A Shadow and a Wolf

Tyrion XXIII

Ser Jocelyn Waterfell was a tall man with freckles all over his face. His arms were a green waterfall with blue birds flying over. Tyrion remembered that House Waterfell was among those who claimed to have left the Reach along with the Manderlys when they were exiled by the Gardeners, though some maesters were unsure if they were truly exiled. Still, they were among the most loyal bannermen of House Manderly. He had come this morning by boat, escorted by Howland Reed's men through the swamps of the Neck.

In the command tent, Tyrion and Sansa were there along with Daven, Bronn and Lyle Crakehall for the Westerlands, Lady Mira and her husband for the Hightowers, Ser Brynden Tully, Karyl Vance, Perwyn Frey and Clement Piper for the Riverlands, Howland Reed and Wylis Manderly for the North. They were all there to speak with the envoy of the Manderly forces.

Ser Wylis Manderly, Lord Wyman's firstborn son and heir to White Harbor, had been held prisoner at Harrenhal for years now, ever since the Battle of the Green Fork where he was captured. With his fat belly, there was no doubt about him being a Manderly. His captivity in Harrenhal had broken him, especially with the horrible treatments he suffered at the hands of the Mountain, but his condition had improved considerably after Tyrion had him brought from Harrenhal by Bronn. Lord Wyman Manderly had accepted to help Tyrion against the Boltons in exchange for his eldest son's freedom, but Tyrion would send him to White Harbor once Moat Cailin was taken and their army joined with the forces of House Manderly. Tyrion didn't want to take any chance with the Northerners after what happened at the Red Wedding. If Wyman Manderly wanted his son back, he would need to get the Lannisters inside the North first.

"It is a pleasure to see you alive, Ser Wylis," said Ser Jocelyn. "Your lord father will be more than pleased by your return."

"I'm sure he will be," said Tyrion, "but to come back he will need to get through Moat Cailin, and to get through Moat Cailin, we must take it from the Dustins and the Cerwyns. Are your men in position, Ser Jocelyn?"

"They are only two days of march from here. I was sent ahead after Ser Forley Prester came to us."

"May we know why it took you so much time to come here? We've been sitting on our arses in swamps for months," said the Blackfish. Most of the lords obviously agreed with him, and Tyrion was among them.

"We were securing Barrow Hall and Hornwood, and we wanted to be sure we had enough men to take Moat Cailin before we attacked," tried to explain the knight.

"You lost months to take fortresses while we could all have died here? Do you know how dangerous it is to remain in the Neck for so long? We lost many men to sickness and cold. We're lucky to be in the autumn, or else bugs would have spread diseases to all our men."

"We will deal with this later," interrupted Tyrion. It wasn't time to put the Manderlys against them when they needed their army to take Moat Cailin. "How many men are coming, Ser Jocelyn?"

"Two thousand," Ser Jocelyn replied.

"That's more than those you brought when Robb Stark rode in the south," commented the Blackfish.

"We had to make the levies very quickly back then," explained Ser Wylis. "We couldn't muster more on such short notice. My father probably had more time to assemble men this time."

"And we have the support of the Hornwoods," added the knight of House Waterfell. "They are marching with us. We left garrisons at Hornwood and Barrow Hall, so we have control over the southern part of the North. Our army can now give all its attention to conquering Moat Cailin."

"Very well. We will need to attack from both sides at the same time," said Tyrion.

"Lord Tyrion is right," said Daven. "As soon as you reach Moat Cailin, build rams and ladders as quickly as possible. It should be done within a few days. After that, we may launch a coordinated assault from both sides and take the fortress once and for all."