Will there be a battle at the Dreadfort ?

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight9]

While the Boltons have taken Winterfell as their new castle and seat during A Dance With Dragons and that most of their forces are most certainely stationned here, it sounds very unlikely that their ancestral seat, the Dreadfort, has been totally abandonned given the sentimental (as sentimental as a Bolton can be), symbolic (their ancestral stronghold and one of the symbols of the strength and fear their house instills) and strategic (strong castle not far from the eastern coast and from other important northern important places such as White Harbor or Karhold or Last Hearth) value of the castle. 

It's likely that the Boltons have left in the Dreadfort a garrison at least strong enough to properly defend it, and for it to serve as an emergency refuge should they lose control of Winterfell, which may happen soon enough.

And even if Roose or Ramsay didn't manage to survive the battle for Winterfell and escape to the Dreadfort, Stannis or the returning Stark would have to do something with the castle and its inhabitants sooner or later given the strategic importance of the castle and of the Bolton lands.

Knowing all of these details do you think that a battle or siege could happen at the Dreadfort at some point during The Winds of Winter ? Could it be the final stand of Ramsay and the Boltons ?  

If it happens then who would be the belligerents in this battle or siege ?Could Theon and/or a ressurected Jon Snow have a role here ? 

[Canon Claude]

I don’t think there will be a battle at the Dreadfort. There’s too much that needs to happen already. The Dreadfort might appear, but I think in that scenario, Roose and Ramsay will be dead, so there’s no point for the garrison to resist. They’ll open the gates and surrender, and we’ll find out just how horribly the captured women of Winterfell have been suffering. Maybe find some hounds named Beth Cassel and Old Nan…

[Nathan Stark]

6 hours ago, Canon Claude said:

I don’t think there will be a battle at the Dreadfort. There’s too much that needs to happen already. The Dreadfort might appear, but I think in that scenario, Roose and Ramsay will be dead, so there’s no point for the garrison to resist. They’ll open the gates and surrender, and we’ll find out just how horribly the captured women of Winterfell have been suffering. Maybe find some hounds named Beth Cassel and Old Nan…

Oh, that's horrible. Of course it's what'll happen. Hopefully they tear down the Dreadfort brick by brick.

[Jaenara Belarys]

No. The battle will be at Winterfell. 

 

As to who fights....Stannis and Ramsay or Jon and possibly Sansa vs Ramsay. 

[Nathan Stark]

42 minutes ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

No. The battle will be at Winterfell. 

 

As to who fights....Stannis and Ramsay or Jon and possibly Sansa vs Ramsay. 

The only way Sansa can fight Ramsay is if she borrows Littlefinger's jetpack. It'll probably be Stannis vs Ramsay. The best hope for Stannis long term is to show the Northmen he's killed the hated Ramsay Snow.

[Jaenara Belarys]

3 minutes ago, Nathan Stark said:

The only way Sansa can fight Ramsay is if she borrows Littlefinger's jetpack. It'll probably be Stannis vs Ramsay. The best hope for Stannis long term is to show the Northmen he's killed the hated Ramsay Snow.

True. It'd be a nice moment, however. Sansa doesn't like Jon, and then helps with the Boltons. 

[Nathan Stark]

1 minute ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

True. It'd be a nice moment, however. Sansa doesn't like Jon, and then helps with the Boltons. 

I always hear it said that Sansa doesn't like Jon, and it just isn't true. Catelyn doesn't like Jon, and makes it abundantly clear that she doesn't like Jon. Sansa internalized that Jon is a bastard half-brother, so largely ignores him. But when she does think about Jon, she doesn't indicate dislike, at one point expressing a desire to see him again. And Jon doesn't have any strong negative feelings or memories about Sansa. There is no indication of dislike either way. They aren't particularly close, but that's way different.

Anyway, nah, I think any showdown with Ramsay Snow is up to Stannis. Jon's indisposed, Sansa's south of the Neck, Bran's a tree, Arya has an ocean in between her, Rickon's five and everybody else is gearing up to join Stannis anyway.

[Jaenara Belarys]

4 minutes ago, Nathan Stark said:

I always hear it said that Sansa doesn't like Jon, and it just isn't true. Catelyn doesn't like Jon, and makes it abundantly clear that she doesn't like Jon. Sansa internalized that Jon is a bastard half-brother, so largely ignores him.

I would think that if someone ignores you, then it has at least a level of dislike. For the most part, I suppose you're correct. 

4 minutes ago, Nathan Stark said:

But when she does think about Jon, she doesn't indicate dislike, at one point expressing a desire to see him again. And Jon doesn't have any strong negative feelings or memories about Sansa. There is no indication of dislike either way. They aren't particularly close, but that's way different.

She hardly thinks about Jon, as I recall. Besides, she expresses that desire to see him again after the Red Wedding, Purple Wedding, essentially being demoted to a bastard, framed for murder, seeing her dad die, nearly being killed in the Bread Riots, the list goes on. Character development, such as it is. Plus, at the time where she says it, all her family as dead, so far as she knows, so it's understandable she would want to see the last bit of her family. 

