Robb VII
Robb crumpled the parchment in his hand and scowled. That little shit Joffrey had arrested his father on treason and had ordered Robb to come to King's Landing to swear loyalty to the Crown. To make it worse, the letter made no mention of Sansa. Everyone in the North knew what happened the last time a Stark had been arrested on treason and another was ordered to come to King's Landing. Robb was not foolish enough to repeat that history.
The Karstarks and the Mountain Clans who were farther north were still over a week away but he didn't know if he could wait for them. He had already received word that Uncle Edmure's host under Riverrun had been beaten. Thousands were either dead, captured, or had fled, while another three to four thousand of them, less than half the host, had managed to retreat into Riverrun itself, which was now under siege. Many lords and heirs of the Riverlands were taken prisoner by the Lannisters, including his Uncle Edmure.
"What do you want to do?" Theon asked.
It had been just the two of them in his father's solar, as it often was since he had sent Jon south a few weeks ago. His brother was likely halfway to Moat Cailin by now, somewhere in the Barrowlands. Then Maester Luwin had come with a message recently received from King's Landing.
"We can not delay. Cayn!"
The guard who had been posted outside opened the door and stepped into the room.
"You called, Lord Robb?"
"Yes, have the word spread to the lords to gather in the Great Hall. I must speak with them."
"Of course." Cayn bowed and left the room.
"Is there further need of me?" Maester Luwin asked.
"Yes Maester Luwin. Just give me a moment to gather my thoughts."
Robb leaned forward in his chair, staring at a map of the Seven Kingdoms that was spread out in front of him.
"A Lannister host encircles Riverrun here," Robb said as he tapped the castle on the map, "and word has reached us that Lannister raiding parties are pillaging along here." Robb tapped a stretch of farmland to the east of the Stoney Sept. "Lady Whent wrote to us that a host led by Tywin Lannister crossed the God Eye's River around here, and she suspects this host will march north along the eastern shore of the God's Eye, likely going to Harrenhal or Darry."
On top of telling them of Lannister movement, Lady Whent had also begged them for aid as like Uncle Edmure she was also kin to Robb, being cousins with his grandmother through his mother. House Whent was on the cusp of elimination and didn't have the men necessary to defend the gigantic Harrenhal. Unfortunately for Lady Whent, even if they rode out with their cavalry as soon as the letter arrived, they would still arrive well after the Lannister army marching on her lands.
"Darry puts them a day's ride from the Trident," Theon pointed out. "Even Harrenhal is a little over a week away from the crossing. Tywin Lannister looks to block any army crossing the Trident, whether it be us or the Vale."
They hadn't heard of the Vale raising an army, and all attempts from his mother to communicate with Aunt Lysa went unreturned. The thought of an army marching down from the Vale was more of a hope than anything concrete at this point.
"And the rumors that reached White Harbor have Lord Frey calling his levies but sitting with his men behind the walls of the Twins, not moving. Even if Frey lets us pass, it will take us four months to get to Riverrun. Unless…"
"Unless what?" Theon asked, eyebrows raised.
Robb shook his head. It was an idea forming in his mind but it would be months until they could implement it.
He wanted the vanguard of his army to start leaving tomorrow morning. It would likely take over a day for the full host camped outside Winterfell to break camp and start marching down the Kingsroad but they needed to start the forty day journey to Moat Cailin as soon as possible, though he would try to push the pace and get them there a few days early. There was less of a need to build defensive fortifications in the north, so the hours needed to dig trenches and set stakes could be spent marching further south.
Because he was leaving so much sooner than originally anticipated there would be a lot of things left behind, namely the food and water. Those would be things gathered and ready to depart when Lord Karstark and the rest of the Mountain Clans arrived, another three thousand men, who would then march down to join them in the Riverlands.
"Maester Luwin, I need ravens sent to Barrowton, White Harbor, and Flint's Finger. The army begins its march south tomorrow and they must be made aware."
House Ryswell and House Dustin would both have their levies camped outside of Barrowton, along with the levies of their sworn houses like Ironsmith, Ryder, Stout, and Long. Outside of White Harbor would be the levies of House Flint of Widow's Watch and House Manderly, along with the levies of their sworn houses like Locke, Waterman, Wells, and Woofield. The same was true of House Flint of Flint's Finger at their keep, with their sworn houses like Holt and Tyde. In order to make sure they had their forces at Moat Cailin to join with Robb's, they needed to know when he would be leaving Winterfell.
