Chap 17

Robb breathed the frigid pine scented air as his group slowly rode through the ancient trees of the haunted forest. He could not help but think of it as smelling different from the air south of the wall. He ducked beneath a snow covered branch while his horse followed the path they followed through the fresh snow. Leading the group was his half brother Jon , followed by Cley Cerwyn, Robin Flint, and Roger Ryswell. Next was Endrew Tarth and Robb, with Roose Bolton and Sir Wendal Manderly forming the end of their file. There were also two rangers who had left earlier to their destination to be sure the wildlings had arrived.

He had arrived at the wall with the intention of talking to the lord commander about the wildling's movement and the possibility of moving people into the new gift. While at castle Black they received a message from the king beyond the wall that he wanted to meet with them.

The lord commander had not liked the idea of meeting his old friend nor the idea of talking with wildings in general. One of the reasons he had not come with Robb and Sir Endrew was accompanying them instead.

If he was being honest, Robb had not been keen on the meeting either, but he realized it's necessity. The watch had told him of the dead man that had tried to kill Lord Commander Mormont. The description of bright blue dead eyes giving truth to Old Nan's tales, Osha's stories of why her group had come south and Cobec's cautions.

With more reason to believe that the Wildlings were fleeing a foe born from the nightmare of the world. It seemed like letting the Wildling clans cross the wall was the best choice to make.

However, he still had reservations of letting what was supposed to be several thousands of people into the North. Especially ones that have raided his countrymen in the past. That was the reason he hadn't taken anyone from or sworn to the houses Mormont, Karstark or Umber with him to the meeting. Those houses had been adamant about sallying out and killing the King-beyond-the-wall the moment they learned of his existence.

To prevent these houses from starting any conflict, Robb had sent the Greatjon with Lady Mormont and Lord Karstark to Barrowtown. Their purpose was to ask why Lady Dustin hadn't seen fit to answer the call to arms, the only representatives of house Dustin for the war were 50 barrow knights and 200 foresters who came of their on volition. Robb had a hunch as to why Lady Dustin had not participated, but sent them all the same. The Great Jon and Lady Mormont had been harsh critics of Lady Dustin since the start of the war and they took to the task with grim enthusiasm. Rob also suspected they were aware that they would do more harm than good when talking to the Wildlings.

Robb's group slowed their horses to a halt then dismounted to walk the last dozen yards to the clearing they were the meeting was to take place. They arrived to see the wildlings were waiting for them.

There were a dozen of them with the majority wearing skins or fur.

Of the dozen, six stood out at in appearance. The most notable one was a bald man wearing bronze ring mail with several scars that looked to make a design of some kind on his face. He stood apart from the others slightly with a shield on his back, a sword on his hip and a scowl etched onto his face.

Another man wore armor which looked to be made of human bones, with a skull covering his face. Robb silently wondered if it was possibly a giant's skull. A woman in what appeared to be seal skins wore a leather shoulder pad with a snow white eagle perched on it. To the side were a man and woman, both with bright red hair standing opposite to the rangers that had been sent ahead of his party.

At the center of the group stood a man wearing a black cloak with a faded red ribbon sewn into it. Mance Rayder, Robb assumed, stood with his back straight and watched them with a keen but weary eye.

Robb and his party halted about fifteen paces from the others. Before Robb or Mance could speak, the skull helmeted man called out.

"So this is the great kneeler lord?" he said with a loud sneer "Oh I feel so fucking honored to be in your presence. I hope you haven't had your manhood freeze off on the journey here, it would be hard to find something that small in the snow!"

He and several others of the group laughed loudly at his joke while Robb just looked at them silently. Their laughs subsided as they saw he was completely unfazed by their joke.

"Are we here to discuss your people's safety or to toss insults like children?" Robb asked, not even looking at the bone covered man.

That killed the remaining humor rather quickly.

"You seek the shelter of the wall. To pass into our lands. Why should I give you leave to do so?"

"What choice do you have?" Spoke the scared bald man. "We number more than a hundred thousands. More than enough to crush your crows, cross by force and take your lands."

"I find that notion to be very counter productive for you," Lord Bolton spoke with his usual soft tone that the Greatjon once described as being as calming and soothing as freezing to death in the cave. But Robb had to admit it was effective, because the man never had to speak twice.

"While I don't doubt your numbers, I feel inclined to wonder how many of them are actual warriors? I severely doubt all or even half of the forces you bring south will be fighters. So more likely it would be fifty thousand fighters to contend with. Fifty thousand fighters armed primarily with spears and fur armor, with food stores that are most likely dwindling quickly."

