Chapter 13

The army is supposed to march again the next day to Raventree Hall, but a storm caught up to them, its wind so strong and its rain so heavy that many tents outside of Harrenhal were swept away by it as soon as the storm arrives, leaving many men in need of shelter. Thankfully however, Harrenhal itself could fit a lot of heads, though again, the halls and corridors of the castle are in disrepair, water leaked and floods many chambers of the place, but it is what it is, and the men put up with it, albeit reluctantly. The storm then lasts for two days straight, with the storm being significantly weaker the next day. Yet still, these men are stuck in the haunted castle, waiting for the change of weather to be march-worthy.

When the third day came, rain was no longer sighted, only a thick fog covered the entirety of the holding. Willam stood on the wall of Harrenhal, and he could not even see four hundred feet across the field in front of him. He was accompanied by Lord Elmo, who looked worried about the days ahead.

"Our supplies are running low," said Lord Elmo. "Raventree Hall is a few days' march from here, not to mention with this thick fog around, it will slow us down."

Willam sighed. "I could send a rider to Harrenton to seek some. Although I don't know the condition of that place, seeing that this place is abandoned. And I do not have the capacity to transport it at the moment, so I shall ask you, my lord, to provide some carriages if we do find some supplies there."

"That is natural." Elmo nodded. "But I don't doubt Harrenton is not affected by the abandonment of Harrenhal itself. My father once told me that that place was once briefly the fourth largest city in Westeros when the old king gathered the nobles of the seven kingdoms here. I doubt that that town would just disappear because they are lordless for a few months."

Willam hummed. "Then I shall send a rider at once."

It was then that in between the thick fog, a rider galloped through the wet encampment of the riverlanders. While the man looked tired, he kept going nonetheless. While running through the encampment, he hadn't been stopped at all, as he was bearing the banner of House Arryn itself, but when he reached the gate of Harrenhal, he was finally stopped, by two of Willam's ten current men-at-arms.

"Halt!" the guard shouted, and the horse unceremoniously slammed its legs to the ground to stop. The messenger was breathing heavily, and he looked up as he saw Willam standing on the wall, before turning down to the guard again.

"I have come at the behest of Ser Isembard Arryn of Gulltown!" the messenger exclaimed. "I've brought a missive that is to be delivered to Lord Willam Tybur's eyes only!"

"What does Ser Isembard want from me?!" shouted Willam from the walls.

"I cannot speak it so loudly, my lord!" the messenger answered.

Lord Elmo then turned to Willam, who looked quite curious about what dire news it could be so that the rider had to go through the storm to be able to deliver it.

Willam sighed calmly, and turned to the guards. "Let him in!"

***

Inside the damp hall of Harrenhal, Willam sat on one of the stone chairs surrounding a large round table, marked with depictions of the old castle's creation. Opposite him stood the nervous messenger, as Willam took the small paper into his hands.

"Ser Isembard wanted to send a raven," stated the messenger. "But Harrenhal has been abandoned since Prince Aemond's occupation. He was afraid that there would be no one to see to the raven, so he sent me instead. Besides, my lord, with his request, I am sure that you will find a raven insufficient."

"He must have paid you well to ride through the storm to this desolate place," Willam hummed, proceeding to open the missive.

"Do you want me to read i—"

Willam turned to the messenger and glared at him sharply. The messenger bowed his head slightly and fell silent. Finally, Willam began to read the message.

At first, his expression was calm, but as he read each word, it turned to a frown. He turned to the messenger again, stood up, circled the round table to face him closely, and read the message aloud.

"As a newly raised lord of the Seven Kingdoms, surely you must need help in raising your name, and I, Ser Isembard Arryn of Gulltown, could help you build a foundation for your house using my wealth, in exchange for your support on the matter of the succession to the title of Lord Paramount of the Vale. There has been no clear successor so far due to the sudden death of Lady Jeyne, but the leading man is the son of a madman, a man the late lady despised. I cannot let the son of a treacherous man replace her, which is why I am requesting your support. The sins you committed against my house, including the destruction of the Eyrie and the murder of Lady Jeyne herself, will be forgotten if you do me this favor."

