The penitence of the wolf - Riverland's tales (Patreon)

Hoster Tully, Riverrun

"Thank you," Jon Arryn said kindly to the maid who handed him her glass of wine, a polite man, even with someone as insignificant as the servant

Hoster didn't bother to retort the gesture, and simply dismissed the woman indifferently

"Stark and Baratheon?" he asks frankly

Jon Arryn shook his head and spoke

"They both returned to their lands, Steffon tries to transform his useless son into a decent Lord, while the filthy northerners don't stop kissing Aerys Targaryen's feet," Jon Arryn said with a frown, trembling with anger

Hoster didn't answer, he knew perfectly well what was so upsetting the old man, to be honest, he was taking it well in his opinion, if he were in that situation, he wouldn't take things as calmly as Jon Arryn was doing

Rhaella Targaryen had ridden her damned infernal beast and blown up to the three sisters, burned the Sunderland docks and subdued the fucking islands, declaring that, from that moment on, they were direct vassals of the Iron Throne

A slap in the face of Jon Arryn, condemned by the king, who had declared that he supported the Queen's decision and that he agree with her way of acting

Hoster just shook his head, this is exactly why women shouldn't meddle in governing, they just complicated things, in his opinion

"Did you think of my proposal?" Jon Arryn asked, looking him straight in the eye 

Hoster nodded and said

"Yes, The Northern Dog insulted me, promising me his spare instead of his heir, the last thing I know is that a Ryswell bitch is being fucked by Brandon Stark and will be the new Lady of Winterfell, while they expect my daughter to be a minor Lady of a castle that doesn't exist yet" said Hoster really furious at the insult received

Jon Arryn nodded politely, although he really didn't care about Hoster's situation, he just wanted an answer, the political situation of the continent was changing, the Targaryens ruled with an iron fist, with the Lannisters, Martell and Stark as loyal vassals, and Jon Arryn did not overlook the actions of the monarch

They were isolating the Faith, the only thing that could really give them problems

The Faith of the Seven was non-existent in the North, as in Dorne, one of the cultures dominated by the culture of the Old Gods and the other by the Rhoynar beliefs

And the Westerland, the Faith would do nothing against Tywin, especially now, with the close relationship between him and Aerys

"The Tyrells owe everything to the Targaryens, but we can find support among their enemies, Florent, Hightower or even the Tarlys could be good options," Hoster proposed

However, Jon Arryn quickly denied

"Not the Hightowers, Lord Leyton descended from his tower at the orders of the dragon king and my spies mention ravens independent from the maesters entering and leaving the top of the Tower," said Jon Arryn with obvious suspicion

Hoster frowned, but nodded calmly 

"Still, the Reach is the most divided region, we may not be able to recruit them to the cause, but we can cause enough trouble for the Tyrells to prevent them from helping the Targaryens," said the Lord of Riverrun

Jon Arryn just snorted, annoyance more than evident on his face

"We can't waste any more time, the disgusting beasts grow bigger every day, if we wait too long the scales will harden, we have to act as fast as we can," Jon Arryn snapped, moving around the place like a furious animal

Hoster looked at him with contempt hidden under an impassive gaze

"There's nothing we can do at the moment, King's Landing is an impenetrable fortress, the three bastion cities guard the Crown Lands, the kingdom is too peaceful and unite, the food is plenty and the crime is low, we have nothing" Hoster said

Jon Arryn looked at him silently, his face pensive

"You think of something," said Hoster in an accusatory tone

"In that, you are wrong, we have something" replied the old man, taking a scroll from his robe and showing it to Hoster

Lord Tully read it, causing his eyes to widen in surprise more and more, until he simply looked at Jon and asked

“Is this true?” his tone denoting disbelief

Jon Arryn nodded and said

"Yes, Quellon Greyjoy is dead, however, the news has been kept on the islands, Balon took command and has started sending a large number of ships to the North," said the old man

"Wood for his fleet, from the vast but uninhabited lands of the North, using their own trees against them," said Hoster with obvious amusement at the irony

“And smart apparently, hiding his father's death will buy him time, but sooner or later Aerys Targaryen will find out what is happening and demand Balon Greyjoy's submission.” Said Jon Arryn with a calculating gaze

