The Royal Host

[Pontifex Maximus]

The King had ordered the assembly of his armies at Winterfell

Stark Forces

Rickard Stark Traits: +2 Battles, +2 Duels, +2 Survival Forces of Winterfell 426 Polearms 640 Heavy Infantry 960 Archers 270 Light Cavalry Forces of Tallhart 100 Polearms 50 Archers 50 Heavy Infantry 50 Light Cavalry Forces of Cassell 100 Polearms 50 Archers 50 Heavy Infantry 50 Light Cavalry

**50 light cavalry sent to the cavalry wing

[Pontifex Maximus]

The King was growing impatient. His host would be leaving Winterfell within a week (24 hours) and none of his vassals had answered the call. He could only hope the leaders of the columns, at least, were following orders.

[Gandalfus]

Spoiler for 1 hour: 

A messenger from Barrowton arrives, bearing news that the Dustin infantry has marched to the border of the Marsh Kingdom, as ordered. However, Lord Dustin expresses his frustration at many houses ignoring the call for horsemen, delaying his own departure from Barrowton.

[Trot]

ooc assuming I'm here at the moment.

Jeor sat hefting the Bastard Sword his father had given him. Soon they would be marching he wondered for a moment where the King would go first.

Brandon sat restringing his bow away in the corner. He was prepared to march as soon as the king called.

[Barry Goldwater]

A messenger from Deepwood Motte arrives at the camp of the royal host, bearing word that House Glover has at last finished gathering its banners and that their host is now making its way through the central & eastern Wolfswood to join King Rickard. The messenger further relates that the Glover fleet has also been fully mustered and is sailing to the Stony Shore as he speaks, and that a 50-man cavalry detachment is en route to Barrowton as commanded.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Horns were sounded, the King appeared at the gates of Winterfell. His own men, their banners streaming, began to file out of the gate in good order and move westward. The King led them. He wore a glittering suit of bronze links and scale, Ice at his side. The camps around Winterfell could not be maintained by the local villages for long, and as such the army now had to move. Soon they would link up with the fleet at Sea Dragon Point and begin the process of ferrying across the narrow stretch of sea separating the mainland from Bear Island.

The King knew that his columns were likely a week ahead of him, but this was to be expected. He wanted them to soften up the Ironborn before the main host arrived, perhaps even trick them into thinking the columns were the extent of the invasion force.

The King called the Magnars, Lords, and Reeves to his side during the march to discuss their battle plans.

[Gandalfus]

OOC: Do you want the cavalry to go towards Bear Island or Cape Kraken?


Theon arrives at the gathering of lords, dressed in finely made bronze ringmail. A heavy shadowcat fur cloak clung to his shoulders, and his bastard sword hung from his hip.

"Brother." He bowed his head in greeting, before taking his place by the King.


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[Pontifex Maximus]

"the time has come. Soon our swords will be red with the blood of the cursed pirates." Rickard smiled at the thought. They had assembled a mighty host.

00c: Bear Island, everyone was redirected

[Barry Goldwater]

At long last, the army of Deepwood Motte and the Wolfswood finally reaches King Rickard's army as they leave Winterfell. Over two thousand soldiers from axe-armed warriors garbed in furs and wooden or leather armor to unarmored bowmen with faces obscured by their hoods, forest clansmen bearing long thin spears, a section of professional longbowmen wearing light bronze mail beneath their cloaks and even a small troop of javelin-armed riders in lamellar leather armor have all come beneath great Glover banners, mailed grey fists on scarlet waving in the wind, as well as smaller ones belonging to House Glover's bannermen - the white ironwood tree on black of Forrester, the moon and wolf of Woods, and the black tree of Bole and the branch of Branch - to add their strength to the Stark host. Lord Galbart himself, outfitted in an open-faced bronze helm and a new suit of reddish-brown lamellar leather with the fist of Glover painted in gray on his breastplate, dismounts from his liver-colored horse and sets out to greet King Rickard in person. He invites his sworn lords to join him, not just in hailing the King of Winter but also in any strategic meeting that might take place.

