112 The Wolf Den

Looking to the back of the army in the distance, Randyll's face showed nothing. No joy, no amusement, no worry, no fear. He was calm and collected, staring out and watching as the Targaryen army continued to pull further and further away from him and his forces.

They had departed from their camp no more than a few days ago, abandoning their plan to hunt down Margaery Tyrell. It was clear that they had realised that their gambit had failed, they were surrounded and outnumbered. The thirty thousand men led by his son may have been decimated by Daenerys Targaryen, however, they still had plenty of soldiers left.

Aegon Targaryen did not have that luxury.

So he had departed east, making his way towards the shore and was heading directly for Daenerys Targaryen's ships. That was not something they could allow to happen, the Redwyne Fleet was still at Kings Landing, the soldiers of the fleet being used in the cities defence against Daenerys Targaryen.

Those ships were vulnerable and if Aegon got upon them, he could escape back to Essos. That was not something they could allow because if they did, it would mean that he could possibly recruit more soldiers to his cause and come back with an even greater army.

That was why, Randyll had recalled the soldiers led by Tytos Blackwood, the large cavalry contingent being placed under Rodrick Forrester, a skilled and experienced cavalryman who had fought alongside Robb Stark since the beginning of the war. But it would take time, he had to loop around Harrenhall and the Gods Eye while they were coming south and making their way across the God's Eye River.

Their large force was working against them because of this, Aegon meanwhile with a much more disciplined and smaller force had already crossed and was putting more and more distance between them.

However, Randyll could not recklessly pursue them.

His forces were in disarray, many still struggling to cross the river, pursuing them would only result in a devastating battle. Aegon had proved in his battle against Tytos Blackwood that he was no fool. He was a commander that liked to take risks and had done at numerous points throughout his short campaign. While his grander plans had not succeeded, the only reason they had failed was that Robb simply had more soldiers.

If they possessed forces of equal size, Aegon would have succeeded and it would have been a crushing defeat for Robb. While the difference in the number of soldiers was Robb's greatest strength in this instance, it was also one of his biggest weaknesses. Managing this many soldiers, and keeping track of their movements was not easy. Predicting everything they would encounter from weather, to terrain, food shortages and even morale were all but impossible. It was why Robb had to trust in his commanders, those he delegated command to.

But Randyll would admit, Aegon was a commander that not many could handle easily. His recklessness was a dangerous thing for him, but he seemed to be blessed with good fortune as while his grander plans had failed, the steps he had taken were great successes.

In the dozens of clashes he had with Tytos Blackwood who had harried his forces from Widow's Ford to Lychester, Aegon had not lost a single one. He was also showcasing an excellent command of his men with how speedily they were moving across the land. They had reached news early on that Aegon had camped near Blackwater Rush and the God's Eye River. The sun was still high and Randyll had seen this as a chance to close that ever-widening gap between them and had.

Only for it to then rain.

The rain poured down and sapped the little energy that his men had left.

All the while Aegon and his men who had remained warm and relaxed within their camp preserved their energy. When the rain had stopped, the chase began once more, but Randyll and his men had no energy left to pursue them.

It was a dangerous oversight on his part, an act of momentary incompetence which still irked Randyll to this day. But it was an oversight that Randyll would not make again and that was why despite having most of his forces across the Gods Eye River, he was still waiting. It would provide all his men time to recover their energy in comparison to the Targaryen Forces who upon crossing, didn't pause for a moment.

Even as the Targaryen's pulled away, Randyll knew that soon they would have to stop to rest. At which point he would close the gap. Besides, Rodrick Forrester was a smart man, his cavalrymen were capable of covering far greater distances and greater speeds. They would no doubt be moving south to intercept and stall Aegon Targaryen and his forces.

Considering the size of Rodrick's cavalry contingent, Aegon would have no choice but to use his entire force to fight them off. He could not use the same tactics he had before and that would buy Randyll all the time he needed to close that gap.

-X- Line Break -X-

Gripping the reins of his horse, Aegon looked down upon it, a rueful smile upon his lips. For days they had been pursued by Randyll Tarly, constantly keeping a careful eye upon the movements of the cavalrymen led by Tytos Blackwood. He had been confident that he would be able to pull this off.

Daenerys would be making her way towards Kings Landing.

That's why he had cut down south, a risky manoeuvre that brought him dangerously close to Randyll and his army. But it worked, he made his way past and with the Rushing Falls acting as a temporary buffer, was able to put some distance between him and the Stark soldiers.

It was his hope that Daenerys would turn to face them and aim for the much bigger threat, Randyll Tarly. While that was happening, Aegon would take her abandoned ships and set sail for Dragonstone. It was a fortress, built by the Targaryens of old and easily defendable with even a few men thanks to its terrain.

All the while, Daenerys and Randyll fought one another.

It didn't matter to him who won.

No matter who came out victorious, they would have suffered major losses enough so that Aegon could only see them suing for peace. With Robb dead in his conflict against Daenerys Targaryen, according to the rumours, Aegon was still uncertain about them, but if they were true, Aegon could approach the Tyrells with a marriage offer. He would take Margaery as his wife, it didn't matter to him that she had been married to Robb Stark, in fact, he wanted her more because of that fact.

He didn't like the Young Wolf nor the way he had conducted himself in their meeting.

Robb was a usurper, a false King and one that didn't know his proper place.

Taking his wife as his own, pregnant or otherwise would only serve to make him feel that much better. Just the thought had served to make Aegon smile on many occasions, yet the smile upon his face now was for a different reason.

The humourless chuckle escaped his lips as he looked across the field. "I should have expected this." He muttered, his commanders all looking to one another in worry, each looking worriedly to their south where the Targaryen forces led by his aunt, Daenerys were stood. "No matter how many victories we won, the Young Wolf always seemed one step ahead of us. Even now."

For directly in front of them was another large host, number thirty thousand. The Stark banner raised into the air for all to see, the crowned Direwolf baring its fangs to the world.