30

Chapter 30: Ch 21 THAT'S NOT A—

Chapter Text

As the sun began to dip lower in the sky, the warm glow intensified, casting a golden hue on the treetops and the faces of Lord Stark's party as they mingled with Lord Glover's, who had joined them halfway through the Wolfswood to lead his liege. The mingling of the two groups was a welcome respite from the long journey through the Wolfswood, and the sound of birdsong mixed with the lively chatter and laughter of the group as they busied themselves with preparations for the evening meal.

Eddard and Lord Glover were in deep conversation when a movement caught Eddard's eye. He looked up, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the forest before turning to Lord Glover with a subtle teasing tone, "Looks like they've finally returned."

"Huh," Glover who was taking a swig of some hardy Northern ale looked in the direction Eddard was indicating. He scowled irritably as the hunting party emerged from the forest. "Not again," he muttered. "There has to be some kind of trick to this."

But Jon Snow, who led the party, was quick to retort, a smug grin on his face. "No trick, my lord. Just pure skill."

The hunting party consisted of two skilled hunters from Deepwoode Motte and two from Winterfell, accompanied by the two young boys. One was Jon Snow, and the other was Lawrence Snow, the bastard of Hornwood, a ward under Galbart Glover. The hands of the adults were filled with the game they had hunted consisting of a stag, a boar, and a rare moose.

"He was amazing, My Lord," Lawrence gushed in an awe-filled voice to Lord Glover, "He hunted one animal after another a-and he was able to pick up trails that none of our hunters were able to see and..."

The young ward went on and on, singing Jon's praises until Lord Glover interrupted him with a wave of his hand, rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine! You don't have to sing laurels of him anymore. I get it, he's a very good hunter."

The banter between the lord and his ward elicited laughter from the group. Despite being a bastard, Lawrence was very close to Lord Glover, and their relationship was a source of amusement for those around them. Lawrence sheepishly rubbed his head with a smile before making his way to the cook, who was skinning the game.

As Lawrence left, Jon approached the two lords with a huge smile on his face. Glover tried to avoid looking at his Liege's bastard, but Jon wasn't going to let him off the hook. In a leading tone, he said, "I think you have a gift for me, My Lord."

"Huh...Oh...Um...." Glover tried to feign ignorance, looking around as if searching for an excuse, before finally turning to Lord Stark for help. However, the Lord of Winterfell raised his hands in surrender and said, "Don't look at me, Galbart. I warned you not to bet against him. It's your own fault for not listening to me."

The smugness was evident in Lord Stark's typically stern expression, and the group couldn't help but chuckle at the scene before them.

Lord Glover hesitated for a moment, scrutinizing the faces of his liege and his liege's bastard, before grumbling, "Fine! Fine! Here take it, boy, I don't want people to say that I am a sore loser," he reluctantly passed a beautiful sleek Weirwood bow to Jon, who received it with reverence and eagerness. "Don't lose it, boy," he cautioned.

"Don't worry, My Lord," Jon said, bowing happily, "I'll take good care of it," Jon immediately took his leave and went to the side to try out his new bow. The longbow was a true masterpiece, crafted from Weirwood, and had the ability to shoot arrows so quickly and accurately that one would be struck before they could even spot the archer. Coupled with the short bow given to him by his teacher, Jon could now cover an even greater range.

As they watched Jon display his skills to the guards and hunters, Eddard turned to Lord Glover and asked, "You're not too upset about this, are you? If you are, perhaps I can try to persuade Jon..."

Lord Glover shook his head and took a swig of his ale. "Nah, forget it. He'll make better use of it than a tired old man like me. Besides, I got it from a Wildling raider, so it's not like I paid for it or anything. This will teach me not to underestimate kids in the future," he added, chuckling self-deprecatingly.

The story went somewhat like this, Lord Glover had heard stories about Jon's hunting prowess, so he asked Lord Stark to confirm them. Lord Stark not only verified Jon's prowess but also proclaimed him to be the best hunter in Winterfell.

Lord Glover was of course skeptical and expressed doubts and Jon who was nearby immediately saw an opportunity. Jon had fallen in love with Lord Glover's bow, so he suggested a bet that whoever hunted more and better prey over the following days before they left the forest would win and of course, the price would be the bow.

