"He'll build a fortress, wear them down behind strong walls, then wait for the enemy to take the bait and destroy their mobile forces in one stroke. Where to put this fortress is another question, though."
"It looks as though Lord Tywin won't be sleeping well now," the Queen of Thorns snorted. "He's offended so many people."
"New intelligence has arrived from the Riverlands." A maester of House Tyrell entered the garden.
"Oh, one piece of good news and one of bad." The Queen of Thorns finished reading the letter. "The Kingslayer broke out of the Golden Tooth and routed Edmure's men. He's besieging Riverrun now. Their mad dog wasn't so fortunate, though. Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain, was defeated at Mummer's Ford. Not even his body remains."
"The Mountain is dead?" Garlan was startled. "On the battlefield, the Mountain was hard to match. That little band Lord Eddard sent actually managed to kill him? Of Beric's company, only Thoros had much ability. The rest were mediocre, and Beric himself was just a pampered young lord." Garlan was, in fact, a formidable fighter himself and held others to a high standard. Skilled with a sword, he usually trained against three or four opponents at once to simulate the situations he might face in real combat and prepare himself in advance. But he had little interest in winning honors and the like, so he was less famous than Loras.
"That is what happened, Garlan." The Queen of Thorns smiled. "Who knows how many people will drink a cup of good wine now that mad dog is dead? Tywin sent the Mountain to ambush Beric's company, but Beric actually had reinforcements. The Black Armor Army all but wiped out the Mountain's force."
"The Black Armor Army?" Garlan listened closely. "Could it be...?"