Jon would never not be chilled at the sight of Daisy just walking out of the woods with no warning, at random, when he'd known she should have been on the other side of the continent. It was dangerous. "I find that unsettling."
"Any man'd find that unsettling." Hother Umber replied, his voice wheezy in a way the rest of his families' were not. Though his old age was almost assuredly the cause. His long white hair, and thin for an Umber frame, seemed nearly unremarkable by the rest.
Aroll of the Hornfoot clan of the Free Folk glared at Hother Umber. "No use jumpin o'er nothing when she's fighting for us."
Jon, if he'd been a southern Lord, would have pinched the bridge of his nose at that. Instead he just stayed standing. The Umbers and the Free Folk hated each other almost as much as the Night's Watch and the Free Folk hated each other. Eight thousand years of killing each other and now he had to make them work together. Instead of focusing on the impossible task of getting enemies to stand side by side, he stepped forward. "Your Holiness, we'd been hoping you'd return soon."
"I've got a letter for you. Your sister's seeing to manning some keep called Eastwatch though." Daisy held out a sealed letter to him, a lopsided grin on her face.
He grabbed faster than was dignified, cracking the wax without thought, eager to see what his sister had written. Already manning the keeps along the wall, he'd been a fool to think she cared more for politics and power than the fight that mattered. His eyes ran across the neatly written lines. Finally he looked up. "You believe her situation is secure, with Davos gone for the Rills?"
"It's a risk." Daisy shrugged. "But I left most of my men with her. And she'd crushed the last thoughts of Ryswell or Dustin revolt before I left."
Hother ran a hand down his long, thick beard. "I scarce believe the tales I hear of Lady Stark. She was a little girl still playing with dolls last I saw her."
"Yeah, you def shouldn't mention that next time you see her." Daisy raised a brow at the man. She shook her head before focusing back on Jon. "So I'm assuming that hunk of stone up over the next hill is the Karhold?"
"Aye." Jon carefully folded the letter before storing it inside of his leather armor. He'd store it with his things later, for now he'd rather not risk it unduly. He'd gone so long with nought from his family save dark words of others bringing dark tidings of their fates. "Are you willing to aid in bringing it down?"
Daisy gave a sharp nod. "Course, though with this army you'd be better served if I just keep the arrows off of you."
He accepted that easily. With Wun Wun to bring the door down, merely keeping the arrows off of them would assure a victory with minimum casualties on their part. Afterall, like the Dustins and Ryswells before them the Karstarks clearly meant to force them into a costly siege to weaken them before offering real opposition. Only that wouldn't work with a giant and god prepared to knock their gates down. His hand dropped to the pommel of his sword. "Sansa says Moat Cailin is ours?"
"Yup." Daisy looked...kinda disappointed actually. "It wasn't a long fight. Like you guys sent something like fifty times more men then you really needed. Mors left a force there under a Mormont man. He's sent the fastest troops back to Barrowtown to escort Sansa and her party back. The slower forces are further split into those returning to Winterfell, and those returning to the Rills with Ser Roger."
"Ah, how is the new Lord Ryswell?" Hother asked, a darkly amused vein to his speech. But well, he hadn't hidden his pleasure at the ruin being wrecked on those traitors to the North.
Daisy snorted. "Well he doesn't blanch when I so much as look at him now. But he'll be good. It's been...impressed upon him the mercy that's been shown to his House."
"Well that's good." Jon had a feeling the god in front of him had gone and done something terrifying to ensure that. Which he was both grateful and relieved for. "Come, we were just preparing our strategy when you arrived."
Jon laughed as he watched some of the boys getting their asses kicked by a god. But it was good for morale, they attacked at dawn the following day. A better mood the eve before could only be a benefit. "Think to try your luck Aroll?"
"I know better than ta fight a woman like that." The man snorted as one of the boys landed on his back with a squeak.
He nodded, watching as she lifted a sword, beckoning another boy forward. "She's getting better."
"Think the cunts in their stone house'll surrender?" Aroll spat on the ground in the direction of the Karhold.
Jon sighed, the reality of what was coming settling on his shoulders. A mantle he didn't want. "No, they're too proud for that. And we didn't come to let them live." He stared at the Wildlings eyes. "I won't tolerate rape. The men will leave the women and children alone."
Aroll scoffed, but didn't fight him on it. "We know the rules. They're right daft, but we'll follow 'em. Think you're 'oh so noble Umbers' will?"
