AN: Well then, I did not expect this chapter to become so lengthy when I started writing. As always many thanks to those that have reviewed, your kind words really keep me motivated to keep writing and posting new chapters. This is one of my favorites so far, so I hope all of you like it. :-)
A week passed quickly after Jon returned to the Starks with the six direwolf pups. While Lord Eddard Stark was initially reluctant to allow his children to keep the pups, as they were wild animals, he ultimately caved when presented with the argument that his children and family must be blessed to encounter the mythical beast that has flown proudly as the sigil for House Stark since the days of Bran the Builder.
The Stark children, even proper and prim Sansa, absolutely beamed in joy when they were summoned to receive their wolves. Even the warning from their lord father was not severe enough to dampen their moods when he proclaimed that each child would be responsible for caring for their respective direwolf and that none of Winterfell's resources would be spared to help raise the pups.
Jon formed a fast friendship with Ghost when the small wolf with white fur and red eyes realized that Jon was the only one who would give him food. Even though the young direwolf was still the smallest of all his brothers and sisters, he had begun to close the size gap. Ghost loyally followed his friend like a shadow and Jon was able to teach the direwolf to come at the sound of his name, to stay and that the castle was not an acceptable place to do his business.
The last lesson was particularly significant to Jon. After the first day when he stepped in a very unwelcome pile left by Ghost over the night, Jon resolved to prevent such a thing from occurring again. In doing so, he succeeded in preventing similarly unwelcome surprises in the future as well as earning experience and unlocking 'Command' as a perk.
Command: The ability to give instruction and the likelihood that those instructions will be followed. The likelihood of a command's success depends upon the level of the one giving and the level of the one receiving the command, reputation and other variables.
The revelation of how command works, made Jon that much more impressed with Lord Stark who had command of the entirety of the North. Jon was diligent in following Lord Stark's command and continued his training sessions with Ser Rodrik and the new recruits.
Due to his rapid increase in skill, Ser Rodrik had ordered Jon to join the more tenured guards during spars since the new recruits were no longer presenting much of a challenge to the Bastard of Winterfell. The increased level of competition definitely resulted in Jon leaving the training field with more bumps and bruises than he would have received with the new recruits but his increased experience gains more than made up for any temporary discomforts.
Additionally, Jon had been able to make great headway with the task set upon him by Maester Luwin. He had decided to leave Legend of Krately House until he had finished reading the other books that he had been assigned. Instead, he had focused on reading the histories of the main houses of Westeros, the tales of battles fought long ago and books on military tactics. This dedication to his studies resulted in him gaining another perk point for Perception and another perk point for Intelligence as well.
As a side effect of all of the reading, Jon was able to unlock another branch of perception. Sixth Sense – The ability to read body language and situations allowing you to predict the most likely future outcome. What you choose to make of the information acquired by this perk is up to you.
Jon made use of his 'Sixth Sense' while training and his experience gains to Archery, Blocking, Evasion, Light Armor, One-Handed and Two-Handed allowed him to level up and was able to level all of those skills over the course of his training. A comment from Ser Rodrik at the end of the last training session led Jon to believe that the training today would involve Smithing with Mikken and leatherworking with Drayson. Since Jon had assisted Mikken with smithing in the previous week, he was confident that he would be selected to help with leather working.
With all of the bearskins and wolf pelts that he collected, Jon was looking forward to learning how to turn them into something functional. Jon made his way to the dining hall with Ghost padding silently behind him and had what had become his customary breakfast after putting on the Stargaryan Ring before making his way to the training grounds.
Looking around, Jon found that he as the first to arrive. So he turned his attention to Ghost.
"Alright boy, let's get some training done while we wait for the others to show up," Jon instructed. "I'll be practicing with this training dummy and I want you to practice biting and sashing the training dummy next to it."
Ghost cocked his head, as if to ask what Jon expected him to accomplish with his current size.
"I know boy," Jon answered. "You're small now but that won't be the case for long. From what I read in the histories of the Starks, the direwolves of the past were known to grow to the size of a horse. When you're that size you will be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield."
Ghost wagged his tail and padded over to stand in front of the training dummy while raising his hackles in a snarl.
"Attack," Jon shouted, causing Ghost to leap at the training dummy. "I'll do the same."
The two continued attacking their straw opponents for just over half an hour before Ser Rodrik called for them to stop and join the recruits.
