Greatjon was the first to speak. "Who cares about the Targaryens? What have they got to do with us? We fight the Lannisters, they attack King's Landing. Those are separate matters."
Then Old Karstark spoke. "The Targaryens coming now might actually be a good thing for us."
Everyone instinctively turned to him.
"Let the Lannisters and the Targaryens tear into each other first," Karstark said. "The harder, the better. Once they've both been bloodied, we can clean up what's left."
Ser Wyllis Manderly, heir to White Harbor, spoke as well. "Lord Karstark has a point. We have Tywin pinned down in the Riverlands, so he can't return to King's Landing. If the Targaryens take the city, Tywin is finished. We can sit back and watch them fight, then reap the rewards once they're done."
Several other northern nobles voiced their agreement, believing it was a good plan.
But then Brynden the Blackfish, who had been standing quietly by the entrance, could no longer hold his tongue. "It's not that simple."
He walked to the center of the tent and pointed at the map laid out there.
"The Targaryens aren't the Lannisters," he said. "He has dragons. Dragons aren't ordinary creatures. They can change the course of a war. I imagine you all know what happened at Harrenhal. Besides, none of you have seen a dragon with your own eyes, but I have. And if the Targaryens finish off the Lannisters, who will be their next target?"
After hearing Brynden's words, the tent fell silent again.
"He won't come to the North, in any case," Ser Wyllis said. "He wants the Iron Throne, not the North. I'd say his next target will certainly be the Stormlands or the Reach."
The Blackfish shook his head, rejecting Wyllis's claim.
Catelyn had told him