House Among Chaotic Kingdoms

Votes for this Turn:

A1 - Infantry - 6

A2 - Reputation - 3

A3 - Magic&Med - 40

A5 - Mixed Army - 17

S1 - Wikipedia - 0

S2 - Steam - 36

S3 - Wookiepedia - 0

S4 - World - 30

Berenice’s Butterfree:

Laurel - 69%

Daphne - 10%

Willow - 7%

Fjaril - 6%

Vever - 4%

Beelzebub - 3%

Freya - 1%

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Rolls for this Turn:

Personal: Steam Games

Thanks to Squirrel with a Gun, animals on Planetos have a tiny but consistent chance of being born both intelligent and Force-Sensitive.

However, due to this being an “L2 = Moderately Inconvenient", the strong hunting culture in the North and Stormlands has led the majority of such individuals to become antagonistic towards humans.

This shouldn’t be a huge issue, but from now on hunting has a moderate chance of causing the death of the hunter due to a random squirrel or rodent of unusual size or the like turning out to have the mind (and capability for grudges) of a person.

(Also yes, this can boost Pokémon and would be the catalyst for a Westerosi version of Team Rocket’s Meowth.)

World: Might and Magic Wiki

Thanks to the Octopod, the far-northern-coasts of Westeros are infested with gigantic octopuses, ensuring that large seafaring vessels are not developed or deployed by anyone into or out of the area.

So no wilding/Others navies to worry about now or in the future, but on the other hand we can’t send great numbers of them anywhere by ship either without attracting the attention of the Octopod.

(Also, at the moment I’m treating Octopod vs. ship as a forgone conclusion for the Octopod, though this could change if it becomes relevant later.)

-----

Story:

The first snakebite arrived before the first raft crossed the river.

You were still trying to work out how much of Cinnamonton's waterfront you could see from the western bank when a Springlord came looking for you.

A soldier had reached beneath a fallen branch while clearing one of the paths to the river.

Something underneath had objected strongly enough to leave two deep punctures through his glove.

By the time his friends carried him back, his hand had swollen badly and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

The Rainwood had found another way to make itself unpleasant.

Berenice already had the man's glove off when you arrived.

One of the younger Springlords was holding his arm still while another prepared a clean bandage.

Laurel rested on a branch beside the treatment area, her enormous wings making the whole thing look stranger than it needed to.

You'd grown used to the butterfly following Berenice around, though you still hadn't gotten used to her size.

"How's he doing, and where do you need me?"

Berenice looked up from the swollen hand.

"He's getting worse, so help me with his breathing first."

You reached into the man's body the way she'd taught you.

The swelling was easy enough to find, though that was where the simple part ended.

When you'd fought Grandfather's corruption, there had always been something to push against.

You could find the corruption, drive your magic into it, and keep pushing until it was gone.

The snake had left no such target.

There was only the man's body reacting badly to something which had already spread beyond the wound.

You started working around his hand before Berenice caught your attention again.

"His hand can wait until he's breathing properly."

You looked again and found how badly the man's breathing was beginning to suffer.

"Right, I was paying too much attention to the bite."

"That's why we're doing this together, Wulfric."

She guided your attention toward the parts of his body struggling to keep working.

You could help them recover, but first you needed to understand what was going wrong.

That was harder than recognizing something evil and trying to drive it out.

The man's breathing steadied as you worked.

Berenice took care of the parts you didn't understand, pointing things out before letting you try them yourself.

The soldier was conscious again by the time you finished.

You spent another few minutes making sure his breathing stayed steady before withdrawing your magic.

"You're doing well, just keep resting for us."

The man managed a weak smile and thanked you.

You left him with the Springlords while Berenice explained what you'd missed.

You'd become reasonably good at healing familiar injuries.

Cuts, bruises, broken bones, and the usual problems soldiers collected were easy enough.

Snake venom was not a broken bone, and the Rainwood contained an entire collection of things which could poison men in different ways.

Some of the damage was easy to recognize once Berenice showed you where to look.

Other parts were difficult enough that you'd need more practice.

Thankfully, there was no shortage of patients to learn from.

Laurel fluttered down from her branch while you were washing your hands.

She settled beside Berenice and turned her enormous eyes toward the recovering soldier.

"I've been meaning to ask, where'd you get Laurel as a name?"

Berenice smiled and reached toward one of the butterfly's wings.

"Someone compared her wings to a laurel crown."

You looked at the great spread of colored wings.

"That does suit her rather well."

"I thought so too, and she hasn't objected."

"She's been following you everywhere, so I'd say she approves."

Berenice laughed and scratched gently along the creature's body.

Laurel settled more comfortably beside her.

You'd watched the enormous insect follow the Army Group for weeks, and now she was happy staying with Berenice.

That was good news, especially given what Berenice had been learning about her.

During the last few days, she'd been examining Laurel whenever she had time.

Something about the creature's body reacted strangely when Berenice examined poisons through her healing senses.

She hadn't worked out what Laurel was doing yet, but the reactions were different enough to be worth studying.

Berenice wanted to start comparing actual samples.

The Rainwood was providing those with an enthusiasm nobody had requested.

You offered to help collect anything useful from the patients you treated.

Sam joined the conversation before Berenice finished explaining.

He'd been speaking with one of the Springlords and arrived carrying several folded pages.

"Did you manage to keep anything from the snake?"

The younger healer showed him what had been recovered.

Sam started asking where it had been found and whether another of the same kind had been seen nearby.

You looked toward Berenice, who was already smiling.

"Oh, right, Sam, you've been interested in poisons for ages."

Sam looked up from his notes.

"And the Rainwood is being very accommodating."

"Well, at least those old notes of yours should be useful."

"They've already helped with several of the cases."

You remembered how much time he'd spent worrying over the poison used against Willas.

He'd never found an answer to the magical part of it.

Changing armies hadn't stopped him thinking about it.

"Have you two compared any of this with Willas yet?"

