The Bandit King Conspiracy

Lord Peake and a number of other lords and conspirators gathered in Starpike, plotting to see the return of valuables and lands. Their first mission was to equip an infamous bandit named Urrathon Redhand, who ambushed and killed Lord Roxton of the Ring. Rather than return to his employers the Redhand named himself a bandit king, starting a conflict that would span over 2 years seeing the death of Lord Tyrell and a number of other noblemen. Finally ended in the Uplands by Lord Hightower and a coalition of lords, the sword Orphan-Maker was returned to House Roxton.

The Conspiracy
279 AC, exactly 10 years after the Steel Wedding, a gathering of lords took place in a secluded room in Starpike. They were a variety of men, those spurned by the Tyrells in the years prior and those that merely sought opportunity or an advantage over their fellow lords. One by one they swore their blades and resources to a united cause, to gain lost items or lands, to see revenge against their flowery overlords. Lord Peake, being the man who had brought them together, would see their first action taken out, equipping a known bandit with castle forged weapons and armor, providing information on the movements of his old enemy, Lord Roxton of the Ring. This bandit, one Urrathon Redhand, was given orders to waylay Lord Roxton as his procession traversed the Reach, cutting him and his retainers down and retrieving the Valyrian steel sword Orphan-Maker. The men of the coalition would raise their banners and “smash the host” of Urrathon, Lord Peake claiming Orphan-Maker for his own. Urrathon did as he was bid, his newly armed bandits murdering Lord Roxton and his wife, pilfering his ancestral sword from his still warm corpse. Only, following the raid, Urrathon had a better idea than hand over his newfound heirloom and return to a life of simple banditry. He decided he would be a king among thieves, the one bandit to rule them all, and his fellow raiders eagerly named him king.

The Redhand
Urrathon Redhand and his bandits quickly fell upon Dunstonbury, raiding the lands surrounding it and pillaging gold and steel for his men. The Lowther men that attempted to defend the raid were slain in the hundreds, and Urrathon reveled in the victory. Dozens of bandits joined him each day, at first just dishonest men or lifelong thieves, then robber knights and desperate hedge knights, searching for riches and fame. Lord Peake panicked, the situation having quickly escaped his calculated grasp. He raised his banners, though left before his bannermen could join him, desperate to end the uprising before one of his conspirators revealed him. His host met with Lord Tyrell’s at Highgarden, the Lord Paramount of the Mander preparing to end the bandit uprising while it was still young. Meanwhile Urrathon had successful raids at Coldmoat and Leafy Lake, the heir to Coldmoat being cut down defending his smallfolk.

The Clash
The Reachlords and the bandit king crossed paths on a rainy day during a raid on the lands of the Durwell’s. Neither army balked when they met in battle, the clash raging for hours while the heavy cavalry of the Reach charged again and again against the robber knights of king Redhand. The torrents of rain had softened the ground around During Down, and so the Reach’s horses floundered after a charge, leaving the knights open to spears and arrow fire. A particularly accurate flurry of arrows coated the charging knights, and, to the horror of the assembled Reachmen, slew Lord Tyrell and a number of his retainers. His host shattered afterwards, routing towards Highgarden with no leadership but Lord Peake.

The Climax
Urrathon cut a fiery path south after his victory over Tyrell, raiding a number of keeps and their villages while his numbers continued to swell. Lord Hightower had been amassing his own host however, once he was joined by Lords Bulwer, Beesbury, Blackbar, Cuy, and Mullendore he set out to finally put an end to the reign of the Redhand. The new Lord Tyrell spent his time gathering a new host, this one larger and greater than the last. By the time he deemed his army fit for battle the bandit uprising would be long over.

Lord Hightower’s host met with Urrathon’s in the Uplands, and, without the advantage of rain to keep the fight competitive, the battle quickly devolved to slaughter. The heavily armored Reachmen cut down bandits in swathes, Lord Hightower himself slew Urrathon in single combat. The paltry host of marauders fled after the death of their “king” though most of them would die in the rout. Orphan Maker was returned to the Roxton’s and once more the lords of the Reach glowered at their overlords that had failed to protect them. Lord Hightower soared in popularity following the event, many questioning if he might make a better leader than the Lord in Highgarden.