Gulltown.
"DON'T CROWD! PEOPLE OF SLTON, MOVE TO FISH STREET! PEOPLE OF PRESSYTOWN, TO FIEF STREET!" Harold was organizing the refugees by district from the main square.
"There is no end to them. Every street will be packed before long," one of the Grafton guardsn noted, stating what was plain to see.
"HEY, send word to Lord Grafton asking him to open the third food store!"
"Ser Larys, it is already open and nearly empty!"
...
The Grafton Residence.
"My lord, Fief Street, Steel Street, and Fish Street are full. Ser Larys advises closing the gates and suspending the intake of refugees for a ti."
"Unthinkable! What sort of liege lord would I be if I cannot protect my own vassals?!" Lord Harold Grafton had always been known for his care for common people, and he could not abandon them to their fate. "Royce's army is still far off. At the very least we must try to help them."
"My lord, the third store is empty. With this many refugees it will not be long before..." One of his advisors tried to talk sense into him but was cut off.
"It does not matter!" Lord Grafton was immovable on this. "Open the fourth and fifth stores!"
"At once!"
...
Beyond the Walls of Gulltown.
"We are not going to assault the walls. Just take up positions at the gates."
"Yes, ser!"
"Dig a trench three hundred yards from the wall, send scouts through the surrounding area. I will not be caught with my breeches down. Send riders to the fleet admirals of the Rykkers and the lcolms, our actions need to be coordinated. Call a council once Ser Desmond Redfort's army reaches us."
...
"Everyone here?" Ser Robar Royce looked around at those assembled and received a chorus of ayes.
"I am certain you all have questions about our strategy. So I will now explain the whole of the plan." Those present had long since stopped believing they would ever be let in on the details. "You will ask why our army marched to take Gulltown instead of staying with Lord Arryn and breaking the rebels at Ironoaks."
It was a question that had gnawed at every last one of them. The most logical course would have been to break the Tollett army rushing to save their ho. The rebels were hurrying, they were outnumbered, and the treacherous Corbrays would not reach the Blackfish in ti. Crush them and they could hardly raise another such host, which would an the end of the rebellion. And yet for so reason Arryn had thrown everything at Gulltown and remained behind himself to play the role of shield.
"The reason for our actions is King Stannis. He holds the most powerful fleet on this side of the Narrow Sea, the Starks have bent the knee to him, the Tullys have as well, and Lysa Tully on behalf of Robert Arryn and the Vale. He himself sits entrenched on Dragonstone, which lets him hold a knife to King's Landing's throat. For all that the stag-king has a mighty fleet and strong allies, he has few soldiers on that island and cannot take King's Landing by force. So King Stannis will look to gather his vassals into a single fist and seize the Iron Throne."
"Ser Royce, all of this is interesting enough, but I would very much like to hear sothing specific about our own situation." Ser Marcus lcolm ran out of patience.
"I ask that you not interrupt , Ser Marcus." Royce fixed lcolm with a cold look, and the man shut his mouth and had no thought of opening it again. "Knowing all of this, Lord Arryn reasoned that King Stannis would attempt to aid the rebels, so as to use the full strength of the Vale for his own benefit. Yes, we could have broken every lord assembled at the Ironoaks, but there was every chance that Baratheon's forces would have landed at our backs."
"So we are racing to take Gulltown in order to deny Stannis a foothold on our land?" Ser Luceon ventured, and received a nod from Royce.
"Precisely. And Lord Arryn serves as our shield. After taking Grey Glen he was left with just over two thousand n. He stayed in the castle with the infantry and sent the cavalry to harry the Blackfish's army. Grey Glen and Lord Arryn's head will keep the rebels fixed on besieging that castle to the last, while our horsen at their rear will prevent them from attacking at full strength." Royce finished his explanation into a silence of quiet astonishnt.
"Wait. Ser Royce, why are we positioning ourselves against King Stannis? If my lord were to bend the knee to the elder Baratheon, he would be nad Warden of the East. Or has the Falcon's Eye already sworn to soone?"
"Hand the fate of the Vale to Stannis, who leans on the family alliance of Starks, Tullys, and Arryns? There is every chance he would simply na Robert Arryn lord of the Vale. Renly Baratheon is nothing but a rebel with no claim to the throne and nothing to offer us. The Lannisters, as it turns out, are not our road either. No. We will not be swearing to anyone."
"The coronation of Lord Arryn?" The suggestion brought the room to life, and hopeful eyes turned to Royce.
"No. Once the rebellion is put down, we remain neutral." Royce's words did not match what those present had hoped to hear. "That is all. Dismissed. Each of you see to your own responsibilities."
Royce himself was thinking of sothing else entirely.
A Kingdom of Mountains and Vale. That would not be so bad.
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