Chapter 11 Robb, Davos, Jeyne

Robb

A month and five days after Tywin Lannister left Harrenhal, his armies met on a clear plain that had once been farmland.

The terrain was a wide expanse of several kilometers of plains with small sporadic forests creating tree lines on both sides of the farmlands, interrupted by more farmlands, ideal for hiding an army while preparing the front and also for making a retreat.

Robb fell in love with this place at first sight and led his army there as soon as he located it using his spy ravens. On the other hand, about three days later, Tywin also found the clearing with his scouts and directed his army there.

They had been there for ten days, studying the terrain and ensuring there were no traps.

"My lord, the grass has grown a bit more today," reported the Great Jon, who was not pleased with the waiting. Robb ignored him. He would be suspicious of everything in a battle, especially the terrain where it would take place.

"I think it's safe. Sound the war horns and have them start forming ranks," ordered Robb, and some of his lords prayed in thanks to their gods.

Robb had already decided that this would be the day of the battle and had made his preparations overnight, although he hadn't told anyone and had kept the camp with the same guard as in the past few days.

A few seconds later, the war horns sounded, drums made a racket, and his army began to move out of the forest line where they had entrenched themselves, forming ranks in the farmland.

The Lannister army, hidden a few kilometers away in the forest on the other side, upon hearing the commotion, also began to form ranks. Their lords shouted with joy upon seeing it, followed by their soldiers who had been nervously awaiting the battle in recent days.

Robb ignored their foolishness and focused on what really mattered: the quality and quantity of troops deployed on the battlefield.

Thanks to the money and resources obtained from the Iron Bank, his levies were well-equipped with spears, shields, and breastplates. His heavy cavalry was heavily armored, as was his heavy infantry, and his light cavalry was rested and ready to reinforce any position.

Thanks to the wait, Roose Bolton and the forces of Edmure Tully had surrounded Tywin's army to join him, and now his army was complete.

On the opposing side, the numbers were equivalent, and the types of troops were similar, although there was a slight difference in equipment, as at least half of Tywin Lannister's levies lacked steel breastplates and wore leather instead. However, Tywin Lannister had enough gold to fund two armies, and the equipment of his elites was of the highest quality.

Robb was glad he had devised a cunning plan because he didn't like this battle.

Despite having Tywin Lannister in his grasp and knowing all his movements and orders, this was not a battle of strategy but of strength, where tactics were crucial. One could say their forces were evenly matched, and anything could happen.

Since his neck was on the line, it was understandable that a fifty-fifty chance was not to Robb's liking. Regardless of anything else, he wouldn't risk his neck in such a situation. So, before dawn, when he decided they would form today, Robb sent some mice to the soldiers' kitchen and poured poison into some sacks of flour prepared for breakfast.

The mice's target wasn't all the food, not even ten percent, as that would require many rats. Even if it wasn't Tywin's guarded kitchen, the soldiers weren't foolish enough to see an army of rats in their kitchens and still eat what they were cooking. Nor would the cooks be at ease, so Robb settled for poisoning a few.

The poison wasn't deadly and would only cause weakness, lethargy, and in a few cases, vomiting and diarrhea, but that was all he needed.

To ensure his plan's success, Robb waited for several days, taking advantage of Tywin's caution as he explored the area for traps. He even sent men to inspect the potential battlefield for pitfalls or other traps. Robb did the same, although in his case, it was merely for appearance's sake, as he had done it before arriving there.

…

An hour later, both armies were in formation, and banners dominated both sides of the battlefield, amidst rows of peasant soldiers representing different houses.

The Great Jon led the vanguard, his main shock troops, the best-armed and most distinguished soldiers. He would face Tywin's vanguard, led by the Mountain. Robb was on the right side, alongside his battle guard, led by the elder Rickard Karstark and Maege Mormont.

On the other side, it wasn't Tywin to face him but his brother Kevan, as Tywin was not leading his army, something that, to Robb's misfortune, only the Northerners would do.

