Chương 21: Theon, I choose you
Theon, I choose you
Theon POV
Fifteen thousand, with the men coming back to Robb from the Twins and other lords joining Robb, he had fifteen thousand men now. Tywin, too, had a similar number of men from the information we had. Still, Robb and I agreed it wasn't the time to attack him. Yet there were many other things to worry about.
"He demands me."
Robb repeated the same words as he paced around the room. It was just Robb and me in the room. A letter had arrived, and Robb called me for counsel. I sat on a chair and read the letter. It indeed was a bit too much.
"He demands to lay my crown and denounce this foolish notion."
"Well, he is the king," I said. "Have you gotten anything from the Vale?"
"Nothing, I have written to my aunt just before leaving Winterfell, yet there is still no answer."
"I don't think the Vale will join the Lannisters. They will be neutral or support Stannis."
"Riverlands will be on my side."
"And it would bring more problems. The North can protect itself, and no one would conquer it, but the Riverlands don't have any natural borders. It will be only a deadweight to you and the North."
Robb stopped and started to think. He had a frown on his face trying to think of a solution. Right now, he resembled his father. But Robb didn't have any victory over his belt. He has not been taken seriously by anyone. Even my actions were nothing but a thorn to Tywin.
"The Reach is the only choice then. I should send a letter to Prince Doran. Even if they don't join me, they could proclaim independence."
"Or you could kneel to Stannis," I suggested.
"Starks only knelt to the dragons. Even if the worse comes through, Stannis won't take the North. No one was able to do it in eight thousand years."
"Winter is coming, Robb. It will be a long winter. It is better not to burn the bridges too soon."
"Stop talking in riddles," Robb groaned. "But you are right. We need the trade of the south."
"Well, there is Essos. Still, we should end this war, not start another."
"I will write to Stannis again, but I refuse to bend my knee on his command."
"What have Joffrey written to you?"
"The same as Stannis, just more rudely and outlandishly."
"We should offer marriage to Royces. Sansa always spoke of how she wanted to marry a knight. Ser Andar is a good man and heir to Runestone."
"I met Ser Andar. He seemed like a fine man, and Royces were old friends of house Stark. I will not have enough siblings to offer soon if we go on like this," Robb laughed.
"Then you should get married soon and get children," I replied.
It was nice to get to a lighter topic. Soon we were just boys once again joking and laughing. But it didn't last long, as someone knocked on the door. Once Robb opened the door, Lord Karstark entered the room.
"Your Grace, we have information about the forces of Lord Tywin. We know his whereabouts."
"Very well, call for a council. We will talk about what actions we should take."
I left with Lord Karstark. I didn't have much else to say to Robb. It would be best to leave him to think by himself. I could only imagine what was going on in his head. Problems kept coming up without any solution.
…
On the table, a map was spread, and a lion statue was put on the hill of High Heart. The lords of the North were gathered around it and discussed the next course of action we should take. To me, it didn't seem that there was much to do. Tywin got the high ground on this.
"It isn't a good place to initiate an attack, your grace," Lord Bolton spoke.
"They will see us before we could even get close to them," Lord Karstark agreed.
"Then we will not attack them there," Robb announced. "We will offer the trade of hostages. He will agree once he sees his son."
"But your grace, he is murdered. He killed your father," Lord Karstark tried to persuade Robb.
"And there is the question of other captives he has with him," Lord Umber spoke.
"We know that Tywin has only Ser Edmure with him at High Heart," I said. "The others are probably in Golden Tooth."
"Another place that is hard to attack," Lord Bolton informed.
"Both places are hard to approach, not being seen. It would be impossible to attack them, especially in a surprise. Lord Tywin chose a good place to settle down," Robb said. "We have no other choice but to trade the Kingslayer for my uncle and wait for a better opportunity."
"What do you think, Theon?" Lord Karstark asked me.
"Lord Tywin is a cold and calculating man. He won't do anything that puts him at a disadvantage. Yet, he lost the Mountain. There aren't many who would fulfill his position. I don't believe he will initiate an attack any soon."
