Army of the Honeywine: Currently Encamped at Ashford

[Honors Bastion]

Army Composition

1,478 H Inf
1,973 L Inf
2,130 Polearms
1,346 Archers
75 E Cav
519 H Cav
1,752 L Cav

11,920 men

===============================================

After a week and a half of being unconscious, Ser Garth Hightower awoke in middle of the Hightower Army encampment outside the castle of Ashford. "Wait where am I? What's going on?"

"Calm down brother. Everythign is ok right now." said Ser Lorent Hightower, Garth's younger brother. "We are currently at Ashford, Garth. After you were knocked out by the Stormlander Knight, our army began to collapse and it soon became a rout in which thousands of our men were killed. I managed to gather what remained of our men and ordered a retreat back to Ashford. Unfotrunately, uncle Brandon was captured or killed by the Stormlanders. I don't know. Last I saw him, he went down fighting surrounded by a group of Stormlander soldiers, men from Estermont it looked like."

"Blasted all. How many of our men survived?"asked Garth who's mood turned sour at the news of the lost battle.

"About 12,000 men remain brother."

"So many dead. Keep the men on guard but tell them to rest. We need to contact our other armies before we make our next move."

[Jokern]

A raven arrives from Highgarden, sealed with yellow wax and the seal of a rose.

To Ser Garth Hightower,

Word has reached me of your defeat and retreat at the Grassy Vale. Though your bravery and gallantry will not be ignored, this loss on our own lands cannot pass. I am sending my cousin Ser Hubard Tyrell with reinforcements to you. You will soon enough have the opportunity to regain any lost honor, ser. Once Ser Hubard arrives, you will have new orders. For now, rest and wait.

Signed,
Lord Alesander Tyrell of Highgarden

[Jokern]

The camp wakes up at dawn and the men start to tend to their daily duties, breaking their fast, washing their clothes and tending to the wounded. As the sun turns from red to gold on the horizon, an orchestra of trumpets was heard from the west. First the guards noticed riders in the distance, though it was hard to make out their sigil. Could it be the rebels? No time was wasted and soon the camp was full of activity, with the soldiers preparing for battle.

After a while, more and more riders and footmen were marching on the camp and now their banners were visible. Golden roses on green, it was the host from Highgarden! Reinforcements had finally arrived! The news spread quickly and the men were cheering and waving their own banners and sounding their trumpets.

The host that arrived were led by a knight sported a surcoat displaying a field of golden roses on green and on his greathelm he wore a crown of roses. He went to Ser Garth's tent, accompanied by a score of young knights, sporting the arms of great houses from all of the Reach. While the men start to celebrate with each other, the knight takes off his helm, revealing a face with long curly hair, a great beard and a big smile. The knight looks around and laughs.

"Ha ha ha, what a welcome! And here I thought we were coming to aid a defeated army, this looks like the greatest host I've ever seen! Ser Garth Hightower, I'm Ser Hubard Tyrell. Please, may we go into your quarters? Riding almost day and night makes a man very tired, especially when wearing heavy armor like this!"

Ser Hubard laughs again.

[Honors Bastion]

"Of course Ser Hubard. Please folow me" replied Ser Garth. He led the Tyrell knight into his command tent and offered him a seat at a large table with a map of the southern lands of Westeros visible on it with small figures placed upon the map representing the positions of the various armies of the realm. Two figures representing the Reach's host were near Ashford while another figure representign the Baratheon Stag lay at the Grassy Vale.

After taking his own seat and signalling for a guard to bring out some food and wine for Ser Hubbard, Ser Garth said humbly and with a slight sense of shame "The first thing I must say Ser Hubard is my apologies for losing at the Grassy Vale. I squandered our chance to defeat the rebel leader and hopefully end the war quickly. My arrogance led me to beleive that I could defeat the Baratheon champion who my soldiers happen to tell me was in fact Robert himself. If I didn't try to take him out myself, then maybe we would have taken the field."

[Jokern]

Ser Hubard waves his hand while picking up a cup of wine and drinking.

"No need to apologise ser, mistakes are part of life, not to mention war. I would have done the same, if we are truly honest. Imagine, ending the war with a single sword stroke, oh the fame and glory one would've won. Ha ha!''

He chuckles as another sip of the wine goes down, while looking over the map. Ser Hubard then picks up a few figures and places them at Highgarden, Nightsong, Shipbreaker's Bay and King's Landing.

"This is the entire strength of the Reach, judging by our last reports. At Highgarden we have a garrison of 5,000 men, in case of the rebels getting too bold for their own good. Here at Ashford, about 37,000 under you ser and myself. Lords Rowan and Florent captured Nightsong but have moved on, where I cannot say. They have around 10,000 men at their disposal. Ser Oakheart commands 10,000 men under Lord Rykker in the Crownlands. And last but not at all at least, our lovely Lady Rohanne Redwyne with a thousand ships in Shipbreaker's Bay."

He turns to Ser Garth Hightower, though without his smile. His eyes witness of sadness.

"We have around 65,000 men spread out in the southern realm, after 90,000 marched from their homes. The Ironborn scum have obliterated the defense at the Shields and have free reign to raid wherever they like, thousands killed in the Stormlands and at the Grassy Vale, with reports of raids all over the northern Reach. My lord cousin is not happy, ser, nor I. The Reach is bleeding, which must be dealt with immediately. Though we've sworn fealty to the Iron Throne, the needs of the people of the Reach must come first."

