Chapter 10: And who are you the Pryde Lord said
Jeor Mormont had joined the Nights Watch shortly after the Rebellion and had been voted Lord Commander just before the Greyjoy Rebellion. Things seemed to be going well with all the castles being repaired and conditions on the Wall had become livable, but the Watch did not have enough men to man all the castles. Different houses of the North had sent a portion of their men to man a few castles temporarily.
He had just begun training Stannis Baratheon as his replacement when his world went to shit. Ned Stark sent a flood of Ironborn to the Wall and it was his duty to turn them into men of the Nights Watch. Thankfully, the Warden of the North had the foresight to completely break their spirits and send enough men of the North to forge the broken men into brothers of the Night's Watch. Cottor Pyke had become one of the most important man to the Night's Watch and if an election been held now, the bitter dour drunk would have become a Lord Commander without question.
But as summer flourished, the Night's Watch grew stronger. Slowly all castles on the Wall were returned to control of the Night's Watch. Each of the nineteen castles were garrisoned by a minimum of two thousand men in each castle. Jeor had informed trusted men to prepare for a civil war within the Watch due to the sudden flood of the Ironborn. Hother Umber was also prepared to provide assistance from Queenscrown if necessary.
However, the Ironborn made only one attempt to take over West-watch-by-the-bridge. Denys Mallister was in charge at the Shadow Tower. As soon as word spread, he quickly culled half of the problematic Ironborn he had been keeping an eye on at Shadow Tower and took the rest of the garrison to attack the rebelling men of the Night's Watch. The mutiny was quickly put down and the rebelling brothers of the Night's Watch were put to the sword without mercy. The other Ironborn would not attempt a revolt, but now and then a man would abandon their post and run south where they would inevitably be caught and beheaded for oathbreaking.
The Umber brothers had been of great help to the Lord Commander. One provided food and supplies to the watch and the other reduced the number of wildling attacks on the Wall. There were rumors of the Others stirring. Even the Warden of the North had said they are out there. A word from Eddard 'Ironbreaker' Stark was enough for the North to keep a wary eye on the North. That made him think about what had been discovered under the tunnels of the Nightfort.
"Stannis. How many rooms of obsidian have they found?" Jeor asked
"Eight rooms of arrowheads, three rooms of daggers and a few swords" Stannis stated stoically.
"Tell them to leave all rooms of obsidian as they are. How many sets of armor?"
"A hundred of bronze and four dozen of the iron"
"Alright. Send one of each to Winterfell and Runestone. They should be able to shed some light on them. If I'm not wrong, there is a Royce at the University. What else?"
"The iron cages."
"Send one of those as well with the armor."
"The only thing left is the issue of the glowing weirwood tree"
"Ah yes. I'm surprised Rodrick the Reader hasn't read of the stories. Tell them to leave the lower levels untouched. Repairing the upper levels should be enough. The Ironborn won't be able to handle what they find down there." Jeor said ominously.
"What won't they be able to handle?" Stannis asked with a raised brow
"Old things. Ancient powers. Problems to be dealt with another day."
"What is to be done about the Wildlings?" Stannis asked.
"Mors Umber has gotten half a dozen clans under him at Hardhome numbering around thirty thousand. Mance has fifteen thousand men. The Haunted forest still has small clans of fifty thousand that roam. Mance will probably try to convince them and attack Hardhome once he can outnumber them."
"Will the Watch interfere? Our oaths are to man the Wall and guard the Realm", Stannis warned.
"Aye. We will not interfere. But we will allow Whoresbane Umber to pass with his forces through Castle Black. You will join them as a guide till Hardhome and back. Halfhand will accompany you. Better start training with Ser Allister and getting your skills up to par. Are you sure about not training the Baratheon Beserker rage?"
"King Robert is a man who I no longer consider my kin. I will not ask him anything on the pain of death. When I took the Black, I forsook my heritage. I will not train my blood gifts in respect for my father and Renly alone. Fuck Robert the Kinslayer" Stannis said with tempered rage.
"Very well. Your duties as Steward will be reduced and you will train twice as hard in the yard. I expect you to be able to defend against 5 men."
