Chapter 56: Hoster Tully and settling in.

Author's note (Patreon): Seeing how the poll is going, this will probably be the last short chapter. I truly hope you guys enjoy it and continue to do so in the future! The next chapter will be the war council, and probably the first Dany interlude. With more words per chapter, it will be easier to include the necessary POVs to give the story more depth.

Author's note 2: This is the last short chapter! sorry for the wait but yeah, next monday will be the first 5k chapter for you guys! 

Riverrun

Robb Stark

It was hard to believe how the lively lands of Riverrun were damaged to this level. Walking behind my uncle, I observed how the Riverlanders were milling around the castle, moving the wounded and weapons.

I could see crying women over some bodies the healers were unable to save, and children running around looking scared. Stopping for a moment, which made everyone behind me stop as well, I continued to look around.

"Sylvyrn, take all our healers to help," I ordered the leader of the Greenmen.

"At once, my king," he replied. "We'll need help to move the supplies."

"Smalljon, Dacey," I continued, "make sure the healers have anything they need. Take a hundred guards with you for support."

"Aye," "Aye," they replied. "Go on ahead, we'll make sure to help."

I nodded and started walking behind Edmure, who gave me a grateful smile. "I thank you for this, nephew."

"Don't worry, uncle. We're here to help with anything," I replied.

As we resumed walking, I used my swarm to check the terrain and surroundings, looking for places that needed work. The castle was in good shape, thankfully, but I couldn't say the same for the inhabitants.

They were tired, scared, and hungry. At least with some of those things, we could help. We had more than enough provisions to feed everyone here, and with the new land we could use from the Riverlords who followed me, we would have more for the winter.

With all those lands, we could farm enough food for the war against the Lannisters and the White Walkers, so in this case, we were quite set.

"Why are there so many smallfolk here, uncle?" I asked him, noticing that most of the inhabitants were peasants who were helping wherever they could.

"They are our people, nephew. They were afraid and hungry. What lord would I be if I didn't try to help them?" he asked, and I couldn't deny that my respect for him soared.

"I'm sure the Riverlands will be in good hands when you take command, uncle. You made the right choice—without our subjects, we would be nothing."

As he went to reply, he stopped cold in his tracks, seeing the person waiting for us.

"Uncle Brynden, is there any news?" he asked him.

"Tywin's army has been relentless in their push against us, and we need to support the rest of the lords against Jaime's army." He shook his head. "We're in a bad spot, but from what I can see, at least we have new blood for the future."

With that, he approached me and hugged me tightly.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Robb," he said sincerely. "Without that, the Riverlands would be in an even worse situation."

As I returned the hug and patted his back, I replied, "It was the least I could do, Ser Brynden. You have done a wonderful job with this."

"It's time we give Tywin a surprise, but first, I need to know more about their armies," I continued. "What do we know of their numbers, supplies, and all of that?"

"Tywin has almost twenty thousand soldiers laying outside of Riverrun," Brynden replied. "With that being said, Jaime Lannister leads almost fifteen thousand soldiers, located at Mummer's Ford."

"Aye, we're in trouble," supplied Edmure. "We were going to be overrun before long."

"Not anymore, but we need a meeting for a war council—there is much to discuss," I said, wondering what the more experienced generals would decide.

"Go ahead and meet my brother. We'll have a war council after dinner," said Ser Brynden. "His health has been getting worse with all this stress. Maybe meeting you will help him."

With that, he marched toward his army, and I continued with Edmure toward his father.

"Father has been amazed by what we've heard. Not many news has reached us in these tiring times, but is it true?" he asked in a low voice.

"What have you heard, uncle?" I asked. "There has been a lot happening these past weeks."

"Are you blessed by your old gods?" he asked bluntly, a frown on his face.

"Aye, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that they exist, just like the Seven," I replied in a calm voice, remembering my "meeting" with them, something that still weirded me out.

"Amazing…" he murmured. "What are they like?"