Hoster, Understanding His Ongoing Plan, continues

"You plan to strengthen the pirates, give them time and resources to become really dangerous," Lord Tully said, while Jon Arryn nodded softly

"Yes, it's a good plan, however, it depends on many factors, the most important being that Aerys Targaryen doesn't find out about Greyjoy's moves, and we both know how broad his reach is," said Hoster, he may detest House Targaryen in general for the values they represent, however, he admitted that Aerys Targaryen was a competent and dangerous monarch

When he caught them in these games... the lesson would be really severe

"I'll keep you informed, for now, I must continue my journey to Harrenhall, the next destination in the king's progression," Jon Arryn said, massaging his face heavily.

Hoster nodded and replied

"I understand, as we talked, your nephew will marry Lysa, my grandson will be the Lord of the Vale, in return, I will support your cause," said Lord Hoster

Jon Arryn nodded and raised his glass gently, showing his agreement and Hoster responded with a smile, although inside, he thought about how stupid this old man really was

Jon Arryn really thought he would be able to dethrone the dragons, a notion Hoster wasn't so sure about, he saw it more likely that the king, queen, and prince would blow up one to each castle and burn them to the ground as an example before Jon Arryn's "rebellion" succeeded

However, that didn't mean he couldn't capitalize on the situation, with Lysa marrying Dennis Arryn, his blood as rulers of The Vale was guaranteed

Now he only had one thing to do...

Getting rid of Brandon Stark, so that his daughter could take her place as Lady of Winterfell...

His days were numbered, that was a fact, but his family... his family would flourish, one way or another

The legacy of house Tully was just beginning

Aerys Targaryen, The Twins, Riverlands

“Is... bigger than I thought," Lady Lyanna said with a frown, looking at the castles of the Twins

Aerys nodded, what he saw was totally different from what he remembered

The Twins of their time were imposing and powerful castles, but evidently poorly maintained and in decay

What Aerys saw in front of him was the opposite

The Frey fortress stood untamed and imposing, the walls and walls were pristine, the Frey banners adorned a small town at the foot of the fortress, which, in his life as Jon Snow, did not exist

Aerys wondered what had happened, the place looked prosperous after all

The small caravan along with Rhaegal flying through the air rode towards the castle, at the same time as a company of Frey riders rode to catch up with them

"Here they come," snapped Howland with obvious contempt, who accompanied them as the monarch's new pupil

"so it seems, young Reed," said the king with amusement, seeing how Emmon Frey approached accompanied by a couple of Frey "knights” and Howland disappear in the sea of Stark men

When he arrived, the man bowed and spoke

"Your Grace, on behalf of my father, welcome to the Twins," the man said politely, the same one with which Aerys responded

"I thank you for your hospitality, my lord."

The weak man nodded in relief in his gaze, while he focused his gaze on Genna, his wife

"Wife, nice to see you, you have been away from your marital responsibilities for a long time," said the weak man, as he got off his horse and tried to approach Genna

Only to be sent to the ground by a loud and powerful slap

"Get away from me worm, don’t forget your place" she blurted out fiercely, like the lioness she was, to the king's amusement and, apparently, Ygritte's

"No, Aunt Genna! Remember that you have to clench your fist first" said the little terror, drawing laughter from the King's guards, and the soldiers who accompanied them, even a couple of Frey soldiers coughed into their hands to hide their laughter

Emmon sat up with difficulty, looking warily at a fierce Genna, who had lost quite a bit of weight during the expedition, leaving her with a beautiful, mature figure, with large tits and wide hips, but with a narrow, elegant waist

Emmon looked away from his "wife" and focused on the king

"My father prepared a feast for his grace," said the humiliated man cautiously, as he pointed to the castle, waiting for the king to start walking

Aerys frowned and spoke

“Just like that? Is this Lord Frey's hospitality?” said Aerys "annoyed" alarming Emmon, at the same time that Rhaegal landed behind the monarch

Genna, seeing that her husband was terrified of the presence of the mighty dragon, intervened

"Are you stupid, Emmon? The king expects a traditional welcome, bread and salt to invoke the guest rights, what are you waiting for? Go and bring it you useless fool" Genna shouted firmly, quickly taking control of the situation, and following the plan

