Moving Pieces

Cheers echoed across the fields as the gates to Kings Landing burst open. Thousands of men flooded into the city as Lord Royce watched from the camp. Ten thousand Vale men, a sea of silver and blue rushed over the field, squeezing in through the gate and piled into the city.

It had been an underwhelming siege, nothing quite like the grandiose and monumentos occasion many had initially thought it would be. The thirty thousand men under Aegon Targaryen had fled the city on their fleet of ships in the early part of the siege. Thirty thousand of their own men led by Dickon Tarly were dispatched to pursue the fleeing ships. This left seventy thousand men remaining behind to besiege the city of Kings Landing.

An unnecessary precaution, but Randyll Tarly was the supreme commander of these forces, as dictated by Robb Stark. Not even Mace Tyrell, Warden of the Reach had been able to deter Randyll, which was a good thing in many ways.

However, Randyll had kept those seventy thousand behind just in case it was a trap. That those on the ships were but a fraction of Aegon's numbers sent out as a decoy. He kept seventy thousand behind in case the vast majority of the Targaryen forces were within the city waiting for more soldiers to leave. A smart decision, but ultimately, unnecessary when news reached them of a thirty thousand strong Targaryen force appearing at Widow's Ford.

With this knowledge, Randyll had made the decision to take sixty thousand men north, leaving him behind with ten thousand men. It would be his job to ensure King's Landings capture while Randyll went to aid in the defeat of the Targaryen forces. It would take many weeks for them though, the sheer size of their force would make movement speed slow.

It meant little to Yohn Royce though, he had secured the city and would remain here. His presence was unnecessary in defeating Aegon Targaryen. There was still Daenerys Targaryen out there and so he would prepare Kings Landing for a possible siege from her.

From reports, Dickon Tarly and his host of thirty thousand would meet her forces first, they for some reason landing upon the coast south of Rook's Rest and north of Duskendale. Dickon meanwhile was a few days march out from her position. If Daenerys decided to come south, it would be up to him to stop her. If she decided to go and join the battle in the Riverlands, once more Dickon Tarly would have to stop her.

It was up to him, to make sure that Kings Landing did not fall. They couldn't afford to give Daenerys Targaryen and her Dragons a powerful castle from which to defend. If she did, it would make defeating her that much more difficult.

Unlike Aegon Targaryen, she had Dragons.

The strange beasts reportedly within the Golden Company army were said to be large and cumbersome. In a siege, they may be devastating in some areas, but in others, entirely useless. However, out in the field, they would be of more use, Yohn Royce knew that much from what he had heard.

It would mean little though, their numbers were too small to stop what was coming down upon them.

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"Fall back!" Tytos ordered his cavalry force one more mounted upon their steeds pulling away from their engagement with the Golden Company and Dornish cavalry. It had been a short, but bloody conflict that had seen Tytos Blackwood defeated and forced to retreat to avoid taking too many losses.

But he had not engaged in this conflict expecting to win.

After pulling back his forces from the shore, Aegon had sent riders out to pursue, harrying his retreat. Yet their force was too small to do much and quickly, Tytos gathered his force together and the enemy cavalry pulled back. It had been a small victory, but one that ultimately was part of a bigger defeat.

Their harrying tactics had no doubt bought Aegon Targaryen the time necessary to disembark the vast majority of his troops. Forcing them off the shore would be impossible, it was then a matter of slowing their advance as much as possible, buying time for the King to come up with a new plan. He had already failed once, caught off-guard and underestimating the Young Dragon, he wouldn't do the same again.

In his mind, he imagined it was Robb Stark he was facing in conflict and prepared accordingly. First, he put more distance between himself and the Targaryen forces, a good days worth of distance that would allow him more time to think. He dispatched ravens to inform both the King and Eddard Stark of his defeat and made sure that his cavalry were fully mounted.

At the same time, he ordered his infantry and archers to make haste for Riverrun. They wouldn't be of much use in the conflict to come. He needed speed and manoeuvrability, much like how Jamie Lannister and his cavalry defeated any relieving force during the Siege of Riverrun.

Tytos may not be an offensive commander, but he had faced many in his time. It was time to use some of their tactics to his advantage to buy as much time as possible. Near five thousand men under his command would be sent to Riverrun, while he kept his remaining forces, all cavalry to engage the Targaryens. Those five thousand would go to Riverrun and reinforce its defences, placed directly under the command of Eddard Stark.

