CHAPTER 103

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CHAPTER 103

288 AC

It was clear from his face that he was thinking about whether or not to draw his sword. Then, Jory intervened and said

"My lord, Sir Drasil might have common origins, but he is a knight, and it is a fact you and your man disrespected him, and he even pulled his sword. Sir Drasil could have killed him if he wanted to, but he only knocked him out. Please, Let's not prolong this unpleasantness any longer. As for Sir Drasil's words, Lord Stark indeed ordered him to act on his own, and this order raises him to the level where he can ask questions to you in the chain of command during the time of war."

It was obvious that he didn't like what was being said, but for the moment, there was nothing he could do about it. I've always been on good terms with Jory, and Mollen was quiet. Glover might be a high noble, but we are Stark men, so we don't fight when we are outside and always show a united front. Glover, too, remained silent, knowing that if he delved further into the matter, he would turn Stark men against himself. So, I continued:

"If you asked for so much more men, do you intend to make a counterattack?"

"...my lord," I added at the end of my sentence after a short break and did a sarcastic bow. I could see his face was twitching, I held myself really hard not to laugh, and he said.

"Are you crazy? Why would I want to do a counterattack against a force that is two times our size."

"Then why do you need the 500 needed for Bear Islands defense?"

"Which one is easier defending with 700 men or 1200 men? And with so many soldiers here, it would be ridiculous for them to leave their backs open and attack dirt-poor Bear Island."

"You are making too many assumptions. How do you know Ironborn wants to raid for loot? This time is different, and this is not a raid but a rebellion."

All they have to do is leave 4 or 5 ships in the Strait between the island and the coast. Then we won't be able to help them in time. He is nothing but a selfish asshole.

"How do you know so much about the enemy's movement?"

"I have my ways, and that is why lord stark gave me this much leeway. If you need to know, Lord Stark will tell you."

If we shell up like turtles, the raiders would change target and go for Bear Island, and we can't forget the enemy reinforcement coming two days before ours if we do not take care of them. Five ships coming from behind will go to Bear Island While we are under siege. I looked at the map that was laid on top of the table. Deepwood Motte was on top of a big hill southwest, south, and southeast directions were covered with Wolfswood.

The other one hundred- and eighty-degrees direction was full of small hills, and about 30 km away on the seaside was the largest northern port town on the west coast as the Sea Dragon point was gone. Glovers earned their keep by selling the woods of the Wolfswood, and merchants from Lannisport would come to buy them.

The Ironborns will come from the northwest, and if we hide a small detachment force deep in the forest to the south, I wonder if it will be enough to repel them or not. What other chance do we have the other possibility is to leave Bear Island to its fate, and I can't accept defeat on the fronts I've been on in this war. I need all the accomplishments I can get. I turned to the others and said:

"What we have to decide right now is, are we going to leave Bear Island to its fate, deceive ourselves that we had nothing we could do, and wait for the reinforcements behind these walls, or are we going to give those wet rats a nightmarish day for trying to invade our lands like true northerners?

My speech stirred Jory and Hallis, but it didn't affect Glover. I don't need him and his 200 men for this plan to work. All I need is our 1050 men. Of course, it would be better if Glover joined us, but cowards like him only act like Lord Frey the Late. They will only join a battle if it is already won.

I told them about my plan, and Glover reluctantly agreed because the soldiers were not placed directly under his command. Jory and Hallis might listen to him because he was a lord and allowed him to act like the commander, but at its core, if they didn't like the plan, it was their decision to follow him or not. Hallis gave me 100 men, and Jory gave me 150 men with my 50 detachment force was now ready.

When we left the room and on our way to where our men were, Jory slapped one on the back of my neck.

"Aww! What was that for?"

"It was for almost starting a feud with the Glovers. Do you think we don't know he is a small-minded man? We are enduring him because it is wartime."

When I stood up to Lord Stark, I decided I was not going to take shit from archaic men. So I said:

"That is why I did that. He had to see he was not in charge; we were. If you make someone that incompetent think he is in charge, it would have hurt us when the fighting started. When the fighting started to turn a bit dire, he would have tried to save his own skin and clash with your orders. Would you want that in the middle of a battle? But now he knows where he stands."

Support for my words came from a place I never expected. Hallis said:

"He is a bit right. I was really annoyed about him the past few days, and he kept ordering me around like I was his servant."

Since Hallis' father was about 65 years old and his older brother died of illness, he was now forced to leave the helm of Mollen's forces to 18-name-day old Hallis. We continued discussing our battle plans on the way to our camp.