Chapter 317 Borderland LordMore than 2,000 careless troops from the borderland slowly approached the territory of Storm's End. They did not even plunder any villages along the way, but chose to send several scouts to various lords' manors to borrow food in the name of the Iron Throne.
They are not willing to commit anything that violates the laws of the Iron Throne when the Iron Throne and Harrenhal's attitude towards them is unclear. Being cautious is the choice of the border lords.
The border areas were in a state of disrepair, and the Lord of Nightsong City only had three to five hundred men on the battlefield. The armies assembled in Black Harbor and Harvest Hall exceeded that number, but in total there were only a force of more than two thousand people.
No lord is interested in retaking the legendary castle of Storm's End. The mere sight of its towering shadow and towering walls is enough to deter almost any army in the known world.
Besiege but not attack. This was the consensus reached by all the border lords before Ser Barristan Selmy, Captain of the Kingsguard, arrived here to take over as commander.
But in reality, the execution was very mediocre. Only Beric Dondarrion of Darkhaven led the cavalry to survey the terrain around Storm's End day and night, and tried his best to place visible and hidden sentries on the roads among the hills to prevent the defenders of Storm's End from breaking out easily.
But this was actually futile. There were still many ships and sails hidden in Storm's End. Although the lord of Tarth had also pledged allegiance to the Iron Throne, he had always been ambiguous towards Storm's End. If the defenders inside really wanted to escape, they would have no way to surround them without a navy, so the lords of the border areas were not very motivated.
Bryce Cullen, Earl of Nightsong, stood on the sloping rock at the junction of hills and farmland, leaning on his sword. His servants planted the nightingale flag of the Cullen family in the soft soil not far in front of them. The flag fluttered in the wind like a flock of nightingales flapping their wings and flying over the rock.
The bards accompanying the army sang beside the Earl of Nightsong.
Beric Dondarrion came with the army, jumped off the saddle, held the short spear on it, and stroked the mane of the border horse, over and over again to show his comfort.
The army of Earl Arstan Selmy of Harvest Hall rushed here from the King's Road. There was no resistance along the way, and not even any bandits were seen.
He brought almost all of House Selmy's army with him, leaving only four or five of his own guards to guard Harvest Hall.
"It corresponds exactly to the motto of the Cullen family," Arstan said, his eyes fixed on the lonely figure of Bryce Cullen on the rock formation. "'Sweet as a song'. I guess their ancestors liked to listen to minstrels singing."
Bailey shook his head and took the lead, leading his horse towards Earl Cullen. "All knights in the borderlands are like this, chanting war songs, waving long swords, in the name of warriors."
"What is he singing? It sounds very sad." Astan Selmy listened to the sad tune, took the wineskin from his waist, took a sip from it, moistened his dry lips, reached behind him, pulled the cloak in front of him and wrapped his cold hands.
"A sad song," Bryce Cullen responded briefly.
Astan squeezed his hands hard twice inside his cloak and said nothing more.
The minstrel stopped on his own initiative. "I came from the north, traveling all the way. There, a bastard was executed, tied to a tree stake, and his flesh was pecked by crows. This is the song describing him."
"Don't stop," Bryce Cullen warned.
"Go on." Astan seemed to be unsatisfied.
The singer carefully looked at the two of them, and chose to speak emotionally while playing the harp:
"There was a miserable boy, who was born out of wedlock. He was hungry during the turbulent times and ran to the village to steal. He was caught and tried by the villagers, and then tied to a tree stump and pecked to death by black birds. ~"
"What's his name?" Beric Dondarrion chose to respect the dead and at least knew his name.
"Edric Storm~" the singer stretched out his voice on the last word.
Arstan Selmy looked at Beric uneasily. "I remember that King Robert had a bastard son at Storm's End who had the same name as this boy."
"That's him," Bryce Cullen said, his orange cloak fluttering behind him. "My personal guards have come with me to Storm's End and have seen him several times. He saw him when he went to explore the village."
"I didn't see them on the way here." Astan Selmy looked at the map and frowned. He had clearly stationed here earlier than the Cullen family. Bryce Cullen smiled, looked up at him, said "I don't blame you" and left.
Astan was stunned, and didn't utter a word of "Damn it" until Bryce Cullen walked away.
Without saying anything, Berry caught up with Bryce Cullen and said, "We need to discuss our march. If we gather for too long, something unexpected might happen. Winter is coming, and the lords here must at least save some food for the winter."
Bryce Cullen shook his head. "We have no idea how many people there are in Storm's End."
"There was no resistance along the way, which shows that the military strength is insufficient," Berry responded.
