When the team of stone-kin masons first arrived in Deepwood Motte, they were agast at the shambles the castle really was. But they were tasked with turning it into a defensible castle, and they went to work. Help was brought in from all the surrounding areas, paid for by Arya. They found suitable granite in a nearby quarry, put willing labor to work, and started laying out the new town walls and fort #2. The town was growing as the new railway and a wharf and docks built on the northern shore were bringing in trade to the town. So the stone-kin built the walls much larger than the town and castle. On the southern side, on a small hill, they built the fort, and around the central hill, where the castle stood, they built the town's walls. Gates were added for the railway to the east and the new wharf and trade building to the north. A southern gate in the fort's wall allowed access to the south. The old wood from the palisade walls was used to build scaffolding for constructing the fort and its walls. The guns and troops arrived, and the fortification of the castle and city was complete.
Gawen Glover was the steward of Deepwood Motte; his father and mother were both still alive but had grown old and infirm, and didn't get out of the castle itself much anymore. His mother spent most of her time in the Godswood near the castle, praying. Today, she was praying that they would all survive this invasion that was disrupting their lives. The town was subdued but was growing livelier as time went on. The rapid growth of Brandon's Rest and now the war effort had buoyed it up. House Glover was not exactly remarkable, but it had a long and storied history. Its members had fought well in battles and been loyal vassals of the North. Gawen was a rather small-minded person and had complained to Winterfell when all this hubbub, as he called it, had started. Sansa Stark had ordered him not only to allow these changes but also to assist in every way possible. He did so begrudgingly. But seeing the growth of his town and the rising wealth of its people, he relented his low opinion of the changes. This new invasion of his lands and the threat it represented to his people changed something in the man. It was almost as if all his life he had been waiting for this moment to shine. He consulted with his father, who gave him solid advice on defending their lands, and he went to work with what seemed like renewed vigor. He called in every marker from the house's vassals and gathered as many worthy men to help them defend as he could. He drilled his men on sallying out and worked with them on firing the guns on the walls and the few that had been installed on the castle itself.
While the 1000 troops of the fort would mostly man the guns, Gawen Glover's 3000 men-at-arms would be critical in defense of the town. When the steam train arrived with all its extra troops, they would first be under the fort's commander, but would work closely with Gawen and his men. 8000 men were a lot to command, but the 40,000 Zonian troops landing would be a huge military hurdle to overcome.
When Jun Wei's command ship landed, his Zonian troops had already built a rough wharf and dock. They were quickly building a rough palisade wall to house all the troops and provide a base of operations. Two watch towers were already rising at the corners where the walls would meet. The location they had chosen had a small hill between them and the sea, which would provide some cover from the Westerousi guns on their ships. Over 60,000 men were breaking down slings from the sling ships, hunting for food in the deep woods around them, and building a new camp. When the first wall was finished, a cheer arose from the Zonians who had been so long at sea. They were chomping at the bit to begin conquering this new land.
Wei had sent out several scout teams to reconnoiter their surrounding areas. The ones to the north reported on seeing teams of troops leading families from local homesteads north to the castle. The ones sent south reported that men were moving around the fort not far south of them, but no troops were heading towards them yet. The team that went west was the slowest to return, and only one man returned. He reported that they discovered steel rails laid on squared wooden logs in the ground, but when they investigated, they were attacked by wolves. He shuddered when describing a huge wolf with glowing golden eyes. The rest of the scout team had been killed. Wei cursed at that shouting, "This whole country is fighting us, including the damned animals! Will every cow and deer take up arms against us, too?" His men just muttered to themselves and stayed out of his way.
When Till and the train arrived at Deepwood Motte, the troops quickly unloaded. A troop captain informed him that teams escorting homesteaders had reported seeing Zonian scouts in the southern areas. They warned him that if he intended to go south, he had better do it quickly, so as soon as the water was loaded, they set out for the south, and he gunned the speed.