Speech +500
One-Handed +12,000
"Good job, making the most of your time on the training yard, Jon," Ser Rodrik commended. "If that beast of yours grows to be even half the size of the direwolves of old then he will make an enemy think twice about tangling with you."
"That's probably a while off," Jon admitted while scratching Ghost behind his ears. "This little one still needs to catch up with his brothers and sisters before he could be anything close to threatening."
Ghost nipped at Jon's ankle playfully before sitting back on his haunches as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, ho, ho," Ser Rodrik laughed. "Don't be so sure about that, Jon Snow! Anyway, you lot made a decent impression on Mikken and Drayson and they have requested that you be sent to help at the forge and with the leather working today. To make sure that you all are properly versed in what will be expected you as part of Winterfell's guard, the group that was helping Mikken last week will help Drayson this week while the group that helped Drayson will help Mikken."
Quest Alert!
Leather Working with Drayson: Assist Drayson in the tannery and learn to work each of the three stations in the tannery.
Reward for Completion: 30,000 Experience, Access to Drayson's Tannery in the future, ?
Penalty for Failure: Decreased reputation with Lord Stark, Mikken, the Winterfell guard recruits and Drayson. Delayed access to Drayson's Tannery in the future.
The boys would have grumbled about the menial tasks had it not been a relief from the brutal training regime that Ser Rodrik put them through each day. As it was, they moved without complaint to their specified destinations.
Drayson's dwelling was rather large for one of the smallfolk in Winterfell further than all other buildings from Winterfell, the size of the dwelling reflected his esteemed position as the primary leather worker for the guards. Ghost sat resolutely at the door refusing to enter the leather worker's dwelling because of the smell so Jon went inside without the albino direwolf that had essentially become his shadow. There were several tanning stations set up where hides could be cured, eight large vats of cool water set immediately across from eight vats of the same size filled with water and set upon a large quantity of embers to keep the water at a scalding temperature and twenty man shaped items that were very similar in appearance to training dummies.
"Hello all," the large man with his beard with a pointed beard on his chin. "I am Drayson. I work the leather that is work by the Winterfell guard and Lord Stark, himself. There are three stations here. First all pelts must be cured. Second, the cured leather must be soaked in the cool water before being transferred to the cooled leather to the hot water. Third, the warm leather is molded on the dummies and left to harden while to room temperature. This process is what gives our hardened leather its durability. Depending on the type of animal skin used in the curing process the durability can be higher or lower. The leather that we use for the Winterfell guard comes from the skins of cows or bulls."
"What about bears or wolves?" Jon asked while keeping his head down and not trying to attract any more attention. "How would that leather compare to the normal leather used for the guards?"
"Very good questions," Drayson answered with enthusiasm. "The leather from either of those animals would be much tougher than that which is normally used but we don't actively seek them out as there are far too few to outfit the whole of the castle guard."
"That makes sense," Jon admitted. "If we were to acquire a wolf pelt or a bearskin in the future could we bring it here to cure it and make the hardened leather armor?"
"Most people would seek to turn those skins into cloaks as they are seen as much more prestigious and usually fetch higher prices," the leather worker explained. "However, if you wish to turn such a thing into armor then it would be my pleasure to assist you in such a task."
"Thank you, master Drayson."
"Yes, yes," the leather worker acknowledged. "Now split yourself up amongst the three stations. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you have the easy task if you choose to cure the leather. It takes a fair amount of strength and control to properly to use the knife to remove any skin, hair or fat from a hide that has been soaking in the bating solution. Word of caution, that solution is nasty stuff. Don't let any of it get it your eyes or mouth or you will be very unhappy with the results."
"What's in the solution?" one of the new recruits asked. "Surely it isn't that bad."
"Unless you fancy yourself becoming my apprentice, then I won't be telling you the contents of that mixture," Drayson responded with a raised eyebrow. "Take my word when I say that it is not to be taken lightly."
The boys grumbled a bit about the warning before separating and moving to take place at the leather working stations. Jon moved to one of the curing stations, wanting to move through the process from beginning to end. To the side of tanning station was a large pot covered by a lid which Jon assumed to house the hides that he would be curing. Taking a deep breath, Jon opened the pot and reached in to grab one of the hides.
To say the smell was horrendous would be a massive injustice. The smell assaulted Jon's sense of smell and caused him to gag and drop the hide back into the mixture. Having no other option, Jon reached in again and removed the hide.