Sam shook his head while Berenice looked toward Laurel.

"Not properly, though I still have the records."

"Good, then we've already got somewhere to start."

Berenice nodded and began discussing which samples they'd need.

You were glad Sam had found another use for all that earlier work.

He was already treating the Rainwood as a chance to answer questions he'd been carrying around for months.

The river crossing initially went well enough to make you optimistic.

Merren of Maidenpool had spent several days inspecting the banks and organizing the work.

He'd found places where the current was manageable, others where men could unload supplies, and enough suitable timber to keep the builders occupied.

The first rafts looked much like those used at Ravens River, right down to the weight runes carved into the timber.

Merren had improved several things since then.

More importantly, he had men working beneath him who understood what he wanted.

The first companies crossed without trouble.

Hugh and Ser Gerren Holt took charge of the troops reaching the opposite bank and began organizing the ground they were supposed to hold.

They kept men away from the landing unless they were helping unload.

Guards watched the approaches while other soldiers found places for supplies and equipment.

By the end of the first few days, you had a useful foothold across the river.

Cinnamonton still lay farther along the opposite bank, and nobody had tried to stop the crossing.

The Medcorps was having less luck.

A soldier came in with a swollen ankle after something small had bitten him.

Another had eaten a mushroom which his friends insisted looked exactly like one they'd eaten the previous evening.

Two others developed rashes after clearing vines from one of the paths.

You spent an afternoon helping with those cases before Berenice found another man whose breathing had been affected by an unfamiliar sting.

The Rainwood was making sure nobody got too confident about recognizing its poisonous inhabitants.

The trouble was that the symptoms hardly ever matched.

Some poisons caused swelling and pain, while others made men weak, confused, or unable to breathe properly.

There were cases where the poison itself had stopped doing much harm but the body remained damaged by what had happened earlier.

You could heal that damage once you recognized it.

Recognizing it was the part Berenice kept having to teach you.

You were improving, though you still preferred patients who had the decency to get injured in familiar ways.

The Green Society became involved soon afterward.

They already had people collecting plants and examining the things which grew around your camps.

Adding records of what soldiers had touched, eaten, or been bitten by was easy enough.

Sam started comparing the Medcorps notes with their observations.

Berenice contributed what she learned from examining the patients and Laurel.

You mostly contributed the patients you helped treat and the occasional argument about whether something was poisonous or merely a terrible thing to eat.

Not every report was so serious.

One of Jason's scouts brought back an account of an enemy observation post abandoned after a rope holding part of its equipment had been cut.

The men investigating it claimed to have seen a squirrel running away.

Patrek thought the report was funny enough to repeat at supper.

Jason was less entertained that his scouts had spent part of their afternoon investigating a squirrel.

You were glad the local animals had started inconveniencing Davos's men too.

Toward the end of the first week, you were starting to think the crossing would finish sooner than expected.

Several companies had crossed and Merren was moving supplies steadily.

Then the eastern side of the river caught fire.

You heard shouting before you saw the flames.

Men were running toward the landing while others were already drawing weapons.

A group of attackers had emerged from the trees upstream, heading straight toward the rafts and the men working them.

Several wore red, and the fire moving above them left little doubt about who had decided to make trouble.

You called for the guards and started toward the river.

Harl was beside you before you had taken three steps.

The first burst of fire struck a raft already halfway across.

It caught along the ropes and timber, spreading through the structure before the men aboard could do anything useful.

The next struck one of the rafts being prepared on the western bank.

Rain was falling hard enough to soak your cloak, but the flames kept burning.

Several men jumped into the river rather than remain aboard.

Others tried cutting loose their cargo before abandoning the burning timber.

Harl caught your shoulder as you approached the landing.

"You're getting too close to the river."

"Those men are still trying to get ashore."

"And getting yourself burned won't help them."

You looked toward the nearest raft and saw soldiers hauling a rope through the mud.

Harl followed your eyes and sighed.

"At least let the guards go first."

"All right, but we're helping them with those ropes."

Harl waved several guards toward the landing.

You followed close enough to help once they reached the men already working there.

One of the soldiers was struggling to keep a rope from slipping through his hands.

You caught it beside him and helped haul until the damaged raft reached the bank.

The men aboard scrambled ashore while fire continued eating through the timber.

The attack had little support behind it.

That became obvious once your Infantry started moving.

The Red Priests and their followers were charging directly into a force which outnumbered them enormously.

They had enough magical fire to ruin the crossing.

They didn't have enough men to defeat the soldiers defending it.

Alyn brought more Infantry forward while Jason sent riders toward the paths the attackers had used.

Across the river, Hugh and Gerren were moving their companies into position.

The men on that bank had been caught watching their connection to the rest of the army burn.

Some tried running toward the landing before Hugh sent them back.

Gerren gathered the available officers and started organizing a defensive line away from the water.

By the time the attackers were defeated on your side, the far-bank troops had established a position they could hold.

That was fortunate, because you had almost no way to reach them.

You found Sam near the landing, taking reports from three different soldiers.

"How many rafts did we manage to save?"

"Not enough to continue the crossing today."

Sam looked toward the blackened remains being dragged against the bank.

"Two are beyond repair, and several others need rebuilding."

"Can we recover any more of the men?"

"Some already swam ashore, but we can't risk more crossings yet."

You looked toward Merren's usual position among the builders.

He wasn't there.

You asked where he'd gone, expecting somebody to tell you he was checking the damaged ropes farther along the bank.

Instead, one of the sergeants removed his helmet.

Merren had been killed when the first raft burned.

His men had recovered his body after the fighting ended.

You'd never known Merren especially well.

You knew he'd grown up around boats and crossings, and that he'd been much better at dealing with rivers than most of the officers you could have assigned to the work.

You remembered him laughing when he told you Ravens River was one of the smaller obstacles ahead.

He'd been right about that.

You'd expected to need him for most of the campaign.