"I'll take the head of any man who doesn't. Free Folk or Kneeler." Jon meant it, he would not allow this to become an orgy of violence and vengeance. They would do what was necessary, no more.
The wildling whistled, a falcon diving before alighting on his arm. "Scouts where you thought they'd be."
"Then we begin." Jon turned and walked towards where their men had been laying in wait for the expected scouting party. He'd deliver his terms to the Karstarks whether they wanted them or not. He didn't statle as he realized Daisy had followed him, reaching his side as they walked.
As they reached the woods where the scouts had been secured, the men at arms and wildlings were quietier here. But then they were the outer defences in case of an ill advised night attack. There by a fresh fire were four men tied, and kneeling in the dirt, the flickering flames just illuminating them.
One of the men in Mormount colors, few those though men were, approached. "Lord Stark, we've captured the scouts as you instructed."
"Well done." He acknowledged the man before turning to the scouts. He looked over the men, well armed and equipped, by their age likely survivors of the War of Five Kings. "Which of you is in charge here?"
"I am." A brown haired man glared up at him. His lip was cracked, the blood leaking into his beard. His hair pulled back to keep it from being caught in a helm that was no longer upon his head.
He saw no sign of surprise from the others. "What's your name?"
"Jor Miller." His eyes were narrowed in hate. A familiar enough emotion.
Jon wondered whether it was loyalty or hate of the Free Folk? Not that it mattered. "Will you carry a message to the Karstarks?"
"Never." He snarled only for a sickening cracking sound to halt the sound. The area went dead silent.
Jor's neck had snapped without being touched. His corpse tipped forward, hitting the ground without ceremony or warning. He was simply dead.
Daisy laid a hand on Jon's shoulder. "You'd be wise to consider Jon Stark's words." Her voice was cold.
He felt a shiver. The man had simply died. Not so much as a flicker of warning. But he held his disquiet back. Instead he turned to the men. "Are any of you willing to take a message back to House Karstark?"
A dark haired, slightly younger scout spoke hesitantly. "I-I will." He swallowed nervously at the attention.
Jon lowered himself so that he was eye level with the man and held his eye. "You will go and speak to Lord Karstark, and Lord Karstark alone. Do you understand?"
The man nodded quickly. "Aye."
"Good. You will tell him treason, especially against blood is cursed and it will not be forgiven. If he and every man with Karstark blood surrender they may take the black. The women, babes, servants, and men at arms will be permitted to live. If he fails to accept this offer, come tomorrow I will root him and his out of the Karhold and put them to the sword. His gates will not hold, his defenses stand. This time tomorrow House Karstark will be at an end. I swear it by the old gods, I, Jon of House Stark, son of Eddard Stark and brother to Robb Stark."
One of the other men snarled, jerking forward only for his bonds to halt him. "You're insane Bastard!"
Daisy snapped her fingers. There was a crack, his neck snapping, and he then crumpled like the last man.
Jon cleared his throat. "Are you prepared to carry my message?"
Jon stilled as he walked back towards his tent. "Why did you do that?"
"Because you'd have had to if I hadn't." Daisy replied without hesitation, her face knowing. "If the common folks in that castle were to get your message it needed to be sent."
His shoulders slumped. "You didn't have to do that. I'm capable of doing what is necessary."
"You're not the only one." Daisy stretched out her hand, her glove's new leather creaking slightly.
His throat felt tight, but he was grateful. And he found he didn't wish to go back to the fires where the men were eager for the bloodshed that would come on the morrow. But staring at papers in the command tent alone with his thoughts seemed unappealing as well. "Would you care for a mug of ale while we wait?"
"You guys drink just so much...but what the hell, sure." Daisy loped beside him towards the tent.
It was quiet as they walked, few would be stupid enough to want to interupt considering the two very dead scouts currently being burned. Jon was relieved not to hear bragging about how many men everyone thought they could kill in battle. He hadn't felt pride in battle since he'd first learned what it truly was.
The tent was blessedly empty as he filled two mugs from the pitcher of ale. He passed a mug to her, before dropping down on a war chest.
"You seriously need a vacation." Daisy patted his shoulder before taking a drink of hers while sitting besides him.
He stared at the floor. "Innocent people will die once we take down those gates. I can order the women and children to be left alone, anyone who surrenders to be spared, but once the men go through, swords in hand and blood up...it will barely matter."
"So we make it matter." Daisy elbowed him just hard enough to make him huff. "So who can we realistically save?"
