The Stepstones

The Stepstones are a chain of islands between the southern narrow sea and the northwestern Summer Sea. The islands are located east of Dorne in Westeros and west of the Disputed Lands in Essos. Just to the north is Tyrosh, which is sometimes considered the northernmost and easternmost of the Stepstones. 

The islands are often affected by storms. There are fourteen major islands in the Stepstones, and countless other minor islands, most little more than small outcrops in the Narrow Sea:

Pryr

Highwatch

Felstrong

Tor

Scarwood

Guardian

Golden Haven

Larazor's Rock

Redwater

Dustspear

The Veiled Isle

Bloodstone

The Island of Serpents

Grey Gallows

Barring the Island of Serpents, all the isles of the Stepstones have been at some point inhabited, and thus settlements, some well-kept but most decrepit and abandoned, can be found throughout. Ports and bays large enough to shelter a fleet from a passing storm are found on many of the larger isles, in particular Bloodstone, Highwatch, Scarwood, Grey Gallows, Redwater and Pryr.

Victor himself was the most interested in Redwater:

Redwater is one of the largest of the fourteen major islands that make up the Stepstones.

Redwater was home to two small settlements, placed to capitalize on the wealth of stone, hardwood and ore found upon the isle. The towns however, following repeated raids by pirates, have been largely abandoned, and are being slowly reclaimed by the forest.

Hidden within the trees on the southern arm of the island is a deep lake. The plant life at the borders of the water displays a bright reddish hue, giving the island its name. Overlooking the lake, the ruins of a keep can be found, although its origin is uncertain.

Finally, Victor and Oberyn decided to make Redwater the stronghold for the Red Viper Regiment. The first steps were to set up the regiment himself. It was decided to follow to example of the Second Sons:

The Second Sons are a sellsword company found in the Free Cities. Their banner is a broken sword, and they take commands only from their captain.

The Second Sons are amongst the oldest of the free companies, having won some famous victories. Four hundred years ago the Second Sons stood in defense of Qohor along with the Bright Banners company against the first Dothraki khalasar to venture east since the Doom of Valyria. However, they suffered a defeat and fled the battlefield, though the battle was later won by the Three Thousand of Qohor.

The names of every man to serve with the Second Sons is written in a leather-bound book, as well as when they joined, where they fought, how long they served, and the manner of their deaths. A tradition of the company is to sign in red ink. There was a time when each new man wrote his name in his own blood, but that tradition faded as blood makes poor ink. Famous past members include:

Harwyn Hoare, Harwyn Hardhand, the first King of the Isles and the Rivers.

The Tattered Prince, who also rode with the Iron Shields and the Maiden's Men, before founding the Windblown

Now the Second Sons have roughly 750 members. The Red Viper regiment would start with roughly 300 men. There would be 5 Dornish leaders and 5 elite soldiers from the Di Natale family, each leading 30 men by themselves. Oberyn would mainly lead the dornish side and Attilius mainly the Di Natale elites. The 300 men all came out of the Di Natale training camp. That was already quite a large investment in the Red Viper Regiment. Victor explained to his elders, that by gaining the Island of Redwater they could make up for their lack of natural resources and start forming their own navy. Those steps were necessary if they wanted to spread the influence of the Di Natale family from Lys to even farther places. In a feudal society economic means are available, but in the end, everything is decided by the strength of your sword. As a family based on an island, they absolutely needed to turn their wealth into a strong navy, as to protect their future wealth and the safety of their future grandchildren.

Redwater would also make the strategic partnership with the Martell family way more valuable, as the Stepstones are already very close to Sunspear, the home of the Martell family. If the Martell family and the Di Natale family would be able to gain power over the Stepstones, they could control the whole trade route of Qarth, the Basilisk Islands, Slavers Bay, Valyria and even Volantis. This trade routes needs to cross the Stepstones to reach Storm's End, Dragonstone Island and finally the ruling place of Westeros, King's Landing. As such the interest of the Stepstones are truly immense. 

This leads to the fact that pirates, supported by many different noble families, are located over all the 14 islands. The Red Viper regiment will need to slowly gain control over all the 14 islands. At least that is the predetermined goal. Gaining control over every island will prove extremely difficult though, as the noble families of Westeros and the rich merchants of the free states are likely to intervene. Gaining control over a certain number of islands should be possible though. The idea of working together with the Nahohr family, the major shipbuilding family of Lys, was already sprouting in Victor's heart. Seeking talents for shipbuilding from scratch would otherwise proof to be extremely resource and time consuming.

Oberyn spends the next couple of weeks in the training camp in Canahs to familiarize himself with his regiment. Isabella spends most of her time with Anika and the newborn child. Giulia especially liked the little guy. This left time for Victor to relax and improve some of the furniture, cooking equipment and the general culinary experience.