Victorious?

The return to Segard [as relayed by lady Joy]

On the way back to Seagard, the party is approached by Anya, the huntress from Chaflok. She's been having horrible nightmares about lady Joy being slaughtered by a gigantic man. As cryptical visions go, this one seems fairly easy to solve. Unfortunately Anya should have arrived 30 minutes earlier, as galloping horses are heard just after her arrival - no points for guessing who's coming. 

Rha and Anya know the area well, and lead the group into the swamp. They spot the pursuers and sure enough, it's the Mountain and a fairly big group of heavy cavalrymen. Rha leaves the horses behind, which the Mountain promptly slaughters - but there is no pursuit. 

Rha and Anya lead the group northward, not directly towards Seagard, but not far from Chaflok. I'm not surprised when Joy told us the Mountain set fire to the village and killed everyone, his cruelty is as legendary as his strength. Long story short, lady Joy (and the rest) makes it home to Seagard in one piece. 

Meanwhile, lord Keith is in Seagard awaiting the lady's return when he gets news of the razing of Chaflok. Fearing the worst, he takes his personal guard and some cavalry and travels south. They come across a large camping grounds that's a few days old, signs pointing to 40-50 men having spent the night. Half traveled south, while the other half traveled north. Buried in the dirt there's a Lannister gold coin...not proof of course, but interesting. 

Tracking the Mountain's trail doesn't prove very difficult, and Keith arrives at what's left of Chaflok. From there, the trails go west towards the sea, where they disappear - obviously someone was waiting for them. I haven't known lord Keith for long, but I can imagine just how dark red his face turned when he discovered that the "Mountain that hides" as he so fondly calls him once again slipped between his fingers...

Seagard

So after a few eventful days (for some of us at least, I traveled from Erenford to Seagard with the most exciting event being a pretty good lamprey pie at the Prancing Pony), most of the small council is gathered at Seagard. Lords Bass and Barrett stayed behind in Riverrun to get the lay of the land. 

As we sit down for another one of the absurdly lavish  dinners at the castle (seriously, I thought I was rich - pfah!), the maester arrives, pale-faced. Joy takes the letter he turns over to her, a vaguely irritated look on her face at the seal being broken. That soon changes as her delicate features turn pale. She composes herself, then announces that king Robert is dead, reputedly after a hunting accident. Riiight...

And with that, the small council is unofficially plunged into action. We spend hours arguing over the next course of action, the theme in question being the Freys. Being the new guy and knowing how that works, I keep my opinions more to myself than I otherwise would have. Surprisingly hard when you're used to running shit on your own, but at least I'm not unfamiliar with sucking up to nobles.

There are two clear factions. Lord Keith's side - well, need I say anything beyond slaughter, murder, rivers of blood and so on? Barrett isn't here to argue his side, but his recent letter advocates caution (as I'm beginning to understand is his modus operandi). Edmure's uncle, who is his closest political counselor, apparently impressed the need for a delicate hand in the matter upon Barrett as well. I get it - the Mallisters and the Freys go at each other, lose a bunch of men, other houses get sucked in...Riverlands is ripe for the taking, and there's no king to stop the Lannisters from doing so.

In the end though, it comes down to lady Joy. And she wants the Freys to suffer. Suffer for her uncle, for trying to kill her not once, not twice but gods know how many times. Suffer for Erenford, and suffer for not being able to grieve her father in peace. So, there it is. I'm not one to try to convince someone with a hole in their soul and the need for cold steel to do its job that peace is preferable. Sometimes, someone needs to die, even if it's not the rational choice.

But now...who's the "someone"? Throwing ideas around for the better part of an hour, we end up on deciding that we'll let the Freys' nature work against them. Everyone of old Walder's kids and grandkids would gladly step over the corpses of the others to gain power, and a year back Edwyn suggested that he wouldn't be entirely sad if Black Walder suffered a shaving accident while imprisoned at Seagard. So, why not try it again?

The plan is to have Barrett's spies in the Twins make contact with Edwyn and have him meet us at the border to Erenford. We'll suggest that he should arrange for a small party of ours to make our way into the Twins. With an elite few, finding Walder himself and his son Stevron should be doable. Edwyn will take care of Black Walder.


Border of Erenford and Frey
And so, a week later, we find ourselves meeting up with Edwyn as planned. "We" being myself, Rha, lord Keith, lord Willard, Anya and a small group of Keith's personal guards. Lady Joy is staying close to the city. Edwyn shows up with around 20 men. After the usual banter, Edwyn actually agrees, his hunger for power overcoming his natural caution. I've heard he's the Frey we should fear the most, being actually intelligent and cautious, with the capacity for long-term planning. And here we are dealing with him.

As we shake hands, an arrow suddenly sprouts from his eye, spraying lord Keith with blood. In the distance, we can barely make out Black Walder with a maniacal grin on his face. Besides him, the Mountain lets out a roar and charges alongside 40-50 cavalrymen.

Edwyn's 2nd in command looks at his fallen leader in complete shock, and the rest of his men are clearly confused about what the hell they're supposed to do now. I quickly recognize that without them on our side, we're dead men - and if there's one thing I'm good at, it's getting people to understand what's good for them. I bellow orders for them to fight or die, and luckily they have the wits to obey. Alright, at least we have a shot.

The fight is...well. Whoever told you fighting is honorable has clearly never been in a battle like this. We start with Rha taking out the horses of the Mountain and Black Walder, because otherwise we're dead. The Mountain recognizes Rha's deadly accuracy and orders a bunch of the cavalry to take him down. Rha leads them around, sniping at them and their horses, and pretty much keeps Black Walder out of the fight all by himself.

