Harrenhal

[House Dustin]

"Thank you, Lord Blackwood. Do we have any current intelligence on the disposition of enemy forces in and about King's Landing, or if any additional support is en route?"

[Imry Willfyre]

Lord Barclay and his host of 6,000 men arrive at Harrenhal after riding hard from Duskendale. They quickly make camp and join the other men in King Rickon's host.

[Horas]

"There's our support," Warren says as the Crownland host arrives, "And I have my best men scouting out the enemy's position around King's Landing. We should hear from them soon."

[House Dustin]

Dominic Grafton holds his war council in a smaller hall in the Harrenhal. The following are invited to join in council:

The King
Lord Warren Blackwood
Lord Jon Royce
Lord Emmon Barclay
Lord Rey Pryor
Lord Walder Frey
Ser Richard Egan
Ser Roland Royce

Maps of the crownlands and riverlands lay on a large table in the center of the room... Markers are used to recognize known locations and strengths of formations both friendly and foe. Lord Grafton sat at one end of the table, while the other leaders of the Vale talked quietly of their thoughts.

[Horas]

Warren sits down at the war council. He speaks first.

"Well, what is our plan of action?"

[loremaster]

Lord Walder Frey sits quietly beside his cousin Warren. Though he is not personally invited by Lord Grafton, he is Treasurer of the Army as appointed by the King's Hand and commands a fourth of the Riverlands. It would be a poor choice to leave such a person outside, though he clearly remains uncomfortable within the cursed stronghold.

[House Dustin]

OOC: Walder, sorry, tried to make a complete list, no slight intended.

Dominic Grafton speaks quietly and deliberately. "Our first objective here must be the complete destruction of our enemy's forces as expediently as possible. The situation as I understand it is that we have 48,000 men in our combined force here at Harrenhal." Grafton paused for a moment and looked to Lord Emmon Barclay. "Lord Barclay, our tactical options would have been more numerous and varied had you left your men in Duskendale. Next time, please consider our objectives before you march. In any case, here your army is, so we will work with what we have."

Dominic turned back to the briefing. "Prince Andry commands 15,000 Stormlanders in King's Landing. The status and disposition of the Goldcloaks is unknown, but suspected to be at least nominally under the control of Andry. Additionally, a host of Dornishmen estimated at 20,000 is reported to have left Prince's Pass, bound for Storm's End. The intentions of the Mander, Far Reach, Westerlands, and North are as yet unknown. In the field, we should be able to defeat either force, or both forces combined. If they are allowed to combine in King's Landing, however, I do not believe a direct assault on the city walls would likely be successful, and even if it were, it would be at very great cost."

Dominic stood and walked around the edge of the table to where he was near the map's representation of King's Landing. "Our second objective seems to be King's Landing, as we seek to the put the King back on his throne. King's Landing itself is no easy target, a situation caused by the presence of the Blackwater Rush directly south of the city. The primary crossing of the Blackwater is by ferry from just below King's Landing. To properly invest the city one must have a presence astride the Blackwater, with a portion of his forces on either side to restrict supply. If the Dornish have already combined with Andry's forces when we arrive this poses no particular problem-- besides the fact that it could take some great length of time to subdue King's Landing by sea, and that only possible if we can control the sea. If, however, the Dornish do not join the Stormlanders putting King's Landing under siege poses great risk to our forces, as whichever force is south of the Blackwater stands at risk of being menaced by the Dornish while in view of the rest of the army which will be unable to cross the Blackwater in time. That is the situation, as I see it. Proposals?" Lord Grafton looked around the room.

[edricdayne]

Tytos Blackwood enters the room, dressed in soiled brown riding clothes. He has a large beard, and looks weary from a long ride. He doesn't mean to interrupt, and enters the room quietly and goes to stand behind Lord Warren Blackwood.

[Horas]

"First," Warren says, "The Mander is not neutral. I've talked with Tallahar Tyrell, and he is raising the Mander's banners as we speak. So we have a force of men already south of the Mander if we need them."

"Second, I think there is too much risk if we seige the city with the Dornish poised to strike us from behind. Harlaw's raiders should be burning Dorne right now. No matter what his orders, the Dornish general will not be able to keep his army in line once they hear that their homes are being sacked without resistance. They will have to return to Dorne -- that is when we strike King's Landing, when the Stormlanders are alone and vastly outnumbered."

As Tytos enters, Warren turns to him. "This is Tytos Blackwood, the man I sent to scout out the enemy's position. What have you found, Tytos?"

[Imry Willfyre]

"My apologies, Lord Grafton", Barclay said. "I had been given no explicit orders to march or stay anywhere. In fact the only orders I have been given thus far have been to rally the men of the Crownlands, and I have done that. I figured I'd lend my support to the King's host and if need be I can march back to Duskendale before this host makes for King's Landing."

[edricdayne]

Tytos steps forward. "Me and my men haven't found too much of interest. We have some numbers of guards on patrol, but when the army comes close they will no doubt increase the numbers. So, the only information truly of use is, that the Lion's Gate is in disrepair. The wood is older and splintering, and the iron studs in the door are rusting. So, it would most likely be the best place to break into the city."

[loremaster]

Lord Goldfinger was scribbling something on a page of parchment, his eyes flickering between the paper and the map. Tallying costs and figures, plotting supply routes, closing the gap between effort and success... his duties as Treasurer were nothing new for the merchant lord.

[House Dustin]

To Lord Barclay, "Your men are here now, and our hammer all the larger for the striking."

To Lord Blackwood, "Do you know what strength Lord Tyrell will be able to gather in the Mander? I do not share your confidence that burning and raiding will dissuade the Dornish host so easily. Those are the consequences of war, and if the Dornishmen are made of such weak stuff, then perhaps we shouldn't consider them a threat at all."

[edricdayne]

Tytos thinks for a second. "The talk in the camps were that over 5,000 men had been called up in the Mander. Those were only the rumoured numbers though, so I cannot be sure. However, the Far Reach was said to have 20,000 men called up, most at Horn Hill. The talk in the army camps was that Andry was trying his best to keep the Far Reach from siding with us."

[House Dustin]

Dominic nods. "Thank you for the reports, Tytos. Superior information and communications will see us to victory."

He addresses the Lord Blackwood again. "With 5000 men, the Dawn Raider would not likely be able to hold a determined Dornish attack for long."