In the Northern army, even the most cautious of his lords, like Roose Bolton, had to charge headlong with their troops if they wanted to claim their merits; otherwise, others would label them as cowards.

On the other hand, Robb had been trained to command armies from the front lines, through shouts. His father had made him practice in the towers of Winterfell, shouting orders into the wind in command exercises lasting for hours, so the heat of battle wouldn't make him lose his command voice.

What Robb regretted was that Tywin wouldn't be on the battlefield, and he was sure he would have to chase him later, but with Bran's eyes on him, Robb didn't fear an escape.

Robb was more concerned about his own troops, as besides his wildling lords, he had to yield part of his army to the Southern lords, including Edmure Tully and the Freys, represented by Stevron Frey, a sixty-year-old elder he needed alive to control his Frey allies and replace Walder Frey.

Many other Southern lords led their troops, and Robb could only hope they were aware that any disobedience to his orders would cost them their heads.

Robb looked at his battle guard, among whom were twenty young teenagers on horseback with light armor, chosen from the best-recommended squires in his army, sons of nobles and great lords. Each of them carried a raven on their shoulders, paper, and parchment to note his orders in case they needed to be given.

Each of his top commanders had one of these messengers with them to send reports in case the situation got out of control on their side or they needed reinforcements.

With an army of thirty-five thousand men, with more than half of them rushing into battle while the rest prepared to reinforce or cover, the battle line would span over a kilometer, and their shouts wouldn't be heard more than fifty meters away due to the usual commotion that arose. Robb already doubted that anyone would hear his voice at twenty meters.

Robb nodded as he saw his army formed and his rear troops ready to cover.

"Advance!" ordered Robb, and the war horns and drums signaled the advance.

The lords in command ordered the advance along the entire battle line. The war horn could be heard several kilometers away, a pity that this wasn't a professional army, and only the lords knew its signals.

Robb rode at a slow pace behind five rows of peasants and armed hedge knights with spears, ensuring that the ranks remained orderly. Just a minute later, Robb rode at a gallop to the left side of his battle line as they were falling behind.

The reason was the rain of arrows the Lannister archers were unleashing upon them. These soldiers didn't have too much confidence that their shields and armor would protect them.

Robb's archers, commanded by several of his lords, also sent a rain of arrows toward the enemy side, but Robb didn't believe this would be more effective than the damage the arrows were causing to his own men.

Still, every casualty counted, and he didn't halt the attack but hurried to correct his ranks. A couple of arrows struck his armor, but he barely felt them.

"March!" Robb shouted behind his soldiers to let them know he was there too, which would boost their morale and make them unwavering in the face of the advancing Lannister army.

"For Winterfell! For the North! For victory!" Robb shouted to inspire his troops, who responded with their own rallying cries.

The troops yelled for the North, for glory, for their wives and children, and anything that reminded them why they were fighting.

The drums encouraged them, drowning out any doubts in the soldiers' minds as they advanced to the rhythm of their shouts into battle.

His commanders did a similar job to his, rallying their own men, and the standard bearers shouted their house names and slogans as they waved them.

On the other side, enemy trumpets sounded, urging the march of the rival army, whose shouts were no less intense.

…

The clash of infantry battle lines occurred half an hour later, in the center of the battlefield.

Robb found himself in the long wait for the ranks to break in the enemy battle line to make way and create a bigger breach. However, the battle wasn't a series of individual duels but rows and rows of well-armed soldiers, and the spears were blocked by shields and deflected, turning the front ranks into a shield barrier where soldiers tried to slip their spears through.

Soldiers sometimes succeeded, and the enemy ranks wavered when an unfortunate soldier cried out in agony from a spear lodged in their body.

…

The battle raged on for two hours before Robb could do more than shout and run back and forth to maintain the ranks, with Grey Wind sheltered behind his horse while he himself was protected by a steel cuirass.

