Gendry rose to his feet. Crimson firelight fell across his handsome face, as bright as his ambition, and his eyes were a clear blue like the boundless sea. "It is precisely because of the friendship between the late king and Lord Eddard that I will do everything in my power to save Lord Eddard's family."
Joy showed on Catelyn's face. Gendry's wealth and manpower both surpassed those of the North. If the storm was willing to lend its strength, then the chances of getting her daughters back would rise sharply.
Catelyn knew well that the North had always prized bonds of loyalty, but she also understood that in these chaotic times, gold held immense power, and the storm's wealth was no less than the lion's, with Myr, Tyrosh, and the Disputed Lands under its hand, not to mention the golden sea routes of the Stepstones.
"Besides, among the Westerlands hostages I hold are the squire Willem Lannister, along with several children from the Westerlands branch of House Frey. They are all kin to the Lannisters. Perhaps these half-grown captives will give the false king and false Queen Mother in King's Landing something to think about," Gendry went on. These young prisoners were not worth much anyway, so he might as well use them to do the Starks a favor. "A minor nobleman can be sent to carry the news back to King's Landing, though not in my own name. But Lady Catelyn, even while the envoy is on the road, our war will not stop."
Catelyn thanked him again and again, tears in her eyes. This was already a great kindness from the storm.
The Blackfish comforted his niece. "Little Cat, that is war. The gods above toy with us as they please."
"Then Lord Eddard's girls can be dealt with that way, but what of our strategy? I can hardly wait to stick a knife in the Lannisters' side and kick them in the arse," Greatjon asked impatiently.
"Aye, there are many crowns in the south now," Lord Jason said. "Sooner or later, we'll have to make our move."
"Anguy, bring out the map."
Anguy then brought out a rolled leather map and spread it open for all to see. The Vale remained silent, the North had marched south, and Lannister forces had broken cities. For now, the main task was to bring about a joint campaign between the Riverlands and the North.
"I understand how everyone feels, but Tywin's host is a great mass of men, around twenty thousand in all, and most of them are his elite troops. If we want to swallow that army whole, we will need to field more men than that." Gendry pointed in the direction of Harrenhal. Once past the Twins, the land opened out into near-flat plain.
"If we join our armies, we'll have about as many men as that old fox Tywin," Greatjon shouted. His fists looked fearsome enough on their own.
Roose nodded as well. "Nearly all the men under the storm's banner appear to be elite cavalry, from Crackclaw Point, the Vale, and across the Narrow Sea. We were short on horse to begin with, but if the two armies join forces, we will have enough strength to fight Tywin head-on."
What had worried the northerners from the start was a lack of men, not just in total numbers, but in cavalry as well. Their calculations for the southern campaign came to roughly eighteen thousand infantry and four or five thousand horse. Tywin's main host alone, however, numbered twenty thousand men, with seventy-five hundred cavalry among them.
Even if the North called up the armies of the Riverlands lords, they still had to reckon with the fact that those river lords' forces had already been beaten bloody and scattered.
"We cannot fight a battle at a loss," Gendry said. Even victory would mean nothing if it turned into a Pyrrhic one. "South of the Green Fork, the land is nearly all open plain. If we fight Tywin head-on there, the losses will be severe. And since our numbers are only roughly equal, it will be hard for us to seize the initiative."
"My lords, His Grace's mercy is not empty kindness," the old knight said. "Summer will pass in the end, and if the long winter comes, the North cannot afford to lose so much of its labor. That would be fatal."
The northern lords all nodded. It seemed Gendry understood the North very well. The North lay too far north, and no place was more deeply affected by winter.
Besides, these northern soldiers were hardly a standing army. When their lords called, tenant farmers, field hands, fishermen, shepherds, innkeepers' sons, merchants, and tanners all began preparing for war. If all of those men died, then farming and trade alike would wither, and even more people would die after them.
"Even if we throw in everything now, it will still be too late. It will take time yet for all our forces to gather. And if Tywin hears that Gendry has joined forces with us, he may refuse to give battle," Robb said, nodding as well. He led only the vanguard cavalry. A large part of his strength was still waiting in the marshes and beyond.
In truth, the plan Robb had worked out also depended on surprise to turn the situation around. Roose would lead the infantry and pretend to be the full strength of the North, tying down Tywin's main army, while Robb himself would lead most of the northern cavalry in a surprise strike against the Kingslayer.