"That's it," Drayson exclaimed. "They don't smell nice but it's the end result that matters. Take your knives and shave a few inches of hair from the top and the bottom of the hide. Doing so will let you stich the top of the hide to the top of the tanning station to stretch tight before stitching the bottom. No need to worry about how pretty the stitching looks, we just want to make sure that the hide is stretched tight to get the best result."
Jon fought the urge to gag as he dropped the skin and spread it upon the ground. Trying to distract himself with the task, Jon quickly shaved the fur from the top and bottom of the hide then grabbed the needle and thread from the pouch hanging on the tanning rack and sewing the top of the tanning rack.
The smell of the solution was no less noxious but it was slightly better with the pot closed than with the solution exposed to the air. Jon was able to steel himself and get the skin stretched and the bottom sewed to the tanning rack.
Taking his knife in hand again, Jon began the process of removing the hair and gristle from the hide. The process was slow because Jon did not want to press too hard and puncture the hide but after ten minutes he had succeeded in removing the majority of the unwanted materials from the hide.
"Good start, Jon," Drayson congratulated with a clap on is shoulder. "Give it another few times over with the knife and it will be ready for the cool soak."
Jon nodded and ran the width of the blade over the hide several times before one of the recruits that had been waiting at the water stations came to claim the skin. When it was removed, Jon held his breath before removing another skin from the bating solution. Since he knew what to expect, the experience was not quite as jarring as it was initially.
He was able to prepare the ends of the hide and get it strung up much more quickly than his first attempt and soon found himself in a rhythm with the tanning process. After five more skins, Drayson instructed Jon and the new recruits to move to the next station with those on the molding station moving to the tanning stations and Jon moving to the cooling and heating vats.
Jon expected the first few minutes to be relatively free of exertion since the others on the tanning station had not yet had time to tan any new hides. However, that was not the case. Jon was made to remove a soaked hide from one of the vats and heave with exertion as he was directed to put it into one of the empty vats filled with steaming water.
He dropped the hide with a sigh of relief, glad to be rid of his burden. It was at that time that one of the other recruits came with a large pair of tongs to remove the hide from one of the other vats ad take it to the molding station. Jon watched as Drayson instructed the recruit to drape the hide over the top of the dummy then making cuts diagonally in the corner before wrapping the warm hid around the dummy and trying a length of rope to keep it in position.
When Drayson gave the recruit a nod of satisfaction, he turned his attention to the tanning station and saw that one of the other recruits had nearly completed the tanning process. Jon moved to position to take the skin when the recruit had finished and dropped it into one of the empty vats before turning his attention to the molding station.
Drayson noticed Jon's attention and moved over to him.
"Jon, we soak he tanned hides for a minimum of ten minutes before moving them from the cool water to the hot water. You can, of course soak them for longer than that but that is the minimum to get the desired result. Be sure that you are not moving anything too soon."
"I will make sure."
Jon moved four more hides from the cool water vats to the hot water vats before he was able to get another tanned hide from the tanning station. As he was dropping the hide into the cool water vat, Drayson instructed Jon to move to the molding station before moving to instruct the recruits at the tanning station.
After getting the recruits at that station going, Drayson moved to Jon and directed him to one of the hot water vats. "We let the hides sit in the hot water for at least twenty minutes to get the desired results. You can let them sit longer but at a point the hides will start to break down, which we don't want to happen. I know you were watching how to mold the hides to the fitting dummies, so I won't spend much time with you after we fit the first hide. Just be sure to stick to doing it just the way I show you," Drayson instructed while moving to get one of the hides from the hot water vat with a pair of tongs then moving it to the molding station and spreading it over one of the dummies. "Make sure that the corners line up when you spread the hide over dummy. Then you take a knife and slice from just under the armpit to the corner of the folded hide and repeat on the other side. Next take the back side of the fold and wrap it around the front of the dummy and do the same on the other side. Finally, wrap the front folds around the back of the dummy and tie it as tightly as you can. The pressure caused by tying the layers together will cause them to fuse and ultimately create the shape of the armor as it dries."
Drayson demonstrated the techniques to Jon and brought his attention to where he kept the twine used to bind the hide as it dries. It became evident that cutting through the hide would not be as easy in practice as Drayson made it sound but Jon was up to the challenge. Once Drayson tied the hide into place, he nodded at Jon and gave him a nod and stepped back to admire is work.