The scarred man curled his lip at Bolton's reply, but didn't contradict him, making Robb think that the dread lord was fairly close to the mark.

"This prattle and posturing is pointless," interjected the woman with the eagle, "we need the wall, you need fighters for the war to come. Let's focus on that."

"I agree," replied Robb, "but if you go south you will be expected to respect our laws." He could see the indignation building on their faces at his statement. Mance stopped their outbursts by finally speaking.

"You are asking much Stark, the clans of the free folk have long histories and they are proud of who they are. They live in the cold as equals and detest bowing or kneeling to anyone. I only lead cause they respect me, respect I earned through hard work. Now you want them to just bow to you and the other lords?" He shook his head. They are the closest you'll find to the first men, you can't ask them to turn from their way of life and become the subjects you want.

"You think that your argument isn't true for the North as well? We are the oldest kingdom in Westeros, we are the only kingdom to throw back the Andals. My people have traditions and histories that go back just as far as yours. Yet you have the gall to demand the Northerners allow you onto their lands and settle where you like, not giving any consideration to the ways of the people already living there. It would be no better than if we went north of the wall to build castles and appoint lords to rule."

Mance nodded, "You have a point Stark and I respect your caution. However, that doesn't change the fact that my people need to get to the southern side of the wall. Some have traveled from as far as the frost fangs in hopes of safety. I trust you are not so cruel as to turn them away."

"Their journey and endurance is commendable." Flint spoke with his arms cross sporting a hard look. "But our duty is to ensure the safety of the people who live under our protection. What assurances do we have for our people's safety? Can you guarantee your clans won't raid or pillage towns they come across?"

"If they were not meant to be milked then the gods wouldn't have made them goats." grunted out the bone man. Earning him a glare from all of Robb's party as well as from several of his own.

"Our words mean little to you," the scared man stated, "So what would you ask in return for us crossing wall?"

"I'd make it a requirement." Robb answered, "that if I allow you to cross the wall and into the North, your people agree to have your warriors stay to repair and man the wall for the coming fight. Those incapable of fighting will be moved to areas further south. Those groups will help with harvesting, road work and other preparations for winter.

Robb's stone faced visage then gave way to an icy glare, and he walked the rest of the distance to look Rayder in the face an arm's length apart. "Make no mistake, I do not trust you. Should I learn of a clan breaking the law, or attacking any of my subjects their place in the North would be forfeited. Those responsible will be hunted down and given the sword, then the remainder of their clan forced back north of the wall."

Several chiefs growled at his statement, "You'd do well not to threaten us boy." The scarred man ground out.

"A threat implies the possibility of me not carrying out the action," replied Robb, "rest assured what I said was a promise. We'll meet back here tomorrow for your answer."

With that parting word and a mutual nod towards Mance, he turned and started walking back to his group.

As he approached the others he saw their eyes go wide and they rushed forward as shouts erupted behind Robb.

Reflexively he reached out to his silent companion nearby.

Through the branches that hid him he saw the bone covered one running at him with a dagger in hand, smelt the sweat from his clothes, the lingering traces of the various bones he wore. He watched him run through the snow before sending a silent command.

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Yigritte cursed as she struggled to pull her bow free. She knew that Rattle-shirt was violent, but she hadn't thought him to be an idiot. And attacking a southerner when they were trying to talk peace with them was defiantly a idiotic move.

She had almost pulled her bow free when a grey blur launched itself out from a nearby bush and knocked rattle-shirt clean off his feet. The man let out a strangled yell before a loud crack filled the air and he went silent, Yigritte was quick to see why.

The grey blur was in fact a direwolf, tall enough that it's shoulders were almost level with her own, with paws that looked to be the size of her face. The wolf's large muzzle was currently dripping blood from the head it had ripped clean off of the man who had tried to kill it's master. The giant's skull, that had served as Rattle-shirt's helmet, had been cracked in two during the attack and she could see the silent scream frozen on the man's face.

The clearing had grown completely silent as the large beast glared at them, as if challenging someone else to try something as its heckles rose along its back and a deep growl thrummed through the silent clearing. A second Direwolf padded into the clearing to stand next to the other, while not as large the wolf was snow white with red eyes that silently looked over the now motionless Free folk.

The Stark walked up to the grey direwolf and had held out his hand, into which the wolf obediently placed the head. The man then placed the head on Rattle-shirt's body.

"This is the kind of idiocy that cannot be allowed to endure Rayder. Winter is coming and it necessitates we set aside our animosity the best we can for the sake of both our people."

He turned again and they left through the trees, once they heard the horses leave Thurmond walked over to Rattleshirt's corpse and picked up the knife he dropped. Shrugging he stuck it in his belt and turned back to the rest. "That went better than I had anticipated."

