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The traveling caravan brought news that they had encountered a survivor from a caravan that had been robbed by bandits from Meereen, a trading town on the banks of the Blue Fork River. They hoped to return to us, as a group of mercenaries had been hired to escort them to King's Landing.
At that moment, my adoptive father's first reaction was, "Was it our people who did it?" He was aware that there had been no banditry on the northeastern shore of God's Eye Lake for a long time. "As long as the caravans passing through this area pay our protection fees," his adopted son Dorian added in his mind.
"So, the first thought my adoptive father had when he heard the news was that one of our mercenary teams had failed to control their actions. He quickly hired a 12-man mercenary team to investigate the situation and escort the caravan," Dorian continued.
"Two days later, we received news again. By that time, our internal investigation had yet to be completed, but we were told that the caravan had been looted, and our mercenary team was almost wiped out. A team of 12 men—four cavalry, six swordsmen, and two archers—had been reduced to just one cavalryman who survived."
"What happened?" Jon Snow asked curiously. It was unusual for mercenaries to be wiped out, as they rarely fought to the death. Once they saw the odds were against them, mercenaries would usually flee. The fact that they were annihilated meant their opponents had either ambushed them or had superior cavalry.
"They said they were attacked by a group of cavalry. There were about twenty or thirty of them. The mercenaries were surrounded by cavalry from all sides. Since they were taken by surprise, they didn't have time to form a defensive line with their carts. They faced the attack head-on, and the mercenaries were overwhelmed. However, one of them managed to slip onto a horse and escape amid the chaos."
"The enemy didn't chase him?" Jon Snow asked, puzzled.
"I asked him the same thing, and he said someone did chase him."
"Did they not catch up?"
"No. He was so frightened that he rode at full speed. The attackers gave up after chasing for a while. He kept going until the horse dropped dead from exhaustion, and then he walked for some time before returning to our mercenary base."
Jon Snow thought for a moment, then asked, "Where were they attacked?"
"Near King's Avenue, close to the ruins of White Wall City. Most of the subsequent attacks happened in that area, so we assumed that White Wall City was the bandits' base."
"I think it's the opposite," Jon Snow said, shaking his head. "I believe their camp must be far from White Wall City."
"Why?" Dorian was confused.
"If their camp were near White Wall City, why would they give up the chase? If a survivor was left alive, the first place they would search would be near the site of the attack. If their camp were truly nearby, wouldn't it make sense for them to chase down the fleeing cavalry and hold on to him? But if their camp were far away, letting one man go wouldn't matter as much. And since they're a bandit group, they wouldn't have a large number of horses like a regular army. If they're far from their camp, they'd likely give up the chase to preserve their horses."
"That's a good point," Dorian admitted. "We didn't consider that. The area around White Wall City is the only place with dense forests between the eastern shore of God's Eye Lake and King's Landing. To the east, it's all open plains—no cover. This is the only place they could hide."
"This is another contradiction," Jon Snow said. "Contradictions are useful. Problems need to be puzzling to be solved. The ones with no clear answers are the hardest to tackle. Go on, keep telling your story."
"Okay, Sir," Dorian paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "After the cavalry brought back the news, my adoptive father immediately recalled all the mercenary teams."
"You know, Westeros hasn't seen war in many years. Mercenaries here don't operate the same way as in Essos, where whole groups can be hired. Our mercenary group has always been divided into smaller teams."
"Once all the mercenary captains who could return came back, we held a meeting in Sir Harrison's castle. We discussed for hours, but no one could offer any valuable leads. It was as if this bandit group had appeared out of nowhere."
If today weren't the second day of the server opening, but the second month, I would have suspected this was the work of a player, Jon Snow thought to himself.
"You don't understand how troubling this news is for us. We pride ourselves on having control over both sides of the northeastern shores of God's Eye Lake."
"What do you mean by having a dominant position on the northeastern banks of God's Eye Lake? You, a small mercenary group, don't take the big lords seriously?" Jon Snow couldn't help but laugh, interrupting Dorian.
"Oh, great lord, tell me, which great lord holds power here?" Dorian wasn't angry but asked with a playful smile.
"The big lord here?" Jon Snow hesitated. He found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't think of who the true lord of this land was, but it wasn't because he didn't know the area well.
On the contrary, he knew it too well.
Because the three major lords in this region were all gone.
The first was the previously mentioned Butteraway family of White Wall City. This house had once been powerful and wealthy (as evident from their grand castle). However, they sided with the Blackfires during the Blackfire Rebellion, and in the end, the family was wiped out by 'Bloodraven' Brynden. Not only was their family castle in White Wall City destroyed, but salt was also poured on the ruins.
The second was the River House of Harrenhal. Their decline was fully realized when Shion was buying hunting gear at Harrenhal. They had fallen into ruin because they supported the Targaryens during the Usurper's War.
The third was the Darry family of Darry City. Once a powerful family with a history stretching back more than 6,000 years to when the Andals conquered Westeros, they were the most loyal supporters of the Targaryen family.
During the Blackfire Rebellion, they chose to stand with the Targaryens and the Iron Throne. As a result, after the destruction of the Butteraway family, they gained the land near the eastern shore of God's Eye Lake, becoming the leading family in the Riverlands.
In the Usurper's War, they stood firm with the Targaryens, even resisting the Tully family.
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