Capítulo 9: War of the Usurper VI
(Hoster Tully POV)
We are making our way towards Stoney Sept, where we got word that Robert was staying and hiding from Lord Jon Connington.
After being defeated by Lord Randyll Tarly in the Battle of Ashford, near the border between the Stormlands and the Reach, Robert Baratheon turned north to rejoin his friend and now my good son, Lord Eddard Stark. Robert is said to be wounded from the last information we gathered by ... spies. Robert's wounds are tended to by friends in Stoney Sept, according to the same sources.
There is only one problem, the glory-seeking new Hand of the King, Lord Jon Connington, has occupied Stoney Sept with a mighty force. The 'spy' has told us, that the Griff ordered his soldiers to begin searching the town, even its sewers for Robert. The Griff offered pardons and rewards and kept hostages in crow cages, but Robert managed to remain hidden in various places by the townspeople. How that spy managed to gather all that information is beyond me. And honestly, I don't trust him.
I look to my left where I see the young boy riding on a horse all smug and with glee. The boy I sent away from Riverrun for dishonouring me and my House, Petyr Baelish. The rising star of Westeros for some inexplicable reason. The boy I almost had beaten out of Riverrun, now rides with the Lords of Great Houses like Arryn, Stark and Tully. His role? A bloody spy. He managed to gather information from Stoney Sept and told it to Lord Jon Arryn. I can only assume that Lord Jon also gathered the same intel from his own spies.
It enrages me to think that that brat now thinks he is something special. He had help, that much is clear. No one can rise so fast and so high without a secret backer and I will find out who it is that helped the vermin.
"Lord Hoster, is there something wrong? You look tense and your head is red. Are you not feeling well?", the rat asks me. He looks at me with a 'gentle' smile that makes me want to gut him like the worm he is.
"My complexion is none of your business, boy. You better worry about your own hide or I will have you hanged.", I snap at him.
"Pray tell, what did I do to anger you so? And why would I have to worry about my hide?", he asks me and looks confused. He knows very well what I am talking about.
"You know bloody well, what I am talking about, boy."
"I would appreciate it if you could call me by my name and show me proper respect. I am Lord Petyr Baelish from House Baelish, a noble house of the Vale.", he says to me.
"Noble house? Don't make me laugh boy. I will call you whatever I wish. You don't deserve any respect, not from me. Do you hear me ... boy?", I say.
"Lord Tully, what is wrong? Why are you talking to Lord Petyr that way?", Jon Arryn asks me as he moves his horse between us. Lord Stark also slows down and rides next to me.
"The so-called 'Lord Petyr' is nothing but a liar and his lies will be revealed soon. He dishonoured my house when he bedded my daughter Lisa and dared to ask for Catelyn's hand and challenged Brandon Stark. He will get no sympathy or respect from me."
"Is that true, Petyr? Did you bed Lysa Tully?", Jon Arryn asks.
"I wouldn't do such a thing. Both Catelyn and Lysa are very dear to me and I was blinded by my affection for Catelyn, leading me to challenge Lord Eddard's brother, Brandon. That was my mistake and I had to pay the price for it. I was shunned and had to leave Riverrun with nothing but the clothes I wore. The way back was hard, but I managed to acquire a beautiful boat. I used said boat to start my merchant business and help my house and my Keep to rise from its previous station. I never did anything but try to fight for Catelyn and have her stay. I agree that it was foolish, but who hasn't done anything foolish when it came to love?"
Hearing his words almost makes me lose my control and cut him down, but I still manage to stop myself.
"Nonsense! I had to give Lysa Moon Tea because she told me you bed her. Don't lie!", I shout.
"Then your daughter lied to you. I would never bed her like that. I was in love with Catelyn and not Lysa. And why would I be so stupid as to bed your daughter under your roof, when I am under your fosterage? I am not that stupid, Lord Tully.", he spits in my face.
"You ...!"
"That's enough. We have more to do than to shout at one another. We must make haste to reach Stoney Sept as fast as possible. The Griff might find Robert any moment if we don't get there in time.", Lord Arryn says.
"Those men you told us about better be there, Petyr. I want to believe you, but what I am hearing here right now, makes me question your motives for helping us. Do you understand?", he turns to the worm and asks him with narrowed eyes.
"I wouldn't dare lie to my Lord Paramount. If anything, I am a hostage right now, so if I lie, you may kill me on the spot.", he says and bows his head.
"Come now, Jon. He is genuine. He helped me and if he wanted to betray us, he could have stopped me from reaching the North. That would have been a much easier way to prove his loyalty. Why would he do this?", Lord Star asks his foster father.
That boy is too soft. Sadly his brother is dead and now I have to wed my precious Cat to him. But he will be the Lord of House Stark, that is better than what I could have achieved otherwise. I know my Cat will do well there and teach those Northerners some manners.
.
*Ding Ding Ding*
The town's Septons ring bronze and silver bells to warn the smallfolk to remain indoors as we attack. Our forces storm Stoney Sept's walls and attack Jon Connington's army while doing so. He wasn't expecting us to arrive here so quickly. I watch as our soldiers breach the walls and start making their way forward. The Griff responds fiercely fighting back in the streets, alleys, and rooftops.
I am in there as well, looking for the rooster to kill him and dealing a heavy blow to the loyalists. I block an attack coming from one such dragon soldier and push him back.
