章 7: Chapter 7 - Adventures in the North 04.
[Chapter Size: 2428 Words]
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Sandu POV -
Northern Kingdom, Icehill Farm, 289 AC, This moment.
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Sandu was a bastard in the riverlands to the south; he never knew any of his relatives during his childhood. He only found out about his parents after being expelled from the orphanage at the age of 14 namedays due to his cruel behavior towards the other children. Always treated as a bastard, Sandu harbored hatred for everyone in this world, especially his own parents. In the years that followed, he embarked on a quest for information about his biological father and mother, those who had brought him into the world through the underworld of Westeros, located in the riverlands.
He discovered that his mother was a prostitute in a brothel, and his father was the third son of a minor noble house, connected to some vassals of the Tully banners. After leaving the orphanage, it didn't take long for him to get involved in a dishonest life, joining other groups of bandits where things were easier, and he could unleash his hatred on the poor victims he encountered along the way. It was there that he learned to fight and kill innocent people with pleasure. Sandu had a few life goals: carnal pleasures such as looting, killing, engaging in sexual relations, and, most importantly, seeking revenge against those who had abandoned him as a baby.
Every night, Sandu slept thinking about this revenge until he fulfilled it with his mother some time later. Murdering a prostitute was easier than a noble with guards, however modest their house might be. He still remembers how he enjoyed doing it with the woman who gave birth to him. He simply went to the place and paid for a night with her in the brothel, not to possess her, but to kill her. He was disgusted to realize that she did not recognize him, something unlikely that he expected, but what outraged him even more was how she tried to seduce him. Nurturing deep hatred for this woman, without wasting time to explain that he was her son, he seized her neck and had the satisfaction of revealing who he was before making her close her eyes. At that time, he was 15 years old.
However, the story was different on his father's side. Despite being from a small family, he was a small-time crook serving a group in the Riverlands Kingdom. It didn't take him long to start gaining influence in the group in the following years and killing whoever was necessary to take over as the leader. With his cruel behavior, he managed to stabilize his position after cutting off a few heads. Then, his infamous gang of ruffians began to grow and be noticed by the local nobility. This kingdom was a conducive place to be a bandit, especially after the fall of the dragons, as the nobility became highly divided after the rebellion, with many accusing the Tullys of oathbreakers, even after receiving the rule from Aegon the Conqueror almost 300 years before when House Tully didn't even exist, and the kingdom was ruled by the Ironborn.
The Tullys themselves rebelled against the Targaryens, and as a result, Hoster Tully, in addition to expanding his influences in other kingdoms through the marriages of his daughters, saw his lands become less secure, generating dissatisfaction among commoners and nobles. This is something the Lord of the Rivers himself hopes to change in the coming years once his grandchildren take over the rule of other kingdoms.
Taking advantage of this vulnerability, Sandu spent five years looting in the Tully territories. He formed a considerable group to command, with dozens of bandits, hoping to find the ideal opportunity to attack his father over the years. His father served as the master-at-arms of his house since he was the third son, and the chance of inheriting anything was unlikely. However, Sandu's luck ran out before his desires could materialize. Some smaller houses joined forces to end his banditry, and he was massacred in an ambush. He never had the chance to attack his father and had to retreat after almost losing his life.
He survived and ended up fleeing to the north with the remnants of his forces, still with the goal of returning one day to the river and finishing his personal revenge. He hated the climate of this kingdom; he spent two years in the North looting here and there. Many tried to end them, and many fell. He had to be more cautious, as it seemed that the northern nobility cared more about the commoners than the lords of the rivers. He began to increase his group again; most of his comrades were now prisoners sent to the Wall, where his group ambushed them, killing all the guards escorting them north. After freeing the condemned men, he made them follow him, as for many of these men condemned to wear black, it was preferable to continue committing crimes than to freeze on the wall for the rest of their lives.
Even in the face of cruel people, Sandu knew that the secret to commanding them was to be even more cruel. Thus, he managed to establish his leadership position during these two years here. His group was in the west of the North, near the coast, evading pursuers from small houses while looting small villages and towns where they passed, having a good chance of profit and enjoyment.
Unknown location, dozens of kilometers west of Icehill Farm, 289 AC.
Now, a few days later, his men heard some rumors as they entered a village to replenish their supplies and gather information. The village was teeming with guards, so it wasn't a good deal for his group, but information was always welcome. His men reported about a miraculous farm not far from their positions. With the abundant harvest in mind, Sandu envisioned how they could enrich themselves. Quickly, he instructed the men to prepare to depart immediately, and in two days, on horseback, they were already nearing their target.
With the farm in sight at 1000 meters, he became excited about the prospect of plunder, as he couldn't spot any guards from afar. When he got close enough, he took the path between the trees and silently approached the farm. As he reached the trees at the edge of the farm's field to get an idea of what he and his men would be dealing with, he was quite surprised. He saw five men building a small wall with everything they could gather from the farm; it was made of pieces of wood, trees, branches, stakes, chairs, and more.
He and his men looked strangely at this, as they saw that something was amiss. 'Were they already preparing for our arrival? How is this possible...? Did the Old Gods, whom the people of the North pray to, somehow warn them of our group's arrival in advance, as rumored about the place being blessed?' A thousand questions swirled in his mind, but looking at the scene, even without the element of surprise, he still had the advantage of his group of 12 against 4 or 5 apparently, who weren't even guards or trained men, judging by a simple glance.
