Chapter 35: Arrival at Seal Bay

Since Greatjon Umber reported that Rockborn and Ironborn pirates liked to raid at night, Eddard decided to give the pirates a counter-raid.

The people of House Umber all said that in recent days, the pirates always liked to circle around to distant beaches to land, circling behind the Umber coastal encampment to raid; when the Umber soldiers were busy dealing with the enemy in the rear, the pirates hiding at sea would launch a charge from the beach, pincer-attacking the Umber men—a tactic that never failed.

Eddard ordered the Winterfell Captain of the Guard, Jory Cassel, to take twenty of Winterfell's personal guards to the seaside to set up ten tents, placing straw men and some grain inside. When dusk wiped away the last trace of sunlight and darkness descended, Jory Cassel returned to the Northern Army's camp with the Winterfell guards.

Once the bait was set, it was just a matter of waiting for the enemy to take the hook.

At midnight, the scouts led by Fellan and Robett Glover discovered the enemy. In the darkness, about fifty or so pirates circled to the back of the camp, roaring as they charged into it.

The pirates from the sea also rushed out from the beach and entered the camp, and some of the camp began to burn. The pirates soon discovered that these tents were empty, containing only some straw men.

At this moment, Greatjon Umber blew the horn of the North, which echoed in the sky by the sea.

The cavalry from the Rills, the knightly orders of White Harbor, and the horse archers of Torrhen's Square charged in from all directions. Eddard rode on his grey warhorse, wielding the greatsword Ice, and led the Winterfell cavalry in a charge, with Winterfell Captain of the Guard Jory Cassel, Bulaofosi Water Dancer Syrio Forel, and the guard Dawson following closely by Eddard's side.

For these past days, House Umber had rarely used cavalry to charge the pirates, because the pirates had once burned the Umber camp, and many warhorses were either burned to death, ran off, or were stolen by the pirates. Since then, House Umber had been plagued by a shortage of horses, and the pirates had been even more at ease while fighting their guerrilla war.

The pirates clearly were not yet aware of the news of the Northern Army's arrival; when roars of "Long live Winterfell!", "Long live Stark!", "Long live the Rills!", and "Long live White Harbor!" came from all directions, the pirates immediately understood they had fallen into a trap.

Facing the cavalry charging out from all directions in the darkness, the pirates could only fight back in a rush, and many pirates were trampled underfoot before they could even react.

The Northern cavalry lost only five men while killing over thirty pirates and capturing eight; only a small handful of pirates escaped to the shore and jumped onto their ships to flee. By the time the Northern cavalry reached the shore, there were only three longships left.

After the battle ended, Jon Snow said, "Lord Eddard, it is a pity that some pirates still got away."

Eddard said, "Let them flee! Once they escape back to Skagos and bring the news of the Northern Army gathering at Seal Bay to the island, the Rockborn and Ironborn pirates on the island will surely be terrified. Once fear spreads among the enemy, they will be defeated before they even fight, unable to withstand the sweep of sword and fire."

Domeric Bolton's longsword was stained with blood. "Theon, I killed an enemy. This pirate became the first enemy I have ever killed in my life."

Theon jumped off his horse and rummaged through the corpse of a pirate who had been shot until he looked like a hedgehog. "I shot three."

Domeric said, "With so many horse archers firing arrows, how do you know it was you who shot them?"

"Believe it or not, I draw my bow and nock an arrow, and I naturally know whether I hit or not." Theon pulled off the pirate's seal-skin boots.

"Why are you stripping things from the dead?" Domeric asked, puzzled.

Theon said triumphantly, "Flayed Man, you don't understand this, do you? I shot this fellow, so I have the right to take everything on him. This is called 'paying the iron price'; his spoils are mine! It's just a pity this fellow is a pauper, with only a pair of boots that are decent."

The captives were escorted before Eddard; they were all tall, sturdy men with stubbly beards and thick body hair, wearing animal skins over chainmail. From their appearance, these people looked more like Rockborn than Ironborn.

Eddard said, "Which of you is Ironborn?"

Some of these men glared at Eddard, some had cold expressions, and some showed disdain, but not one was afraid. A pirate wearing a horned helmet sneered, "None of us are Ironborn; we are all Rockborn."

The horned-helmet pirate's gaze rested on the direwolf emblem on Eddard's chest. "You are the Wolf King of Winterfell? I tell you, House Stark of Winterfell will never again be able to make the proud Rockborn kneel. The King of Rocks, Samlo Crowl, will kill every one of you."

Greatjon kicked the horned-helmet pirate in the mouth, and the sound of shattering teeth followed. The pirate let out a muffled groan, fell to the ground, and spat out two broken teeth. Greatjon drew his dagger. "Lord Eddard, these beasts have killed many of my warriors and people, and abducted women and children. Kill them all! Besides, among the Rockborn we have captured, not one has surrendered."

Eddard shook his head in refusal. "No, we lack understanding of Skagos and the Rockborn living upon it. Lock them up first and interrogate them under torture; perhaps we can find out something."

These Rockborn pirates had just been captured, and gathered together, surely none were willing to be cowards, but given time, if interrogated individually, Eddard believed there would surely be a harvest.

After the Northern Army appeared at Seal Bay, the pirates ravaging the lands of House Umber dissipated like dew under the sun. The pirates jumped onto their longships and fled toward Skagos, the largest island in the North on the east coast of Seal Bay. Some pirates who did not manage to escape back to the sea were all killed by the Northern soldiers.

Soon, this stretch of coast returned to tranquility. However, the farmland burned to ash, the fishing boats destroyed by the sea, the ruined Saltpans, the fishing villages destroyed by the flames of war, and the corpses lying everywhere all spoke of the sorrow of this land after the pirates' rampage.

Sir Herman Tallhart of Torrhen's Square said, "Lord Eddard, the White Harbor fleet has not yet arrived. Where shall we camp? To prevent the pirates from making a comeback, I suggest we withdraw to a place one league from the coast; camping there would be safer."

"No, we shall make camp right here," Eddard said with a firm tone. "Arrange the baggage train and grain behind the camp. On the side of the camp facing the sea, raise the direwolf banner of Winterfell and the banners of the various great houses of the North. If the pirates have the guts to come and scout, once they see our army camp with banners flying, they will know they have no chance of winning."

Jory Cassel said, "Lord Eddard, who knows where the White Harbor fleet has gone? Should we send a raven to find them?"

Eddard shook his head. "Forget it. Sending a raven to a castle is no problem, but sending one to find a fleet at sea? The probability of finding them is low. Besides, there might still be pirate ships at sea; if the raven is shot down by pirates and the letter falls into enemy hands, we will only fall into a passive position."

Wull of the mountain clans, "Big Bucket," said, "Lord Eddard, are we just going to stay here and do nothing while waiting for the White Harbor fleet?"

Eddard sighed helplessly. "We can only wait. That is how cross-sea warfare is; without ships, one can do nothing." Eddard could only hope that Wylis Manderly had not lost the fleet at sea; otherwise, the Northern Army's grain would be consumed in vain.

(End of chapter)