Chapter 11; Storming the Bear's Den;
Characters of the chapters
Jeremy Maester of Bear Island
Lyanna Mormont, Lady of Bear Island
Ser Caleb Threestones, Knight of Westeros,Second to Lyanna Mormont
"There's our little monster." Maester Jerome said sometime later as he removed a flake of blackened metal from Lyanna's calf.
"Such a little thing, and it still hurts like hell." Lyanna contemplated, looking at the sliver of metal no larger than her thumb on the tray where the Maester had put it, while the Maester began to apply an ointment to her wound.
"When it comes to matters of the body, I find it is the small things that are the most painful. In this case you were lucky that it was just a ricochet. This should heal fairly quickly. I must say you gave me quite a fright when you arrived, what with you being covered from head to toes with blood. Far less can frighten an old man to death you know." The master said as he worked.
"What can I say? It turns out that Qunari cannons can cause quite a mess. At least I got the chance to wash up when I got here." Lyanna said, grinning.
"Ah yes, the cannons. I have heard of them. Surely such machines are not meant for this world." Jeremy said, his voice grim as he began to apply a bandage to her leg.
"Well they're here, and the Oxmen seem all too gleeful to use them against us." Lyanna said.
The Maester finished his work, and Lyanna examined the bandage, nodding her approval. "On the same note, did you send the raven as I told you to?" She asked.
"Of course. The King will know what has transpired here, have no fear of that." Jeremy assured her.
"Great. I'm sure that the King will be absolutely thrilled that he is now dealing with two invasions for the price of one, a merry gathering of people that want to kill us." She said sarcastically.
"I'm not sure this in the time for levity, my Lady." The Maester chided.
"I know, I know. Joking just makes it easier to handle the severity of this whole mess. This is just about as bad as imagine these things can get. Westeros under siege from two enemies at once, and my home is invaded by an army of giants. Surviving through something like this is not going to be easy." She said.
She began to put her boot back on her leg, which made the Maester frown. "My Lady, what are you doing?" he asked.
"Getting back to it. There is still much that needs doing." She said.
"I do not think you should do that. As small as your injury is, you should not stress it." The Maester protested.
"That is not a luxury I think I can afford at the moment. I have a castle about to be besieged and an island full of people that look to me to lead them." She countered firmly. She grimaced as she tried to put weight on her injured leg. "Just give me something for the pain. No milk of the poppy though. I need to have all my wits about me." She told the Maester.
"Very well." The Maester sighed reluctantly. "Give me a moment, I must think on what might work as an alternative" He said, rummaging through his bottles. "Hmm, perhaps this." He said finally, handing her a bunch of leaves from some plant. "Chew upon them." He instructed her.
"What are these?" She asked as she tasted the juice from the leaves she was munching on her tongue.
"Elfroot. It's a healing herb from Thedas. Supposedly it can dull pain and hasten the healing process." The Maester explained.
"Supposedly?" Lyanna asked.
"Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to verify the matter with my own experiments. At this time I think we might need to take these foreign apothecaries at their word." He said.
"Well, my leg does feel a little bit better than moments ago. I think it's doing its job."
"I'm glad to hear it." He said, smiling. "Of course those same apothecaries say it would be more effective if made into a potion or a poultice, but alas I haven't had the time to try reproducing the Thedosian recipes." He added.
"I see. As long as these leaves do their job, I'm happy." She said. She stood up, refused the cane offered by the Maester and walked out the door, her injured leg causing a slight limp in her gait.
She found her way through her castle and up the wall, where he found Caleb observing the grounds outside the castle.
"Oh. You're here? I thought the Maester would have you stay put." He said, surprised, when he noticed her. "How's the leg?" He asked.
"Stiff. Sore, although the Maester gave me some herbs that are helping. But I'm told that it will heal." She replied.
"Good." Caleb said simply.
"So what is the situation here?" She asked.
Caleb cleared his throat before answering: "It seems that the Qunari are back. They are lurking just beyond the tree line. I can't figure out what they are doing." Pointing out the Qunari positions with his finger.
"Has the castle been prepared?" She asked.
"Yes, of course. We pulled as much food and other supplies behind the walls as we could before the oxmen showed up. The gates are being reinforced, arrows and rocks being brought and oil being heated up to use against the attackers." He said.
"And what of our people? She asked.