At the end of the message, Willam crumpled the paper into a small ball and threw it at the messenger's feet.

"Is this an insult?" Willam asked.

"No, my lord," the messenger shook his head. "The message speaks the truth. Many Vale Lords support the son of a madman just because he is the closest kin of the late lady. Ser Isembard does not want to see it through, in her memory."

"And in turn, he wants to 'hire' me," Willam spat. "Hire. With gold. Does the Gilded Falcon think that I am a mere sellsword to be bought with wealth just because I am a 'newly raised lord of the Seven Kingdoms'?"

The messenger gulped his saliva. "N-No, my lord. S-Ser Isembard only means well, m-merely a reward if you decided to—"

"Well," Willam cut him off. "Unlike me, he is not a lord, only a head of a branch family. Tell him that I, as a river lord, have no business interfering with the Vale's matters except if the crown wishes me to, and I do not care if they have forgiven me for what I have done. All of the vale lords could climb down from their mountains to besiege me, demanding my head here for all I care, I will gladly welcome them. Tell him, if he wants support, then send a raven to King's Landing instead of here."

"Y-Yes." the messenger stuttered.

Willam sighed deeply, and stepped back, and leaned against the round table. "I'll find you some place to rest, you have a long journey ahead of you."

***

In front of Harrenhal, the army of the river lords had readied themselves to march once again, and Willam was currently saying his farewells to the lords. He sat on his horse, facing all the lords in this host, with his back to his castle. Lord Elmo stood out from the rest as he walked forward to talk to Willam, examining him up and down before looking toward the castle.

"Once again, we welcome you as one of us, Lord Willam," Lord Elmo stated. "You might not come from here, but in due time, you will learn our ways."

Willam nodded. "I thank you, Lord Elmo."

Elmo sighed. "May the odds be ever in your favor. We will support you however we can, with a price, of course."

"Indeed," Willam hummed. He then turned his gaze from his liege lord to the rest and looked down. "If I may be so bold, as you know, I am green in terms of lordly matters. And my financial troubles are not going away any time soon. Therefore, I am offering something that might be of interest to you, my lords."

Elmo raised his brow. "And that is?"

"Ser Isembard's missive gave me an idea," Willam said. "While I am not a sellsword, easily hired to do dirty deeds, I can be a builder for all of you until my troubles have diminished. A fast one. Of course, it will cost you."

"Planning to steal the title of Brandon the Builder, are you?" Lord Benjicot called out with a smile.

"I am not so bold as to do that," Willam chuckled.

"Well, that is indeed an idea," Elmo nodded. "I am sure that your neighbors will try your services in due time."

Finally, Elmo stepped back a little and joined the rest of the lords. The horn indicating to the army that they were to march again sounded, and they moved in unison.

"Then this is farewell for now, Lord Willam," Elmo stated. "But from the news in the missive from the Vale, I worry that we will meet again shortly."

Willam didn't say anything and simply nodded. "May the gods give you a safe journey to your domains, my lords."

***

A/N

1. There are changes on the characteristic of the MC. now, he has RED HAIR and EMERALD EYES instead of blonde hair and blue eyes. I want it similar to the the descendants of giants from elden ring.

2. I am having trouble on deciding the heraldry of MC's House. at first I want it to be a great tree, but that's just too much of that. then I want to use the survey corps emblem, but too off the theme imo, then a simple woman, but again there's already one house with that. so do leave some suggestions if you care for it, it will appear next chapter.

3. For the celtigar fic, I am currently rewriting the last few chapters(the chapters after "End of Bloom"), but it will take a while, cause I don't know what to write there honestly. might get some inspirations on the season finale of HOTD, but who knows.