Now he was dead, and the river wasn't going to become any easier because you missed him.

You went to see the men who'd been working with him.

They were still sorting through damaged ropes and equipment.

Several looked exhausted, and one had his arm bandaged from the fighting.

"Merren was very good at his job."

The men stopped working long enough to listen.

"You all know that better than I do."

You looked toward the damaged rafts before continuing.

"He taught you a lot, and we're going to need everything you learned from him."

One of the older soldiers nodded slowly.

"We can keep building them, my lord."

"I'm glad, because he would've hated leaving the job unfinished."

That earned a few tired smiles.

You thanked them and left the builders to their work.

The attackers were defeated before evening.

The rafts weren't repaired before evening.

Several companies remained on the opposite bank with Hugh and Gerren while the bulk of the Army Group stood on yours.

You had guards watching the river throughout the night and scouts searching the approaches for more enemy forces.

Thankfully, the attack wasn't followed by a general assault.

That was almost as strange as the attack itself.

If Davos's regular troops had committed themselves alongside the priests, the far-bank companies would've been in serious trouble.

Instead, the religious forces had attacked alone.

Several prisoners insisted they'd received orders to attack immediately, though none could explain why the rest of the garrison hadn't supported them.

You'd seen enough fighting between Red Priests and regular Stannis men at Fawnton to recognize another split.

You had no idea who'd made the decision this time.

The following morning brought wounded men who couldn't wait for the river to become convenient.

Several had burns from the magical fire.

Others had broken limbs or wounds received during the fighting.

Men pulled from the water were coughing, shivering, or suffering injuries made worse by being dragged through a muddy river.

Berenice had the Medcorps working before sunrise.

You joined them after checking the latest reports from Hugh.

Burns were easier for you than some of the poisonous bites.

You could recognize what had been damaged and help the body replace it.

The magical fire still had unpleasant effects where ordinary flame would've been simpler.

Berenice took the worst cases while you worked through injuries she knew you could handle.

One soldier had inhaled enough smoke that every breath hurt.

Helping him breathe normally again took longer than repairing the burns across his arms.

There were men you could help quickly and others who needed several healers working together.

You spent most of the day moving between them.

When one of the younger Springlords started struggling with an unfamiliar burn, you joined her and helped work through it.

Berenice came over afterward and showed both of you what she'd done differently.

The next patient with the same problem was easier.

It felt good to be learning something you could immediately put to use.

At some point Sam arrived with food because you'd forgotten supper.

He put it beside you without interrupting the treatment.

By the time you finished, it had gone cold.

"Thanks, Sam, I hadn't realized how late it'd gotten."

"I know, which is why I brought you food."

You ate while he told you which rafts the builders thought could be repaired first.

Sam had become very good at doing two jobs at once, even when one involved making sure you remembered to eat.

Merren's death made the crossing work harder.

The surviving builders knew their jobs, but Merren had known how all the jobs fitted together.

The man choosing timber wasn't necessarily the best man for judging current.

The men making rafts weren't always the same men who knew how to load them.

For several days, Sam spent more time bringing those people together than he'd spent supervising Merren.

The work settled into a new arrangement once everyone knew who was handling which part.

Nobody replaced Merren outright.

His responsibilities were divided between men who knew different parts of the work.

Some were already sergeants, while others had spent enough time working beside him to learn the necessary skills.

Several received more authority than they'd held before.

Your Army Group had lost its best river specialist, and the loss slowed everything down.

It hadn't left the army helpless beside a river.

Hugh and Gerren continued doing their part on the eastern bank.

Their men had enough food to hold their position, though not enough to stop worrying about supplies.

Gerren organized watches and patrol rotations.

Hugh kept the Infantry from becoming a collection of separate companies waiting for orders from across the water.

They worked together well enough that Jason remarked on it twice.

You were pleased other people were finally beginning to appreciate how useful Hugh was.

By the middle of the second week, the rafts were moving again.

Then the dragons started firing.

The first shot struck a raft carrying supplies and two men.

Nobody was killed, but the sound sent several others scrambling toward the bank.

The next shot came the following day and killed one of the men helping guide a raft through the current.

Nobody saw the shooter long enough to catch him.

Your scouts found signs of men withdrawing through the trees afterward.

Davos's troops were using the river as another place to make your army miserable.

The shots weren't constant.

That made them worse in some ways.

Men could spend hours preparing a crossing without hearing anything.

Then a single crack from somewhere beyond the trees would remind everyone what had happened to the Lieutenant outside Fawnton.

Some rafts crossed without trouble.

Others sat ready for hours because their crews kept checking the opposite bank.

Jason's scouts worked hard to clear the approaches.

They couldn't cover every stretch of forest.

The dragons had enough range that the men operating them didn't need to stand beside the river.

Whenever the scouts found a position the enemy had been using, the men were gone.

You lost far more time than men.

Unfortunately, the men were thinking about the losses more than the hours.

You first noticed the difference while inspecting one of the crossings.

A minor lord had been trying to get another group of soldiers aboard a raft.

The men were following his orders, but slowly enough that he was becoming angry.

Every rope received another inspection.

Every load was adjusted twice.

Several soldiers kept looking toward the trees on the eastern bank.

The lord saw you approaching and looked relieved.

"My lord, these men won't finish boarding."

You looked toward the raft and the supplies already loaded aboard it.

"Have they found something wrong with the raft?"

"Nothing that hasn't already been checked twice."

You nodded and walked toward the nearest sergeant.

"Tell me what you're still worried about."

He glanced toward the far bank before answering.

"The raft's sound, my lord, but those dragons could be anywhere."

You looked toward the trees as well.

He wasn't wrong, and you weren't going to pretend he was.

The men had watched rafts burn and heard dragons killing soldiers doing exactly what they were about to do.

Wanting another inspection made sense.

Unfortunately, the army still needed to cross.

"You've checked everything you can, and I trust your work."

The sergeant looked back toward you.