Watching Willard in a fight (and watch I did, given how damnably ineffective I am compared to these guys) is mesmerizing. The Mountain is among the best swordsmen in Westeros, and even he's got problems getting in a hit. Dance this way, dodge that way, jump over the vicious downstrokes. It's almost like he's surprised when the Mountain manages to land a blow that draws blood.

Anya's not on the same level as those two, but while Willard doesn't present a big threat to the Mountain, Anya's axes leave nasty wounds time after time, finding the spaces in his armor and biting deep. 

The most impressive display, however, is by lord Keith. Not because he's the best swordsman. He isn't. He wields his greatsword with brute skill honed by years of experience, but there are hundreds if not thousands who are his better. Not because he can block or dodge attacks like Willard. He can't. It's simply because he refuses to surrender, his broken body climbing to its feet again and again after yet another gruesome hit. Both the Mountain and his men rain blow upon blow on him, and I could swear his skull must be made of iron - how else did his head not split like a ripe melon after a clean hit by the Mountain's gigantic sword?

Ever so slowly, the fight turns in our favor, and in the end Gregor Clegane stands alone against us. You can see the realization that he's actually going to die slowly dawn upon him. To his credit there is no begging for mercy, no trying to flee, just a single-minded need to drag as many as possible down with him. In the end, Willard's sword worms its way into his right eye and through the back of his skull, skewering him to the ground. He manages a last look of disgust, as if even now we're not worthy of even fighting him, then the life seeps from him.

The battlefield is strewn with broken bodies of men and horses. The rest of the Frey men slaughtered each other almost to a man, with the survivors slinking away in the darkness. Black Walder is hiding behind his horse, barely managing to stay out of the way of Rha's arrows. We briefly consider keeping him alive, but Willard just walks up to him and kills him with a single stroke. Probably easier that way.

Most of us are beaten within an inch of our lives, lord Keith and Anya more than most. Keith's remaining men look at him with unadulterated worship in their eyes, barely believing he managed to face the Mountain and live to tell the tale. We bind our wounds as best we can, then limp back to our horses and find our way back to lady Joy.


The aftermath
Joy takes the news with grim content. Not exactly what we planned, but hey - both Edwyn, Black Walder AND the Mountain is dead! Pretty good day's work if you ask me.

So how do we handle this? There's a short discussion, in the end we lean towards just being totally honest to further embarrass the Freys and pretty much stating that if you fuck with the Mallisters, you'll find yourself in pretty gods damned dire straits. I get it, but I'm not entirely sure it's the best plan. We wanted to kill Severin as well right? If anything I think the Freys will band together now, and their bannermen might make life pretty damn hard for us. Don't think Joy will have an easy time in Riverrun either. We still have the night to decide otherwise. As much as I hate the Freys I'm beginning to think this is a really bad idea...

A dying and a death

Lattrell:
So we are having a surreal, hushed discussion over breakfast: are we going to participate in the attempt on Daemon, or not. After a long and heated discussion, we wind up deciding to go for it. Barrett is one strange Lord, even having this discussion with him is unsettling. I wasn't very happy with the 'plan', but at least I get through that we have to complete the reconnaisance, and make it very probable that the report gets home. So, Rha, Anya and Barret go to see Marduk again, while Willard, Bass and I try to get in touch with Jihatti.

We get to the market and the guild, and speak to a Westerosi (ain't many of the others we can talk to). He says Jihatti does not just meet people. But we talk to the clerk, and say hi from Abi Maraz, and get an audience.

Jihatti is quite a man, more or less naked in an opulently outfitted room, with slaves and servants everywhere. We have to strip down; he knows all Daemons men will have tatoo, so he wants us checked. After that it is fairly simple, Daemon is hiring ships from one year forward, in a staggered fashion. The amounts involved suggest long hires, but no time limits or destinations have been mentioned. So he is planning to invade somewhere, in a year, and he needs several hundred big ships. This suggests moving at least 10000 men. Rumour says he's going to Tyrosh, but this is not confirmed. Daemon also has tried or succeeded in hiring pirates frol Slaver's bay who own warships. That probably means an adversary with warships.

As we leave, we spot Niram Lado, with 8 very seasoned looking guards. I following Lado with Willard trailing, to a very posh looking inn. A while later a very pale woman arrives, with 10 guards. They stay until just before dark, before they leave together, in the direction of the Palace. Willard and I return to the inn.

After a long day of waiting, Barrett and the 'boys' get to meet Marduk again. It turns out they have a plan, or 'plan'. They know there are about 50 guards inside the palace, but they can get in through a secret entrace. Then a party of 15 will fight its way to and hold the gate, so that none of the outside guards can get in. The rest will then kill Daemon and everyone else. Not the absolutely worst plan I have heard, but with lots of gaping holes in it.

The following night we meet Marduk again. He has a lot of seasoned looking people with him, including some Rhallor Priests. Hopefully these can cause Daemon extra harm. Rha gets 2 arrows with Basilisk venom. Uncertain if it will work on Daemon, but might hurt some of his lieutenants. Fingers crossed...

Caradog:
Jason is dying of the wasting. This is some of the worst news I have heard in a long time, but it is certainly real. I can't go to see him, the situation in Ehrenford and around is too uncertain, but I have to let Joy go to Riverrun to say goodbye on her own. The Freys and the blasted Mountain that hides will pay for that. Too.

After the ceremonies in Ehrenford we discuss what we will do from now on. The new guy in Ehrenford seems to see things my way, finally we can get this game to resemble polo more than a knitting match. I am very much looking forward to that. I send scouts to Charlton to look for the Mountain. Unfortunately he seems to be gone, but Charlton has 5 units. I want to take some units in close, maybe have a small skirmish, and go knock on their door and suggest they stay out of the following. So we can beat up Frey without them interfering. I don't get completely shut down, but the others are not exactly chomping at the bit. I send my scouts to Keath, in case the Mountain has gone there. If he kills my family, I'll probably do something really stupid, so can't have that.

