New chapter! Thanks for all the support!
x
Early the next morning, after eating a simple breakfast, the Winterfell riders went out once more to search for Arya and, while they were at it, gather more information.
Edd had already gone out to buy the day's provisions, while Robb remained seated at the front of the shop, his eyes sweeping back and forth as he watched the activity in Cobbler's Square.
That safehouse set up by Varys truly had an excellent location. Sitting at the shop's entrance, Robb could clearly see all four approaches to the square.
His eyes never stopped moving, but neither did his mind. He continued rehearsing the next steps of the plan in his head.
If Varys agreed to help him, that would be the best and easiest course.
If he refused, then Robb could only follow the backup plan he had already prepared.
The square remained full of people coming and going. No one would have guessed that, seated in front of an ordinary shop, there was someone planning to break into the Red Keep and the black cells.
Clack, clack.
Two Gold Cloaks wearing mail passed in front of Robb's shop.
After casting a quick glance at Robb, who kept a respectful smile on his face and lowered his head in greeting, they continued their patrol without responding, their usual arrogance plain on their faces.
The sun rose slowly from the east until it reached the middle of the sky. Edd had already returned, and the riders Robb had instructed to come back at the proper time to eat also began returning one after another.
Many hands made a difference. One fetched the vegetables, another the bread, another the meat. In no time, the prepared food was already being carried to the long table inside the shop.
Clack, clack.
Just as they were about to begin lunch, the same two Gold Cloaks passed in front of Robb's shop again on patrol.
They swept their eyes across the interior, taking in all the men eating there. One of them forced a strange smile at the corner of his mouth, and then the two continued on.
Robb's heart jumped.
That smile put him on guard at once.
Since when had Gold Cloaks ever treated commoners with any friendliness?
He lightly tapped Edd on the shoulder, rose to his feet, and went to the shop entrance.
Standing there, he looked around carefully. In Cobbler's Square, the few merchants who remained were still selling their goods beneath leather awnings.
"Edd, tell everyone to take up their weapons."
With a grave expression, Robb turned his head and spoke in a low voice.
Edd wasted no time asking questions and simply passed on the order.
In King's Landing, carrying weapons was allowed. But since they were disguised as a small merchant caravan, it was obvious they could not go around wearing the armor of a noble house.
Because of that, they wore only soft leather jerkins, common in the North and offering almost no real protection.
More than ten Winterfell riders, armed and fierce-eyed, turned their attention to the entrance of the shop. At that moment, there were no pedestrians passing directly in front of it. If there had been, they surely would have been startled by the sight.
"Lord Robb, why are you so tense? There doesn't seem to be anything strange outside."
One of the riders, sword already in hand and standing closest to the door, could not help asking when he saw the look on Robb's face.
"In these last two days, the Gold Cloaks we ran into could barely be bothered to spare us a glance. But those two just now reacted strangely. Most likely, they came to check how many of us there are."
While keeping his eyes fixed outside, Robb explained in a rapid voice:
"Even though it's lunchtime now, the merchants in the square stalls almost always eat what they bring with them.
Yet there are fewer of them at the stalls by the minute. Where did they go? Did they simply give up on selling?
If I'm not mistaken, the enemy is clearing the square on purpose, afraid the confusion might let us escape."
Looking at the square, where the number of merchants was visibly shrinking, Robb spoke even faster:
"We can't let this go on. If we do, we'll be completely at their mercy. When I give the word, we break out. Remember this: do not stop to fight. We force our way northwest to the Gate of the Gods.
Once we get out of the city, we regroup with Torrhen and the others at the inn outside."
"Yes!"
The riders answered in low voices at the same time.
Robb drew his sword and rushed out of the shop, heading straight for the corner of the alley to the left.
He had barely reached the turn when two Gold Cloaks suddenly appeared, one from each side, surging out from behind the corner.
Their swords came upward from below, aimed directly at Robb's legs, in a clear attempt to cripple his mobility first.
The instant he saw the two of them, Robb, already in a state of total alertness, reacted with incredible speed. Gripping his sword firmly in his right hand, he brought the blade down vertically in front of his legs and easily blocked both strikes at once.
The moment he locked their blades, he raised his right foot and stamped down hard on both swords, pinning them to the ground.
The two enemies realized what had happened and tried to wrench their weapons free.
But no matter how much force they used, the swords did not move in the slightest, as if they had grown out of the earth beneath Robb's foot.
Slash!
Edd and the riders behind Robb did not stand there watching. Taking advantage of the opening, they rushed forward at once, and two blades cut through the throats of the two Gold Cloaks.
Ghh... ghh...
Choking on their own blood, the men struggled for a moment before collapsing limply to the ground.
After dropping those two, Robb pressed ahead and rounded the alley corner.
"Shit!"
The instant he passed the bend, Robb, who normally kept even his speech under tight control, swore almost by instinct.
The narrow, sloping alley before them was packed solid with a dense mass of Gold Cloaks rushing toward them with swords drawn.
Barely had he finished cursing when three swords came at his head at the same time.
This time they were not aiming for his legs. They came from different angles, straight to kill him.
Robb ducked abruptly, bending his body and lowering his head to avoid all three blades, then swung his own sword in a half-circle from low right to high left, aiming at the attackers' legs.
"Aaaah!!!"
Under the brutal force of Robb's blow, his sword severed five legs from the three men in front.
Two of them collapsed at once, rolling on the ground and shrieking horribly.
The one on the left, whose remaining leg had escaped only because Robb's sword had not fully reached it, froze in place, balanced on that one leg as though he had not yet understood what had happened.
Robb had no time to listen to his screams. As he rose again, he drove his sword straight into the man's right eye.
The wave of Gold Cloaks, however, did not stop because two comrades had fallen.
Right behind them, four more were already charging ahead, stepping over their own allies still thrashing on the ground to attack Robb.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Edd, who had just rounded the corner, together with two more Winterfell riders at the front line, rushed forward immediately when they saw the attack and met them head-on.
After deflecting one blow and wrenching his sword free from the neck of yet another Gold Cloak, Robb saw, to his left, the very same Winterfell rider who had earlier asked why he was so tense.
The man had cut down several enemies, but his strength was beginning to fail.
Seizing the moment, another Gold Cloak coming right behind lunged forward and ran him through the belly.
When he pulled the sword back out, the man's guts spilled out.
The instant that brave man fell, another Winterfell rider coming behind him took his place without hesitation.
Thank the gods the stepped alley allowed no more than four men abreast.
If they had been on a broad street, Robb and his men would already have been completely surrounded.
This won't work!
"Edd, hold this for a moment!"
"Yes!"
After cutting down yet another Gold Cloak, Robb shouted to Edd and quickly fell back, withdrawing from the fight for a brief instant.
The moment he left the line, a Winterfell rider coming right behind him stepped into his place at the front.
Those who had not yet entered the fighting immediately opened a path for Robb.
He hurried back to the front of the shop and looked out over Cobbler's Square.
What he saw was that, at the other three entrances to the square, there were mixed detachments of Gold Cloaks and Lannister soldiers, around forty men at each point, dispersing the crowd and advancing steadily in their direction.
They were surrounded.
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader