Chapter 98 - Do you want to challenge me, Robb Stark?
[Chapter Size: 2700 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Riverrun.
...
...
It was in the middle of the afternoon when the Stark banners approached the small village. Seeing the smoke rising into the sky, the Northern soldiers quickly accelerated, increasing their gallop upon seeing that the situation seemed urgent, a large wolf running alongside the leader of those men.
Robb Stark was still celebrating with his men the victory against Jaime Lannister, won a week ago, and was planning the best way to win the next battle against the Lannisters. However, he had been worried ever since he received news from two members of House Frey who had advanced as scouts and were found dead by men who went out looking for them moments later after noticing their absence.
Even knowing of the Freys' crimes, reported by local women who were still mourning what happened, with the eldest woman having been abused after seeing her husband killed, and thinking their fate was reasonable, he couldn't deny that he could not allow someone to go around killing men who should have been judged by him—he needed to set an example for everyone and show that he would not accept that kind of crime in his army.
And the most intriguing part was the description of the person responsible: a man with dark hair and purple eyes, the latter being especially unusual. After all, violet eyes were extremely rare; aside from Targaryen and Dayne descendants, it was unlikely for anyone to have such features.
This quickly reminded him of the chaos happening in King's Landing. Robb was still unaware of the recent events, thinking that his father was still imprisoned thanks to his half-brother, the eye of the storm with the news reaching him in the last moon.
When he reported to Catelyn what he had heard and about his own desire to investigate, his mother nearly fell into despair at the possibility of Jon Snow being nearby, leaving her frightened by him now planning to kill Robb and at the same time angry.
She wished Robb would take more men, but he stated that fifty or sixty would be enough to deal with only one man, even with the rumors, as he merely intended to obtain information about his half-brother and bring him to a fair trial for his crimes.
Upon seeing the state of the village from a distance, with several bodies on the ground, Robb's first thought was that Jon Snow had committed atrocities in some way. However, upon noticing that most of the bodies were Lannister soldiers, he immediately changed his opinion, despite the confusion.
As he got closer, Robb saw the villagers tending to the wounded and trying to recover what remained of their belongings. Upon seeing the Northern knights with the Stark banner, the villagers immediately demonstrated their innocence, raising their hands in surrender.
Robb slowed his gallop, approaching and stopping his horse so as not to frighten the people more than they already were.
"What could have happened here?" Robb asked himself.
"There are bodies everywhere... even inside the forest," murmured Grandjon Umber, who was beside him, pointing to the bushes near the village entrance. Some bodies were split in half, and it seemed that others had tried to flee, unsuccessfully.
Robb frowned.
"Let's first find out what happened here from the villagers. Stay back, Grey Wind," Robb ordered, approaching slowly the people who were watching him cautiously.
"I am Lord Robb Stark, commander of the Northern army in my father's absence, who is in custody in King's Landing, fighting against the Lannisters. These lands are under my protection along with the Tullys, my mother's family. I need to know exactly what happened here," declared Robb, as one of the men slowly approached.
"The Lannisters attacked us, my lord," the man began. "They came here, started killing and looting. Half the village was slaughtered while they stole our things and raped our women..." He closed his mouth for a moment, looking fearfully at the banner, while Robb also averted his gaze, staring in silence at the wolf that represented his house.
Then he turned back to the man, noticing the fear on his face, and spoke more calmly.
"And then?" Robb asked, wanting to prompt the man to continue.
"Then the monster appeared," the man continued with fear before going on.
"He just showed up and started killing all the Lannisters. They didn't even stand a chance as their bodies were sliced in half by an ice blade. He didn't attack us, but killed every man who was attacking us. He took the last one... the big one. The one they all call the Mountain. Just ripped one of his legs off and dragged him into the forest. We're afraid he might come back, my lord."
"A monster? What are you talking about, man?" Grandjon exclaimed, finding it all very confusing.
"A giant wolf," he said, looking fearfully at Robb's wolf near the horses behind Robb, which stood a little over a meter tall, swallowing hard afterward.
"Like Grey Wind, my wolf?" Robb asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Or a giant creature that moves like a man? If he used an axe, that means it's the second option. He's white, isn't he?" Robb said, after all there were reports from King's Landing about the monster wolf that Jon Snow could transform into.
"Yes... He showed no mercy. Not that I pity those damned Lannisters, but if he comes back and decides to destroy all of us, we won't be able to do anything," he said in fear, clearly terrified at the possibility of being killed by the creature as well.