In Riverrun Joys says goodbye to her father; she is now the ruler of house Mallister. I imagine her dad tells her to get the hell married as well, before he goes to meet the spirits. Peace be with him. I will miss him most profoundly.

New friends and allies and lack of goodbyes

The events described below are not necessarily in their proper chronological order. It seemed like far too much work to make sure everything was in its proper place, and since I'm the only one who will be reading this that seems quite alright. 

King's Landing

After all the fun with Niram Lado, we decide there's really nothing more for us to do in our fabulous(ly smelly) capital. I send some of the guys out to find a ship while I read through Lado's journals. Now, I've dealt with a fair amount of men of disreputable character, but this guy? This guy, he's a piece of work. I don't really think men are evil. Cowardly, egotistical, power hungry, sure. But Lado, he's just plain evil. There are numerous references that goes into excruciating detail of torture, sexual sadism, murder and so on and so forth. He'a s true believer in Daemon, mostly because he's the supreme evil guy in the world. So I feel pretty bad about not catching this arsehole before he fled the city. He'll hopefully get his soon enough. I send a letter to Seagard detailing everything we've discovered, as well as our intention to go to Lys as soon as possible.

We find a ship soon enough, captained by a female Braavosi, and luckily not possessed of quite as big an ego as the previous Braavosi captain we hired. We buy some weapons from Pebbleton's store front, both as a cover story and to earn some cash on the trip. After receiving pleasant news from Seagard (see below), we set out.

Lys

The journey is very uneventful. On the way, I ponderously make my way through some of the dark lore Lado left behind. It is...both exciting and very, very grim. I'm fairly sure I could, with some more work, actually learn how to summon a deadly dark shadow. The only problem is it requires a sacrifice...a human sacrifice. I don't think I'm quite ready to cross that treshold just yet, and hopefully never will be. On the other hand, I don't inform any of the others either. I've learned to never give away anything about your hand unless you absolutely have to. Worst comes to worst one day, say old man Frey definitely, absolutely has to die - well. Options are good, even if they're really crappy ones.

Our arrival in Lys is free of trouble. I've been here a couple of times before in my earlier journies, I must say it's one of the more pleasant cities of the world. While I don't entirely approve of slaves being kept, they're generally well-fed and taken care of, so I don't see a huge issue with it.

The merchant who buys our weapons, for example (curly-haired and overly perfumed like most Lysians), offers me 800 gold for Anya. That is, in fact, quite a large sum of money for a woman I barely even know...but I have a feeling Rha would never forgive me, so I quickly drop the thought. And oh, also because it's wrong of course. Her visions are sometimes helpful too, like the one where she said she saw death, dragons and a gigantic pyre over Lys before we arrived. I could swear there was something else, but I didn't see a need to press her.

On our way into the city, we see that at least one of the rumors we heard in King's Landing are true. The bodies of priests and believers of R'hlor are lined up along the main street, crucified and burned. All of the guards in the city are displaying the banner of the Avengers, i.e. Daemon's. While everything seems peaceful enough on the surface, there's a barely hidden tension running through the city. Lysians are a peaceful lot so I doubt there are riots about to happen though.

Through various sources like the merchant, the innkeeper, soldiers and pleasure girls we pick up some interesting rumors:

• Worshop of R'hlor is banned in the city
• There's an underground resistance fighting against the occupation of the city, led by one Marduk-Nadin-Ahhe. So far they haven't done much besides attack and kill some guards a few times. Support for them seems to be split. 
• If Daemon isn't lead the Avengers himself, there's another scary undead guy who is. "He is death", able to kill with a touch, one of the officers is a ball of nerves from meeting him once and so forth. 
• Daemon threatened to free the slaves if the council didn't acquiesce to his wishes, so they did
• The top army leaders have all been replaced (killed/ran away/tortured/etc) by mercs
• Some of the mercs are getting restless, no action in the last few months
• There's a curfew in effect after dark 

The inn we stay at is one of the better ones, and obviously contains its own stable of pleasure girls and boys. Not entirely surprisingly, Rha darts into the garden before even downing a beer. Priorities. The rest of us take the time to enjoy a good meal before partaking. My condition is luckily under control right now, and I spotted a Summer Islander girl in there that I'm sure will take me to her home and back....

Day 2
At a late breakfast, we discuss our approach, and indeed our goal. Our initial aim was to discover exactly what in the cold hells the Avengers are up to, and how close they are to invading Westeros (if at all). We agree that getting an overview of the city and the number of troops is a good start. Further, this Marduk could be a potential ally as well as a font of information. Getting to him is probably not going to be all too easy though.

After wandering around a bit, we overhear that there's a big tent camp outside the city housing the majority of the Avengers' troops. We decide that Rha and Anya should head out there to get a head count, while the rest of us try to catch up on gossip. After some asking around, I get the name of an inn that supposedly is the place to pick up info in Lys - The Cold Ocean by the docks (obviously).

The Cold Ocean turns out to be kind of inn by the docks you find in most of the cities in the world. Sailors, pirates, prostitutes, innkeepers, serving wenches, rogues, thieves, merchants and more perform the same dance they always do. Drinking, gambling, fighting, fucking and, most important to us, gossiping like old wives. We learn that Volantis was taken by surprise somehow and was taken without a lot of effort. We overhear mercs talking about the several thousands summer islander mercs working for Daemon. The Avengers supposedly aim to take over all the Free Cities. Merchants are flooding to Lys, the prospect of gold and blood like a siren's call. And most importantly, I learn the name of the man who controls the information flow in Lys - Abi Maras.

