The morning mist spread across Ironman's Bay like a translucent veil, covering the calm sea in pale gray.
The air carried the cold and damp scent of salt.
Galon stood at the prow of the Seasong, staring at the black silhouette gradually taking shape at the edge of sea and sky.
Seagard!
At this point, four days had already passed since Galon left Pyke.
Now, less than half a day remained before they reached Seagard.
"Summon Lord Harlaw."
Without turning his head, Galon gave the order to the guard behind him.
The guard acknowledged the command and departed.
Soon, footsteps approached from afar.
The lord of House Harlaw, known as "the Reader," walked forward and stood beside Galon.
"Lord Galon, you called for me?"
"Yes."
Galon's gaze remained fixed on the distant outline of the castle, his voice calm as though discussing the weather.
"Once we land, I need you to help me stage a performance."
"A performance?"
Confusion flashed through Rodrik's eyes.
"Yes."
Galon turned his head to look at him, his eyes carrying a sharpness that seemed to pierce through everything.
"I want you, in front of everyone—especially Lord Mallister and his men—to have a fierce argument with me over the issue of troop quarters after the landing.
I want every Riverman to see that Northerners and Ironborn are filled with conflict."
Rodrik frowned. Clearly, he could not understand the purpose of such an order.
"My lord, would it not be better to display our unity and intimidate others with our combined strength?
Why do the opposite and deliberately expose weakness?"
Galon's eyes shifted slightly as he lowered his voice.
"Because we have far more enemies than allies."
He paused briefly, giving Rodrik time to absorb his words.
"The North is not united, and the Riverlands are nothing more than scattered sand.
Bolton... Frey... even Riverrun itself—they all have their own ambitions.
If they discover that a Northerner managed to become as close as brothers with the Iron Islands in only a few weeks, what do you think they'll do?"
A glint of understanding flashed through Rodrik's eyes as he instantly grasped Galon's intent.
"They'll become extremely wary of us."
"But if we appear divided, they'll lower their guard?"
"Exactly."
Galon nodded approvingly.
"We still do not fully understand the situation in the Riverlands. I need time to observe.
Before then, let them underestimate us.
Better yet... let them believe your people are targets that can be persuaded and bought over."
As ruler of Ten Towers, Rodrik was no mere bookish scholar. He understood power and intrigue equally well.
Rodrik took a deep breath and agreed.
Still concerned he might not fully understand, Galon continued explaining.
"I'm giving them the script they most want to believe... I'll let them walk willingly into the trap I've prepared.
And you, Lord Harlaw, will be the key figure in that script—the one they'll believe can be won over.
Remember. You must appear greedy and arrogant enough."
"I understand."
Rodrik bowed solemnly.
"Lord Galon, you are about to witness the finest performance imaginable."
Galon smiled and helped him straighten back up.
Through the identity of "Galon Whitestaff," his intimate relationship with Asha, and the careful distribution of benefits, Galon had already secured Harlaw's loyalty.
Rodrik had even silently accepted Asha becoming Galon's lover.
The two men stood at the prow together, watching Seagard draw closer and closer.
Another half hour passed.
Upon Seagard's towering walls, Patrek Frey paced back and forth beneath the cold sea wind.
Irritation filled his heart, and even the patrols he had long grown accustomed to felt unbearable.
Ever since news spread that King Robb had broken his marriage pact with House Frey, the Freys of the Twins had once again become the laughingstock of the Riverlands.
As a distant branch member of House Frey, Patrek's life at Seagard had suffered greatly as a result.
Lord Jason Mallister had already disliked him before, but now mocked him daily without restraint.
"Sigh... maybe I should just return to the Twins... Even being ignored by the family would be better than suffering humiliation here."
Patrek believed himself talented, yet had never found an opportunity to prove it.
At the Twins, his blood ties to Walder Frey were distant, and he held no influence whatsoever.
The tasks assigned to him had always been thankless chores nobody else wanted.
He had finally escaped the Twins and entered the service of Lord Mallister.
