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He stood atop the high tower of Storm's End, watching the fleet sail away from Shipbreaker Bay.
From this moment on, the castle was temporarily in his hands, though he had no idea how long he would hold the title of acting lord.
Summerhall also served as the seat of the Marquis of Green Valley City. The title of Marquis was clear in its meaning—it was akin to a border count. Summerhall, situated on the border of the Stormlands, fell under this jurisdiction, and Green Valley City was part of it as well.
But how long could he remain a Marquis?
Sir Gilbert Farin, who had stayed with him, had been appointed as his deputy. Sir Farin commanded 200 free soldiers, while Cole had 300 personal men. The remaining forces had been taken by the king.
Cole had knighted both Camilo and Jose, the two who had followed him the longest.
Some of the soldiers were from other families, others mercenaries, but for now, they were all sworn to serve him.
At this moment, Storm's End Castle felt unusually empty. Maester Pyros and several others had been recalled to Dragonstone.
Suddenly, a sound caught his attention.
Cole turned toward it and saw a boy—or rather, a girl—lying on the ground.
She quickly sprang to her feet. It was Arya Stark.
Cole had nearly forgotten about the Starks, and it seemed they hadn't left yet.
"Is that you?" Arya looked up at the family crest on his cloak. "You're the White Bird Knight."
"The White Bird Knight?" Cole chuckled. He had no idea when that nickname had come about.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Practicing my dance," Arya replied, lifting her leg in a stance reminiscent of a golden rooster standing on one leg.
"Is this practicing balance?"
The girl nodded, surprised. "That's what Syrio said."
"The Swordmaster of Braavos."
"Do you know him?"
"I don't, but I've heard of a unique martial art called the 'Water Dance' from across the Narrow Sea. The leader of the Water Dance is the Swordmaster of Braavos."
"Yes, Syrio is the Swordmaster, and he's my swordsmanship teacher," Arya said proudly.
"So, you're practicing the Water Dance?" Cole asked, mimicking her stance.
She looked at his bulky frame and couldn't help but laugh. "You look like a big, clumsy bear."
"Hey, Jon's little sister, have you ever seen a bear?" Cole teased.
Arya was momentarily speechless. She had never seen a bear, but Syrio had laughed at her like this before. She quickly realized that Cole had called her Jon's little sister.
"Alright, I finally meet you, and you say Jon is your little brother. What proof do you have?" Arya asked him.
"If you need proof, you can ask him yourself."
"You liar! Jon is not your little brother."
"Well, the whole little brother thing was just a joke," Cole admitted, "but we are friends. At least we were on the Wall. He told me he had a sister named Arya."
"I'm Arya."
As they spoke about Jon, Cole shared some memories of Jon's time at the Wall, and Arya's teeth clenched in anger.
"Alliser is such a scoundrel," she muttered, cursing the commander of the Night's Watch.
"Yeah, he's a real jerk," Cole agreed.
Just then, someone came to fetch him, saying there was something in the castle that required his attention. Cole didn't hesitate and followed the man to the hall.
Deputy Gilbert Farin had been waiting there for a long time. Upon Cole's arrival, he stood up and saluted.
Cole walked to the main seat and sat down. He turned to Sir Farin and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Sir, it's about a manor just outside the city."
Four peasants, dressed in simple clothes, stood at the center of the hall.
A manor outside Storm's End had been attacked by bandits, resulting in many deaths. Now, the serfs from the manor had come to the castle seeking help.
Cole understood the reason. He suspected the war had caused this. In a war-torn land, bandits were bound to be a problem. Perhaps these bandits were even part of a rebel army.
Cole asked the peasants, "How many did you see?"
"There were more than a dozen of them, all on horseback, killing anyone they found in the village."
He nodded. "I'll send men to patrol your village. In the meantime, I'll allow you to train your own forces and set up patrols. Considering the losses you've suffered, I will also exempt you from food taxes for the next quarter."
Once the matter was settled, Gilbert returned with several letters sent by raven. "Sir, these are letters from various places."
Cole opened one and saw that it was from the Wall. Commander Mormont was requesting help from the major castles. The letter described the appearance of dead men—similar to the creatures known as the white walkers—on the Wall. One of them had been killed by Commander Mormont's steward, Jon Snow, and another had been surrounded and killed by other members of the Night's Watch. However, the Watch had lost four men in the process.
Cole handed the letter to Gilbert.
"How many prisoners are there in Storm's End now?" he asked.
"There are some war criminals—about twenty of them," Gilbert replied.
After reading the letter, Gilbert seemed skeptical. "Sir, we don't have the manpower to send war criminals to the Wall. And the reason for this request... it's hard to believe."
"Then let the Night's Watch come here to collect them," Cole said. "I need a pen and paper."
He wrote a letter in his capacity as acting Lord of Storm's End, requesting that the Night's Watch send men to take the criminals to the Wall.
Once the business in Storm's End was handled, Cole quickly made his way to the training ground. He had planned physical and swordsmanship drills for his personal soldiers, along with exercises to improve their teamwork in battle.
They were full-time soldiers now. Although Cole had reduced the cavalry, giving the horses to Stannis for his campaign, he had kept 100 cavalry. Their future duty would be to fight for Cole.
After observing the progress of today's training, Cole called over Camillo, his cavalry captain.
He ordered Camillo to lead a patrol outside the city and, at the same time, issued another command: to send 20 men from each of Storm's End's affiliated villages for combat training at the castle. The villagers would provide their own weapons, while the castle would supply the food.
Cole made it clear to Camillo that this was not conscription but temporary combat training. Those who performed well would be offered a spot in the city defense.
Camillo set off with his men.
Cole then called José over and handed him the patrol schedule for the city defense. Since José was illiterate, Cole explained it to him carefully—where patrols were needed, how many shifts there would be each day, and how many men would be assigned to each shift.
Afterward, Cole and the soldiers had dinner in the hall, divided into two groups that came in alternately.
Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Stark were also present, but Lord Stark seemed to be in a foul mood.