Robb wasn't done. "In the letter to Lord Manderly, tell him to spread the word in his port that I am traveling to White Harbor to take a boat to King's Landing. And send a raven to King's Landing stating that I am leaving Winterfell in a few days to make the journey there by boat, as King Joffrey commands."
"You're taking a boat to King's Landing?" Theon asked, confused.
"No, but if I can make them think I am, maybe it buys us some time and sows some confusion."
"Of course, I will get on it right away," Maester Luwin turned to leave but paused in the doorway. "You will tell your lady mother and your wife, correct?"
"Yes, after I tell the men."
Maester Luwin smiled and nodded his head before fully leaving. Robb looked at Theon and gestured to the door.
"Should we go tell the northern lords that we march to war?"
"Greatjon will be happy to hear."
They will try to test you, his mother had warned him as the northern lords had started pouring into Winterfell, leaving their hundreds and thousands of men to camp outside the castle walls. To see if you're worthy of their respect or just a boy playing at war.
Greatjon will try to intimidate you with his size, Jon had told him of his foster father before he left for Moat Cailin. If you want him to follow you, you must not flinch.
He dealt with the lords with the same cool courtesy he had seen his father use on them hundreds of times and somehow he had bent them all to his will. Greatjon had tried to intimidate him, just as Jon said he would, drawing his sword with bluster but a whispered word to Grey Wind had the Lord of Last Hearth one finger short and Robb's most ardent supporter.
He entered the Great Hall to see all of the lords at Winterfell crowded amongst the tables. A few of the servants walked between the benches, pouring ale for all who wanted some, which given it was the North was everyone in attendance. At the high table only one person sat, Ser Rodrik, in the seat to the right of the lord's seat.
Robb walked through the hall, eyes straight ahead, with both Theon and Grey Wind trailing behind him. He took the lord's seat and Theon the one to his left. Grey Wind laid down behind them with a harrumph. There was a murmur amongst the men that he sat and waited to die out.
"My lords," Robb said as the final whispers died away, "I received a letter from King's Landing. They have declared that King Robert is dead and his son Joffrey now sits on the throne." A murmur went up amongst all of the men at the implications of Tywin Lannister's grandson becoming King. What would that mean for their expected war against House Lannister and the Westerlands? "Good King Joffrey," Robb laced as much sarcasm as he could on those words, "has seen fit to arrest my father, Lord Eddard Stark, for treason!"
The murmur amongst the men had quickly crescendoed into shouts of outrage. It pleased Robb to see this reaction to the news of his father's arrest. It let him know he was making the right decision.
"They demand that I go to King's Landing and swear loyalty to this new King who holds my father hostage. The North remembers the last time the King who sat the Iron Throne arrested one Stark and demanded another Stark come to King's Landing, but perhaps King Joffrey needs a reminder. A reminder that it was through the courage of northmen that a stag sits upon the throne and not a dragon. They want me to come south? Aye, I will march south on the morrow but I'll do so with an army of those northmen at my back."
A roar of approval went up amongst the men, and they pounded their mugs of ale against the table in a steady beat. Robb waited a moment for the noise to come down from its peak before he held up his hands to silence them once more.
"Lord Umber?"
"Aye?" The Greatjon stood from his seat, a freshly poured mug of ale in his hand.
"I give you the honor of leading our vanguard."
"To hunting lions!" The Greatjon tilted his mug back and chugged the entire thing. He slammed the empty mug on the table as hard as he could and let out what could only be described as a scream of approval that got the men cheering again.
At the back of the Great Hall, Robb could see that his mother and Wynafryd had slipped into the room at some point. This isn't how he wanted them to find out he was leaving, and it was certainly not how he wanted his mother to find out father had been arrested. He wanted to be face to face with them as he told them the news.
There were still a few things he needed to tell the lords. Like how Galbart Glover was going to stay behind to wait for the Karstark levies and the rest of the mountain clans, and to be the one to tell them of the plan and to lead them down south. Those things could wait until the morning though.