Lord Glover scoffed and said something like, "I've been hunting in this woods before I could crawl, Boy! There is no way I would lose to a wet behind-his-ears brat like you," They took turns hunting for every evening meal, and Lord Glover and his party grew increasingly dumbfounded as they watched Jon consistently bring in ridiculously large and rare prey. It was as if he no longer considered rabbits and deer they hunted as suitable prey at all.

"Don't worry, Galbart. You probably won't be the last one he swindles things out of," Lord Stark consoled him. Upon realizing that their destination was Bear Islands, where the proud Lady Mormont resided, Lord Glover burst into laughter.

They left the wolfswood the very next and arrived at the castle of Deepwood Motte. It was a wooden motte-and-bailey castle so while it was not particularly strong it worked for the people here.

The castle's long hall sat atop a hill with a flattened top, accompanied by a fifty-foot-high watchtower. Below the hill, there was a bailey that contained stables, paddocks, a smithy, a well, and a sheepfold. The castle's defence was meagre, consisting of a ditch, an earthen dike, and a palisade of logs. Deepwood's mossy outer walls were safeguarded by two square towers and wallwalks.

They spent only a night at Deepwood Motte before setting off towards the sea, which was only about five leagues away. Waiting for them there was a ship sent by the Mormonts to escort Lord Stark and his party to Bear Islands, Lady Mormont herself came on the ship, but she brought along the news that Ser Jorah had run away along with his southern wife in the middle of the night.

...

"...He hired a fancy cook from Oldtown, a harper from Lannisport, and even bought a fancy ship so that he and his pretty wife could attend tourneys and festivals," Maege explained, her face contorted in disgust, "He spared no effort to please his wife even if meant bringing the House into ruinous debt, but I guess even that wasn't enough... so he eventually resorted to selling poachers as slaves to those Tyroshi," She ended self deprecatingly while shaking her head.

They were in the Lord's solar of Mormont castle which was actually just a wooden Longhall, surrounded by an Earthern palisade. It was a remote and cold windswept island of forests and hills but despite the harsh surroundings, the beauty of the ancient trees, flowering thorn bushes, and creeks outside the window was undeniable.

There were four people in the room, Maege Mormont, Acting Lady of Bear Island (For the moment), her eldest daughter Dacey Mormont, Lord Stark, and Jon, who stood behind him. While the adults discussed, Jon and Dacey quietly observed, with the latter occasionally stealing curious glances at Jon.

"What were those Tyroshi doing out here?" Eddard furrowed his brow in confusion.

"They hailed from the Stepstones and were traveling to Westeros as merchants," Maege explained in a weary voice, her face showing signs of sleepless nights, "Apparently, these scoundrels were regular clients of the Ironborn, buying any excess 'Thralls' they had on hand for a low price and selling them for profit in Essos,"

"Having just been through a war, the Ironborn didn't have anything to sell so they came here to resupply when Jorah got wind of it and thought about a braindead scheme to sell the poacher prisoners who were due for the wall to them sneakily at night. If it wasn't for Dacey here," She jerked her head to her daughter standing behind her who stuck her chest proudly, "who happened to catch him, we would have never even known,"

"It's not your fault, Maege," Eddard consoled her. "You fulfilled your duty by promptly informing me of his crime. There was nothing more you could have done,"

"No, what happened was done by a Mormont, and it was unforgivable," Maege said, her head shaking resolutely. "I would give you the treasury if there was anything in there. That coward not only left us deeply in debt to the Iron Bank, but he also took whatever little we had in the treasury when he ran away with that wench." Her head lowered, and even Dacey gritted her teeth in anger and shame. "But I would accept any kind of tax you levy on us, My Lord, no matter how harsh it may be, and spend my whole life repaying you if that's what it takes to regain our honor,"

"Maege, you know that I can't do that. It would be exceedingly cruel to the people here who committed no crime," Eddard shook his head with a sigh before standing and walking to the window. He looked out for a moment before turning back to the room, his expression serious. "I'll be frank with you, Maege. I came to Bear Island this time hoping to enlist your help in one of my endeavors,"

"Anything, My lord. As long as you wish it, I will try my hardest to fulfill it," Maege said, her eyes brightening as if grasping for a branch when she was drowning.

"I need you to build a port here,"

"A port, My lord," Maege said, in confusion, "But we already have one,"

"Not a small one, but one that can accommodate a sufficient number of trade vessels comfortably and defend itself when necessary,"

"I don't think that would be feasible here, My lord. We don't have anything that is worth exporting except for fish and trees and we have no shipbuilders or builders of any kind and of course, the Ironborn would never let a port survive here..." Maege abruptly stopped listing the reasons, and said, "But you already knew all that... So why..."

