The Maester had found him earlier in the morning and handed him a scroll that had been sent from the Last Hearth. Its contents were not good news for his King. The Boltons had made their first move in response to Jon claiming his brother's crown. He hoped King Jon was ready to respond in turn.
He was heading towards His Grace's solar when he saw the King and Lady Karstark walking towards him. Those two had had a very long conversation the night before. He wasn't sure what it had been about, all he had heard were rumours from some of the servants how it had been quite late when His Grace escorted the Lady Alys to his own chambers before returning to his solar. Calling out in his booming voice, Smalljon said, "Your Grace! May I have a word with you? I have received a raven from the Last Hearth. It has news in it that you should hear."
"Of course, Lord Umber. Please, join us in my solar."
"Us,' Your Grace," the Smalljon asked with his confusion evident in his voice.
"Yes, the Lady Alys and I have some news as well which we would like to share. You were one of my brother's fiercest and most loyal companions. I would have you be one of mine as well. This news impacts the whole of the North, and you should be among the first to hear of it."
Understanding slowly dawned on Smalljon. Understanding, and a touch of anger. He thought he knew what the King was going to announce. It was something that was needed, he would not argue that point. House Stark was as weak as it had ever been and the King needed an heir as soon as was possible. But why her? According to every rumor and every report from those that escaped, the Karstarks had taken part in the Red Wedding. Why should they be honored with having a queen come from their house? Why not one of his sisters? Or one of Dacey's? Hells, even one of Lord Manderlys would be preferable to a Karstark.
While he felt all this, a hallway was not the place to say it. So instead, he simply told his King, "Of course, Your Grace," and opened the door to the solar before standing out of the way to allow King Jon and Lady Alys to enter the room first. He had been about to enter when a white head with red eyes nudged him out of the way. Fucking hells. Ghost was even bigger than Grey Wind had been and twice as quiet. He had respected Robb's direwolf. He was afraid of Jon's.
Once everyone was settled in the room however, Jon surprised him. He told him, "Lord Umber, I could tell by your face that you have likely guessed what news it is that Lady Alys and I have to share. But allow me to confirm it for you. Lady Alys has consented to wedding me and becoming my Queen. I did not make this decision lightly, and I suspect that I will have more than a few hurt bannerman that wished to arrange for a marriage to their own daughters that I will need to explain my actions to, just as I will have to more fully explain why I allowed the Wildlings south of the Wall and into the Gift.
"Quite simply, I need an heir. My sisters and I are all that remain of House Stark. Should I fall in battle in tomorrow, the throne would pass to Sansa. And she is wed to a Lannister. That is something that cannot be accepted.
"As to why I chose Lady Alys, the reasons are many. I am a legitimized bastard. There are those who will not be happy having to bow and call me 'King.' The Karstarks are my kin. Their House was founded by a younger son of House Stark. I need the legitimacy that a match to House Karstark will provide me. But like you, I too have heard the rumors that Karstark men took part in the murder of my brother and his men at the Twins."
Jon paused, looked at his newly betrothed and told her before continuing, "Forgive me, My Lady, but what I say now may hurt." Turning back to Smalljon, he said, "We do not make peace with our friends, My Lord. We make peace with our enemies. Whether House Karstark is an enemy or not, we need their support to secure the North. Houses Bolton, Dustin, Stout and Ryswell rise in rebellion. We will need their men to put them down.
"On a personal level, a match to Lady Alys was the right thing to do. Her brother is held by Lord Lannister. Her uncles plotted to force her into a marriage against her will, connived to have her brother, their Lord, executed. They planned to steal her inheritance out from under her. However, if Lord Tywin hears that he hold the brother-by-law to the King in the North as a hostage, do you believe he would be so bold as to execute him?"
Smalljon started to answer, the answer was obvious. Tywin bloody Lannister was bold enough to murder the King at his own uncle's wedding. Of course he'd be bold enough to execute Lord Harlon. Before he could voice that however, Jon held up a hand and said, "Forgive me, that was a poor choice of word on my part. Your answer is plain on your face. Of course Tywin would be bold enough to kill him. But would he be foolish enough to? Lord Karstark is far more valuable to him alive. He will recognize that. Or at least I believe he will. What say you, Lord Umber?"
Smalljon was never a deep thinker. Oh, he wasn't a fool by any means, but he preferred to solve his problems much as his father had, by hitting them with something heavy. However, even he could see the sense in what the King had said. It was true, between the Karstarks, the Manderlys and his own House, they had more men than the rest of the North combined. Roose Bolton could not long survive that kind of fight. So instead of loudly protesting this Royal Match as he had thought to do, he instead said, "Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your forthcoming wedding, Sire. May your marriage prove to be a long and fruitful one. I will admit, I was angered when I realized what it was you were about to tell me. I had hoped that perhaps you would honor my House by wedding one of my sisters. But hearing your reasoning laid out the way it was, I can find no fault in it. House Umber stands with you, Your Grace."
