At dawn the next day, Samwell did not wait for Margaery to arrive. Instead, he led his troops southward in haste, heading toward the Cider Hall.
By midday, a gray-and-white castle came into view at the confluence of the Mander River and the Cockleswent River. Atop the castle walls, the red apple banner of House Fossoway fluttered in the wind.
Outside the castle, a large cavalry force had gathered, but the scene was chaotic, with no semblance of order.
Samwell sighed inwardly. As Lady Olenna had predicted, Garlan Tyrell had headed straight for Cider Hall. Worse, it seemed House Fossoway had already turned their allegiance.
At that moment, he could only marvel at Tywin Lannister's enduring influence. The old lion, who had served as Hand of the King for twenty years, still commanded the loyalty of many nobles across the Seven Kingdoms. Even with the Lannister family now in a precarious position, so many were still willing to swear fealty to the lion's banner.
Composing himself, Samwell sent his squire, Noah, to inquire about the situation.
Soon, Noah returned with a red-faced, plump knight in tow. Samwell recognized him as Ser Bertram of House Beesbury.
"Lord Caesar, you're a step too late," Ser Bertram said, his tone regretful. "That old fox Raymon Fossoway betrayed Highgarden last night and fled with Lord Garlan."
"Where did they go? Highgarden?"
"Most likely. Some of our men saw them board an ironborn ship heading downstream."
Samwell turned his gaze toward the tightly shut castle gates and asked,
"What's the situation inside the castle now?"
"Ser Tanton Fossoway has been left in charge," Ser Bertram explained. "He's taken several loyalist knights hostage and is threatening to execute them unless we withdraw."
Samwell fell silent, contemplating his options.
After waiting for a moment, Ser Bertram asked tentatively,
"Lord Caesar, should we storm the castle?"
Samwell shook his head. "Let's wait for Lady Olenna. She's already on her way."
"Understood." Ser Bertram appeared visibly relieved at the mention of Lady Olenna's imminent arrival. He was reluctant to order an assault on the castle himself, as several Beesbury knights—and other close allies—were among the hostages inside. Attacking the castle would be a last resort.
While waiting, Samwell naturally assumed command of the disorganized southern cavalry. Most of the unit's officers were being held inside the castle, which gave him the perfect opportunity to reorganize the force as he saw fit.
After a full afternoon of effort, the unruly cavalry was finally whipped into shape. Yet, despite this small victory, Samwell felt little joy.
The true difficulty of this rebellion was not in its military challenges.
Even with a strong army under his command, Samwell was restrained. As long as Highgarden and key members of House Tyrell remained in the rebels' hands, his options were limited. He could not risk endangering the hostages.
The root of the issue lay in the source of Samwell's power. Much of his influence came from the Tyrell family's backing and the support of the Reach's nobles.
If he acted recklessly and disregarded the safety of the Tyrell family, his credibility would crumble, and his support base would vanish.
He could not even order an assault on Cider Hall. If his command led to the execution of the loyalist knights inside, Samwell feared his troops might rebel against him.
This also made him realize his biggest shortcoming at the moment:
His personal power was too limited.
His own domain consisted of only the small island of Eagle's Nest. While he had taken Storm's End, it would take a long time to secure loyalty and consolidate control over the region.
His direct military forces were even scarcer. With Eagle Nest's limited resources, he could barely field a standing army of 2,000 strong.
Though Samwell currently commanded tens of thousands of Reach soldiers, they were not truly his. His authority came from the Tyrell family and the loyalist faction's influence.
This imbalance of borrowed strength over personal power was a glaring weakness.
The current rebellion in the Reach had fully exposed this flaw.
Yet, Samwell had no other choice. He had not been in this world long enough to build a foundation from scratch. What he had achieved so far was already remarkable.
Still, he couldn't conjure armies out of thin air… or could he?
Samwell's thoughts suddenly turned to one of the most powerful forces in Game of Thrones: the Unsullied.
The Unsullied were a slave army from Astapor on the eastern continent of Essos. Trained from childhood and brutally disciplined, they were fearless and unwaveringly loyal.