Robb had just changed horses a few minutes ago when his ranks managed to open the first gap from their side of the battlefield. Although the first hole in the Lannister battle line had formed on the Great Jon's side, whom Robb had given up for dead minutes earlier when the giant, in a fit of madness, along with twenty other men, charged into the enemy spear ranks.

Robb had seen it all but would reflect on it later because his hour of battle had also arrived, and a path had been cleared. Whether it was due to the skill of his soldiers or the effect of the poison he had distributed in the enemy soldiers' food, Robb didn't care.

"For Winterfell!" Robb roared, determined to go after Tywin's head, which would secure his own in the future, at least until the next war.

…

Davos

Davos watched the sea as the fleet lined up. In the distance, the sky darkened, signaling an approaching storm, which could be a problem as it might delay the attack.

Davos hadn't yet embarked because his lord, after ordering the royal forest to be set on fire to dislodge an enemy army entrenched there, had ordered both a land and naval attack.

The naval attack would capitalize on the superiority of their fleet to crush the enemy and force them to retreat. Then, they would use the ships as a bridge across the Blackwater River to send the cavalry into the city. Davos had doubts about whether so many ships could interfere with each other, but the lords paid no heed, and the plan was approved.

Now, their king was bidding farewell to the ships, as he would march with the cavalry. Davos stood by his side. The king surveyed the troops, more than thirty thousand men from the Stormlands who had joined them. This would be enough to take the city, defended only by the Gold Cloaks, as the Direwolf of Winterfell had kept his word, and there was no news of Tywin Lannister…

King Stannis blinked. Ser Davos didn't know what to do and exchanged glances with the other lords, searching for any insight in this situation, but no one dared to speak. Everyone pretended not to have seen the raven that flew to the king and delivered a letter before veering off and continuing its path.

The letter had struck the king In the face and now slid down onto his cuirass. The king's right hand rose, and Davos could see it trembling with anger as he picked up the letter, almost tearing it due to the force used to grasp it.

Despite the circumstances and his fury, the king lowered his head to confirm the sender of the letter, and he gritted his teeth upon seeing the seal, which was a Direwolf's head. Stannis took a deep breath and broke the seal to open and read the letter. After a few minutes, he handed it to Davos.

"Read this!" ordered the king.

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Davos, and with some difficulty, he proceeded to read the letter, as he had only recently learned to read and found it challenging.

Davos read slowly. As expected, it was a letter from the Direwolf of Winterfell, as only he had this method of delivering letters. Davos skipped over the greetings and introductions to save time and got to the information.

"Your Majesty, the Lannisters sent Littlefinger to offer the crown to Margaery Tyrell to gain her support"…

Davos gasped. It was terrible news since the Tyrells had eighty thousand men at their disposal. If they joined the Lannisters, there would be no hope. Davos hurried to continue reading.

"…unfortunately for them, an extremely venomous snake, carried by a raven between its claws, fell upon Littlefinger on the way, bit him several times in the neck, and ended this poor wretch's life in a rather incredible manner"…

Ser Davos blinked, but after several seconds, he still couldn't fathom how such a thing was possible. He wondered if the Direwolf of Winterfell might be joking, but he read on.

"…his death is regrettable, as you will now need to find a new Master of Coin to sit on your throne. On the other hand, you no longer need to worry about the Tyrell army; they are figuring out how to extricate themselves from the political disaster they've stepped into, and as soon as you take the city, they will come to kiss your feet in surrender.

My next report concerns my own position. By the time you receive this letter, I will have encircled Tywin Lannister's forces and will be preparing for a final battle between us. If I survive, we will meet in King's Landing.

Finally, multiple deposits of wildfire have been discovered in King's Landing. The Lannisters have filled some ships with it and plan to use them against their fleet. Their plan is to launch these ships as soon as their fleet is defeated and forced to retreat, and yours has taken its position. You will recognize the ships when you see them. Just let them pass without touching them unless you want to go up in flames.

The Lannisters have also sunk a chain between two towers at the entrance to Blackwater Bay, and once the fleet crosses, they plan to raise it to support the aforementioned strategy and prevent your fleet from escaping. So when you see the new towers, you will already know their purpose.

