Chapter 88: Interrogating the Prisoner
The thunder of hooves grew louder, shaking the ground as it approached. Moments later, more than a hundred cavalry burst out from the forest.
After spotting Saelen and his group, they did not charge. Instead, they reined in their horses and began circling, quickly forming a tight encirclement. The air filled with the clatter of armor, the clash of weapons, and the restless snorting of warhorses.
Saelen's expression was tense at first, but as he recognized the familiar lamellar armor they wore, his posture relaxed slightly.
"Is that Lord Saelen?" someone among the riders exclaimed.
The formation stirred at once. The cavalry dismounted and bowed respectfully.
A knight pushed through the ranks and stepped forward. Upon seeing Saelen clearly, he hurried over and saluted.
"My lord!"
"Ser William?" Saelen's brows lifted in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Ser William was his acting castellan, entrusted with managing Castle Edd in Saelen's absence. They had met years ago in King's Landing, when William was still a common-born sellsword, living by the blade. After observing him for some time, Saelen had recruited him and later knighted him. Over the years, William had settled down with a family in Castle Edd and proven himself loyal—a trusted subordinate.
"My lord," William replied, "this morning we received reports from nearby villagers about suspicious activity near Castle Edd."
"Some of our scouts were attacked and killed by unknown assailants. Realizing something was wrong, I immediately gathered over two hundred riders and set out in pursuit."
He shook his head with a grim smile.
"But these men were cunning. Once they suspected they might be exposed, they fled long before we arrived."
"Fortunately," he continued, gesturing behind him, "we managed to capture one straggler along the way. It took some… persuasion, but he eventually spoke."
He turned and ordered, "Bring him forward."
Two soldiers dragged a battered man into the clearing and threw him onto the ground.
"My lord," William said, "according to this prisoner, they are a band of raiders who have already looted several villages. Their leader convinced them to target Castle Edd next."
He let out a short laugh, unable to hide his disbelief.
"A pack of fools. Barely a hundred men thinking they could sack a castle defended by over a thousand—it's nothing but a fantasy."
The surrounding soldiers chuckled along with him.
Saelen, however, did not laugh. He listened in silence, his gaze sharpening. Something didn't add up. From what he had seen earlier, these raiders were disciplined and cautious—not the kind of idiots who would attempt such a suicidal assault.
The prisoner lay trembling on the ground, bloodied and barely conscious, his eyes filled with terror as they met Saelen's.
Saelen stepped forward.
"Speak," he said calmly. "Who are you? What is your leader's name? Where did you come from?"
He lowered the tip of his greatsword beneath the man's chin, forcing him to look up.
"And why did you come here?"
The prisoner swallowed hard, his voice shaking.
"P-please… mercy, my lord…"
Saelen's expression turned cold. He raised his sword, ready to end the man's life. If the prisoner could offer no useful information, there was no reason to keep him alive after such crimes.
"Wait…!"
"I'll talk! I'll talk!"
The prisoner was so terrified that he lost control of his bladder. Yellow liquid soaked through his trousers and pooled on the ground, the sharp stench of urine mixing with the earthy smell of dirt.
"M-my lord… my name is Sol—"
Before he could finish, Ser William kicked him hard.
"My lord didn't ask your name," he snapped. "Say something useful."
"Please, stop! I was wrong!" Sol cried out, writhing in pain.
"My lord, we really are just a band of raiders," he said hastily, voice trembling. "I used to follow a leader called Redbeard, just scraping by. But one day, a group of men surrounded us and killed him. Then they took the rest of us in."
"They promised us great rewards. We're all men who live day by day anyway—no matter who we serve, it's always a life on the edge of a blade. So we joined them willingly."
"They went on to gather other bands like ours, until we had over a hundred men. They gave us horses, weapons, armor… and then led us from village to village, looting everything. Whatever we took, they let us keep."
At this point, Ser William stepped forward and handed Saelen a purse.
Saelen opened it and glanced inside. Four or five gold dragons, still stained with blood.
So they had targeted wealthy villages… and likely left countless dead behind.
"What did these men look like?" Saelen asked coldly. "Their age, their appearance?"
Sol hesitated.
"What?" Saelen's tone sharpened. "Don't want to speak?"
"N-no, my lord! It's just… they were very careful. Whenever they were with us, they always covered their faces with black cloth. They never used real names—only codenames."
"What codenames?"
"They… they called themselves 'Wolfslayers'."
A heavy silence fell over the clearing.
The name alone was a blatant insult to House Stark. Jon's grip tightened around his sword, his face dark with restrained fury as he glared at the prisoner.
Saelen, however, remained calm.
"Where did they take you to raid?"
"House Bolton's lands… Hornwood… White Harbor… Barrowlands…"
He swallowed nervously before continuing.
"We hit Hornwood the hardest. They said the lord and his heir had taken their best troops north to defend the Wall under Winterfell's call. The castle was left in the hands of a weak woman, with very little defense."
"House Bolton?" Jon blurted out in shock. "You're saying you raided Bolton lands too?"
"Yes, my lord," Sol said, confused by Jon's reaction. "We looted two villages under House Bolton."
Jon glanced at Saelen, momentarily at a loss. Had they misjudged the Boltons?
Saelen frowned slightly but didn't dwell on it.
"The villages along Long Lake," he continued. "Was that your doing as well?"
"Yes, my lord." Sol lowered his head. He knew he wouldn't leave alive. Now, he answered everything honestly, hoping for a quicker death.
"After we looted those villages, the leader told us that Castle Edd held porcelain more valuable than gold—and that there were millions of gold dragons inside. He convinced us to attack it."
Saelen's brows knitted tightly.
"There is porcelain in Castle Edd," he said slowly, "but nowhere near that amount of gold. And did you not know the castle is defended by over a thousand trained soldiers?"
Sol froze, staring blankly.
In that moment, realization dawned on him.
They had been used.
"T-they said…" he stammered, voice shaking, "they said most of the garrison had been sent to defend the Wall… that only a hundred or so old and weak men remained to guard the castle…"