"We still need these supplies on the other side, don't we?"

"Yes, my lord, the men over there need them."

"Then let's get them across while there's daylight."

You thanked the crew for preparing everything and remained beside the landing while they boarded.

Several men looked toward you as the raft moved into the current.

You gave them a wave and watched until they reached the opposite bank.

Harl stood close enough that you could feel him watching the trees more than the soldiers.

The crossing took longer than Merren would've liked, but the men made it safely.

When the raft returned, the next crew was waiting to board.

You stayed for another crossing before Harl reminded you of your promise to leave.

"That worked better than the other lord shouting at them."

Harl sounded pleased enough to be annoying.

"I hadn't actually tried shouting at them."

"He'd already done enough for both of you."

You watched another group bring supplies down toward the water.

"They were frightened, and they had good reason."

Harl looked toward the far bank.

"You've got good reason not to stand here all day too."

"I know, Harl, and I appreciate you watching out for me."

"Then you should consider making my job easier."

"How about I move back after this next raft?"

Harl looked at the men preparing to board.

"I'll accept that as a start."

You remained for the next crossing and then left with him.

There were other things the Army Group needed you doing.

You'd spent enough years with ordinary soldiers to recognize trust when you saw it.

These men had watched you heal the wounded and work alongside the Springlords.

Many had heard about Jon's recovery, and plenty had seen stranger things happen around you since.

You were their lord and commander, but you were also the man they expected to help if something went wrong.

You were grateful for that.

You also needed to deserve it.

Over the following days, you spent more time beside the crossing.

Not all day, because Sam would've objected and Harl might actually have dragged you away.

You came when the men were struggling with a difficult movement.

You talked with officers and sergeants who knew what their companies needed.

You thanked crews that had made repeated crossings.

Sometimes you helped carry a rope because it was there and somebody needed another pair of hands.

Several men began touching small charms before boarding.

You recognized signs of the Seven among them.

Others made gestures you associated with prayers to the Old Gods.

Some did both, which would've surprised you more before meeting Owen Storm.

Nobody was especially interested in arguing about which gods deserved credit for keeping the rafts afloat.

They were more interested in surviving the crossing.

You approved of that priority.

The Medcorps provided plenty of other reasons to remain busy.

One man was bitten by a snake whose venom caused his arm to swell without making him weak.

Another stopped being able to stand properly after an entirely different bite.

A third arrived with a terrible stomachache because he'd decided a bright mushroom looked edible.

The Green Study Group had already warned soldiers against eating unfamiliar mushrooms.

The warning needed pictures, because some men clearly weren't listening.

You were getting better at finding the damage beneath the symptoms.

Berenice made you examine patients before she told you what she thought was wrong.

Sometimes you agreed with her.

More often, she pointed out something you'd missed.

You'd stopped assuming every poison should be treated the same way.

Your magic could help heal the body, but you still needed to understand what had hurt it.

Laurel had become a regular presence in these lessons.

Berenice brought her when examining poison cases and had started comparing how she reacted to different samples.

Sometimes the butterfly showed no interest.

Other times her body responded in ways Berenice could sense but struggled to explain.

Sam kept records of the differences.

The Green Study Group supplied descriptions of the plants and creatures responsible for the samples whenever they could.

The three of you spent one wet afternoon discussing ordinary poison and the magic which could change its effects.

Sam had been comparing notes from Willas's poisoning with several of the Rainwood cases.

"The poison used on Willas was much worse than it should've been."

You nodded because that had been one of the things bothering him since the investigation.

"Right, and we never worked out what strengthened it."

Berenice looked between the records Sam had spread across the table.

"We knew it wasn't Grandfather's corruption, at least."

"Do any of these new cases help explain it?"

Sam tapped two of the notes.

"Not yet, but they're giving us better comparisons."

Berenice agreed and began showing him how Laurel had reacted to one of the samples.

You leaned closer to follow the explanation.

The two of them had very different ways of approaching the same problem.

Sam was interested in what the poison had done and how little of it had been needed.

Berenice wanted to understand what magic had changed inside the body.

You could contribute what you'd learned about recognizing unfamiliar magical effects while treating patients.

None of you had enough information to explain Willas's poisoning.

You did have more to work with than before.

Sam was pleased by that, and you were glad the old investigation was finally proving useful again.

Jon's Stone Breathing lessons continued between the medical work and river problems.

He'd returned to training his guards once the northern scouting mission ended.

Sam kept attending whenever he had time, though he still spent much of the lesson proving that understanding breathing didn't automatically make somebody good with a sword.

Jon had become more interested in separating the two parts.

That gave Sam something useful to contribute.

One afternoon, Jon corrected Sam's stance three times before Sam stopped moving his feet.

Then Sam corrected the way Jon was explaining the breathing rhythm to Hugh.

Jon tried the explanation again and Hugh understood it immediately.

You looked toward Harl, who was watching from the edge of the practice ground.

He grinned as soon as your eyes met his.

Jon had finally discovered what it felt like to receive breathing instructions from Sam.

"That explanation worked better, Sam, thanks for catching it."

Jon said it while Hugh tried the exercise again.

Sam looked pleased enough that you expected him to bring it up later.

"You should remember that next time you're teaching me."

Jon smiled without looking away from Hugh.

"I'll remember it when you learn to hold a sword properly."

That earned a laugh from everyone except Sam, who was already preparing an answer.

The training didn't make the river any easier.

It gave the men something useful to do when they weren't standing watch or hauling supplies.

Hugh was becoming more comfortable with the techniques he'd started learning during the previous month.

Sam continued getting stronger without becoming any prettier to watch.

You still had trouble with parts Harl performed naturally.

Jon was enjoying having everyone else argue about his training.

The next squirrel appeared during a frustrating morning.

A stack of equipment near one of the building areas collapsed after a supporting rope gave way.

Nobody was hurt, but several men spent the next hour sorting everything out.

One soldier claimed the rope had been gnawed through.

