Shirou POV

It's been two days since our group arrived in this unknown world. The girls already caught me up with the situation. Medea and Sakura summoned a bunch of their familiars to scout the surrounding area and get a feel of what they're dealing with.

They found out about a few things. First of all, the area around the abandoned castle is an inhospitable asshat of a swamp. Bogs, bugs, quicksand, venomous snakes, and what could only be described as komodo dragons having a threesome with a crocodile and a lion. Just think of the worst things you can find in the swamp and just put it there—Rin's ranting after they figured out what their surroundings have lasted for four hours.

The second thing we found is they are in this world's equivalent of the medieval age. Fifteen kilometers Northwest is a small village with 32 families. To their southwest is a floating castle using the more extensive waterways to maneuver itself through the swamp. To the west is the coast. Thirty kilometers west is a somewhat maintained highway where a huge army passed by. It's quite lucky that the road between the castle we're in and the highway is so poorly maintained that it's basically non-existent.

The third thing is what we need to keep our attention on. Well, third, fourth, and fifth, to be honest. One of Medea's crow found two groups of armed men converging to the south of the castle. The group of 30 coming from the south is made up of what looks like rangers who are short in stature and use primitive weapons even for this world's assumed age. From the east is made up of two parts, both of which are riding horses. One group of 20 is similar to the one from the south, and the other is a heavily armored group of 72 with steel weapons.

It is worth noting that a person from the east is wearing significantly higher quality armor and clothing than the rest. PrOf course, the magic sword. Who could forget the magical sword?

Thi final concerning detail is that some of the smaller men can somehow sense the familiars if they got too close. The well-dressed small man being the most sensitive of them all.

"So, what are we going to do with the visitors?" Ilya asked.

"Visitors? One of them is probably the noble who owns the castle and the surrounding area. We are the intruders in that case." Sakura countered.

"A good noble would protect their lands against intruders or at least check up on it to make sure that they're not a threat to their people." Artoria weighed into which Medea nodded, as expected of former royalty.

"Why can't we just leave now?" Rin asked irritably.

She has a point there. We can try to hide in this world, and with our skills and knowledge, we can leave quite comfortably. However, there's something they need to know, and the easiest way to find out about it is to meet the group.

"We'll meet them here. If one of those guys is really a noble, I want to milk him for every information we can get..." I decided. I might still have a hero complex buried somewhere deep in me, but the girl's safety is my number 1 priority. "It's easier to deal with them now and deal with them if it goes wrong. Otherwise, we'll part ways."

"I would rather not fight soldiers who are just doing their jobs, Shirou." Artoria replied, purposely avoiding using the word kill.

"A proper show of force could deter them from doing anything stupid." Ilya suggested.

"I think it would be prudent to use low-tier spells based on the prana sensitivity exhibited by one of their men." Medusa weighed in.

"We'll be a secluded group of magicians that got accidentally transported by one of our experiments. It's true enough that it can pass if they have someone who can discern the truth." Medea added.

"That's the plan. Medea and Artoria will be with me to meet them. Medusa would take to the sky and monitor the situation. Rin, Sakura, and Ilya would camp at the top of the castle and get ready to carpet bomb them if all goes to hell." I never got used to killing people, but sometimes, it's the only thing you could do to protect what's important. And I'll burn this world if I have to.

Eddard POV

Magic. Magic is real.

I know about Old Nan's story about the old Stark riding direwolves into battle. About giants, grumpkins, and snarks. The others and the children of the forest.The three-eyed raven and skinchangers. All of these things I have to rethink about.

Howland weaving a tale about greenseers and skin changes on the spot is less likely than the story being true, as strange as that sounds.

Howland told me about magic a bit away from camp the night before. Now he's telling me what got him spooked. Something worrying enough to tell me one of Reed's family secret.

"Look over there, Ned." Howland pointed to a raven sitting on a branch quire some ways away.

"The one that feels like staring at us?" I asked. It's a bit disconcerting feeling seeing crow observe you so thoroughly.