[Nathan Stark]

2 minutes ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

I would think that if someone ignores you, then it has at least a level of dislike. For the most part, I suppose you're correct. 

She hardly thinks about Jon, as I recall. Besides, she expresses that desire to see him again after the Red Wedding, Purple Wedding, essentially being demoted to a bastard, framed for murder, seeing her dad die, nearly being killed in the Bread Riots, the list goes on. Character development, such as it is. 

It's true living as a bastard probably changed how Sansa sees Jon. However, ignoring someone is not in itself a sign of dislike. If so, the feeling would be mutual here, since Jon also seems to have mostly ignored Sansa. What it really is is a lack of anything in common. Despite having similar romantic worldviews, they are otherwise completely different in terms of temperment and ideology. I still think they love each other, they just don't share the same space often enough to be close. For what it's worth, Sansa thinks of Jon in AGoT when she sees Yoren and thinks how sorry she feels for him if this is what the Nights Watch is like. Not her most outstanding moment, but it does seem like she cares about Jon here.

[Nevets]

Given that it was intended as a trap for Stannis, I expect it has a decent sized force remaining.  It is probably also likely well provisioned. 

I would not be surprised if one or both Boltons make a run for it and hole up there.  A siege is possible, but I think a negotiated surrender might be more likely ("We'll let you live if you send Ramsay's head.").  I expect we'll find out the fate of the Winterfell women.  I suspect Beth Cassel is too young and Old Nan too old for Ramsay to bother with. 

[Canon Claude]

4 hours ago, Nevets said:

I suspect Beth Cassel is too young and Old Nan too old for Ramsay to bother with. 

To be honest, no matter what’s happened to them, I doubt it’s going to be anything except horrifying to read about…

[Aebram]

17 hours ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

While the Boltons have taken Winterfell as their new castle and seat during A Dance With Dragons and that most of their forces are most certainely stationned here,

I don't think that's what happened.  The plan was for Ramsay to become the new lord of Winterfell by marrying "Arya." Roose expected to return to the Dreadfort after the wedding.  

The Dreadfort is still well-manned.  The Boltons took Winterfell because it was under-manned; they would't make the same mistake.  If this calls for an unrealistically large number of soldiers, well, we know that GRRM doesn't always do the math to make the story feasible in the real world.

 

[Shagwell the mad jester]

I also don't see that. The main events will take place at Winterfell, a battle at the Dreadfort would be more or less a duplication (narration-wise). GRRM isn't known to be that economic a storyteller, but I don't think he'll write about two major battles in the North. the next thing is, we don't know the result of the battle of Winterfell. Even if Stannis can capture the castle, it could be a Pyrrhos' victory, leaving him too few men to take any other stronghold in the North. (This is something where the Iron Bank could come in, but again this isn't anything we know for sure at this point).

 

And I don't think, there'll be a dog named Old Nan. I rather expect a piece of skin hanging around in some cupboard.

[Loose Bolt]

If there  won't be any surviving heirs of House Bolton as next lord of Dreadfort chances are very high that there would be civil war among houses who would have even minor claim to that castle about which one of those houses could replace extinct House Bolton. So I assume that there might be many skirmishes near Dreadfort until one candidate will be strong enough to secure his position as successor of Boltons.

[Aejohn the Conqueroo]

Stannis can't proceed south without first subjugating the Dreadfort. The same could be said of a Stark restoration. 

I have my swords, thought Jon Snow, and we are coming for you, Bastard.

I personally think it's likely that either on screen or off, there will be a Wildling siege of the Dreadfort and it's likely to be lead by Jon

[SocratesSnow]

I'm a believer in the theory from cantuse regarding the taking of the Dreadfort by subterfuge rather than a battle/seige. 

 

Also, something I haven't seen much of is a discussion of the Dreadfort being vulnerable to a naval attack via the Weeping Water? I don't think we've seen much in the books about it, but on the maps it seems a good spot for the Manderly ships to attack. 

 

Thoughts? 

[BlackLightning]

Yes and no.

I don't think there will be formal battle or siege at the Dreadfort. But I do think that Ramsay will abandon Winterfell and fall back on the Dreadfort when Stannis, Sansa and/or Jon captures it.

I think that the Stark kids after reuniting will get rid of Ramsay Bolton in A Dream of Spring. Rickon may end up being Ramsay's prisoner seeing as Davos doesn't know that Stannis changed his mind and went for Winterfell instead of the Dreadfort. Davos could walk himself and Rickon right into a trap.

In any case, I think the Dreadfort fall in battle but not to any human enemies. I think the Others will descend upon the Dreadfort right around the time that Arya is sent in to assassinate Ramsay and the leaders of his garrison, possibly freeing Rickon and Davos in the process.