134 Decimation

Resting his hand upon the handle of his blade sheathed at his side, Robb looked out upon the dozens of barrows, the flat plains stretching out as far the eye could see. The few trees scattered around, bent in unnatural ways as a result of the powerful winds that swept through the open plains of the Barrowlands.

It had been a long time since he had been here, the last time being when he first marched south for war.

The ancient burial ground of the First Men containing the graves of the First King of the First Men as well as rumours of the King of Giants. It was the lands ruled over by House Dustin on behalf of House Stark when the Barrow Kings had been defeated. Just being here reminded him of the past, the trips his father would bring him on when he was young to talk of the duty that the position as ruler of House Stark would hold.

Yet that weight he had felt as a child now felt light in comparison to the weight upon his shoulders now. The south was his, the Riverlands, Vale, Crownlands, Westerlands, Reach, Stormlands and even Dorne as of recently had submitted to his rule. How his future second wife, Daenerys, or specifically, Tyrion had convinced Dorne to join him, he did not know, but the south was secure.

Now all that remained was his home, the North.

He and his force of nearly sixty thousand men were marching through Barrowtown to join with Jon and Jonos Bracken who had taken Winterfell. The ambush of the Saltspear river by Jon had seen nearly a thousand Ironborn retreating from Torrhen's Square to die in that river. Thus, cutting off the few hundred Ironborn at Torrhen's Square from the armies stationed at Barrowtown and Goldgrass commanded by Lord Victarion and his brother, Lord Aeron.

Now, Jon and Jonos with their combined army of nearly eight thousand men were at Winterfell, securing the centre of the North. The Wildling, Val who had led a force of five thousand men to take Torrhen's Square had secured the city and was acting as a defensive force there that overlooked the Rills, the Stony Shores and the Wolfswood.

All the while, Ser Marlon Manderly who led the remainder of the soldiers gathered by House Manderly, Locke, Woolfield, Hornwood and Flint into a force of three thousand men that were currently marching north towards the Dreadfort, currently at the Weeping Water a days march from the seat of House Bolton.

Things had changed massively in the space of the few weeks it had taken him to march north, Jon with the aid of Lord Bracken and Lord Wyman Manderly had managed to turn the situation around for the better. Their enemies, the Boltons, Dusting and Greyjoys were devastated in one fell swoop, seemingly overnight after years of sustained conflict.

A skilled plan executed to near perfection.

The Bolton-Dustin alliance had consolidated nearly all their forces in two places, Winterfell and the Dreadfort. They had secured a central and symbolic position in the former, while the latter enabled the so-called King Ramsay Bolton to place pressure upon House Manderly and all the houses of the eastern coast.

The two thousand men stationed there at the Dreadfort was a force big enough to pose a significant threat to Ser Marlon Manderly and his forces in the siege, the second son of Lord Wyman choosing to hold off on besieging the city until reinforcements arrived. However, the force of over four thousand men stationed at Winterfell had, from what was reported, disappeared.

But only two paths remained open for them, moving east back towards the Dreadfort or further north to join with Stannis. It was why, in response to this, Robb had already given instructions to Rickard and Eddard Karstark to depart from the Barrowlands halfway through their journey and cross the White Knife before the fork that would lead to Castle Cerwyn and up to the Long Lake.

It was possible that with a force of ten thousand men, they could maybe discover a trail of the hidden four thousand men led by Ramsay Snow. If not, they would still continue on to reinforce Ser Marlon Manderly and take the Dreadfort, securing their eastern flank.

As for the Dustin's, they were defeated, their seats in the south having been held by the Ironborn and yet to be reclaimed. However, the men under the command of Lord Victarion and Aeron had departed days ago from those seats and into the Saltspear. Their plan had been to flee into Blazewater Bay and back to the Iron Islands.

Lord Aeron had been the first to depart from Torrhen's Square, securing the southernmost castle, the seat of House Dustin, Barrowtown. They had also been the first to cut their losses in the North entirely, escaping into Blazewater Bay and departing back for the Iron Islands safely.

Lord Victarion had not been so lucky.

While Lord Rodrik had been unable to stop Lord Aeron's departure, he had managed to ambush Lord Victarion, and his fleet and the men in it were destroyed. It was a crushing blow to the already devastated Ironborn forces.

But it did leave the western flank quite dangerously exposed, something Stannis could possibly capitalise on as a means to escape. Castellan Alysane Mormont after ambushing the Ironborn forces at Deepwood Motte and Ironrath who had departed through the Wolfswood had been ambushed and slaughtered. She had then returned to Bear Island, but with only five hundred men, it was incredibly vulnerable.

The Wildling Val and her force at Torrhen's Square could provide reinforcements, but it would take days for them to move to reinforce Alysane Mormont. It was why Robb intended for Lady Maege Mormont to take five thousand men, joining with Lord Rodrik Forrester and Val at Torrhen's Square, moving to secure the Wolfswood and Ironrath.

With that, and Winterfell taken, Robb would have created a barrier that would leave Stannis trapped on the Wall. There would only be one option for him, surrender or fight, especially with his ships having been reportedly repurposed to help build up the defences of the forts on the Wall.

He would have no means of escape.

At this point, Robb would be marching North with his own army.

Under Lady Maege Mormont's leadership, the western flank consisting of nearly fifteen thousand men would move to secure the Northern Mountains. While on the eastern front, under Lord Rickard's command the force of fifteen thousand, would be marching to secure Karhold and the Bay of Seals.

All the while, Robb and his force of just over forty thousand would march north and secure the Last Hearth. He certainly had capable commanders in the form of Randyll Tarly and Jason Mallister who could have led the eastern and western armies. But Robb had already made promises to people, it was the only way he had managed to keep the lords of the North happy and stop them from abandoning his campaign in the south.

A sacrifice, however, that he was more than happy to make.

They had something neither Lord Mallister nor Tarly had.

A murderous, vengeful rage.

That was precisely what he needed to send a message.

Not just to Stannis, but to everyone, even those who served him loyally from the beginning. He would reward loyalty with loyalty, but betrayal was something he would only give one response to. The same response the destroyed cadet branch of House Stark, the Greystarks learned when they rebelled against the ancient Kings of Winter.

Decimation.