Marrok and Latrell join me in approaching the good mr Maras, who is seated on a large table upstairs, two Marrok lookalikes though slightly smaller) standing guard besides him.  I make my intention to buy some of Lys' most renowned products clear, The Strangler. One of the deadliest poisons in the world, and also the most expensive. It's partially a means to come in contact with Maras, but I can certainly see several scenarios in which having a dose of the venom might come in handy. Say at a dinner with old man Frey. Or any Frey.

Abi and myself size each other up, and I think we both recognize much of ourselves in the other. We settle into a familiar back and forth banter, checking defenses and weaknesses. Content that a limited trust has been established, I start prying for the info we're after. It helps that Abi is legitimately scared of Daemon, and he's sure he's an actual undead. I share the info we do have on the undead from King's Landing, hoping it will secure his trust in us. It helps - Abi confides that he can put us in contact with Marduk. Obviously everything will be on their terms. It turns out Marduk is the former captain of the guards. He wisely fled when Daemon took the city, dodging his execution.


[Med unnskyldning til Ane for at jeg har tatt meg ekstremt stor grad av kunstnerisk frihet...]

Letter #1 from Seagard 

[Received after sending the last report from King's Landing]
Barrett,
I trust King's Landing is treating you well. Thank you for that extensive report on your activities. I am sure you are entirely needed on this expedition of the most utmost importance, certainly more so than ensuring that our family's many thousand old reign continues. After all, if Westeros burns what does it matter that Seagard has fallen?

Since I'm fairly sure you would claim that my letter did not arrive if I said otherwise, I hereby give my blessing for your expedition to Lys. Godsspeed.


Regards,
Lady Joyeuse of Mallister

PS: Fenton Pyke is dead. It appears Ella is not totally useless, although you could have fooled me. At least she's capable enough to find actual, capable help. A thousand gold should be more than enough to have lowborn ironborn scum (quite redundant, I know) killed after all. Maybe you should consider hiring the gentleman in question?

PPS: we settled on Othell Pebbleton as the new ruler of Erenford. He at least seems capable, charming and all that, despite his lack of lineage and ridiculous name.

Letter #2 from Seagard 

[Sent to Lady Stokeworth's estate a week after we left for Lys]
Dear Barrett,

my father is terribly ill. It's the wasting disease. He didn't say so explicitly, but from the tone in his letter I'm fairly sure he doesn't have long. But can I spend even a few weeks to see him and say goodbye? Of course not, duty prevents it. If I leave now, the Freys will surely seize the chance to reclaim Erenford. So Pebbleton has to be crowned, right now. This is what it means to be a ruler? To coddle up to a gods damned merchant while my father lies dying? I really wish you and Rha were here, Westeros and that scraggly old undead be damned! Damn the Freys, damn Edmure and damn my father for leaving me alone!

- Joy

Letter #3 from Seagard 

[Sent to Lady Stokeworth's estate a week after the previous one]
Dear Barrett,
it is done. Othell Pebbleton is now the ruler of Erenford, which for the moment is about as useful as being king of the outhouse. There's close to nothing left in the land - people, food or money. Luckily lord Pebbleton (Gods, that still galls) is, as the commoners say, absolutely loaded. A few mercenary units, an engineer unit and some support from the rest of us [cav fra Ryger, personal guard fra Keith og cav fra Mallister] and Erenford should be well enough defended that Frey will think twice about invading. Now if we can find that beast Gregor Clegane and purge him from the Riverlands, things might look not entirely horrible.

No word yet from Riverrun. I pray daily to the Mother that my father will recover, but I have little faith. Ironically, the septon has been somewhat of a comfort through all of this. Tragedy and war makes for strange bedfellows.

I do hope you succeed in whatever it is you are attempting to do. We need you all (well, most of you) back if we are to make sure house Mallister stays above the rest. May the Warrior guide your hands and the Stranger ignore you.


Regards,
Lady Joyeuse of Mallister

Lys 

Rha and Anya make their way towards the tent camp. After some dodging through the jungle, killing a few guards (or was that on the way back? I can't quite recall. Doesn't matter), they make their way to the camp. Rha's experienced eye counts around 6-7000 men, all wearing the Blackfyre mark. They stay the night due to the curfew.


Meanwhile, at the inn the rest of us discuss whether we should go visit Marduk or not. The obvious dangers are a concern, but we didn't really expect this quest to be a walk in the park. So me, Rha and Anya volunteer to go. If worst comes to worst, the rest can go back to Westeros with information that is still useful.

Abi smiles faintly when I ask for us to be taken to Marduk, then commands his guards to blindfold us. We will be lead by hand, as the resistance for obvious reasons aren't too keen on divulging their location to potential spies. We will have no weapons or anything to defend ourselves. It seems pretty crazy to go along with this, but on the other hand we have no long-standing feuds, bad family blood and so forth here. I would never, ever do this in Westeros.

We're lead underground, and quickly lose all sense of time and direction. The damp air makes my chest constrict and I instinctively reach for my tincture, then swear as I remember that I left it behind in my bag with Marrok.  After some time walking around, we head upwards and come to a standstill in a room that smells of spices. Abi's guard instructs to wait and to not remove our blindfolds if we value our lives. Since we do, we don't.

After a few tense minutes, we hear the sounds of approaching footsteps. Marduk introduces himself and asks who are, crazy enough to see him as defenseless as newborn babes. We discussed our strategy before going here. We agreed that being (almost) completely honest would probably be the best approach. So we tell him about our experiences with undead in King's Landing, about Bittersteel and the history of the Avengers and who we believe Daemon is. Marduk asks a few pointed questions throughout, but it's clear our strategy's worked - he believes us and a level of trust has been established.

I ask him how Daemon managed to control Lys. As it happens, Marduk was present in the council at the time. Daemon came in as a regular petitioner, his face cloaked, and demanded control of the city or he would slaughter the entire council. His voice sounded like it came from the grave and an icy aura surrounds him. Still, the council obviously refused. Daemon pointed at one of the council members, and he fell to the ground, dead. After that, the council quietly acquiesced to his demands. Small wonder. How do you oppose someone who can kill by just pointing a finger? I suspect there's more to the story than that, but I see his point.

