On the waters outside Abyss Keep, Helen Pyke, known as the "Iron Whore," stood at the prow of her longship, the Queen's Vengeance, peering through a Myrish lens toward the distant stronghold. The Myrish lens, crafted from glass and bronze, was a fine and costly instrument—one she had seized during a raid in the Stepstones and had cherished ever since.
The Myrish lens had always aided Helen in spotting prey upon the waves, bringing her hope. But today, it showed her something that shattered her spirit—the direwolf banner fluttering over Abyss Keep's gates.
She had once dreamed of forging her own pirate kingdom in Skagos alongside the Stone King. Now, with Abyss Keep lost, that dream had been crushed beneath the shadow of the North's wolves.
Dressed in black breeches and a leather jerkin over a maile hauberk, a sea-green cloak draping her shoulders, Helen remained as wild and untamed as ever—a voluptuous beauty, regal and fierce. "The wolf pup truly took Abyss Keep… What was the Stone King doing?"
Terrence Pyke sneered. "Stone King? Samlor Crowl lost his keep. What kind of king is that? More like the Pebble King. Helen, I told you—the rockborn could never stand against the North's army."
Terrence Pyke, with his fair complexion and brown hair, hailed from King's Landing. A bastard of House Botley, he had been Helen's most trusted confidant since she left the Iron Islands. He had served aboard the Queen's Vengeance from the very start, following her across the Stepstones, Skagos, the eastern shores of the North, and the Bay of Seals. Through every battle and raid, he had been at her side.
Abyss Keep's fall was hard to accept. Helen lowered her Myrish lens. "The keep is lost. My ironborn blacksmiths, my shipwrights—all my men. Are they still alive? If Eddard Stark has slain them, I swear I will have my vengeance."
Terrence sighed. "That is beyond our control now. Helen, we must flee! The North holds Abyss Keep, and with its stores full, their army now has ample supplies. The Stone King is likely dead, and the rockborn clans will bend the knee. We must escape while we can!"
Helen bristled. "You would have me abandon my blacksmiths, my shipwrights—my brothers? Many of them followed me from the Iron Islands, leaving behind their homes to sail to the Stepstones, then to Skagos. If they are taken captive, and I flee? No. I will not abandon them. We must free them."
Terrence's voice rose in frustration. "You're mad! We don't even know if they're still alive. Even if they are, they'll be locked in Abyss Keep's dungeons. How do you plan to free them with just three hundred men? More ironborn will die for nothing!"
Helen ran her fingers over the sapphire necklace at her throat. "Walter the Smith abandoned the riches of Lannisport to forge for me. Mogul the Shipwright could have stayed on the warm shores of the Arbor, drinking Arbor gold while building for House Redwyne, yet he chose to come to the cold and barren Skagos for me. I will not forsake them."
Terrence placed a hand on her shoulder. "I understand how you feel, but reckless action will solve nothing. Helen, once Eddard Stark secures Abyss Keep, he will summon the Sistermen fleet, hire Pentoshi sellsails, and gather the North's ragged fleet to hunt us down. The wise course is to leave Skagos now."
"Once we're gone, we can return to the Stepstones, resume our raids, and grow our fortune. When we have enough gold, we can ransom Walter, Mogul, and the rest. We wouldn't be abandoning them—we'd be ensuring we live to save them."
Helen scowled. "And you think Eddard Stark will take a ransom? If he would, I'd gladly give up the gold dragons in our hold to buy back my men. But I doubt he'll even consider it."
Terrence pressed on. "Not with what little coin we have now. But once we've plundered enough, we can offer him a sum even he cannot refuse."
Helen shook her head. "I won't leave my men behind while I go raiding in the Stepstones. I must free them. When night falls, we'll hide the longships by the shore, follow the Abyss River, and strike from the side gate. We'll take the keep by surprise, free our brothers, and sail away, leaving Skagos to the Northerners. The sea belongs to us!"
A dozen ironborn warriors roared their approval. Terrence opened his mouth to argue, but Helen cut him off with a raised hand. "I am the captain, Terrence. You are my man. The discussion is over."
Terrence turned away, his displeasure evident. Helen wondered if she had been too harsh.
That night, as rain poured from the heavens, Helen led her remaining sixteen longships ashore in a hidden cove. Under the cover of the forest, they crept toward the Abyss River, following its path toward the fortress.
A rope bridge spanned the river hundreds of feet above. The Northmen standing watch atop it could see little in the storm's darkness.
Within Abyss Keep, Eddard Stark, Jon Snow, Domeric Bolton, and Theon Greyjoy patrolled the halls.
The Northmen, along with the surrendered rockborn, had all moved into the keep. Fires burned in the hearths, torches lit the halls, and the great castle gleamed with light.
Jon Snow marveled, "Lord Stark, I never thought the rockborn would have such a grand stronghold."
Eddard nodded. "The North is full of hidden treasures. With such a keep, it's little wonder Samlor Crowl fancied himself a king."
Despite taking Abyss Keep, the Northmen had yet to find the hundreds of women and children the rockborn and ironborn had stolen from the eastern shore. Eddard worried—had they already been turned into one of the rockborn's infamous meat pies?
He entered the forge, where his Winterfell guards were dismantling bellows, anvils, and other smithing tools. Without these, the rockborn would struggle to forge the ironborn's famed steel weapons and armor.
"Where is the shipyard?" Eddard asked. "Surely the ironborn weren't building longships inside the castle walls?"
Jory Cassel, captain of Winterfell's guard, replied, "My lord, the shipyard is at the base of the keep, carved into the mountainside along the Abyss River. The shipwrights built their longships there and sent them downriver to the sea."
"Show me."
Eddard led his foster son, his bastard son, and his men down the stone steps toward the shipyard. As they neared the cave entrance, a sudden clamor of shouts and clashing steel erupted in the stormy night.
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