"My lords, the Direwolf of Winterfell reports that the Lannisters will use ships loaded with wildfire against us and prepare a trap for when they explode, locking us inside it.

"Thanks to our numerical superiority, we won't lose to such tricks, but I won't sacrifice my fleet if I can avoid it, so the naval superiority plan is discarded. We will use a maximum of one-third of our ships, and no more," Stannis declared.

His lords hesitated, but it was a direct order, so the entire plan had to be modified. Fortunately, they had already discussed a plan with fewer ships, and it wouldn't take them long to adjust it.

"I will find those ships at any cost," Davos said to his king and stored the letter, although the other lords seemed eager to read it.

Davos didn't believe his majesty wanted the first part of it to be divulged, so he kept it to himself.

"Very well…" the king blinked when another letter crashed into his face.

This time, it took twice as long for him to retrieve it, and his movements were more abrupt as he broke the seal and opened it. Inside, Davos could see some maps, and on the back of one, some words were so large that Davos could read them from his position.

"All the secret entrances to the city and the Red Keep."

"Study these maps!" the king growled, gritting his teeth. It seemed that the attack would be delayed by at least a day.

A day later, Davos embarked. He didn't lead the fleet, but he had his own ship, the Black Beta, and now they had a good ship plan that their enemies couldn't use to trap them.

…

Jeyne

The sky above the city brightened. In another time and place, she would smile at a new dawn, as that was enough to fill her heart with joy.

Jeyne adjusted the hood on her head to shield herself from the new light and cover her face.

"Is the plan understood?" Jeyne asked in a neutral tone. She glanced sideways at a portly man dressed in silks who, by the look on his face, appeared as if it were his execution day.

"Yes, Lady Crow," the man said. Jeyne clenched her teeth. She really didn't like that nickname.

"Just follow my lord's instructions; you shouldn't suffer many losses. Half of the gate guards have been bribed," Jeyne said to encourage the man, as his role in this mission was crucial.

The man looked at the letter's envelope he still held in his hand, bearing Robb's seal, a white Direwolf with eyes as blue as Robb's. He nodded resolutely and tossed the letter and envelope into the fire.

"The Cunning Wolf," he muttered, then looked at Jeyne. "Lady Crow, we won't fail. We'll repay the favor that has been done to us with our blood if necessary," he affirmed with determination.

Jeyne didn't know if that was true. This man was not a warrior, and his guards fought for gold. Her father always said that you couldn't trust men who fought for gold, for they were treacherous…

Jeyne pushed those thoughts out of her head, as they only brought her pain and hatred. She replaced them with more recent memories, of a group of Gold Cloaks entering the city and bringing in a covered cart, which, when uncovered for inspection at the city gates, revealed the rotten and bloated corpse of Lord Baelish, the Master of Coin, better known in the underworld as the brothel keeper of the city, in charge of bribes, satisfying the fetishes of the powerful, overseeing thieves and assassins, and her former master.

That didn't put a smile on Jeyne's face, but it did bring peace to her thoughts. She nodded to the merchant and left the room to exit her home and step outside.

As she stepped onto the street, Jeyne encountered two Gold Cloaks standing guard on the other side of the street. The dwarf had declared a curfew, fearing that the starving people of the city, who had gone without food for days, would collaborate with King Stannis in the assault on the city.

The Gold Cloaks looked both ways and then nodded to indicate she should proceed. With Littlefinger's death, his subordinates were running around looking for a new master, and Robb made sure to get his letters to the right people to let them know he was willing to take charge. So now, half of King's Landing belonged to him, as did the entire underworld.

Jeyne had taken care of making the necessary moves after being liberated from her torturers, who were Littlefinger's servants, as was Littlefinger himself.

That had happened several months ago already. Jeyne was supposed to leave with Sansa, but she didn't even want to see her face. She didn't want to see anyone from her past, and a feeling of hatred had consumed her.