We get a bit more info as well:

• Daemon keeps the families of the council members in a secure place to ensure their cooperation
• The merchant guild has detailed economic information on the Avengers, we can contact one Yihatti
• Daemon's army currently clocks in at roughly 6,000 Avengers in Lys, 5,000 Lysene guards, 5,000 in Volantis and 3,000 summer isle mercs. 
• Daemon employs 3-4 people as his daily operating officers, people with social skills and networks. Niram Lado is one of these and is currently in town. 
• The Avengers have secured a large amount of contracts for transport by ship in roughly 1 year. We're not entirely sure yet if this entails an attack on Westeros or other Free Cities, but I'm guessing we can dig deeper to find out. 

Most importantly though, Marduk informs us that they plan to attack Daemon directly. They have a way into the castle. At first I think that sounds like suicide...but then I think, what a chance to end all of this with a single blow! I'm sure the Avengers could easily be dispersed without his leadership. They would certainly no longer pose any threat towards Westeros! The only downside is that we'd be unsung heroes, and while I have no desire to become some mythic hero, some appreciation is always nice...

We agree to consider the matter, Marduk is open to us joining his attack if we're interested. We depart having laid the groundwork for yet another tenuous friendship and much to think about.  

Dragon bones, undead and bloody murder, oh my!

King's Landing
After an uneventful couple of weeks, we arrive in King's Landing. In my opinion it's a shame that it's the capital of Westeros - the obvious choice is Oldtown. Far older and far more beautiful, the Hightowers are admirably efficient in running a city. The same can't be said for, well, pretty much anyone who has ever ruled King's Landing.

Be that as it may, we weave our way through the smelly, dirty streets and find an inn in a more hospitable area near the nobles' quarters. After installing ourselves, we make our way to lady Tandra Stokeworth's estate.

After about an hour's wait, the lady comes to greet us. At over 80, I wouldn't insult her and call her spry, but she's definitely still very much alive both in body and spirit. She eyes us shrewdly as we introduce ourselves, as if measuring what worth we could have to her. After some formal introductions, we ask her for the latest court gossip. This is what she tells us:

• Tywin's meddling in the affairs of the Riverlands did not fare well for him. Not only is he apparently in a frankly pissy mood because he was foiled, the king himself reprimanded him. My heart goes out to him...
• Reputedly the king is very tired of the Freys and their behavior. Nor has the king forgotten the Freys' usual very late arrival on the scene during Robert's rebellion. If we ignore Edmure, that means we'll have a lot more leeway to act as we please towards the crotchety old bugger. Excellent,most excellent. 
• Lys: 
• Someone bearing the Blackfyre sigil has reputedly taken control of Lys, cooperating with the council there. Some even say that it's Daemon himself! Perish the thought... 
• The temples to R'hlor have all been sacked. Not too surprising, the undead aren't usually fans of light, fire and all that stuff. 
• The king hasn't been informed of the latest development, it's a closely guarded secret among a select few. Given the ruinous state of the Westerosi finances, another war hastily entered into is not a priority among those with a functioning brain. 
• King's Landing: 
• Lady Stokeworth's informants in the gold cloaks have told her that there have been actual undead attacks no less than 6 times in the last few months, the last one just a few weeks ago. The king hasn't been informed of this either. 
• Maester Collin of house Edgington (very minor) is apparently researching the appearance of the undead [?]
• The light on the isle is the talk of the court. I inform the lady of the cause. 

As to our mission here, the lady will help us gain access to the Dragon Pit, since it's guarded at all times. No time like the present, so we decide to go that very night. 

The entry is in the eastern part of Fleabottom. The sergeant of the gold cloaks tells us that at least some of the undead attacks have originated from within. We enter, alert for any trouble - but we encounter no living nor unliving beings. We see clear signs that work has been done here though. Crates that look tailor-made for carrying dragon bones are found in one store room. There are a ton of tracks, 3-4 weeks old (and older). And most importantly - there are no intact dragon bones left. None. 

The next day, we get a bit more info from the lady. Apparently there's a thieves' guild, led by one "Breaker", who have done work transporting a lot of stuff for a rich merchant from Lys called Niram Lado. No points for guessing what kind of stuff. What's more surprising is that there are apparently agitators in Fleabottom preaching the word of Blackfyre! We decide to go check it out. 

Sure enough, we find a flier with the Blackfyre sigil laying about in a street pretty quickly. And an hour later, we come upon one of these agitators, accompanied by two beefy-looking guards. Correctly playing to the audience, he keeps it simple. "When the true king arrives, support him and we will remember those who chose wisely", "the true king will return" and so forth. Throw in some free food to all the downtrodden and you might have yourself a crowd not entirely unfriendly to the idea of a new ruler. I'd probably keep my hood on if I were Daemon though. 

We follow them once they're done with the agitating, and after a change of clothes into normal attire they head to Niram Lado's estate. Well, I guess we have to deal with that arsehole then. 

Riverlands

(As relayed by lady Joy by letter, perhaps with some embellishments by yours truly) 

The hot topic in Seagard is, of course, what should be done about Erenford. Discussions turn into fights turn into endless back and forths. The upshot is a choice between either myself (no thanks) or one Othell Pebbleton. He's famous for escaping a grim fate of endless torture by the ironborn during Greyjoy's rebellion, relaying the location of the iron fleet to Stannis Baratheon who then crushed the smelly island dwellers. Without this key event, the entire counterattack would have been much, much harder. 

