After the meal, Aegon left Highgarden's ruined castle and headed to the temporary army camp outside the walls.
The camp bustled with activity.
Soldiers packed their belongings, took down tents, and loaded supplies onto wagons.
At the edge of the camp, dozens of wagons stood in a row.
More than half carried stacks of books gathered from the Citadel.
Another dozen or so were covered with heavy tarpaulins, beneath which the outlines of iron-bound wooden chests were faintly visible. They held the tip of the iceberg of the wealth House Hightower had accumulated over eight thousand years, since the Dawn Age...
No, the tip of the iceberg was not quite right. A drop in the ocean might have been more fitting.
There was far more than their force of three thousand could haul away in a single trip.
Aegon simply ordered them to take a dozen or so wagonloads for immediate use. The rest of the Hightower wealth, along with the deeds to their lands and properties, would remain in Oldtown under William Crabb's guard until Jon Connington sent men to deal with it gradually.
What surprised Aegon was that the Lannisters, who were always proclaiming that they paid their debts, had in fact long since exhausted their gold mines.
Taking Casterly Rock had yielded little. All Aegon had found in Tywin's study was a basket filled to the brim with Iron Bank bonds. They truly had been putting on a show of wealth they no longer possessed.
The Hightowers, on the other hand, had kept a low profile while amassing a staggering fortune.
Marwyn stood beside a wagon, carefully checking that the books had been securely bundled.
Hearing footsteps, he turned. When he saw Aegon, he hurriedly set down the volume in his hands and bowed.
"If Your Highness