Tyrion was enjoying his year with his uncle Gerion on Dragonstone when tragedy struck. A small doll was placed in the crib of Joy Hill that was infected with Greyscale. Maesters, magicians, healers and sorcerers from all over the world were given a bounty to cure her. Gerion Lannister put his entire personal fortune at stake for his bastard daughter's life. His wife Selyese prevented the Northern Acolytes from visiting, but Gerion put a stop to it the minute he heard of it.
The acolyte and a Maester worked together and managed to stop the infection spreading after a long painful surgery that had the little girl screaming and her father holding her hand throughout the procedure. The end result was Joy losing her voice and being heavily scarred with half her face and upper right arm being covered by the scars. The incident however was the death of any familial bonds between Gerion and Tywin.
Gerion had written to Tywin requesting a loan so he could increase the bounty for saving his daughter's life. Tywin however, had replied that saving a bastard daughter's life was not worth the money and instead offered to pay for a ship to take her to the Sorrows where the Stone men dwelt. Gerion's rage was palpable but was kept in check with worry for his daughter. When she recovered however, he took a ship up to Kings Landing to meet with Tywin. Tyrion did not believe his father was capable of this degree of apathy and joined his uncle.
The uncle and dwarf walked into the offices of the Hand. The Lannister guardsmen were going to object, but Gerion chose to toss a purse of coin at each of them and walked through the doors.
"I always knew you were a cold cunt Tywin, but you continue to surprise me" Gerion roared.
"Have a seat"
"I think the fuck not" Gerion snarled and started pacing angrily.
Tyrion chose to sit at a table off the the side away from the two lions about to fight. Cersei and Jamie had heard about Gerion's arrival and wanted to be fashionably late. However, this was not a normal meeting of the family and they entered to see Gerion pick up a chair and throw it across the room.
"Stop acting like a child and SIT DOWN" Tywin roared
"OH FUCK YOU! I'm done listening to your bullshit about family and legacy!" Gerion matched him in volume. The youngest Lannister brother was done making jokes and japes. His eyes landed on Cersei and he roared "Oh the Queen Bitch finally graces us with her presence! You and your father are cut from the same cloth. Neither could give a flying fuck about their own blood unless they could use them as a power grab. Tell me was it really that hard to part with a couple jewels to save your niece?"
"She is a bastard uncle. Do you really expect me to answer that?"
Jamie decided to walk over to Tyrion and get away from the fight. He had sent what little gold he had on hand as soon as he could send it discreetly to Dragonstone. Tyrion poured him a glass and the two brothers watched and drank as the family drama unfolded.
"SHE IS MY DAUGHTER! I would gladly give up my life if it meant she could live. I thought you, as a mother could understand the sentiment. Especially when you lost a babe yourself."
"Your daughter is one of many children in the Lannister family and you will have trueborn children from your Florent wife. They will be more important to the Lannister family legacy than a baseborn daughter no noble will marry." Cersei said as she walked over and took the remaining chair in front of Tywin's desk.
"Fuck the Lannister family legacy if it will let its members die while others watch on in apathy. Tell me Tywin, how well will the family legacy thrive if I abandon the Lannister name for being as desperate for power as a whore is for gold?"
"You would not dare" Tywin said coldly as he rose off his chair
"The King gave me Dragonstone after a single night of drinking. He likes me better than you for the simple fact that I can recognize a joke unlike your constipated ass and your frozen cunt of a daughter being herself. He will legitimize Joy and maybe think about legitimizing some of his own bastards along the way?"
"What. Do. You. Want."
"See. That right there. You think everything is about wants. No Tywin. Tyg is gone and I'm done calling you brother because you and Kevan willingly choose to not protect your own blood. You treat Tyrion like shit for being born for no fault of his own. You let Cersei make his life hell and turn a blind eye to it. You keep Gemma married to that fucking Frey. You are worse than a kinslayer. You keep your family alive and savor their pain for defying your plans for them but do nothing for their happiness unless there was something in it for you."
"The house that puts family first will always defeat the house that puts the-"
"Save your horsecrap for those that get scared by you. Fuck you and Fuck the Lannisters."
"You do anything to harm the Lannister Legacy and I will have Joy married to a Frey bastard and send her to the Twins." Tywin roared
"You forget who I am Tywin. I know the bodies you have buried and where they lay entombed. I can very easily destroy your precious legacy within a moons turn. But no, that would be too easy. I will make you watch as your legacy crumbles around you and you will be helpless to do anything about it. You will have Lannister blood on the throne and the heir you so need, but all your precious victories will turn to ash in your mouth and you will choke on your own ambitions one day. That I swear."