Since then, he's made a name for himself by establishing himself as the premier merchant of all things war-related in the Riverlands. Not a bad business choice, for when do we ever tire of bashing each others' heads in? From limited personal experience and gossip I also know that he's extremely persuasive and quick, with an absolutely absurd capacity for remembering every tiny detail about, well, anything. Seems like a fine choice to me, though I'd make a point to verify his loyalty to the Mallisters. 

Sander and his party find the bodies of the missing Mallister men in exactly the same area where Tommen died - except that of Lord Richard and Craydon Strong. Additionally, there are some footprints the size of a house in the area...pretty much has to be the Mountain right? Given the location the bodies are found in, I think we can safely say that the Freys are sending a not entirely subtle hint that hostilities are not at an end. 

Lord Keith and Sander travel to Erenford proper, where they find Craydon's body hanging from the keep. The captains of the remaining troops have both fled, prompting Keith to promote a couple of sergeants on the spot. He gives a flaming speech meant to inspire the troops, not mangling it too badly. There is a decided lack of food in the land. Some of the men report that indeed have seen the Mountain about. Who knows if that cunning animal is acting on his own or on behalf of Tywin, or the Freys? He's certainly capable of causing bloody mayhem just for the sheer thrill and hell of it. 

In Seagard, Lady Joy decides to confront the septon directly. He quickly lays his cards on the table - apparently he's scared because his guards recently disappeared (courtesy of my people). This is what he tells the lady: 

• Fenton Pyke forced him, on sword point, to relocate to Seagard. Apparently Tywin is not involved, Fenton works directly for the Freys. I find this somewhat hard to believe, but ok. 
• The septon's mission was to report from Lord Jason's court. Apparently, he hasn't done this. 
• He offers to set up a meeting with Fenton Pyke so that we might surprise him. 

If given a choice between an enormously huge pile of money, a lordship title of my choosing and capturing/torturing/killing Fenton Pyke, I'd be hard pressed to choose anything but the latter. That man has been a thorn in our side for far too long....

Fire in the Sky

Bass decides to insert the stone into the Weirwood. He searches for the opening, but it only reveals itself once he lays his hand on the tree. Something that looks like a wound opens, and accepts the stone. The 'wound' closes itself quickly over the stone. The tree lights up like a lighthouse, lighting the sky and brigthening the mood of the entire island immediately. It also radiates heat and a sense of wellbeing.

The light in the sky must be visible from King's Landing it looks like. Bass climbs the tree. The tree turns to light further up, and when he comes down he is literally glowing. There is magic at work here.

Barret and I are severely hurt, and I speculate, or hope, that the tree might have healing powers. I nick Bass, and tell him to climb up again, but it has no immediate effect. Bass, Willard and Anja tours the island. They find a battle horn, a mythical elk of enormous size. Later the battle horn arrives at the Godswood, and in our current state we just evacuate. It seems to be territorial, and we are in no state to fight anything larger than a hare. Giving in to a herbivore. Not my best day.

During the night, Anja the Greenseer dreams that a White Walker comes to the Godswood, kills the battle horn and takes the stone. In the morning we hear fighting around the Weirwood. Three peasants are getting thrashed by the herbivore. It moves like cat, with horns the size of a wagon. The peasants have absolutely no chance.

We approach the elk, it seems to accept us, and we approach the tree. It is still warm. Marroc, Barret and I lean against the tree, hoping that there might be some healing power in it in spite of what we found yesterday. Eventually we decide to go to Harrenhall instead, the light will attract attention, and we are in no condition for anything interesting.

When we arrive we are met by city guards, and taken to Lady Whent, Stella. Her bannerman, Lord Wode, Willis is also present. They have of course seen the light, and the rumour mill is running full speed.

The following day Lady Whent is getting an expedition over to the island. Willard talks them out of going there, and we explain the whole story. They decide to send some rangers to scout. We send crows to Edmure, Jason and Lord Blackwood, explaining what we can, asking for advice. We are all worried over the implications in this.

3 days after the rangers return, confirming our story. Edmure answers, asking for more explanation, and issues a decree that no commoner shall approach the island.

After a week we have all been nursed back to health, and decide to go back to the island. Nothing has happened there. The next day, Lord Blackwood arrives. We tell Titus the story, and explain about the battle horn. We start by taking his maester carefully to the Weirwood, he is intrigued. He makes a minor incision in the tree, it actually bleeds.

We explain the whole story to Titus, including the seeming link to Blackfyre and his undead. We discuss this link, its implications and possible uses. I must admit that I no longer see the Blackfyre threat as so remote. Titus thinks the vision about the dragon bones might be the dragon pit at King's Landing. As usual, the conclusion is that we need more information. Titus will send his maester Trevin to Old Town. We will talk to Jason.

We ride back towards Riverrun. I really appreciate the company of Titus, and it seems to be mutual. I ask his advice on the old faith, I find it hard to resist this faith. It speaks to my hart, and the recent events have a very convincing nature. I will make a Godswood when I return to Keath. Also, he very much desires a hunting accicdent to befall certain members of house Bracken.

We part from Titus, and meet Jason. We explain everything; he opposes informing the King at the moment, and wants to play down the oooooh-factor of the shining tree.

Everyone but me heads to King's Landing, I go to Seagard to keep Joy company. I tell Joy everything. Then, in the first night back, she receives Ser Richard and Lord Craydens heads in a basket. The peasant who received them describes a man looking like Fenton Pyke. We call Barret's number 1, Ella, to the castle. She receives a scalding, and orders to more aggressively pursue Pyke. She will start by picking up Harolds 'helpers'.

I will help. I also have to go to Ehrenford to see what is going on; This might mean that the Freys will try to get Ehrenford back in the fold. We send a bird to Jason, with the heavy news that his brother has been abducted and beheaded.