Roose nodded. "Caution suits Tywin's style."
The Lannisters had well-trained troops, deep coffers, and fine equipment. With those advantages, crushing an enemy head-on was enough. There was little need for clever tricks.
"The Lannisters may be well equipped, but I also intend to prepare a batch of Myr-made equipment for the North," Gendry said.
"Black scale plate? That handsome kind?" the northern lords asked at once.
"Yes, but there is no time for that now."
"When Tywin moves, he moves with his main force. Unless he has an absolute advantage, he will not act," Gendry said to the assembled lords. "Right now, the Westerlands host is like a snake. Its head is near Harrenhal, its body is in the Westerlands, and the Riverlands lie in between."
"Then we can raid the Lannisters' supplies," Ser Marq said, sounding very sure of himself.
"We can also find a way to box that army in," Robb said. "Best if we do it in the Riverlands or the Westerlands."
"If Tywin uses orthodox tactics, then we can use the unexpected," Gendry said. "As for the direction of the campaign, we need one force on the Green Fork to draw Tywin along, while the Riverlands lords hold the Red Fork. But my main direction is not King's Landing, nor the Stormlands, nor Casterly Rock. It is the Vale."
"The Vale?" Catelyn, the Blackfish, and Robb all felt their hearts tighten. It seemed Lysa's fate was now set.
Bronze Yohn's expression did not change. Many men of the Vale had expected this for some time. They had long been deeply disgusted by the circumstances of Lord Jon's death, and by the closeness between Lysa and Littlefinger. In any other lord's lands, an orphan and a widow in such a position would have caused an uproar long ago. The fact that the Vale lords had endured it until now was highly unusual. That was the deep foundation of House Arryn as an ancient royal house, an orphan and widow could remain perched there for years.
"Lysa, she..." Catelyn could not help speaking up. She still wanted to hear her sister explain herself.
"Enough, Cat. She must be brought under control," the Blackfish said painfully. His brother's letter could not have been a lie. If they seized Lysa or Littlefinger, the two who knew the truth, everything would come to light. The Blackfish had spent many years in the Vale, and he had some vague sense of certain things.
"My lady, this is war. Women do not understand such matters," Lord Rickard said as well. "We must avenge the king and Lord Eddard."
"Lord Brynden." Gendry looked at Brynden.
"I know." The Blackfish gave a bitter smile. "If everyone returns to the Vale, how could I stay out of it?" If Lysa truly had done such things, then to keep House Tully from becoming the laughingstock of the realm, she would have to be cast aside.
"It would be best if Ser Brynden supports us. We cannot let personal feelings affect our common cause," Gendry said. The weight of the crown could not be allowed to endanger the greater cause for the sake of private ties.
Lord Roose's eyes lit up. "If we can enter the Vale and win it over, then this will become the same situation as the late king's rebellion. Eagle, wolf, fish, and stag all moving together."
When eagle, wolf, and fish, the three northern kingdoms, moved together, it evoked not only the Usurper's War. In the Dance of the Dragons too, those three regions had backed the blacks until the final victory. Once the Vale was added, then even if Tywin was not crushed at once, the greater momentum would already be ours.
"Exactly. Many of us are kin to lords in the Vale, yet the Eyrie will not let them move. That is dragging us down."
Robb looked at the eager lords speaking one after another. Nearly every one of them had grievances with the Eyrie, especially now, when they were trying to pull in a third force. Aunt Lysa and Littlefinger. If things truly were as they seemed, then they would have to be forcibly separated.
Everyone deliberately looked toward Ser Brynden, the former Knight of the Bloody Gate, the man who knew the Bloody Gate best.
"The campaign for the Vale is already urgent," Gendry said.
"If you still have use for me, I will go with you," the Blackfish said with a nod.
"My lords, I still suggest we divide our forces," Gendry said. "The North and the Riverlands should keep one force near the Red Fork as a cavalry reserve. As for the other, I suggest placing it on the Green Fork to draw Tywin, much like the Winter Wolves. It need not be too large in number. The winter that is coming will be brutally harsh."
"Winter is coming," Robb murmured, remembering his father's teaching. His father's smile, his father's sternness, his father's warnings of the hard winter.
"In that case, let us draw from the northern soldiers those who are homeless, childless, unmarried, second sons, and old men, and form them into a Winter Wolves force," Lord Rickard shouted. "Let this old man lead that doomed army."
"And me," Lady Maege said with a nod as well.