Seagard Harbor.
After notifying the soldiers stationed in the harbor village, Galon brought Ron and Rodrik to the beach by the shore.
He quietly gazed into the distance at the fishing village ahead, as well as Seagard standing behind it.
Unlike Ron, who stood behind Galon, Rodrik—fully committed to the act—stood off to Galon's side.
The two sides deliberately maintained a certain distance.
No matter who saw them, no one would think the two parties were close and friendly allies.
The waves rolled gently onto the shore while Galon stood facing the sea wind, his thoughts occupied by the details of Seagard itself.
Seagard was a castle built specifically to resist the Ironborn.
Within the castle stood a massive bell tower, famous for the giant bronze bell hanging inside.
In ancient times, whenever Ironborn longships appeared upon the western sea, the warning bell would ring, urging villagers and farmers in the fields to hurry into the castle for refuge.
The castle belonged to House Mallister.
The current lord was Jason Mallister, a staunch supporter of Riverrun.
In the canon, after the Red Wedding, Walder Frey seized Jason's son and forced him to surrender Seagard.
In the end, both father and son were imprisoned within their own castle by Walder.
'House Mallister can be won over, but they've spent generations fighting the Ironborn. Their relationship with the Iron Islands is equally terrible.'
'I'll need to carefully balance the relationship between both sides.'
'Sigh...'
Galon glanced at Rodrik, who was still preparing for the performance, and inwardly let out a deep sigh.
Ever since the Andals invaded Westeros, the continent's social structure had almost completely stagnated.
The son of a noble remained a noble. The son of a farmer remained a farmer.
Even when a noble had no sons and only daughters, their bloodline could still continue.
As a result, countless noble houses had histories stretching back over a thousand years.
And because of that, the grudges and relationships between houses had become hopelessly tangled.
One century they could be bitter enemies, only to become close allies a few centuries later.
Everyone was intertwined with everyone else.
Except for the Iron Islands.
Thanks to the Ironborn's glorious raiding traditions, there was not a single force in all of Westerosi history more universally hated.
It could be said that from Dorne to the North, the Iron Islands had enemies everywhere.
And yet, despite making enemies across the continent, they still managed to thrive.
For that, Galon could only marvel at the absurdity of Westeros.
Just as his thoughts drifted, the sound of approaching hooves pulled him back to reality.
Focusing his gaze, he saw a knight in gray plate armor riding toward them.
Behind him followed more than a dozen soldiers bearing the colors of House Mallister.
Several minutes later, the gray-armored knight rode up before the three men.
He did not dismount, instead speaking bluntly at once.
"I am Patrek Frey, captain of Seagard's garrison. Which one of you is Lord Glover?"
Patrek's eyes shifted as his gaze swept past Rodrik, dressed in Ironborn fashion, before settling upon Galon, who wore smoke-black scale armor with one hand resting upon the hilt at his waist.
'Frey...?'
A strange light flickered in Galon's eyes as he observed the gaunt and gloomy-faced Patrek, inwardly making several guesses.
After a brief moment of thought, Galon nodded toward the visibly frustrated Patrek.
"In the name of House Glover of the North, I am Galon Glover."
After a pause, he continued, "Captain Patrek, I came under orders from King Stark to aid the Riverlands. Why do I not see Lord Jason?"
Patrek glanced toward the fleet anchored in Ironman's Bay.
Instead of answering Galon's question, he sharply demanded another in return.
"Lord Glover, why are you together with the Iron Islands? Has House Glover already submitted to the Ironborn?"
As he spoke, Patrek placed a hand upon the hilt at his waist, looking fully prepared to order the soldiers behind him to kill the three men if Galon answered poorly.
Noticing the movement, Galon also guessed Jason's concerns and calmly explained,
"Captain Patrek, you misunderstand."
"House Glover will always remain loyal to the North. Why would we ever submit to the Iron Islands?"
Patrek inwardly relaxed and was just about to ask further questions when Galon's next words nearly made him fall from his horse.
"Balon of the Iron Islands was murdered by his brother Euron, who seized the Seastone Chair through kinslaying. Balon's daughter, Asha Greyjoy, formed an alliance with the North."
"Under orders from House Stark of Winterfell, I assisted Queen Asha in executing the kinslayer."
"After our victory, Queen Asha ordered Captain Harlaw to accompany me to the Riverlands and meet King Stark..."
"What?!"
Before Galon could finish, Patrek cried out in shock and instinctively yanked hard on the reins.
His horse whinnied in pain and reared violently, nearly throwing him off.
"Easy... easy..."
Looking thoroughly embarrassed, Patrek first calmed the horse before staring at Galon in disbelief.
"Lord Glover... are you saying you attacked Pyke itself with Northern troops... and killed Euron Greyjoy?"
Galon calmly nodded.
"That is correct."
Patrek still could not believe it.
He looked toward the fleet floating upon the bay and estimated there were no more than two thousand men aboard.
After subtracting the Ironborn, that meant House Glover had brought at most a thousand Northern soldiers.
And with that force alone, they attacked Pyke?
'What complete nonsense!'
Patrek scoffed inwardly, and the suspicion in his eyes deepened further.
At that moment, Rodrik, standing nearby, suddenly snorted heavily. "Hmph. Is this truly how the Riverlands treat their allies?"
"Oi, Lord Galon, if you don't need us, I'll take my men and leave immediately!"
"Enough."
Galon deliberately frowned and fixed Rodrik with a warning glare as he interrupted him.
"Queen Asha swore before the gods themselves. Does the Iron Islands now intend to break its oath?"
"Captain Harlaw, I hope you understand one thing."
"I am the one in command here."
Rodrik let out two insincere chuckles but did not argue further.
Seeing this exchange, Patrek froze momentarily.
He noticed the tension hidden beneath their words and suddenly realized Galon might actually be telling the truth.
'Could he really have taken Pyke?!'
Patrek remained half-convinced, yet inwardly he found it even harder to accept.
After all, during the Greyjoy Rebellion ten years ago, it had taken the Iron Throne gathering tens of thousands of troops from the North, the Riverlands, the Stormlands, and elsewhere just to force Balon to surrender.
But now, House Glover alone had supposedly conquered Pyke with ease?
'Impossible. Absolutely impossible!'
In the end, Patrek still refused to believe Galon's story and concluded there had to be something wrong somewhere.
Galon, however, did not care whether he believed him or not.
Seeing that the men of House Mallister lacked even the courage to personally come out and meet him, Galon shook his head slightly in disappointment.
The actors and the stage had already been prepared, yet the audience had become frightened before the play even began.
This performance was destined to fail.
"Captain Patrek, please relay this to Lord Jason."
"If he doubts my identity, he may send word to King Stark for confirmation."
"But military matters are urgent. I must immediately lead my army to Riverrun. I hope Lord Jason will safeguard these ships and provide me with a guide."
Galon looked directly at Patrek Frey, making no effort to conceal his intentions.
Hearing this, Patrek hesitated for a moment before replying, "Lord Glover, please wait here. I'll return immediately and report this to Lord Jason."
Galon nodded, signaling for him to go quickly.
Patrek immediately wheeled his horse around and galloped back toward Seagard.
Yet only fifteen minutes later, Patrek returned with a face as dark as iron.
The moment he saw Galon, he spoke bitterly:
"Lord Glover, Lord Jason says he'll send word to Riverrun for confirmation. If your story proves true, he promises to look after the ships."
"And... I have been assigned as your guide."
Galon paused slightly. His eyes shifted as though realizing something.
Then he politely replied, "Then I'll be troubling you, Ser Patrek."
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