Post by The Light on Dec 2, 2012 2:09:12 GMT -5
Gerold opened his eyes at precisely dawn. Two seconds later he jumped out of bed. He had work to do. As he donned his clothes, he peered at his flower-covered quarters. He frowned. A more secure room would be preferable, but he was a lord now, and being discreet was a difficult prospect. His lungs filled with air, then emptied of it. He spoke a single quiet word, and The Shield was by his side. Gerold grinned. “Let’s have a look at our Lord Tyrell’s defenses.”
Gerold strode along the battlements in the morning mist, chewing grapes in his mouth. So far, prospects were less than ideal. The walls were thick, but lacked height. No solution for that. All four gates were made of wood. They were sturdy, for a short beating, but not nearly strong enough to withstand a good ram. Well. He shouldn’t have expected the place to be Storm’s End. The Strength of The Tyrells was in their Sheer Numbers and Knights, not their Fortresses. Hadn’t he told Leobald as much? Nevertheless, he would go through with his inspection. At least the catapults were solid, though their reach would be too short for a trebuchet, and not fast or accurate enough compared to other Mangonels. They would do, for the most part, though they could use upgrades. Now those were the things that the average commander would look for in a Castle or City, but Gerold knew there was much more to analyze. For example, The Layout of the things within the castle’s walls. Highgarden’s wasn’t amazing. The flowers and gardens abundant in the place would burn easily, and even though there were two layers of walls, if the outer areas were burned, it wouldn’t be able to hold many soldiers. Their best hope was to meet their enemies in the field, and rely on Tyrell’s skill as a commander, or to hold Oldtown, not a castle, but an easier place to hold, in many ways. The Port, for example, made starving them out near impossible.
Gerold frowned. Why the hell did Tyrell declare himself King of The Reach? Why was he going to make more war? Even that wasn’t as troubling to Gerold as The Dragons. Either they would burn their little rebellion to the ground, as well as thousands of lives, or somehow they would die. Gerold did not know which was more frightening. His research indicated that The Dragons were not in the greatest of health, but he had predicted their demise long after they were needed. Without Fire, Ice would most certainly prevail, especially if Westeros was already on its knees from yet another war. What was he going to do? How could he keep everyone and everything in check? Gerold thought and thought as he paced the battlements in the mist, and still the answer eluded him. He sighed. “Shield, tell me. How would you keep the Seven Kingdoms at peace?” The hefty man turned to look at Gerold.
“You want peace? You can’t just politely ask people to not kill each other. You have to make them fear you so much that they won’t even try. You have to be the thing they want to impress and don’t want to anger. You have to be the strongest.”
Gerold sighed. Perhaps The Shield was right, and he did need to use fear. Gerold hoped to The Seven that he wouldn’t have to though. He peered off the battlements, and breathed.
Gerold Hightower's Warfare (Siege) increases 1/2 to Master.
Gerold strode along the battlements in the morning mist, chewing grapes in his mouth. So far, prospects were less than ideal. The walls were thick, but lacked height. No solution for that. All four gates were made of wood. They were sturdy, for a short beating, but not nearly strong enough to withstand a good ram. Well. He shouldn’t have expected the place to be Storm’s End. The Strength of The Tyrells was in their Sheer Numbers and Knights, not their Fortresses. Hadn’t he told Leobald as much? Nevertheless, he would go through with his inspection. At least the catapults were solid, though their reach would be too short for a trebuchet, and not fast or accurate enough compared to other Mangonels. They would do, for the most part, though they could use upgrades. Now those were the things that the average commander would look for in a Castle or City, but Gerold knew there was much more to analyze. For example, The Layout of the things within the castle’s walls. Highgarden’s wasn’t amazing. The flowers and gardens abundant in the place would burn easily, and even though there were two layers of walls, if the outer areas were burned, it wouldn’t be able to hold many soldiers. Their best hope was to meet their enemies in the field, and rely on Tyrell’s skill as a commander, or to hold Oldtown, not a castle, but an easier place to hold, in many ways. The Port, for example, made starving them out near impossible.
Gerold frowned. Why the hell did Tyrell declare himself King of The Reach? Why was he going to make more war? Even that wasn’t as troubling to Gerold as The Dragons. Either they would burn their little rebellion to the ground, as well as thousands of lives, or somehow they would die. Gerold did not know which was more frightening. His research indicated that The Dragons were not in the greatest of health, but he had predicted their demise long after they were needed. Without Fire, Ice would most certainly prevail, especially if Westeros was already on its knees from yet another war. What was he going to do? How could he keep everyone and everything in check? Gerold thought and thought as he paced the battlements in the mist, and still the answer eluded him. He sighed. “Shield, tell me. How would you keep the Seven Kingdoms at peace?” The hefty man turned to look at Gerold.
“You want peace? You can’t just politely ask people to not kill each other. You have to make them fear you so much that they won’t even try. You have to be the thing they want to impress and don’t want to anger. You have to be the strongest.”
Gerold sighed. Perhaps The Shield was right, and he did need to use fear. Gerold hoped to The Seven that he wouldn’t have to though. He peered off the battlements, and breathed.
Gerold Hightower's Warfare (Siege) increases 1/2 to Master.