Chapter 49 – We, the ones who live

The meeting hadn't ended in a good manner, but that was to be expected, considering that those savages would rather fight than make a deal with them.

Sadly, for the exiled Lannister, this would another battle, one that would be just as bloody as the last one he fought under his lord. If he were to be honest with himself, Tyrek would rather be a nanny than watch the boy, he raised march into battle. Konrad for all his brains, was still a child, one that shouldn't have seen the horrors of war so early in life.

Alas, the sad reality would always show its face. If only Littlefinger didn't started this whole mess… if only Jon Arryn didn't bloody marry a younger woman… if only…

Sighing to himself, Tyrek, decided not to think to much on these matters when there was a battle to plan, men to get ready and defenses to be built.

The excitement of the first days had been replaced by a grim purpose. Not many of his men were chatting round the fires as there had been when they left the khalasar, truth be told, they were on edge.

It didn't take long at all for them to had found the site where those armored men had camped. The blackened circles of grass were one of the most distinctive signs, that alongside the remains of fires.

Not wanting his men to start fighting among themselves due to their nerves, he decided to send them out and find more about their target.

"Send the scouts out!" he said to his loyal men. "If we catch them on the move, they will die like flies."

While that would be preferable, no matter how he looked at it, those armored men came prepared, perhaps with the intention of hunting their khalasar to extinction?

None of those men, carried anything pointless like many of the merchant caravans they used to raid. Instead, from what he could deduct, those men came for war, even when their leader spoke with his Khal, he remembered his frustration when he was forced to wait and watch as the blond man disrespected the Khal in such a way. Yet, without the order, like many, he didn't dare to move an inch.

"There were many people in this place," One of his men noted as he looked at the remains of the camp. "More than the forty we saw back when they approached us. At least a hundred of them"

"Perhaps. I could not say for sure with all the tracks."

Naqo watch his older brother, Addro, who had brought them to kill slowly growing angrier by the second. Between the two of them, he was the smart one, mostly due his short height and smaller build, while his brother was more on the savage side, bathing in glory and blood. If not for him, his brother would have rode out with only five men riding to a sure death, but after quite a lot of persuasion, he managed to make him see reason and convince more than one hundred and fifty raiders to follow them, yet like always Naqo wondered if his older brother knew the risk they had taken.

Shaking his head, Naqo nodded to his brother, when he saw him coming closer towards him.

"You have done well, little brother," Addro said as he passed him. Naqo fought back his desire to roll his eyes at him. "We will find them soon, Naqo. Will you be ready when we ride to the attack?"

Naqo looked up at the brother he revered. He did not speak of the cold fear in his stomach, nor of the way the riding had exhausted him until he thought he would drop from the saddle and shame them all. Every time he dismounted, his legs had stiffened to the point where he had to hold the horse tightly or drop to his knees.

"I will be ready, brother," he said, forcing an almost cheerful tone, something that seemed to have pleased his brother. But, inside, he despaired. He knew his own skills were barely worth the name, and the beautiful sword his brother had given him was too heavy for his hand to use properly in a fight. Frankly a knife or a dagger would have been better.

Even then, the thought of actually cutting skin and muscle, of feeling blood pour over his hands, was something he didn't want to experience ever again. He could not be as strong and ruthless as the others. He was not a blood thirsty killer like his brother and his men. No, Naqo was nothing like that. Smart and resourceful yes, but never a killer.

To Naqo's horror, the scouts found the force they had been chasing, only three days after they had stumbled across their old camp. As soon as the scouts spotted them, the men rode in at full gallop, and once caught up with the rest of their party, they leaped out of their horses reporting to Addro.

"They are moving, at a slow place," the first blurted out. "They have scouts of their own in all directions, but we killed most of them. As for the main army … is moving slowly and will stumble upon us soon enough."

Addro showed his teeth ready to jump at the poor scout's neck, if not for his younger brother, stopping her before turning towards the scout. "They sent scouts out, and you killed them. Only a fool won't suspect that we are not in the area chasing them. However, this could work in our favor. If they are cautious, they will hesitate."

While he was sure he was talking and none of these men understood a word he was saying, Naqo didn't despaired, after all he would plan everything while his brother will make sure everything will go according to his plans.

"Brother, tell your men to get ready," Naqo said as he struggles to mount his horse. "Like we did in the past, we ride as one, using our speed to our advantage."

"If any man falls behind, death!" His older brother finished with a grin on his face, before turning into a grim one as he looked at Naqo.

"Even if he is my own brother, Naqo, even then. Loose your arrows on my call, then draw swords. We will hit them like a storm. If you are unhorsed, kill as many as you can before dying."

"You will not take prisoners?" Naqo asked surprised.

"If any survive our attack, I will question their leaders to learn more about this new leader of them. After that I have no use for them. No point wasting food for them."

The word spread quickly through the warriors as Addro's loyal men returned to them. Soon, thanks to Naqo, they all formed up in formation before riding towards the enemy.

As they passed a small hill, like each man, Naqo could see the enemy moving slowly across the plain.

The moment he saw that, Addro let out a beastly roar, as he and the others began to trot toward the enemy. A few seconds later, Naqo heard distant alarm horns sound and he untied his bow, fitting a string and testing it like his brother showed him. It was slightly clumsy, but it would fly …

To his surprise, those armored men did not lack for courage. As their warning horns resounded across the plain, many men ran for their horses, mounting quicker than any men Naqo had ever seen. Yet his foolish brother pushes forward and everyone followed as they increased their pace to a gallop.

Most of those armored men, were on horseback, but around twenty of them remained behind protecting the carts while keeping long spears as a way of forcing them as far away as possible. Almost as if his brother could hear his thought, Adrro turned and saw those men too, letting out a snort, before grabbing an arrow. A second later, the arrow found itself inside the visor of an armored man.

Their charge swept through them, crashing over dying horses and men as they charge over and over again. Their bows rained death on the armored men and yet, taking a look at their losses, a great deal of their warriors succumbed to those long spears the men on horseback use as weapons.

Then it happened, he barely saw the man that appeared in his path, taking the head of one of the warriors that was following Naqo with a single swing of his blade before kicking in his heels and charging forward. A stray arrow hit Naqo's throwing the young warrior onto the ground, but not before he caught sight of the blonde armored man charging towards his brother and ten more who were with him, killing as they went.

Out of nowhere, another group, at least fifty came from behind one of the hills and their change came without warning. One of the warriors, Naqo knew from when he was little, dropped his sword a second before his head in the air, and even if he didn't stood so close, he would have been trampled to death by heavy armored men and horses.

Before any of Adrro's men could react, more than half of what was left of their numbers were killed in the initial charge, leaving Adrro with less than twenty men alive. Seeing how the tide changed so abruptly, Naqo was about to shout to his brother, when the golden-haired armored man, emerged from the side, galloping at full speed towards his brother.

He tried, the stallion knows, he tried to stop the man, but alas, he was too slow and, in the end, the golden haired man's long spear pierced Addro's chest taking the large Dothraki in the air.

There was a moment of utter stillness. Where, before, their ears had rung with pounding hooves and bellowing orders, the quiet now swelled around them. Tears gathered in his eyes, as Naqo watched his brother's corpse slowly sliding down towards its killer.

With Addro being dead, there was no reason for them to keep on fighting, and rather than dying, Naqo decided to surrender himself, might not be glorious , but it would keep him alive for now, and that was all it mattered to the strange Dothraki.

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