Riverlands, Stone Hedge.
This territory belongs to House Bracken, but their lord, Earl Jonos Bracken, is stationed at Riverrun with most of his army.
Currently, only the Earl's bastard son, Harry Rivers, and his nephew, Hendry Bracken, remain at Stone Hedge.
Earl Jonos has had three wives and five daughters, but no sons.
Therefore, both his bastard son and his nephew have a chance to inherit his title, which has led to them being at odds with each other.At this moment, Harry Herwen, holding the Earl's secret letter, was gathered with the people of the Bracken family.
He looked somewhat smug: "Father has sent me a letter. He says we should continue to garrison Stone Hedge to prevent the Lannister's dogs from coming to loot."
Hendry Bracken, standing beside him, snorted: "But the King in the North's order is for us to take refuge in Riverrun. We are loyal to him and should obey him."Harry Riverman had beautiful blond hair and a handsome face, unlike the brown hair of the men in the Brecken family, so there were always whispers that he was not actually the Earl of Brecken's son.
But the Earl of Brecken was very fond of this bastard, because he was not only handsome, but also had excellent martial skills.
This favoritism made Hendry even more displeased, so he challenged this bastard at every turn.Harry Rivers retorted, not to be outdone, "Father says that Lord Leckwood is now trusted by the King in the North. If that King in the North is close to our sworn enemies, we cannot fully trust him."
Harry Rivers knew that Hendry Bracken was only opposing him for the sake of opposing him. He had never even met the King in the North, so what loyalty could he speak of? He was just jealous that his father only wrote to him and not to his nephew.
So he used the matter of House Leckwood to retort.The feud between House Bracken of Stone Hedge and House Lywood of Raventree Hall had lasted for who knows how long.
The rumor that Harry Rivers wasn't the trueborn son of Lord Bracken was Lord Lywood's favorite topic of discussion.
Now, not only had Lord Lywood held Riverrun with his men, but he had also helped the King in the North redeem his father's ashes and sister.
Lord Jonos Bracken immediately sensed the danger.
The King in the North being close to his nemesis was a dangerous sign; it would be perilous if the two joined forces against him.He was beginning to selectively obey Robb's commands.
For example, Robb had ordered all the nobles to bring their families to Riverrun for temporary refuge, but Lord Jonos Bracken was reluctant.
If his territory had no soldiers at all, wouldn't the Lannister army be able to plunder it at will?
That would all be his loss, and the King in the North, who possessed both the North and the Riverlands, certainly wouldn't care!
House Goodbrook of Raventree Hall was burned to the ground because no one was stationed there. If he could defend his territory now, House Bracken's strength would surpass House Goodbrook.So he wrote to his sons, ordering them to hold Stone Hedge.
At the same time, he himself was sending a request to Ser Edmure, hoping to be allowed to return to defend his home.
Harry Rivers shook the letter in his hand: "This is my father's order, no matter what you think, we have to stay here."
Hendry Bracken frowned: "You shouldn't call him father, you should call him Lord, you're a Rivers, not a Bracken!"The Riverlands are known for their many waterways, so bastards here take the surname Rivers, just as the North is known for its ubiquitous snow, so bastards are all called Snow.
Rivers is a derogatory term, especially when Hendry Bracken emphasizes it.
"You!" Harry Rivers raged. "Do you want to duel? We can go outside right now!"
Hendry Bracken sneered. "What is your station that you would dare raise a hand against a nobleman?"
Just as things were about to escalate, a woman from House Bracken stepped forward.
"Enough.""I hear you two arguing about this every day, it's deafening!"
"Exactly, and you're both men! You should be gathering the troops and preparing to defend the city, not fighting amongst yourselves!"
"Fighting your own family? How brave. So many Lannister dogs outside to deal with, and you turn your swords on each other."
Of the five daughters of Lord Bracken, Bess Bracken was the most opinionated. She spoke first, and then her four sisters echoed her, easing the tension between the two men.Harry Rivers and Hendry Bracken, their faces flushed red by the sisters' words, momentarily forgot about their duel.
Harry Rivers sighed and conceded, "Beth is right, whether we go to Riverrun to find Father or defend Stone Hedge, the most important thing now is to gather the troops and intensify training."
Hendry Bracken stopped arguing, his voice heavy, "I'll go gather the soldiers.""After Hendry went out, Bess saw that Harry River was still a bit depressed and went over to comfort him, "Don't pay attention to his nonsense. No matter what, you're our family, we have a blood connection, and no one can deny that."
"I know, I don't blame him, I just..."
Before Harry River could finish speaking, the door was burst open by Hendry Bracken.
His face was filled with fear, his eyes were wide, and he even stuttered, "They... they're here, they... they're here!"Beth was a little displeased with her cousin's panicked demeanor: "What's coming? Is it the Lannister army? And even if they are, what's so scary? You and Hendry can just stop them together."
"It's... it's Gregor Clegane!"
Gregor Clegane was more famously known by another name: The Mountain.
Now no one said Hendry Bracken's actions were reckless.
The Mountain's terror had already spread throughout the Riverlands, and no one would question his cruelty.The room fell silent. A flicker of fear crossed Harry Riverwood's face, but he forced himself to calm down.
"How many of them are there?"
Hendry gasped, "I don't know. I saw a group in the distance carrying the Clegane family banner, so I ran to tell you."
Seeing the two men were silent, Beth stepped forward.
"What are you waiting for? Send ravens and messengers to spread the word! Riverrun is a bit of a distance from here, we can't waste any more time!"Harry Rivers suppressed his fear: "No, we're on a plain. Ravens flying to Riverrun would be spotted immediately and shot down with a single arrow. The messenger would be tortured and interrogated. If the Mountain knew the situation in our city..."
"Then what do we do? Just wait here to die?"
The Mountain's sudden appearance had caused all the members of House Bracken to lose their composure. They were so intimidated by the Mountain's fearsome reputation that they had completely lost the ability to think.
To this day, none of them know how many men the Mountain brought with him.Nor did anyone think about how to set up defenses to resist the Mountain.
But they couldn't be blamed, as Ser Jenos Bracken was still at Riverrun, and he was the only Bracken who had ever properly been on a battlefield as a commander.
Neither Harry Rivers nor Hendry Bracken had participated in anything more than knightly tournaments, and they knew nothing about war.
Harry Rivers gritted his teeth: "The Mountain hasn't approached us yet. Let's send ravens elsewhere, hoping someone in the Riverlands will see them and send word to Riverrun for help."Ravens have relatively fixed flight paths, and if it flies directly to Riverrun, the Mountain will definitely prepare along the way to shoot it down.
Now we can only hope that ravens flying elsewhere can deliver the message.
Good morning, dear readers!!
It's already the beginning of August, and I've been writing for more than 20 days without realizing it, which makes me quite emotional.At the beginning of the month, the newbie is asking all the big shots to throw some monthly tickets his way.
Because I heard that if a book gets over a thousand monthly tickets in a month, there's a lottery, and the newbie hasn't experienced these things yet, I hope the big shots can fulfill this wish.
As a token of sincerity, if the monthly tickets exceed 500 each month, the author will update two more chapters that month, and if it exceeds 1000, two more chapters. Thanks for your support.
...
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