By the time Mungo and Ser Roxton arrived with their men after receiving the news, the dragons had slaughtered all two hundred-odd members of the High Hermitage caravan. Not one had escaped. After all, Urrax and the other young dragons could move freely through the mountain forests.
How could they possibly have escaped the young dragons' pursuit? Their sharp talons could easily tear through the Dornishmen's armor and crush their heads. Slitting their throats was simpler still.
The ravenous dragons ate as they hunted, making for a gruesome, hair-raising spectacle. They had not eaten yet that day, and those two hundred-odd Dornishmen filled their bellies completely.
It took Mungo and his men more than four hours to recover all the scattered mountain packhorses and the supplies abandoned by the Dornishmen. Together, the supplies and horses were worth over ten thousand gold dragons-a modest haul.
After dealing with the High Hermitage caravan, the sisters continued flying on their dragons toward the Honeywine.
By then, the Oldtown Garrison and Holy Flame Fleet under Rouge's command had traveled north along the Honeywine and surrounded Starfall, High Hermitage, and Blackmont.
With the ballistae and Caltrop Dragonfire Bombs aboard the Holy Flame Fleet's ships, they had easily seized the docks of all three cities. Two thousand garrison troops were stationed outside each castle to maintain the siege.
Although all three cities possessed considerable strength, hastily assembling forces capable of resisting two thousand well-equipped soldiers was now a difficult task.
Besides, nearly half their houses' elite troops had been sent into the Red Mountains to take part in the guerrilla war against the Reach and the Stormlands. Recently, they had confirmed the terrible news: their elite forces had been wiped out. Many bloodlines of the younger generation had been cut short.
After seizing the three houses'