"My lord, we have almost no supplies left in the castle. We've even caught the rats and cooked them. If we don't find a way out soon, we won't last much longer, even if the three houses' allied army never breaks in."
Stone Hedge's old maester reported the state of the castle's supplies with a worried expression to the equally haggard Earl Bracken.
Stone Hedge had originally held vast reserves. Under normal circumstances, it could have endured several years under siege without running short of supplies.
But the harvest had been just around the corner before Earl Bracken joined the war. He had therefore sold more than half the castle's reserves to recruit soldiers and improve their weapons and equipment.
As soon as they entered the war, however, the allied forces of House Frey and House Blackwood seized their supply train and all but wiped out House Bracken's elite troops.
To keep fighting, House Bracken had been forced to levy more soldiers from its lands, leaving Stone Hedge's reserves somewhat inadequate. To make matters worse, after Earl Royce's unexpected death, the Vale cavalry had also turned against House Brune.
Under the three houses' fierce assault, all of House Bracken's lands fell into their hands. Naturally, the allies divided the crops and livestock among themselves.
Large numbers of smallfolk had also fled to Stone Hedge, causing its reserves to dwindle rapidly. After two or three months, they were naturally nearing exhaustion.
With Daemon's Great Dragon acting as a deterrent and Harold leading an army to guard the approaches, the forces of the various houses from the Reach and the Westerlands did not dare meddle in the war. Those stubborn enough to try had already been defeated and arrested by Harold and his men.
The three houses' allied forces took turns shouting