Jon looked at her then. "Alys Karstark and the other daughters of the house. Any servants, children and other household members who won't carry swords can be saved. But if even a quarter of them are found and secured before someone stabs them…"
"I can do it." Daisy held his eye. "You'll be more vulnerable in the attack. But if I go in I can secure as many of the civilians as possible and ensure nothing happens to them."
He knew the cost. A few dozen if not more of his men would die at best without the god there to prevent arrows from reaching them. But those who could be saved likely would be. "Would you be able to find them once inside the keep?"
"One of the scouts is still alive, I'm sure he could be persuaded to help." Daisy hummed. "If I understand your battle strategy I will have time to prevent the first rounds of arrows from hitting. But once the gates come down I'd have to leave."
Jon's grip on the handle of his mug of ale tightened, his knuckles surely white. "Do it."
Jon stood tall, the sound of banners cracking in the wind around him. "It would seem they've chosen to fight till the end."
"Aye, stupid. But wasn't expecting anything else." Hother Umber replied.
He turned towards WunWun. The giant was in armor, it was mostly chainmail with hard leather over the top, but he had a helm on his head, Truly a fearsome being now. To the army already had ladders ready to be raised, to let them over the walls as the main force burst through the gates. Daisy standing ready to make the initial charge less deadly.
Breathing out, he set his shoulders, drawing his sword he looked at WunWun. "WunWun, to the gate."
Jon was first through the gate, the army at his back, WunWun chucking the pieces of the gate at the men on the wall. He raised his sword stopping a man's sword and then was batting it away before plunging his own into the man's neck. Hot blood splattered across his face, soaking his hand. Battle was here, and for good or ill it was what he was good at.
/
Daisy landed on top of the inner keep. If what the prisoner had said was true the women and other civilians would be shepherded here as soon as the gate went down. As such she'd secure the noble born first as they were who the army would be looking for and then move for any stragglers. If she wasn't sure of the keep's security it wasn't like she could send others there for shelter. She flattened her hands and focused on the vibrations within the keep. It was full of...noise for a better word.
But people were distinct, and she needed people without the distinctive metal of armor and weapons...or well many weapons. Hopefully. And she could feel it, people running through the halls, the terror as the reality that the Karhold was falling. There, one of the chambers had several people without a great deal of armor. Daisy opened her eyes and let herself drop off the roof, falling to the correct level before she rolled through an open window and took off at a run for where she felt what was likely women and children.
She grabbed a startled guard and stabbed him without pausing in her movement, his body hitting the ground as she was already moved well past him.
Running through the halls she used her powers to just fling anyone in her way into the walls hard enough there were crunching sounds. Skidding around a corner she saw an older woman panicking as she dragged two kids behind her. Based off her garb she was a servant, likely a dresser or some such. But more importantly she was moving away from the concentration of non combatant human vibrations.
Daisy came to a halt, sheathing her sword, hands raising up as the woman shrieked at her presence. "Peace, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help you."
"You're with them!" She shook, her arms pressing the kids backwards.
Daisy didn't flinch at that. "I am, and you have maybe ten minutes before the army gets here. You have a chance if you follow me. You have my word, I'll protect you. There's no need for innocents to die."
"Old gods have you if you're lying." The woman grabbed the kids's arms as she stepped forward.
Daisy gave her a nod. "Come on, the others are this way." She moved quickly to lead them down a different hall. It wasn't far before she ripped the door open, the lock twisting from the force of her movement. There were screams from inside. Daisy waved the woman forward, half shoving her and the kids into the room. She looked at the gathered women, quickly spotting a woman who seemed to be incharge. "Where can I find the others? I can help more if you're in the same place."
The woman's grey hair was mussed, but she remained strong in her bearing. "The kitchen, they'll hide in the kitchen."
"Block the door." She grabbed the extra tunic of hers she'd grabbed, tossing it to the woman. "If they get here before me, shove that at them. Do you understand? You tell them you're under Quake's protection."
The woman's hands curled like claws around the beautiful white fabric delicately embroidered with red leaves. She gave a sharp nod. "We understand."
"Good." Daisy turned and was gone in a burst. She knew where the kitchen would be in an inner keep, and knowing where to look for the vibrations of scared civilians and not more of the chaos. Because she could feel hundreds of beating hearts, the shakes of footfalls on stone and wood. It was information she could barely use, especially while running. But she didn't care, it needed to be done. Jumping down the stairs she reached the kitchen. The doors exploded into splinters and dust before she touched them with her hands, her powers acting with barely a flicker of thought.