"Perhaps it is a strategy to lure the enemy. Besides," Bryce said as they walked, "even if there are only a hundred people guarding Storm's End, our military strength is still quite insufficient."
"So we're just going to wait? You're the commander of the border." Beric Dondarrion frowned and asked.
Bryce continued to shake his head, "Do you have any news about Stonehelm?"
"Earl Sven said that there are bandits in the rainforest territory and his army needs to suppress them."
"Nonsense," Bryce Cullen denied. "Why at this time?"
Berry closed his mouth and chose to think in silence.
The scout cavalry came with a "thump thump thump" sound, raising dust and mud. The flags of different families mixed together like a symphony.
The two men, with their faces covered in dust, walked through the military camp and entered the makeshift command tent.
"The Dornish will help us," Beric Dondarrion said, as if chewing mole meat that had gone sour. "They may have more troops than we do."
Bryce Cullen stroked his chin and hesitated for a moment. "Except for some furniture being burned, nothing seems to be damaged in Nightsong City."
"Your farm and innocent people," Berry reminded.
"The Dornish are not allowed to set foot in the Borderlands, let alone Storm's End? This is the heart of the Stormlands. I'm afraid not even a grasshopper underfoot would allow this to happen," Bryce Cullen analyzed, "But the Dornish did get the promise of the Iron Throne."
"Artis Arryn is probably unaware of the rift, which is normal. We can solve this problem by releasing a few ravens," said Beric.
Bryce looked up, a little unconvinced. "The Dornishmen offered to help us take Storm's End, which is equivalent to a token of allegiance. It is normal for the Prime Minister to agree."
"Ser Barristan is gathering troops in King's Landing. The crown and some people from the Vale will join the war, not to mention that the lords loyal to the royal family in the Stormlands are also gearing up for battle." Beric wanted to boost morale.
"We lost the Battle of Blackwater, but not completely. After all the navy was controlled by the Onion Knight and Roland, most of the Stormland army had to be led by the nose," Bryce Cullen said, "Two-thirds of Nightsong City's army is in the hands of Roland Storm, and there are also Stormland troops threatened by him. In this situation, how can the Stormland lords be eager to fight? I'm afraid they are all thinking about how to get through the winter." He leaned his hands on the table, his tone was calm, and it was unclear whether he was angry or not.
"Shall we wait until Ser Barristan arrives before we make any decision?"
"No," Bryce Cullen rejected Berri's proposal, "Let's go and persuade them to surrender before the Dornishmen do."
(End of this chapter)
They are not willing to commit anything that violates the laws of the Iron Throne when the Iron Throne and Harrenhal's attitude towards them is unclear. Being cautious is the choice of the border lords.
The border areas were in a state of disrepair, and the Lord of Nightsong City only had three to five hundred men on the battlefield. The armies assembled in Black Harbor and Harvest Hall exceeded that number, but in total there were only a force of more than two thousand people.
No lord is interested in retaking the legendary castle of Storm's End. The mere sight of its towering shadow and towering walls is enough to deter almost any army in the known world.
Besiege but not attack. This was the consensus reached by all the border lords before Ser Barristan Selmy, Captain of the Kingsguard, arrived here to take over as commander.
But in reality, the execution was very mediocre. Only Beric Dondarrion of Darkhaven led the cavalry to survey the terrain around Storm's End day and night, and tried his best to place visible and hidden sentries on the roads among the hills to prevent the defenders of Storm's End from breaking out easily.
But this was actually futile. There were still many ships and sails hidden in Storm's End. Although the lord of Tarth had also pledged allegiance to the Iron Throne, he had always been ambiguous towards Storm's End. If the defenders inside really wanted to escape, they would have no way to surround them without a navy, so the lords of the border areas were not very motivated.
Bryce Cullen, Earl of Nightsong, stood on the sloping rock at the junction of hills and farmland, leaning on his sword. His servants planted the nightingale flag of the Cullen family in the soft soil not far in front of them. The flag fluttered in the wind like a flock of nightingales flapping their wings and flying over the rock.
The bards accompanying the army sang beside the Earl of Nightsong.
Beric Dondarrion came with the army, jumped off the saddle, held the short spear on it, and stroked the mane of the border horse, over and over again to show his comfort.
The army of Earl Arstan Selmy of Harvest Hall rushed here from the King's Road. There was no resistance along the way, and not even any bandits were seen.
He brought almost all of House Selmy's army with him, leaving only four or five of his own guards to guard Harvest Hall.
"It corresponds exactly to the motto of the Cullen family," Arstan said, his eyes fixed on the lonely figure of Bryce Cullen on the rock formation. "'Sweet as a song'. I guess their ancestors liked to listen to minstrels singing."
