There was silence for the next few moments as this massive news settled over the room. This was not surprising. They had expected that sooner or later, they would be receiving the news of the remaining forces. What they wanted to know was the implications of it.
The magister who had announced the news sighed, breaking the silence.
"This is not all," he said. "According to the initial reports I have received, the ten thousand sellsword mercenaries who have been sighted are in pristine, top-class condition. From their appearance, and the presence of supply wagons with them, it appears these men have not been involved in any battle, war, or conflict."
The expressions of the remaining turned to that of pure shock and surprise.
"No injured have been spotted in their contingent, no wounded were being carried back with them. All of this points to one fact, that these men were not involved in any conflict."
It took a few moments for the rest of the magisters to register what had been said.
"Not involved in any conflict?" one magister repeated. "I believe this implies that these mercenaries were not pushed back, not forced to retreat during the battle, but they abandoned the battlefield and never participated in the conflict at all."
The rest of the magisters remained silent, but they all had the same thought in mind.
"Have we not been able to make any contact with this force?" Someone asked. "Did they explain what had happened that night? Had Lord Aeos come to meet them? Was there some other force with him? And what of the beasts? And why did they abandon the battlefield. I believe that we have paid them enough. What they did is treachery."
"Ser Harry Strickland has many things to answer," he added.
"We have not been able to establish any contact with the mercenaries of the Golden Company," the magister replied. "As per my spy, when he tried to approach them, they were quite hostile in their behaviour and were not really willing to talk. We might need to wait some time before the Golden Company offers us an explanation."
"As for Ser Harry Strickland," he sighed. "I believe that it was not him who was leading the men. It was someone else. Ser Harry Strickland is most probably dead."
There was heavy silence in the room as the magister finished his words. No one knew what to make out of all the events that had been happening. The atmosphere was gloomy with expressions of frown, anxiety, worry, confusion and even fear marring the faces of all the magisters in the hall.
"Every piece of news coming from Lord Aeos' empire is only making things more unclear and complex," the wise magister remarked. "But I suggest that we do not cope with it more."
"Whatever has happened has happened, and no matter how much we deliberate or argue about it, the results will not change. Our initial plan has failed and we need to accept it and move one. As for the details, how the events unfolded and what Lord Aeos did to achieve this victory, we need to have patience. As days pass, more facts and reports will filter in, and we will gain more clarity. We can deliberate then, if possible. If we are alive by then."
"Instead," he continued in the same tone as if he had not just said that very soon they might die, "we should shift our focus to the problem, the storm that is not only imminent but rapidly approaching us."
"Lord Aeos' armies are marching towards us, and after this failed move on our part, the number of options we have left has been severely limited."
"Yes," another magister responded in his gloomy voice. "We should discuss Lord Aeos' army and its impending invasion."
The magisters went silent for a few moments, gathering their thoughts.
"First of all," the wise magister resumed, "let me state a few obvious facts so that we can give our discussion some direction."
"Firstly," he said, "we are aware that five battalions worth of military are coming for the Free Cities. Out of the five battalions, one battalion is the navy, and the remaining four are army, meaning a mixture of infantry and cavalry."
"Secondly," he continued, "though Lord Aeos has not declared his intention so far, the options for which cities he could attack are becoming narrower and narrower."
"The army has already crossed Volantis and is continuing to move westward. So, unless they attempt to deceive us and turn northward in the coming days, the northern cities like Braavos and Norvos can be ruled out. And it is highly improbable that they will do so, marching such a large army is not only difficult but also pointless. If they turn, the northern cities would have ample time to prepare themselves. There would be no surprise element."
"And thus," he concluded, "this leaves four cities where Lord Aeos' first attack could fall. Lys, Tyrosh, Pentos, and our own city, Myr. Lys and Tyrosh are islands, so such a large army is useless against them without ships."
"So in all probability, Myr could very well be his first target," he added grimly.
"And," he continued, "I may not want to sound very pessimistic or defeated, but if such a large army comes to our gates, we would lose. At best, we could hold them for a few days."
"Even that is not certain," someone else quipped. "After his victory a few days ago, the morale of the slaves and the common people is extremely high. Do not forget the stunt with the parchments containing his message, Lord Aeos pulled in Meereen and Yunkai. If he does something similar here, the public will surely side with him."
"So realistically speaking," another magister said, "what options do we have?"
"Hiring a few sellsword companies," he continued. "But we hardly have any coins left. We might need to take a loan from the Iron Bank. Even that would be useless if Lord Aeos concentrates all his force solely on Myr. Unless he divides his army and tries to attack two or three cities at the same time, we would stand no chance."
"Then do we surrender?" someone scoffed. "Open our gates to him and hand over all the power and wealth our ancestors have accumulated for generations on a platter?"
"Then suggest some other option that keeps us from being killed," another almost snapped. "You are thinking about the army. I am worried that the common people or the slaves might bind us or kill us even before Lord Aeos' army reaches our gates just to please their deity. God Lord Aeos. Every day the army is approaching closer, the hops in their hearts are growing."
Silence followed. The point was not wrong. The fanaticism for Lord Aeos had grown so strong that such a thing could actually happen. Nothing could be ruled out.
After a moment of silence, the council erupted once again into a heated discussion, exploring every possible explanation and outcome.
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