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Ambush and Anger


Westeros

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The ruse to draw out the Unsullied was a success, as the bulk of the Dornish force—strengthened by heavy horse under the command of Ser Sarmion Baratheon, the Stormbreaker—drove into Bloodstone to threaten a fortress and the Pentoshi sellswords and slave-soldiers moved into pursuit. Little did the magisters of Pentos know, however, that this was an elaborate trap. The outriders ahead of the Pentoshi column sent no word of trouble… but they were sellswords, and their company had been suborned with chests of coin by Ser Laurent Dalt, the Keeper of the Sandship. When the column passed beneath a ridge, trusting to their outriders, they were unprepared for the ambush launched by the Dornishmen from the height. Attacking all along the line of march, the Dornish spears and arrows flew while the Unsullied moved with sure discipline to defend themselves.

The initial attack of foot and horse combined broke on the Unsullied line, despite being boldly led by the Sand Dog and Prince Rhodry Martell. More success was found when the rearguard of sellswords was attacked by a second wave of Dornishmen under the command of Ser Darion Fowler, who pressed the opponents hard and led to the Unsullied sending some of their strength from the center to reinforce them even as the Unsullied found that their eastern flank was unprotected by the traitorous sellswords who had pulled away from the rest of the host. In response to the betrayal, the Unsullied also extended their line and refused it to guard that flank…

Which would prove necessary, as the final part of the trap was sprung when Ser Sarmion Baratheon and the heavy destriers under his command appeared around the end of the ridge and drove straight at the thin Unsullied line holding the flank. The weight of men and armor and horses fell upon the Unsullied and nearly—nearly!—failed. But the Stormbreaker would not be denied, riding fearlessly into the wall of spears and shields. His horse was killed from under him, he was flung from its saddle, but their weight—and that of the scores of horses behind them—succeeded in breaking a gap in the line through which the rest rushed through.

The Stormbreaker rose in wrath, hammer swinging to overpower the eunuch soldiers who faced him, and though he took half-a-dozen wounds he fought on with the fury of his forefathers to lead his men to their goal: the Magister Mennio Quaranis, owned of the Unsullied legion. As the Dornish redoubled their efforts along the line, the Unsullied guard about the magister grew too thin. Quaranis, the boldest and most ambitious of the magisters on Bloodstone, was crushed by the warhammer of Ser Sarmion Baratheon, his face beaten to a pulp.

Some had thought that with their master’s death, the Unsullied would become purposeless and would refuse to fight on, but that proved false. They formed a hedgehog of spears instead, formidable and frightening, to consolidate their defensive position with support from the sellswords who remained. Ser Laurent and Prince Rhodry, seeing this, sought at first to lead forces around to join Baratheon, but when it became clear that the Unsullied were too disciplined to break their lines a second time this no longer seemed likely.

There was confusion among the Dornish in the aftermath, and those who witnessed the commanders claim Prince Rhodry was less than pleased that they did not move toward Baratheon in time, and seemed particularly angered at the famous Ser Tamlyn Toland who had fought beside him through much of the battle, as did Toland’s unfortunate kinsman Ser Garwin who suffered a mortal wound. Who knew the prince could be so desirous to aid the man who had killed his paramour in battle, captured him, and mocked him with the body of his lover?

With the Unsullied dug in, the Dornish forces—at the urging of Ser Laurent Dalt—began to withdraw. Ser Garlan Hunter, who rode in the Stormbreaker’s charge, helped Ser Sarmion to a new horse as it became clear that the Stormbreaker’s wounds were serious. Hours later, the Pentoshi forces finally moved, proceeding on to where they had intended to make a camp…

And two days after, the Unsullied were still there, seemingly uninterested in the comings or goings of anyone, whether Pentoshi or Westerosi. For some this proved that without a master, and without orders that would allow the other magisters to command them, the Unsullied would simply sit and wait until the end of days if needs be. With a sellsword company abandoning them and the Unsullied no longer fighting, suddenly Pentos’s position on Bloodstone (and the rest of the Stepstones) seems far less tenable. And so Oakenfist, once informed of the victory, sent to the Pentoshi to parley with the intention of demanding terms of surrender.

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