The same development group in King's Landing that had helped Till see his steam engine into production had several other projects working. One that had borne fruit was a new type of gun. It was a long cast-steel tube that could hold a small bag of powder inside. A rod was used to stuff the powder back where a fuse stuck out of the end of the barrel. At the butt end, a wooden stock was made to rest against the chest, and a small curve on the top side wrapped slightly around a person's neck. This allowed the wielder to aim steadily and handle the recoil from firing. A shot made of lead would be wrapped in cloth by the marksman and rammed into the barrel, atop the powder charge. A trigger on the side would drop a lit punk down on the fuse, and the shot would fire. Bran had 100 of these manufactured, and 50 of them with punks, fuses, powder charges, and shot were on a wind train to Brandon's Rest.
When they arrived, Jack took charge of picking 60 potential sharpshooters and began training them. They practiced night and day, firing from the north wall towards bales of hay with figures drawn on white cloth on the fronts. On the third day, 5 of the best shots were sent to the crew on the Sovereign, and the other 45 loaded up on horses and rode south to Deepwood Motte. They would fire in groups of 15, with the first group dropping back to reload as the second fired, and then the third. Jack had them drilled to perfection and rode alongside them to the city that the enemy was assaulting.
Quaithe stood on the deck of the black-sailed ship with two of her coven sisters. One was a summoner, and the other was a dark arts shadow binder like herself. The three witches had been dispatched to Westeros to aid in the defeat of the barbarian invasion. The two younger witches watched with interest as the southern coast of Essos went by north of them. There was little wind, and yet the black ship poured endlessly forward towards its goal. Finally, what little sun there was broke through the dark cloud that seemed to cloak the ship, driving the three under decks.
Two of the ships that Deepwood Motte had bought had slings on them. The slings were removed from the ships and carted back to the city. Gawen Glover assembled a team of carpenters and engineers to disassemble the slings and rebuild them twice their original size. Large ironwood trees were used in construction, making the structure twice as strong. The slings were set up on the second tier of the hill the castle was built on, which gave them an excellent range. Several wagonloads of barrels and troops arrived, carrying Bronn and Drena, along with 80 selected fighters and archers. The barrels were filled with oil, and some with wildfire, with kegs of powder attached to the inside of their lids.
Tyrion had ordered shallow trenches to be dug in the woods where the enemy would be coming for their attack on Deepwood Motte, and these should be filled with oil and then covered so they would not be discovered. Testing of range settings on the super slings would begin in the morning with barrels of water, but the shattered barrels had to be collected to avoid giving away the ranges.
As evening approached, Bronn and Drena set their troops down for a meal, and Bronn said, "Eat well and rest early, for tonight we have a secret mission. We will slip into the woods to the west of here at midnight, and our mission is to recapture Sea Dragon Point. A group of Zonian warriors has captured the point and is using it to spy on our preparations here. We must defeat them and lie in wait for the upcoming assault on the city. We will harry the enemy's flanks and kill any that stray onto the point. There is no doubt we will be outnumbered in this, but you are all crack troops. If we stick together and hold the line, we will be victorious!"
Some miles west, Till's steam train came to a halt on a side track. 1,500 men-at-arms, hunters, farmers, and just volunteers piled out beside the tracks. Brienne of Tarth, Hassan, and a large group of sand-kin assassins were waiting for them. Tents and foodstuffs were passed out, and Brienne said, "We are the east side attack group. We will march close to where the Zonian troops will assault the city, and we will set up camp and await them. We will kill their scouts and stay hidden from them. When the battle begins, we will harry their flanks and kill any stragglers that attempt to flee in this direction. Unless we face the full brunt of their troop,s we will have numbers and tactics in our favor. Our camp will be secret, and we will know this stretch of wood far better than the enemy. We will work together and be victorious in this fight. Harry and vanish are our tactics till the end fight!" The group cheered and shouted victory for Westeros!
The Tower of Westeros reports on a sudden advancement by the Zonian tree fellers who were working towards Deepwood Motte. They were cutting a path for their slings and troops to march on the city.