Chapter Seventy Seven

Twenty-eighth day, Fifth Moon, 260 AC (+27 days)

Ryden POV

"Good morning, my Prince and lords," greeted Lord Stark, as we all stood in the large tent before daybreak.

Dragonstone was an eerie island in the morning, thick with fog, and the weight of history and dragons. My nervousness and anticipation made sleep hard to come by – and I suspected I wasn't the only one.

Our reply wasn't overly enthusiastic, but Lord Stark moved on regardless. "Today, we set sail for the first island in the campaign – Bloodstone. We will be landing on the eastern half of the island with our Northerners, along with half the force from the Crownlands of approximately 1,800 men. I will be retaining command of our combined group, but Lord Celtigar will be in charge of the Crownlands forces. With him will be his squire, Prince Aerys, while Prince Duncan is in charge of the other Crownlands force that will be assaulting the other half of the island alongside the Stormlands contingent, even as Lord Baratheon retains overall command of the campaign."

The assembled nobility, from the Crownlands and North, nodded.

"Our targets are the three main pirate dens along that shore: Torturer's Deep, Storm's Lament, and Whore's Tits," he continued, grimacing at the last den's name. A few of the assembled lords chuckled at the name. "Poor names aside, there are also five supposed villages aside from the dens that are supposed to have farms that help feed the area. There are a few isolated villages on the highlands in the interior, but we will not concern ourselves with them yet."

"Do we know the number of scum that will stand to face us?" asked Lord Celtigar.

"Word from the Master of Whispers says that we can expect no more than 5,000 men, but he indicates that it will likely be lower as the pirates betray each other and flee before us."

"As they should," said Lord Umber.

"Indeed," continued Lord Stark. "Additionally, that number is spread out amongst the three dens, but the highest concentration should be at Torturer's Deep. The pirate dens are all walled with timber but are supposedly little more than sticks in the ground – no parapets or other features – though a few of the buildings are supposed to act as towers. There will be street fighting my lords, so our men will need to be tightly coordinated – I don't want the place burning down around our ears."

There were a few chuckles as the lords digested the news. "What do we know of the villages?" asked Lord Bolton, in a quiet voice that somehow cut through the noise of the tent.

"Simple things – not even a wall to their name."

"Will we be splitting our host, Lord Stark? Or taking everything one by one?" asked Lord Chelsted.

"We shall be striking Torturer's Deep first, together, as it is the largest den and the most northern of our targets. Depending on the resistance we face there, I may split the host to capture the rest of the dens or take them one by one."

A man about my age, nervously cleared his throat and said, "Is not the Golden Company supposed to face us?"

"No, Lord Gaunt, not at this time. The latest information we have is that the Golden Company, along with many of their mercenary companies, are trying to sack Myr as quickly as possible."

Lord Umber growled. "Have they just ignored us?"

Lord Stark shook his head. "No, they have hired more mercenary companies and have started to send them our way. The Master of Whispers believes that they will start to arrive within a moon in the Stepstones. The King plans to have a solid foothold here and on many of the large islands before they arrive."

"They had plenty of time to do so – we haven't been secretive of our movements, so why aren't these Ninepenny kings ready for us?" asked Lord Karstark, his coat of arms displayed proudly on his surcoat.

Lord Stark unrolled a map on the table, and the men pressed closer around to see. Since I was at the back, my view was limited, but the situation I could make out was interesting.

"As you can see here, the Nine have decided to knock Myr out of the war first. This was their original intention, and by the time that they became aware of our movements, their course was set. Of course, they have been recruiting heavily, but Myr and Lys have not gone quietly, even if they are losing. Once the Nine became aware of our movements, they were left with two choices – retreat from Myr and turn to face us or conquer Myr quickly and turn to face us. They chose the latter and are currently trying to encircle the city of Myr."

He pointed to the land north of the city. "With their superior naval strength, the Nine were able to land north of the city and start trying to cut southeast, encircling the city."

"How are the Myrish able to continue fighting? Have they not lost most of their land?" asked Lord Celtigar.

"Lys and Myr had been able to pull most of their mercenary forces back from the Disputed Lands and reinforce some of their larger, more defensible towns, which form the new borders. So, their fighting strength is weaker than it was before the onset of fighting, but not terribly so."

