Chapter 7: The Boar Company

 " Ya don't say….Well, we definitely need to leave then and fast at that. Don't want the scouts to notice us." Beryn spoke and then turned his steed around. Gideon could tell how tense the man was, so it appeared he had believed him or at least was cautious enough to avoid the army without trying to verify which faction they belonged to. 

 " Scouts? I don't see anything near us. Wouldn't they be sending scouts towards the Acorn Hall anyway?" Gideon asked. 

 " They are scouts, you are not one. I would be surprised if someone as inexperienced as you could spot them. Scouts are supposed to see without being seen themselves. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose. As for your second question, it is somewhat standard to remain on your guard scout all around your position, not just forward." 

 " Uh…If you say so. I do wonder…why are we moving so slowly? I don't fancy being caught even if we are not their enemies yet. They would be suspicious of us regardless." Gideon asked, matching Beryn's hushed tone. 

 The man nervously looked over his shoulder and shook his head. 

 " They would spot us easily if we passed by them at full speed. We circumvent them slowly and then make for Acorn Hall as quickly as we can. If it is the rebel army, the Tullys will want to know, if their own scouts have not already notified them." 

 Gideon nodded, trusting Beryn's decision over his own instinct. He would have preferred to get away as hastily as one could. But the man was obviously far more experienced. 

 They manoeuvred their horses around the camp slowly and made their way towards a small forest beside the camp. It would cover their presence. 

 " Something's strange though, I heard that the rebel army was some fourteen thousand men strong, give or take. The camp isn't nearly large enough for that. " Beryn said as he licked his lips. 

 " Either they split their forces or you were given false information," Gideon added. It would not surprise him if the latter was true. He had heard that the number of men in armies was often severely inflated, or inversely, the reports minimized the real number. They were rarely correct. 

 " The information had to be at least close to the real count. The two Houses Vance, House Blackwood and House Frey, represent the main forces, and on their own, they should already be able to field close to that amount. They must have split indeed….but why?"

 That question remained on their minds as they rode through the forest. It was oddly silent and for once, Gideon did not quite appreciate such stillness. He felt like he would probably jump in fright if he heard anything at all. 

 " I think we will see our first battle in this war sooner than anticipated, Gideon. Those forces will inevitably clash with the loyalist army gathering at Acorn Hall. Gods, I hope the main bulk's already there, or it's going to be a slaughter." 

 Gideon remained silent as they left the forests and changed to a faster gait. They arrived at Acorn Hall a few hours later, and finally, they could stop holding their breaths. That had been somewhat nerve-wracking but they had mostly panicked for nothing. It was a quiet ride with no accident or ambush. He had been in more trouble simply trying to get to Rosby. 

 Whatever he had expected to find at Acorn Hall, was not at all what appeared before him. This was no true castle truth be told. Whilst the walls were nothing to scoff at, the keep itself was made out of wood and was rather small. Of course, he could not just compare Acorn Hall to, say, Highgarden, as this was clearly unfair…but even so. 

 " I don't foresee this 'castle' being all that easy to defend. " He said as they approached. They had reduced their pace to avoid alerting the Loyalist forces and make a good first impression. Then again would two lone riders really make anyone anxious? 

 The answer was apparently yes. 

 " Halt! State your purpose, riders!" An armoured man bellowed after spotting them. He was probably a knight given his armour and the fact that the Lords would be in the keep at night and not out with their men. 

 " Ah, hello, Ser; we are two sellswords looking to join the Boar Company, which I am told is currently employed by the Great House Tully!" Beryn spoke for them. Probably for the better. It was a bit too late by this point, but Gideon realized that he should have wrapped his face. 

 As dark as it was, they were about to enter the camp outside the castle, and of course,, everyone would see him clearly then. That did make him think of just how many soldiers there were in said camp. It was not as large as the Rebel's but there were thousands of soldiers still. The camp itself easily surrounded the entire castle. 

 " Sellswords? Just the two of you?" The man seemed perplexed. Surely it was not that rare for small groups of sellswords to seek employers? Perhaps he was more so confused by the time of their arrival. 

