House of Metal 37
Ravens were sent out within hours of Ultron declaring himself Lord of King's Landing. It shocked everyone, who hadn't met the metal man.
Upon hearing the news, Arya had snorted, Stannis had nodded, Sansa had sighed, Renly had shuddered, and every Baratheon man who had met him on the King's Road was very glad they had evacuated King's Landing.
Joer Mormont, Commander of the Night's Watch, had little to say on the matter, and Jon Snow, another man who had met the metal being, had not even come close to receiving word of this development. He only learnt of it, in fact, when Bran and his company entered the tent village of Mance Rayder.
The Bastard blinked in shock from beside his wildling lover Ygritte as his crippled brother was carried by Hodor into the camp. Bran waved at him happily. He waved back in a daze.
"Who's that then?" Ygritte asks.
Jon turns his eyes to her and replies, "My half-brother, Bran."
"An' why's he bein' carried?" the fire haired woman asks, "Hiss legs not workin' or something?"
Jon nods, "He fell from the top of one of the Towers in Winterfell."
"Ooh, sorry," Ygritte mutters, then she gives him a smirk, "Well let's go say hello then!"
"What?" Jon asks as the woman grabs his arm and starts dragging him through the camp, stopping in front of the guards that Bran had brought.
The men stare at them, each other, and then back at the pair before one calls out, "I think Jon Snow just came!"
"Oh, good!" Bran's voice calls, then in a lower tone Jon can hear him asking, "Do you mind if my brother joins us?"
He is answered by a grunt in the negative, and the guards part, revealing Bran and Mance Rayder. Jon's arm is let go, and he and Ygritte walk up to Bran, who had been deposited into some kind of folding chair. Jon stands uncertainly above his brother, but a shove from Ygritte drops him into a hug with his second youngest brother.
"I missed you, Jon," Bran tells him
"And I you," Jon replies.
Mance sighs, and coughs to get the brother's attention. As they part, Bran smiles in thanks to Ygritte, who raises her eyebrows at the police kneeler, but nods back at him. Mance, calling attention back to himself, asks, "You were saying something about the Horn?"
"Yes," Bran nods, "I know where it is, and I and my men are leading an expedition to retrieve it. I would like you and your army to take it south of the wall."
Ygritte and Jon stare uncomprehendingly at Bran, Jon asking, "What do you mean, south of the wall?"
"As interim Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, I have offered the Wildlings land in the North, so that they can escape the White Walkers. As for the Horn, I do not want the Walkers or their wights access to a weapon that could destroy the Wall."
"You're just letting us walk through the Wall?" Ygritte asks
"Yes," Bran nods, "I am at your camp to negotiate the laws under which you will act when you pass through it."
"We don't follow kneeler laws," She growls
"I don't expect you to," Bran shrugs, "Nor do kneelers follow free folk laws. Thus a compromise needs to be made so we don't end up slaughtering each other."
Ygritte frowns, but has to think on what the crippled lord has told him. Before she can offer rebuttal, Mance takes back control of the conversation, saying, "You and your men don't need to look for the Horn, we've already got it."
"Oh!" Bran smiles, "That makes this all the easier!"
"So you're gonna be walking us to the Wall and through?" Mance asks
"No," Brann shakes his head, "My journey will be taking me further north, maybe even into the land of always winter. There are answers there that I need so that I can help fight the walkers."
"You'll need a guide," Ygritte points out
Mance looks at her, "You volunteering?"
The girl nods, which Jon finds himself unsurprised by, and then she turns to him and asks, "You gonna come with?"
Jon blinks, not having expected the question. After blinking a few more times, and looking between Mance, Ygritte, and Bran, he nods. After all, without the wildlings as a threat, it was the walkers that were a danger, and if the walkers were the danger and Bran needs information to stop them, his duty as a man of the watch had him follow his brother.
It would also give him more time with Ygritte, but that went unmentioned.
"Great!" Bran smiles, then he calls to his guards, "Ser Davos, we will be joined by Jon and Ygritte! Are your men ready to lead Mance back to the wall?"
"They are," Ser Davos nods as he and Shireen approach, decked out in newly attired wildling furs, "And none too happy about being taken out of your adventure this early."
Bran smiles at the knight, "Well, be sure to remind them that they shouldn't complain about the cold to a Northerner, next time."
Davos chuckles and nods, "I'll be sure to tell them. Rest well Lord Stark, Princess Shireen, we depart at first light."
Jon watches the knight leave, and his eyes are only taken away from him when Ygritte asks, "S'wrong with your face?"
"I was infected with greyscale as a child," Shireen replies
"And you're still breathing?" the archer raises an eyebrow and nods, "Impressive little thing, you are."
Shireen smiles at her in that way that made her men melt at her feet, and Ygritte was no different, and asks, "While the boys are catchin' up, want me to teach you some tricks?"
Shireen smiles and waves goodbye to Brann as she is led off.
Brann and Jon stare after them, then at each other awkwardly. It would have continued like that for a while longer, if Mance had not set a bottle of drink on the table, "You boys look like you could use this."
As he leaves, Jon pours two mugs and hands one to Bran, then starts, "So, how's things at home?"