Jon took the nod as confirmation that Drayson believed him ready to try his hand at the task. He grabbed the pair of tongs and removed one of the hides from a vat of hot water. Like Drayson before him, Jon spread the hide over the top of one of the molding dummies and adjusted it so the corners lined up exactly before bringing his knife to cut the folds as instructed. As expected, the hide was extremely resistant to the knife already but Jon pressed on and was able to split the hide and wrap it around the training dummy. Grabbing the twine, Jon tied the hide snugly into position before looking over to Drayson.
"That's the way, Jon," Drayson encouraged. "If you do it like that every time and we will have you making high quality leathers in no time."
Jon nodded and proceeded to the next vat that he thought to be ready and repeated the process. Even though the ides spent more time in the hot water than they did in the cool water, the molding process was fairly quick once he got into a rhythm. He was able to clear all eight of the hot water vats of their hides before Drayson noticed that all of the dummies had been covered and called for the boys to stop what they were doing and congratulating them on a job well done.
Quest Complete!
Leather Working with Drayson: Assist Drayson in the tannery and learn to work each of the three stations in the tannery.
Reward for Completion: 30,000 Experience, Access to Drayson's Tannery in the future, Leather Working Skill Unlocked, Smithing +4000
Leather Working: Craft and improve leather apparel and armor twice as much
As content as Jon was with his new ability, he was equally content to leave the dwelling even though he had since become used to the smell. The freshness of the Norther air was a welcome relief as it filled his lungs and swept away the last vestiges of the tannery.
Jon took another deep breath as the other recruits made their way past him and back towards the training grounds. Savoring the crisp air, Jon walked away from the tannery in a different direction than the recruits intent upon finding a tree that ghost could use to practice his attacks.
We won't have to practice very long, Jon thought. We'll just have to keep at it long enough for Drayson to think that I have been back to the castle to fetch the bearskins and wolf pelts.
"Ghost, show me what you can do," Jon commanded. "Show me what kind of mark you can make on this tree with your claws!"
Ghost snarled in reply and began swiping at the base of the tree with his paws. After about 10 minutes the pup stopped his attack, laying down and licking his paws.
Speech +1000
Jon scooped Ghost off the ground and carried the direwolf pup back to the tannery. Knowing that the smells would be too much for the pup's sensitive nose, Jon set him down gently so he could rest away from the smells. Jon then removed the bearskins and wolf pelts from his inventory before stepping through the door.
"Drayson, I've come with the pelts that I have collected," Jon announced while moving to drop the hides on a table near the tanning station. "I was wondering what you could make of them"
"Oy, Jon Snow back again already," Drayson greeted. "Let's see what you got there."
Drayson took his time admiring the hides that Jon had brought to him before he finally spoke again. "There is much that can be done with this but my services are not without cost. Have you any armor at this time?"
"Aye, I have a jerkin and a pair of leather gauntlets."
"Right," Drayson acknowledged. "Have you anything to pay for my services?"
"Not much in the way of coin."
"Alright, well what I can do for you is use one of the bearskins to make a set of leather pauldrons to protect your neck and shoulder, a set of grieves to protect your lower legs and knees and a set of cuisse to protect your thighs from enemy attacks," Drayson offered. "Since you are short of coin, I would charge you both of the other bearskins."
"Would you perhaps consider one of the other bearskins and all three of the wolf pelts, if I were to help you with the leather working process?"
Drayson laughed. "You've got spunk, Jon Snow. Aye, I'll take one of the other bearskins and the wolf pelts but I would have you help with the creation of the standard armors while I am focused on your task."
"I agree to your offer. How long will it take you to create those items?" Jon asked. "I can come here to assist you after training each day until they are completed."
"If you prove to be as useful each day as you proved yourself to be earlier then I should be able to get them completed within the week and you will find yourself in one of the finest sets of armor in Winterfell."
Quest Alert!
Drayson's Disciple: Assist Drayson in the tannery and learn to work each of the three stations as he crafts your items for you.
Rewards for Completion: 25,000 Experience, Increased Reputation with Drayson, Bearskin Leather Pauldrons, Bearskin Leather Greaves, Bearskin Leather Cuisse, greater access to the tannery in the future.
Penalty for Failure: Loss of Reputation with Drayson, Forfeiture of hides in Drayson's possession, Limited future access to the tannery.