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Catelyn Stark watched the dock grow ever closer with a trickle of trepidation. Her two sons were now in the very viper den that had claimed her husband, her betrothed and her future good father. Not only that, but one of them was betrothed to the heir to the throne. Making him a target for the major players of the game.

She looked over at the two in question as they stared in wonder at the massive city. Their wolves were with them as well, Shaggy dog had two paws on the rail next to Rickon sniffing madly while Summer sat placidly next to Bran who was looking at the city in his new chair with wheels.

It had been a gift to Bran that Robb had commissioned for him when he returned to Winterfell. He had the idea after talking with the newly knighted Edric Dayne in King's Landing. The dornish knight had told him about Prince Doran's wheeled chair and even drew a sketch for Robb to use as a reference.

As the boat was finally tied off to the pier they made ready to depart and greet the crowd that was waiting for them. As she checked her sons over to make sure they were presentable Nymeria suddenly went still and started sniffing madly before bolting to the side and leaping onto the dock. Rickon and Bran called her but she didn't listen.

Lady Stark went to the rail and was greeted with the sight of Arya running out from behind a wall of guards and throwing herself at the giant wolf.

Nymeria proceeded to nuzzle her to the ground and lick her enthusiastically. Rickon let out a shout of excitement at seeing his sister and after a nod from his brother and mother ran to greet her along with Shaggydog and Osha in tow.

By the time she and Bran made it to shore Rickon had pushed past Nymeria with Shaggydog's help and was squeezing his sister with a fierce hug.

He only stopped to let Bran greet her once he was wheeled down the gangplank. Arya had sobered slightly at the sight of his chair but was quick to wrap her little brother in an ecstatic hug. Catelyn kept her composure just barely as she finally embraced her daughter for the first time in over a year.

Once their escort was readied they climbed into a wagon prepared for them and rode into the Red Keep, all the while Arya and Rickon bantered back and forth about what they had seen and experienced since they had last seen each other in Winterfell and how everything compared to the north.

The party made its way through the crowded streets in good time, partly due to the city watch that Ser Donnel Locke had sent to ensure a safe trip. The other factor were the three massive wolves walking along side their wagon.

Before long they arrived at the Red Keep and were greeted by King Stannis and his family. Shireen and Arya took the Stark brothers to tour the red keep. Septa Andraste and Osha, the Northerner wearing leather armor with several daggers on her hip and a spear in hand, following close behind the group.

Catelyn watched them go before following the king to his solar. Along the way Stannis discussed the affairs of the North with her. At one point she would have thought he was being rude for not speaking of pleasantries prior to business. But from what she knew of the man, Stannis preferred to talk as little as possible. So for him to engage her in a conversation like this was a means of showing that she had his favor to those in court. Some of which had not garnered more than a greeting from him for all their efforts.

She could already see some of the court members passing by giving her small looks of jealousy. Thankfully there were plenty of people who greeted her warmly. There were a number of nobles from the Riverlands who she already knew, as well as a few Stormlanders she had met during her role as envoy in the war.

Over the course of the next weeks she carefully dipped herself into the viper pit of nobles to get herself familiarized with the different blocs that had formed in court. She had realized her skills with the game were not up to par with most people after living in the North for so long. So she opted for a more observational role until she knew who to trust.

The most prominent bloc she learned of was made up of the houses that had been loyal to Stannis from the beginning or had proven themselves loyal. This group was headed by Lord Monford Velaryon along with Lord Bar Emmon's uncle Ser Ebben and Lady Kyra Celtigar. They not only were adamant in supporting the king's reforms, but they also supported the betrothal of the Shireen and Rickon. The Seaworths were also considered to be part of the bloc but were never present due to Lord Davos's lack of interest in the court and his family being busy working on the new shipyards being built on the southern shore of the Blackwater at the mouth of the Wendwater.

The next largest one was made up of Riverland and Stormland houses that supported most of the king's edicts but some were not in favor of the royal betrothal. They didn't have any one person heading them, due to the slightly different views.

The third bloc was made up of Reachers and Stormlanders who had adamantly supported Renly and were not pleased by Stannis's rise to the throne. She had a suspicion that there were those among them who hoped to find a way to remove Shireen from the succession as to gain favor from Highgarden or Storm's End.

She had talked with Lady Celtigar and she had confirmed her suspicions.

Turns out a group of Reachers lead by Lady Ambrose had been sowing rumors in an attempt to make the Princess's health be scrutinized.

Thankfully the rumors were not gaining much credibility as Shireen was seen regularly walking about the castle, going for rides out of the city or walking to visit her bastard cousin at his forge. She had even been seen sparring with Arya on occasion.