Gerion walked out before Tywin or Cersei could say anything. The room was silent for a few moments until Tyrion broke the silence.
"Fuck the Lannisters", he raised his glass, emptied it and hobbled out of the room. Jamie silently smiled and raised his glass slightly but not enough for his father or sister to notice.
Tyrion left the Tower of the Hand and followed after his uncle. There were few places he could have gone. Unlike his father, Gerion was perfectly capable of crafting elaborate schemes on the fly and execute them with maximum impact. The only place Tywin could be hurt was via the King. Tyrion's guess was proven right when he found his uncle acting especially drunk with the King and Thoros of Myr.
"You really called him a whore for power?" Robert asked incredulously
"Ask Tyrion!" Gerion said loudly as he downed another glass of wine.
"I shall utter no more words sober. But yes. He did." Tyrion said with a smile. Robert roared with laughter at that.
The four began drinking quite heavily as the King, the red priest and the two Lannisters began laughing and sharing stories. The next morning, Gerion managed to get the King to sign a letter legitimizing his daughter Joy and officially changing his name from Lannister to Pryde.
Tywin was still pissed when Baelish walked into his room carrying a book.
"Lord Tywin. The Iron Bank has sent a-"
"Baelish. If I have to hear one more lie out of you, I will cut pieces off of you that will be as large as the lie you tell me" Tywin said with a glass of wine in hand.
"I have no need to lie to you my lord" Baelish said with his usual smile
Tywin said nothing and continued staring at the Master of Coin. Baelish would never admit it but Tywin was one of the few men that scared him.
"Why have you taken a loan of five hundred thousand dragon loan from the Iron Bank?" Tywin asked
"Because by the time the money gets here, the treasury will be empty, my Lord Hand."
"Baelish. Do you know why you still keep your head?"
"Because I am good at my job?" Baelish asked nervously
"That you are. But you are also a smart man. And a smart man knows who he can outwit and get away with. Do you think the crown is one such entity you hope to outwit?"
"I only wish to serve the crown my Lord Hand."
"Good. Now, where would a Lord of a little keep get the balls to take loans from the Iron Bank off his own initiative on behalf of the crown?" Tywin said with a glare.
"The King decreed that the Rock would not be allowed to hold the debts over the crowns head and loans were to be procured from any place other than Casterly Rock before approaching you, My lord."
Tywin quietly seethed. Why was he always forced to serve as hand to incompetent Kings who made idiotic decisions?
"That stops now. No more loans from the Iron Bank. Or the Faith. Religion must be kept separate from the King's authority at all costs. And the next time the King wants a tourney, bring me an expenditure plan to build a permanent tourney grounds. I will not have the Royal Treasury bear the cost of setting up and dismantling the infrastructure every few months."
"Yes, my Lord Hand."
"What are your plans for repayment?"
"Repayment, my Lord?"
"Do not test me Baelish. You walk around with a smirk that screams you are smarter than everyone else. It is time to prove it."
"Well, my Lord Hand, if the Iron Throne was to repay the loans on taxes alone, it would take a twenty-year summer with bountiful harvests with the new Northern ploughs with no disruption."
"You make it sound like it is not possible. Why?"
"Well my lord, some farms in the Riverlands began using the Northern Wintersteel ploughs and have received bountiful harvests but the price for food has been steadily falling due to the increased supply. This has left many peasants losing coin. Lady Olenna banned the ploughs in the Reach but the crop rotations still have produced record breaking harvests. So even if selling the grain across the Narrow Sea is a viable option, the operating costs have increased substantially while the commodity keeps depreciating in value."
Tywin growled under his breath
"Economics is a beast more ferocious and ruthless than any number of dragons. Send a raven to the Citadel and the University. Tell them, the institute to provide the most effective solution will receive a Royal grant of a hundred thousand dragons with no strings attached to it."
"Yes, my Lord."
Baelish left and Tywin sat at his desk. The University of Frost had churned out many inventions that made a lot of money. The Westerlands needed a center of learning of their own and the mines of Casterly Rock could easily provide more financial incentives than the Starks. Ravens were then sent to Lannisport and the Citadel regarding the same. This time, the Citadel could not refuse as the precedence was set. The Bookden would be built upon the ruins of Tarbeck Hall and Tywin Lannister's name and legacy would be remembered for all of history and would act as insurance against his three children.