 " That's right. We came from the Crownlands, passed right under the God's Eye and rode for the Acorn Hall. We…uh…we might have important information to deliver to whoever's in charge." Beryn said as he stood tall. Gideon doubted it was meant to look intimidating. 

 " Information? I'll take you to the Boars, they can decide what to do with you two. You try anything, you'll end up with your heads on our pikes." The knight warned them before turning around briskly. A couple of soldiers were watching them, having heard the conversation. As far as Gideon could tell, they seemed fairly neutral to their presence. They would have certainly been relieved if, instead, it had been an entire company that had arrived to help them. 

 The knight led them deeper into the camp, until they reached a large black tent. The few soldiers outside of said tent wore boiled leather armour as opposed to the scale armour he saw all around the camp. They also mostly seemed to be wielding axes and polearms strangely enough. Infantrymen and pikemen or cavalry then. As he had heard, Sellswords preferred axes to swords as they were less expensive. Given that Sellsword companies were professional armies, they had constant expenses and often could not afford to properly equip most of their troops. That problem would also be true for the Lords who wouldn't be able to magically afford to equip their levies, but he did note that the Riverlanders seemed to have better weapons at the least. 

 " These two apparently want to join you a lot. I leave them with you and I will notify Lord Torren Blanetree of this. Feel free to kill them yourselves if they try anything." The knight left with that. Strange. Wasn't it customary for soldiers to salute? Maybe it was different in Westeros. 

 The small group of Sellswords looked them up and down before chuckling and ushering them inside the tent. He heard them whisper behind their backs but they did not have a strong reaction to his appearance. Given how tired everyone in the camp seemed to be, he would not be surprised if that changed after a good night's sleep. 

 The tent's interior was quite destitute. A large table with a detailed map of the Riverlands. A few mugs of….well, he could not tell what they contained but it was probably mead. Only two men were present in the tent, a large and burly man with an eyepatch and another who was….incredibly terrifying. 

 The large man hovered over the table and observed the map on which small wooden figurines were placed. He was well-built with large arms and legs. His small brown eyes glanced at them shortly before he returned to the map. He had slick brown hair and seemed like a soldier himself, but evidently, he had to at least be an officer of the company. Did they even have officers? The chain of command in Sellsword companies was not a topic he had researched. 

 The other man, however. The mere sight of him gave Gideon goosebumps. If not for the presence he had, it would have to be due to his appearance as hypocritical as it sounded. He was far taller than the first man, and big too, but not as well built. His skin was fairly pale but nothing Gideon himself would balk at obviously. Beside his plate armour which had immediately caught Beryn's eyes the minute they had walked into the tent, the man cut an imposing figure due to his steely grey eyes and his strange hair. 

 One side of his head was close-shaven whilst the other was covered in a wild mane of black hair. To add to the image, a long scar ran from his throat to the left corner of his mouth. Gideon could only wonder how a man could survive a wound to the throat, especially one as impressive. 

 Finally, Gideon noticed something past the messy hair, a burn scar on his forehead. It was easy to guess that these two had seen their fair share of combat or at least shitty circumstances. 

 " New recruits, is it? Why have you come seeking the Boar Company? You are an oddly matched pair, I must say." To their muted shock, it was the man too busy peering at the map to look at them that spoke. The creepy one leaned on a chest and silently glared at them. 

 " T-That is right, Ser. We have heard of the war in the Riverlands and wished to…well, you know better than most why one joins a war as a hired sword. I met this one on the road and we decided to travel together. Felt safer." Beryn answered for them, not that Gideon was able to speak at the moment. The creepy one seemed to have taken a specific interest in him and was openly glaring only at him, ignoring Beryn entirely. 

 " Gold, glory or both. Perhaps even women, but I must warn you the Boars condemn ill conduct. War or not ya don't get to act like a cunt." The burly man told them. He had quite the booming voice. 

 " Eh, naturally, of course…We, uh, we have information you might want to hear, Ser…." Beryn said, waiting for the man to speak his name. 

 " Slade Brock, 1st Commander of the Boar Company. The brooding guy is Oswyn, Second Commander of the Boar Company. What manner of information do you possess? Is it something we should know before we decide whether you can join or not?" The commander spoke. 