Catelyn had not been too pleased when she had learned of that particular activity. Even going so far as to try and convince Arya to stop her training. Arya however flatly refused to do so, she told her that her father had encouraged her to learn to use a sword and that she had used her skills to protect herself before when she was wandering the Riverlands during the war.

While she was sickened at the thought of her daughter needing to use a sword to protect herself, she wasn't too surprised by Eddard's decision. Her husband had always had a soft spot for Arya's wilder side. He never admitted it but she suspected it was because of how much Arya reminded him of his deceased sister. She could not bring herself to push the issue further, if anything it was a way for Ayra to remember her father.

Not to mention she had other pressing issues. She had been approached by a vast number of people looking to betroth their daughters to Robb. It had been expected from Northern or some of the older Vale and Riverland houses The three regions were closest in proximity to each other and traded frequently.

But to be approached by Houses like Redwyne, Dunn, Crane, Varner, Hewett, Caron, Estermont, Fell, Peasebury. Some of these houses had never meet, let alone married into a Northern house. Now they were spilling over themselves to try and marry her son.

Granted, her son was a lord paramount, but the recent war raised his prominence to even greater heights. He was now a renowned military commander who crushed a Lannister army, participated in the siege of King's Landing, and took the infamous castle of Pyke. He was also the elder brother to the boy who would marry the future queen and was in high favor of the current king.

The political sway that now followed his name made Lords and Ladies reconsider the daunting prospect of the frigid North becoming a new home for their daughters.

She made sure to learn all she could of the families current situation before adding them to her list of houses to consider. Sending the names of the most prominent ones back to Winterfell to let Robb consider them.

There were also offers for Sansa's and Arya's hands as well. Both girls had a wide selection of houses to choose from, thou Lady Stark felt it was all for naught. Sansa had struck up a strong friendship with Domeric Bolton on the return trip North and wrote to him regularly. The potential to strengthen House Bolton's loyalty to Winterfell was an enticing prospect unto itself. Domeric was also well respected and considered by most of the North as a level headed young man with a calm temperament.

Ayra on the other hand was still very much against the idea of marriage and made her opinion known to all that asked.

Even to a few who didn't.

Lady Stark sighed as she watched the young girl in question as she left the Red Keep with the princess to visit the docks under the supervision of the Master of Ships Lord Davos.

Well, at least she was learning more then just how to wield a sword. The King had insisted that her studies be equal to her training with a sword and as such she had attended court, trials, occasional small council meetings as well as be given lectures along side the princess. It had only taken a few days before the King had informed Bran and Rickon they too would be attending the lessons while guests at the Red Keep.

"Lady Stark?"

She turned from the window to the old servant addressing her. "Yes?"

"The Lord Hand has requested that you meet with him and Lord Commander Locke in the tower of the hand."

She nodded and followed the woman to the tower where two men with yellow and black checkered shields stood guard at the door. She entered and found the Lord Commander already there with the Lord Hand, they stood up to greet her and once settled Argilac began talking.

"I have asked you both here because of recent news from across the narrow sea. I need you to be as blunt as possible. Is there any sympathy in the North for the Targaryans or their legacy?"

Catlyn kept her composure but Ser Donnel turned and spat into the fire place. "Never! We hope their souls are damned to misery and only regret not killing more of them!"

Catlyn put a hand on his arm as he started to raise and he caught himself. "Apologizes, please pardon my behavior Lady Stark." "Of course Ser Donnel, please be seated." He immediately sat down and took several calming breaths. "To answer your question," Catlyn addressed Argilac. "I have never seen a Northerner express any sympathy to the targayns nor any who question my late husbands choice to raise arms against them."

"I expected as much," he replied with a smile, "After all yours was the only kingdom to be united from the start in the rebellion."I ask you this because we have received some uncomfortable news. The last member of house Targaryen, Daenerys, has found herself an army and has become a conquer. She has taken three of the major cities in slaver's bay and has three dragons along side a horde of dothraki and a standing army of unsullied with former slaves making a force over 15000 by our estimates."

Donnel leaned forward, "You think she will try to return to Westeros?"

"We do, we have accounts of her seizing slaver ships and training sailors."

The Northerners looked to each other for a moment, "What are we to do?"

"We have plans to raise defenses along the coasts at likely landing points and to have the lords near them to coordinate plans for quick reaction plans. I would like you two to help me get a notion of likely landings in the North and the area around them. I want to be as ready as possible, because I have no intention of letting my family do down in history as the shortest lived dynasty in history."

Thank you for reading, for your reviews, and most importantly your patience.