chapter 33

As night fell and visibility shrank, the Westerlanders slipped away. They took much of their supplies purloined from the Riverlands and the injured with them. I kept enough for my men, but much of my supplies were also heading in the same direction.

My grandfather had ultimately been somewhat gracious. I had Lyle Crakehall, 500 knights, 500 free riders, and 1,000 of his men-at-arms. He had offered me levies as well, but they weren't suited. I wanted at least somewhat trained soldiers.

Casualties had been surprisingly light. I had started with 12,000 and only suffered around 2,000 casualties, and the majority of those were minor to moderate injuries that would not prevent them from fighting. Unfortunately, of those that were seriously injured, my knights had borne the brunt with their attack on the enemy HQ.

My Stormguard had performed well; save for Brienne, none of them suffered any major injuries. Ser Jasper Storm had been most impressive; the big man was a fearsome foe. Ser Barristan of course had performed more than admirably. In light of that, I intended to add to the Stormguard.

I broached the subject with Ser Bonifer Hasty.

"Ser Bonifer, I heard your men fought bravely, and more importantly they fought well."

"Thank you, my lady. It was our duty to fight these unholy foes."

I suppressed a facial twitch and instead smiled politely.

"As you know, I have appointed several of my most stalwart fighters as my personal protectors, my Stormguard. I know you are needed to lead the Holy Hundred, but I hope you could recommend one of your knights for the role."

I had zero desire to constantly deal with Ser Bonifer's over-the-top piety. None of his men, at least as far as I had seen, were as outspoken about their faith in the Seven as he was. And they had performed well. Granting an honor like this showed favor and rewarded good service.

Ser Bonifer furrowed his brow for a moment. "With Ser Jaspar already among their numbers, you do not have qualms about their birth?"

I smiled and shook my head gently. "I do not; it is not our birth that determines our faithfulness." I cringed internally, but it was the right thing to say to a man like Bonifer.

"In that case, Ser Barlow Waters is a skilled knight. In a tilt, I would be hard-pressed to last the first pass against him."

"Excellent, please send him to me after you've spoken with him about becoming one of my Stormguard."

"I am sure that he will accept," he responded and then hurried on his way.

That done, I had Ser Lyle Crakehall brought to me.

"The 'Strong Boar,' is quite the title, ser."

"Hah!" His voice boomed, "I assure you, Lady Myrcella, it is well-earned."

The man was near as tall as the Hound, a fine addition to my Stormguard.

"My grandfather was most pleased with your service; when I begged to be given another protector, he was loath to give you up, but felt you would be ideal."

The man puffed up at my honeyed fibs.

"Fear not, with me by your side, you have nothing to fear."

"I am glad to hear it. I know you are sworn to my grandfather, but since he has given me your services, would you consent to wear the cloak of the Stormguard for the duration of the war?"

If he served loyally and well, I'd be glad to make it permanent. You could never have enough quality 'meat shields' between you and the enemy.

"Ah, hmm, well, you say temporary, are there oaths involved like the Kingsguard?"

"Nothing so formal; a vow to protect me while you serve as my Stormguard, a vow to follow my commands as you would your liege lords' – all temporary, of course. You can still inherit lands, have wives, consummate with the opposite sex, and so on and so forth. It is your steel and strength I need."

Ser Lyle liked what I was saying and agreed. And now for the final member to be added – Lum.

"Wait, me? But I'm no one!" He objected, still a bit shocked. "Lady Myrcella, I am not like the others – I am no great knight or warrior."

"You are a capable archer, have keen eyes, are a more than able tracker, and loyal. My Stormguard is not the Kingsguard. They are extensions of my will. Some will be my sword and shield. Some will be commanders. Some will be eyes and ears."

Lum still looked hesitant.

"I reward loyalty; as a member of my Stormguard, you can move unimpeded and even act on my authority. You will of course be paid more, and by the time this war is done, you will have enough to retire in comfort. I will be disappointed if you refuse, but I will not be upset, and you will not be punished."

Lum finally nodded. "Yes, Your Grace – I mean Lady Baratheon, I will be part of your Stormguard."

My recruitment complete, for the time being, I checked in on Brienne. The gash across her face looked better, and she had regained consciousness. She had lost blood, but it was not a dangerous amount. Her face would scar; it wouldn't be pretty, but it would not interfere with her duties.

"Lady Myrcella, I am sorry that I failed you."

"None of that, Brienne. You were the first upon the shadow, you stayed alert and were ready to act, and then you acted bravely. Thank you for your courage."

Brienne made a sound of disagreement, but I shook my head and leaned in closer for effect.