When she fell into Littlefinger's hands, she had sworn to obey when threatened with the whip. But Littlefinger had told her that after fear, she would experience hatred, rendering her words of obedience worthless, and she needed to be properly treated so that she would also experience pain, leading to acceptance, obedience, and submission. But Robb arrived, and Littlefinger had to release her without completing her treatment. Now, every lash mark on Jeyne's back had turned into hatred, a feeling she had previously been unfamiliar with and didn't understand. But someone did, and on the same day she was released, a letter from Robb fell into her hands.

The letter described feelings Jeyne didn't even know she had, and it made her cry for an entire day. When she finished, a raven perched on her shoulder, and Jeyne had a new name and a new purpose.

Part of that purpose was fulfilled with the death of Petyr Baelish, but there was still much left to do. She had a long way to go before she would be satisfied, but now she had a master guiding her toward that desired future, and along the path he had set, she would see all her objectives fulfilled.

…

Jeyne arrived at an alley and disappeared into the shadows until she reached a solid stone wall. By tapping it in a specific rhythm, it opened. Jeyne was greeted by a child who lowered their head when they saw her and guided her through the passages she hadn't yet memorized.

An hour later, Jeyne reached a stone room in the Tower of the Hand. Jeyne patted the child's head who had led her there and gave him some candies.

The child, who had no tongue, made a raspy sound to thank her and then left. No one in this realm cared about the name of this tongueless child, just as no one cared that his father was killed by the queen, and no one cared about Septa Mordane or any of Lord Stark's servants.

Jeyne approached the stone window. Along the way, she smiled as she saw the leftover scrolls she had used to send the letter with plans to King Stannis Baratheon, detailing all the entrances to the city and the Red Keep. Soon, her second objective would be fulfilled.

Arriving at the window, Jeyne saw the outskirts of the castle. She needed to be prepared for Stannis's arrival at the Red Keep. She had to deliver a book that Robb had ordered her to write, of which she made four copies, using the small handwriting of maesters to fit everything into a few pages.

Jeyne was eager for Stannis's arrival, about whom the nobles said many things and criticized harshly because he didn't like to bend the application of the laws. Too strict, too focused on minor details.

Stannis had cut off the fingers of his most trusted knight for smuggling. King Robert would never have done that. Stannis had held Baelish accountable for his dubious reputation brothels. Stannis was too severe and had a priestess who liked to burn nobles at her pyres. What a great hero, she should be canonized…

Jeyne was already beginning to fall in love with him because everything they said about Stannis was music to her ears and aligned with what Robb had promised her.

…

Robb

Robb saw the breach open after three hours of fierce shield-to-shield combat, spears, and arrow showers.

"Winterfell!" Robb shouted with fury and jubilation before charging through the breach.

His own ranks, having achieved their purpose, hurried to make way for the cavalry, while enemy commanders, knowing what was coming, tried to intercept to cover the gap.

In Robb's opinion, it was a mistake because he charged at a gallop while the defending cavalry only rushed to cover the gap and was not in position to withstand an attack, let alone a galloping one.

Riding to his right was Lord Karstark, and to his left was Lady Mormont, who was precisely what allowed the breach to be opened. Behind came the rest of his battle guard in an unstoppable charge that, like a train, plowed through the unfortunate knights trying to close the breach.

Twenty meters ahead, after five rows of infantry, which they were breaking through, was the enemy cavalry, but they couldn't launch a charge without trampling their own ranks and disrupting their formation. They were forced to wait for their charge to stop to engage in combat.

This meant that the ranks of infantry were at the mercy of the incoming cavalry charge, whose tip of the spear was him and his entire battle guard, along with Grey Wind, who leaped over the entire line and was already setting the enemy soldiers on the run, widening the breach even further and allowing the rest of the cavalry to have more space to pass through.

Robb ignored the approaching enemy cavalry with their battle formations and line formation. He focused on the rows of infantry to further widen the breach in the few seconds he had before the enemy cavalry reached him.

