Chapter 43. Gold.
The guide swallowed before answering. Fear made his voice thin, but useful.
"Oxcross was broken by the Stark army, my lord. Ser Stafford Lannister died there, and most of the defenders were killed or scattered. There should only be local militia, wounded men, and stragglers from Golden Tooth and the nearby roads. Ser Fonda Lannister's new army has not taken over fully."
Arthur nodded. The plan formed quickly.
One day later, Oxcross fell without much resistance. The town had not recovered from Robb Stark's earlier attack, and the sight of Battanian vanguard troops appearing at speed was enough to drain whatever courage remained in it. Arthur did not massacre the townspeople. That would waste time and make too much noise. He drove them into the central sept, placed guards at every entrance, killed the livestock that could be used to send messages, and slaughtered the carrier pigeons. News needed wings. He removed them.
Then he ordered his soldiers to change.
Battanian cloaks and woodland armor were stripped away or hidden beneath scavenged Westerlands gear. Lannister armor, shields, swords, and red cloaks taken from storehouses and corpses were distributed through the first wave. The golden lion banners were raised. The result was imperfect, but war had a way of making imperfect things believable when men were tired enough.
"We are Lannister reinforcements," Arthur told his officers. "Ser Forley expects men from the direction of Oxcross. We will be Ser Fonda's vanguard."
Kator looked at the army behind them. "We cannot disguise thousands."
"We do not need to. One thousand enter with me. Elite vanguard, dusty, tired, and half-equipped after forced march. The rest remain hidden. Kator, you take the main force and wait in the woods outside the castle. Beland, circle with cavalry and cut down messengers or deserters. Horgos, place the archers on the high ground. Once we kill Forley and seize the gate, the whole army advances."
The plan was simple, bold, and entirely capable of killing everyone who entered first. Arthur could see that in their faces. He appreciated their intelligence. It did not change his decision.
Beland objected first. "Too dangerous, Chief. Let me lead the men inside."
"No," Arthur said. "Forley may have met Ser Fonda. He may know his officers. If something goes wrong, I need to adapt at once. My mind is made. Carry out the order."
No one argued after that. Sensible. Futile arguments before dangerous work only made men die annoyed.
That evening, a weary "reinforcement" column flying Lannister colors appeared before Golden Tooth. The drawbridge lowered slowly after the watchers confirmed the banners and route. Arthur rode at the front wearing the armor of a mid-ranking Westerlands officer taken from Oxcross. Dust covered his face, and a little dried blood marked his sleeve. Behind him, one thousand Battanian warriors marched in mismatched Lannister equipment, silent and tired-looking enough to pass for men who had survived bad roads and worse news.
Ser Forley Prester came to receive them inside the gate. He was short, stout, and exhausted-looking, with the eyes of a man who had not slept properly since the war began. He frowned at the poor state of their gear, but suspicion did not bloom quickly enough. The Westerlands front had collapsed in several places. Reinforcements arriving half-broken was not strange.
"Where is your commander, Ser Fonda?" Forley asked.
Arthur reined in and looked down at him with a faint smile.
"Ser Fonda?" he said. "He will come to keep you company soon. You may go ahead first."
Forley's frown deepened. He opened his mouth, perhaps to demand clarification. Arthur's sword was already moving.
The blade flashed from its sheath and came down with the force of horse, arm, and full body behind it. Forley had no time to draw steel. His head left his shoulders with a look of astonishment still fixed on his face. The headless body swayed for a moment before falling, blood spraying across the stones.
"Attack!"
The word ignited the castle.
The one thousand Battanians inside the gate threw off the outer layers of their disguise and drew hidden axes, longswords, daggers, and short blades. They fell on the stunned defenders like wolves among sheep. Kator, already moving from his place near the rear of the entry column, led the strongest Clan Warriors and sworn men toward the gatehouse. Noli and Tevet split their teams toward the stairs on both sides, aiming to seize the walls.
"Enemy attack! Close the gate!" someone shouted.
Too late.
Kator had already hacked down the gate guards and jammed bodies, shields, and broken wood into the closing mechanism. Outside the castle, the main Battanian force surged from hiding under Beland's command and rushed the gate like floodwater through a cracked dam.
Horgos gave the order from the high slope.
"Archers! Covering fire!"
Arrows rained down onto the walls, suppressing defenders trying to take positions above the gate. Inside, Arthur dismounted and led his personal guard toward the main keep. Lannister soldiers tried to gather, but with Forley dead and the gate in enemy hands, every command arrived late. The Battanians excelled in narrow fights, and Golden Tooth's streets, towers, and passages gave them exactly what they needed. Groups of three moved together, dividing the defenders, surrounding them, killing them before they could form larger ranks.
The battle spread through the castle. Gatehouse, walls, barracks, courtyards, towers, and stables all became separate fights. Arthur moved through them with cold precision, blade rising and falling until blood covered his armor and face. He did not know what was his and what belonged to other men. It did not matter. He had no room for fatigue. Not yet.
The fighting lasted from evening until late night, and from late night until dawn.
When morning touched the towers of Golden Tooth, the last organized resistance had been crushed.
In the castle square, surviving Lannister soldiers were disarmed and forced to kneel. Corpses piled in the streets, and blood ran through gutters in thin streams. Smoke drifted from several burned buildings, but the main keep, granaries, armories, and stables had been secured. Arthur stood on the steps of the hall while reports came in.
"My lord," Kator said, voice hoarse. "The castle is under control. There were around three thousand two hundred defenders. About two thousand killed, eight hundred captured, the rest scattered. Our losses are over four hundred dead and more than a thousand wounded."
Beland stepped forward next. "The granary, armory, and stables are ours."
Arthur nodded. "The treasury?"
"In the basement. The guards tried to burn records and stores, but we stopped them in time. The vault is open."
Arthur followed him down.
Behind the heavy iron door lay a stone chamber filled with gold.