pappabearbooks #142 - Chapter 28: Bolton's Tragedy (V)
#142 - Chapter 28: Bolton's Tragedy (V)
But as the number of Night's Watch dwindled, many buildings and orchards had been abandoned. Compared to the lands further south, the soil in the Gift was barren, and the environment harsh.
The New Gift originated in the 58th year after the Conquest, when King Jaehaerys Targaryen I and his sister-wife Queen Alysanne Targaryen made a royal progress to the North. Alysanne, riding her dragon Silverwing, first visited Winterfell, where Lord Alaric Stark's attitude towards the royal family gradually improved during the Queen's stay.
As King Jaehaerys was late in arriving, Queen Alysanne grew increasingly impatient. She then visited Castle Black, where the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Rotho Burley, received her warmly. Alysanne greatly admired the dedication of the Night's Watch, and after returning to Winterfell, she persuaded her husband, Jaehaerys I, to double the Night's Watch's land, extending it another twenty-five leagues to the south. This twenty-five leagues became known as the New Gift.
Initially, Duke Alaric was wary of the New Gift, as no one wants their territory taken away. According to folklore, Queen Alysanne used her charm to eventually persuade Duke Stark to agree to the plan.
In the end, the residents of the 'New Gift' paid taxes to the Night's Watch in the form of goods or labor to help the Watch maintain itself. This land was protected by both the Night's Watch and Winterfell. The eastern part of the Gift is a vast, rolling plain stretching to the Shivering Sea, while the western part is a gradually increasing woodland and mountainous region stretching to the Bay of Ice.
Due to the decline in the Night's Watch's power in recent years, wildlings often bypass the Wall to invade the Gift, attacking villages, stealing livestock, and even abducting women from the North.
Many natives, unable to bear the disturbances, abandoned countless villages and manors. They fled south to the 'New Gift,' where some took refuge in the towers left by former lords, such as the walled town of Queenscrown. Others joined the mountain clans in the vast mountains or the lands of House Umber.
Inside the command tower of Castle Black, Lord Commander Coggell finished reading a warning letter from House Umber. He shared the contents of the letter with his deputy, Jeor Mormont, and Maester Aemon. Lord Commander Coggell said, "Greatjon has sent a warning, confirming the truth of the matter himself. What are your thoughts on this?"
Jeor Mormont replied, "Lord Commander, this mysterious enemy has appeared too suddenly. In the North, the only forces capable of wiping out five hundred regular Bolton soldiers are us, the wildlings beyond the Wall, the mountain clans, and Winterfell. But to eliminate so many people without the Boltons even knowing, I can't imagine..."
Lord Commander Coggell asked, "Could it be the slave traders from across the Narrow Sea?"
Maester Aemon then said, "Lord Commander, the slave traders' goal is to capture slaves to sell for money; they wouldn't kill everyone. There's something fishy here. Why did these soldiers die so many days ago, and House Bolton hasn't reacted? So, these people must have been sent out by Lord Roose. Where did Lord Roose send these people? What exactly did they do? Why did their heads appear in the Seal Bay? This is very far from the Bolton's territory."
Lord Commander Coggell said, "Alright, none of this concerns us. The Night's Watch only needs to do its duty: notify the various fortresses to increase vigilance and send out rangers to patrol the Gift to prevent wildling attacks."
At the Dreadfort, Roose Bolton was furious. The men he sent to Seal Bay had returned, bringing news that enraged him. His brother, Taber, the master-at-arms, Bailey, along with thirteen young members of House Bolton, had all been killed. In addition, he lost 450 soldiers and four longships. All of this he had accumulated bit by bit; the loss was extremely heavy, equivalent to thirty percent of House Bolton's strength.
Roose Bolton was well aware that there was a major problem on Skagos, which he had been secretly managing. His soldiers stationed on the island, along with the reinforcements, had all been killed. Based on the news brought back half a year ago, there was no force on the island capable of resisting them, so an external force must have intervened. But which house did it? House Stark? No, Eddard, that fool, shouldn't have such cunning.
What he couldn't accept was that he had to swallow this loss in silence. Otherwise, his secret plot for Skagos would be exposed, and even Eddard Stark wouldn't pass up such a good opportunity to attack the weakened House Bolton and further weaken the family's territory. He knew that the territories of Last Hearth and Karhold had been carved from Bolton in this way.
Roose Bolton gritted his teeth and said, "Send out ravens. Say that the Bolton's lands have been attacked by pirates. The family soldiers who went out to sea to fight have all died. In two days, hold a grand funeral for the fallen warriors. Also, send a message to Winterfell. And tell Earl Umber, thank him for the information he provided. Consider that ship as a thank you gift for him."
Soon, the news of the deaths of a large number of Bolton soldiers was confirmed. For a time, from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to White Harbor, all the lords of the eastern North strengthened their defenses.
Duke Eddard of Winterfell had already reacted strongly. He gathered some of the central vassals and assembled an elite cavalry force of over a thousand men, ready to send troops to support the eastern lords at any time.
Liu Yuan, back in Highgarden, immediately received the message from the North. He didn't expect House Bolton to take the initiative to deliver heads to the island. As for Grig and Nina's handling of the situation, he strongly agreed with sending a whole ship of heads. It both intimidated Bolton and other northern lords and brought the matter into the open, forcing Roose Bolton to swallow a bitter pill. He wouldn't dare to tell the truth and would have to try to cover up the facts as much as possible.
However, Roose Bolton had suffered such a great loss and must be very unwilling. But what could he do? Not to mention whether he had enough troops to continue attacking Skagos, he might not even be able to gather enough ships; it was just impotent rage.
Before long, intelligence about the North was also delivered. The facts were similar to what he had thought. Roose Bolton blamed the Stepstones pirates and vowed that the North would never forget. Heh heh ^_^
He planned to continue staying in his fief for some time. Three giant underground treasuries were already under construction. Once a stable transportation channel was built, new currency could be safely and steadily transported to King's Landing.
Next, with nothing to do, he would take his guards to visit the surrounding neighbors one by one. Within a distance of twenty leagues from Highgarden, there were a total of nine knightly domains, plus two baronies.