stated that his king, Robb Stark, had written at the end of his letter that "if any of his envoys was hurt, the same faith would befall the Kingslayer."
This had prompted Tywin Lannister to stop the executions, even if his grandson was still screaming that he didn't care. The young king kept screeching that they should die anyway and that his uncle had lost his battles so he had chosen his fate. After that a great shouting match had started, as Queen Cersei suddenly forgot about the comments as she started defending her brother. It had taken a very big showing of the Old Lion's authority to take control and even then it took far too long. At one point the Lannister guards had even stood against the Kingsguard, but the latter had backed down as most of them were either in his own or the Tyrells' pocket.
The Lord of Casterly Rock had stoically taken the letter. He had read the letter with the Small Council after the commotion had died down. He had almost chuckled when he had read that the young Stark had indeed been as bold as to put that at the end of the letter. Lord Lannister had taken a long look at the Northmen when he first set his eyes on the paper. After a while he had concluded that "His Grace King Joffrey and his council rejected these terms". Afterwards the Northmen had been escorted out of the city by a very sizeable Lannister detachment with great haste.
However, the atmosphere at court would never be the same anymore. The aura of victory after the battle of the Blackwater had been broken and now all in attendance were either plotting or preparing for the coming battles, in some cases they were doing both he was sure.
Things had calmed down a little when the wedding started getting close, especially after Lord Tarly had left with a big part of the Reach's hotheads to Duskendale to counter Robb Stark's raiding into the Crownlands.
This had all changed when Joffrey had decided to die at his own wedding. To him it had immediately been clear that the boy was poisoned. The poison, if he had to take guess, could have been the Strangler. As the boy lay there choking, he immediately thought about possible orchestrators. His eyes soon landed on Lady Olenna as his main suspect, the boy had obviously been a psychopath and maybe she didn't want that for her pretty granddaughter. However, knowing Olenna she would probably force her marriage to Tommen and be done with it. That way they wouldn't lose any influence.
While he had been debating all of this in his head, the queen mother's screeching had suddenly taken a dark turn. Suddenly Cersei Lannister had pointed towards him as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "The Dornish, the Dornish have done this! First, they take my beloved daughter and now my firstborn, my Joffrey. Guards take them all into custody! They poisoned my son! Take Oberyn Martell to the black cells!"
He couldn't believe his own ears. The problem was that he had his own reputation against him. He wasn't called the Red Viper for nothing and all knew of his proclivity with poisons. However, that didn't dissuade the Dornish nobles to stand up for him and soon daggers were drawn. He looked over and saw that the young Lord Edric Dayne had taken his dagger out as well. He quickly grabbed the boy close and took the dagger out of his hands. The Dayne line was too small already and he had spent a lot of influence to free the boy, he wouldn't have him captured again. He owed Ashara the safety of her nephew and family line.
It had almost come to a confrontation and some of the Tyrells seemed quite happy that he was being accused of the crime. Of course, that oaf Mace Tyrell still hated him for the accident with Willas, even as his friend had long since forgiven him.
To his surprise it had been Tywin Lannister who had come through. The Old Lion had tried to persuade him to send the Dornish armies to his aid for weeks and maybe he thought it would help if he was in his debt here. It could also be that he just didn't want to jeopardize the alliance with his brother or maybe he didn't want risk his granddaughter if anything were to happen to him.
He and his companions had been brought to their chambers by Lannister men. Still, he had noticed how four of them remained outside of his doors, no doubt that had been for 'his protection'.
As there was nothing he could do. After thinking it over a couple more times, he had just went to bed with Ellaria. Sex always cleared his mind and no one was better at it than his paramour. They had just been in their second time of love making when a voice had been heard. To his surprise, Lord Varys had stood in the middle of his room and asked him to follow him. He had told him that Cersei had been planning a move against him behind her father's back, together with some of the Tyrells. On the morrow he would have been brought to a more secure prison from where he wouldn't be able to escape from. It hadn't taken long for him to dress himself and pack most of his important stuff. He had stuffed it all in a big bag which he had hauled on his back. After that, the eunuch had let him and Ellaria through a maze of tunnels until they had been in the city and soon his noble companions had joined him as well from multiple directions.
The spider had told him that he would ensure fighting broke out between his company and the Lannisters at different points and the guards in front of his rooms would die so they just suspected he fought his way out. The spider had managed to procure them two ships, one of which was 'the daughter of the Royne' on which he now stood. Around one hundred and twenty of his soldiers and all the nobles had been evacuated. Great effort was done so Lord Dayne was evacuated too. Sadly, this had meant that one hundred and eighty of his troops were left in the city, although Varys told them he would send an accomplice to get some of them horses and move south.
The Spider's motive still irked him. When he had asked the eunuch, he had just smiled cryptically. "Not all of us have forgotten the fall of the Dragons, Prince Oberyn."
This had scared him beyond belief. Did the Spider know of his brother's secret arrangement? If yes, how long had he known? Would he support them? Would he support Quentyn's claim if he came back with Daenerys Targaryen?
