Chapter 98

You were a bit undecided about the boy, on one hand the fact that he did pretty much anything with such a massive lack of information showed of confidence that he really shouldn't have. But on the other side he seemed at least on the surface quite reasonable if you ignored his trust to House Arryn, as the points he made about Nora's defences made a good bit of sense. For while he could have most certainly finished a good bit of the wall if he had started early, the fact was that the forests around Nora had more to offer than just wood, so it would have probably turned out to be a waste in the long term.

You understood his viewpoint, for such a hefty price there was indeed little reason to reinforce the wall as long as the unfinished parts of it would have to this day remained as a simple exploitable weakness that no one would pass up on. Especially so since House Palno hadn't lacked replacements while they still controlled the new and old populace of Nora, though while you understood the cost to gain ratio of the situation, it still seemed foolish. For while the surrounding woods were extremely important, especially for the next winter, the construction and maintenance of a more massive wall with cheap local materials would have also created more ways to earn a living that could have counteracted the increased labour pool.

"This all sounds more than a bit unbelievable, my Lady."

"Agreed, but since when is the truth obligated to make sense to us, my Lord?"

"I understand what you mean, but how could mere tribes possibly deal the damage you described?"

"This is quite literally unprecedented, my Lady, House Arryn has fought entire wars against other Great Houses with a hundredth of these casualties."

"I planned to whitewash Watermoon anew to create an illusion of normality so that the little order we still had could be preserved, how should I have known that the situation has become this dire, why didn't the Arryns call for us?"

"Well, I'm not familiar with the reasoning of Lord Arryn, my Lord, but it is most likely that it all comes down to the strategy the Mountain Clans decided to employ."

"The Mountain Clans were at the beginning a good bit weaker than House Arryn, but since they happily sacrificed their weakest warriors and tons of resources early on to sow chaos and so cheaply diluted the knights of the Vale all over the place, their troubles are understandable."

"And the very same strategy of the Mountain Clans was probably the reason House Palno never received further instructions from the Eyrie as the Arryns wouldn't have much use for your troops if their absence meant that another province would soon spew out more clansmen and refugees."

"In a way your forces are probably considered to be insignificant enough that just holding the lands and freeing up your direct neighbours in the process is all the troops of House Palno are good for."

"Please don't look at me like that, my Lord, the Mountain Clans are here to stay, quite successfully so, thus just holding the lands of House Palno and so prevent the losses from recapturing said land later on is the logical decision, especially so since the Clansmen are on average a good bit hardier than your forces."

"So what if they are hardier than my knights?"

"Steel is still harder, my Lady."

"Beautifully said, my Lord, but on my way to Nora I actually came across some Clansmen fully clad in plate, so steel alone won't grant you victory this time."

"Sigh, you have my thanks for telling me all this, do you wish that we send a message of your arrival in Nora to the Eyrie?"

"It probably won't make it since the messages that received an actual response can be counted on both hands, but if you desire it nevertheless, I wouldn't mind sending one."

"Can be counted on both hands?"

"I thought you said the last official contact with the Eyrie happened when Lord Arryn called his banners."

"And I spoke the truth, my Lady, trust really isn't something that comes easy to you, does it?"

"It's not the first time the Vale experienced large scale raids, my Lady, and Lord Arryn doesn't have the time to read all the messages that are coming in from every corner of the Vale, so he doesn't."

"Instead the letters are drained for every piece of information they contain which is then added to the war maps in the Eyrie and then receive a reply from the same officials responsible for the region in question with the broader strategies of House Arryn in mind."

"So just because a letter has the seal of House Arryn doesn't mean it's official, as they are most of the time a little bit mindless, if that makes sense, especially since details are purposely kept to a minimum to avoid leaks of information."

"These men and woman that read and answer my letters are essentially tools Lord Arryn uses since he has only two hands and two eyes, the same way our little birdies just fill their role when we communicate."

"It's similar to how our feathered friends fly while these officials write and read, both happens without any input from our liege, a background function if you will, only something Lord Arryn orders them to write, like a specific message he dictates, or one of his direct orders is actually considered official."

"If you say so, my Lord."

"My apologies for the tirade, I couldn't help myself, I simply quite dislike the thought of being seen as a liar, my Lady."

"No worries, it happens to the best of us, some things just have a talent for getting under our skin."

"And no, there's no need to write a letter, I'm sure they are quite busy as things stand, and in the worst case it could even draw the eyes of the Mountain Clans onto your lands in addition to everything that has already happened."

"Though since House Arryn apparently left this region of the Vale to its own devices for the time being, what do you plan to do about the rebels, my Lord?"

"Still nothing, my Lady, their anger is as far as I can tell simply misguided, so I can't justify to myself the use of enough force to make a difference."

"If Lord Arryn needed me and my men elsewhere I could do it, justify the bloodbath, but since my men aren't needed elsewhere I will simply wait till sanity returns to Nora on its own."

"Hmm, if you so desire you could accompany me to the Eyrie with some of your men when the time comes, it would probably help mend the anger of the populace, and you could get the newest information on the situation first hand."