personal6

Chapter 36

Face to face

Edmure POV

The tent was full of lords of Riverlands and their heirs. I sat in front of everyone looking at them and waiting. I was waiting for someone to start talking and questioning me about my actions in this war so far. I didn't have to wait too long as Lord Jonos Bracken stood up and cleared his throat.

"Ser Edmure," He called me out. "I know that we have less men than Lannisters, but will we run this time too?"

"Fewer," I corrected him, and he looked at me confused. "Nevermind, continue."

"Two battles we had," Lord Bracken continues. "First at the Golden Tooth, after few clashes, you ordered for us to retreat. Then at Pinkmaiden, we held defensively against Lannisters for two days before you ordered for us to retreat again."

"Damn you, old goat, we all know that," Lord Blackwood interrupted. "What we want to know if you going to retreat this time too, ser Edmure? Behind us, behind that bridge, is the Riverrun."

"I know, just as the Lannister's know," I answer Lord Blackwood. "It was their plan from the beginning to besiege Riverrun."

"Then why? Why let them do so?" Lord Piper asks. "I agreed to abandon Pinkmaiden, but Riverrun is of most import. It can't fall."

"They have twice as many men as we do," I tell them.

"They wouldn't have if you recalled the men from Harrenhal and Seagard," Lord Bracken responds.

"Don't be a fool," Lord Blackwood replies to Jonos Bracken. "You want to leave a passage for Ironborn to invade us or let Crowlanders pass to our lands?"

"Neither of which is happening. If we had eight thousand from Harrenhal and five thousand from Seagard, we wouldn't be in any disadvantage against Lannisters," Lord Bracken responds. "Do we need that many men defend from attacks that may not happen? At least half of those men could have been recalled to aid us."

"And what difference just those men will make?" Lord Blackwood asks. "The Lannisters still would have more men. At least with our numbers now, we can move more freely."

"There no meaning in retreating if we still lose men," Lord Bracken replies.

"Tell me, Lord bracken, how many men have I lost?" I ask.

"Five thousand," He answers.

"How many have Lannister's lost?" I ask again.

"About five thousand," He answers.

"So with twice the number he has over me, we still stand on the same ground," I say.

"It is true that your riders have hampered their advance by burning their supply route," Lord Bracken responds. "But the Lannisters are still gaining ground over us. They have better morale than our men."

"But it doesn't mean that we are at a disadvantage," I reply. "We have something that Lannisters don't."

"And what is that?" Lord Bracken asks.

"Time. We have time," I answer him. "If you have not noticed, the Baratheons aren't supporting the crown. Lannisters have no allies, while we do."

"So that your plan is to stall Tywin Lannister until the North comes to support us?" Lord Bracken asks.

"It is a most sensible plan," I say. "That way, we lose the least men."

"Even so, how can you risk our lands to bet on the North?" Lord Bracken didn't let it go.

"Lord Bracken, you complaining quite a lot," I say. "I understand your concerns, and I have a plan. A new force is already prepared in Maidenpool. They will join the Harrenhal. If things go really bad, we still have five thousand prepared men from Seagard to join us."

"Still, we can't let the Lannisters take Riverrun. It would dampen our men's morale to the bottom," Lord Ryger adds.

"Then we will defend the bridge," I agree. "There isn't any passage through the Red Fork in leagues, not after we burned the one at the Pinkmaiden. If Tywin Lannister still finds a way around, my riders will spot them, and we will retreat to the Riverrun."

"As I see, it is our only option right now," Lord Blackwood agrees with me.

"If anyone has better suggestions, I will listen," I tell them. "If not, we should rest for tonight."

With those words, I dismissed everyone. Relying on the North isn't something they like, but they understand that we don't have any other action to take. But North is still far, and the Lannisters are already upon us. That is why I will rely on the enemy to think just as my lords.