Stability & Violent Wonder

Well,
that was certainly been the most stressful month I've ever had. That we somehow came up relatively on top is nothing less than a miracle, and a weird enough one that the Stranger must be laughing his arse off somewhere. So to set the scene, this was where we stood at the end of the attack on Erenford:

• The tournament was cancelled, due to basically everyone hating us 
• The following relevant people were in our custody: 
• Black Walder Frey
• Edwyn Frey (1st son of Steveron, old Walder's heir) 
• Kleos Frey (not too significant, but nephew to Tywin Lannister) 
• Whalen Frey (minor Frey) 
• The following were dead: 
• Wendel Frey (19th son to Walder) 
• Hugo Wance (2nd son, married to a Frey) 
• Rumors of a Lannister fleet on its way north towards Seagard
• Frey reportedly had summoned all his banner men, no points for guessing his intentions
• Lord Jason summoned to Riverrun
• Fenton Pyke still about in the land 

So yeah, everything looked super swell and completely manageable. For the first time in a long while, I simply didn't have the time nor the energy to keep up with my diary. So in the interest of brevity and keeping my sanity this is the really short version of what's happened in the last month. 

• The Lannister fleet arrived in force at Seagard - but their only goal was to ensure Kleos' safety. We gave him up without a fight. 
• Jason instructed us to set Black Walder free. Reluctantly, we did. 
• Edmure acknowledged Creydon Strong [?] as the new official ruler of Erenford, which is now a banner house to house Mallister. 
• The Freys were commanded to stand down, which, amazingly, they did. 
• The Blackwood and Bracken fight is, if not over, at least simmering at a lower temperature than before. The Lannisters' plans to take a big chunk of the Riverlands put some fear into the lords. 
• Edmure showed some balls through all of this, though I suspect Lord Jason was a big reason for that. Edmure's now fully aware of Tywin's plans, and pretty pissed about them. 
• Fenton Pyke, unfortunately, is still nowhere to be found. 

Aditionally, we had the visions from that weird orb we found on the child of the forest. Rha, lady Joy and myself each had one: 

• Rha: dragon bones in the cargo hull of a ship, guarded by an undead guard clad in Blackfyre garb
• Joy: Very old, dusty hallway, dragon bones on the floor, guys in Blackfyre garb
• Me: a big weirdwood somewhere in the North, a child putting a crystal orb in the tree, cone of light streaming forth from the tree into the sky 

Through all of the political tumult, I had positively been aching to go check out the weirwood on the Isle of Faces...luckily, the rest felt the same way. So after just a few days, me, Lord Keith, my dear brother, Rha and Willard set out. Rha mentions that the person who found the child, one Anya of the mountain clans, could be useful as a source of information. And curiously, she apparently possesses the green sight. Given that Chafflok is basically on the way, we head there first. 

After a couple of days we arrive, bearing some gifts for the lowfolk. Rha is greeted as a kindred spirit, while us lords are naturally given the respect we deserve - as well as a healthy dose of  distrust. I don't blame them. Anya arrives in the village when nightfall approaches. Even more curiously, she's clearly got the blood of Valyria flowing through her veins, easily identified by the characteristic silver hair and purple eyes [...right?]. She could have been beautiful if not for the big scar running across her face. Given her knowledge of the forest and green sight, I ask her if she would be willing to accompany us. She agrees. 

After a couple of uneventful weeks by canoe, we arrive in Harroway's Town and set out for the lake. The first night, Anya apparently has visions about the isle which she shares with us the day after. She was clearly shaken, and the vision was (typically) vague - but she saw death surrounding the isle. Lovely. 

After four days, before we arrive at the isle the next day, I take out the stone to see if I can have a little vision of my own. I'm clearly at the isle, where I see a child approaching the weirwood. Suddenly, the child is attacked by a man-shaped figure in a cloak and the vision ends. I doubt peace is in our future. 

We arrive at the tiny village of Crery, where Rha buys a few boats. We row out towards the isle. There are a lot of trees out there, and even from a distance, the gigantic weirdwood is visible. We make landfall. Rha and Anya notice the eerie lack of animal life and sounds. We set out. After an hour, Bass notices a figure stalking us. We try to approach, circle back and so forth but the figure slips away each time. Well, nothing to do but to press on. 

An hour later, and we arrive at the Godswood. Now, I'm of the new faith (at least in theory), but the sight is stunning enough to feel the presence of the old gods anyway. The tree is humongous, ancient and beautiful enough to be the source of a poet's magnum opus, with the dying light of the sunset spilling through the leaves. 

For a place that's supposedly deserted, we notice a disturbing amount of human footprints in the clearing surrounding the weirwood. Additionally, there are mounds of earth spread around the tree. Hmmm, most curious. We approach the tree, searching for a spot to put the crystal ball. I take it out, and just as I do...hands reach towards the sky from the mounds, and we're suddenly surrounded by a swarm of undead, reminiscent of the ones from the valley of the dead in Braavos. Additionally, we saw the hooded figure near the edge of the clearing - it's a white walker. 

The fight is long and hard. But in the end we prevail [og Lars slapp opp for tid]. 

The Lady is a Tramp

Lord Caradog, Lord Willard and Rha are in the North

Lady Joy, Lord Barrett and Lord Bass are at Riverrun

Riverrun:

Lord Barrett pays the good Maester Cole a visit. The Maester is renowned for his skills throughout the Riverlands and beyond. Maester Cole is adamant that Lady Kiera’s so called Maester is a charlatan.

Meanwhile I am working his Grace and Lord Cole to try to find out more about the incident with Lady Kiera. His Grace finally says I can pay her a visit. I find this a bit odd, to say the least. She does not want to see her betrothed, but will allow me to pay her a visit? Some things are better discussed between ladies, but she has made no secret of her dislike for me.