"I will send out scouts all over the north to find out where our enemy is and how many. Then we send word to Lord Garlan Rowan to return immediately to Ashford so that our combined strength can squash the bloody rebels that terrorize our farms and villages. Ser Garth, do you have any notion of where our foes are?"

[Honors Bastion]

"Well, we know that one Baratheon host still sits at the Grassy Vale while another one may have been the army that was besieging Tumbleton. By now, that border fortress has most likely fallen to our enemies without any of our relief forces marching to aid it." said Ser Garth while pointing out various positions on the nearby map.

"Those would explain the positions of the Stormland's armies but we nothing about the Vale's, Riverland's or the North's hosts. If our enemies were to march upon the Reach, Ser Hubbard, then I would expect them to be somewhere within the Northern Reach." As he said that, Ser Garth drew a line indicating the castles of Goldengrove and Tumbleton as the most likely routes of the enemy advance.

"If Tumbleton has indeed fallen and I suspect that it has, then I would expect them to have advanced even further into the Reach Ser Hubbard, possibly even as far as the lands of House Merryweather and the strategic castle at the crossing of the Mander, Bitterbridge. I would suggest that we send our scouts to these four locations, the Grassy Vale, Tumbleton, Bitterbridge, and Goldengrove to in order to determine if our enemy has passed through the area recently."

[Jokern]

"Exactly my thoughts, ser. My initial thoughts were that the Riverlands, North and the Vale would focus on the Crownlands and King's Landing itself due to its close proximity to their lands, with maybe a couple of forces from the Stormlands trying to march over our lands to break through the encirclement, but now... I may imagine things, but there are many more rebels in the Reach than first anticipated."

Ser Hubard turns to his companions, ordering some of them to send out scouts to the north, while another gets the task to bring a hastily written message to the maester in charge of he rookery.

"For now, we will have to wait for reports from our scouts and for Lord Rowan's host to arrive. So, have you heard the news that the Dornish bastards are besieging Storm's End? There's are prize that will earn you a spot in the songs."

[Jokern]

A couple of days later, whilst reviewing several strategic maps over the Reach and the Stormlands, Ser Hubard hears noises outside the tent. Soon enough an outrider enters who hands the Lord Marshal some documents. The paper is wet and dirty, some even bloody, but the content is still readable when the seals are broken. Ser Hubard's expression turns grim eyeing the conent before handing them over to Ser Garth Hightower. He picks up some of the small figures and start move them around the map.

"Dark wings, dark words, even when the ravens can't even be held responsible. Our scouts report some troubling news indeed, Ser Garth. Tumbleton was taken but it looks like the rebels abandoned it. The men sent to the Grassy Vale couldn't get a good position on Robert Baratheon's host, so we have no idea if he is still there or has marched on somewhere else. Unfortunate, yet the other reports might have a clue on where the Stormlanders are, so I suspect Lord Meadow's lands are empty right now."
Ser Hubard Tyrell points at Goldengrove.

"We have no news from the men sent to Goldengrove. Either they were captured on the way, or... Lord Rowan won't be happy if his seat has fallen. Pray to the Seven that his family is still safe. Then..."

He slowly moved his finger across the map to Bitterbridge, where three figures stood tall and menacing. Hubard grabbed his cup of Arbor Gold and drank half of it.

"Our men returned, thank the gods, but I had hoped that these kinds of news would not reach us. The scouts found an army... of anything between ten and seventy thousand men, with a clear way on the Rose Road to Highgarden."

"I think we found Robert, which means the Grassy Vale is either lightly held or abandoned. The question is if he has gained reinforcements or marches alone. If alone he is a madman, Highgarden is well-defended and its walls nigh impregnable. He would lose his whole armies trying to breach the outer walls. If he somehow has reinforcements from the northern kingdoms, I wonder if my home would be able to withstand such a large force as seventy thousand for a long time. We must wait until Lord Rowan arrives from Blackhaven."

[Honors Bastion]

"A potential host of 70,000 men is a troubling news indeed." said Ser Garth with a slight look of worry on his face. "If it is Robert than he must have gotten reinforcements from his allies Ser Hubard. Robert's army suffered nearly as many casualties as own during our Battle at the Grassy Vale and ther eway that the Stormlands can produce another fifty thousand men to support him since we know that most of their men are being bottled up by the Dornish Armies. These armies from the northern lands of Westeros, most likely men sworn to Winterfell or Riverrun have come to Robert's aid if he is indeed at Bitterbridge."

Garth paused for a few moments to reflect on the information that he just learned before he said"Perhaps we should move our army closer to Highgarden Ser Hubbard while we send a message to Lord Rowan to investigate the situation at the Grassy Vale. We cannot afford to leave our capital, your home undefended and a movmeent closer totHighgarden would also help ensure the security of Goldengrove as well."

[Jokern]

Ser Hubard nods.

"Yes, Highgarden needs us now more than ever. The garrison there will swell our forces to over 40,000. That would give us a slightly better advantage once we face our foes in battle."

Ser Hubard looks at the figure of a golden tree placed at Blackhaven on the map. He picks it up and holds it between his fingers.

"Lord Rowan's silence disturbs me greatly. The march from Blackhaven to Ashford isn't so far, so his host should have arrived days ago. Maybe he has met problems on the way, but... either way, we cannot wait for him any longer. Get the men ready, we're leaving now."