"My lords, the ale of Winterfell is yours!" More cheers; they were in a boisterous mood tonight.
Robb excused himself as he watched his mother and his wife leave the room. He received numerous pats on the back and hand shakes from every lord he walked by. It was several minutes until he was outside, Grey Wind following dutifully behind, instinctively following without any words spoken.
He found his mother staring at the moon with tears in her eyes as his wife had her arm wrapped around her shoulders in comfort. He approached them both and stopped a foot short.
"When did you find out about your father?" his mother asked when she noticed him.
"A few moments before meeting with the lords. Maester Luwin brought me the message in father's solar."
"And Sansa?"
"The message made no mention of her."
His mother sobbed, and Robb moved in and wrapped his own arm around her. She turned into his chest to cry. He knew the lack of information on Sansa was worrying but despite his sister trying to be the perfect southern lady, she was of the north. He had faith that she was tougher than she looked.
With his free hand he reached out and took hold of Wynafryd's hand and gave his pregnant wife a small, reassuring smile.
"You will not be here when your son is born," Wynafryd said, a sad look on her face.
"No, but I will see her soon, and I'll make sure her grandfather gets to meet her too."
Wynafryd was insistent they were having a boy and referred to their unborn child as such; Robb thought it would be a girl and did the same.
"Should we discuss names before you leave?"
"I will love our daughter no matter what we call her, so I will leave that in your capable hands. Just, if on the off chance it is a boy, not Brandon. There's been enough Brandon Starks in history."
"Not so sure about it being a girl anymore?" Wynafryd asked, with a teasing grin.
"Just covering my basis."
His mother pulled away from him and wiped at her eyes. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.
"You will march on King's Landing?"
Robb shook his head. "Not at first. Any attempt to cross the Trident will see us bloodied by Tywin Lannister. I will cross the Green Fork, defeat the Lannister army outside Riverrun, free Uncle Edmure, and rally the Riverlands to my cause. Then I will march on King's Landing."
"You will pay Walder Frey's toll?" his mother asked.
"Aye, if Jon can find no other way."
She frowned at him, as she always did when he mentioned Jon. His half-brother had been nothing but loyal and supportive. Robb knew he had nothing to fear from Jon, and one day his mother would know the same.
"You will have to play host for Lord Glover a few weeks longer. I am going to ask him to stay and wait for the rest of our forces. You'll have to greet Lord Karstark and the others as well," Robb said, looking at first his wife and then his mother. "I don't imagine they'll stay for more than a day or two before marching."
The village around Moat Cailin was larger than Robb had imagined. He knew his father had paid for a few hundred smallfolk from King's Landing to settle the area, and several other families had wandered up after the explosion of the Dragonpit, but it still took him by surprise. First they passed the dozens of farms with their fields of crops, barns, livestock pens, and farmhouses. There was even a mill off in the distance atop a small hill, its large vanes circling lazily in the soft breeze. Then there was a gap before they came upon the other buildings of the village built much closer together. Robb knew the plan was to build a palisade in that gap, to offer defenses in case there was ever a foe descending on the area from the north, east, or west.
After the gap there was the inn, stable, and smith, the buildings paid for by House Stark to start the rebirth of the village. Then there were the buildings for the tradesmen; the bakers, tanners, dyers, cobblers, butchers, tailors, wheelwrights, carpenters, and weavers. Plus four dozen or so homes that surrounded them all. Past the buildings of the smallfolk was the keep, with its stone foundation and thick wooden walls, and beyond that was the four towers that defended the causeway and the still being built curtain wall, that was maybe four feet high, that ran between them.
The more southern of his lords already had their men camped just outside the farmlands of Moat Cailin, and they had been joined by the vanguard led by Greatjon who had arrived the other day. He ordered the rest of his army to set up camp but that they shouldn't expect to stay long, a day or two at most.
Robb dismounted from his horse, handing the reins to one of the stableboys who lived here and made his way to the keep. Grey Wind was at his side, head bumping into Robb's waist. Following behind him were some of the few members of the house guard he brought with him on this journey.
Outside of the keep's doors stood Steward Leobald Tallhart with his wife Berena, formerly of House Hornwood, and their sons Brandon and Beren.