Gerion and Tyrion raced back to Dragonstone. No man was dumb enough to insult Tywin and stay to rub it in his face. However, they were surprised to find Gemma Lannister already at Dragonstone waiting to greet them.
"Brother. Tyrion. The next time you decide to leave, remember to not leave your bastard daughter with the woman who hopes to give you trueborn children. Even a subtle glance at history can tell you why that would be a bad idea."
"Well, good thing she no longer is a bastard then" Gerion smirked.
"Oh what did you do?" Gemma asked exasperatedly.
"Tywin and Cersei did not much care for familial ties with my daughter. So I decided to tarnish the Lannister family legacy as much as I could and will continue to do so."
Gemma sighed and sat down. She had seen the bonds of brotherhood break between her family too many times. Tywin used an Iron hand everywhere and Kevan dutifully followed. Poor Tygett tried to break out of Tywin's shadow by becoming a warrior but Tywin kept him on a lease. Gerion saw his elder brother's trappings and chose to have fun and mock Tywin. Perhaps it was just a matter of time before conflict rose between the family.
"What now?"
"I would like to ask for sanctuary Uncle" Tyrion joked.
"You will have it. It's about time you started learning anyway." Gerion replied.
"Would that be wise Gerion? Tywin should be the one doing this." Gemma interrupted.
"Learning what? I finished my lessons on running the Rock a long time ago. Father would rather die than let me have Casterly Rock though."
Both Gerion and Gemma ignored him. "Look at him Gemma and tell me you do not see Tywin's intelligence, cunning and Joanna's heart in him. He is the heir the Rock needs and deserves but will never get because of Tywin's hatred."
Gemma sighed and sat down. "Very well brother. But tell me you are doing this for Tyrion's sake and not because you wish to hurt Tywin at any cost."
"Oh dear sister, why can't it be both?" Gerion smirked.
Gemma poured herself a glass of wine and said, "Alright. But I will be supervising every lesson. You were a smart student who picked up father's lessons quickly but you ditched me for far too many lessons to remember everything correctly."
"Running from your husband are you?"
"With any luck, he will cause his own death and free me from looking at his ugly face." Gemma toasted to that and drained the glass.
"Tell me Tyrion, what do you remember about the Valyrians?"
"Everything that can be found in the libraries of the Rock, Kings Landing and Dragonstone. Could you be more specific?" Tyrion bragged unsubtly.
"Yes. Well, what can you tell me about the prophecy that said the Valyrians would be doomed by the Lion's gold which was why the Valyrians dared not touch Westeros?"
Tyrion's eyes grew wide and he sputtered into his glass of wine. Some of which came out of his misshapen nose. Gerion laughed loudly because he had intentionally timed his words with his nephew's drinking. Gemma smiled into her glass. These lessons would be the most fun she'd had since her marriage.
A month passed and the wolves prepared for the fight in the yard. Lord Eddard 'Ironsbane' Stark and his sons Robb 'Young Wolf' Stark and Jorah 'Jon' Snow stood across the training yard. Boys and men of all ages clambered around the yard to watch the fight. Lady Catelyn took the most prominent seat in the window and was surrounded by girls and other ladies of the household. Bets flew hard and fast between people as the three men warmed up. Lord Benjen Duseren had insisted on being there and was going to act as the mediator during the fight. Domeric Bolton, Smalljon Umber and Asher Forrester had also rushed to Winterfell when they heard of the fight.
The Warden of the North cut an imposing figure at six and a quarter feet and broad muscular shoulders. He had chosen a sparring sword the same size as Ice but half as thick. The weight difference between castle forged steel and Valyrian Steel would play an important role during the fight. On the other end, Robb Stark looked every bit Tully as he did Stark. His long face was characteristic of the Starks but his flaming red hair and bright blue eyes were inherited in their entirety from Riverrun. At six feet in height, the five and ten-year old was promising to be just as large as his father and just as imposing.
On the other hand, Jorah Snow looked almost exactly like Lord Stark in looks but had a slimmer and taller build. His cheekbones also featured more prominently and flecks of violet glinted in his bright grey eyes. The Heir and the bastard both had chosen hand and a half sword each as they would allow for mobility and maneuverability against a great sword but also allow for parries.