Wolfswood army

Present PCs: Galbart Glover (+3 Battles, +2 Scout, +2 Pathfinder, +1 Survival, +1 Duel, +1 Naval Battles, equipment: Studded Leather Armor) Gwin Woods (+1 Land Battles, +2 Pathfinder, +2 Wealth, +1 Survival, +1 Duels) Glover: 400 Heavy Infantry 100 Archers 50 Light Cav 300 Longbowmen Woods: 50 Wolfswood Sentinels (Professional heavy infantry) 150 Archers 400 Heavy Infantry Branch, Bole, Forrester: 100 Polearms each 50 Archers each 50 Heavy Infantry each 50 Light Cav each Total: 1,000 Heavy Infantry 300 Polearms 300 Longbowmen 400 Archers 200 Light Cavalry

[Pontifex Maximus]

"Lord Glover." Rickard greeted him. "We will add our strength to yours and begin the march west. I pray that our allies have begun their assaults." It would be crucial to soften up the Ironborn. His grey eyes flashed beneath his bronze helm. The strength of the Wolfswood was gathered. That put his mind at ease. "I would honor you with a place at my right side during the march."

[Barry Goldwater]

Galbart fell to one knee before King Rickard as was customary, and did not rise until he had finished speaking. When the King finished, he rose with a clenched fist over the painted one on his chest, a salute to Rickard. "You honor me, Your Grace. And I am further gladdened to witness your sagacity in sending other elements of our forces forward to prod the Ironborn - we should not rush in blindly against these treacherous pirates." Not again. We've paid the consequences for such recklessness already, he reflected. "Have any other houses joined you already?"

[Pontifex Maximus]

"House Dustin's foot and the Cerwyns have joined us, as well as the Tallharts and Cassels." Rickard replied. "All told it should be a host of some five thousand, by my reckoning." His charcoal cloak flapped in the breeze as Winterfell grew smaller behind them. "It should be enough to loose the grip of the Ironborn on Bear Island for good I think."

[Barry Goldwater]

"House Dustin's foot and the Cerwyns have joined us, as well as the Tallharts and Cassels." Rickard replied. "All told it should be a host of some five thousand, by my reckoning." His charcoal cloak flapped in the breeze as Winterfell grew smaller behind them. "It should be enough to loose the grip of the Ironborn on Bear Island for good I think."

"I concur, Your Grace." Galbart responded with a nod. "As I have said at the gathering of the lords in your castle, I believe that poor & remote Bear Island will by far be the easiest of the two Ironborn strongholds to take. Five thousand men should be more than sufficient, one man more and perhaps those heartless, honorless plunderers will start arguing that we are fighting them 'unfairly'. I expect the true struggle to come at Cape Kraken to the south."

[Oznerol]

ooc: Consider Cerwyn to be with you, 1,000 militia points, so it's just:
300 (600) Heavy Infantry
200 (200) Archers
150 (150) Light Cavalry.

Lord Cerwyn's sons lead the host in the absence of their father.

--------------------

House Bolton sends messengers. They're already marching towards Sea Dragon Point. The Dreadfort supported House Karstark against the Andals and thus the host took longer than usual to assemble, for many men were away from the Bolton's lands. Lady Cerenna herself is said to be leading the Bolton army.

ooc: Will add numbers and time of arrival later.

[Gandalfus]

"We should cross under the cover of night, by my thinking. It'll be a dangerous crossing, but we will pass their longships undetected. Unless you had another plan, my King?" Theon inquired after a brief silence, his eyes flitting to Glover, who had just entered. The older Lord of the Wolfswood cut an impressive figure.

[Barry Goldwater]

"We should cross under the cover of night, by my thinking. It'll be a dangerous crossing, but we will pass their longships undetected. Unless you had another plan, my King?" Theon inquired after a brief silence, his eyes flitting to Glover, who had just entered. The older Lord of the Wolfswood cut an impressive figure.

"A night attack would be a sound way to proceed. Risky perhaps, as His Highness Prince Theon has just said - but no battle comes without its risks. And in any case, there may be a way for us to mitigate at least one of the dangers of a night crossing in this particular battle..." Galbart stated, nodding in agreement at the King's brother. "My longbowmen are the finest bows for hire in the Wolfswood. If you'll grant them the honor of being part of the first landing parties, Your Grace, they could silence any sentries the Ironborn may have posted on whichever shore we choose to attack from their boats, before they even make landfall and certainly long before the pirates can raise the alarm. I think it's high time we ambush them, not the other way around."

[Poach]

House Greystark's forces aren't part of the Royal Host but I'm posting the details here so they're a matter of record. Or do we all gather at Sea Dragon Point anyway?