"Those who are willing to fight are here, ready to defend the castle. They have been armed with whatever there was left in the castle armory. The rest we have instructed to scatter to the wilderness, deeper on the island. Hopefully the Qunari will not be able to find them there." He said.
"Good. You have done well." She said, approving.
"Thanks. Oh, and before I forget, these are for you. More of the explosive devices the Qunari had on them." He said, handing her a number of Qunari grenades as well as flint and tinder. "The rest of these have been given to people with good throwing arms and taught how to use them." He explained.
Lyanna nodded. "Hopefully these will help our defense. We will make the oxmen rue the day we got our hands on their weapons."
"How many do you think we are facing here?" She asked, looking over the battlements.
"Far fewer than I expected to be honest. A few hundred at most. The crew of that big ship we saw I'd wager." Caleb said.
"That's all?" She pondered, perplexed. "That's not enough to lay siege to a castle. Not nearly enough. I don't care how good fighters the Qunari are claiming to be."
"Maybe they are waiting for reinforcements?" Caleb offered.
"Perhaps. But it's still a bad idea to stop right in front of our walls where we can sally forth to attack them during the night. If they were waiting for reinforcements, why not just stay on their ships and wait for them to arrive? They have to know they already burned the few ships we might have used to bring the battle to them."
"Do they know that? Maybe they just aren't as smart as we are?" He said.
Lyanna shook her head. "That doesn't sound right. Nothing about these people strikes me as stupid. Callous when they want to be, and audacious for intruding to a land that does not belong to them, but not stupid."
"Well I couldn't say what they are up to any more than you do. We'll just have to wait and see." Caleb said.
"I suppose you are right. I just hate a situation where I do not understand the enemy. A lot can go wrong when that is the case. Well, unless the Qunari do something unexpected, our only course of action is to sit tight and wait for reinforcements. They will come, of that I'm certain." She said.
"When, though?" He asked.
"When the King has finished dealing with the Orlesians, or when he has the nearest calm point to spare thoughts on us. Word has been sent, so he will be aware of what has transpired here, and surely he won't want to leave an enemy in possession of a portion of his kingdom. Our job will be to hold out until he can do something about it."
"We are going to need him and his forces, that much is obvious. There aren't enough of us here drive away a force even as small as this. So until something changes the balance they can't get in and we can't get out." Caleb commented.
Then just at that moment there was a flash of light followed by a sound of thunder. Something violently impacted a tower to their right, scattering rock fragments in all directions.
"Woah!" Lyanna shouted in surprise, taking cover behind the crenellations. More impacts began hitting the walls, shredding the defenses.
"The cannons again… those things are portable!?" She exclaimed.
"Looks that way. What are we going to do?" Caleb asked, trying to contain his alarm.
"The walls aren't going to last long against a barrage like that, and once they are breached, the Qunari will take this castle. We need to get everyone out of here, find another way to continue the fight." She said.
"Okay, but how?" He asked. "The oxmen are right outside the gates. With their cannons and soldiers, they will cut us to pieces if we try to get out that way."
"There is another option. There is a hidden tunnel, built so that the family could escape if need be. It's down in the cellars."
"That's… convenient." He commented.
"Well, it wouldn't be a proper castle if it did not have a few hidden tunnels, now would it?" She joked. "We need to round up anyone we can find. We'll be faster if we split up. You circle the walls while I check the yard." She instructed him in a more serious tone.
He nodded gravely and jumped to action. She went to work as well, descending the stairs from the wall to the courtyard. Just as she made it to the base of the stairs there was an explosion right behind her, ripping through the staircase she had walked down just moments before. The sound of the explosion was very loud indeed, but Lyanna never heard it. All she got was a white hot lance of pain in her ears and a sudden silence save for the strange ringing sound she heard.
"Shit. Talk about a close call." She thought as she turned and saw the large hole in the wall. Feeling dizzy, she shook her head to clear the fog from her mind. Then she jumped as two men that she had not heard at all appeared beside her. She reached for her sword until she recognized the men as ones belonging to her house. One of them took a hold of her shoulders, looking straight into her eyes. It took to seeing his mouth move for Lyanna to realize that he was trying to talk to her. His voice came across as muffled and strange and try as she might he could not make out his words.
"I can't hear you! Listen, we have a way out of the castle. Get everyone to the cellars! Right now!" She told him, doing her best to say the words despite the awkwardness of not being able to hear herself. Apparently he understood her nonetheless, for he nodded, wild eyed, and went to do as she instructed.
