Chapter 3: Where Did They Come From

Like most noble castles situated on high ground, Arthur's small castle was located atop a small hill, with a training ground nearby in addition to the quarters for servants and soldiers.

Therefore, it was quite convenient to muster the thirty-five soldiers of House Bracken.

Including Arthur, Yule, and Hui Pao An Bo, along with six villagers from Riverbank Village, there were forty-three combatants in total.

If they passed by any villages under Bracken's jurisdiction on the way, they could recruit a few more peasant soldiers.

To deal with a dozen or so unarmored bandits, this force was sufficient.

After deliberation and coordination, Arthur left eight soldiers behind to guard the castle, then led the remaining thirty-four toward Riverbank Village.

Riverbank Village was to the east of Bracken Castle; to track the bandits, they had to go to Riverbank Village first.

Since the bandits were not all mounted, their speed of travel would inevitably be slow.

It was currently mid-morning, so the bandits likely hadn't gone far; it was still in time to pursue them.

Yule, who had changed into chainmail, also wanted to stay behind to defend the castle, but Arthur firmly took him along.

The entire party had seven horses, but only Arthur rode; the remaining horses were led by their owners on foot.

The group moved along the path, and not long after setting out, the humid and sweltering climate of the Riverlands had Arthur covered in a fine sweat.

【Arthur Bracken (100%), Yule (80%), Amber (100%), Riverlands Sergeant (27), Riverlands Peasant (6)】

"My Lord, what is our plan?"

The young man from Riverbank Village named Daren, seeing that his liege lord Arthur was not very stern, ran over excitedly to ask.

"The plan is... well, to play it by ear," Arthur replied casually.

He was studying this unit interface and hadn't expected anyone to disturb him.

"Don't you have those detailed battle plans? You know, the kind where you decide who is responsible for scouting, who leads a group to flank, and who is responsible for cutting off the enemy's retreat?"

Daren's eyes were bright, clearly full of anticipation.

This couldn't be blamed on him; what man didn't like these things when he was young?

Arthur thought about it; he really hadn't planned anything like that.

He hadn't even thought about how to track the bandits; he had just set off with thirty-four men on a whim.

If they just kept walking along the bank of the Red Fork, they might reach the confluence of the three tributaries of the Trident without finding the bandits.

Even if they found the bandits' lair, they might let some of the marauders slip away with the silver stags and other valuables.

It looked like he needed to do some planning.

"Yule, Amber, Village Chief Jiesi, you all come here."

After the few people called by Arthur walked over one after another, the young liege lord asked:

"Regarding the pursuit of the bandits, do you have any ideas?"

The few looked at each other, and the Village Chief replied first: "After passing Riverbank Village, we can find those damned bandits by following the Red Fork."

Amber was the Grand Steward and was very familiar with the small territory of House Bracken; upon hearing the Village Chief's words, he said dismissively:

"The banks of the Red Fork have few trees and are all farmland with an open view; it is impossible for bandits to operate along the riverbank during the day. We definitely won't find them by searching along the bank."

Daren thought for a moment and echoed Amber's opinion: "The Gods Eye is on the south bank of the Red Fork, and we are on the north bank. Furthermore, the further east you go, the more densely populated it is; the bandits couldn't possibly be hiding there."

Arthur nodded, acknowledging their opinions:

"I also think it's more likely the bandits went north, and heading southeast toward the Gods Eye was just to confuse us. Uncle Yule, what is your take?"

Yule sneered, "What can I think? Back when your grandfather was alive, you couldn't find a few bandits in the entire Riverlands. How is it that now, there are actually bandits, and they even dare to rob a village?"

The period of Arthur's grandfather that Yule spoke of must have been during the time of the Mad King of the Targaryens.

During the early reign of the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen, the benevolent Tywin Lannister served as Hand of the King, governing the entire Seven Kingdoms so that the rivers were clear and the seas were calm, and the world was at peace.

It could be called a golden age!

Although the Usurper's War followed, the situation stabilized quickly after Robert became king and Jon Arryn took office.

The banks of the Red Fork were the heartland of the Riverlands, with flat terrain, numerous rivers, dense population, and extremely developed agriculture and handicrafts.

In other words, there was no environment for bandits to grow.

A group of a dozen bandits robbing Riverbank Village was already a very large team.

And according to the original owner's memories, no bandits had appeared for several years.

Nor had there been any notices from Riverrun or nearby nobles about guarding against bandits.

So where did this group of bandits come from?

Arthur voiced his confusion: "Could it be that these desperadoes just popped out of the rocks?"

"Maybe they ran over from the mountains of the Vale of Arryn," Daren speculated.

The Village Chief found Daren, who was bouncing around in front of the liege lord, very unpleasant, so he retorted: "Not to mention that to get from the Vale of Arryn to the north bank of the Red Fork, one has to pass through the territories of so many lords, let me ask you one thing: how would they cross the Green Fork and the Blue Fork?"

The Green Fork, the Blue Fork, and the Red Fork were the three major tributaries of the Trident, distributed from north to south in that order.

Because the Green Fork was exceptionally wide, House Frey's The Twins was the only passage from The Twins to the confluence of the three forks.

This was also the reason why Robb Stark had to pass through House Frey's The Twins after raising his banners.

And to get from the high mountains of the Vale of Arryn to the north bank of the Red Fork, one would first have to run from the Bloody Gate of the Vale to the Kingsroad, then cross the Ruby Ford to the south bank of the Trident, and then cross the Red Fork to the north bank.

And both the Bloody Gate and the Ruby Ford were guarded by heavy troops; it was unlikely for a dozen adult men carrying weapons to pass through.

Daren was left speechless; he was a peasant, and the education he had received was just enough to write his own name; he couldn't even read a map, let alone understand these geographical facts.

Amber muttered to himself: "If they didn't come from the east, could they have come from the north? That's even more impossible. The north is Blackwood, a great house!"

Hearing this, Arthur also felt it was impossible for the bandits to have come from the north.

Because to the north was Blackwood House, a family whose strength was enough to rank in the top five of the Riverlands, usually supporting two or three thousand professional soldiers.

One must know that the more powerful the noble, the stronger their control over their territory, and the fewer the bandits and marauders in the territory.

"This is truly strange. How is it that as soon as my nephew becomes Jiaodu, bandits come to rob?" The experienced Yule, while expressing his confusion, did not forget to mock Arthur.

Judging by his tone, it was as if the bandits were there only because of Arthur.

The Lord also felt that something was not quite right, but he could not say what was wrong.

This is Westeros, and under the suppression of lords, liege lords, kings, the Militant Faith, and other such powers, it can be said that there are almost no bandits.

"Let's put that aside for now," Arthur said loudly, "Once we reach Riverbank Village, Amber, you head north, and Yule, you head east; each of you take two men and ride horses to track the bandits' trail."

"Village Chief Jiesi, gather some villagers who know how to use bows and large axes."

"We are going to take down this group of wretched bandits!"

PS: New author, new book; seeking collections, recommendation votes, and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)