The fight began with the young wolves circling Lord Stark. Each of them sank into their Wolfsbloods and felt everything slow down around them. Their senses heightened and their movements sped up. Robb and Jorah chose to charge and engage Lord Stark from opposite sides. Ned simply deflected Robbs swipe and dodged Jorah's swipe and spun around to keep both boys in front of him. The greatsword would allow for hard and strong movements but after committing to a swing, it would be difficult to change directions.
The boys knew this and were constantly trying to attack from the flanks but Lord Stark kept moving and forcing them closer to each other. Ten minutes had passed and the boys were not able to make any dent in Lord Starks defense. That was when Eddard Stark went on the offensive. By defending for five minutes, the boys had been forced to exert a lot of energy and were now hard pressed to defend against him. The boys struggled to defend and were forced on the back foot multiple times. The sound of ringing steel echoed throughout the yard as they were pushed back and forced to defend.
Then Robb stumbled over a patch of wet mud and slipped. His momentary distraction cost him and left a gap in his defense his father immediately exploited. Jorah saw the blow headed towards his brother but both their swords were too far away to block or parry in time. Jorah instead chose to shove his left arm into the way of the oncoming blade and knock it off course. Pain exploded around his arm as it struck the flat side of the blade.
Robb saw everything happen and grew furious at his brother's injury. Rage thundered through him and he held his father off to give Jorah a moment to recover. Jorah recovered quickly and joined his brother but his left arm hampered his movements. Benjen had his arm raised to call off the fight after Jorah had been injured but seeing the snarl on Robbs face, he decided to let the fight continue. Eddard also saw Jorah's injury and eased the attack till he recovered.
Robb and Jorah were back in the attack and it seemed the battle would draw to a stalemate. However, seventeen minutes had passed and the exhaustion was starting to set in. Power, stamina and strength were running out and the mind became far more valuable in the fight. This was when Robb and Jorah decided to use their latest trick. The two brothers reached out to each other with their minds like they would while warging with an animal. They could only share the most basic of instincts and feelings but used whatever they could to fight better with the other.
Their fighting style slowly changed. During the fight the two had been attacking and defending themselves, but now they were both taking over their partners' defense and this allowed them more freedom while attacking. Eddard was reminded of his fight with Arthur Dayne where one sword took over offense while the other defended and switched between them. The two brothers were in perfect harmony and fought like they were one mind in two bodies.
However, Ned was not a feared warrior for nothing, and he fought with a calm mind and with complete control over every movement. He parried and deflected every offense with the momentum of his greatsword and used the very next movement to attack or create a new opening. The fight continued and the two brothers slowly began breaking out of their rhythm. Gaps began opening up in their form as exhaustion set in. Ned decided to finish the fight with an overhead strike but the brothers crossed their swords and held the weight of the greatsword off.
Jorah's left arm had no strength left in it but he refused to break. Robb could see the toll it took on his brother and was about to concede the fight when the weight suddenly disappeared and the two brothers collapsed into the ground panting. Twenty minutes had passed and Benjen had called for the fight to end. Cheers exploded around the yard and the gallery as money exchanged hands and excited chatter filled the yard. Nobody could believe the fight they had witnessed. The heir to the North and his half-brother had created a legend for themselves with this fight and reports of their martial prowess would soon spread across the North and beyond.
The entire city was abuzz with talk of the fight for the rest of the day. But the men of the hour were all recovering under the watchful gaze of Maester Luwin. Lord Stark sat next to the boys with his right arm in a sling. Both Robb and Jorah were passed out cold from exhaustion and were spared the tongue lashing he received from Catelyn and Daenerys for hurting them. Ned had never felt the urge to run away and join the Night's Watch more than in the moment when he saw his lady wife walking towards him with rage in her eyes.
That night, the boys woke up and Ned quietly snuck them out of the castle and into the Godswood for their second challenge. This one was perhaps harder than the fight they had had because the Wolfsblood by its very nature was chaos unleashed. Fighting with the Wolfsblood was easier as it relied on instincts and strength. While meditating however, the instincts were looking for threats and finding none and the strength was left unused. This allowed for the mind to gain better control over them and retain more rational thoughts. The two boys sat down in their usual spots to meditate and sank into the Wolfsblood.
Both of them had been regularly managing to hold it for an hour for the past couple of days. But Jorah kept losing focus and snarled and growled under his breath. This led to Robb feeling his brother's distress and breaking his focus.