Robb exchanged looks with his men, who had cautious, skeptical expressions with a touch of fear upon hearing such things.
"Don't worry about that. We'll check the situation. Can you tell us more about what happened here and who put out the fire?" Robb asked, since there were no buckets or other clear explanation for how the flames had been extinguished despite so much destruction.
In the end, he spent a few minutes listening and was introduced to the inn boy, who reported seeing everything: a stranger appeared when his young sister was about to be abused by the huge man, and then a monster suddenly emerged inside the inn, throwing the attacker outside, destroying the entire front part of the place.
Robb couldn't help but be stunned upon seeing the inn's entrance completely destroyed, wooden beams scattered across the street, blood and body parts staining everything red, and inside was full of dead Lannister men, sliced in half with a clean cut. It was a terrifying scene, and his men began to grow uneasy in the face of it.
He also discovered that, somehow, the burning houses had frozen, as he could see shards of ice exactly where the fire had once been, and they were melting quickly. He could barely believe such bizarreness.
"What are we going to do, my lord?" said Greatjon. "Most of the men don't want to continue; they want us to get reinforcements. Maybe we should just leave that thing alone. Whatever that creature is, facing it now won't end well," he suggested beside his son, Smalljon, while Robb shook his head.
"If we go for reinforcements, we'll lose the trail. It's fresh and it'll rain soon. I want to know exactly what happened here, even if it's risky," Robb said firmly, looking up at the closing sky.
Greatjon, though slightly cautious, wouldn't disobey his lord's orders, and all the men nodded in agreement.
And so they kept moving forward, following the trail of blood.
"Go ahead, buddy. Find anything and show the way," Robb asked Grey Wind, who immediately went ahead while the Northern soldiers, more than fifty, moved in right behind.
Meanwhile, Jon Snow was a few kilometers away from the village, organizing what he would do next, for he had already captured one of the men he wanted. The spriggans had been summoned and were healing him, preventing his death. Now he was a crippled man and wouldn't be able to escape Jon's hands, but he still needed to keep his prisoner alive. Jon didn't follow the old gods, but he would certainly take this one to give him a proper end in the North.
"Now I need to wait for Winter to come," Jon murmured, as his eyes turned white.
Winter was still in the Kingswood, eating the animals she found in that same forest without leaving it. No one approached that area after what happened with the king and the roar that had been heard from miles away, believing great monsters dwelled there. Therefore, Jon had no trouble with witnesses seeing his female dragon, though they would certainly be shocked by the destruction she caused, toppling trees as she landed before biting into the prey she hunted while flying over the forest.
Either way, the creature's red eyes turned north at that very moment, blinking a few times, and Jon took full control of her. The female dragon simply left her nest of the past few weeks, leapt forward to gain altitude, her wings beating strongly as she left the forest to meet her master who was calling her at that moment.
Jon's eyes returned to normal as he began to hear the howls of the spectral wolves he had placed in the forest around him. They howled and vanished, making sounds that announced someone was approaching.
Jon narrowed his eyes, turning them white again, taking control of a raven flying overhead. He closely watched the forest about a kilometer away, seeing men advancing between the trees toward him. The spectral wolves had announced the intruders' presence and disappeared right after the howl, leaving the riders confused, for they heard the howls but found no animals, not even tracks.
"This can't be... it's the Stark banner," Jon murmured, and his gaze turned to check on the Mountain, who was unconscious beside him, half of one leg missing, wrapped in a bandage placed by the spriggans that prevented the bleeding. Even so, blood was still slowly dripping. Jon just needed to keep him alive for a few more days.
The man who had killed his brother was already in his hands, but he still needed to find the other, the one who stabbed Rhaenys to death. However, that would be resolved in the North. Now, it was time for his army to begin marching south.
He simply remained there, waiting for the men to approach. A few minutes later, cutting through the paths where they could pass in that forest, they finally found the clearing where he was.
The first thing Jon saw was a wolf, which he easily recognized as a brother to Ghost, the same one he had seen with Robb when it was still just a pup in Winterfell. The wolf looked at him defiantly, growling, while Jon remained still, opening a small smile. The wolves he had in his camp were much larger than that one, and there were now more than a dozen of them, since he had Ghost and another pack he had taken control of.
Soon after came men with swords in hand, mounted on horses, who stopped immediately to assess him. Gradually, more soldiers began to appear. Then someone showed up holding the Stark banner and, beside him, was Robb Stark in person, who, upon seeing Jon, widened his eyes, confirming it was truly his half-brother standing there.