"Thank you, Smalljon. Now. What was it that you wished to inform me of?"
"Right, yes. I received a raven from my uncle at Last Hearth. He received word that an armed band was moving through his lands, wearing Umber colors, but crudely done. He and some fifty men, along with Mance Rayder and some one hundred wildlings, moved to intercept them. They found the men holed up in a village, the smallfolk there always come to Last Hearth when winter arrives, so it should have been empty. Mance Rayder and a few of his men slipped up on them in the snow, killed the guards and took the rest prisoner. One of the soldiers they caught talked.
"They're Bolton men. They were sent to cause trouble in the Gift. They thought that by wearing Umber colors and flying our banners they could start a war between us. It's no secret that my House has little love for the wildling bastards, and they have little and less for us in return. If men wearing the colors of my House attacked the wildlings, it would shatter the fragile peace you brokered between us.
"At worst, we would have to fight the Wildlings and the Boltons at the same time. At best, it would draw you out of Winterfell when you tried to restore the peace and give Lord Bolton a chance to defeat you in the field without your army around you. It's a clever plot."
Jon sat in silence for a few moments, from the look of him, he was contemplating what he had just been told. While the King was thinking, Lady Alys spoke up and asked, "Lord Umber, were those the only men sent to 'cause trouble' in the Gift?"
"In fact, no, My Lady. The man that was questioned said there were at least three other parties sent on the same mission. Mance Rayder is already sending word to his people not to attack any of the Houses south of the Gift, but to be prepared to defend themselves should they have to. My nuncle told me that Mance intends to ride out personally to reassure his people that we had nothing to do with the attacks."
"Will he restrain his people, do you think? Your House has dealt with wildling incursions far more often than mine own has."
Smalljon thought for moment and said, "No, My Lady. Once blood is spilled by the Bolton men, those tribes and clans will demand vengeance. They'll head south. And they'll be wanting blood."
Jon spoke up and said, "It is a clever plan. Lord Bolton knows that I will be forced to respond to this, and to respond in force. But why now? He must now that he lacks the numbers to defeat us in open battle." Jon paused and when he began again, it was as if he was speaking to himself. He said, "Unless he knows something I don't. His men hold the Moat. Could he be expecting men from the South to return? Or perhaps from Lord Lannister himself?"
Jon paused again, stood up and moved to the door of his solar where he opened it and said, "Will? Find Ser Marlon, Ser Brynden, Lord Cerwyn, Lord Glover and Lady Dacey. Have them join us here. Find the clansmen as well. Have their chieftains come to my solar once you find them." As soon as the guardsman went on his task, Jon walked back to where a beautiful map of the North hung from the wall. It was an old, well made tapestry and the names of the castles and villages were picked out in gold leaf upon it. He seemed to be study the land while he waited for the rest of his knights and Lords to join him.
Once they were all gathered in the now cramped solar Jon said, "My Lords, My Ladies. Grievous, yet not unexpected news has reached us. Lord Bolton has sent men into the Gift to try and stir up trouble between the wildlings and our Houses. I take responsibility for this, I should have foreseen some kind of counter to my allowing the wildlings through the Wall. That I did not was my failing alone. You all have my sincere apologies for that. However, now that it has happened, we will have to be seen to respond to these attacks to preserve the peace between our peoples.
"I know what I am about to ask is a hard thing. Many of us have fought the wildlings for as long as we can recall. Yet now, I must ask you to fight for them. We will need their strength for the war that is coming to us. I know not all of you have heard the tales, but the Long Night is coming, My Lords. The Others from our legends have risen once again, and they march on the Wall even as we speak. We will need the strength of the wildlings to defend the Wall when the Others reach it. You may think me mad, to relate such tales. But every word is true. The Night's Watch has seen them in the Lands of Always Winter, we have fought them there, we have died to them there. I do not lie when I say that we will need the wildlings when they come. To ensure we have the strength that the wildlings can provide, I must ask you to fight for them now.
"And if you cannot stomach fighting for wildlings, then fight for the memory of my brother. For we go to fight the man that killed him. This has not been the first time that House Bolton has risen against House Stark. But it shall be the last. As of this day, House Bolton is hereby attainted and stripped of all lands and titles. The Dreadfort and all it's lands and incomes will revert to House Stark until such time as a new Lord may be named to hold them. All claims that House Bolton may have against your Houses are hereby forfeit. Let us avenge the Red Wedding, My Lords. Let us kill those that slaughtered our loved ones without mercy. Let us erase the stain on Northern Honor that is House Bolton. What say you, My Lords?"
A chorus of "Ayes!" rang out in the solar and several of the men pounded their chests in harmony to show their eagerness for the coming fight. Jon smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, My Lords. Now, let us plan how to go about this task.