"Is it possible to change the color of the leather to black," Jon questioned while accepting the quest and contemplating himself in the new pieces of armor with the Winterfell Captain's Jerkin proudly displaying the white direwolf sigil of house Stark upon his chest. "Then they would match the color of the jerkin."
"Lucky for you it is no great struggle to turn the color of a hide to black," Drayson answered with a nod. "We would simply add a few ingredients to the hot water that they soak in and when they are removed they will have the desired color."
"You have my gratitude," Jon thanked the leather worker. "I look forward to the finished product."
"Nay, I have the majority of your skins and also your labor until the task is completed," the leather worker countered. "Now off with you. I expect to see you until your request is completed otherwise I will consider the skins to be forfeit to me and I will sell them to a man with coin to spend."
"It will be so," Jon promised solemnly. "I will stop by after my training tomorrow."
"Aye," Drayson agreed. "Now off with you. There are things to be done around here and I should be getting to them."
Speech +1000
Jon gave the leather worker an approving nod before taking his leave from the tannery, picking up the one bearskin that remained to him on the way out.
Ghost's ears perked at the door opening and his head turned toward the tannery door as Jon walked outside. When the two made eye contact, the pup pushed himself to his feet and padded over to Jon just as the bearskin disappeared into Jon's inventory.
The two made their way back to the castle and started to make their way up to Maester Luwin's chambers. Just as they reached the staircase that would take them to the maester's chamber a frantic red haired youth rushed around the corner and ran into Jon, turning the pair into a tangle of limbs.
"I'm so sorry," the girl apologized. "I was in a hurry and didn't expect anyone to be in this part of the castle. I'm so worried."
"Sansa slow down," Jon started. "What has you running around the castle like Arya? I would never expect you to be caught doing anything that could be considered unladylike."
"Leave me alone, Jon Snow," Sansa tried to compose herself. "Father told us that he would not spare any of the castle's servants to help with the direwolves and now I can't find Lady. What if she's hurt? I need to find her!"
Quest Alert!
A Service for Sansa: Locate Lady and return her to Sansa
Rewards for Completion: ?, 30,000 Experience, Increased Reputation with Sansa and Lady.
Penalty for Failure: Decreased Reputation with Sansa and Lady, Potentially serious harm to Lady
Accept?
"Calm down," Jon attempted to placate Sansa while accepting the quest. "Ghost and I will find Lady for you."
"You will?" Sansa asked, her face alight with hope. "Please find her Jon; I couldn't bear for anything to happen to her."
"Alright. When was the last time that you remember seeing her?"
"She was with me when I went to my stitching lessons with Old Nan but she must have slipped out of the room while I was focusing on my stitches."
"Do you have anything with her scent on it? Ghost may be able to follow her smell."
"What would I have with her smell on it?" Sansa asked as her face fell back into despair. "I don't know."
"Does she have a bed or something that she has been sleeping on?"
"She does but that's in my chambers and mother would be very cross if you were to go into my chambers."
Jon shook his head at the mention of Lady Stark. "We do not want that. Ok, here's what we will do. Ghost will follow you to your chambers. Point out the place where Lady has been sleeping. He should be able to pick up Lady's smell. I'll meet you at the room where you ladies practice stitching and Ghost and I should be able to track Lady from there."
Sansa looked a bit skeptical at the plan but seemed to realize that Jon and Ghost were her best chance to get Lady back without bringing the matter to her father or the kennel master. "We will be a few minutes. Please don't let me down, Jon."
Jon smiled as Sansa addressed him without bringing up the fact that he was a Snow and nodded to her. "Ghost, follow Sansa and get Lady's scent. We need to find your sister."
The young direwolf's ears perked at the mention of his name and he padded silently over to Sansa with his tail wagging slightly. When Ghost nudged Sansa's leg gently with his head, her bright blue eyes shone in appreciation as she proceeded to scratch him behind the ears. "You'll help me find your sister?'
Jon pushed himself off the ground and offered Sansa a hand to help her stand. "It seems that Ghost would have agreed to help even if I had not already agreed."
Sansa gave him a weak smile before setting off at a brisk pace towards her chambers. Jon knew the location of the chambers where the ladies of the castle practiced their needlework and stitching well as Arya had ranted about the chamber and the women that chattered inanely while practicing what she considered a useless hobby.
He made his way through the corridors and took a position, leaning on the wall outside of the chamber to wait on Sansa and Ghost.
