The clean up of Harrenhal was a gruesome task.
The massive castle had become a tomb for the Lannister rear guard and their horses. But to Andar it was a gold mine.
"Strip them," Andar ordered.
Teams of workers moved through the smoking ruins. They stripped the dead knights of their plate armor. They collected dropped swords, spear tips, and horseshoes.
"It is good steel," Mott said inspecting a blackened breastplate. "Lannister steel. High carbon."
"Melt it down," Andar said. "Cast it into rails. We will use their own armor to build the road that invades their capital."
In the Great Hall of the Hundred Hearths, King Robb Stark sat on the high seat of Harren the Black. He looked small in the massive chair.
The mood was heavy.
A raven had arrived from the capital.
"Stannis is defeated," Robb announced to the gathered Lords. "Tywin reached King's Landing. He joined forces with the Tyrells. They smashed Stannis against the Blackwater. Joffrey's power is secure."
The Northern Lords muttered darkly.
"We missed our chance," The Greatjon grumbled. "We let Tywin run and now he has eighty thousand men."
"We hold the Riverlands," Edmure Tully argued. "We hold the Trident. Let them come to us."
"And what of my sons?" Lord Rickard Karstark shouted. He stepped forward, his face twisted with grief and rage. "Two of my sons died in the Whispering Wood. Killed by the Kingslayer. And yet the Kingslayer lives! He sits in a comfortable cell in Riverrun while my boys rot in the ground!"
Robb looked at his bannerman. "Lord Karstark, Jaime Lannister is a valuable hostage. We cannot kill him."
"Hostage?" Karstark spat. "He is a murderer! I want justice! If you will not give it to me I will take it! There are two Lannister squires in the dungeon..."
The room went silent. This was treason. Karstark was threatening to kill prisoners against the King's orders. In the original history, this was the moment the North began to fracture.
Andar stepped out from the shadows.
"Lord Karstark," Andar said calmly. "You want blood for blood?"
"I want a Lannister head!" Karstark roared.
"Squires are children," Andar said. "Killing them brings you no honor. It makes you a butcher."
"I do not care about honor! I care about vengeance!"
"Then take it from the man who actually killed Northerners," Andar said.
He signaled to Jory.
The heavy doors of the hall opened. Four men dragged a massive figure into the room.
It was Gregor Clegane. The Mountain.
He was in chains. He was dirty, starving, and his broken leg had healed poorly, leaving him with a permanent limp. But he was still a giant.
"This is the beast who ravaged the Riverlands," Andar announced. "This is the mad dog of Tywin Lannister. He is not a Lord. He is not valuable for trade."
Andar looked at Karstark.
"You want to kill a Lannister? Kill his favorite dog."
Karstark looked at the Mountain. He looked at the squires who were cowering in the corner. Then he looked at Robb.
Robb nodded slowly. "Lord Andar is right. The Mountain has no ransom value. His crimes are too great for mercy."
Robb stood up.
"Lord Rickard Karstark. I grant you the King's Justice."
Karstark drew his sword. His eyes burned with a fierce light.
"Get him up," Karstark growled.
The guards hauled the Mountain to his knees. Gregor did not beg. He spat at Karstark's boots.
"Do it," Gregor grunted.
Shing.
The Karstark sword flashed.
The massive head of Gregor Clegane rolled across the stone floor.
The tension in the room broke. Karstark panted, staring at the blood. The rage that had threatened to tear the army apart dissipated, replaced by the grim satisfaction of justice served.
Karstark sheathed his sword. He bowed to Robb.
"The King in the North," Karstark said, his loyalty reaffirmed.
[Quest Complete: A House Divided]
[Outcome: House Karstark remains loyal]
[Fate Avoided: The execution of Rickard Karstark]
[Asset Lost: Gregor Clegane (Executed)]
Later that night, Andar stood on the battlements with Robb.
"That was close," Robb admitted. "Rickard was ready to march home."
"Vengeance is a hungry ghost," Andar said. "You have to feed it something or it eats you."
"We are alone Andar," Robb said looking South. " The Lannisters and Tyrells are united. The Ironborn hold the seas (though you smashed their fleet). We are surrounded."
"We are not surrounded," Andar said. "We are entrenched."
He pointed to a group of workers stringing a thin copper wire between two wooden poles in the courtyard.
"What is that?" Robb asked. "Another weapon?"
"A voice," Andar said.
He walked over to the makeshift tent where a young engineer from the academy was sitting in front of a strange device. It was a simple battery connected to a tapping key.
"The Raven network is compromised," Andar explained. "Pycelle reads our letters. The Lannisters shoot down our birds. We cannot coordinate a war if we are blind."
He touched the copper wire.
"This is the Telegraph. It sends a pulse of electricity down the line. Instantaneous. Secret."
"Instantaneous?" Robb was skeptical. "Like magic?"
"Faster than magic," Andar said. "We are stringing the line from here to the Twins. From the Twins to Deepwood. And soon to Winterfell."
He tapped the key. Click-click-click.
"With this, I can command a factory in the North to make shells today, and have them delivered to the front next week. I can hear if Roose Bolton sneezes in the Dreadfort."
Robb looked at the thin wire.
"Bolton," Robb said darkly. "You think he will turn?"
"He is a calculator," Andar said. "Right now, the math says we are strong. But if we stumble, he will sell us to Tywin."
Andar looked Robb in the eye.
"That is why we are going to change the equation. We are not just going to defend the Riverlands Robb."
"What are we going to do?"
"We are going to take the gold," Andar smiled. "The Lannisters pay their debts. But their mines are in the Westerlands."
He pointed West.
"While Tywin sits in King's Landing celebrating, his home is unguarded. We take the railway to the coast. We take the Dreadwolf. We sail down the coast and we strike Casterly Rock."
Robb's eyes widened.
"Attack Casterly Rock? It has never fallen."
"It has never been hit by a bunker buster shell," Andar said. "We strip his gold. We bankrupt his family. And then we see how loyal the Tyrells really are."
[New Quest: The Lion's Den]
[Objective: Raid the Westerlands]
[Target: Lannisport / Casterly Rock]
[Technology Required: Advanced Explosives / Amphibious Assault]
Robb grinned. The Wolf was back.
"When do we leave?"
"As soon as the wire reaches Winterfell," Andar said. "I need to order some special packages."
....
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'm releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
25 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!