At the Eagle's Nest, inside the lord's quarters, Samwell once again convened a meeting with his retainers.
This time, however, the tension in the room was palpable.
Samwell didn't follow the usual routine of having everyone report on their duties. Instead, he went straight to the point:
"I have some bad news. House Dayne in Starfall has started mobilizing their forces. It looks like they're preparing for a war."
The words barely left his mouth before everyone's expression changed.
Someone blurted out, "My lord, who are the Daynes preparing to fight?"
The question was so naive that Samwell didn't even bother to answer it.
Thankfully, the man seemed to realize what he had just said after seeing the incredulous looks from everyone around him. "Wait… are they coming to attack us?"
"Most likely," Samwell said gravely. "Our territory is close enough to Starfall that the Daynes' hostility toward us is inevitable. This battle was bound to happen sooner or later, so we need to be fully prepared."
As he spoke, everyone's reactions varied—some looked fearful, some tense, others solemn… and a few seemed excited.
One of the excited ones was Chiman, that madman.
Well, that was no surprise.
Samwell tapped his fingers on the table, drawing everyone's attention back to him. He offered some reassurance:
"There's no need to panic. I've already sent word to Highgarden. I'm confident that Lord Mace Tyrell will dispatch reinforcements soon."
At this, everyone visibly relaxed.
Only Todd Flowers frowned slightly.
He wasn't like the wildlings or the common-born servants such as Gavin; he knew that in this situation, Lord Mace might not actually send any help.
After all, the castle wasn't completed yet. Technically, Eagle's Nest wasn't yet considered part of the Reach, but a disputed territory.
Under those conditions, Mace Tyrell might be unwilling to commit troops. As for Lady Olenna… if Samwell had taken up her original offer from the start, she would likely have persuaded Mace to send support, but now… it was hard to say.
And even if Mace did send troops, Eagle's Nest would still need to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
Todd kept his thoughts to himself, though. He wouldn't undermine Samwell's efforts to reassure everyone by voicing these concerns publicly.
Samwell then began to lay out their war preparations.
First, he instructed Gavin to oversee an evacuation of the elderly, women, and children from the welfare center, relocating them to nearby villages in the valley. Only soldiers and able-bodied men would remain to defend Eagle's Nest.
Next, he tasked Vido with organizing the craftsmen and laborers to construct defensive fortifications. His plan was to create two defensive lines: the outer perimeter, made of trenches and wooden palisades, would enclose about half of Eagle's Nest, covering essential buildings and the valley entrance. The second line of defense would be the unfinished castle itself.
The castle walls, while incomplete, were already nearly ten feet high and offered substantial protection.
Of course, Samwell hoped it wouldn't come to that second line. If the enemy breached the outer defense, they would ravage half of what he'd worked so hard to build over the past few months, and worse, they'd control the only land route into Eagle's Nest.
If that happened, even if Mace did send reinforcements, the enemy could easily block them from entering the valley.
So unless absolutely necessary, he would not abandon the outer defense.
Samwell then instructed Todd Flowers to quickly muster an additional three hundred soldiers—half from the wildlings, the other half from the Reach refugees.
With this, Eagle's Nest would have nearly six hundred defenders. Realistically, though, only the original two hundred soldiers were truly dependable. Another hundred had at least two or three months of training, making them moderately reliable. The three hundred Todd was now recruiting, however, could not be counted on to perform well in battle.
As for weapons and supplies, Eagle's Nest was adequately stocked for the time being.
Samwell had already converted the gold dragons he obtained from House Lannister into weapons, equipment, and provisions, preparing for contingencies.
He was immensely grateful he hadn't spent all that money on boosting his own strength attribute.
No matter how strong he was, he couldn't singlehandedly defeat an entire army.
Besides, he had a significant weakness—his low agility attribute.
So far, he hadn't found any food or minerals that could improve agility.
While his strength was far beyond normal, his limitations remained evident.
No matter how strong he was, he wasn't immune to injury—if struck by a blade, he would bleed like anyone else.
Thus, he needed to consider other options.
After he finished assigning the preparations, Samwell dismissed the others to begin their tasks but asked Maester Qyburn to stay behind.
"Qyburn, do you know how to make wildfire?"
Watching the show years ago, Samwell had been struck by the terrifying power of this magical substance.
Wildfire was an extremely flammable liquid.
Once ignited, it would burn until the substance it touched was completely consumed, even burning on water. In the famous Battle of the Blackwater, Tyrion Lannister had used wildfire to destroy Stannis' fleet.
Qyburn gave a faint smile and nodded, "My lord, the alchemists' little tricks pose no challenge to me. But if you intend to use it in the coming battle, there could be some issues."
Samwell's initial delight at the first part of Qyburn's response faded with the latter half, and he frowned.
"What issues?"
"First, making wildfire requires costly materials, many of which are unavailable here and would have to be brought in from elsewhere."
"That might be too late…"
"Indeed. And even if we had the materials, making wildfire takes time. If the war breaks out soon, we won't have enough time."
Disappointment crept onto Samwell's face. "Understood."
But before he could end the conversation, Qyburn spoke again:
"My lord, if you need a flammable liquid, I can make something for you…"
"Oh?" Samwell's interest was piqued. "Will it work like wildfire?"
Qyburn shook his head. "It's not quite on par with wildfire. It won't burn on water, and it's less powerful. However, it ignites easily and is difficult to put out. More importantly, I can make it with materials you already have."
"What materials?"
"Brandy."
"Brandy?" Samwell knew that alcohol above forty or fifty percent could be lit, but it was usually easy to extinguish, so he doubted it would be as effective as Qyburn implied.
And the distiller he had couldn't produce a higher concentration of alcohol.
Seeing Samwell's doubt, Qyburn explained:
"It's not just brandy on its own. I'll add a few special ingredients. This will make it more flammable and harder to extinguish."
Samwell's eyes lit up.
"Then make a sample right away. I want to see it in action."
"With pleasure, my lord."
(End of Chapter)