Bailey shook his head and took the lead, leading his horse towards Earl Cullen. "All knights in the borderlands are like this, chanting war songs, waving long swords, in the name of warriors."
"What is he singing? It sounds very sad." Astan Selmy listened to the sad tune, took the wineskin from his waist, took a sip from it, moistened his dry lips, reached behind him, pulled the cloak in front of him and wrapped his cold hands.
"A sad song," Bryce Cullen responded briefly.
Astan squeezed his hands hard twice inside his cloak and said nothing more.
The minstrel stopped on his own initiative. "I came from the north, traveling all the way. There, a bastard was executed, tied to a tree stake, and his flesh was pecked by crows. This is the song describing him."
"Don't stop," Bryce Cullen warned.
"Go on." Astan seemed to be unsatisfied.
The singer carefully looked at the two of them, and chose to speak emotionally while playing the harp:
"There was a miserable boy, who was born out of wedlock. He was hungry during the turbulent times and ran to the village to steal. He was caught and tried by the villagers, and then tied to a tree stump and pecked to death by black birds. ~"
"What's his name?" Beric Dondarrion chose to respect the dead and at least knew his name.
"Edric Storm~" the singer stretched out his voice on the last word.
Arstan Selmy looked at Beric uneasily. "I remember that King Robert had a bastard son at Storm's End who had the same name as this boy."
"That's him," Bryce Cullen said, his orange cloak fluttering behind him. "My personal guards have come with me to Storm's End and have seen him several times. He saw him when he went to explore the village."
"I didn't see them on the way here." Astan Selmy looked at the map and frowned. He had clearly stationed here earlier than the Cullen family. Bryce Cullen smiled, looked up at him, said "I don't blame you" and left.
Astan was stunned, and didn't utter a word of "Damn it" until Bryce Cullen walked away.
Without saying anything, Berry caught up with Bryce Cullen and said, "We need to discuss our march. If we gather for too long, something unexpected might happen. Winter is coming, and the lords here must at least save some food for the winter."
Bryce Cullen shook his head. "We have no idea how many people there are in Storm's End."
"There was no resistance along the way, which shows that the military strength is insufficient," Berry responded.
"Perhaps it is a strategy to lure the enemy. Besides," Bryce said as they walked, "even if there are only a hundred people guarding Storm's End, our military strength is still quite insufficient."
"So we're just going to wait? You're the commander of the border." Beric Dondarrion frowned and asked.
Bryce continued to shake his head, "Do you have any news about Stonehelm?"
"Earl Sven said that there are bandits in the rainforest territory and his army needs to suppress them."
"Nonsense," Bryce Cullen denied. "Why at this time?"
Berry closed his mouth and chose to think in silence.
The scout cavalry came with a "thump thump thump" sound, raising dust and mud. The flags of different families mixed together like a symphony.
The two men, with their faces covered in dust, walked through the military camp and entered the makeshift command tent.
"The Dornish will help us," Beric Dondarrion said, as if chewing mole meat that had gone sour. "They may have more troops than we do."
Bryce Cullen stroked his chin and hesitated for a moment. "Except for some furniture being burned, nothing seems to be damaged in Nightsong City."
"Your farm and innocent people," Berry reminded.
"The Dornish are not allowed to set foot in the Borderlands, let alone Storm's End? This is the heart of the Stormlands. I'm afraid not even a grasshopper underfoot would allow this to happen," Bryce Cullen analyzed, "But the Dornish did get the promise of the Iron Throne."
"Artis Arryn is probably unaware of the rift, which is normal. We can solve this problem by releasing a few ravens," said Beric.
Bryce looked up, a little unconvinced. "The Dornishmen offered to help us take Storm's End, which is equivalent to a token of allegiance. It is normal for the Prime Minister to agree."
"Ser Barristan is gathering troops in King's Landing. The crown and some people from the Vale will join the war, not to mention that the lords loyal to the royal family in the Stormlands are also gearing up for battle." Beric wanted to boost morale.
"We lost the Battle of Blackwater, but not completely. After all the navy was controlled by the Onion Knight and Roland, most of the Stormland army had to be led by the nose," Bryce Cullen said, "Two-thirds of Nightsong City's army is in the hands of Roland Storm, and there are also Stormland troops threatened by him. In this situation, how can the Stormland lords be eager to fight? I'm afraid they are all thinking about how to get through the winter." He leaned his hands on the table, his tone was calm, and it was unclear whether he was angry or not.
"Shall we wait until Ser Barristan arrives before we make any decision?"
"No," Bryce Cullen rejected Berri's proposal, "Let's go and persuade them to surrender before the Dornishmen do."
(End of this chapter)