If the next week passes in a similar fashion to the time since I was given the Stargaryan Ring, then I may be worthy of the Winterfell Captain's jerkin by the time Drayson is done crafting the other pieces of armor, Jon thought to himself. The new armor will show that I am more than just Eddard Stark's bastard to the world.
Jon was interrupted from his musings as Sansa and Ghost appeared at the far end of the chamber. He moved to meet them and raised an eyebrow. "Did you do it boy? Did you pick up your sister's scent?"
"Ghost sniffed all around the pillows where Lady has been sleeping," Sansa supplied. "He's still so small. Do you really think that he can do it?"
"Aye, he may be small but he has plenty of fight in him," Jon agreed while patting Ghost's head. "Alright, Ghost. See if you can find your sister's smell in this corridor."
Ghost looked at Jon who pointed first to his nose, then to Sansa and finally in the direction that Ghost and Sansa had come from just moments before. Ghost's eyes followed the direction of Jon's pointed finger and his tail started to wag as he put his nose to the ground and began sniffing around.
The small direwolf kept his nose to the ground and set off at a quick pace down the hall. The trio passed through the hallways of Winterfell and found themselves at the castle door after a length. Ghost scratched at the door and Jon looked Sansa whose face showed her uncertainty.
"Ghost and I will take up the search from here," Jon assured the eldest pure born daughter of Eddard Stark. "We will find Lady."
"Please Jon," Sansa beseeched. "For any affection you bear for me, please find Lady and bring her home."
"It will be done, Sansa," Jon promised as he opened the door. "Try not to worry overly much while we are gone. We will be back, with Lady, very soon."
Sansa did not say anything but nodded hopefully before averting her gaze and looking downward.
Jon chased after Ghost who had picked up the pace upon leaving the castle. It seemed that the scent was fresher outside and Ghost did not have to keep his nose quite so low to the ground in order to follow the path that his sister had taken.
The two raced through the training ground and Jon let out an audible groan when he noticed that Ghost was leading them right into the Wolfswood. Jon equipped the castle forged shield and readied himself to fight any creature that may appear due to his presence. The pair had not ventured one hundred paces before they were set upon by a pack of five skeevers that were only slightly smaller than Ghost.
Jon hacked at one then another, causing them to drop to the ground as their lives were extinguished by his blade. Ghost engaged the third slashing and biting while Jon moved to put himself between the final two and his faithful companion. While Ghost was more than a match for one of the beasts, Jon did not want to think what would happen if all of them were to set upon the small direwolf at the same time.
Jon dispatched one of the skeevers with a well-timed swing of his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Ghost had emerged victorious in his first battle and whistled to gain the direwolf's attention. Ghost turned his head from the carcass of his enemy, his white fur painted ref around his front paws and his muzzle, and lunged at the remaining enemy.
After his encounter with the first skeever, Ghost seemed to learn how to face such an enemy. Unlike Ghost, the skeever only attacked by biting. Ghost slashed the skeever's hide causing four red lines to appear on the neck of the creature. When the creature lunged forward to bite at Ghost, Ghost hopped backwards before coiling on his hind legs and slashing the creature's muzzle.
The fight carried on this way for the next minute until the skeever lunged wildly and Ghost whipped his body to the side and latched his fangs into the creature's throat. The skeever's body twitched violently several times before finally stilling. Ghost only released his grip when the skeever was completely motionless.
"Good boy, Ghost," Jon congratulated while collecting the skeever tails and adding them to his inventory. "I hope you didn't forget the reason that we are out in the Wolfswood this afternoon."
Ghost seemed to understand Jon's implications as he once again put his nose to the ground before looking at Jon and setting off into the wood again.
"Slow down boy," Jon commanded, knowing that typically any creature to appear after the skeever was more dangerous and could possibly harm Ghost if it was able to catch the young direwolf by surprise. "We don't know what's out there."
Ghost heeded Jon's command and slowed is pace substantially, moving at the same pace they had kept while they were following Lady's scent with Sansa. After another hundred paces, Jon noted that a sharp turn and a few hundred paces north would take Jon and Ghost to the cave that he had cleared with Ygritte.
That was not to be their destination though. Ghost turned sharply in the direction opposite of the cave and kept the same pace. After a mere fifty paces Jon heard howling and Ghost raised his hackles at the challenge that the sound implied. Four wolves, each easily three times as tall as and many times heavier than Ghost, became visible in passing through the dense foliage of the Wolfswood.
