Chapter 37: The White Harbor Fleet

Duke Eddard greeted the commander of the White Harbor Fleet, the heir to White Harbor, Wylis Manderly, in his central command tent by the sea.

Arriving alongside Wylis Manderly were Roose Bolton, Lord of Dreadfort, and Rickard Karstark, Lord of Karhold; the White Harbor Fleet had also picked up one thousand Bolton soldiers and eight hundred Karhold soldiers along the way.

Wylis Manderly was bald and sported a walrus-like mustache that was tangled and looked filthy. Like his brother Wendel, Wylis was very fat, but while Wendel could still ride a horse, Wylis was too obese to do so.

"Lord Eddard, I have never been seasick before," Wylis Manderly said to Eddard with an apologetic look, "but my father told me this mission was of great importance and that I must bring the White Harbor Fleet to Seal Bay, otherwise it would delay Duke Eddard's expedition to Skagos. Therefore, when the fleet left White Harbor and I was commanding it from the ship, the heavy pressure caused me to suffer from insomnia and vomit from seasickness every day."

According to Wylis Manderly, Lord Wyman of White Harbor attached great importance to the expedition of the White Harbor Fleet and sent the heir, Wylis; however, it was a pity that, having commanded such a massive fleet for the first time, Wylis wilted as soon as he left White Harbor and was too sick to leave his cabin before they even reached the Three Sisters.

The task of commanding the White Harbor Fleet fell upon the shoulders of Maron Manderly, a cousin of Lord Wyman and the commander of the White Harbor garrison, who was highly experienced.

Eddard asked Maron Manderly, "Has the journey been smooth?"

Maron Manderly, who had a sturdy build and wore magnificent silver-white armor, replied, "Duke Eddard, after our White Harbor fleet sailed out of the Bite and entered the waters of the Narrow Sea, we would occasionally run into some Rockborn Pirate longships, but these longships would flee north as soon as they saw the fleet."

"Everything went smoothly at first, but once we reached the coast of the Bolton lands, the number of pirate ships increased significantly. Some longships began to gather and exchanged volleys of arrows with our fleet at sea. The pirates used fire arrows, and a merchant ship from White Harbor and a fishing boat from Widow's Watch caught fire, though fortunately, the flames were extinguished."

"After the skirmish, the pirates continued to flee north. I dared not be careless, fearing they might ambush us at sea. So, I sent the 'Sistermen' ships to lead the way and had the Pentos mercenary ships take charge of protecting the flanks and the rear of the fleet, ordering all captains to stay alert and deal with the pirate threat that could appear at any moment."

Roose Bolton said in a soft, whispering voice, "Sir Maron Manderly's tactics were so effective that the White Harbor Fleet easily helped us drive away the pirates in the Dreadfort region."

Greatjon Umber said in a gruff voice, "Just as I expected, the pirates only bully us because we have no ships; they only know how to run when they encounter a fleet."

Maron Manderly said, "After the Dreadfort army joined the fleet, the pirate ships tried to sneak an attack from the flanks several times, but they were repelled by the Pentos mercenary ships and the archers of our fleet. By the time we reached the coast of the Karhold lands, the pirates no longer dared to approach and fled one after another toward Skagos."

"We sank a few straggling pirate ships and took some prisoners. These prisoners were all Rockborn, tall and burly but unskilled at rowing; we failed to capture any Ironborn ships."

Eddard was very glad that Wylis had spent almost the entire voyage from White Harbor to Seal Bay vomiting. If Wylis had been in command of the White Harbor Fleet, not only would the arrival time have been delayed, but the losses to the White Harbor Fleet would have been much greater while passing through the pirate-infested waters.

After all, this was just a motley fleet consisting mainly of merchant ships, containing mercenary ships of questionable loyalty, with captains and sailors from Lys, Ibben, the Summer Islands, and all over the Seven Kingdoms; only a veteran like Maron Manderly could manage such a fleet and handle such a complex situation.

"Ser Wylis, you have worked hard." Although the credit belonged to Maron Manderly, Eddard still praised Wylis first.

Wylis stroked his walrus-like belly, "Indeed! Lord Eddard, I lost over ten pounds at sea! However, being able to bring the White Harbor Fleet safely to Seal Bay, I have finally completed my mission."

Eddard looked around at his Northern vassals, "Since the White Harbor Fleet has arrived, we have no reason to linger; we must cross the sea immediately and set out for Skagos."

Greatjon raised his fist, "Those damned Rockborn and Ironborn pirates have been burning, killing, and looting in our lands, abducting women and children; we must retaliate! Now it is our turn to go to their territory."

Robett Glover of Deepwood Motte, Ser Wendel Manderly of White Harbor, Lord Rickard Karstark of Karhold, and Ser Herman Tallhart of Torrhen's Square all roared for revenge.

Roose Bolton said in a soft, whispering voice, "My only concern is that we do not know how many longships Skagos has. If the pirates choose to launch a sudden attack and trigger a naval battle while the Northern Army is halfway across the sea, what are our chances of winning?"

Lord Rickard Karstark was somewhat displeased, "You have seen it yourself, the mongrel pirates do not dare to engage the fleet at all."

Eddard said, "I believe Lord Roose's concern is not without reason. What if the enemy is only feigning weakness and choosing to lure us in? To be cautious, we should still formulate a thorough plan."

Ser Maron Manderly said, "I suggest that the Sistermen's ships lead the way. These Sistermen have been engaged in piracy in the Stepstones for years and are very familiar with the tactics of the Ironborn pirates; the Rockborn pirates, who are unskilled in naval warfare, will be even less of a match."

Eddard nodded in agreement, "It is settled. The fleet will have the Pentos mercenary ships and the Summer Islands ships protect the flanks at sea to prevent the pirate ships from outflanking us."

Roose Bolton frowned, "Lord Eddard, it is understandable that the Pentos mercenary ships are on the flanks, but why let the Summer Islands ships also protect the flanks?"

Eddard explained, "This is because the Swan Ships of the Summer Islands are all equipped with the unique Goldenheart Longbows of the Summer Islands. These bows can easily suppress the range of ordinary bows. In the world, only the Dragonbone Bow can suppress the range of the Goldenheart Longbow, and the Dragonbone Bow is too precious and rare; therefore, few pirates at sea dare to provoke the Swan Ships of the Summer Islands."

Greatjon Umber said, "Lord Eddard, I suggest that our Umber soldiers take the lead. We can launch surprise attacks at multiple locations on the island and land at several points, so the Rockborn and Ironborn will be caught off guard."

Eddard thought for a moment, "The Umber men can take the lead, but I will not divide the forces."

Skagos was too mysterious; the Northern Army could not even find any locals from Skagos to serve as guides. The Northern Army had captured some Rockborn prisoners, but none of these prisoners were currently willing to reveal valuable intelligence to the Northmen, let alone serve as guides for the Northern Army.

Landing on an unfamiliar island and dividing the forces to let different commanders grope about in unknown territory would easily lead to them being defeated one by one by Skagos. More than 100 years ago, during the Skagos rebellion in the time of Daeron II, the Northern Army won victory after victory on the mainland of the North, but as soon as they reached Skagos, the army began to encounter stubborn resistance from the enemy. It eventually took three years, and over a thousand warriors, including the then-Duke of the North, Barth Stark, were killed, and Winterfell failed to make Skagos kneel.

With the bitter lessons of the past, Eddard would rather have the army gather in one place, establish a position, and pitch camp before advancing slowly. Once they reached the island, the King of Rocks, Samro Crowl, and his Iron Bitch, as well as the mysterious Helen Pyke, would unveil their mysteries.

(End of chapter)