Chapter 105: "Tactical Stalemate"
An alliance with House Tully would certainly bolster House Tyrell's influence within the Seven Kingdoms and help solidify their rule over the Reach... but in times of peace, such gains were merely the icing on the cake. To expend their only daughter's marriage for such a marginal gain seemed a poor bargain, even to a novice of the Great Game like Egger.
Since Margaery was set on becoming Queen, if her attempts to seduce the King failed, she would undoubtedly fix her gaze upon the Prince... Poor Edmure; who knew when he would finally settle his marital affairs?
Wait, Egger thought, he is the future Lord Paramount of the Trident. Even without a wife, he'll never lack for bedwarmers or lovers. Why should a brother of the Night's Watch worry about the love life of a Tully?
At the thought of the Night's Watch, a sudden, inexplicable surge of anger rose in Egger's chest. His brothers in black were currently facing life-and-death confrontations against countless wildlings and the ancient enemies of mankind beyond the Wall. Meanwhile, these nobles of the Seven Kingdoms were holding a grand matchmaking gala amidst the camps of the Bloody Gate, dividing their shameful spoils of interest while watching wave after wave of soldiers perish beneath the most treacherous pass in Westeros.
How absurd! This cursed feudal society!
...
The baseless fury vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving Egger puzzled by his own intense reaction. Have I been pretending to be a loyal man of the Watch for so long that I've started to believe my own act?
He spat inwardly and pushed the thought aside. "So, in summary, everyone wants to marry up, and as a result, no one reaches an agreement... It's quite a mess."
The old Earl did not notice Egger's brief lapse. He sighed, looking out at the forest of tents in the distance. "It is a mess, yes. But it isn't true that no one is reaching agreements. The ones I mentioned are the Great Lords—those whose status and power exceed my own at Antlers. It is only natural they have high ambitions. But the Seven Kingdoms are built upon countless practical lords, landed knights, and masters of smaller keeps. To my knowledge, at least two marriages were finalized in this camp before the first horn of battle even blew today."
"Congratulations to those four houses, then," Egger replied, his interest suddenly waning. He didn't even care to ask which houses they were. He shifted the topic: "Today's assault was spectacular, though the defenders held the upper hand. What does the King plan to do next? Aside from clearing the rebel outposts outside the Vale, we can't just sit here at the Bloody Gate and wait, can we?"
...
Seeing other families happily arranging alliances while his own son was far away at the Edge of the World dealing with wildlings, Lord Buckwell was also keen to change the subject. "Of course we can't wait. Beyond the Bloody Gate isn't just a lone castle; it's the Vale of Arryn, with hundreds of thousands of smallfolk. If it comes down to a contest of time, the rebels can hold out for a hundred years. We are the ones in a hurry—if the Eyrie runs out of food and is forced to surrender before we break the Gate, then we've lost this war."
Lord Buckwell provided a clear, logical analysis before continuing: "The Gate being blocked... that was something no one anticipated. The pass is so narrow; to take it normally with ladders would cost an unthinkable number of lives. During the war council, everyone was throwing out wild ideas. Some suggested sending men into the gatehouse tunnel to dig through the stone blockade; others suggested building an earthen ramp as high as the gatehouse so the infantry could charge straight up... One man even suggested tunneling through the cliffs themselves to bypass the Gate. You're a man of the Watch; you should be an expert in sieges. Do any of these methods sound viable to you?"
Egger had never actually defended a castle, but that didn't stop him from seeing the flaws. "Sending men into the tunnel to dig is a death trap; the defenders only need to drop a few barrels of oil and light them to suffocate everyone inside. As for earthen ramps and tunnels... My Lord, you said time is of the essence. Those methods would take far too long."
"Exactly. That is the problem," the old Earl shook his head. "None of those ideas are practical, but they were proposed in the council nonetheless... We can discuss this privately, but don't repeat it elsewhere. You understand?"
"Military secrets. I understand."
...
Engaged in casual conversation, the two made their way back to the quarters of the Crownlands and Antlers forces. Judging by the flow of soldiers returning from the front lines, the commanders had decided there would be no more assaults today. After bidding each other farewell, they returned to their respective tents.
On the day following the initial failed assault, thirty thousand men from the eighty-thousand-strong host were dispatched to various parts of the Vale to assist in reducing the rebel castles exposed outside the Gate. The remaining army was divided into six rotations based on their home kingdoms to take turns handling the offensive and sentry duties.
The logic was simple: while the blockade made the Gate nearly impregnable, it also prevented the rebels from launching sorties or raids. Under these conditions, keeping the entire army on high alert day and night would be a waste of energy. It was better to rotate.
When it was a kingdom's turn for duty, they were responsible for camp security and were required to march to the Bloody Gate to issue challenges and launch symbolic attacks. It appeared to be an attempt to wear down the rebels through attrition, but there were thousands of defenders inside—they could rotate their rest just as easily.
There was only one real possibility: Robert hoped that by capturing the other castles of the Vale, he could force the rebels to surrender.
After two more attempts to scale the walls resulted in hundreds of casualties with no progress, the war entered a stage of tactical stalemate. Both sides were stuck in an awkward position. The Lords of the Bronze Alliance had launched their coup hoping that justice combined with the natural defense of the Gate would drive Lysa Arryn out and restore their autonomy; they never expected Robert to be so hot-tempered that he would summon the armies of six kingdoms without any negotiation. And Robert... overconfident in his military genius, he had invited the realm to witness a grand victory, never imagining the rebels of the Vale would be this stubborn.
After a few days of staring at each other across the Gate, the rebels blinked first and called for a parley. If Lysa Tully were allowed to leave the Vale, Yohn Royce was willing to confess to treason, cede his lordship to his son, and take the black. His condition was that Robert drop all charges against the other houses.
It was a sincere offer, but Robert rejected it without mercy. He insisted on unconditional surrender before any terms could be discussed.
Egger understood Robert's hardline stance. Even in the modern world, nations often maintain a policy of not negotiating with terrorists. If anyone who revolts can negotiate terms with the King, the realm would never know peace.
Stationed at the main camp, Egger didn't know if the sieges elsewhere in the Vale were going well. He used this quiet period of stalemate to gather his fish—walking through the various camps to pitch the Night's Watch industries to every potential client.
In an age with such backward economic concepts, convincing people of a forward-thinking financial move like investment was incredibly difficult. However, extracting gold from wealthy, powerful nobles was still far more efficient than trying to raise funds from exploited commoners.
Through countless rejections and practice, his sales pitch grew more refined. Combined with the physical evidence of the books being sold by camp followers and their soaring popularity, something shifted. Without him even realizing it, more and more nobles were becoming willing to invite him into their tents for a seat, and by the end of the meeting, many agreed to visit his factory the next time they passed through King's Landing.
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