148 Lack of Head

The sound originating from the tent was loud, echoing across the snowy landscape of the North, washing over the large army encamped around it. A gathering of nobles, all chattering and gathered in one place, the large tent set in the middle of the camp as they prepared for the long siege that awaited them. It was a large tent, one bigger than usual and the size of a large home, standing like a palace of cloth and fabric in the sea of tents surrounding it.

As he approached, the guards stationed outside opened the entrance for him, Jon was greeted with the sight of lords seated on long tables engrossed in conversation with food and drink before them. It was less of a war meeting and more of a feast, a party celebrating the end of the war before it even began.

Such was their confidence in victory that they looked upon this siege as insignificant.

They held no doubt that they would defeat Stannis and that Robb would be the victor, the new King of Westeros. As a result, they were working hard to try and curry the favour of lords and nobles around them, worming their way up the ladder in times of war before rewards were meted out. It would do them well to earn the friendship and favour of lords and houses that had performed well under Robb Stark while they were still 'weak and small' so that they might use that to their advantage in the future.

Even though the war had not been won.

Even though one foe still stood in their path

The nobles did not care.

Only one thing was on their mind and that was the furthering of their houses standing, the enhancement of their power and status. In their eyes, the time of swords and war was over, now it was the time for words and politics and the atmosphere within reflected that shift. However, Jon noticed that amongst this sea of people, a small group was different.

Naturally, they were the ones surrounding the King, his closest confidants and most trusted commanders.

Moving calmly through the crowd of lords and nobles, ignoring the looks and whispers he received upon pushing past a few, Jon made his way directly towards his brother, the King. Robb noticed his approach, eyes momentarily flickering up to see him before returning to listen to what Lord Marq Piper had to tell him.

"Anything?" Jon asked Owen who was positioned nearby, but distant from the table. They couldn't hear much of the conversation taking place, the chatter from the surrounding tables drowning them out.

"Not much." Owen replied. "Just sharing ideas on what Stannis' response will be, especially without the messenger's return."

"He still hasn't been released?" Jon asked dubiously, three days having gone by since they had sent a messenger to speak with Stannis about opening negotiation on neutral territory. Why Robb wanted to negotiate with the man, Jon did not know nor did anyone. However, Robb had been adamant about it and so, they had no choice but to follow his wishes.

Owen shook his head. "No."

-X-

"We should take this as a sign of Stannis' unwillingness to negotiate." Lord Marq Piper said, looking to Robb who remained silent. "Days have gone by, plenty of time for him to choose a time and place, yet we have heard nothing. It is clear war is his choice. He believes he can beat us with his fortifications, beat back our armies and outsmart us all. He is a madman, a fool."

"If war was his choice, he would have sent us back the head of our messenger." Lord Randyll Tarly responded. "Thirty-five times Lord Tyrell tried to negotiate with that man during the Siege of Storm's End. Thirty-five heads were the answer we received."

Ser Barristan frowned. "We are to base our opinion of his choice based on the lack of head we have received?" He wondered bemusedly. "That seems more foolish to me."

"Another messenger should be sent." Lord Mallister suggested. "Make it clear we are determined to negotiate, but also make clear if he does not respond to this summons, war will be the only avenue left for him."

Robb looked to Lord Blackwood. "Do you believe we can take the Wall?"

There was a pause, Tytos considering his words carefully. "If this had been the Castle Black and other Keeps previously, I would have had no doubt in our success. It would have been costly, even without proper defences. But now, from the reports, it's clear that taking the castle will be impossible without severe losses. Stannis is also not a man above motivating his men into cannibalism and with fanatic followers in his new god, R'hllor. It's likely that they will go to extreme lengths in order to resist any attempted taking of the Keeps. Short of aid from the Night's Watch, we will have little chance of taking the Keeps."

Deaths of the magnitude required to take the Wall were precisely what Robb wanted to avoid and they knew that. Though many did not fully believe his story of the Others, they were all hard-pressed to deny what they had witnessed of his powers, even now they could not fully comprehend what had happened. Robb clearly believed there was a threat laid in the land Beyond-the-Wall greater than the Wildlings and with the magic they had seen and the Dragons possessed by the Targaryens, it was something they while hesitant to believe, were not going to ignore.

But even then, if they took the Wall by force, the damage that would result in was enormous.

The War of Five Kings had already cost many thousands of lives and millions of Gold Dragons. If things continued like this, Westeros would be put into a situation that would take years for them to recover from, preserving lives was of the utmost importance. Yet at the same time, they needed to end this war quickly before their supplies ran out.

"Send another messenger." Robb finally answered. "It is clear Stannis is waiting for something and we shall take advantage of that."

"How so?"

"Each messenger will be given the task of passing on our message to Stannis," Robb explained. "But they will also be passing on a message to the Night's Watch. We will use them to our advantage to weaken Stannis' position as much as possible so that if we are forced to take the Wall by force, we can. Send ravens to Mance Ryder also, if he wishes to come south, he will have to prove himself by taking the Wall for himself. In the meantime, we will wait for Lord Redwyne and his fleet to arrive."

Surround Stannis on all sides, slowly closing in until there was no escape.

Remove his options one by one.

If he had no intention of negotiating, Stannis would soon learn he made a terrible miscalculation.

This was Robb's home, the place of his birth and Stannis would soon learn it was a harsh place that did not treat outsiders nicely. Stannis would realise early on that he made an egregious miscalculation in coming here for security. Robb was willing to extend an offer, a way out, a path to survival and if Stannis was fool enough to ignore that, then death would be the only option left for him.