The Westerlands were not like the North.
They were a garden.
After passing the smoking ruins of the Golden Tooth the Northern Army descended into a land of plenty. The hills were gentle and green. The villages were whitewashed and neat. The cattle were fat.
"It is beautiful," Robb Stark said looking over the valley.
"It is a bank vault," Andar corrected. "And the door is open."
The Greatjon rode up. He was grinning like a wolf who had found a sheep pen.
"Do we burn it Your Grace? Tywin burned the Riverlands. Let us show him the color of ash."
"No," Andar said quickly. "Ash is useless. Ash cannot buy gunpowder. Ash cannot feed workers."
He turned to the logistics officers.
"We are here for three things. Livestock. Iron. And Gold. Anything that can walk is driven North. Anything made of metal is melted down. Anything yellow goes in the strongbox."
"And the smallfolk?" Robb asked.
"Leave them," Andar said. "If we kill the workers the mines stop producing. We are not monsters Robb. We are repo men."
Oxcross
Three days march from the Tooth lay the village of Oxcross.
Here Stafford Lannister was gathering a new host. Ten thousand men. Most were raw recruits sweepings from the taverns of Lannisport and farm boys who had never held a spear.
Stafford felt safe. He knew Tywin was in King's Landing. He knew the Golden Tooth blocked the pass. He did not know the Tooth was gone.
He did not set sentries. The camp was a sprawling mess of drinking and sleeping.
On the ridge above the camp Andar set up his mortars.
These were squat ugly tubes. Coehorn Mortars. They were designed for high angle fire.
"It is pitch black," Robb whispered looking at the dark valley. "We cannot see them to shoot."
"We do not need the moon," Andar said checking his watch. "We brought our own."
He signaled the mortar crews.
"Load illumination," Andar ordered. "Magnesium flares. Five second fuse."
"Fire!"
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Three shells shot high into the air. They drifted over the sleeping camp.
Then the parachutes deployed.
FIZZ.
Suddenly the night ended.
Three blindingly white stars ignited in the sky. The magnesium burned with an intensity that cast harsh sharp shadows over the entire valley.
Down in the camp ten thousand Lannister soldiers woke up screaming. They thought the gods were attacking. They thought the sun had fallen.
They ran out of their tents shielding their eyes from the glare. They were perfectly illuminated targets.
But up on the ridge the Northerners were in the dark.
"Rifles!" Andar shouted. "Free fire!"
CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK.
One thousand rifles opened up.
It was not a battle. It was a harvest.
The Lannister recruits were cut down in droves. They spun in circles looking for the enemy but they could only see the blinding light above them. They fired arrows blindly into the dark hitting nothing.
Stafford Lannister ran out of his command tent. He was wearing his nightshirt.
"Form up!" He screamed. "Put out the lights! Someone put out the lights!"
A rifle bullet caught him in the throat. He fell back into his tent dead.
Then came the cavalry.
Grey Wind led the charge. The direwolf was a shadow in the unnatural light. Behind him the Northern heavy horse swept through the confused camp like a scythe through wheat.
"Mercy!" The recruits screamed throwing down their weapons. "We yield!"
By the time the flares burned out the Battle of Oxcross was over.
The next morning Andar walked through the captured camp.
The haul was massive. Thousands of horses. Wagons of food. And chests of pay for the soldiers.
"Gold," Robb said opening a chest. "Lannister gold."
"This is pocket change," Andar said.
He pointed to the mountains in the distance.
"Castamere. Nunn's Deep. The Pendric Hills. That is where the real money is."
He turned to Maege Mormont.
"Lady Mormont take five hundred men. Secure the cattle herds. Drive them back to the Golden Tooth. The starving people of the Riverlands need beef."
He turned to the Greatjon.
"Lord Umber take the mines at Nunn's Deep. Kill the guards but spare the miners. Tell them they work for the King in the North now. And tell them I pay in silver not promises."
Andar picked up a gold coin. He flipped it in the air.
"Tywin fights with money. He thinks his gold makes him invincible."
He caught the coin.
"We are going to cut his purse strings. When the Iron Bank hears that Tywin Lannister has lost his mines his interest rates will go through the roof."
[Quest Complete: Battle of Oxcross]
[Enemy Commander: Stafford Lannister (Killed)]
[Loot Acquired: 50,000 Gold Dragons]
[Strategic Impact: Westerlands Economy Crippled]
A scout rode up breathless.
"Your Grace! My Lord! We found something!"
"What is it?" Robb asked.
"In the command tent. Letters. From King's Landing."
Robb took the parchment. He read it quickly. His face went pale. Then it turned red with anger.
"What does it say?" Andar asked.
"It is from Sansa," Robb whispered. "Or forced from her. They are beating her. Joffrey has his Kingsguard beat her in court."
Robb crushed the letter in his fist.
"I will kill him," Robb swore. "I will march on the capital and I will feed Joffrey to his own hounds."
"We stick to the plan," Andar said firmly grabbing Robb's shoulder. "If we march on the capital now we face Tywin and the Tyrells on their ground. We lose."
"She is my sister!"
"And we are saving her," Andar said. "By taking away the one thing the Lannisters love more than power."
Andar looked West toward the sea.
"We are going to Lannisport. We are going to destroy their fleet. And then..."
He paused.
"Then we are going to introduce them to the Locomotive."
"Locomotive?" Robb frowned. "Here?"
"The rails are being laid behind us," Andar smiled dangerously. "Every mile we advance the iron road follows. Soon I will be able to ship a cannon from Winterfell to Lannisport in three days."
He looked at the gold coin again.
"The Lannisters have a saying. Hear Me Roar."
Andar pocketed the coin.
"Let us see how loud they roar when we own their throat."
.….
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'm releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
25 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!