The waters of the Green Fork were deep and swift, with The Twins castle and its arch bridge spanning the great river. Golden quartered banners fluttered in the wind, looking down on everything.
Lord Gendry, Anguy, Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Jason Mallister, Bronze Yohn Royce, and others stood together on the battlements of the east fort of The Twins.
"Robb Stark's delegation will arrive soon," Ser Barristan said.
"Bringing his foolish mother?" Anguy interjected.
"That's not clear. Lady Catelyn will probably travel south as well, given that Lord Hoster is now like a candle in the wind," the Old Knight speculated.
Ser Barristan now wore splendid armor, gilded on the outside, finely forged, hard as ice, and bright as snow. A dagger hung at his hip, and his longsword on the other side, both suspended from a white leather belt with golden buckles. He also wore a white cloak over his shoulders. His helmet had a thin eye-slit, and above it, a stag and a dragon seemed to proudly hold their heads high.
Music drifted from within The Twins, the pleasant tunes of Singers, somewhat intoxicating. Even on the battlements, soldiers hummed softly.
"They sing quite well," Lord Gendry commented. The prosperous Twins naturally did not lack Singers, who had already composed a song for him.
"The stag of Night," Lord Jason Mallister said. "The music celebrates your victory."
"The stars in the night are the eyes of the stag, the howling wind is their song. The stars in the night are the messengers of the stag, the howling wind is their song..."
"Let the song be louder, so that Young Master Robb and the Northmen can hear it clearly."
"Yes..."
"Saving The Three Rivers and slaughtering the Frey Family is probably far from enough," Lord Gendry mused.
Lannister was severely wounded, but their main force remained. Tywin would clench his fist and prepare new armies.
Lannister inherently had deep reserves, as one of the oldest royal families, the wealthiest of the Lords, and the second most populous realm. More critically, they were centralized; Tywin was the earliest great lord to centralize power, bloodily eliminating powerful secondary Lords like House Royce and House Tarbeck. Coupled with Duke Tywin's more than thirty years of stable Regent (almost unimaginable), Lannister truly drove the West River.
Tywin would intensify his efforts to bribe his opponents in the East, and similarly, Lord Gendry needed to introduce new forces. Whether Stark would march south, and with how many men, at least had to consider his opinion.
"All the wealth of House Frey has been registered. Although The Cripple Rosso did not support us, the maester was obedient. Additionally, House Frey indeed has a secret vault in the deep forest, containing their accumulated wealth over many years," Bronze Yohn said.
"It seems The Cripple didn't lie." The Frey Family's supplies, grain vassals, gold, land, and various correspondence—all needed to be controlled. The sudden explosion of a great lord's gold was a windfall.
"Apart from rewarding the soldiers, these supplies are to be sealed. We are here to rescue the river crossing, not to let the common people starve. And those remaining bandits also need to be eliminated."
"Yes," Lord Jason and the others nodded.
Although Lord Gendry's profits were substantial, the expenditure for rewards was also enormous. The taxi soldiers of the three-day bloody battle at least needed to be fed, watered, and given golden dragon rewards. As for Bluebeard, who rendered great service by opening the gate, Lord Gendry rewarded him by allowing him to take whatever he wanted from the Frey Family's treasury, filling one chest. Bluebeard, being very sensible, filled it only with gold and expressed his profound gratitude.
"Lord Jason will defend West River, Lord Yohn will defend East River, and Ser Boggs will lead men to defend the central river tower. This is how it will be handled for now." This was Lord Gendry's idea. Seaguard was close to West River, and the Vale was near East River. Actually, there was a better choice in House Darry, but House Darry's strength was indeed too small.
"Yes."
"Yes."
As the group chatted, several knights galloped to The Twins' entrance, signaling that Robb's delegation was about to arrive.
"Let's go," Lord Gendry said to everyone, then descended the East River gate tower to greet the visitors from the North.
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