You saw a squirrel scampering into the trees while the men were still arguing about it.

That reminded you of the scout report from Fawnton.

You wondered whether the Rainwood squirrels had decided to join the war.

Then Sam arrived with another complaint about the crossing schedule, and you had to return to problems involving people.

The squirrel vanished before anybody thought to chase it.

You hoped it would go back to bothering Davos's men.

Reports from nearby hamlets were becoming more interesting.

The locals still had little reason to love an invading loyalist army.

They had even less affection for the Red Priests.

Some complained about their demands.

Others said the priests had burned property or threatened people who refused to cooperate.

More than one report described regular Stannis soldiers refusing to help the priests enforce their orders.

That fit what you'd already seen.

Fawnton had fallen while its defenders fought one another.

Foggy Cascades had been weakened by another religious dispute.

At Cinnamonton, the priests had charged your crossing while the rest of Davos's forces remained safely behind.

You were beginning to suspect that the regular soldiers were doing more than arguing with their priests.

They were letting them lose.

You didn't know whether Davos approved.

The man was still somewhere around Raven Isle, and none of your prisoners had been invited to explain his private opinions.

You did know his soldiers had become much better at using dragons against your crossing after the priests died.

That was reason enough to keep treating them as dangerous.

Whatever else they disagreed about, they hadn't forgotten how to fight you.

By the end of the third week, the crossing had become an embarrassment.

Hugh and Gerren had more men on the far bank than they'd started with.

The rafts were working again.

Sam had arranged enough supplies to keep the separated forces comfortable.

Your officers continued doing their jobs well.

The Army Group remained in excellent spirits for men who spent most of their time wet and frustrated.

Yet you were still standing beside the same river.

A month was going to pass while you moved thousands of men across water and took one small town.

Davos didn't need to beat your Army Group in battle if he could make every river take this long.

You needed to stop letting his men choose when the crossing became dangerous.

That meant giving them something else to worry about.

The idea came while studying the river traffic around Cinnamonton.

The town had boats, and it needed them for trade.

Some travelled upriver while others carried goods toward the coast.

The defenders were watching your crossing because that was where your army kept trying to move.

They'd become very good at making you regret it.

You looked at the river on the map and followed it north.

Foggy Cascades was already in loyalist hands.

There were smaller landings serving that route.

You had men there who knew the local ground and could find suitable craft.

You also had Jon, who'd already used the Rainwood to reach places your ordinary scouts struggled to approach.

You looked from the northern route to the river again.

Then you sent for him.

Jon arrived with Ghost following close behind.

Jinx came when you called her, though she spent the first several minutes inspecting the mud beside the map table.

You explained that he was going north again.

Jon looked toward the river before you finished.

"You're planning something involving the boats."

You smiled and pointed toward Cinnamonton.

"We've been trying to cross where they're watching us."

Jon nodded toward the town on the map.

"So you want somebody approaching from upriver."

"With enough archers to make them pay attention."

Jon studied the route for another moment.

"Foggy Cascades has men we can borrow."

"That's what I was thinking too."

You pointed toward the northern landing.

"I want small craft, archers, and an attack after dark."

Jon looked toward the route through the Rainwood.

"We can reach the northern force faster without the main army."

"Take Ghost and Jinx with you."

Sam joined the discussion before the plan was settled.

He wanted to know how many boats Jon intended to bring.

Jason wanted to know where the enemy would move once the river attack began.

Alyn wanted the troops on the far bank ready to advance without waiting for another complicated signal.

The plan improved as everyone found things worth worrying about.

By the end, you had something workable.

Jon would head north through the Rainwood.

He'd coordinate with the troops holding Foggy Cascades and gather suitable small rivercraft from the landings serving the settlement.

The archers Tulin had left behind would accompany him for the attack.

They would strike Cinnamonton from upriver at night, drawing attention away from the crossing.

Hugh and Gerren would lead the troops already established on the eastern bank into the town while the main Army Group forced more men across.

The diversion didn't need to defeat the garrison.

It needed to convince the defenders that the danger was coming from somewhere other than the western crossing.

Jon understood that.

He also knew the northern garrison needed its archers back afterward.

They would return once the attack was finished.

You trusted him to arrange the details without making you approve every boat and bow.

Harl was less pleased with the plan than Jon.

He'd spent most of the month objecting to how close you stood to the river.

Now you were preparing to command another crossing under dragon fire while Jon disappeared into the woods.

"At least tell me you'll remain behind the first companies."

You looked toward the growing force on the opposite bank.

"I'll stay where I can help the men."

"You're going to make me regret asking, aren't you?"

"I thought you would've learned that by now."

Harl shook his head while you smiled at him.

He was still watching the far bank.

You knew he'd be beside you when the crossing began, whether he liked it or not.

You'd be glad to have him there.

Jon left the following morning.

Jinx went with him, while Janus continued finding things to do around your camp.

Ghost ran ahead through the trees as soon as the party entered the Rainwood.

You watched them disappear before returning to the river.

There was nothing comforting about sending your brother away again.

You did trust him to do the job.

The next several days were spent preparing.

Hugh and Gerren expanded their position on the eastern bank.

The surviving raft crews brought over more men and supplies whenever the dragons allowed it.

Jason's scouts watched Cinnamonton's approaches and the places where the enemy had been firing from.

Alyn organized the Infantry so the assault could begin quickly once Jon's diversion arrived.

Sam worried about how much could be carried across during the fighting.

The Medcorps continued working through the same problems in the meantime.

A soldier arrived with symptoms so similar to one of the earlier snakebite cases that Berenice recognized the danger immediately.

This time they had the old notes.

Sam found the observations while Laurel settled beside Berenice.

The butterfly reacted to the venom sample just as she had during the earlier examination.

Berenice looked up at you with an expression you were becoming familiar with.

"Wulfric, come over here and look at this."

You joined her beside the patient and reached with your healing senses.

She showed you where the venom was causing the worst damage.

