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The port town ambush is the first violent engagement in the Forrester-Whitehill Conflict, in which soldiers of House Whitehill led by Gryff Whitehill attempt to ambush Asher Forrester and his force of pit fighters as they sail back in Westeros.
Prelude[]
Following the weakening of House Forrester caused by the death of the Lord of House Forrester, Gregor Forrester, and the apparent death of his firstborn son and heir Rodrik Forrester, Ludd Whitehill has been actively seeking to assert his House's supremacy over House Forrester. Following a brutal encounter with Ramsay Snow at Ironrath, which led to the tragic demise of young Lord Ethan Forrester, the capture of his heir Ryon Forrester by the Whitehills, and a garrison of Whitehill soldiers led by Ludd's fourthborn son, Gryff, being installed in the stronghold, the desperate house sends Malcolm Branfield to Essos to find the exiled Asher Forrester, and convince him to come to their assistance with a hired force of sellswords.
Asher agrees to help his family, and travels to Meereen with Malcolm and his friend, Beskha, to seek out Croft of the Second Sons. Upon arriving, they find that Croft is already sworn to serve Daenerys Targaryen, who, despite completing a mission for her to earn her support, refuses to provide her troops, although she can provide gold for their cause depending on how they conduct themselves on their mission. They instead opt to hire a group of former pit fighters led by Amaya, a former friend of Beskha's. Asher and Beskha then sail for Westeros, leaving Malcolm to serve Daenerys.
Meanwhile, Rodrik Forrester, who until recently was believed to be dead, returns to Ironrath after surviving the Red Wedding. He takes control of his damaged House and faces the decision to either appease the Whitehills to preserve peace or oppose them and be defiant. His actions as Lord eventually drive either Duncan Tuttle or Ser Royland Degore (whoever wasn't chosen as Sentinel by Ethan) to turn traitor, and start informing the Whitehills of their plans.
With the support of betrothed or former betrothed Elaena Glenmore and her brother's Elite Guard, Rodrik manages to take Gryff and his garrison prisoner. Proposing to Ludd to trade his son for Rodrik's brother, Ryon, the two lords agree to make the trade on neutral soil. However, before the deal happens, the identity of the traitor is revealed. If the traitor is spared he reveals that Ludd planned to ambush Rodrik at the trade, and that he had freed Gryff and his men in the night in an effort to prevent that from happening. He also says that the Whitehills now plan to ambush Asher as soon as he arrives at the harbor. With this knowledge, Rodrik gathers a force of Forrester men-at-arms and rides for the port to protect his brother.
The Ambush[]
As Asher's ship approaches the port, He notes the harbor is unusually quiet, with no guards and hardly any ships, he and Beskha suspect that a fight may be awaiting them. The ship docks and Asher, Beskha, and the pit fighters come ashore, and walk to Rodrik. Asher and him share a brief welcome, while most of the Forrester men-at-arms and pit fighters march outside the gate to prepare for the upcoming fight.
Asher, however, notices a suspicious person moving towards the gate, before he can do anything, the man, a Whitehill soldier, runs to the gate lever and hits it with his sword, bringing the gate down, trapping most of the Forrester army outside, with the Beast, Asher, Rodrik, and several pit fighters and Forrester men trapped inside. The main Whitehill force, led by Gryff approaches from inside the port town, killing a pit fighter with a crossbow bolt.
Asher and Rodrik are surrounded by Whitehills, and the brothers fight side by side, meanwhile the Beast attempts to raise the gate but is hit by three crossbow bolts. Furious, he, when approached by two Whitehill men, knocks them to the ground with his mace, and runs to the gate control, raising it only partially since the gate control has been damaged. Gryff, seeing this, tasks Harys with dealing with the Beast. Harys runs towards him and throws a spear, fatally impaling him in his left side, killing him. The gate is dropped.
As the Forrester men and pit fighters valiantly fight the Whitehills, Asher and Rodrik make a run to the gate control. Asher is hit by a bolt in his right calf, but Rodrik quickly helps him up, The two reach the gate control and raise the gate a bit, allowing some men through, who are killed very quickly by Whitehill crossbowmen positioned on balconies in the nearby buildings.
While the brothers attempt to raise the gate, Gryff orders his men to advance on the Forrester siblings, the Whitehills have slain the rest of the Forrester forces trapped with the brothers and now mean to kill the two brothers as well. Asher and Rodrik realize that only one of them can escape alive, the player must choose who stays behind to hold the gate while the other escapes with the rest of the Forrester forces. Whoever stays, Asher or Rodrik, makes a valiant last stand, killing several Whitehill men, getting steadily closer to Gryff, before they are hit in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt, and stabbed in the side by Harys from behind. The brother punches a Whitehill man to the ground, before being stabbed in the side by another Whitehill soldier. Asher or Rodrik knocks him to the ground and pulls out the dagger and stabs another Whitehill soldier in the throat. They are then hit in the neck by a bolt, and grabbed by several Whitehill men, who stab him multiple times in the abdomen, Harys approaches the Forrester, who has been stunned by the great pain and hits him in the eye with the pommel of his sword. The warrior finally collapses and dies, ending the ambush.
Casualties[]
- Several Pit Fighters
- Several Whitehill Bannermen
- Several Forrester Bannermen
- The Beast
- Shot with crossbows
- Speared by Harys
- Lord Rodrik Forrester / Asher Forrester