Duke Eddard greeted the commander of the White Harbor Fleet, Willis Manderley, heir to the White Harbor fleet, at his command tent by the sea.
Accompanying Willis Manderley were Lord Roose Bolton of Dreadfort and Lord Rickard Karstark of Calhoun. Along the way, the White Harbor fleet was joined by a thousand Bolton soldiers and eight hundred Calhoun soldiers. Willis Manderley
was bald, with a tangled, walrus-like beard that made him look filthy. Like his brother Wendell, Willis Manderley was a large, fat man, but while Wendell could ride a horse, Willis was too fat to do so.
"Lord Ed, I've never been seasick before," Willis Mandel said apologetically to Ed. "However, my father told me that this mission is extremely important; the White Harbor fleet must be brought to Seal Bay, otherwise it will delay Duke Ed's expedition to Skaggs Island. Therefore, when the fleet left White Harbor and I was commanding it from the ship, the immense pressure caused me to suffer from insomnia and seasickness every day."
According to Willis Mandel, Earl Wyman of White Harbor attached great importance to the expedition and sent Willis, the heir to White Harbor, to lead the fleet. Unfortunately, Willis was exhausted as soon as the fleet left White Harbor, and before even reaching the Three Sisters Islands, he was vomiting so badly he couldn't leave his bedroom.
The task of commanding the White Harbor fleet fell to Sir Marlon Mandel, Earl Wyman's cousin and the experienced commander of the White Harbor garrison.
Ed asked Marlon Mandel, "Was the journey smooth?"
Marlon Mandel, a robust man in magnificent silver-white armor, replied, "Duke Ed, after our White Harbor fleet sailed out of Biting Bay and into the Narrow Sea, we frequently encountered some Rocky pirate longships. These longships fled north upon seeing our fleet."
"At first, everything went smoothly. However, upon reaching the coast of the Bolton family's territory, the number of pirate ships increased significantly. Some longships began to gather and exchange arrows with our fleet at sea. The pirates used rockets, and a merchant ship from White Harbor and a fishing boat from Widow's Lookout caught fire, but fortunately, the fires were extinguished."
"After the initial encounter, the pirates continued their northward escape. I dared not be careless, fearing an ambush at sea. So I dispatched the 'Sister Men' ships to lead the way, and had the Pentos mercenary ships protect the fleet's flanks and rear. I ordered all captains to be on high alert, ready to deal with any looming pirate threat,"
Roose Bolton said softly. "Sir Marlon Manderle's tactics were so effective; the White Harbor fleet easily helped us drive away the pirates from the Dreadfort region.
" GreatJon Umber grumbled, "Just as I predicted, the pirates only took advantage of our lack of ships; they would only flee when they encountered a fleet."
Marlon Manderle said, "When the Dreadfort forces joined the fleet, the pirate ships tried several times to flank us, but were repelled by the Pentos mercenary ships and our fleet's archers. By the time we reached the coast of the Kahorn territory, the pirates dared not approach and fled towards Skaggs Island."
"We sank several lone pirate ships and captured some prisoners. " "These prisoners are all Rock People, tall and strong but not good at rowing. We couldn't capture any Ironborn ships."
Ed was relieved that Willis had vomited almost the entire way from White Harbor to Seal Bay. If Willis had commanded the White Harbor fleet, not only would their arrival time have been longer, but the losses would have been even greater as they traversed pirate-infested waters.
After all, it was just a ragtag fleet mainly composed of merchant ships, with mercenary ships whose loyalty was questionable, and captains and sailors from all over the Seven Kingdoms, including Rees, Iban, the Summer Islands, and other parts of the Seven Kingdoms. Only a veteran like Marlon Mandalay could handle such a fleet and deal with such a complex situation.
"Sir Willis, you've worked hard." Although the credit belonged to Marlon Mandalay, Ed praised Willis first.
Willis patted his large, walrus-like belly. "Indeed! Lord Ed, I lost over ten pounds at sea! But, having successfully brought the White Harbor fleet to Seal Bay, I've finally completed my mission." Eddard surveyed his vassals in the North. "Now that the fleet at White Harbor has arrived, there's no reason for us to linger. We must cross the sea immediately and head towards Skaggs."
Greatjon raised his fist. "Those damned Rockborn and Ironborn pirates are burning, killing, and looting our lands, kidnapping women and children! We must avenge them! Now it's our turn to go to their territory."
Robert Glover of Deepwood Keep, Ser Wendell of White Harbor, Earl Rickard Karstark of Calhoun, and Ser Herman Tauhar of Torrenfjord all roared for revenge.
Roose Bolton said softly, "My only concern is that we don't know exactly how many longships Skaggs Island has. If the pirates choose to launch a surprise attack when the Northern army is halfway across the sea, what are our chances of winning?"
Lord Rickard Karstark was somewhat displeased. "You've seen it yourself; the bastard pirates don't dare to engage the fleet directly."
Ed said, "I think Lord Roose's concerns are not unfounded. What if the enemy is just feigning weakness to lure us in? To be on the safe side, we should devise a thorough plan."
Ser Marlon Manderle said, "I suggest that the Sisters' ships lead the way. These Sisters have been engaged in piracy on the Stepstone Islands for many years and are very familiar with the Ironborn pirates' tactics. They are even less adept at naval warfare than the Rockborn pirates."
Ed nodded in agreement. "It's settled then. The fleet will be protected at sea by Pentos mercenary ships and Summer Isles ships to prevent the pirate ships from flanking us."
Roose Bolton frowned. "Lord Ed, the Pentos mercenary ships appearing on the flanks..." "I understand, but why send Summer Isles ships to protect the flanks?"
Eddard explained, "It's because the Summer Isles' swan ships are equipped with the Summer Isles' unique Goldenheartwood longbows. These bows easily surpass the range of ordinary arrows. Only the Dragonbone Bow can surpass the range of the Goldenheartwood longbow, and Dragonbone Bows are extremely rare and precious. Therefore, few pirates dare to provoke the Summer Isles' swan ships."
Greatjon Umber said, "Lord Eddard, I suggest that our Umber soldiers lead the charge. We can launch surprise attacks from multiple locations on the island, landing at multiple points, catching the Rockborn and Ironborn off guard."
Eddard thought for a moment, "The Umber soldiers can lead the charge, but I will not divide my forces."
Skaggs Island is too mysterious; the Northern army couldn't even find any natives of Skaggs Island to act as guides. The Northern army had captured some Rockborn prisoners, but none of these prisoners were currently willing to reveal valuable information to the Northerners, let alone act as guides for the Northern army.
Landing on an unfamiliar island and splitting the army to allow different commanders to explore unfamiliar territory makes it easy for Skaggs to defeat them piecemeal. Over a century ago, during the Skaggs rebellion under Daeron II, the Northern army achieved numerous victories on the mainland, but upon reaching Skaggs, they encountered fierce resistance. Ultimately, after three years and the deaths of thousands of warriors, including then-Lord Bass Stark of the North, Winterfell failed to subdue Skaggs.
Learning from this painful lesson, Eddard prefers to concentrate his army, establish fortifications, and set up camp before advancing slowly. Once on the island, Samuro Crookar, the Rock King, his Iron Bitch, and the enigmatic Helen Pyke will unveil their mysteries.
.....
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(End of Chapter)