Too many questions were left unanswered and he didn't like it one bit. For now, all he could was sail home and inform Doran. The fact that he had rescued the lord of one of their oldest and biggest vassals from a Lannister dungeon was a victory, even if he had lost almost two hundred men in doing so. Besides, they still had Myrcella. The Lannisters wouldn't be so foolish as to make a move that could endanger her. Or would they? Already stories were heard of Tywin Lannister plotting against Robb Stark even when his son was in his prison. The Kingslayer had lost his hand due to this, he had been told in whispers.
Doran, he needed Doran. His elder brother would figure all of this out. He would make sense of this all and he would happily help execute his brother's plans to avenge Elia and the betterment of Dorne. Dorne had been silent for too long, he would urge Doran to act and take great joy in accomplishing their vengeance.
This is all for this chapter!
You finally get a POV from the south. Most of it is in flashbacks, but you see what happens with the messenger and at the Purple Wedding. I hope you enjoyed it, as I'm not sure if there will be another POV like that in the future. I played with this idea for a long time, as I could have had the news reach Robb with ravens as well. I decided against it, so I could show you the carnage at King's Landing and the difficulties of the Lannister/Tyrell alliance. I picked Oberyn because there is a very small chance he could still serve as a POV member in the far future.
You see Jon getting more responsibility, while he and Robb try to deal with excesses of war. You can also see Jon advancing his warging and the fact he talks about this with Robb. They are already talking about visiting the Isle of Faces in the future.
The clash between Stark/Tully and Lannister/Tyrell is coming ever closer with the first 25k having moved from King's Landing. Neither of them wants to do battle on the other's terms, so they just poke at each other with small raiding forces for now. Still, first blood between the Reach and the Starks has been drawn.
The survival of Oberyn Martell is huge, almost as huge as the alliance of the Lannisters with Dorne breaking down. Doran still has Myrcella so the Lannisters have to thread lightly, all the while the Martells can do however they please once Oberyn gets home safely.
Thank you so much for your continued support.
Fannic
Reviews:
- Kuman: I fixed most of those mistakes soon after, thank you for pointing them out! Yes, them escaping yet again would just be plot armor which I very much try to avoid here. I lowered it to a 100. History teaches us those numbers are high because normally those forces scatter. Here, the ironborn have nowhere to go anymore so a lot of them fight 'till they can't anymore which leads to somewhat higher casualties.
The Skagosi are only semi-loyal. I don't know how they would feel if they were ordered to fight in some far away kingdom.
Well, I gave you a flashback of it. Is that fine too?
Yes, Euron will probably do things. He will become some kind of player in the (near
- Wolflord456: Thank you!
- The Prussian Gamer: Well, sadly Joffrey's dead now. Maybe he could put Cersei's head there? Tommen was Joffrey's heir so higher placed than Myrcella. Besides the latter is in Dorne and Brandon is betrothed to a Frey.
- George Christian810: Thank you! The problem is that most of the Mountain Clans of the Vale have forgotten their First Men heritage or evolved it over thousands of years. For example: There is a clan who offers to a sort of cave god that was actually Nettles and her dragon in the Dance of Dragons etc. Maybe a few clans could be allowed yes, but definitely not even half of them.
- Force Smuggler: Yes, or at least parts of their way of living. Yes, he was a moron. Tywin is indeed getting desperate, but things can still easily turn his way as commanders like Randyll Tarly with double Robb's men can win that war for sure. Not a Red Wedding, but definitely a smaller plot of some kind.
- Wolf's Pizza: Thank you! Yes, I've been very busy in real life. Tywin is somewhat desperate but he isn't out of the game yet. He can easily win still.
Definitely a lot of conflict first, if he ever makes it. Robb might die in the fighting like any other commander. However, it is less likely his cause dies with him now.
- Greatazuredragon: Yes, it's also getting more complicated to write it! :P Thank you so much!
- Kingmaneana: Thank you so much!
- Javi30: Thank you! Blessings to you and yours as well.
- OneDocToHealThemAll: Thank you so much! I will try to keep the quality up and maybe take out some of the rougher edges earlier on. I don't like foregone conclusions, not in the Vale or Riverlands ;-)
- Angeluszuko-z: Probably Pety's idea. No we won't see those, as they are still in Mereen etc with Daenerys like canon. The Golden Company won't be seen either but there are plenty others.
- Alfil94: Thank you! That is indeed Robb's plan, however he will have to deal with Euron or Victarion Greyjoy. Who knows what they'll do with that plan. As explained above, the Skagosi might not be all too keen to go south. The reputation plays a big part. The Manderlys will be send if possible.
Yes, you will see both most definitely. Aegon moved to Westeros without the optimal conditions in canon too. Daenerys will eventually make her way, but who knows it could take years.
- Poly19hum: Thank you! Exactly, life doesn't always go how you want it and neither will this story.
- Jumping-jo: Thank you! Now you see here how grave the destruction actually was.
- Anja Quicker9: Thank you for your continued support!
- Guest1: Wowies!
- Guest2: It is not that far away anymore. Still a few chapters, but we are getting closer.
