LIONS AND WOLVES | Robb Stark

18. Crumbling Morale 𓃬

MORALE AMONG THE STARK ARMY WAS CRUMBLING. They had not had a decisive victory since the Battle of Oxcross months ago and Robb was growing increasingly agitated. What with Joanna pregnant with his son or daughter, Robb wanted nothing more than to end this war and go home so that he and his wife could raise their child together.

It did not help that his men were growing restless. They had only succeeded in small victories that did not push the pieces across the board the way that Robb had hoped, and what with the Lannisters' new alliance with the Tyrells and their victory over Stannis Baratheon at the Battle of Blackwater, the good nature of the camp was starting to wane.

Frustrated with how things were going, Joanna and Robb decided to launch an offensive to the east, planning on taking the castle of Harrenhal which Tywin Lannister had been using as a base in the Riverlands.

There was no defence when they arrived and Joanna walked right through the gates of Harrenhal with Robb at her side. They moved slowly, cautious of any counter-defences that Tywin may have put in place, but it seemed that the Lannister army had just left without even leaving behind a token group of soldiers as a defence.

When they walked into the courtyard, Joanna had to refrain from covering her mouth at the sight of dozens of Northmen lying dead. The entire courtyard was choked with bodies, and Joanna found herself reaching for Robb's hand as the two of them stood amongst the massacre and could do nothing more than stare in horror.

"Two hundred Northmen slaughtered like sheep," Lord Karstark said.

"The debt will be repaid, my friend, for them and for your sons," Roose Bolton replied.

"Will it?" Lord Karstark asked, glancing over at Robb and Joanna. "They rot in the ground while their killer runs free."

"The Kingslayer won't remain free for long," Roose replied. "Our best hunter's after him."

Joanna did her best to remain as composed as she could, fighting back nausea as she and Robb moved slowly through the courtyard. Ever since she fell pregnant, she had started becoming more sensitive to smells, which Robb had found greatly amusing at first but later understood that throwing up all the time wasn't pleasant. Still, he held her hair back and made sure that she was alright as each bout of nausea took hold, rubbing her back until it subsided

Catelyn Stark stopped before a dead man with a banner splayed across his chest. Robb said, "A Mallister?"

"Ser Jaremy," Catelyn replied. "My father's bannerman."

Robb noticed his men watching from above and stood back from his mother. "Find her a chamber that will serve as a cell."

Alayna joined them, watching as Catelyn was escorted away. "She's your mother."

"She freed Jaime Lannister," Robb said. "The Lannisters robbed them of their sons, and she robbed them of their justice."

A man spluttered and coughed nearby, startling Joanna. She and Alayna rushed towards him as the man begged hoarsely for water, and as Joanna gently pulled back the collar of his robes to expose his wound, Robb gave the man water.

"This needs to be cleaned and closed," Joanna said.

In light of her pregnancy, Joanna had all-but been forced to retire from the battlefield by Robb and had taken up a position as a healer. She spent the last few months watching the other healers and their techniques, and picked up on the skills relatively easily.

"What's your name, friend?" Robb asked.

"Qyburn," the man replied.

"You're lucky to be alive," Joanna said, pressing a bandage against the wound on his neck.