Chapter 36: Trapped by the Sea

Eddard and his bastard Jon Snow, his ward Domeric Bolton, and his ward Theon Greyjoy stood together by the sea, gazing out at Seal Bay.

Since arriving at Winterfell as a ward at the age of ten, Theon Greyjoy had not seen the sea again; arriving at the shore once more, Theon was overcome with excitement, took off his boots to walk a circle on the beach, and returned to Eddard.

"Lord Eddard, being able to smell the scent of sea salt and hear the sound of the waves again, I feel my blood boiling once more."

The Ironborn were natural sea warriors, while the people of the North were mostly descendants of the First Men; the First Men had never possessed a desire to conquer the ocean, and it was precisely because of this that Skagos, across from Seal Bay, could remain outside the rule of House Stark of Winterfell.

Domeric Bolton looked toward the east, "Lord Eddard, Skagos lies somewhere to the east of Seal Bay, and we are about to enter an island strange to both the ancient books of the Citadel and the ancient books in the Library Tower of Winterfell. I will certainly be able to complete this book about the Rockborn, 'The Forgotten Corner—A Complete Record of Skagos and the Rockborn'."

Theon looked bored, "Who would read a book about the Rockborn? A bunch of cannibalistic savages. Also, Domeric, I suggest you change the title to something shorter; who would be interested in such a cumbersome name?"

Domeric said calmly, "I will consider it. I have a premonition that this will be a great adventure; once the White Harbor Fleet arrives, the Northern Army will break through like a hot knife through butter, destroying the Rockborn and forcing the rebellious King of Rocks, Samlo Crowl, to kneel and submit. The evil queen hiding on Skagos, whether she is the Iron Bitch or Helen Pyke, will be wiped out by the Northern Army along with her schemes and plots."

Jon Snow said, "I think so too. The Young Dragon Daeron I conquered Dorne without shedding blood, and we will certainly be able to conquer Skagos."

Eddard sighed, "Daeron I failed to hold Dorne, and tens of thousands died for his cause of conquest. Jon, do you think that if the Northern Army defeats the King of Rocks on the island and defeats the Rockborn, we can hold this island once the Northern Army returns home?"

"We can!" Jon said in an unquestionable tone, "We will leave behind elite troops, and whoever rebels will be executed; they will surely submit."

Eddard disagreed, "That is a dangerous thought; slaughter cannot win the love of the people. When Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters held dragons in their hands, if they had burned every king or lord who had resisted them, then Aegon would only be ruling over a pile of bones and ashes."

Domeric said, "Lord Eddard, regardless, the Northern Army will certainly be able to crush the Rockborn. They only know how to use guerrilla tactics and will flee at the sight of the Northern Army."

Young people were always so full of confidence; if only Eddard could be as confident as Domeric. Theon, Domeric, and Jon Snow, who had not yet been on a battlefield, were all boasting about the skirmishes along the coast of Seal Bay, but how could these young people know that the real battle would only begin on Skagos after crossing the sea.

Although the Northern Army had been camping by Seal Bay for only two days, Eddard felt as if two years had already passed, and the ragtag fleet from White Harbor had yet to appear. Where exactly had Wylis Manderly taken the fleet?

In the White Harbor fleet, there was a fleet of Pentos Mercenaries, longships of the "Sistermen" hired from the Three Sisters, as well as the galleons from Lys requisitioned by Wyman Manderly in White Harbor, Pentos merchant ships, Ibben whalers, swan ships from the Summer Islands, and merchant ships of various sizes from all over the Seven Kingdoms, as well as some fishing boats that had set out from Oldtown and Widow's Watch.

Sir Herman Tallhart, who was in charge of the baggage train, tallied the provisions and told Eddard that this food was enough for the Northern Army to last for two months, or three months if they were frugal; Greatjon Umber was also willing to provide the winter stores of his family castle for the Northern Army to eat, so the provisions were sufficient.

But Eddard still felt a pang of heartache; there was no help for it, Winterfell was heavily in debt. Ever since borrowing five hundred thousand gold dragons from the Iron Bank and another one hundred thousand gold dragons from Wyman Manderly, Eddard had become the poorest Duke of the North in history; no previous Stark Duke had ever borrowed so much debt.

If Wylis Manderly's White Harbor fleet had encountered an accident at sea and could not arrive, then Eddard would have already lost this war before it had even begun.

Unable to cross the sea, Eddard had no choice but to let his vassals take their respective troops back home. In this way, all the money spent on gathering the army and marching would have been wasted. And once the Northern Army left, the pirates of Skagos would again rush out of the ocean to ravage the lands of the Umbers, the Karstarks, and the Boltons.

Once this expedition to Skagos from Winterfell failed, the pirates of the Rockborn and the Ironborn would ravage the Beijing Donghaian for years; Eddard had no doubt about this. The King of Rocks had blacksmith shops and shipyards on the island, and their strength would only continue to grow. It would also be very difficult for Eddard to organize such a large-scale expedition to deal with Skagos again.

This time when Eddard gathered the army, Maester Luwin of Winterfell and Eddard's wife Catelyn had both strongly opposed it; the next time, those opposing Eddard would be the vassals of the North. Winterfell was powerless to wipe out Skagos, and the mysterious Iron Bitch, as well as Helen Pyke and the King of Rocks, would remain as secrets on the mysterious island of Skagos.

Without a fleet, they could not cross the sea, and Eddard could only be at his wit's end with his army on the land beside Seal Bay. The Northern Army's assault along the coast of Seal Bay had caught the pirates off guard, and they had captured a few longships, but the number was so small that they did not even have the qualifications to enter the sea to challenge the pirates, let alone carry the army across the sea. The more Eddard thought, the more anxious he became, and he turned to Domeric; since Maester Luwin had stayed behind in Winterfell for this Northern Army expedition, Domeric was responsible for managing the ravens and sending messages.

"When I was in Winterfell, I told your father Roose Bolton to spare no cost to meet the White Harbor fleet and escort it north. Calculating the time, the White Harbor fleet should have passed the coast of the Dreadfort's territory long ago; why has your father not sent a reply?"

Domeric pondered for a long while, "Lord Eddard, we have spent most of our time marching over the past few days; even if the Dreadfort had released ravens, it would be difficult for the ravens to find us while we are marching in the wild. Even if my father had sent out ravens, who knows if the hawks or hunters on the road would have shot them down?"

"I speculate that if the White Harbor fleet arrived, the fleet and the Dreadfort soldiers would have attacked from both sides, causing the pirates to flee at the sight, and my father might have taken the Dreadfort soldiers onto the ships and is currently marching toward Seal Bay. I suggest we send light cavalry to the territory of Karhold to see if the White Harbor fleet has appeared along the coast of the Karstark territory."

Eddard sighed, "That is all we can do. Go tell Jory Cassel to send Winterfell's personal guards to ride fast horses to Karhold and ask Rickard Karstark if the White Harbor fleet has passed by yet."

"Woo—" A Northern horn tore through the sky, and Eddard saw ships in the distance sailing toward Seal Bay; the flag fluttering on the ships was a male merman holding a trident, which was the sigil of House Manderly of White Harbor.

The White Harbor fleet that Eddard had been longing for had finally arrived.

(End of chapter)