Lord Bass will have to wait outside. As I enter the prechamber I feel very uneasy, my gut is screaming for me not to go on. But how can I refuse at this point? To my “surprise” Lady Kiera is sitting in bed looking rosy. I try to act along despite this; “Lady Kiera, you are looking well. You must have made a speedy recovery. Won’t you allow the Duke to see you, he is beside himself with worry.” She does not however, have any intention of keeping up appearances. “That fool, “ She replies “ I will deal with him as I see fit.” One of her guards draws his sword.

The North:

Ser Craydon Strong warns Earl Keath about the threat of Fenton Pyke and his Marionette Clegane. He claims their agenda is to manipulate Blackwalder to attack House Mallister. Ser Craydon asks for asylum. The Earl grants it, and Ser Craydon swears allegiance with bended knee.

Riverrun:

I scream for help and try to exit the chambers from where I came. I know Lord Bass is on the other side of the door, but there are two guards between us. It doesn’t take long before I see him coming to my rescue. Thankfully. The master draws a dagger and lunges towards me. I gather my skirts as best I can and with Lord Bass creating a distraction I manage to dart past the guards and out into the hall. I run towards the main hall screaming for help, it seems like it takes forever, but finally I see Lord Piper coming towards me. The maester is on my heels, but has a brutal encounter with Lord Piper’s blade. I can see the shock on his face when he realizes who he has just killed. I tell him I was attacked in Lady Kiera’s chamber and that we need to find His Grace. We find the Duke and return to the scene of events. I am relieved to see that Lord Bass has dealt with the situation with the help of Marrok. Needless to say the Duke is outraged. He has just realized how he has been held a fool by the Lannister vixen. He orders her arrest. I send her a smile as she is taken away. There is nothing like retribution at times.

The North:

Ser Craydon Strong’s army has arrived. He gives a stirring speech to the men. He informs them that he is pledging allegiance to House Keath. The men are free to go if they choose, but Blackwalder will not be merciful. Ser Craydon proclaims that he aims to take back Erenford as a vassal to House Mallister.

Riverrun:

His Grace, Duke Tully, apologises at length for the actions that have occurred at his castle. He says that the fee he earlier had demanded I should pay, was no longer needed. I smile coyly, like I would ever pay the ridiculous fee. His Grace then goes on to invite me to stay at Riverrun for a few months to act as his advisor. This is an interesting proposal. I suppose I should check with my father, but I would think this a golden opportunity to influence the Duke and more importantly keep from anyone else exerting the same. I tell the Duke as much, that I need to go home to sort some business out, but that I am honored by his proposal and positive to accepting it. Lord Piper seems to think it is a great idea. Lord Barrett, Lord Bass and Brynden or whatever his name is are paying Lady Kiera a visit in the dungeon. I know it involves poison, and I know the Viscount, I needn’t know the gruesome details.

Lord Barrett later informs me that Lady Kiera provided the following information: Tywin is trying to take over control of the Riverlands. The Maester in Riverrun is actually the spymaster from Lannisport. Or was I should say. Tywin is also responsible for Fenton Pyke’s actions, in order to gain influence in the region. She also admitted that she was behind putting House Bracken and House Blackwood against each other.

Lord Barrett talks to the Duke, we are united in the ambition of uniting Riverrun and houses Bracken and Blackwood again. His Grace will call upon family members to help him through the transition.

Time to head home….

Seagard/Chaflolk:

Rha receives a letter, Lord Jason reads it to him. There is a strange thing in Chaflolk and they are requesting Rha’s help. He heads there to see what the fuss is all about. He is brought into the forest surrounding the village. There is a sort of hammock there, containing a cadaver. Rha assumes they have raised it to keep animals from getting to it. His first thought is that it must be a dwarf. The proportions of the being are not right, though. Could it really be… a child of the forest? They have been thought extinct for the last millenium! It has a loincloth and a pouch. Opening the pouch he finds a red, glowing stone. Rha senses the importance of the stone, but still something troubles him about it. He brings both the cadaver and rock back to Seagard.

Ah it is good to come home. Lovely Seagard. It is really good to see Lord Keath, Lord Willard and dear old Rha again. We learn that there is a rumour about Blackwalder going round. Apparently he is arresting the family members of the missing soldiers. That man is out of control. I think I speak for us all when I say that this cannot go on. Furthermore Fenton Pyke is in Erenford. Lord Keath wants to attack it and take it back. Or rather to let Ser Craydon Strong take it, with our blessing. This will cause some upheaval with our neighbors, and that is not ideal considering we have a tourney coming up. However, matters of war must be dealt with swiftly, we cannot let the scoundrels win. The tournament can be seen as something of a peace meeting, given that the tide of battle favors us.

Rha has interesting news from Chaflolk. They have found the most interesting corpse, sounds delightful. We all go to inspect it. It is small, like a dwarf, but somehow different. More delicate. Lord Barrett immediately says that this must be a child of the forest. At first the thought it preposterous, it can’t possibly be….? It is quite disturbing to look at. Lord Barrett and Rha are being very scientific and enthusiastic about the discovery, going on and on about the legends and what little knowledge there is on these beings. They think it died of old age. The stone i s fascinating, so pretty, I’ve never seen a glowing stone before. I bet it would look amazing if I could make it into jewellery. No one in the Kingdom would have anything like it. I reach out to hold it.

I see the child of the forest. It is travelling down river. It reaches an island. On the island is a gigantic weirwood. The child proceeds to the tree and inserts the stone into the trunk.

The vision, or whatever I should call it ends. I am back in the cellar. I tell them what I saw, and they look at me with a look of puzzlement. This stone feels almost energizing.

Battle stats:

Erenford: 2 units in the city, Fenton Pyke. 4-6 units in the woods.

Lord Keath has proposed to take with him 10-11 units; 3 cav, 3 inf, 4 arch and his own personal guard.