"Lord Umber, you will ride for the Last Hearth. I will send a raven today for your uncles to muster what strength remains on your lands. When you have mustered your men, bring them here," Jon said, pointing at a spot on the map.
"Lady Alys. Your Uncle Arnolf has pledged fealty to my House, has he not? Let us test him. A raven must be sent to the Karhold to send his men to join with Lord Umber's in the Lonely Hills. Inform him in your raven that he is to place himself and his men under the command of Lord Umber."
Jon pointed to a spot just north of the Dreadfort and said, "Here. Lord Umber, have your forces concentrate here. I want the Boltons to think that we are responding piecemeal to their attacks. Let the Boltons see you, but don't let them force a battle on you. Skirmish if you must, but avoid a major battle. Draw them out of the Dreadfort, to this fork of the White Knife, just east of Long Lake. Let them think they have you pinned along the shore.
"I will send word to Lord Manderly to put his forces into the field as well. Ser Marlon, you will ride south and command them. I want your men to take up position here, between Castle Cerwyn and the Barrowlands. You must block the Kingsroad, Ser. Do not let those Houses that have declared for the Boltons join their forces with him. You must be stubborn, Ser. You cannot allow them an inch. Hold fast here, crush them if you can, but take no unnecessary risks. And I beg you, watch your flanks.
Roose Bolton would not move now unless he believed he had an advantage. He may be expecting more men to join him from the South. I will send a rider to look for Greywater Watch and ask Lord Reed to send his men out into the Neck to watch for reinforcements moving to the aid of the Boltons. If such men are moving towards the North, I will try to have the cranogmen give you as much warning as possible. But be prepared for them to arrive without warning."
Once Ser Marlon had nodded his understanding, the King continued, "Lord Glover and Lady Dacey. Take your men and the Lady Asha. Ride hard for Deepwood Motte. See to it that Lady Greyjoy upholds her end of our bargain. See that Deepwood is returned to you, then gather your strength and move south and west towards the Stony Shore and the Rills. Leave half your men there to watch for any more Ironborn incursions. You must hold our flanks. Lady Dacey, I leave that vital task to you. Should the Ironborn come ashore, harass them, harry them, do your best to stop them from moving inland. But do not allow yourself to be trapped or defeated by them.
"Lord Glover, you will command the entire force until you divide it at the shore. Once there, send scouts to both Barrowtown and the Rills. If either of those Houses have moved to support the Boltons, take your men and hit them in their rear to relieve the pressure on Ser Marlon. If they have not moved in support, send riders to their castles and you may offer them terms. If they strike their banners, bend the knee, admit their treason and swear fealty to me, I will spare their lives and allow them to take the black, or to join the Silent Sisters in the case of Lady Dustin. Their sons will be allowed to inherit their titles, castles, lands and incomes. I believe that the late Lord Dustin had some cousins in the Barrows, one of them will be allowed to assume the Lordship of Barrowtown, seeing as Lady Barbrey has no sons of her own.
"Should they refuse, place their castles under siege, send riders to Ser Marlon, and when he and his men arrive, take the castles by storm if you can. If not, hold them under siege until they surrender to face the King's Justice.
"Lady Dacey, should you encounter the Ironborn, shield Lord Glover's men from them. Do not allow him to be taken in the rear. If you cannot hold, send riders to warn him so that he may join his men to yours and you may present a united front to them." While Jon spoke, both Lord and Lady nodded their understanding of his orders.
Jon paused and took a breath before continuing, "Lord Cerwyn, Ser Brynden. You and your men will accompany me and the Mountain Clans. We shall move up the Kingsroad to take the Boltons in the rear while they are engaged with Lord Umber's men. It will be a forced marched, and we will have to move faster than the Winter Wolves did during the Dance of the Dragons. We cannot leave Winterfell until we know that Roose Bolton has taken the bait. He is sure to have scouts watching us. If we march too soon, he will smell a trap and he will return to the Dreadfort before we can force a battle. We must trap him between our men and Lord Umber's."
Smalljon was impressed. His King knew strategy. The Young Wolf had been gifted, able to see things in a heartbeat that could turn the tide of a battle. But his brother seemed to be even better. He saw everything that was laid out before him. He knew what pitfalls he needed to avoid, he planned for the unexpected. This was a King that would win wars.
Jon stood before them all, placed his hands behind his back and told them, "My Lords, My Ladies, this a perilous time for the North. We are beset by enemies from all sides. But the Hour of the Wolf is upon us, and though we all hail from disparate Houses, we are all one pack here. Let us be about our business and fall upon our enemies as a wolf falls upon a sheep. Let us deliver vengeance for all of our slain brothers. Let all Westeros know that the North Remembers. Let them quake in fear at the bloody harvest we shall reap. For the North!"
The cheers that greeted the King's short speech were long and loud.