Emmon began to stutter, but nodded and prepared to order one of the soldiers to go for bread and salt, at least until the monarch intervened

"You will go, in the meantime, I will assess the quality of the soldiers of House Frey, I hope they do not disappoint me," said the king, with a somewhat hostile tone

The man nodded and mounting his horse, returned to the castle quickly, leaving a group of terrified knights before the King's Mercy without looking back

Aerys looked at the trembling men with a calm smile, which lost its impact as he considered that Rhaegal was doing the same behind the king, showing his sharp fangs to the Frey soldiers

“I think... we have a lot to talk about, folks" Aerys said calmly, ordering the men to take their seats on the floor with all the calmness in the world

The time had come to begin the conquest of the Twins, on the advice of Lord Reed

Divided... And you'll win

Emmon Frey, The Twins, an hour later

Emmon was terrified and offended

Offended by being forced to be a mere messenger and terrified of offending the monarch and ending up as dinner for the terrifying creature that accompanied the dragon king of Westeros

When the king's demand reached his father's ears, he looked at him with total contempt and spoke

"It's not a silly demand, you stupid fool, it's simple courtesy, didn't the imbecile maester educate you as he should? Go to the kitchens and tell the wenches to bake fresh bread for his majesty," snapped Lord Frey, spitting with the words at Emmon

After that humiliation, he waited for the fresh bread, took salt and rode back to where the king was waiting, praying to the Seven that the soldiers had not done something stupid or that the king was not so impatient

Riding just as the sun was beginning to descend, Emmon arrived, prepared to apologize to the king for the wait, however, what he found paralyzed him for an instant

The king, his King's guards and Emmon's soldiers, sitting around a campfire, chatting quietly

"It is important to sharpen both sides of the dagger, but always start on the non-dominant side," said the king, while showing a dagger to all those present, who listened attentively, his soldiers were fascinated, they were sitting with the most powerful man in the kingdom, chatting about daggers

"Your grace, is it true that you went hunting savages beyond the Wall?"  said one of the knights of Emmon, the younger brother of one of his whores, a simple laundress of the castle

The monarch nodded and spoke

"That's right Miles, they were horrible clans, more beasts than men, they hunted smaller clans and ate everyone, men, women and children," said the monarch

Dalon, another commoner in the service of the Frey house, asked in horror

“Did they eat them? Why? Wasn't it better to fuck them? The women I mean” ask the young man embarrassed

The monarch shrugged his shoulders and said

"That's what I thought, and believe me, there are some women up there who are really beautiful, I got one for myself, as fierce as a lion lizard and as beautiful as the Mother herself," said the king proudly, as he pointed to the side, where a beautiful but dangerous red-haired woman, dressed in a tight leather robe, practiced with a spear,  with more skill than Emmon had seen in several of his men

At those words, another young man, whose name Emmon could not remember, spoke in surprise

"Is that beautiful maiden a savage? But she's so... beautiful” he said in wonder  

The monarch nodded

"That's right Dylan, a fierce warrior, I made her mine one night and she has warmed my bed ever since, but don't let her beauty fool you, she is capable of opening your throat in an instant if you are careless," said the king with a smile, while focusing his gaze on a absorbed Emmon

"Apparently, the bread has finally arrived, boys, stand up" ordered the king, sheathing his dagger and rising, an action that was copied by the rest of the men present

Emmon shook his head quickly and spoke

"Your grace, the hospitality of the Twins is yours," bowing, as tradition indicated

The monarch took the bread and bathed it in salt, before taking a bite and nodding elegantly

"Thank you, Lord Emmon, for the hospitality of your house," said the king, as he looked around and began to give orders

"Lift everything, Lord Frey's hospitality awaits us," ordered the king, as he mounted his horse and began to ride towards the fortress, with the soldiers Frey and Emmon in front, who exhaled with relief to see that the king was not bothered by the wait

The time was perfect for the feast that his father had prepared, the sun had set and the torches began to illuminate the castle, all the guards and inhabitants had their attention on the king, it was the monarch's first visit to the Frey fortress after all

No one noticed that, while all attention was on the monarch, a small and solitary figure entered the fortress through the windows of the castle

It was time to start with the plan for the destruction of House Frey