But Tytos' true aim was to buy enough time for Jason Mallister and his forces to get to Riverrun also. With that, it would make the keep almost impenetrable and mean that Margaery Tyrell and the King's child would be safe.

That was the plan anyway, but Tytos was beginning to wonder if he was going to be able to buy Jason enough time to get to Riverrun. Aegon's forces were spread thin, his light cavalry pulling ahead and would make it to Riverrun in a few days more. His light infantry and archers were about a day behind with his heavy infantry a little behind them. They were making haste, both sides understanding the need for speed.

Tytos had recognised this and had originally decided to leave the cavalry and target the core of Aegon's force, his light infantry and archers. They made up the bulk of his army and if he could chip away at them then it would make it much easier to defend Riverrun.

Except, the cavalry despite his initial expectations of their task being to reach Riverrun early. They were actually an intercepting force. They had pulled ahead of their forces purposefully to leave their infantry exposed. The moment Tytos had moved around the cavalry and gone to strike the infantry, the Targaryen cavalry had also peeled off and attacked their rear.

That first conflict had been devastating.

Since then, Tytos had repeatedly engaged and withdrawn from skirmishes with the enemy cavalry. Their main force continually makes a speedy approach for Riverrun with him unable to slow them down.

'Whoever's in charge knows how to take a gamble.' Tytos thought with a frown. 'It was a risky play, to leave himself so exposed. If the cavalry had been just a little too late, things could have tipped completely in our favour.' But that had not happened and Tytos had instead been put on the backfoot.

A risky gamble that had paid off.

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Pushing the man to the muddy ground, Jon drew his blade across the man's throat, blood spurting out into his face. Relaxing at that moment, Jon pushed himself to his feet, wiping his face as he looked around.

Bodies were strewn everywhere, men groaning out in pain. Some his own, some his enemies, but the latter didn't live for long. Wildings and Northment moving around and finishing off those still alive. Others moving to pick up weapons and collect food from the wagons in the middle of the road. Some taking their injured comrades and picking them up, there was no time to provide medical aid here and now.

The conflict in the Wolfwood had become just as Jon had expected, brutal and cruel. There were three factions hunting here, the Starks and the North under his command. The Ironborn, those both in the North near the Northern Mountains and those in the south at Torrhens Square. And also the Boltons at Winterfell. There was always a few skirmishes in the beginning, but since then, clear divisions and borders had formed in the Wolfwood, areas belonging to certain factions that no one crossed in case they sparked a conflict.

Neither faction wanted to press the war further, not with Stannis Baratheon up North who was just waiting to crush them. That was until Jon had proposed his plan, the reinforcements from the Wildlings and the knowledge that Robb would be further detained in the south made him put this plan into action.

If Robb was on his way up north he would have simply waited, but that wasn't the case and he needed to make a difference, he needed to redeem his earlier failures. "Let's get out of here, make sure to place the flag."

Owen Norrey nodded his head and mere moments later, a torn and muddy flag bearing the house sigil of the Boltons was dumped on the floor, a few men making sure to move a few bodies around it to avoid it looking deliberate. It was all part of Jon's plan to create conflict between the Ironborn and Boltons. Jon had ships and fish to feed on, so his territory within the Wolfwood was small.

The Boltons and the Ironborn were the most dominant forces within and shared many borders. While the Boltons had the food storages of Winterfell to feed upon, they still had to be careful and so made frequent hunting trips into the Wolfwood. The Ironborn on the other hand had little, hunting was the only way to feed their army.

They had plenty of Ironborn armour and clothing, so it was a simple and easy matter to dress up in them, posing as Ironborn as they ambushed the Boltons. They lost men certainly, but they were dressed in Ironborn armour and so the Boltons had only really on target. Then with northern armour, they launched attacks upon the Ironborn, taking a few Bolton armours that bore the house sigil and a few flags. Jon had every intention of making it impossible for the Boltons and Ironborns to continue coexisting, by especially targeting the Ironborn.

Without food, they would starve and so, as stubborn as they were, they would attack their aggressor. Jon needed to make that aggressor appear to be the Boltons and then leave them two to deal with each other.

That was only the first stage however, there was still more to come.