Laws and Morals Lost, Corruption Begins

The fall of Gote Castle brought little joy.

Outside the city, the corpses of Poor Fellows, young and old, lay piled like mountains.

The air was thick with the stench of blood.

Inside Rosso Brune's tent, Alwood Halton entered with two other Riverlands lords.

They had not removed their armor, and the scrape of metal plates was especially grating.

"Ser Rosso."

Alwood Halton wore his usual expression.

He casually found a chair and sat down. The other two followed suit, as though this were their own tent.

"We should discuss the spoils."

Rosso Brune looked up at them strangely.

Alwood Halton held up four fingers.

"Since entering the southern Crownlands, we have sacked more than thirty lordships, large and small."

"The seized goods—jewels, gold and silverware, and all manner of valuables—are worth at least three hundred thousand Gold Dragons altogether."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Rosso Brune.

"The four of us will take three hundred thousand."

"Of the rest, fifty thousand will be distributed among the soldiers to win them over."

"The final fifty thousand will go to Lord Suleiman, as proof that the mission has been completed."

Rosso Brune's face darkened.

He clenched his fists, his voice suppressing his anger. "You want to divide up the spoils among yourselves?"

Alwood Halton merely shrugged.

"Ser, don't make such a fuss."

"This has been the unspoken rule since we marched south."

"Do you think Suleiman doesn't know?"

"He is simply turning a blind eye."

Rosso Brune abruptly rose to his feet. His chair toppled backward with a harsh scrape.

"I don't care how you used to do things."

"I am a knight of the governor's family, and Lord Suleiman appointed me commander of the entire army."

"I will never agree to this."

Alwood Halton's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes