I can hear it. I can hear the cheering from the people who are waiting for us in the port, even from here.
And it gets louder when we finally dock in the port. It is as if we are a war hero even though we have yet to help them against the Dothraki. When I leave the ship, I can see three people standing there, bowing their heads to me.
"Your Highness, welcome to Gurlian Town. Thank you for helping us."
"Save your gratitude when the threat of Dothraki has come to pass, my friends. For now, help me give the people here some food we bring with us."
With the mention of the food, the others start to cheer. It looks like I made the right decision to bring more food with me. The people here look more like skeletons than humans. Even if they have the number, they cannot beat the Dothraki without food.
After we provide them with the food they need for today, I look at the three people and say.
"Let's talk about the incoming threat."
One of them nods their heads and says.
"Of course, Your Highness. Please follow me. We already prepared a carriage to take us to the castle."
I nod and follow the others to the three carriages they already prepared. Willem, Melisandre, and I enter the first carriage alongside the oldest of the three people. When we are inside, I look at him and say,
"First thing first, what is your name?"
"Ah! My name is Marero, Your Highness. I am the current leader of this town."
"Very well. Marero, tell me about the Khalasar that soon attacked this town. I also want to know what kind of Khal is the one attacking us."
Marero nods his head and starts explaining.
"Khal Kako is a well-known khal who raided many towns and villages in the Northern part of Essos, but after he managed to raid Valysar Town, one of the Volantene Cities, and use the bridge to cross the river, he put his sight at the Southern part of Essos."
Marero takes a deep breath and continues.
"He already raided five towns and villages in this land."
"And now his eyes land on this town."
"Aye. The only reason we know about this is because the merchants that come here warn us about them."
"Do you know when they will arrive here?"
"We don't know. However, the merchant thinks it is within a week or two weeks from now."
Seven days is the earliest, huh? That should be enough to create a wall around the city. Not only that, we can also create traps near the cities to reduce their number before they reach us. Facing Dothraki in open battles is suicide. Creating a wall around the city will protect it against the horde, but we cannot stay in the city forever. Sooner or later, we need to attack them.
That is why we need to reduce their number as much as possible from our walls and the traps we make. When they create camps outside the city, we can attack them from the dark and cause as much damage as possible.
It would be even better to kill their horses while reducing their number. When their numbers are low enough, we can fight them head-on. Like the Mongols, the scorched earth tactic is the best tactic against them. Poison the water and burn all the plants to make sure they cannot feed their horse. I can replant all the vegetation later. For now, we need to kill the Dothraki or at least deal enough damage for them to think twice before raiding us once again.
"Your Highness?"
I snap from my thoughts and say.
"Sorry about that. Continue."
"Of course, Your Highness. The Khalasar itself is numbered around two thousand strong. Just like any other Dothraki, they all ride horses and bring their slaves to take care of the animals they bring with them to feed the army."
"They bring animals in their group?"
"Yes. Most of them are lambs and goats. Of course, they only eat those animals if they die of old age or if they cannot find any animal around for them to hunt."
That means the plan of scorched earth is still a go. If we can kill their animals and poison their water supplies, we can starve them to death. However, to get the maximum effect, I need to make sure not to poison the water supply immediately. Let them think it is safe, and when they think they have a water supply, I can poison it.
"Do you have a map I can see?"
I suddenly asked the old man.
"We have one in the castle, Your Highness."
"Does it show where the water supply is?"
"Aye, it does."
I smile and say.
"Good. I have a plan that might be working against the Dothraki."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|3rd POV|
Marero looks at the massive wall in front of him in awe. In a matter of two days, a wall appeared around the town. It is not yet completed, but the one that is done is something that makes him in awe. The wall in front of him is something that only the main city of the Free Cities has.
Two meters thick and eight meters tall is a wall that can even withstand a siege weapon.
He watches as the people work together to help Viserys in building the wall. While the others want to forbid him from doing anything, Viserys tells them that only he can do what he did, and if he stops working, the chance of them winning will be greatly reduced.
The words that come out of his mouth make the people who hear him move to tears. Here, a king who is willing to sweat alongside the commoner. Because of this, the people of Gurlian did anything they could to help the king complete the wall. From bringing the food to even wiping the sweat on his forehead and body.
They also help the soldiers make a moat around the town. The men dig together while the women make the food for the others to eat.
And for the first time in a while, the people of Gurlian see hope.