"That's because it is, or at least its owner is..." Howland replied. "It feels like a skinchanged animal but not quite. It's like the consciousness of the person is not inside the animal like a normal skinchanger. Only connected..." That certainly got my attention. "It's been following us since we left the King's Road. Whoever my people detected entering Moat Cailin, they know we're coming."

"How many are they?"

"Seven. One man and six women. All well dressed, like a noble. It is possible everyone is a magic user."

I had to contain an involuntary shiver hearing Howland's reply.

"You know more about this than I do. What do you suggest we do?"

"I would say ambush them, but we already lost the element of surprise. The next best thing we could do is meet them and hope they won't kill us on sight. I hope 120 fighters are enough."

"Are magic users that powerful?"

"No, not usually. Most can barely do any magic and are physically weak, but some of our seers who were able to pierce their veil felt incredible power from them..." I don't know if I should be relieved or not, but even Brandon would not be prepared to deal with something like this. "My scouts are unsure, but they saw a large white horse with massive wings. So expect everything."

"We're close. Moat Cailin is just beyond this treeline." Howland told me.

We didn't waste any time after meeting the rest of Howland's group and immediately left for Moat Cailin. My men were tense due to not knowing where they're going and what are they doing, but they followed nonetheless. I think it's time to tell them more.

"Let's make a temporary camp here and rest up. I'll talk to my men. They need to be prepared for what's coming."

Howland nodded and took over command to create a camp. As soon as they were done, I gathered everyone.

"I'm sure some of you already figured it out by now, but we're heading to Moat Cailin..." I pin the group with a hard stare before continuing. "Word of warning, whatever you see or hear today should not be repeated after today..." I waited to make sure everyone understood my order. "Two days ago, Lord Reed discovered a group of seven entered Moat Cailin. This group may or may not have some unique abilities that are quite worrying if proven true. That's why we'll take every precaution we can..." My men still look skeptical about the group of invaders, but they look like they'll still follow orders nonetheless. "Two of Lord Reed's men and three of my own will stay here to guard the camp. If the rest of us haven't returned by nightfall, you'll send word to the army making their way up north. The rest of Lord Reed's men will surround Moat Cailin and scout the area. Everyone else will follow Lord Reed and me to see if the group is hostile. Understood!?"

"" Yes!!!""

"Good. Have your lunch, and we'll move out."

The men dismissed themselves and ate their lunch. I feel my stomach churning just thinking of what might happen, but I still need to look strong in front of my men. Hence the dried meat I was eating right now.

"Nervous?" Howland asked after he approached me.

"That obvious?"

"No. I just know you better."

Both of us stayed in companionable silence.

I felt two things the moment I laid my eyes on Moat Cailin. Awe and sadness. As the first man-made defense of the North, it is one of the largest castles in the North. Not once has it been conquered from the south. Though after almost 300 years of disuse, only three of its twenty towers remain standing.

The swamp has taken over much of its grounds, but anyone with a strategic eye could see why Moat Cailin would be hard to conquer. The attacking force could never assemble a large army in front of the castle due to the naturally limited space around it.

"Looks like they are waiting for us."

Howland snapped me out of my thoughts. I can see three people standing at the dilapidated gate, two females and one male. I don't have an eye for clothes, but even I can see that they are dressed in the most expensive clothing he had ever seen.

Not to mention that they are the most attractive group of people he had ever seen. And they say Valyrians are beautiful.

One peculiar thing that caught my eye, though. They are not dressed for the weather. The Neck may not have the same temperatures back in Winterfell, but it's still the North. How can they stand there without fur or layers? Oh, right. Magic.

"Don't draw your swords, but be prepared to strike them down in a moment's notice."

I reminded everyone before walking towards the entrance with as much confidence as he can muster. Howland stayed to my left and Jory Cassel to my right.

Let's see what these magicians want.

AN

So Shirou and Ned are about to meet. I'm still thinking about what Shirou's group would do, but they'll undoubtedly be affiliated with the North.

It's just the easiest to build up power while remaining undetected there aside from going to Essos. And besides, I want to give the Starks a break!