The infantry ranks didn't put up much resistance, and in the face of the growls and fangs of Grey Wind, who was snapping lances in his jaws as if they were made of rotten wood, they fled in terror.

Robb and his battle guard took care of those who tried to stand their ground, and thus, in just a couple of minutes, a large breach was opened, making it impossible for reinforcements to arrive in time.

After finishing widening the breach, Robb hurried to get into formation in the third row of the incoming cavalry, forming a cavalry charge line, while Grey Wind continued to widen the breach.

Robb rode with his cavalry, which, after breaching the enemy lines, had the advantage to perform a charge. Even so, the first row collided with force, and some were unhorsed and trampled. His cavalry carved its way through like a widening spearhead as more of his men managed to pass through the breach, preventing them from being surrounded.

Robb gripped his lance, crashing it into a knight who had survived the first row and was sideways, unable to charge again.

Robb didn't look back, and seeing his lance still intact, he didn't halt his charge and collided head-on with another knight, whose lance struck his right shoulder, while Robb's lance hit his chest, piercing his armor directly. The impact brought them both down.

Robb fell and rolled as much as he could to cushion the blow. However, when he got up, his back and spine ached from the base to his neck. Robb didn't have time to check if he was injured, as this was a cavalry charge, and anyone who stayed in the middle would be trampled.

As he rose, Robb felt somewhat dizzy. He saw three riders circling about two meters away from him, forming circles to prevent him from being overrun. Having a battle guard had many advantages.

"Mount up!" the woman Osha shouted as about ten guards kept the enemies at bay.

Old Lord Karstark reached out his hand, and two other men helped him up and placed a lance in his hand. In seconds, Robb was ready to rejoin the battle, thankful that he had been luckier than Jaime Lannister, and his bones were still intact.

"Lord Stark, we've opened a breach on the left!" a messenger reported.

Robb smiled, with the breach in the middle and the one opened by his own troops; theoretically, the battle was already his. Robb shouted at the top of his lungs and continued the battle.

…

Half a day later, the battle had concluded with a resounding victory for him. His lords congratulated each other on their strength and praised themselves for breaking the enemy lines without suffering any gaps in their ranks.

The captured soldiers who vomited and those who had relieved themselves were labeled as cowards and discreetly set apart by his uncle Brynden, who knew that their easy victory was not due to any extra force but to poison applied to the enemy soldiers, weakening their ranks in several places.

Robb supposed that some of his lords might suspect something, but anyone daring to say anything would lose their tongues because his new battle guard tolerated no rumors and rooted them out.

Robb, inspecting the noble prisoners, including Kevan Lannister and his sons, who had been released before and were now his captives again, praised them all, congratulating them on their feats on the battlefield and noting their names to later award rewards for their captures. Kevan Lannister's reward was his own capture.

Robb had led his battle guard against Tywin Lannister's command center, but his brother and the lords accompanying him had stood in his way, and this time nothing had given them an advantage, so Tywin had managed to escape.

Robb wasn't worried since the enemy's army, supplies, and horses were seventy percent in his hands, and his losses in this battle didn't exceed two thousand men.

The enemy's quick surrender had left many of his reserve troops rested, and Robb had sent his most astute lord to pursue Tywin Lannister, guided by ravens controlled by Bran, so sooner or later, he would have the old Lion in his hands.

…

Three days later, the camp rushed from their tents to welcome the thousand riders led by Roose Bolton, bearing Lannister banners, waving them in jubilation and proclaiming victory over the lion.

Robb received them while mounted on his own horse, with Grey Wind by his side, and escorted by his battle guard.

Author's Note 1: The battle between Robb and Tywin has already occurred, and we'll see more about it in Robb's future POV.

Author's Note 2: Jeyne is in King's Landing and is Robb's chief spy. She manages Varys's little birds and everyone who used to serve Baelish. Robb continues to move pieces around to secure the North and his family.

Author's Note 3: Bran is up to his tricks, but his pranks will soon be exposed when Robb and Stannis cross paths.