Friday, 12 October 2018

ACoK 59: Tyrion 756

Tyrion observes the battle from the wall. It's great that the ships are burning, but they're not *all* burning, and at some point Stannis is going to regroup. He needs the battle to keep going well because his men aren't loyal enough to stick around if it looks like it might go pear shaped.

Some men from the ships start swimming ashore (the ones with no armour at least; the ones with armour have sunk). Tyrion dispatches troops to get them while they're still drying themselves off.

Joffrey is hanging about and whining that his toy ships are broken, and can he play with his toy trebuchets. He's planning to launch toy soldiers with them. Except they're real trebuchets and real men (the traitorous Antler Men).

Tyrion leaves him to it and goes to see what he can do about a battering ram at the gates to the city. He meets the Hound, who is a bit pissed off at having wildfire sent in his direction. I guess this is what happens when you haven't quite mastered the art of firing your artillery over the top of your own troops. Still, it took people on Earth until WWI to invent the creeping barrage...

There's almost a bit of a mutiny when the Hound refuses to fight any more. But Tyrion points out he's just a half-man and he's going to fight, and some of the men would rather die than be embarassed. So off they go to sneak out of a side-door and attack the guys with the battering ram.