Jon enjoys riding horses. While it never came close to the rush of wind that one feels when riding a motorcycle the horses came close to give that feeling her and now. Besides, riding a horse seems to lit something primal within oneself and he has learned to enjoy that feeling. Although, this experience could have been better with a warm sun in the sky but we can't have everything. Living in the cold North for thirteen years have made him adjust to the chilling cold but what he would give to avoid wearing these horribly weighing woollen cloaks around his shoulders all day. While the cold was a constant companion in the North there was no way one could ride in this horrible cold climate without a few thick layers of clothing on one's body.

Jon could see the snow-covered Northern Mountains approaching as they rode hard through the Kingsroad. If he could see the Northern mountains then that means the Long Lake was fast approaching. They were riding for hours without stop and the horses will need to take some rest soon and the Long Lake would be an ideal point. It was closer to the Kingsroad and they could get some rest without much incident. He turned to his two other companions Nester and Shack. Both of them were household guards that his uncle had loaned him for this journey and he had trained with them in the yard many times so they were very much familiar faces.

"We should stop at Long Lake and let the horses recuperate. What say you, Nester?" Jon asked the large burly man with a beard that had no sign of ever being touched by a razor

"She can run a few more miles, Snow." Nester replied patting his horse affectionately

"I rather doubt it, Nester. She seems to be straining to drag your fat arse on the road." Shack snarked from Jon's right side who was only ten namesdays older than Jon himself.

"I swear to the Old Gods that if you call me fat once again I will smash your skull open." Nester growled back

"Alright, that's enough from both of ya! How about we settle this in a more refined manner? The one who first reaches the Long Lake and makes the horse drink from it will be the fastest." Jon suggested

"Fone by me, Snow. Unless little princess here is too afraid to lose." Nester agreed as he pointed his large finger at Shack

"I will race ya, you grumpy old fatto." Shack challenged

"Alright, so the race starts now…hyah!" Jon spurred his horse forward closely followed by his two companions. They raced through the Kingsroad shouting and screaming curses at each other. They sped past oxen driven carts by mostly farmers and merchants on the road quickly closing in on the hill that overlooked the Long Lake. They turned a sharp corner which left Shack leading the group and began to steadily climb up the hill.

Shack who had quite the lead on the other two quickly reined in his horse to a slow crawl once he was up the top. This forced both Jon and Nester to slow down as they trotted their horses next to Shack to see what made the guy stop.

"Are those bandits?" Jon asked as he took in the scene further down the Kingsroad

"I think so." Shack replied as he began to search his pack in a hurry

"Who are they attacking? They seem to be well-armed and they are holding up well against those bandits." Nester asked curiously as he strained his eyes to get a better look

"From the banner that they are holding it seems like House Mormont is engaged in battle. Shall we lend a hand then?" Jon asked as he unsheathed his sword from the scabbard tied to his hip.

Shack finally found what he was looking for and that was a banner of House Stark. He quickly tied it to a bamboo stick. At Jon's questioning look he said, "So that the Mormonts won't attack us!'

"For the North!" Jon shouted as he pressed his horse forward closely followed by Nester and Shack taking up his war cry

They rode down the hill in full swing capitalizing on the momentum provided by the hill slope. Just as Shack predicted the Wolf banner put the Mormont soldiers at ease as they concentrated on taking out the bandits.

Jon had never taken a man's life in this life or the previous one. But he had seen the execution of a man that raped a woman when he was ten namesdays old. It was a gruesome sight as Lord Stark cut down the head of the rapist on a chopping block. The real hard part came when the body starts to thrash around without a head. He had spilt his guts after watching that execution but he was there when Lord Stark personally announced the news to the family of the raped woman. It provided little comfort to the family but they left with a sense of some closure knowing that justice was served. Even still this was going to be the first time that he was swinging his sword to intentionally harm another human and Jon tried to take care not to kill someone accidentally.

The first swing of Jon's sword claimed the hand of a bandit who fell down screaming and was promptly put down by a Mormont soldier with a thrust of his spear. He sharply tugged the reins and turned his horse to the right and slashed the back of a bandit. Blood spilt out from the wound and his sword was now completely red from the blood that gushed out of the wound. It looks like he had exerted more force on the swing and the bandit who had no armour or even a proper leather clothing for that matter must have lost his spine in the process. The point was moot since the bandit lost his head courtesy of Shack.