"Even still, if the fighting drags on, with so much of their land lost, Lys and Myr will be greatly weakened."

"Aye, and the King and Lord Baratheon are aware of this, which is why we are striking now with smaller numbers rather than waiting to bring the full might of the Seven Kingdoms down on them."

"Do we know how the Nine's attack on Myr is faring?" asked Lord Cerwyn.

"Not exactly," replied Lord Stark. "Since that area is closer to the other Free Cities, and therefore mercenaries, the area already had mercenaries travelling through it on the way to the Disputed Lands. The Nine's forces have become bogged down, but we know not how long that will last."

"But the King expects the Nine to take Myr?" asked Lord Karstark.

"He does; so, we must conquer the Stepstones before that happens and before they can turn to face us."

"Will our success not encourage them to change strategies?" asked Lord Celtigar.

"Possibly," allowed Lord Stark. "The Nine also know that we aim to kill Blackfyre, so it is likely that the Golden Company might be brought to us."

"They would oblige us?" asked Lord Celtigar incredulously.

"I'm sure they wouldn't think of it like that," replied Lord Stark, chuckling. "Blackfyre wants Westeros, and I'm sure he's been pushing to fight us rather than Myr, so the King believes that if reinforcements are sent to the Stepstones, the Golden Company will be part of them."

The assembled lords nodded at the wisdom. "And what of the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, Lord Stark?" asked Lord Cerwyn.

"Ser Jason Lannister, the brother of Lord Tytos, will be leading the other army as they take the southern Stepstones. With him, Lord John Arryn, Lord Hoster Tully, Lord Luthor Tyrell, Ser Olyvar Martell, and Lord Quellon Greyjoy will also be adding their forces. That army plans to sweep through the lesser number of southern islands, and work on raiding the Disputed Lands as quickly as possible."

"If it is so important that they move into the Disputed Lands, why bother with the Stepstones at all? Surely, we can kill the pirate scum by ourselves?" asked Lord Celtigar.

"The navy is our issue, Lord Celtigar. We lack the boats to fully transport all our men easily and to defend them from enemy sellsails, pirates, and the Tyroshi fleet. By hopping islands, we lessen our dependence on avoiding the enemy."

Lord Celtigar frowned. "What of the Braavosi? Do they not claim to have the best sailors in the world? The best fleet? Are they not admitting to the lies by allowing Tyrosh to continue as they are?"

"I have no doubt that the Braavosi have exaggerated their prowess," replied Lord Stark, affecting an easy manner. "But they have also not committed all their forces. They still have issues with the Ibbenese and Lorathi, and they worry that if they commit too much, the Pentoshi might rebel and having another slaver city against us would only make things worse."

"How many men are with the other army?" asked Lord Umber.

"Around 23,000 to our 10,000. Though they also have the Ironborn to help defend their fleet."

"So, they will be taking islands of Grey Gallows, Killer Cove, Lone Island, Splinter Island, and Ember Island? Then moving into the Disputed Lands?"

"Aye," said Lord Stark. "We will be taking the other islands over the next three moons."

"Will we be splitting our forces again?" asked Lord Cerwyn.

"That will be Lord Baratheon's decision. Now, if that is all, we have some ships to catch."

Disappointment warred with relief, as I realized it was unlikely for my group to fight seasoned soldiers. There would be less loot, but less chance of dying to some pirate scum. Fighting in the same group as Prince Aerys was quite the honor, but it seemed like they were keeping him in the safest group with the easiest targets. The honor of having fought alongside a Prince, even if we weren't actually beside him, would be an excellent boon for House Ragnar, and gives us prestige, which was the biggest goal for Arthur and me in this war.

Prince Aerys was the first to leave, after having been silent the entire meeting, shortly followed by Lord Stark and then the rest of the assembled men.

The sun had broken through the fog by the time I exited the tent but had yet to banish it completely.

Already, there was a hive of activity as messengers who had been waiting on the lords started to disperse with orders. The ships that were already loaded and out to sea needed orders and the rest of the ships were just waiting for us.

The horizon was filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of ships as they carried off men and steel to war.

A humbling sight.