Laurel's reaction helped Berenice identify what needed to be treated first.

You supported the parts of the patient's body most affected while Berenice handled the unfamiliar work.

The man's breathing improved, and soon afterward his strength began returning.

You stayed until Berenice was satisfied he would recover.

"That went much better than the first one."

You were pleased enough that Berenice smiled back immediately.

"We knew what to look for this time."

"And Laurel helped you find it."

Berenice reached toward the butterfly, who was resting beside her.

"She did, and I want to understand that better."

You scratched Laurel gently where Berenice showed you it was safe.

Sam looked delighted when Berenice confirmed that the treatment had worked.

"We should write all of that down before somebody forgets something."

Berenice was already reaching for the notes.

"I was planning to do that, Sam."

"Good, because that's a treatment we can use again."

You agreed and left them discussing which observations deserved the most attention.

They were both enjoying themselves, and there was no reason to interrupt.

They'd learned enough to recognize and handle one dangerous kind of poisoning much better than before.

Laurel was helping Berenice understand things none of you had known when the campaign began.

The Medcorps was becoming better at dealing with a place that had spent the month trying to poison everyone.

You were glad to have contributed.

You were also glad Berenice had found such an interesting new companion.

By then, the Army Group had enough men across the river to make the next attack possible.

The defenders knew that too.

Their dragon crews had begun firing less often while keeping the same effect on the men aboard the rafts.

Every crew expected a shot.

Every officer expected a delay.

You spent the day before the attack moving between the crossing, the guards, and the Medcorps.

Alyn had his Infantry prepared.

Jason's scouts knew which routes they needed to watch.

Hugh and Gerren were ready on the eastern bank.

Sam had supplies organized for the men who would be moving first.

The only missing part was Jon.

You trusted him to arrive when he'd promised.

The signal came after dark.

At first there was only the sound of fighting from somewhere upriver.

Then arrows began falling among the positions facing the water.

Cinnamonton's defenders moved toward the unexpected attack.

Several dragons fired in that direction, their reports carrying across the river.

You watched the enemy's attention shift away from the crossing.

"That's Jon and the northern archers."

Jason had already turned toward Alyn.

"Then we'd better make use of them."

You gave the order to advance.

The troops on the eastern bank began moving toward Cinnamonton while the rafts carrying reinforcements pushed away from your side.

This time the defenders had more than one problem to solve.

The diversion worked.

The archers aboard the northern boats struck from a direction the garrison hadn't expected.

Their attack forced the defenders to move men away from the approaches Hugh and Gerren were watching.

Then the far-bank companies advanced against the weakened positions.

By the time Cinnamonton's defenders understood the larger attack had begun, loyalist Infantry was pressing toward the town.

The fighting was harder than Fawnton.

These defenders hadn't spent the morning killing one another.

They had proper positions, enough men to hold several streets, and officers who knew how to use them.

The first advance met stiff resistance near the waterfront.

Hugh's men held their formation while Gerren moved other companies around the more stubborn positions.

You received reports of the fighting while the crossing continued behind them.

The dragons were still dangerous.

One fired from a position overlooking a street and killed a soldier before his company forced the crew back.

Another shot struck a man near the landing as more troops arrived.

Their attention had been divided by Jon's attack, and the loyalists now had enough men on the eastern bank to keep advancing.

Your archers covered the movement wherever they had a clear line.

The town began falling by sections rather than all at once.

You crossed after the next group of Infantry.

Harl was very unhappy about that.

He remained beside you throughout the crossing and spent most of it staring toward the trees.

No dragon fired at your raft.

You thanked the crew when you reached the other bank and went toward the fighting.

Harl followed close enough to make sure you remembered he was still guarding you.

Cinnamonton took most of the night to secure.

The diversion had opened the opportunity, but the defenders were still soldiers who understood that retreating through a town wasn't the same thing as surrendering it.

Hugh and Gerren continued pressing through the positions nearest the crossing.

Alyn brought more Infantry into the streets as the rafts delivered them.

Jason's scouts watched for attempts to strike the growing foothold from outside the town.

The defenders eventually began pulling toward the waterfront.

That was where the victory became less satisfying.

Cinnamonton had more boats than Fawnton had ever needed.

The defenders knew that better than you did.

By the time your men reached the waterfront, several ships had already put off downstream.

More were leaving while their remaining troops covered the retreat.

You could see men boarding with boxes and weapons.

The dragons were among the things being taken away.

Your archers made the retreat unpleasant whenever the ships came within range.

The enemy still managed to get most of its surviving force aboard.

By the time Cinnamonton was secure, more than half the remaining defenders had escaped with every dragon they had left.

The ships were headed downriver toward Raven Isle.

You couldn't follow them with an Army Group that had only just finished taking the town.

You'd won Cinnamonton and forced its garrison to abandon the position.

You hadn't destroyed that garrison, and you still didn't possess a single intact dragon.

That was going to become a recurring annoyance if Davos kept retreating with everything you wanted to study.

Jon reached you after the fighting had settled.

He looked tired, wet, and pleased with himself.

The northern archers had completed their part of the attack and were preparing to return.

You caught his arm before he could walk past.

"Good work, Jon, that attack came at exactly the right time."

Jon grinned and looked toward the waterfront.

"The boatmen were convinced you'd picked the worst river in Westeros."

"They're welcome to come suggest a better one."

"I told them you'd be very interested."

"That explains why they kept rowing instead."

Jon laughed, and you were glad he'd made it back safely.

He'd handled the mission without needing you to direct every part of it, which was becoming one of the better parts of having him as Captain.

The men around you were celebrating.

They'd spent weeks fighting the river and the men using it against them.

Now Cinnamonton belonged to the Army Group.

Hugh and Gerren received congratulations from officers who'd watched their far-bank defense become the force which helped take the town.

You made sure both men knew how pleased you were with their work.

They'd earned it long before the final assault began.