Sandu was a little disappointed because the farmers were clearly poor. Aside from the fact that the fields had some beautifully sized and colored crops and the barns were full of grains, the family of this place was clearly destitute; they didn't even have weapons. Some used tree axes and other pieces of wood with some farm tools; only one looked like a soldier. "This plantation probably only happened once; at least his gang could take a portion of the harvest, and I'm sure there must be some hidden women." He murmured with a wicked smile. He put a smile on his face and stepped out of the trees with two more henchmen, who soon saw all five farmers looking alertly in their direction. He smiled at the group. "HELLO, MY HUMBLE FARMERS, JUST LOOK AT THIS HARVEST. THIS WOULD MAKE ANY NEIGHBOR JEALOUS HAHAHAHA." He shouted, as he still maintained a certain distance of 200m from them in an open field that the farmers did not use for harvest yet. After the laughter, he wanted to see the farmers' response to figure out what tricks they had stored for his group, even in the advantage; he didn't want to be caught off guard.
"YOU AND YOUR MEN TAKE OFF FROM OUR LANDS, OR IT WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU DO!" The eldest, with a soldier's posture, threatened them so that Sandu and his men had some hope of leaving. "I SEE... I SEE..." Sandu noticed the nervousness in the 5 men, despite the threat received. He knew that, after living many years in this bandit lifestyle, it was just a bluff from the other side. "Look, boys! It seems we have some chickens to kill before robbing that beautiful field and its grains, and some hidden women to find!" Sandu said to his men, and a wild chorus erupted from the trees. His men were now shouting excitedly, as this farm was an easy prey with some loot, even though he didn't believe there was gold anywhere here.
Lucas POV Icehill Farm, 289 AC, at the same moment. Lucas and the others were watching this interaction with the bandits with pale expressions. They didn't hear what was said in the leader's speech, however, but hearing the excited shouts from the other side, Lucas realized that their bluff didn't work at all. "May the Gods protect us..." Lucas choked out, murmuring nervously.
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Sandu Rivers POV Icehill Farm, 289 AC, at the same moment.
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Sandu was preparing the men, not failing to look with a bit of respect and appreciation at the group of farmers who decided to stay and fight, even without a chance of winning against him and his men. On his side were horses; the farmers would be trampled easily, even with the barricade made up of all sorts of things. They could bypass or even go over it, not to mention their pitiful weapons, which were more agricultural tools than deadly weapons. Without wasting any more time, he was the first to gallop among his men, who soon followed behind Sandu with all the ferocity of their leader. They ran galloping across an open field of 200 meters.
Fortunately for Sandu and his group, the farmers did not have a well-trained archer among them with a longbow. He knew that he would lose almost half of his men before reaching them if that were the case. And he would have to devise another tactic instead of simply running straight to the farm. However, luck was on his side.
Sandu could already see the funny faces of those people at this distance; they were expressing fear of imminent death. At the distance of 170 meters, his men were even more excited, roaring, demanding blood, loot, and women. "Today was a good loot!" he thought. 140m now "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! LET'S GO, MEN, KILL ALL THE FARMERS AND LOOT THE WHOLE PLACE!" Sandu roared the order, and what he received as a response from the men right behind him were shouts increasing with joy and his group trotting even faster, to the point where their horses began to protest their limit. But his men didn't care about that; all they saw was their loot.
Finally reaching a distance of 100 meters, Sandu could see his victims trembling with fear, a sight that always thrilled his heart. He loved humiliating the weak, and he was sure that at the end of this day, he would finish with a beautiful smile on his face. But his thought was interrupted when something happened...
In the midst of the war cries, he heard cries of surprise among his group and suddenly found himself losing to gravity and falling. He didn't know how, but his horse went down suddenly, along with his men, by the cries of surprise he heard. *Pahh* *Pahh* *Pahh* He soon felt himself hitting the ground; the impact was horrible, along with all that noise, the sound of over a thousand kilograms falling to the ground, men screaming, and horses making sounds of pain. For a moment, he thought he would be in a terrible dream, denying reality with anger.
He was still rolling on the ground, only able to recall that he was sure the field they were running on was firm and had no trap, as far as he could tell. Sandu, the leader of this group, until a moment ago had a dignified state for a bandit; now, he looked like a kicked dog, dirty with soil and mud from the slightly wet ground. He was in pain all over his body and breathless, not understanding what happened, struggling to get up as quickly as possible. He quickly glanced back and found that his 12 companions shared the same fate as him.
Sandu, even fighting against the lack of air and body pains, quickly turned his gaze back to the farmers, who were showing perplexed looks to his group. The situation became even more mysterious in his mind because he noticed that they also didn't understand what was happening. Returning his gaze to his fallen men, he found that 9 managed to get up; one was screaming with a broken leg, and two were motionless on the ground with no signs of life, as their necks were dislocated due to the impact of the fall.
He could only look with empty eyes at that humiliating situation that he couldn't understand; the ground was intact, with no signs of any planted trap, there was no line that would make the horses go down, or marks on the legs of those animals that were struggling to get up at the moment, so he felt very lost.
While Sandu was lost, the 12 horses got up startled and scattered in all directions, not giving them time to recover their mounts. "Is this farm protected by the gods?" This frightening thought couldn't help but pass due to this strange situation because from what he perceived, not even the farmers knew what happened. Sandu barely knew that on a hill near the farmers and the farm, there was a breathless boy with a constantly bleeding nose, and his face with a pale blue color, almost as if he were dead, even though he wasn't; he was at the gate of death.
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