Ghostrider0002
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-Chapter 81-
🕑 Added 2024-12-01 03:31:47 +0000 UTC-Chapter 81-
"Everything is over," one of my knights murmured, watching the smoke rising from the town at the foot of my castle.
'A commoner. He probably just lost his family,' I thought, not really believing that this desperate man's family had any chance of survival.
I frowned and declared, not wanting to leave more time for discouragement:
"Ser Jon, I am counting on you to get to Cider Hall as quickly as possible."
The captain of my guard widened his eyes and said, panicking:
"I can't leave you here. We are far too close to the castle. If the Bloody Griffin's men were to find you, they would…"
I raised my hand and interrupted him:
"I know that perfectly well, but we don't have time. Take two horses and ride as fast as possible to Cider Hall."
"My Lord, I..." he tried to say, but I cut him off with an imperious tone:
"That's an order!"
He fell silent instantly, looking me straight in the eyes, debating internally on what decision to make, but I left him no choice. I continued:
"If we lose Cider Hall, we will all be lost."
He frowned, as did those listening, and I went on:
"Their attack was organized. It wasn't to plunder the town, nor even to plunder my lands. No, they had a target: the castle. And if you observed well, there were only two banners besides those of House Connington. This is an invasion."
"The Bloody Griffin doesn't have the men to oppose the Reach..." my son said.
I cut him off sharply and retorted:
"Think for a second, you fool. If an army of 10,000 men could be raised without us knowing, it means he has a clear objective. And with only two banner lords of the Bloody Griffin… what proves he hasn't done the same elsewhere?"
"I have the feeling he's throwing all his forces into the battle. We must not lose Cider Hall; otherwise, we will be cut off from the rest of the Reach, and Lord Mace won't be able to send reinforcements to help us retake our lands," I said, worried about what was about to happen.
Ser Jon closed his eyes before finally nodding his head.
He bowed briefly before leaving.
'Let's hope he arrives in time to save us all,' I thought, watching him gallop towards the horizon without turning back.
---
-29th day of the 1st moon of the year 301 AC-
-POV Tywin Lannister-
"We will win, I'm sure of it. Our walls are solid..." said Alysanne Lefford.
'I hope the message I sent to Olenna Tyrell hasn't arrived too late,' I thought, completely ignoring the enthusiastic words of the mistress of the place, who was too eager to stay in my good graces to hope to gain control of her father's lands, to the detriment of her cousins who could claim them.
'If Ronnet sent me this message, it means he is confident of his victory. He would never have done it if he wasn't convinced he had already won,' I thought, nervous to know the final count of our losses in the Reach.
Knock... Knock... Knock...
"Enter," I said firmly.
A panting soldier entered, trying to control his breathing… and his joy.
"What is going on?" I asked, frowning.
"They are gone," he said quickly, unable to contain the joy and excitement in his voice.
"Who?" I asked, staring at him.
"The army of King Gr… of the traitor Ronnet Connington is gone," he said, a smile forming on his face as he almost misnamed my ex-son-in-law.
"They're breaking camp?" I asked, ignoring the rest to focus on the essential.
"No, they have already left," the soldier replied, thinking he was giving me good news.
"Why didn't anyone warn me?" I said, very angry at this nonchalance.
'This would not have happened with Kevan at my side,' I thought, looking at the bunch of fools at my table who were as relieved as this young soldier.
"They left under the cover of darkness. We only realized it when we noticed a total lack of activity in the enemy camp," he tried to explain, his smile fading as he realized I wasn't happy with his news.
"Have you sent scouts to verify?" I asked, finding it strange.
"Yes, my lord," the soldier said, now trembling, his joy completely evaporated.
'He's playing with me,' I screamed inwardly while making sure to keep an impassive expression in front of those around me. Ronnet always acted in strange ways to mislead me.
'I must keep my calm,' I thought before signaling to the soldier that he could leave.
"Bring me a map," I ordered a servant.