Greystark Forces

Greystark Professionals - The White Wolves Commander: Sigorn Greystark, +3 Battles, +2 Charisma, +1 Duel/Survival 1,200 Heavy Infantry 600 Archers Total: 1,800 men Greystark Militia 650 Heavy Infantry 700 Archers 500 Light Cavalry Total: 1,850 men Greystark Vassal Militia 192 men each from Whitford and Oldcastle, and 576 men from the White Knife. 125 Heavy Infantry 335 Polearms 250 Archers 250 Light Cavalry = 960 men Grand Total: 1,975 Heavy Infantry 335 Polearms 1,550 Archers 750 Light Cavalry Total: 4,610 men

[Pontifex Maximus]

"I concur, Your Grace." Galbart responded with a nod. "As I have said at the gathering of the lords in your castle, I believe that poor & remote Bear Island will by far be the easiest of the two Ironborn strongholds to take. Five thousand men should be more than sufficient, one man more and perhaps those heartless, honorless plunderers will start arguing that we are fighting them 'unfairly'. I expect the true struggle to come at Cape Kraken to the south."

"It will, that we can be sure." Rickard said icily. "And they will have had time to prepare. The council of Lords had forgotten about that." he bristled at the memory of having his original battle plan almost unanimously opposed in favor of this one. He could not have opposed it at the time. He would have to earn their respect, as his father did. Then they will follow anywhere. "There is another matter that needs discussing, Glover." the King continued. "Tell me of your family, and which of them remain unmarried." it was an unambiguous question.

"We should cross under the cover of night, by my thinking. It'll be a dangerous crossing, but we will pass their longships undetected. Unless you had another plan, my King?" Theon inquired after a brief silence, his eyes flitting to Glover, who had just entered. The older Lord of the Wolfswood cut an impressive figure.

"A night crossing!" Rickard wanted to laugh "Not unless the moon is high in the sky and the seas are fair!" The Ironborn were gallant sailors it was true, but the sea was much more treacherous. "I won't risk my men to the whims of the sea, or the gods the Ironborn might summon to aid them. We must be cautious, secretive if possible."

House Greystark's forces aren't part of the Royal Host but I'm posting the details here so they're a matter of record. Or do we all gather at Sea Dragon Point anyway?

Greystark Forces

Greystark Professionals - The White Wolves Commander: Sigorn Greystark, +3 Battles, +2 Charisma, +1 Duel/Survival 1,200 Heavy Infantry 600 Archers Total: 1,800 men Greystark Militia 650 Heavy Infantry 700 Archers 500 Light Cavalry Total: 1,850 men Greystark Vassal Militia 192 men each from Whitford and Oldcastle, and 576 men from the White Knife. 125 Heavy Infantry 335 Polearms 250 Archers 250 Light Cavalry = 960 men Grand Total: 1,975 Heavy Infantry 335 Polearms 1,550 Archers 750 Light Cavalry Total: 4,610 men

Correct, a rendezvous at Sea Dragon Point would be just fine.

[Barry Goldwater]

"It will, that we can be sure." Rickard said icily. "And they will have had time to prepare. The council of Lords had forgotten about that." he bristled at the memory of having his original battle plan almost unanimously opposed in favor of this one. He could not have opposed it at the time. He would have to earn their respect, as his father did. Then they will follow anywhere. "There is another matter that needs discussing, Glover." the King continued. "Tell me of your family, and which of them remain unmarried." it was an unambiguous question.

"Fortunately for us, unlike those on Bear Island the Ironborn of Cape Kraken have no waters to shield them from our wrath. If the lords of the east have dealt with these 'Andal' strangers from across the sea and Lord Cerwyn succeeds in cajoling the Marsh King to grant us passage through his lands, we can bring the full might of the North to bear against them." Two 'ifs'. I don't like dealing with ifs, but I suppose we must do so here, and it could have been worse. "They may be more numerous than the ones haunting Bear Island, but surely not numerous enough to halt us then." Galbart paused for only a second to gauge Rickard's intent behind his next question before smoothly answering, "I have three young sons, all of them unmarried. My eldest, Bennard, has just seen his fourteenth nameday near the beginning of this year."

[Gandalfus]

"A night crossing!" Rickard wanted to laugh "Not unless the moon is high in the sky and the seas are fair!" The Ironborn were gallant sailors it was true, but the sea was much more treacherous. "I won't risk my men to the whims of the sea, or the gods the Ironborn might summon to aid them. We must be cautious, secretive if possible.

Theon saw the merits of that. A sure crossing meant that the Northmen would possibly have the advantage in numbers, even if it meant losing the element of surprise. But a sure and swift night attack would mean an unprepared enemy.

"Then I shall pray it is so. The night guards many secrets, and we could take the holdfast before they even knew we had landed."