Slowly Lyanna's hearing returned to her, and she became aware of the shouts and sounds of impacting cannonballs around her. By now the walls were so full of holes that cannonballs were routinely passing through to hit the buildings in the castle, some even hitting people caught in the open. She knew that time was of the essence now. The oxmen could be within the walls any minute.
"Fall back! Everyone to the cellars!" She shouted to anyone that might be within earshot. She helped up a man that had been knocked to the ground before hurrying to the cellars as fast as her injured leg allowed her.
By the time she made it to the cellars the space was already filled to the brim with scared people.
"Caleb, you in here?" She shouted, pressing through the crowd.
"Right here! The Maester is here too!" he replied.
"My lady, thank goodness you're here! We couldn't be sure if you would make it. Where is the passage you mentioned? We have been trying to look for it but we can't seem to…" The Maester began to say.
Lyanna silenced the Maester by holding up her hand, eyes scanning the room. "There." She said, pointing. "That pile of crates. Move them aside."
A few of the people began to shift the crates as she had ordered. "I wondered why no one ever moved these…" one of them mumbled as he worked. Ater a few moments the crates had been moved to the side, revealing the stone wall behind them.
"Alright, now what, there's just more rock. Are you sure we're in the right spot?" Caleb asked.
"Yes. This might look like rock, unless…" She said, before giving one of the stones in the wall a sharp kick. The stone revealed itself to be a thin panel that broke apart from her kick, revealing a hole just wide enough to crawl through. "… you know what you are looking for." She finished.
"Fascinating. I never knew this castle had such construction in it." The Maester commented.
"Only a Mormont would. Until now that is." She said. "You go first Maester, follow the tunnel to its end and receive our people as they come through. Caleb and I will remain here for now and make sure we get everyone out."
"That is not a lot of room." Maester Jeremy said as he began to clamber down to the hole.
"It gets wider once you get past the entrance. Should be enough room to stand up." She reassured him.
It took a moment for the Maester to get through, his chain catching around the edges, but eventually he managed to fit himself through, emerging into the wider space just beyond the entrance. Lyanna turned to the other people in the room as the Maester's footsteps receded as he travelled down the tunnel:
"Alright, head down to the tunnel one at the time, no crowding! Once you're in the tunnel, follow it to the end straightaway and as fast as you can. Do not stop!"
"This is slow going." Caleb grumbled, shaking his head as he watched people head into the tunnel one by one.
"I know. The tunnel was never meant for this many people, just the core family." She agreed. Then she turned her eyes towards the people still in the room.
"As many people as we have with us, it's fewer than I expected. Is this really everyone left alive?" She asked.
"Everyone we could find in the time we had available at any rate. But… maybe there are a few more hiding somewhere?" Caleb said.
"Maybe once everyone else is through you and I could make a quick search of the castle? Just in case." Lyanna offered.
Just then her thoughts were interrupted by panicked shouts coming from outside the cellar:
"THE QUNARI! THE QUNARI ARE IN THE COURTYARD!" Shouted a panicked man as he stumbled through the doorway leading to the cellars, nearly tripping on his own feet in his rush, dashing Lyanna's hopes of finding more survivors.
"Barricade the door! Caleb, with me! The rest of you, continue to head out! Keep it orderly!" She shouted, pressing through the milling crowds.
She and Caleb reached the far side of the room where those closest to the door had piled barrels, heavy crates and other debris. No sooner had they finished their work when the door shook violently, angry shouts in a foreign tongue coming from the other side. An ax struck the boards of the door once, twice, thrice, coming through on the third strike. Lyanna drew her sword and stabbed through the opening, getting a pained gurgle as her reward. When she withdrew her blade the top third of it was coated in blood. The door continued to shudder and splinter as the Qunari fought to get through it.
"That's not going to hold very long." Caleb said with a gulp. He glanced around the room where people were still entering the passage to get out of the castle with ever greater urgency. "We need more time." He added.
Lyanna nodded her agreement before a possibility dawned on her. "Caleb, give me your grenades." She said. Caleb seemed puzzled, but complied nonetheless. "Everyone that has Qunari explosives, give them to me! And get me something to put then in!" She then shouted to the room.
"You can't mean to use them inside here. We'd get caught in the blast too! And if we make a mistake we could set them all off at once, and then the Qunari will have to scrape bits of us off the walls and ceiling." Caleb protested as the grenades were being handed from person to person and Lyanna began to stuff them into a sack she had been provided.