The largest lunged at Jon who put himself between the beast and his direwolf. He was able to meet the lunge with his outstretched sword and impale the beast that fell to the ground, its body trying to find the strength to continue the assault but failing to do more than squirm pitifully. Ghost edged around Jon while keeping away from the deadly maw of the wounded beast and bit at its neck, trying to find purchase through the thick fur.
Jon's eyes scanned the forest in an attempt to locate the remaining wolves. Two lunged from either side and Jon slashed at the leg of the wolf to his right, cleanly removing one of its front legs before turning his body and slashing downward with both hands to cleave the skull of the wolf that attacked from his left.
Jon slashed the flank of the three-legged wolf, further crippling the beast before once again turning his attention to the forest to locate the remaining wolf that awaited its opportunity to attack. He was able to locate the wolf but only after it had sprung from the foliage and knocked Ghost on his flank.
Rushing, Jon moved forward as the wolf started to bring its head down to take a bite out of its smaller opponent. Thanking the Children for his luck, Jon was able to decapitate his opponent with a mighty, leaping two-handed swing of his sword.
The small direwolf got to its feet gingerly and butted its head against Jon in thanks. Jon tousled the fur on Ghost's back to show how proud he was of the dog before Ghost bound to the hobbled, three-legged wolf that was whining pitifully and sinking his teeth vengefully into its neck.
As the wolf drew its last breath, Jon collected the wolf pelts and was surprised to find a ruby when he claimed the pelt from the largest wolf that had attacked first.
Ghost seemed to learn the danger of venturing too far ahead of Jon as he set off at a much more sedate pace with the blood of his fallen enemies still dripping from the fur of his jaws keeping within a few steps of Jon.
The pair continued their journey into the Wolfswood and found Lady huddled against a sheer wall of rock, corralled by a large, easily as tall as Jon, black boar with a red flame like pattern along its midsection that was advancing menacingly with its tusks casting a wicked shadow due to the presence of the sun over its shoulder.
"We're over here, you dumb beast!" Jon shouted to draw its attention from Lady. "Come and get me you big brute!"
The boar turned sharply and charged at Jon, its tusks coming precariously close to impaling the young warrior. Jon slashed at its side as it passed but his sword failed to make an impression on the great beast. The beast continued for several paces before it could bring itself to a stop.
As the beast charged, Ghost made his way to Lady and stood protectively in front of his sister as if he could protect her in the event that Jon was struck by those menacing tusks.
The boar turned itself around again and Jon positioned himself in front of a tree and waved his arms wildly to get the boar's attention and cause it to charge. The boar did not have intelligence to match its great physical stature and threw itself into another charge, which Jon was able to dodge, causing it to run into the tree and stun itself.
Jon took advantage of its stunned and unmoving state to rain two-handed blows upon the beast. As the tenth blow struck, the boar's stunned state appeared to wear off. It pushed itself back up to its feet and prepared to charge Jon again. While he was not surprised, Jon was certainly dismayed that he had still yet to pierce the hid of the great boar.
The boar snorted and growled before chasing after Jon, intent on taking out the foe that dared to attack it with such impunity. Jon again positioned himself in front of a large tree before the boar could charge and leapt out of the way at the last minute causing the boar to run headfirst into the tree causing it to drop to the ground, stunned.
Again, Jon rained blows upon his enemy with as much might as he could muster but all was for naught as the beast was able to shake off its stunned state. Jon moved back and positioned himself in front of another tree, hoping to repeat his strategy.
It was not to be as the boar stomped its feet upon the ground and steam seemed to be expelled from its nostrils. Looking at Jon, the boar opened its mouth and a great ball of fire was shot at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. The impact of the fireball knocked the wind out of Jon but he was still able to avoid the charging beast by a narrow margin, causing it to stun itself again.
Mustering his strength, Jon renewed his attack upon the stunned enemy and managed to hit it ten times before it regained its footing and shot another fireball at his location. Jon was ready for the first and was able to avoid. However, he was not ready for the second and again found a fireball slamming into his chest.
Once again, the wind was forced from Jon's lungs and he was only narrowly able to avoid the charging beast's charge. However, he was not as fortunate as before as one of the tusks cut through his tunic and gashed his right side causing him to bleed. Jon clenched the wound with his left hand as he positioned himself to the boar's side and thrust the tip of his sword into the boar's neck with all of his might.