 ' First and Second commanders? Isn't there supposed to only be one commander?' Gideon thought to himself. 

 " Yes, it's pretty important. We… we might have spotted a rebel army's encampment some miles away from the Acorn Hall. They probably marched under the God's Eye given where the campement is." 

 As soon as those words left Beryn's lips, both he and Gideon noticed a subtle shift in the two commanders' demeanour. A slight smirk hung on Oswyn's lips whilst Slade's passive frown deepened. 

 The two exchanged looks before Oswyn approached the table. 

 " So they did not go for Harrenhal after all. Probably heard we were gathering here and decided to chase after us. We lost substantial forces near the Ruby Ford. But…do you think they know?" Slade questioned Oswyn who immediately shook his head. 

 " Improbable unless we have spies amongst our ranks. By now, all the Lords have chosen their side, and we sifted through the men several times after Lord Piper's failure at the Twins. Don't think it's likely. Either way, we should see with the Fish." Oswyn answered. Gods, the man's voice grated on the ears. It sounded so…lifeless. 

 Slade nodded and Oswyn left the tent curtly. Finally, the burly commander turned to face them.

 " If that information ends up being true, we might be quite indebted to you. We did tell the Fish to send scouts towards the Southwestern parts of the Riverlands, but apparently,, the rebels could not possibly be there. Most were convinced they would be besieging Harrenhal so that is not all that surprising…still" The commander's annoyance did seem to match with what Gideon had heard of Edmure Tully on the way to the Riverlands. He had been too young, at least mentally speaking, when he had inherited the title of Lord Paramount. He was too emotional a man and too reckless a leader. 

 He already distrusted the man without having ever met him. 

 " No matter, I will ask you a series of questions, and based on your answers, I will induct you into the Boar Company or reject you. However, you must understand….that even if rejected, we cannot allow you to leave just yet. You might have wandered into the camp to feed us false information." 

 Beryn almost instinctively put a hand over his sword's pommel but held himself. The words were threatening but Slade made no motion and only regarded them with a cold gaze. Gideon could understand the man's logic anyway. He gathered his courage and opened his mouth, hoping he would not stutter. 

 " Well, ask away then, Ser Commander ." 

___________

 No more than a dozen minutes later, they received a tap on the shoulder and were formally inducted into the Boar Company. It had been less solemn than Gideon had expected, but then again, he was joining a Sellsword Company, not the Kingsguard. Some of the questions had been fairly strange, however. 

 They were directed to a tent by an officer, a gruff-looking fella, and were told that they would be assigned to a unit on the morrow, at which point they would begin training. 

 Gideon did not expect to fight alongside Beryn given that the man was already a skilled warrior. He would probably be placed in the vanguard and not see a lick of the man during battles. 

 Battles….It was hard to imagine he would probably take part in one soon. With that army only a few miles away, it would certainly come before he could receive even the most basic of training. In the few days he had spent with Beryn had given him advice but they had not truly trained, instead preferring to spend as much time as possible on the road. 

 But soon he would fight. He mulled over the idea as he paced outside of the tent he was supposed to be sleeping in. 

He had opted to speak to the rare sellswords who were still awake at this hour, instead of going to sleep immediately like Beryn had done. 

 He found out that the Boar Company functioned with two commanders who both led the company, with neither obeying the other. Slade Brock was often in charge of the Cavalry whilst Oswyn preferred the infantry. They also seemed to take as much in the fight as their men did, Oswyn more so than Slade who did have to issue the initial orders for formations and movements. The next in command would then take over whilst Oswyn and Slade fought. This was not their own wish but rather a usual occurrence for many Sellsword Companies even if it wasn't a widely adopted rule. 

 One must lead through Might and Valor. The concept did please him, enough so that an idea bloomed in his mind. 

 He still was not certain what fate held for him, and whilst he knew he longed for power, he had to decide which path he would take to finally reach said power. 

 Forming his own Sellsword Company sounded like the perfect idea. If he could do well enough amongst the Boars at least. 

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