"It's not easy to explain, uncle," I replied with a weak chuckle. "They are different from the Seven, from what I know, more in tune with nature. They are inhuman… something more."

"Interesting. What happened at the Twins?" he continued.

"It appears that Lord Walder Frey suffered from a case of a missing head," I laughed. "I and a small group entered the Twins and killed the bad apples. After that, we escaped with Lord Frey and his sons, to make the people inside bend the knee."

"How could you do that, Robb? It's almost unheard of."

"Let's say being a champion of the Old Gods has its boons," I replied. "I'm sure you will see shortly what I'm talking about."

Edmure shook his head in wonder. "We're here. Go ahead. It hurts to see him like this, so I won't accompany you."

"It's understandable," I replied. "We'll see each other at dinner, then."

Walking inside the room, I observed my grandfather looking sickly in bed.

"Grandfather," I said with a smile, "it's good to see you, even if the situation could be better."

"Come, come, son," he said with a choked voice. "You look so much like your mother."

"Aye, I look the most Tully out of all my brothers," I said with a chuckle. "Besides me, only Sansa has red hair."

"Little Sansa?" he asked. "She is the oldest girl, is she not?"

"Aye," I said. "Little Arya is a hellion," I laughed. "Father says she has the spirit of Aunt Lyanna inside of her."

"I would love to meet them," he said ruefully. "But I'm afraid I don't have long in this world."

"They would have loved to meet you, grandfather," I replied, placing my hand on his shoulder. "It's a shame the realm is at war once again."

"Everything is the Lannisters' fault," he spat out with surprising force. "They deserve death for all their sins."

"Death will come," I said. "I'll be the one to bring them to justice."

"Tell me, Robb… What are your plans?" he asked lightly, but I could feel the tension in the room rise.

"I aim for the throne, grandfather," I said truthfully. "There are some things that will make sense in the future, and I need the Seven Kingdoms to be united for the true threat."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, and I ignored the way his eyes shone when he heard I was thinking of claiming the throne for myself.

"The White Walkers are real. We have proof to show the rest of the Riverlands, but I'm afraid we will need to crush the Lannisters and take the throne before that," I replied. "Thankfully, we have time for this since the Wall stands strong, but it will not last. I don't know how much time we have, but I hope we have some years before it becomes pressing."

He stayed silent for a while, his eyes searching mine for any signs of deception, before asking, "Do you really have proof?"

"Aye, we will show it in the war council today."

"Then I will be present. And, Robb? Impress my lords. If you manage that, the Riverlands will bend the knee," he assured me.

I nodded at him. "We have a deal, grandfather," and I exited the room.

The next few days would be the most pivotal part of this war. Saving Riverrun from the Lannisters and starting to push them from these lands were only the first steps. I needed some victories under my name since most of my fights had been lowkey before, not counting the ones against the Freys and Boltons.

But this would be the first time I would fight in an open field with an army. Thankfully, the Riverlands had some experienced lords who could give better ideas than I could with them advising on the best way to proceed.

My idea was to destroy the supply lines and scatter his soldiers using my insects, but I was sure Ser Brynden or Jason Mallister could have more devious ideas, and I wasn't egotistical enough to ignore counsel.

One thing I liked about myself was that when people said there was a better way, I listened. So if any of the generals had better ideas, they were more than welcome to join.

Searching for Jon with my power, I approached where he was located. It appeared he was helping the Greenmen with some supplies.

Since I left them with their orders, they managed to heal a lot of the wounded. Thankfully, even if the patients were weirded out by their appearance and the way they worked, none said no when asked if they could cure the wounds. Being at death's door made people forget their faith.

"How are things going, Jon?" I asked.

"There are way too many wounded, Robb," he replied, shaking his head in sadness. "I'm afraid without Sylvyrn and the rest, most of them would have died. Thankfully, your uncle Edmure came to calm things down. Their appearance scared some of the more devout believers."

"I'll thank him later, then," I nodded. "Go and rest. We have a war council tonight. Search for the heirs; I'll tell Jason."

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