"Rebel scum! DIE!", he shouts and swings his sword in a wide arc towards me.
I dodge the blade and impale my own sword into him, cutting between the chains and killing him. I am attacked again before I even get my sword out of the body and step back. My years of experience come in handy in a fight such as this, but even then it is hard to fight this way. There is so much chaos and enemies coming from all directions. The streets of Stoney Sept are filled with men who are killing each other.
Then I see him. The Griff, Jon Connington cuts down three men one after the other and then stands on top of the corpses like the demon that he is. All those who follow King Aerys are scum. I can only hope that my gamble pays off. We need to win this fight. Our eyes meet and i see the same fire in his eyes that I have in mine.
I approach him and we both swing our swords at the same time.
*CLING*
Our blades collide with one another. This is a battle of wills as much as it is a battle of strength and speed. He is younger than I am and therefore quicker and maybe even slightly stronger. But I have the experience. I dodge his attacks and use the narrow gaps in his style to counterattack. He moves fast and I am having trouble doing any damage to him.
Then I see it. An opening, the opening I was waiting for. I deflect his blade and bend my knees as much as I can, moving forward and pushing myself off. I rush towards him, breaching his defence and swinging my sword in an upward arc. This is over, he has no chance to dodge this. He will have to move back or take the blow, giving me the advantage.
I smile as my sword approaches him and then-
*Cut*
"AARRGHHH!!", I scream in pain as I suddenly feel it from my side.
The Griff has his blade stuck into my side, right between the armour. It was a feint, a trap created by him to create an opening and deal a finishing blow. And I fell for it so pathetically. He takes his blade out and kicks me.
*Clunk*
I fall to the ground, holding my side and gasping for breath. I look to the right and there I see ... HIM. Petyr Baelish is looking at me and ... he smiles!! He bloody SMILES!!! And then he turns around and continues as if he didn't see me here.
I feel anger overwhelm me. So much so, that I don't even feel the pain anymore. I hear Connington say something to me but don't listen. If only I could kill him! I look up and see his blade cut down on me.
*CLANG*
Another sword intercepts the Griff's blade and saves my life. I look and recognise Lord Jon Arryn's gallant cousin and heir, Ser Denys Arryn. He is a skilled fighter and uses the surprise to push Connington back and disarm him in a quick fashion. The Griff stumbles and falls to the ground on his back.
"Die Griff!", Ser Denys shouts and raises his blade above his head, only to push it down on Lord Connington.
The blade however doesn't impale flesh and bones, but the ground instead. My eyes widen at the Griff's nimbleness as he rolls to the side and grabs an axe which lay on the ground next to him. He doesn't stand up and instead swings the axe while he is on his knees and ...
*Kkuuuschkkk*
I hear the disgusting sound of bones cracking and innards spilling out. And then ... I see Ser Denys' body fall to the ground with an axe in his head.
No!
"RRAAAAAAAHHH"
I hear a loud scream coming from the town's sept. There I see Robert shouting and running around naked, killing men left and right with his mighty Warhammer. The roar of the young Stag seems to pull Jon Connington's attention away from me and instead, he focuses on Robert. I see them engaging in a fight and the last thing I can think about, is that I hope he survives the idiotic decision of not wearing armour to this battle and running around naked ...
.
I woke up in pain. We had won the battle and had pushed Lord Connington back. From what I can gather, the Griff nearly died when fighting Robert but retreated when he saw that the battle of the Bells, that's what they call it, was lost. Right now I have to do two things.
First, the death of Ser Denys Arryn, the heir of Lord Arryn, in the battle gives me a new opportunity. In exchange for my support, the ageing and heirless Jon Arryn will surely agree to marry Lysa, who had proven to be fertile following her aborted pregnancy with ... Petyr Baelish.
"... and then I will deal with Petyr Baelish.", I say to the Lords who are present currently. Lord Arryn, Stark and also Robert Baratheon, clotheed this time.
"Gods let it rest Hoster. You sound like some hysterical damsel right now. Behave like a Lord of our House should and stop being so little. It was a battle for goodness sake. And he is barely 6 and 10 name days old. Blame your wounds on yourself and not the boy."
I look to my right and see Brynden with his arms crossed shaking his head. He has angered me far too much in the last few days and it is getting apparent, that I have to do something about him.
"HE WAS ABOUT TO LET ME GET KILLED!!!", I lose it and shout at my brother.
"Calm down, Lord Tully. I understand your frustration but Petyr has already told me all about it.", Jon Arryn says, surprising me.
"Oh? And what did he tell you?"
"He told me that he saw you lying on the ground and about to be killed, but that he couldn't manage to get to you. He told me that he was scared and also nearly died, had it not been for his soldiers, the Spartans to arrive in time. He is truly sorry for what happened, but I can understand him. I hope you will forgive him as well. He is still young and inexperienced."
I am about to explode when I hear his next words.
"As for your offer, I will gladly accept it and marry your daughter Lysa. House Arryn thank you for that."
...
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I created an auxiliary chapter with the important characters and pictures of the people and soldiers. I'll update it whenever I add something new.
The picture of the women will only appear when we meet them in the story. Please think in terms of the story and the setting. This is Game of Thrones, so naturally he will not necessarily care about monogamy and the like. He will have more than one woman.
I am warning you beforehand so that if you want to leave, you can. But I will not make this a pokemon run.
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