"What's the matter Jon?" Robb asked.
"It's nothing. Let's try again." Jorah replied dismissing Robb's concerns
A few couple more failed attempts later, Jorah's frustration started rising. Robb decided they needed a break and decided to take Jorah on a walk around the Godswood. Ned sat meditating under the Weirwood tree and chose to expand his senses instead to keep an eye and ear on his sons.
"Okay. What is the matter with you? We managed an hour just last night. What has changed?" Robb asked
Jorah was uncertain and for a moment did not say anything.
"Do you remember the saying father loves?" Jorah asked
"Winter is coming? Those are our house words. Couldn't forget them if I tried."
"Your house. Not mine. But no, that is not the saying. When the snows fall and the white winds blow-"
"The lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Robb completed.
"Aye. Whenever father says it, you hear the importance of keeping the pack together in times of adversity. When I hear it, I hear something different. The snows that fall are not that melt but those that are born. The white winds are the challenges to the pack and it is up to the snows to be the first line of defense for the pack. We are the lone wolves that fall so that the pack survives."
"That is all fair and good but both you and I know you are no Snow."
"That does not matter to me. My mother made her choices. I am making mine. Whether or not a Septon authorized their marriage, I have no desire to sit on the Iron Throne. I am of the North and I will always stay in the North. You are my brother and Daenerys is my sister. Blood of the covenant is stronger than water of the womb."
"Touching as that is, why do you wish to play the role of the self-sacrificing shield for our family?" Robb asked frustrated.
"Is that not the way of the North? Brandon Snow was prepared to shoot down Aegon's dragons with three weirwood arrows at the cost of his life. Torrhen chose to bend the knee and Brandon Snow took the second sons of the North to Essos as insurance against betrayal by the dragons. To this day, the Company of the Rose is well known in Essos three hundred years later."
"Today you took a blow meant for me. I cannot let you do that for me again." Robb said resolutely
"Nay. I will. Because you will never have to ask me to. I will be there. I imagine, if father had a Snow by his side, the Snow would be the one leading the massacre of the Ironborn so that Lord Stark would not have to bear the pain of doing so himself. Like Bloodraven stood by his trueborn brother Daeron II even after being legitimised."
"Is this why you push to learn as much as you can from him? So you can one day take his place as the Master of Whispers for the North?"
"Aye. Brynden Rivers is going to die soon. He needs an heir. I will be his heir. I will take on the mantle of the three eyed spirit and defend the North. Ever since the Rebellion and the resurgence of the North, murmurs of independence grow stronger amongst both the smallfolk and the nobles. It is only a matter of time before they declare you King in the North. I will be your Master of Whisperers and watch your back."
"Do you really think they will declare father a King of Winter?"
"Nay brother. I think they will declare you King in the North."
"Why the fuck would they do something like that? Father has done more for the North than any Stark since Cregan. He deserves to be King much more than I do."
"Aye. But he is also friends with King Robert. Declaring himself King would mean declaring war on his brother. Father would never let that happen. Even if King Robert dies, father would not accept a crown out of respect for his friend. It will happen only after King Robert dies and you become Lord Stark. There is a long time before that happens."
"You will still marry and have children and rule a holdfast. You will not haunt Winterfell as my shadow. Am I understood?" Robb demanded.
"Of course brother" Jorah smirked.
"Wipe that grin off your face. We still have to complete our hour. And when you tell Dany, do not mention that line about Snows falling and lone wolves dying. She will flay you worse than a Bolton."
Jorah gulped at that thought. Dany had been learning all about being a ferocious and strong Lady at the knees of Lady Catelyn Stark. Both of whom became worse than demons when angered. The two boys walked back to the tree and sat down and began meditating. An hour passed with their Wolfsblood roaring for release in their hearts but their minds maintained control for the entire hour. Ned broke them out of their trances and the two began panting heavily. Keeping the Wolfsblood on a leash always left them panting and exhausted. It was easier to hold the Wolfsblood during a fight or training.
As they recovered Ned silently stood over them breathing heavily. He had overheard the entire conversation but chose not to address it directly.
"Well done boys. I am proud of you" Ned said overflowing with pride.
The two only groaned in response. Ned laughed and helped them on their feet and snuck them back into the Maesters tower. Luckily they made it back and nobody noticed.