"Oh, I intend for all of them to go off, but only when everyone is safely away. Now keep the Qunari busy while I work." She answered.
As Lyanna continued to fill the sack with explosives, Caleb kept defending the door, stabbing through the cracks in the boards with every opportunity. After each thrust he made spears stabbed from the other side, trying to strike him, one managing to hit close enough to clang off from the armor protecting his shoulder. Finally the door was struck with great force, some of the barrels piled in front of it tumbling down and rolling down the steps, and he had to retreat from the door."
"Caleb… go. Go, now." Lyanna said with forced calm, her eyes wide.
"I'm not leaving you here alone…" He tried to protest.
"NOW!" She snapped at him, sharply enough that he nodded hastily and bolted towards the exit. Lyanna knelt and tried to ignite the cord on one of the grenades. Her hands trembling from anxiety she fumbled with the flint and tinder, failing to strike a spark several times. The door was struck again, opening partway.
"Come on, come on…" She muttered nervously, directing hasty glances at the door. Just as the door was shattered into splinters and a huge, muscular frame stepped through the cord finally caught fire. Lyanna quickly shoved the grenade into the sack.
"Hey you, catch!" She shouted before tossing the sack at him. Reacting on instinct, the soldier raised his hands and caught the sack mid air. He glanced at the sack, then at her, confused. That was the last thing she saw before she dove headlong through the entrance into the secret tunnel. She picked herself up from the floor and managed to take a few running steps before a loud explosion behind her made the whole tunnel shake and she fell over again. Turning around on the ground, she saw the cracks forming on the ceiling, while back in the direction of the cellar the rumble of collapsing stone could be clearly heard, the hole she had entered through sealed by several large boulders. As dust and small pebbles rained on her, she curled into a ball on the ground, and prayed that the roof above her would hold. After what felt like an eternity had passed the rumbling finally quieted, and she heard running steps in the tunnel.
"Lyanna!" Caleb shouted her name as he ran to her. "Lyanna! Gods, are you…?"
"I'm alright. I'm not hurt." She said, breathless, unable to tear her eyes away from the cracked roof. "Remind me to hire some masons to check the stonework when we come back here. That whole collapse thing should not have happened, no matter how many explosives I used." She said.
"It's a done deal. On the upside, this way we can be certain the Oxmen won't be able to follow us." He replied, obviously relieved that she was unhurt.
He helped her up and they proceeded through the tunnel. As they walked Lyanna's limp worsened. The pain dulling effects of the elfroot were beginning to wear off, and she now felt a sharp sting with every step she took. "Damn this thing." She cursed, rubbing her leg. "The Maester was probably right, I should not have stressed my leg this much so soon. But what else could I do?"
"If you need to lean on me, I won't mind it." Caleb offered helpfully.
Lyanna chuckled. "No, I don't think that will be necessary. I'll manage, although the Maester will likely need to take another look at it when there is time."
"It's funny…" She suddenly said after a moment of walking in silence.
"What is?" Caleb asked.
"Just about every time I have been in danger or in need of help lately you have been right there for me. And I basically had to scream at you to get you to leave when the Qunari were forcing their way through the door." She explained.
"I… well, I'm your second, and an anointed knight no less. It's my job." He said. "I'll always be there for you Lyanna…" He added quietly.
She smiled warmly. "Thank you Caleb. That means a great deal."
Finally they emerged from the tunnels and into the woods outside the castle, shielding their eyes from the sudden light. There was a persistent fog of foul smelling smoke that stung their eyes in the air, giving a strange greyness to the world around them. There was no one else around, and Lyanna guessed that the others had gone on ahead.
Something about the smoke made her turn around and look where they had come from. Seeing the smoking ruin that had become of the place she had been raised in made it all hit home: What had happened, how much had been lost, the hardships that were ahead.
"No…" She breathed, seeking support against a nearby tree, feeling a knot of grief in her stomach. "Kicked out of my own home, dammit…" She said, holding back tears. "MY OWN HOME!" She screamed.
Caleb laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Lyanna… we have to go."
She looked at Caleb's hand for a few seconds before placing her own hand on top of his. "Yes, we must." She said, bowing her head.
"But one day I will be back, and on that day they will regret all of this." She said, lifting her head up, defiance in her eyes.