The reduced surface area and increased thrust was able to do what his earlier thrusts failed to do. Jon's thrust pierced the beast's neck and the beast moved no more. Jon removed his sword and checked to see what items he was rewarded for taking down the enemy.
Blackflame Cape of Wanton Destruction: +30 defense, +50% resistance to fire, -50% cost to fire-based attacks, +30% resistance to physical attacks and projectiles
? Tome
50 Gold
Ivory Tusks (2)
Pork (6)
+2000 Speech
+900 One-handed
+3400 Two-Handed
+400 Evasion
+1500 Light Armor
Jon held his wound while he staggered over to Ghost and Lady. "Alright, you two we need to get out of here. Let's get you back to Sansa, Lady."
Lady looked at Ghost who moved to follow Jon. The three of them made their way along the same path that Jon took to get to Lady and were able to get out of the Wolfswood without incident. Still clutching his side, Jon walked with the wolves through the training yards and back into the castle. When they got into the castle, Jon made his way to his room more concerned about sleeping off the wound and less concerned about meeting up with Sansa to formally return Lady.
However, it was not meant to be. As Jon climbed the stairwell, he saw Sansa sitting outside his door with her knees pulled to her chest, looking as miserable as he felt. Hearing his heavy footsteps, Sansa looked up and say Jon clutching his side with Lady on one side and Ghost on the other.
"Lady!" Sansa exclaimed, opening her arms and beckoning for her wolf. "Jon and Ghost were able to find you! Do you know how worried you made me?"
Quest Complete!
A Service for Sansa: Locate Lady and return her to Sansa
Rewards for Completion: Sansa's embroidery, 30,000 Experience, Increased Reputation with Sansa and Lady.
Level up!
Jon felt instantly revitalized as he leveled up. All of the pain that had been caused by the boar's tusks was gone. "Lady got herself into quiet a predicament, Sansa. The Children smiled upon us today and we got there in time to prevent anything from happening to her."
"Oh thank you, Jon," Sansa set Lady down and flung her arms around Jon. "I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to Lady. You weren't hurt were you?"
Sansa held Jon at arm's length and looked Jon over, up and down. She caught a glimpse of his muscular stomach and due to the tear in his tunic and looked away blushing.
"It's nothing," Jon hurried to explain. "Lady found a boar and it was moving in on her so I had to distract her to get it away from her. It caught me by surprise and was able to put a tusk through my tunic but just barely missed me."
"I'm glad you're safe," Sansa said looking Jon straight in his eyes. "Both of you," she added while turning her gaze to Lady. "Don't either of you worry me like that again!"
"Yes, Lady Sansa," Jon acknowledged with a laugh at Sansa's concern. "Train Lady to make sure that she won't wander off like that again. It may be even more important than your needlework in the future"
"Speaking of needlework, you'll need your tunic repaired. If you wish, I can fetch a needle and thread from my chambers and stich up your tunic for you," Sansa offered. "If you ever need anything sewed again in the future, it is the least I can do since you saved Lady."
"Aye, I'll take you up on that offer, Sansa," Jon agreed while looking down at the tunic and noticing that the dark fabric was concealing a large amount of blood. "I will take you up on that in the future but right now I think I should go see Maester Luwin."
"Why would you need to go see Maester Luwin," Sansa asked suspiciously. "Are you hurt? How bad is it?"
"No, it's nothing like that! I just promised him that I would stop by this afternoon and he is probably wondering if I am going back on my word," Jon assured quickly. "It is good that you do not have to worry for Lady anymore."
"Father says that direwolves are pack animals," Sansa stated while looking away from Jon. "I will always worry for my pack."
"Thank you, Sansa. I'll do my best to make sure that you do not have worry overly much for the rest of your pack," Jon stated earnestly. "It wouldn't do for a direwolf such as yourself to spend her days worried."
Sansa laughed and released Jon. "Have a good afternoon, Jon. Please let me know if I can help with any stitching in the future."
"I will," Jon promised. "Now I must go."
Jon excused himself and made his way to Maester Luwin's chambers to start his afternoon reading with a smile on his face.
AN2: So that was that. Please let me know what you thought about the chapter. The more specific you are, the more I can tailor future chapters to contain more of what works and less of what doesn't work so well. I hope you enjoyed! :-)