Daisy ducked a laddle being swung with a lot of spite. Holding up her hands she yelped. "WAIT!"
She vibrated the air between her and them to prevent her being skewered. "If you want to live, follow me to the lady's solar. It'll be cramped but you'll live."
"Why'd you wanna save us?" A narrow shouldered man asked, his grip on a cast iron pan tightened as he kept it raised above his head.
Daisy didn't have the soft political power or influence here to convince them with speed, but Jon did. "Because Jon Stark doesn't want this slaughter to kill everyone. And I can keep you alive long enough for that mercy to matter."
There were some murmurs, but then a few people stepped forward. The man lowered his pan.
"You have a better chance with me then the next to find you." Daisy hammered home the logical choice, they didn't have time for arguing. They needed to take the lifeline she was throwing. And finally, painfully, one man stepped forward.
/
Jon's arm ached as he yanked his sword out of a man's belly. His feet were heavy as he continued his march. Leaning back he knocked a blow away from him, it brought his pommel up, slamming it into the man's face breaking his face. As the man stumbled back he swung his sword slicing through the skin, muscle and sinew down to the bone, the force sending the dying man spinning out of his path.
He panted, his breathing labored from the battle, the tang of blood, sweat, mud, shit, piss, the stench of death surrounding filling the air. Jon looked up, the black banner with a white starburst upon it falling from the tower. As it hit the ground, blood soaked into the fabric, staining the white sunburst red. His sword lowered, the sounds of fighting fading.
"Lord Stark!" A man in Umber colors came running towards him. There was blood streaming down the man's face from a cut above one eye, nothing serious, but head wounds bled and the man was steady on his feet.
Jon acknowledged the man while letting himself settle, the fighting was nearly done. "What news?"
"We've taken the First keep, the remaining fighting men have locked themselves in the eastern tower of the inner keep." He wiped at the blood in his face, not that it did much. "The upper levels of the western tower are locked and we can't get in, but uh...the stones tremble and we're fairly certain her Holiness has locked us out of it for some reason?"
Jon breathed out in sheer relief. He looked around the inner courtyard of the inner keep he'd led the fight into. "You men, follow me. Aroll! Bring your men and follow me."
"Come on ya fuckers." Aroll ordered as he fell into step behind Jon.
Jon moved for the western tower, If they needed to break down doors in the easter tower, well WunWun wouldn't fit inside the halls to knock those doors down, and close quarter fighting in an enemy fortress would see more of his men dying than Karstark men, unless he had a god to root them out.
He strode quickly through the halls and up the stairs of the western tower, stepping over several bodies, all in Karstark colors along the way. There were some men with clearly a lot of broken bones groaning on the ground, Stark and Umber men securing them as they lay in pain. Which was telling that who had killed and or incapacitated them hadn't been his men. There'd be at least some fallen men in Umber or Wildling garb among the dead if it'd been his forces. As he strode forward he began to feel the faint vibrations the stone was giving off, the closer he got.
Jon could barely restrain his relief at what this meant. Reaching the door into the women's quarters and solars he raised his hand and knocked. "DAISY! It's me!"
There was a screeching noise of furniture against stone. And then the door opened, and there was Daisy. "Sup."
"How many?" He couldn't help how the words burst out of him.
"Forty two. There's two serving women and the son of the stable master is missing. I've also got twenty six men who chose to hide and surrender." Daisy rested her hand on his shoulder.
He dropped his sword, jolting forward, hugging the woman tightly, his eyes squeezing shut in desperation to keep tears at bay. They'd saved them. He didn't care about how startled she'd been at his movement, he had no words to thank her for this. It felt like hope.
She was slightly stiff, but then huffed softly and hugged him back. Her arms tight as she gripped him back.
"Thank you." He breathed out more than said.
"Anytime." She replied with a final squeeze before pulling back.
Jon pulled back as well, suddenly slightly stiff from his reaction. "My apologies I shouldn't have...hugged you like that."
"You're fine." Daisy smiled, her face fond. "So, based off the very ecstatic at having something to never let you live down men behind you, I'm going to guess you've got some guards for everybody so I can come help with something else?"
He couldn't help the upward tilt of his lips. In this awful day there was still good here. "The last of the fighting men have blockaded themselves in the eastern tower. We'll lose men rooting them out."
"Huh, finally something I'm good at." And her grin then didn't bode well for the remaining Karstarks and their men. And it didn't bother him.