"Then we let him be. If he thinks I will rush at him, he thinks wrongly."
If there was someone who disagreed, they didn't speak up. It was clear that Robb's words were final. Once again, I stayed behind when everyone else left. I waited for Robb to stop staring at the map. He still tried to think of a way that wasn't there.
"Once we return the Kingslayer, Tywin won't give up on his conquest."
"No, he won't," I agreed with Robb. "He probably has already amassed a second host moving towards Riverlands."
"We need to be on the defensive, yet we can't just abandon the captives Tywin has."
"What are you planning?" I asked.
"We need to rescue the captives in the Golden Tooth," Robb told me. "I will announce that we are marching towards High Heart."
"We are?"
"No, you won't be marching with me. I want you to take a hundred men and try to infiltrate the Golden Tooth and save the captives."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"It is not a big castle, more like a keep. An army might not get to the Golden Tooth, but a small group might go unnoticed."
"Is a suicide to try something like this," I complained.
"So was facing the Kingslayer and the Mountain," Robb pointed out. "If someone can do this, it is you. I know I ask a lot of you, but you are the man I trust the most. If you can't find a way, so be it. At least we can say that we tried"
"I will try to think something," I told him. "But if it is hopeless, I will retreat."
"I will try to garner the attention of Tywin and everyone else. It is better if nobody knows of this plan. If they do not expect you, it will give you a chance."
It is easier said than done, but I could at least try. Taking the keep might not be possible, but saving some captives might work. We would need to move fast and unnoticed.
…
Thoros, Jalabhar, and Anguy were waiting for me at the gates of Harrenhal. The day was clear. A little bit windy, but nothing too special. I wished I had a better plan for getting inside Golden Tooth, but nothing came to mind.
"I don't like this plan," Thoros said.
"If it doesn't work, it doesn't. But we need to save the captives before they are transported elsewhere. It will be harder if they go to Crownlands or Casterly Rock."
"Maybe we could wait for them to be transported and then try and save them," Anguy spoke up.
"It will work only once. The second time, they will triple the security. And we can't know when they will make the transport. It will be hard to plan a hit."
"Still, your plan is mad. There is so much that could go wrong," Jalabhar disagreed. "At least when we hit them on the road, we don't risk much."
"Enough, we have our orders. So, prepare what I told you. We will be leaving a few hours later, after Robb. Now, smile and wave as they are leaving."
As I said, Robb and his men were leaving. Going through the gates, I gave a light hug to Robb and patted Grey Wind. Robb told everyone it would be better if I didn't go with him and stay at Harrenhal.
…
It took longer to reach Golden Tooth than expected. I didn't want anyone to know about our movements, so I avoided settlements and major roads. Still, we were just a hundred men group, so riding off the road and through the forests wasn't too hard.
We had to ride along the rivers and mountains of the southwest of the Riverlands. We only rested at night and stopped by fishermen's villages to buy some food. I didn't want to waste time when something significant could happen on any day.
We arrived at Golden Tooth with tired horses. I was not too worried that someone would come and try to kill us. Robb should have reached High Heart, so most attention was upon him. I don't believe Tywin has the leisure to worry about anyone else.
"I still don't think it is a good plan," Anguy complained.
"You worry too much. Just get dressed and follow me."
"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Thoros asked.
"You too old," I replied, tying up my bandages. "Before you ask, you are too exotic, Jalabhar."
"Thank you," Jalabhar replied. "Still just a dozen of you. Will that be enough?"
"It wouldn't matter if more were coming with me," I answered, "It is better this way."
"If you say so, I should write a book of how crazy you, Westerosi, are," Jalabhar commented. "Your plans are getting madder and madder."
"When you live in a mad world, you need to become mad yourself to survive," I told him. "Well, it seems we are prepared. Wish me luck."
After putting on a helm on my head, I climbed on my horse. Anguy and the rest did the same. It was time for a show that probably would kill me. Well, it won't be the first time for me.
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