WILOW-Ch.372: Lord Tywin's Envoy
Northern Host Camp, Trident, Riverlands
POV of Robb Stark
After Robb and Jon spotted a boat approaching from the other side of the river and headed towards it, many other men also saw the boat, and soon the person in it came to this side of the shore and stated his purpose.
As Robb and Jon suspected, the person was an envoy requesting to speak with Lord Stark.
His father and other Northern Lords were quickly informed of the situation and gathered in the Command Tent to listen to the envoy's words.
Robb and Jon were also in the tent with the others.
Shortly afterward, the envoy was brought inside the tent and introduced himself.
"My name is Jon Bettley. A Knight of House Bettley and an envoy of Lord Tywin Lannister."
"The fuck does Tywin want now?" Greatjon Umber asked from his seat.
The Knight looked a little afraid but gulped and continued.
"Lord Tywin wishes for a peace treaty with the North and the Vale." Ser Bettley said, "We'll return Lady Sansa to you. And you can return to your lands. There is no need for further unnecessary bloodshed."
"And what of the Stark men you butchered in King's Landing?" he asked.
Ser Bettley hesitated but spoke, "Lord Tywin is willing to return the bones of the dead and compensate for their unfortunate deaths."
"Unfortunate deaths, he says." Lord Greatjon Umber barked, "How about I gut you like a pig, and then call it an unfortunate death. Huh!"
Ser Bettley's face went pale, and his father spoke. "Peace, Greatjon. We're not going to kill an envoy."
Greatjon grumbled a bit but went silent after that.
His father then turned to Ser Bettley and spoke, "You say you're going to compensate for the deaths you've caused. Is that correct?"
"Yes, my lord." Ser Bettley replied.
"Are you going to compensate for the deaths of the tens of thousands of small folks that Ser Gregor Clegane and his men caused?" his father asked.
Ser Bettley had not replied to that, and his father continued.
"What about King Robert? How are you going to compensate for his death?"
Ser Bettley frowned at that. "King Robert Baratheon died of a heart attack. The Lannisters have no part in his death."
"That's what you say." He said, "But we know from a reliable source that it was the Queen who poisoned the King and the Grand Maester who made sure that the King died and made it look like a heart attack."
"Rubbish. Lies. All of it. Queen Cersei would never do such a thing."
More than a few men in the tent scoffed at that.
"Are you saying that my reliable source is lying?" His father said in a low and dangerous voice, "Do you take me for a fool, Ser Jon Bettley?"
"You think you Lannisters can do anything you want and then you'll be forgiven for it just because you asked nicely?" Lord Karstark spoke, "I'll give it to you. You have some guts to come all the way here and spout such rubbish to us."
Then his father added, "You just said that Lord Tywin wants to make a peace treaty with the North and the Vale. Does that mean you don't want to make peace with the Riverlands and intend to continue the war with them, Ser?"
Following these words, the atmosphere in the tent suddenly grew cold, and everyone glared at the envoy with hateful eyes.
"I... I am not someone who knows Lord Tywin's plans; I am merely an envoy conveying his words."
"So, Lord Tywin is telling the Knights of the Vale and us to return to where we came from so that he can plunder the Riverlands as he pleases. Could Lord Tywin be forgetting that my wife is the daughter of Hoster Tully, the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands?"
The Knight glanced at everyone in the room and sighed before looking up at his father. "I take it that your answer is no, then?"
His father nodded.
"I still say that we should cut his neck and send his balls back to the old lion," Greatjon said.
Her father, still addressing the envoy, said, "Go back and tell Lord Tywin that I will not listen to any further peace requests until I see proof that Sansa is safe and sound and unharmed, and the bones of my men who died in King's Landing."
Then he turned to Lord Greatjon and said. "And my answer is still no, Greatjon. We do not kill the envoys. However appealing this idea may seem."
Greatjon nodded and got up from his chair.
He took the parchment about the peace treaty, tore it into pieces, and then forced it inside Ser Bettley's mouth.
"Go back and shove the peace treaty up Tywin's ass." Greatjon said, "See if he can still shit gold after that."
With that, Lord Greatjon Umber picked the Knight by his collar and threw him out of the tent.
His father shook his head in amusement, and Robb wondered how they were going to get Sansa now that they had refused the peace offer.
"So does that mean we'll still be waiting?" Lord Karstark asked.
His father looked at him and replied, "Without Lord Bolton's army with us, it will be difficult for us to win against the Lannisters who hold the castles across the river. At the moment, we have no choice but to wait for the Knights of the Vale and the Riverlands army assembled by Lord Edmure Tully."
"Lord Stark, are you considering signing a peace treaty with the Lannisters if they bring Lady Sansa and the bones of the dead Stark men?" Lord Ryswell, Lord Domeric's grandfather, asked.
"I only said that I would not accept any further peace talks until then. I didn't say anything about accepting anything. At the moment, it is in our best interest to stall the Lannisters by giving them some hope."
"Why?" Lord Greatjon Umber asked.
"The Lannisters are still unaware that Lord Bolton and his army have left Riverrun and entered the Westerlands. If Lord Bolton succeeds in destroying the new army assembled outside Casterly Rock, the Lannister army under Lord Tywin will be trapped between two armies without reinforcements."
"So, you're waiting for Lord Tywin to fall into an even worse situation, are you?" Lord Ryswell asked.
"Yes. If Lord Bolton succeeds in his objective, Lord Tywin will be forced to abandon the Trident. Most likely, he will head towards Golden Tooth or King's Landing. This will allow us to cross the river without losing any men." His father said.
"So, we continue to wait," said Lord Greatjon Umber.
"Yes. We continue to wait. Until we hear from Lord Bolton," said his father.
Although Robb, like everyone else, didn't like waiting around doing nothing, there was nothing he could do at the moment.
But why did he feel as if all the burden was being placed on Lord Bolton's shoulders?
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.373: An Easy Victory
Ch.374: Meanwhile, in Lannisport
Ch.375: Don't Lie to Me