Fall of the Lodge

Combatants| * House Sunfyre
* The Lodge
* House Starkwood
* House Littleknight
* House Esterold
* House Sentinel

Commanders| * Rhaegon Sunfyre
* Headmaster Gascogine
* Rickard Starkwood
* Willfred Littleknight
* Derrick Esterold
* Ser Duncan Sentinel

Forces| 3,362 Greens~* 700 Sunfyre troops (200 Calvary, 500 archers)
* 62 Lodge fighters (50 Mounted Hedge Knights, 12 sellswords)
* 500 Starkwood man-at-arms
* 2,100 Littleknight troops (500 man-at-arms, 100 archers, 1500 calvary)
* 1,590 Sentinel troops (1,150 men-at-arms, 350 archers, 90 Serjents)
* 1,600 Esterold troops (1,300 infantry, 300 archers)

Casualties| * 1,634 Greens

## Prelude

> *Duncan: No need to throw our full strength at this venture, only the Lodge members will defend it so vigorously and they are too few to worry about. The rest will retreat the moment they find the battle not worth the reward.*
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> *Derrick: We should also not raze the Lodge, t would be in our favor to occupy the area.*
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After Tion was pushed back at Duskendale, Ethan Lash was making his way towards the next Verdant Sympathetic area in the Lodge, the area was capable of hosting the Greens and leaving it alone made any attempt to march to Castamere moot. If Ethan was to succeed it would have to fall. He gained more allies in House Esterold and Sentinel, along with others who had offered there armies. Ethan would spend only a day going over battle strategies before moving out with Derrick Esterold and Duncan Sentinel. The rest of his army under Tristifer would set up camp and be ready for battle should the enemy defeat them or make a move for the rest of them.

The Headmaster of the Lodge had already set about preparing himself for the battle just as the Northern contingent under Rickard Starkwood and House Littleknight came to assist. Rhaegon Sunfyre was already there and confident that he could beat Ethan and force the end of his campaign here and now. Even when his spies reported that they were outnumbered he started planning out a means of making up for this difference and put down the enemy.

## Battle

> *Ethan: There are many people my Liege would be angered at me if I killed. You Sunfyre are not on that list.*
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> *Rhaegon: True as that may be, today is not the day I die and when that day comes it wont be at the hands of a man like you.*
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The numerically superior Red's closed in on the Lodge which had set up spikes and other defenses around the land, but they were slowly dealt with by the Sentinel forces which had taken point before they clashed, reluctantly with the vanguard lead by Rickard Starkwood, once the enemy was out Rhaegon attempted to crush them by leading out the Calvary, knowing that Ethan would rush out to meet him and was proven right when there forces were met by Ethan Lash directly. Littleknight not a man known for being a direct fighter started to show his tactical prowess here by staying with the right flank and leading from the rear organizing the men to hold the defenses against the increasingly difficult attack alongside Headmaster Gascogine they did a good enough job, until the Lashes catapults started to unleash themselves and started to hit the lodge and the Greens forces, the attack damaged the Lodge somewhat and started to scatter the less experienced soldiers. Though Wilfred didnt think it was worth the effort he lacked the grit and charisma of Gasogine who desperate to save the Lodge and screw over the Lashes lead a token force to try and stop the catapults forces. Though his forces would be stopped by the Lash master at arms Lucas Keath, besting the Headmaster himself and routing his forces.

His defeat opened things up for the Red's, Derrick was leading the rest of his army in around the openeings the catapults made and hitting the flanks lead by Littleknight. Which while large wasnt as skilled as House esterolds, the battle of attrition was being lost on almost every front for the Green's and Rhaegon from his position and stalemate with Ethan realized that defeat was the likely outcome and refused to be caught here in the hands of a Stepstone vassal, instead of fighting to push Ethan back he pushed to escape, and soon after Rickard and Wilfred followed suit, if only with reluctance once they saw there causes as equally lost to Ethan's assault.

## Aftermath

> *Rickard: We failed to save the Lodge, failed to beat Ethan. Lord Verdant wont be pleased to hear this.*
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> *Wilfred: He'd have liked to here of our capture even less. We must do what we can from here*
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at the start of the 4th Moon, the Lodge was firmly on the side of the Verdants, providing there food, men, and hall to there service. By the end of the same moon the Lashes had the Lodge under there control when the Greens had to surrender the Headmaster was left with little choice but to surrender and the Lashes were in a great position setting up in the area to slowly begin there march to Castamere, he hoped he could resolve the matter in just one more battle but he knew the odds were slim. Especially since the battle had taken more civilians lives the call for the war to end soon was getting louder and the Lounge's fall only made things worse, though any comfort Lord Verdant could gain from the blame being placed on Ethan for that battle was minimal. Afterall His forces had now been decisively bested twice where he had hoped to have ended the war already. He knew open conflict couldnt persist much longer but he also couldnt try to sue for peace now. The war was started by him and the current outlook Ethan could muscle more out of him, Daemon was too proud to allow that and his house too knew that there was no guarantee it could survive that. He just needed to hold out a little while longer and secure a decisive win soon. Still even as both strived to find the fastest path to victory and peace, Lord Ian and several others were planning for a means to start putting the war to an end and without a needing a big bombastic bloody battle to do it.