104 Scramble

Lord Tytos Blackwood defeated and retreating, pursued by a cavalry contingent from the Golden Company. Lord Jason Mallister stuck north of the Ruby Ford forced to march west and cross the Twins.

It was terrible news.

Frowning, Ned read the letter once more, ensuring that he not missed anything. 'Though it is not as bad as things could have been.' Despite suffering a defeat, Lord Blackwood had not been forced to retreat, instead choosing to do so. His losses, as a result, were minimal and despite being harried by the Golden Company cavalry, he outnumbered them.

Lord Blackwood was a skilled commander and would quickly regain control of his men, refortifying his position forcing the cavalry to break off lest they be wiped out. However, it didn't change the fact that now Aegon Targaryen was able to disembark his entire army and continue his march.

They never possessed the advantage in numbers, Lord Blackwood only having ten thousand men compared to the near thirty thousand of the Targaryen King. Not only that, but the quality of their troops was lesser also. Beating them in the open field would be all but impossible, even with Lord Blackwood's expertise. The plan had been to use the shallow river to their advantage and stop Aegon from fully disembarking his troops and organising them into formation.

That was now no longer possible.

'As things are though, Lord Blackwood will be defeated.' Ned thought to himself.

Aegon and his advisers had proven themselves to be dangerous foes. Someone amongst them was the one responsible for actually breaking through Lord Blackwood's defensive formation, something that was not easily done.

The question was, who?

Furthermore, they were outnumbered.

"What do we do now?" Margaery asked, Ned looking towards her and the child growing within her. It was prominent now, a large swell forming in her stomach, Ned expected that a few months more and there would be another Stark welcomed into the world. He just hoped the war ended before that moment.

"Riverrun is a secure location." Willas said. "Any besieging force would have to split their forces in three in order to ensure that we could not escape. However, I believe we should abandon Riverrun and move to the Golden Tooth, we will have many more options available to us then."

Ned agreed with the idea, it was a smart choice after all. Any invading force would first have to cross the Red Fork. That was not an easy task, the only real crossing been through Riverrun. Tytos Blackwood would know this also and Ned had faith that the man would constantly withdraw to a position near Riverrun as to enable his forces plenty of time to enter the castle and defend it from the Targaryens. When that happened, Ned could not see an easy or quick victory for the Targaryen forces.

Which meant that they would have to take one of two possible options left.

First, march back north, cross the Ruby Ford and cross the Twins. Yet that would be risky, Tytos Blackwood could very well make it to the Twins first and ensure that path is cut off for the Targaryen forces. It was a risky move that would rely upon speed of movement and the luck of reaching the Twins before Tytos does.

The other option involved marching south, onto the Gold Road and making their way into the Westerlands that way. It would be a very long and arduous journey meaning that Tytos could dispatch troops to Deep Den and cut off their escape that way while also sending the remainder to the Golden Tooth. Thus trapping the Targaryen forces in the Westerlands and forcing them to either force their way through or march south into the Reach.

Either way, it would mean that Aegon's gamble will have failed.

"Ser Willas, take the soldiers of Riverrun and depart for the Golden Tooth with your family. Aegon Targaryen intends to capture Margaery Tyrell." Ned ordered, frowning heavily. It wasn't difficult to figure out in the slightest, after all, it was their only chance of victory. "I'll dispatch ravens to nearby keeps and have their soldier come here."

His presence may not be much incentive, but it might be enough to make Aegon stall as he considers possibly taking Riverrun and him captive. The chances are low, Margaery and Robb's unborn child are a more important prospect, but, Robb's father would be enough to buy everyone a little more time to prepare. It might even make Aegon dispatch some forces to take Riverrun while he continues on to take the Golden Tooth.

Not impossible, but unlikely.

Either way, Ned knew that remaining behind and ensuring that Riverrun was secure, forcing Aegon north or south was the best decision to make. Thus allowing Tytos Blackwood to position his forces between Atrante and Lychester. It would place Aegon Targaryen in an even more precarious position, especially with Jason Mallister coming south to reinforce Riverrun with his force of two thousand men.

Aegon couldn't afford to simply wait and would have to make a quick decision, one that could cost him a war. Did he turn to face Tytos Blackwood, allowing Jason Mallister and his two thousand men to arrive at Riverrun and make it a secure position? Did he instead make his way directly for Riverrun attempting to take him captive, but in doing so leave him exposed to counterattacks from both Lord Blackwood and Mallister? Or did he attempt another, less profitable move?

It was a difficult situation that would not provide Aegon much in the shape of any plan. Ned and Tytos may not possess the military skills or acumen of Robb Stark, but that didn't mean they were inadequate. Ned had fought in two wars, earning victory in both. He was a skilled commander and he knew that in this position, they would force Aegon's back to the wall with no escape.

Any hesitation on the Young Dragon's part would only allow Robb more time to make a move of his own. No matter what happened from here on out, they would win, it was only a matter of time now.