Jason was pleased with how the attack had been coordinated.

Sam was already trying to find out which of the captured boats could carry the most supplies.

Alyn was reorganizing the Infantry around the town.

The officers had begun solving the problems that came after victory without needing you to assign every task.

You appreciated that more than you would've a few years earlier.

It left you free to spend more time with the men who'd been hurt taking the town.

You found yourself being congratulated more often than expected.

Several men praised the diversion.

Others mentioned the way the Army Group had continued crossing despite the dragons.

One officer said the men had held together better than he'd expected after the rafts burned.

You were pleased by that last part.

The men had earned the praise more than anybody.

The crossing became easier once Cinnamonton was yours.

There were more boats available, and nobody on the far bank was firing dragons at the crews.

Merren's surviving specialists organized the work alongside the men who knew the town's river traffic.

The remaining two-thirds of the Army Group crossed far faster than the first third had managed.

By the end of the final week, most of the force was established around the captured town.

You thought about Merren several times while watching the boats work.

He would've enjoyed having so many available.

He would've complained about the state of some of them before finding ways to use them anyway.

The men who'd learned from him continued doing the job without needing you to remind them what he'd been good at.

You were glad they'd had the chance to learn from him.

You wished he'd survived to see the crossing finished.

Reports from the north arrived during the consolidation.

Ser Harries Basin-Lannister's forces had taken Ganderman Village.

Cron Clegane and his scouts had continued performing well, and Tulin's men were helping the northern army maintain its progress.

You were glad the second force was succeeding without needing your attention.

You still disliked how often Clegane appeared in favorable reports.

The name wasn't going to improve no matter how often the man did.

The town offered one consolation which Fawnton hadn't.

Cinnamonton actually had cinnamon trees.

You'd known cinnamon as something worth money, brought north by merchants and used sparingly even in households that could afford plenty of other luxuries.

Here it was growing close enough that soldiers could collect it.

The cooks discovered that quickly.

You discovered it when the first meals began smelling much better than anything you'd expected from an army kitchen.

The Green had been helping the men eat well throughout the Rainwood.

Foragers returned with berries, nuts, fruit, and mushrooms from areas around the camp.

They still needed the normal wagons, grain, meat, fodder, and everything else an army consumed.

But there was enough fresh food to make the daily rations much better than usual.

Now the cooks had cinnamon to add to the available ingredients.

The results became popular immediately.

You heard men discussing meals with the same seriousness they'd spent discussing dragon positions a week earlier.

Some had never tasted cinnamon before.

Others remembered it from a noble household, a feast, or some rare treat from years ago.

Now they were getting it in ordinary camp food.

Even the soldiers who'd spent most of the month complaining about rain were more interested in what the cooks were preparing.

Omek was delighted to report that morale remained high.

The Medcorps was still busy.

Snakebites hadn't stopped because you captured Cinnamonton.

Men continued finding unfamiliar plants, dangerous insects, and mushrooms they should've left alone.

Berenice and the other Springlords had better records and more experience treating them.

Sam was organizing the information so it would remain useful after the Army Group moved farther into the Rainwood.

Laurel continued helping Berenice recognize things neither of them had understood when they first met.

You'd become better at the healing too.

You were more comfortable recognizing unfamiliar injuries and deciding what needed attention first.

Berenice still had much more experience, and you were learning plenty from working beside her.

The Medcorps had become one of the places you spent your free time whenever the army could spare you.

You expected to keep learning for the rest of the campaign.

The Rainwood wasn't running out of subjects to practice on.

The Green Study Group had also made progress with the flying mushrooms.

They'd examined the creatures long enough to establish which portions could be prepared safely.

Someone had caught another one away from their research cage.

You made sure the cooks knew you wanted to try it.

Several people found that request strange, which was unfair considering how much time the group had spent discussing whether the things were part mushroom.

The stew arrived near the end of the month.

It contained the flying mushroom, cinnamon, nuts, berries, and enough other ingredients to make the whole thing smell wonderful.

You took one spoonful and stopped.

The flavor was richer than ordinary mushrooms, with enough meatiness that you understood why Jinx had been so eager to catch one.

The cinnamon worked beautifully with it.

The nuts and berries were good additions too.

You took another spoonful to make sure.

Then you took several more because the first two had settled the question.

It was one of the best meals you'd ever eaten.

You'd eaten at Winterfell, with the royal household, and in enough noble halls to know what good food tasted like.

This was better than most of them.

Jinx had excellent taste in things she wanted to eat.

Sam noticed you were paying more attention to the bowl than the conversation.

"Is the mushroom really as good as you hoped?"

You looked toward him while finishing another spoonful.

"Sam, you need to try this immediately."

He looked at the stew with fresh interest.

"You spent weeks wanting to eat one."

"And I was right the entire time."

Berenice looked less convinced.

"You know the Green Study Group spent days making certain that was safe."

"Then they deserve some of the stew."

Sam had already asked one of the cooks for a bowl.

You looked toward Berenice again.

"Laurel isn't interested in mushrooms, is she?"

Berenice gave you a look which answered the question well enough.

The men around you were enjoying their own meals.

Cinnamon had become the latest advantage of serving in your Army Group, joining fresh fruit, good rations, and the general belief that your gods liked keeping soldiers fed.

You'd spent most of the month watching those same men climb onto rafts while frightened of dragons.

Some had died doing it.

Others had been badly wounded.

The army had continued anyway.

You'd taken Cinnamonton through a plan that worked because Jon, Hugh, Gerren, Jason, Alyn, Sam, and a great many other people knew what they were doing.

The northern force had taken Ganderman.

The Medcorps was learning how to handle the Rainwood's poisons, and the men were better supplied than they'd been when the crossing began.

Those were good results.

You were happy to accept the congratulations for them.

It had also taken an entire month to cross one river and capture one small town with an overwhelming army.

Davos still had the men who escaped.

He still had his dragons.