"You don't have to worry about the things to export as we already have that," Eddard said calmly, "As for builders, I asked Wyman to send a few of his best builders; they should be arriving here in a few weeks and they will be the one to lead the work on the port. As for your second and third reason..." He nodded toward his son who immediately came forward as if he was waiting for it.

"My lady, I am Jon Snow," Jon bowed and said with a smile, "...and I have a special skill,"

"Special skill?" Maege asked with a tilt of her head, looking between the father and son who were acting mysteriously, and behind her, Dacey also perked up, interested in this special skill.

"May I take a seat, My Lady," Jon said, gesturing and when Lady Mormont nodded he sat on the chair.

He got as comfortable as he could before he took a deep breath, "Now don't get scared My lady..."

Before the two females in the room could express their confusion, Jon's body suddenly went limp and when they looked at his eyes they both gasped loudly, and Lady Mormont even stood up abruptly as they noticed that his pupils had completely vanished.

Remembering the legends and stories she had heard in her childhood, Maege dumbfoundingly turned to her Liege Lord who was calmly standing there without saying anything as his son performed a clear feat of magic that was feared across Westeros and was hated vehemently by the Maesters.

"What—"

Jon's eyes turned normal before Maege could question Eddard and he immediately started speaking after taking a few deep breaths, "There are ten ships hailing from Bear Islands that are currently fishing in the nearby sea and you have ten more that are docked across the villages on the island—"

Maege interrupted Jon with a surprised tone. "You're a Warg!"

"I am," Jon replied, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched her reaction.

"...Amazing!" Dacey exclaimed with wide eyes and Jon immediately provided her a smile.

Maege took a deep breath and calmly sat back in her seat. Turning to Eddard, she asked, "And you're okay with this?"

"He is my son," Eddard said with a weary smile, "While I would've preferred if he wasn't involved with magic, it is what it is,"

"I thought you would be a bit more against it since you were brought up in the south and all...But..." Maege mumbled under her breath before she shook her head and asked, "Anyway... how will this help us get ships because we don't have the resources to build a shipyard or hire experts for that..."

"For starters... I know about a village nearby that has recently acquired a few ships that they have no use for so I am sure they will be happy to trade them for some fishing boats that would be more useful for them. As for what to do after..." Jon looked into her eyes and said with a sweet smile, "Don't you have a neighbor that has an abundance of ships, I am sure they won't mind sharing a few with us every now and then,"

"I don't get it?" Dacey asked tilting her head.

"My friend up there is a very fast bird," Jon said while pointing his finger upward, "She can travel the distance that a ship takes about three days to cover— in just under an hour, So, when I warg into her I can see what she sees which means that if I want to I can always know the location of any ship I want,"

"Really..." Dacey exclaimed with wide eyes and said to her mother, "That would mean that—"

"You're right, that would be too much of an advantage," Maege nodded wonderingly.

"So what do you say," Eddard asked coming to stand in front of Maege, "Not only will this port help Bear Island but it would also provide jobs for the nearby Deepwood who I am sure would be happy to supply wood for adequate wages,"

Maege was a bit overwhelmed but she still said with a small smile, "I think, My Lord, you already know my answer..."

...

"...How much farther, now," Jon asked after a while.

"We're almost there," Dacey replied, her skilled hands manoeuvring the small boat effortlessly.

Lord Stark and Lady Mormont were finalizing all the details of the new port - discussing ownership, the optimal location for the factory, and other important matters. After Jon had given his input on the necessary details for the factory, Lady Mormont had asked Dacey to take him on a tour of the port.

As they exited the castle, Dacey led Jon straight to a small, worn-out fishing boat, urging him to climb aboard. "Is this yours?" Jon asked tentatively, feeling uneasy about boarding a boat for the first time in his life.

Dacey laughed. "No, it's not mine, but I don't think the owner will mind if I borrow it for a bit." Jon wasn't entirely convinced about that.

And when asked about where she was taking him? she only said that she wants to, "...show you something special,"

So here he was sitting on a precariously wobbling boat driven by a ten-year-old, who was driving him to an unknown place to show him something special. Jon didn't know what to think or feel, so he just laid back and enjoyed the stunning sea and the clear blue sky above. Although it was summer, the breeze was still chilly, sending pleasant shivers down his skin every now and then.

