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.