Raven Isle lay farther ahead, and the Rainwood wasn't going to become friendly because you'd finally managed to cross a river.

You understood better now how difficult the rest of the campaign would be.

You took another spoonful of the stew.

The cooks had made cinnamon, berries, nuts, and a flying mushroom into one of the finest meals of your life.

The men were fed, the army was together again, and the campaign had moved forward.

There would be plenty of time to worry about Raven Isle tomorrow.

For now, you were going to finish every bit of the stew.

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Skills:

Pursuits:

Martial:

(12) Physical Form - 360/400 (+25)

(11) Westerosi Swordsmanship - 210/300 (+5)

(1) Total Concentration Breathing - 100/100 (+25)

(1) Stone Breathing - 100/100 (+25)

(12) Archery - 260/400 (+25) (Gifted)

(13) Heavy Armour - 395/500 (+35) (Prodigious)

Avocations:

(12) Equestrianism - 145/400 (+10) (Talented)

(10) Hunting - 95/200 (+25)

(10) Watercraft - 110/200 (+50) (Knack)

(7) Fishing - 100/100 (+35)

(6) Swimming - 50/100 (+10)

(6) Climbing - 65/100 (+5)

Scholarly:

Applied:

(13) Accounting - 10/500 (+25) (Prodigious)

(7) Northern Law - 100/100 (+5) (Knack)

(8) General Westerosi Law - 10/100 (+15) (Knack)

(10) Castrametation - 60/200 (+50) (Knack)

(5) Poliorcetics - 100/100 (+50)

Contextual:

(10) Mathematics - 85/200 (+15) (Knack)

(11) Northern History - 20/300 (+5) (Knack)

(8) Northern Cultures - 80/100 (+0)

(6) Westerosi History - 70/100 (+5)

(6) Westerosi Cultures - 85/100 (+5)

(4) Rainwood Lore - 100/100 (+50)

(8) Common Literacy - 70/100 (+30)

(6) Valyrian Literacy - 50/100 (+5)

Social:

Public:

(14) Management - 400/500 (+50) (Prodigious)

(10) Stewardship - 20/200 (+25) (Knack)

(13) Strategy - 65/500 (+75) (Prodigious +)

(10) Public Speaking - 190/200 (+50) (Skilled)

Personal:

(12) Interpersonal Communication - 340/400 (+35) (Skilled)

(6) Acting (Lying/Politics) - 5/100 (+5) (Incapacity)

(13) Common Speaking - 20/500 (+50) (Knack)

(11) Old Tongue Speaking - 270/300 (+15) (Knack)

(8) Valyrian Speaking - 45/100 (+5) (Knack)

Magic:

(1) Theory of Magic - 55/100 (+10)

- (2) Potentium: Heartsense + Warging - 10/100 (+10)

(20) Verdancy:

- (11) The Green Aura - 240/300 (+50) (Talented)

- - (3) The Green Touch - 60/100 (+15)

- (7) The Green Knowledge - 50/100 (+50) (Knack)

(47) Potentium:

- (1) Potentium Studies - 100/100 (+10)

- (4) Combat Intuition - 55/100 (+5)

- (2) Clairsentience - 15/100 (+5)

- - (12) Heartsense - 25/200 (+15)

- (8) Warging - 30/100 (+25) (Talented)

- - (4) Warging Theory - 65/100 (+10) (Knack)

- (3) Somatic Insight - 85/100 (+50) (Knack)

- - (6) Force Healing - 90/100 (+50) (Gifted)

- - (7) Healing Trance - 85/100 (+10) (Knack)

(15) Enchanting:

- (7) Westerosi Runes Theory - 75/100 (+25)

- (1) Westerosi Runes Practice - 100/100 (+0)

- (1) Reinforcement - 100/100 (+0)

- - (6) Fabric: Strength - 25/100 (+25)

- - (1) Fabric: Range - 100/100 (+0)

(22) Adamancy:

- (9) Armored Recuperation - 45/100 (+25)

- (5) Burden Opponent - 80/100 (+5)

- (3) Ending Blow - 100/100 (+0)

- (3) Ocular Renewal - 20/100 (+0)

- (2) Cold Resistance - 30/100 (+10)

(7) Numinance:

- (2) Revive - 100/100 (+0)

- (6) Sensor Shroud - 25/100 (+75) (Knack)

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Resources:

Earning: 9

Spending: 0

Banked: 150

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Rolls for Next Turn:

T1 = Person/Event in the World

L7 = Convenient

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Voting:

Main Actions: (What should we focus on in the next chapter?)

A1 - Focus on the needs, wants, and skills of the Common Soldiers and Non-Coms.

A2 - Focus on your Reputation with your Lords and underling Commanders.

A3 - Work on your Understanding of Magic with the Medcorps and Green Study Group.

A4 - Work on Physical Skills & Magics by training with and against the Martial-Minded like Jon.

A5 - Focus on your Army's Strategic and Logistical situation. (War Games, Runes, etc.)

Personal Rolls Sources:

S1 - Wikipedia

S2 - Steam Games (On Cooldown)

S3 - Wookiepedia (On Cooldown)

S4 - World Rolls List

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Information/Maps:

1 - Rainwood War Map

File Garden - Imgur - Catbox

Key:

Red - Baratheon Loyalist Coalition (Wulfric’s Army)

Blue - Stannis’s Rebels + R'hllor Support (Davos as Lord of the Rainwood)

2 - Long Lake Province - Lands and Governance Map (Updated)

File Garden - Imgur - Catbox

3 - To those reading right after it’s posted.

I’m going to keep editing this after it goes live, so there may be some minor changes if you refresh in the first hour.

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Write-In/Questions:

1 - Anything specific you want to see in the next chapter?

I’ve been trying to incorporate the discussion into my chapter writing process, so I figured I’d just ask: Is there anything you’d like to see?

I can promise everything, but you lot keep thinking of stuff I’d missed, so if there's anything you’d like to see, I’d love to know.