Jon didn't have much time to contemplate his actions as he had to quickly move his horse to the side as he saw a bandit running straight for him with a wooden spear. He quickly jumped down from his horse as he was sure to get skewered by the spear that had a longer range than his sword. The bandit once again came at him with the spear and Jon backpedalled carefully dodging the thrust of the spear. Before he could cut down the wood with his sword the bandit withdrew the weapon and began attacking with quick jabs.

Seeing that he was losing control Jon focused on the spear and at the next jab, he quickly caught the spear using his left hand. Quickly he cut the spear in half with his sword and charged in quickly driving his sword straight through the heart of the bandit. Jon was up close with the bandit who was gurgling blood which was horrible to look at and he found the infamous words of Bronn to be proven right. 'Men shit themselves when they die' Jon thought as he wrinkled his nose at the smell and pushed the bandit off his sword which was now sticky with the red fluid.

All around him the fighting was coming to a close as the Mormont soldiers finished off the rest quite easily. Jon saw a woman who was in her early forties swindle a mace that crushed the back of a bandit who was screaming himself hoarse in pain. A blow from the mace to the head saw to it that screaming was silenced permanently.

"Who are you boy?" Maege asked curiously as she heated her mace on her shoulder looking closely at Jon

Jon bowed his head and quickly introduced himself all the while he eyed the spiked mace which was dripping blood apprehensively.

"I am Jon Snow, my Lady. I and my two companions were on our way to the Wall when we came across your company."

"You are Lord Stark's son eh? You have your father's looks and it seems you have a strong arm like him." Maege patted on his sidearm appreciatively

"Well, what are you folks looking at! Dump these bodies in a ditch or something." Maege barked at the men who scrambled to obey the lady of Bear Islands

"We were on our way to Winterfell to transfer our share of the taxes. Is lord Stark still in Winterfell?" Maege asked Jon as she made sure the men were doing as she ordered

"Yes, my lady."

"You seem rather young to join the Watch...?"

"I am just visiting Uncle Benjen at the Wall, my lady. I am not joining the Night's Watch!"

"Ah, I assumed…Anyway, when you are there do send my regards to the Lord Commander. He is my brother you see!"

"I will gladly pass on the message, my lady."

"Then you may continue your journey, Jon Snow. You have a lot of distance to cover before you can reach the Wall before sunset. We will take care of these undesirables here." She waved her hand dismissively and engaged in conversation with another woman

Taking that as a clear dismissal he found Nester and Shack to continue their way to the Long Lake. After resting for a few minutes they continued their journey. It took them a better part of three hours to reach the Wall and when they did Jon was overwhelmed. It was one thing to read about a 700 feet tall wall that spanned 300 miles across the North but another to see the marvel with my own two eyes. The cold has also become quite high as they moved closer to the Wall.

"I hope I am doing the right thing by trusting you raven. I hope this will be worth it!" Jon whispered quietly to himself as he spurred the horse forward towards Castle Black

Jeor Mormont took a large gulp of ale from his cup and that hit right where it mattered. The bitter drink managed to ward off the bone-chilling cold for the time being giving his old weary bones a much-needed respite. He missed the thick forests and the scent of pine trees of his home island but instead, he was stuck here at the edge of the world. He trusted his son to lead Bear Island and House Mormont in his stead and his son made him regret that decision after the Greyjoy rebellion was over. At least, his son showed some decency by leaving Longclaw here with him.

Jeor became alert as he heard footsteps climbing up the stairs to his solar. The door partially opened and Jeor saw a fellow brother at the door.

"There are a few visitors for you Lord Commander."

"Visitors? Are they new recruits?"

"No Lord Commander. They say they are here to speak to ya. Shall I let them in?"

"Let them in."

He looked on curious as a boy stepped in followed by, two guards. From the attire of the boy, he was clearly nobility. The boy was pale white with angular cheekbones and had curly hair that was tied back in a ponytail. The other two were clearly household guards.

"Greetings Lord Commander Mormont. I am Jon Snow, natural-born son of Eddard Stark. I request that you allow me to travel beyond the Wall and if possible grant an audience with my Uncle Benjen and Maester Aemon."

Jeor looked at the boy like he was speaking an entirely unfamiliar language and he was not the only one. The guards that came with this Jon Snow was also looking at the boy as if he had gone mad. It was into this awkward moment that Jeor's pet raven flew in from the window and began crying 'corn…corn…corn…' over and over again.

Jeor rubbed his forehead as he could feel a headache come in. Seriously what was wrong with youngsters these days? They seem to be all made entirely of stupidity and he threw his cup at the blasted bird which of course it dodged with an indignant caw. This was going to be a real headache, he just knew it.