After around fifteen minutes, Dacey suddenly started rowing slowly towards a massive cliff. As they drew nearer, Jon noticed a small, hidden beach nestled between the cliffs, visible only from up close. Dacey deftly parked the boat, and with Jon's assistance, she pulled it onto the sand to prevent it from drifting away.

"So what is it that you wanted to show me," Jon asked while looking around the small sand beach that while very beautiful had nothing visible that said "special" about it.

Instead of answering, Dacey walked to the shore, took a deep breath, put her fingers in her mouth, and whistled loudly. She had an amazing set of lungs and Jon had to cover his ears, so loud was she and she continued for several seconds before finally stopping.

"Now what," Jon said after nothing happened for a while

Dacey gazed out over the horizon for a few moments before turning to him and replying, "Now we wait." She then curiously asked, "So, tell me, can you only warg into a single animal or can you do it into any animal?"

Although Jon was taken aback by the sudden change of topic, he decided to go along with her, "Well there are two types basically a Skinchanger and a Warg..."

Jon talked to her for quite a while and he didn't notice the time passing so he was very surprised when Dacey who had opened her mouth to ask him another question suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "She's here!" before happily running into the sea.

"Who's here," Jon asked bewildered but stood up nonetheless to follow her. When he was about a foot away from the sea and Dacey was waist-deep in the sea, Jon suddenly saw a small bump coming of water moving toward them rapidly. Alarmed, he stooped and asked, "What's that?"

"That's my dolphin friend," Dacey replied, without turning around. The bump began circling Dacey before rushing into her and knocking her into the water. Dacey laughed and got back up, scolding the dolphin, "Stop! Don't do that! Cory! I am not here to play with you today," while rubbing the small head that had popped up and was squeaking excitedly, "I brought a friend here to meet you—Jon what are you doing there come closer!" she waved toward Jon excitedly while her other hand played with Cory.

Jon looked at Dacey incredulously as he stepped into the water. "You have a dolphin as a friend?" he asked.

Dacey's face lit up as she replied, "Yes! I found her injured on the shore a few years ago when she was just a baby. I helped her, and she became my friend. Her name is Cory. Do you think I can warg into her?" Her eyes sparkled with hope.

"I'm not sure, I would have to check—Ahhh," Jon suddenly stumbled backward in fear as the "Dolphin" finally emerged for him to see Cory in her full glory, "That's not a dolphin!" he exclaimed. "It's a baby ORCA!"

"Eh! What's the difference," Dacey asked with a tilt of her head, still standing at her place and playing with Cory.

Jon shook his head in disbelief. "You don't know the difference between a killer whale and a dolphin? Haven't you ever read a book?"

"Really! That's amazing," Dacey said excitedly, ignoring Jon's comment about dusty old tomes that she detested with her core, "You hear that Cory, you're really strong,"

"Cory" the Orca squealed and bumped her head gently onto Dacey as if she could feel her friend's happiness. Jon had seen a documentary in his last life that explained that Orcas were really intelligent sea creatures and didn't consider humans as a part of their diet so they weren't as dangerous to humans but seeing it with his own eyes was a very different thing.

The Orca was about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters long which meant that she was still in her childhood phase as he knew that they grow up to be about 32 feet.

"So tell me," Dacey asked again, "Can I warg into her,"

Jon opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to articulate his feeling but ultimately he just shook his head and decided to go with the flow. He closed his eyes and sent a scattered intent of his mind that he usually did and almost immediately he could feel the only two minds nearby. It was easy to see that the simpler mind belong to the baby orca and the complex squiggly-shaped mind belonged to Dacey.

"Ah—" Jon exclaimed and immediately opened his eyes in surprise when he noticed that there already existed a preliminary bond between the two of them, and while it was very fragile at the moment, it would be easy to strengthen it.

"What happened? Tell me. Can I warg into her,"

"I can say for sure that you definitely can," Jon nodded.

"Yes! You hear that Cory. That's amazing," Dacey started jumping in happiness and playing with her.

...

Later that day after an extensive talk between Lord Stark, his bastard, and Lady Mormont, it was announced that Jon would stay as a ward at Bear Island for about two years. Lord Stark left after staying there for a week and the work on the port started a week after that with a lot of scepticism from the locals.