…

Lord Blackwood came to my tent the following morning as his son Edmund was helping me get in my armor. Edmund was twelve years old lad who I decided to take as my squire. The Blackwoods were the most loyal and most powerful house that supported me, so I had taken one of his sons as my squire as a small reward to them.

"Ser Edmure," Lord Tytos Blackwood greeted me. "The Lannisters have sent a messenger. They want to meet with you under the banner of peace."

"I see," I reply, not surprised. "I accept to it. Tell Lord Piper, Lord Vance, Lord Bracken, Lord Ryger, and Lord Wayn to join us."

"Is it wise to meet with the Lannisters?" Edmund Blackwood asked after his father left.

"The Lannisters will tell me to surrender. I will not agree. Lord Tywin will threaten me. I know all of that already, but it is me who has all power in this war, and it is time Lord Tywin learned of it too," I tell him. "And I must appear strong in front of my lords."

"Why do you need to look strong in front of father and others?" Edmund asks, wondering.

"So that they could believe in me," I answer, then take a letter I wrote last night. "Deliver this to your oldest brother, now."

…

After gathering, the seven of us and our retinue left to meet with the Lannisters. It wasn't a long ride as the Lannisters camp was not far away from ours. My spies have reported what was happening in the Lannister camp and my own late at night.

I knew exactly what Tywin thought would happen. It is too bad that he is quite predictable, and it is simple to prepare against his plots and schemes.

On the middle point between the two camps, we were met by the Lannisters. I could see Tywin, Jaime, and even Tyrion with a couple more Lannisters. It was a striking difference between us, I came with my lords, and Tywin came with his family.

"Lord Tywin Lannister," I greeted him first. I have no desire to play the game of power with him.

"Ser Edmure Tully," Tywin greeted me back.

"As you asked, I agreed to meet with you," I began. "Do you want me to let you go back to Westerlands?"

"I don't need your permission to do as I wish," Tywin Lannister replies.

"Then why have you asked me to meet with you?" I ask.

"You will surrender and accept your punishment for the crimes to the crown," Tywin Lannister answers.

"Crimes?" I ask. "And what crimes did I commit? You say some incredible things, but there stands a man who should have been protecting the King, but where were you, Kingslayer, when Robert first of his name died? You who abandoned your duty, you who was sentenced to die by the King, why aren't you answering for your crimes?"

"Joffrey first of his name, Lord of…." Tywin Lannister began.

"Let me guess, the new King has forgiven the crimes of the Kingslayer," I interrupt Tywin. "You come to my lands with an army, telling me to surrender. I ask you why I should? The reason you came is to get your son back, wasn't it? I see he's there. Maybe a bit smaller, but still there. So why are you still not leaving?"

"You have to answer for my son's abduction for no valid reason," Tywin responds.

"Do I?" I again ask. "Then I demand a trial by combat. Let my sword decide if I am guilty. Let's end this farce with face-to-face battle, Lord Tywin Lannister."

"Father, let me…." Jaime tried to say.

"You have two times fewer men than I do. I will not bet my victory on one fight," Tywin interrupts his son. "I give you one last chance to surrender."

"And I will give you one last chance to leave my lands," I reply to him. "A man who doesn't trust his own sons won't win this war."

"My lords," It was Tyrion who spoke next. "Let's calm down. Ser Edmure, won't you hear our proposition?"

"Very well," I reply. I was curious. "What are the demands of the King?"

"If you surrender now and pledge your loyalty to the King, you will be forgiven for your actions," Tyrion informs me."Of course, House Tully will forsake the title of the Lord Paramount of the Trident."

"And who will be the new Paramount?" I ask.

"That would be me," Lord Jonos Bracken spoke and rode next to Tywin. "I still remember your insult upon my name eight years ago. You have no chance in winning, and I don't wish to serve under someone like you."

"Oh, you remembered my words from that long time ago," I replied without any surprises and held my hand to stop the Blackwood from rushing at Lord Jonos Bracken. "Good, but it wasn't an insult. It was a warning."