"Of the region?" he asked.
"Of the entire kingdom," I said coldly, without paying attention to the servant, my mind running at full speed trying to understand what Ronnet was doing.
'Why would he have come all this way with such a large army if not to fight us?' I wondered.
The servant quickly returned with a long map.
He stopped, looking at me, wondering where he would spread it out, given that my war council was busy filling their bellies.
'What a bunch of incompetents,' I thought, grabbing the tablecloth and pulling it abruptly, knocking everything on it to the ground, before signaling to the trembling servant to unfold the map on the table.
'Ronnet came with 75,000 soldiers to mock me, but it can't be that simple,' I thought, not believing he would deprive himself of so many men simply to impress me.
'What he is trying to do is divide us. It was clear when he did everything to quickly take control of the Riverlands,' I thought, studying the map while trying to put myself in his place.
'But that's not enough, because if he wants to isolate us and break us one by one, he must prevent me from getting help from the Tyrells. Hence his attack on the Reach… But he clearly doesn't have enough men for that. The Tyrells could gather hundreds of thousands of soldiers if necessary,' I thought, noting that a war of attrition was not in his interest.
'But if he manages to take control of the eastern branch of the Mander, he could succeed in dividing the Reach and annexing the eastern part to his lands,' I observed.
'But that’s impossible,' I thought, reconsidering.
'He would need far more soldiers to take all the castles along the Mander and those between the Stormlands and the Mander, not to mention he must leave men to defend and cultivate his lands… of course, he could,' I thought, suddenly seeing a part of his plan.
'That explains his long lack of reaction to Euron's attack. He took advantage of that time to recruit a large part of his population, even at the risk of famine,' I thought, finally understanding his strategy.
'He probably managed to hide his movements thanks to his spy network,' I thought, realizing why no one had anticipated this.
'Allowing Ronnet to kill Varys and Petyr Baelish was a terrible mistake,' I told myself, closing my eyes and gently tapping the table with my fist.
'Even he wouldn't risk total famine on his lands. He must intend to use the Reach's granaries as his pantry, probably counting on the Dornish to trade with him, despite their supposed neutrality,' I thought, as I had no trust in those damned Dornish, even if I wasn't afraid of them turning against us.
'They always serve their own interests. They won't risk anything for either side, the stakes are too high...' My disdainful thoughts suddenly hit an obstacle, and I realized the second part of Ronnet's plan.
'But, if we show any sign of weakness, we will lose all control over them,' I thought, gradually understanding Ronnet's strategy.
'It's indeed a two-front attack, but not as I had imagined. If what he claimed yesterday is true, the northeastern Reach is lost. His next goal is to take the Rose Road and control the middle part between the two branches of the Mander,' I thought, despite my mistrust towards the information provided by my enemy.
'A more than dubious source,' I thought, uncomfortable with this idea, as it meant he had the upper hand.
'I could very well stop him, or at least slow him down, by pursuing him immediately, but that would be unwise. He probably left his infantry behind,' I thought, examining the various forts of the Riverlands on our route.
'Pinkmaiden, Wayfarer's Rest, and Riverrun are surely guarded by strong garrisons. Even with 2,000 men in each of these forts, it would take me several days to overcome them, without even mentioning the risk of being trapped in enemy territory if we blindly pursue them,' I thought, evaluating my options.
'That bastard could very well devise such a devious plan to capture me without having to take the Golden Tooth,' I thought, dismissing the idea, unwilling to take the risk.
'There's only one solution left: I must already consider that two-thirds of the northern Reach is lost and send orders to all my troops to gather at Crakehall to intercept Ronnet at Red Lake,' I thought, finally deciding on my course of action.
"Bring me ink and paper… Quickly!!!" I ordered, not wanting to waste another second.
'Whatever happens, we must absolutely keep the Ocean Road,' I thought, writing to Olenna, urging her to mobilize her troops to Old Oak.
