Atop the lush, gently rolling Velvet Hills, the grey-brown "Viserys Fort" stood imposingly on a hill along the right bank of the Upper Rhoyne.
The fort had been revitalized from the crude stone camp it once was, and the black banner bearing the three-headed red dragon now fluttered above the Velvet Hills.
There was no shortage of stone in the vicinity, and stone fortifications were relatively sturdy. Both Westeros and Essos had abundant stone resources, so most castles relied on stone structures.
Inside Viserys Fort, some timber had been felled to construct simple housing.
Viserys surveyed the environment inside and outside the hill. Building a proper castle took a lot of thought.
Hilltop castles usually required suitable access stairs, and some even had secret tunnels dug straight down to the base of the hill.
Griffin's Roost, the Red Keep, and White Harbor all had such secret passages.
Stairs and tunnels belonged to deeper stages of castle construction. For now, Viserys lacked the manpower and technology for comprehensive construction; that would have to wait for the future.
The stone walls of Viserys Fort had been reinforced, heightened upon the original foundations, with gravel filling the gaps between the stones.
The fort wasn't far from the river, where stone and sand could be dredged.
Inside the walls, four towering wooden watchtowers with pointed roofs had been erected.
With this three-dimensional framework in place, Viserys Fort could be considered a small, sturdy stronghold.
Inside, there were barracks, an armory, a smithy, stables, the lord's quarters, a courtyard, and a training ground.
Viserys tasted the local sour red wine of Andalos. It was tart and astringent, a taste only locals could get used to.
There were plenty of wild mountain grapes in the Velvet Hills; using them to make brandy was a potential avenue for development.
"When I took the soldiers to dig for river sand, I saw some Andal natives spying on us from the woods. I fear our first attack will come soon," Ser Roland Lake reported. "Should I take some men to patrol the deep woods nearby?"
"Taking the initiative won't work; these bandits know the terrain better than we do..." Viserys mused. "Instead, we'll use stillness to counter motion. Pretend we haven't noticed them, and prepare for a defensive counterattack."
The Andal savages had no advantage in equipment; their gear and supplies were poor. But relying on terrain and guerrilla tactics, they could make life miserable.
Take House Arryn, for example. The knights of the Vale were famous, but they had almost no chance of winning a direct confrontation with the mountain clans in the wild.
Yet the Dukes of House Arryn loved their glorious charges, habitually rushing into the Mountains of the Moon to deliver themselves to death—and more than once.
The tactic Viserys had in mind was the "Hammer and Anvil." Use the castle as a strongpoint and a turtle shell to wear them down, then send the mobile unit to smash them.
"Understood," Ser Roland nodded.
After all, the best fighters among them were Syrio and Viserys. Syrio was technically a guest, while Viserys, who could fight, had already established considerable authority.
The soldiers willing to follow him had seen him kill the Titan's Bastard without taking a scratch.
"There are quite a few Andal bandit gangs in this area. If we want to establish a foothold here, it seems we'll have to crush at least a few of them," Viserys said.
Ser Roland nodded. "Bandit gangs are normal. even the Kingswood had the Brotherhood, let alone a lawless zone like this."
"Let our soldiers continue logging and digging sand as normal. As long as these bandits think we are exhausted from heavy labor, they won't be able to resist attacking at night. When that happens, Master Syrio will handle the infantry maneuvers, and you and I will lead the cavalry charge."
Ser Roland looked at Viserys. "Your Grace, isn't that too dangerous? I can lead the cavalry against these bandits myself."
Viserys said confidently, "I will lead the charge."
Ser Roland wanted to advise otherwise, but Viserys was not a man who dithered.
"Think of the Kingswood Brotherhood. They had the help of the local smallfolk, which is why the knights couldn't find them for so long. We are outsiders in the Velvet Hills. If we go out to suppress bandits directly, the results will be poor. These natives know the terrain, excel at mobile warfare, and if they harass our supply lines, our castle will be hard to maintain.
Rather than that, it's better to lure the local bandits in like fishing," Viserys said firmly.
The bandit gangs in the Velvet Hills wouldn't be massive in scale, as they existed in the buffer zone between several powers.
Ser Roland thought for a moment and nodded. Of course, he had heard about the campaign against the Kingswood Brotherhood. Because the Brotherhood had good relations with the Kingswood residents, the royal knights had searched for a long time in vain.
The army always follows the leader. Since Viserys had set the battlefield strategy, Ser Roland would do his best to cooperate.
Although their numbers were small, they had warriors trained in orthodox methods like Syrio, Viserys, and Ser Roland. In terms of elite troop quality, they were far superior to the natives.
The landless exiles, Royalist remnants, adventurers, and fishermen Viserys had gathered in Braavos guaranteed at least a certain level of combat effectiveness.
These men had been training with Ser Roland and Viserys, maintaining a certain training volume, but supplies were being consumed quickly. Viserys urgently needed to open up new territories around the Velvet Hills.
As for food, there were many manors in the Flatlands of Pentos. If growing grain was too slow, they would still have to deal with the Pentoshi.
"We'll eat at the usual time tonight, but don't forget to wear armor. We may have attracted the local Andal bandits. Tell everyone to keep their weapons close and listen for the horns and war drums..."
"Also, we need to have crushed stones and logs ready."
"Yes."
Although these soldiers had some combat ability, transforming them into a regular army required tempering through blood and fire on the battlefield.
While this step-by-step process of training through combat was slow, it ensured high loyalty.
From leaving Braavos to trekking to the Velvet Hills, aside from training time, Viserys spent all his time with the soldiers.
A knight's battle is a battle of steel. Feed the soldiers well, have them carry weight and wear armor, adapt them to basic horsemanship, and form battle lines.
At least Viserys had a certain modern military perspective; his reverence for order and discipline was bone-deep.
Viserys gathered his thoughts, readying himself for the first fires of war at Viserys Fort.
The four wooden towers were vulnerable to fire, but he didn't have the energy to rebuild them with stone right now.
With a circular wall and four watchtowers as the core, it was at least a basically complete fortification.
Syrio was in charge of the reserves, Viserys led the elite vanguard, and Roland commanded the second line of soldiers.
As the sun moved to the other side and night slowly encroached, the sky was filled with arrays of stars.
To prepare for war and better unite the soldiers, Viserys mostly slept in the military camp; he had his own tent.
Viserys looked up at the magnificent carpet of stars in the sky. This was the life he had chosen.
Great deeds are born of hardship. To defeat his enemies—the Lannisters, the Baratheons, the Dothraki—he had to start with the horsewhip and war.
Viserys felt as if some beast was hiding in the darkness, spying on his every move.