"So here you are," Robb said as Greatjon approached at his side along with his son and other soldiers, while some stayed farther back awaiting orders, as not everyone could fit in there.
Jon observed them for a moment and raised an eyebrow.
"And to what do I owe the pleasure of finding you all here in the middle of nowhere?" Jon asked with irony in his voice, making Robb frown.
"I see it's true," Robb said, looking at the man lying next to Jon.
"You captured the Mountain and cut off his leg. A rather cruel act," he added.
"A cruel act for a cruel man. Isn't that fair?" Jon replied with a smile, while Robb clearly didn't like that answer.
"You will be taken into custody by the Northern army and tell me everything that happened in King's Landing. You'll likely be charged for putting my father in the situation he's in. My father is imprisoned in King's Landing because of your actions," Robb replied firmly.
Obviously, he first needed to find out the truth, but he was already making it clear what he would accuse Jon of.
Jon raised his eyebrow again.
"Well, it seems you don't know what happened in King's Landing yet, do you? Well, no matter. Either way, I'm not going with you. And you should be more cautious after having passed through that village—after all, I heard there's a monster around here," he said, with his provocative tone while the men beside Robb swallowed hard, clearly uncomfortable.
"I don't know what kind of sorcery you practice, Jon Snow, but I won't allow you to remain free after what you did to our father. You must pay for your crimes, whether you are my half-brother or not," Robb said seriously, wanting to be just. Jon acknowledged that Robb seemed to have matured a little, but that didn't matter anymore.
"No," Jon replied in a more serious tone now, his smile fading.
"My proposal is this: leave this place immediately with your men. I don't have much against you, Robb, but I also have no love for you. If you want to keep this going, don't regret what comes next, because I won't show mercy. Just leave and let me keep the spoils of war I conquered in these lands—I intend to take him North and bathe a heart tree with his blood. Go fight your war against the Lannisters, because our battle will happen at another time," Jon said seriously.
With the Free Folk entering the North, Robb would certainly have to lead, along with the other lords, the men of the North against Jon and the 'wildlings'. That would be the true battle — not here.
Robb frowned, not fully understanding what Jon meant by going North and "the battle won't be here," but he didn't like the threatening tone. His men, on the other hand, were clearly uneasy.
They stood before Jon, accompanied by the rumors of the monster. Seeing the state of the Mountain, tossed on the ground like an animal, made anyone think twice about whether it was wise to fight whatever Lord Stark's bastard had become now.
"You think you can threaten us, Jon Snow?" said Greatjon Umber, remembering that same man from the drinking contest that took place in Winterfell. Moreover, he also recalled the fight they had months ago — a fight Jon started by punching him, and he certainly felt the bruises the next day. At the time, they laughed together, but now they were enemies.
Son of Ned or not, he would obey Robb Stark, especially after the news revealing Jon Snow's supposed actions that condemned Ned in King's Landing.
Jon only smiled and extended his hand. A sword materialized out of nowhere, leaving everyone shocked. The simple fact that he could summon a weapon was enough to astonish them, but upon seeing which sword it was, Robb immediately grew grim.
The sword Jon held in his hands was Ice, the ancestral blade of House Stark.
Obviously, after Ned Stark's capture in King's Landing, all of his belongings — especially his sword — were seized by the Lannisters. But that didn't stop Jon from stealing it before leaving King's Landing.
Ned didn't even seem to care at the time of the escape. He expected it to be with the Lannisters, maybe even to recover it at the end of the war. His uncle would never have imagined that Ice was now in Jon's hands — and pointed directly at his heir.
"Very well... Then come," Jon challenged, gripping the sword firmly as the rain finally began to fall from the sky while night started to descend in that moment.
"Men, seize him!" Robb shouted, drawing his own sword, while Grey Wind growled beside him.
Jon watched it all with a bored look. He didn't raise his sword immediately, just took a deep breath, as if he didn't care whether Robb survived what would come next or not. Then, he decided to end it.
In the next moment, Grey Wind was the first to run toward Jon, obeying his master. But Jon stood firm. And then, he let out the shout:
"Fus Ro Dah!!"
The blast of the Thu'um came in the very next instant, sweeping away everything in front of him.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 103 - The prophecies of the Ghost of High Heart.
Chapter 108 - Exploring the North.
Chapter 118 - Attacking the Wall 01.
Chapter 127 - Actions on Bear Island 01.
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