"Don't play me for a fool," Bracken tells me. "By now, my men…."

"By now, your men are dead," I interrupt him. "Really, do you think I wouldn't be watching you?"

I could see many emotions running through Lord Bracken. Anger, despair, hatred, and dejection were prominent ones. I knew that Tywin would try to use one of my lords against me, and the choice was obvious, at least to me.

"Lord Tywin, to defeat me, you will have to use your own sword. If you think you can defeat us now, you can try. If not, I am going back." I ended my statement.

"Even if you foresaw it, it still doesn't change the fact that I have now three times the men you have," Lord Tywin informs me.

"For now," I reply.

"You think you can leave as you wish?" It was Jaime who spoke with his sword drawn.

"Put down your sword before you hurt yourself. I am the only one from Tully's there. Every other lord with me has an heir and a spare. So even if you kill us all, there will be someone to take over us," I informed him. "I just need to kill your father and let the succession of the Casterly Rock consume you."

I didn't wait for a response and just turned my horse around. The lion's pride will be the downfall of Tywin. The only surprising thing was that Tywin revealed this plot so soon. It only gives me more reason to believe that He didn't have much time left.

…

Back in our camp, I could see that dead bodies lay everywhere. Most of the men lying were with the banner of red stallion. I don't know what Lord Bracken's plan was, but before I left, I ordered Brynden Blackwood to help my men kill the Brackens men.

"Ser Edmure," Brynden came to me. "I did as you asked. The Bracken men seemed to be preparing to torch our camp. They were surprised when we attacked them first."

"Damn that, Bracken," Lord Blackwood started to curse. "At least you have foreseen something like that and divided our camps into different sections, ser Edmure."

"You knew?" Lord Vance asks.

I just looked at him and smiled. I have prepared spies in the men of every lord. Giving them individual sections to reside in gave them a false sense of privacy. To me, it was easier to see what every lord was doing.

"What now, ser Edmure?" Lord Piper asks.

"Nothing changes," I reply. "We still have enough men to defend the bridge. Lannisters are more desperate than we are."

"Still, we have only eleven thousand men right now. We won't hold long enough," Lord Ryger says.

"No, we have sixteen thousand men," I inform him. "I forgot to say yesterday that Lord Mallister is joining us soon."

The Mallisters never truly were in the Seagard. I just let others believe so. They were riding to Riverrun after I led others to face the Lannisters.

Information is more important than numbers in the war. Now Lannisters will think that I have just about eleven thousand. There will be no reason for Tywin not to split his own men. Divide and conquer. It was that simple.

…

It didn't take much time before the news reached me that Lannisters are on the move. After a couple of skirmishes in the past few days, Tywin left with eighteen thousand men.

I gathered my men and lords to the bridge. It was the only bridge close to the Riverrun that crossed the Red Fork. It was a sturdy wooden bridge. Most people didn't know a shallow spot under the bridge where horses could easily pass through.

On the other side of the bridge, I could see men moving. My lords looked at me, waiting for their orders. On the other hand, I waited for the Lannisters to come closer. After waiting enough time, I could see through my far-eye that they were preparing for a battle.

I ordered archers to be prepared. Even if Tywin divided the army, I didn't have enough men to bring a decisive victory. I wanted the complete annihilation of at least this half of the army. To do so, I needed to bring Jaime, who is leading, to a trap.

The bridge was a good position to even the odds out. I ordered my heavy infantry to get in position to block the bridge. I could see through my far-eye that Jaime was leading. I didn't like how he didn't rush at the battle, but so be it.

The Blackwood archers were efficient at long distances. When Jaime's levies neared the bridge, they were always riddled with arrows. My infantry, two thousand trained men with heavy shields and pikes, stood like an iron wall, not letting anyone through the bridge.

After half a day of trying to break through that wall, Jaime ordered a retreat. I didn't chase him and let him retreat. I still didn't trust that Tywin hadn't made a trap for me. For now, it would be best to defend the bridge and see how things develop.