"Brienne, nothing in that tent was likely to work except my Valyrian steel dagger. You truly did everything you could."

Brienne looked grateful, and then her focus shifted. "What can we do to stop such a thing in the future?"

I smiled; that was the type of thinking I wanted my protectors to have. Unfortunately, there weren't any easy answers.

"Unsure. I intend to learn more about R'hllor and the shadowbinders of Ashai. Perhaps local stories and legends there can reveal potential weaknesses." I ticked off some facts with my fingers. "Steel did nothing, neither my thrown daggers nor your blade. A wooden chair also did nothing. Those were the only items tested against the creature. Should it attack again, I'm curious if fire would do anything to it."

I thought about other stratagems. "The creature was also corporeal; it had to physically move aside the tent flap to enter. My knives bounced off of it. I could not assess how physically strong it was, but theoretically, several people could hold its limbs down and incapacitate it. Small nets or bolas, a rope weapon with heavy balls attached to it, could be used to bind its limbs."

"Lady Myrcella, I once again feel remiss in not even considering those tactics."

"I didn't say that they would work, only that they were possibilities. The Alchemists' Guild creates wildfire, but I imagine that they may have the knowledge to create caustic substances. Those could also work. When I fought the thing, I did not see its chest rise and fall with breathing, but it was incredibly difficult to see, and my focus was on the shadowy blade that was trying to end me. If it does need to breathe, drowning it could also end it. Though again, that would depend on whether it can be held down."

Some tension had drained from Brienne's face. She likely felt completely helpless, but now that I had given her some ideas on how to defeat this sort of threat if it struck again, she was once again resolute and determined.

"I should get up and armored," Brienne began, but I shook my head.

"You lost blood, and you should heal at least a little. No, I'm not sending you away; the Maester thinks you need to rest for weeks, but I know you are made of sterner stuff. I will command you to be diligent in ensuring that your wounds are free of infection, to get plenty of rest, and to drink and eat as you are able. I don't intend to fight the enemy for the next few days, so you will have time."

Brienne inclined her head slightly from her cot, "How do you know there won't be more fighting?"

"I've sent a messenger to Stannis, asking for a parley to discuss a prisoner exchange for Nestor Royce and some others. The messenger introduced himself loudly, proclaiming to all within ear shot my terms. Should Stannis ignore it, the Valemen will be most put out, but I suspect he will agree to terms."

I couldn't be sure how he would react, but he had to be spooked after the failure of his magical assassin and Barristan's assault on the camp. He likely would have been content to wait for the Tully army to join before chancing another assault. With my grandfather's army leaving, he wouldn't need to wait, but he didn't know they were gone.

"The terms include a three-day armistice, with neither side crossing the Trident, except to deliver messages. My uncle is many things, but once he has given his agreement to the truce, he won't go back on his word when he realizes that more than half of his foes have melted away south."

Brienne seemed reassured at that, so I began filling her in on my plans; it was important that my subcommanders – and that was what I intended my Stormguard to be – knew my thinking. Commander's intent and all that.

During the three-day truce, my men and their shovels would be destroying the King's Road. The road itself wasn't paved this far north of King's Landing, so it wouldn't be all that difficult. My grandfather wanted time – he would be getting it. I had no intention of fighting head-on a force over triple my size, but I did intend on making their lives as miserable as possible with constant harassment and harrying.

I would be looking to buy as much time as possible through my parley ploy and potential delays in any prisoner exchanges, but I doubted I could get much once they realized my grandfather had gone south. At that juncture, I would be retreating swiftly; with a much smaller army and a few nasty traps should they try to unleash their cavalry, I could make better time.

And once they crossed the Trident with their force, the fun would begin. My shovel warriors wouldn't just destroy the road, they would also take night soil and bury it shallowly at likely camp spots. They would dig horse ankle breaking holes to the east and west of the main road. Not as concentrated as around my camps but sparser – it would be too labor-intensive otherwise, and the goal was to cause concern and worry and impede any attempt to get a force in strength to our flank.

Nighttime would also be fun – archers sending a few flaming arrows into the night and loud horns sounding as if to charge, only for nothing to come of it. Sleep would be a hard time coming. After a few nights, an actual attack would have to come, just to keep them on their toes. But it would be one, where the attackers would swiftly retreat. Their path of retreat would take them up a hill, where a few other surprises would meet any vengeful pursuit.

I could tell that Brienne was uncomfortable with the tactics I was describing, but she would do her duty. And right now, her duty was to rest. Plans in place, I went to visit the men and do what I could to boost morale while I awaited Stannis's response.

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