Yet after mishandling a minor matter, he had completely lost Jason's favor.
Now he had fallen so low that he was reduced to gate duty.
Patrek gazed out toward Ironman's Bay, feeling as though his ambitions and spirit were rusting away beneath the endless monotony of daily life.
"Sigh..."
Just as he wallowed in misery over his own fate, a cluster of black specks emerged faintly upon the distant waters of Ironman's Bay, rapidly growing larger.
Years of guarding the walls made his body react faster than his mind.
"Enemy attack!"
Patrek spun around and grabbed the horn hanging from the battlements, blowing it with all his strength.
The shrill sound instantly shattered Seagard's morning calm.
A moment later, the soldiers within the bell tower began ringing the great bell.
Dong— Dong— Dong!
In an instant, the entire city of Seagard descended into chaos.
As lord of Seagard, Jason Mallister quickly appeared atop the walls.
He raised a bronze spyglass, glanced carelessly toward Ironman's Bay, and immediately snapped in annoyance, "Patrek, look carefully!"
"That's House Glover of the North!"
"They're bannermen to King Stark—our allies! Have sea crabs eaten your courage?"
"My lord... there are Iron Islanders too..."
Patrek pointed toward the increasingly visible fleet, whose banners whipped violently in the wind.
"It's the fleet of House Harlaw from Ten Towers! How could Glover possibly be together with Harlaw?"
Jason's reprimand froze in his throat.
Ignoring Patrek's question entirely, he hurriedly lifted the spyglass again and looked more carefully.
Sure enough, behind the blood-red banner bearing the silver fist of House Glover flew the black banner with the silver scythe of House Harlaw.
"Quick... close the gates!"
"Put the entire city on alert!"
Jason's face changed drastically as he rapidly issued orders to his men.
Meanwhile, the farmers laboring outside the town heard the bells and immediately fled toward Seagard with their families.
In moments, the orderly city descended into complete confusion.
As dozens of longships drew steadily nearer, the atmosphere throughout Seagard became increasingly tense, and Jason's expression darkened more and more.
There was no helping it.
Part of Seagard's troops had already been summoned away to Riverrun, leaving barely enough men behind to defend the castle.
If the Ironborn truly launched a major attack, Jason suspected he would have no choice but to abandon the city and flee.
"Damn it... has the Iron Throne recruited the Iron Islands as well?"
By now, the news of the Lannister-Tyrell victory over Stannis had spread throughout the Riverlands.
Many Riverlords had already realized the tide was turning in favor of the Iron Throne faction led by House Lannister.
As a result, some Riverlords had begun adopting ambiguous attitudes toward Riverrun and the North.
Of course, Seagard was not among them.
Jason still firmly supported Riverrun. Otherwise, he would not have left half his forces there.
Yet just as anxiety consumed him, something unexpected occurred.
The fleet in Ironman's Bay halted upon the sea not far from the harbor and made no further advance.
Instead, they lowered a small boat and came ashore at the docks.
Before long, news from the harbor reached Seagard.
"My lord, the men aboard say they are allied forces from House Glover of the North and the Iron Islands!"
"They claim they've come to aid King Robb!"
"Allied forces?"
Jason stared blankly at the messenger.
"Glover and the Iron Islands?"
No matter how hard he wracked his brain, he could not imagine how those two could possibly have become allies.
"My lord, now isn't the time to think about that. Shouldn't we send someone to meet them?"
Seeing Jason still hesitating, Patrek stepped forward and cautiously offered advice.
Jason glanced at him, about to rebuke him again, but suddenly paused. The words reaching his lips changed entirely.
"Captain Patrek, since you were the first to spot the fleet, you'll go meet them."
"Remember—find out exactly why they've come!"
"Huh?"
Patrek stared blankly.
"Me?"
But before he could continue speaking, Jason had already turned and departed from the walls with his men.
Leaving Patrek standing there alone in confusion.
After a long moment, he let out a sigh, fastened his sword to his belt, and rode out from Seagard alone.
__________
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