If Samwell could pay the price to purchase them, he would have a strong and reliable infantry force.
He had considered the Unsullied before, but two major obstacles had stopped him.
The first was distance. Astapor was halfway across the world, and traveling there would take far too long. He couldn't abandon his territory to make such a journey.
The second was cost. He simply didn't have the wealth to afford such an army.
But now, these issues seemed less insurmountable.
After all, he had a dragon.
Astapor might be far, but flying there on dragonback would be much faster than sailing. The journey would fall within an acceptable timeframe.
As for the cost, in the original story, Daenerys Targaryen had paid for the Unsullied with dragonfire. Samwell could follow her example and "purchase" the army for free.
With the Unsullied under his command, Samwell would finally have the power to compete for the Iron Throne without relying on others. He wouldn't find himself in such an awkward position again.
Of course, this plan would not solve his immediate problems. Even if he flew to Astapor and quickly returned, the Unsullied would still need to travel by ship. By the time they arrived in Westeros, the Tyrells might already be dead.
This was a plan for the future. For now, Samwell had to focus on quelling the Reach's rebellion.
Resolving to visit Astapor after the rebellion, Samwell refocused on the present.
Unable to order an assault on Cider Hall, he dispatched small cavalry units to patrol nearby villages and towns, driving away any remaining ironborn.
The patrols reported back with grim news: the villages had already been looted by the ironborn. The raiders, unwilling to face the Reach's cavalry, had retreated to their ships on the Mander River.
The cavalry could do little but watch helplessly from the riverbank.
Hearing this, Samwell sighed once again.
Where was the Redwyne Fleet?
The fleet had been conspicuously absent during the siege of Storm's End, and now the Mander River had become an ironborn playground. The Redwynes had yet to make an appearance.
Samwell was certain that House Redwyne had aligned itself with the Lannisters, or at least tacitly allowed the rebellion to proceed.
This was the inherent risk of "peaceful evolution." Samwell had promised not to shed blood when dealing with the "stag faction" (those loyal to Mace), but the stags had shown no such restraint in return.
Of course, Samwell couldn't fully blame them. His own strength had been too weak. Even if he had decided to purge the stag faction during the Highgarden hunt, most loyalist nobles would not have supported him.
At the root of it all, the issue was his own lack of power. He lacked the authority to command absolute loyalty.
The more Samwell thought about it, the stronger his desire for the Unsullied grew.
---
By the end of the day, Lady Olenna, Margaery, and their entourage finally arrived at Cider Hall.
After listening to Samwell's report on the situation, Lady Olenna calmly said,
"Send a message to the Fossoways inside. Let them know I've arrived. If they want to negotiate, they'd better hurry."
Samwell sent a messenger to the castle.
To his surprise, the rebels opened the gates and invited them inside.
Cautiously, Samwell ordered loyalist forces to secure the castle first. Only after they confirmed full control of the Cider Hall did he enter with Lady Olenna and Margaery.
"Where is Raymon? Does he not dare face me?" Lady Olenna asked sharply upon entering.
Ser Tanton Fossoway bowed respectfully.
"Lord Raymon has gone to Highgarden and entrusted me with handling negotiations."
Lady Olenna sneered. "Very well. State your demands."
Ser Tanton glanced at Samwell before addressing Olenna.
"I would like to speak with you privately."
"Fine."
As Olenna left with Tanton, Samwell clenched his jaw in frustration but held his tongue.
Sensing his anger, Margaery took his arm and said softly,
"Don't worry. Grandmother will handle this."
Samwell turned to her with a faint smile.
"I know."
"Walk with me?" Margaery invited.
"Of course." Samwell pushed his thoughts aside and took her hand.
Whatever the rebels' intentions, he couldn't afford to lose composure now.
Samwell had a potential plan to end the rebellion, but it requires some risks, and he hasn't completely made up his mind yet.
He planned to wait for his father Lord Randyll to come back and have a good talk with him.
(End of Chapter)