"Moat Cailin is yours, my lord," Steward Tallhart said with a low bow.
"Thank you Steward Tallhart," Robb said with a nod. "We will not be here long, I promise you that. If I could make use of the largest room in your keep?"
"That would be our hall my lord," Berena answered with a slight curtsy.
For most keeps it would be the hall, so that made sense. Robb turned to the one guard, Kennet, a gangly teen who wielded a spear. "Tell the lords I wish to speak with them in Steward Tallhart's hall."
"Aye, m'lord," Kennet said as he rushed off.
"We received a raven from Winterfell a few weeks back," Steward Tallhart said. "Lords Glover and Karstark left Winterfell nineteen days ago."
Robb nodded. That put them fifteen days behind the main force. Since Robb's host had less wagons and support at the moment, they were able to move a little quicker, and the farther they marched the longer the distance between the two would grow. It wouldn't be until they were at Riverrin that the two hosts would be united.
"How goes the training of the men brought by my brother?" Robb asked, turning back to Steward Tallhart.
"As good as to be expected. They're young but eager. Still months away from being a real threat."
"Hopefully they'll have those months and more."
Moat Cailin on its own had only forty men to defend it. Robb had Houses Manderly and Hornwood supply an additional two hundred archers a few months ago, and on top of that Jon had brought another two hundred and fifty to reinforce the garrison. The almost five hundred men would be more than enough to hold off any army the Lannisters might try to send up the Kingsroad.
Ser Wylis and Ser Wendel were the first to approach. Robb shook hands with his goodfather and his younger brother.
"How is my Wynafryd doing?" Ser Wylis asked.
"Amazing," Robb answered honestly. "She will be a great Lady of Winterfell when it is her time, and an even greater mother when our child is born."
Ser Wylis smiled widely at the praise. "To think I will be a grandfather soon! A moment all fathers pray for."
"Ser Wendel, how are things at White Tower?"
"It couldn't be better. I have loyal and competent men from White Harbor who have helped immensely in fixing up the keep, and getting things organized with the smallfolk. Thank you again for giving me lordship of the land."
"House Manderly has been a loyal house for centuries, it is the least we can do to repay that loyalty. Besides we are kin now. Any marriage prospects?"
Ser Wendel cleared his throat. "Not yet but I am doing my diligence."
The others had begun to gather as well and Steward Tallhart led the way into the keep and to the hall. The keep paled in comparison to many of the other keeps in the north, but Robb knew the importance of Moat Cailin was in its land and that it controlled access into the North.
The hall was able to fit everyone but it was a tight fit. There was not enough benches and chairs for everyone to sit, so some stood along the walls or at the back of the room.
"We've made it to Moat Cailin in good time but there is no time to rest. Tomorrow we begin to march again. Lord Umber, you've done a fine job of leading our vanguard so far and I see no reason to change that now."
He would have those forces who had already been camped for a few days, those of House Manderly, Dustin, Ryswell, and both Flints, follow the vanguard next. That would allow those he had forced marched down here an extra day of rest before they followed. There was not much solid ground to walk on in the Neck, so the army would be spread out over dozens of miles, a couple of days walk from the vanguard to the rearguard.
He put Roger Ryswell, Lord Ryswell's oldest son, in charge of the scouts, and Rickard Ryswell, the middle son, in charge of the outriders. Both groups would proceed the vanguard, one to gather information and the other to help guide their forces. The Ryswell's were known for their horse breeding and their skill on a horse, so it made sense having them in charge of the two groups.
Things would change once they had their crossing, whether that be the Twins or some other crossing that Jon would hopefully discover. From there he planned on splitting up his troops but he held those plans in private. There was no need to make anyone aware of that at the moment.
The only problem now would be uniting with Jon. When he had first sent his brother to try to find another crossing with Ser Kyle Condon and Ronnel Stout, the plan was Robb would have been at Winterfell two weeks longer than he had been. The original plan would have had Jon traveling north through the Neck as they were traveling south. Now he just hoped Jon found them shortly after they left the Neck and entered the Riverlands proper. Otherwise they would either have to sit near the Twins and wait, or march further south with the potential of having to double back if Jon was unable to find a new way across.