THE COMPANION
Edmure was pacing the hall in a silent agitation. Only his companions attended him and even they, his dear friends and brothers-in-arms, dared not speak.
Old Lord Tully was on his deathbed, all agreed, and the mantle of Lord of Riverrun would soon pass to Edmure. Were this not enough of burden, his sister Catelyn had roused the lion from his castle in the West and brought his host in great numbers to the Riverlands. In revenge for the taking of Tyrion the Imp, Lord Tywin had set his reavers upon the lords and smallfolk in the Riverlands. Even now the desolation was spreading; Pinkmaiden had fallen, so too Stony Sept, and soon enough the Lannisters would have their claws on Harrenhal.
Robert Paege frowned.
He is torn, the knight thought to himself,
between what he knows his father would do, and what he wants to do.Outside the castle, arrayed in their masses on the three sides of Riverrun, the lords bannermen of the Riverlands were encamped with their levies. A counsel had been called and all the lords and knights of the land had been summoned. Save for Lords Vance and Piper, of course, their hosts massed to the West, and Lords Frey who remained ensconced in his castle. None truly expected the Twins to answer the call to arms.
It was Ronald Vance who broke the silence.
"Have a drink, Edmure," he said, seemingly growing impatient with his friend's pacing. He had been dubbed 'the Bad' long ago and his temper could check even Edmure's foul moods. But not this time.
"I should be sober for this," their lord responded, coming to a halt at the head of the table, "as should you all."
"No battles were ever won sober," Ronald snorted, helping himself to a cup of wine from the sideboard. Robert would abstain with Edmure, keen to hear all that was spoken with a clear head, yet Ronald's sons were keen to join their father in drink.
At that the door was opened. Ser Desmond Grell, the gruff master-at-arms, led them in, followed swiftly by the Lords Blackwood and Bracken, Ser Marq the Piper heir, Lord Jason Mallister and Lord Lymond Goodbrook. It was the latter who first approached Edmure, placing a hand upon his young lord's shoulder.
"I am truly sorry to hear about your father, Edmure," he said, earnestly. "He was a good man. A generous Lord."
"And not yet dead," Edmure smiled, showing Lord Goodbreak to a seat to his right hand, "and nor are we for the moment. But this may not last long if Lord Tywin gets his wish." Their seats taken, the Lords of the Riverlands would voice their opinions in turn.
"We should send word to Lord Stark in King's Landing," Lord Blackwood said. He sat in his magnificent raven-feather cloak, his greying hair cropped to the scalp. At his right hand was the Lord's son Lucas, a good friend of Edmure from youth. "He is Lord Protector and a friend of our families. I have no doubt he will call his banners to come to our aid."
"I agree," Lord Bracken added, much to the bemusement of all present. There was very little in which the two lords could find accord and, though he glowered and sulked, the man leant support to his rival's notion. "He should raise the North and all loyal men of the King. If they can add to our numbers, we might yet whip the lion back to his Rock."
"Ah, but which King?" voiced Marq Piper. "Renly? Stannis? Surely not the boy Tommen. I would sooner crown my horse than any son of Lannister." In this the Lords found agreement, but Robert resolved to be the voice of reason.
"Tommen is the rightful heir," he said, much to the disgust of his peers. The Paeges were not the most prominent of families but he knew Edmure would value his counsel. "If we are to lend our strength to Stannis or Renly, we are aiding a usurper."
"It would not be for the first time that we marched under a usurpers banner," Lord Goodbrook uttered drolly beneath his breath, as the lord at his side, aged and wise, cleared his throat to speak for the first time.
"Aye," chimed Lord Mallister, so unusually quiet until now, "I fought for King Robert at the Trident and at Pyke. We bled together, drunk together, wept together. We did these things because Aerys was a madman. They say Stannis keeps a witch in his service, a witch and damned sellswords. We must ask ourselves if this manner of man should be King."
"Enough." Edmure's voice cut through the debate like a filleting blade through a trout, and he rose to glower down at his bannerman in anger. Silently, the heir to Riverrun paced across the room, returning with a leather map that was splayed across the table. Upon it he laid pieces carved in wood; two lions and two trouts, placed in turn at Pinkmaiden, Riverrun and the Golden Tooth.
"Let them play their game of thrones," he seethed, stabbing a finger in the direction of King's Landing. "While the Riverlands burns, I do not care who wears the crown. We will do what we must to defend our lands, our people. "This is Tully land and if Tywin Lannister thinks to cross it unbloodied, I mean to teach him a hard lesson."
And so they planned for the war to come.
