Erryk Brune quickly gathered and reorganized the surviving Brune soldiers. Without even stopping to collect the bodies of their kinsmen or the equipment strewn across the ground, he hurried them into Lord Harroway's Town.
Many of the soldiers had suffered burns, and the thick smoke had taken a heavy toll on their bodies. They urgently needed a maester's care, and the nearest castle was House Roote's stone keep in Lord Harroway's Town.
By then, however, Viscount Roote had already ordered the castle gates shut. When House Bracken's troops arrived outside the stone keep, they were greeted by House Roote's drawn bows.
"Lord Roote, I am Erryk Brune, Earl Brune's nephew. Please allow your castle's maester to treat these wounded soldiers, or provide us with some medicine. House Brune would be deeply grateful!"
Though advanced in years, Viscount Roote remained hale and sharp. He was an old knight who had lived through the bloody fighting of Maegor's reign. His steadfast loyalty to the Targaryen royal house and distinguished service during that time had earned House Roote its fief of Lord Harroway's Town.
House Roote was staunchly royalist, and he naturally had no intention of showing kindness to houses that started wars without royal permission.
"Seek help elsewhere, Ser Erryk! King Jaehaerys issued a royal decree long ago: any lord who wages war against another without permission commits treason. The only reason I have not attacked you is that both our houses are lords of the Riverlands."
"Leave my lands at once. House Roote may be weak, but we will still teach you a lesson if you refuse!"
With that, he ordered his guards to loose a ring of arrows before the stone keep, making his position unmistakably clear.
Left with no choice, Erryk led his troops into Lord Harroway's Town to