AN: As always, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Even though I don't always respond directly, you can feel free to send a PM if you have a burning question. A couple of quick reminders, first and foremost, I still do not own ASoIaF, GoT, Skyrim or Fallout and, secondly, as mentioned in one of my earlier chapters I do not see this story involving a harem. While Jon does currently have three attractive female traveling companions, Westeros is a dangerous place and each of these characters have goals that may fall in line with Jon's for the moment but may fall out of alignment in the future. Anyway, onto the next chapter. Enjoy!

Though Arachne's expression varied as Jon told her of the abilities that he had gained from the Stargaryan Ring, she accepted what he told her without contesting his claims. Apparently, after everything that she has seen me do and everything that she's been though, learning that something as simple as a ring could grant the wearer special magical powers isn't such a stretch. I wonder if either Ygritte or Ysolda would react so well if I told them.

Jon's internal musings were cut short as Arachne cleared her throat to get his attention. "There was a time that I would have said it was impossible," she said while wrapping her arms around her body. "It still sounds unlikely. Why would this 'Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell' have something like that in his possession? Why would it have failed him when it seems to work for you?"

Jon shrugged in an unconcerned way in response to her questions. "I'm really not sure. After getting it, I devoted myself to my training. I hadn't really taken time to question why it does what it does."

Though only two eyes were visible on Arachne's forehead after the Alteration magic that he had cast on her earlier, he was sure that if she could see the other six eyes then they would be just as wide as the two eyes that he could see on her face as she had to compose herself before she could give voice to the questions that he had sparked. "There is foreign and potentially dangerous magic in that ring. How can you be so casual about what it could possibly be doing to you? What if it is taking over your mind and turning you into something that you wouldn't have even recognized before slipping it on your finger?"

Jon bent the ring and pinkie finger on his hand so he could brush the ring with his thumb as he considered her words. "I have changed," Jon admitted while pushing his hair back with his hands. "I've changed more than I ever would have expected since I first put that ring on my finger. It's been less than two months and I feel that I have grown more than I would have in two years without it."

Arachne adapted a guarded posture due to Jon's words before her look shifted to disapproval. "So you are letting someone else's magic shape your life for you?"

Jon shook his head at the notion that he was allowing himself to be influenced by the ring but her words had struck a chord within him and the look on his face did nothing to hide the fact from her. "I have no reason to lie to you and I don't want to lie to myself. I doubt that I would be here now if not for the ring. Since it showed me exactly how far I had to go to be the person that I wanted to be, I have pushed harder than I ever did before to become that person."

Arachne tried to convey her concern over a magical object exerting such control over her actions through the tension in her brow and the look on her face. "What if it is steering you towards a path filled with darkness and despair?"

Jon shook his head and gave her a nervous smile. "It brought me to you. Could it really be that bad?"

Arachne rolled her eyes at his attempt to change the subject. "You realize that you are saying that it led you into the lair of a giant spider that had supped on all of the men that had come before it in the past, don't you? You're making my point for me."

Jon shook his head in disagreement, "It's helping me become who I want to be, I didn't realize that I was so feeble in the beginning and I have become strong. At least I have become strong enough to survive what I have faced so far and I will continue to gain strength until I have done all I can, knowing that if I fall that it was not because I was not prepared for what the world had in store for me."

Though it was apparent that Arachne had her reservations with Jon's thought process, she chose to change the subject, "I hope that you are right. You have accomplished what you said you would and have altered my appearance so that I will be able to leave this place and venture into your world. It is time for us to leave this place."

Jon nodded before turning his head to take in the sight of the chamber one final time before his gaze fell upon the trunk that had so called to Arachne when the pair first walked up the stairs. "What was in the trunk?"

Arachne gave Jon a mischievous look as it was apparent that she thought that he had forgotten that she had promised to show him the contents of the trunk when he revealed his secrets to her. "That was the deal, wasn't it? You would tell me your secrets and I would tell you mine then we would both get out of here. Well, it seems that the time has come to show you what was in the trunk. Turn around for a moment and I'll tell you when you can look so I can show you properly."

Jon did as instructed and turned around to give Arachne the space that she desired so she could show him the contents of the trunk 'properly.' After almost a minute of waiting, Jon was tempted to turn around and voiced his desire, "Is it ready?"

"Just," Arachne seemed to be struggling with something. "A," Jon heard a slapping sound. "Second," there was another slapping sound. "Alright, you can turn around now."

Jon turned around and his mouth fell open. Almost any young woman could be captivating to a lad of Jon's age if she showed as much skin as Arachne had shown in the immodest garb that he had become accustom to seeing her wearing during their time together in the cave but he was not so sure that many other girls would look quite so alluring in a shiny black get-up, such as what Arachne was currently wearing.

Though Jon was quite appreciative of how the ensemble seemed to cling to her body like a second skin, he didn't understand why she would have wanted him to turn around to change into something that was so modest by comparison to what he had seen her wearing. He especially did not understand why she would do such a thing after he had seen her body in all of its glory when he had first shown her the power of Alteration magic.

"Um, that is quite a shiny outfit that you have there," Jon tried to placate the amorphous woman. "Er, I can see why something like that would appeal to you."

The force of Arachne's laughs caused her to double over. It took several moments for her to compose herself enough to reply, "I should have expected that reaction. The significance of this particular finding is not in how it looks but what it does."

Arachne walked towards a section of wall that was not covered in books and proceeded to put her hand on the section of wall above her head, followed by her other hand, a foot and, finally, her other foot. By repeating this pattern she quickly scaled the wall and made her way to the ceiling where she was currently located and staring down at Jon.

"What I found in the trunk let me harness some of the abilities of the spider while still maintaining control over myself." The connection between Arachne's feet and the ceiling was abruptly severed causing her body to swing down from the ceiling, connected only by her arms, before she released her hold to drop down in a crouch squarely in front of Jon lending to her face resting squarely in front of his crotch for a moment before she rose to meet his gaze while standing at her full height. "With this, we can escape this place."

Over the course of Arachne's demonstration Jon's expression shifted from confused to impressed and back to confused again. "That's quite the ability but how will it allow us to escape this cave?"

Arachne shook her head in exasperation while walking over to the door next to the desk and removing a key from somewhere in her form-fitting outfit to unlock the door before pushing it open and revealing a balcony that looked out over the trail that had led Jon to the cave in the first place. "With this I can climb down the face of the cliff."

Jon looked at the sheer cliff face that was gleaming under the light of the moon, "Alright, even if that is the case I would still be stuck here. You can't be thinking that I would put that on to carry us down."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Arachne pivoted on her heel and gave Jon a slap on the back of his head causing him to pitch forward slightly before regaining his balance.

While pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers, Arachne responded, "No, Jon. I was not suggesting that you put on this outfit. I am saying that I will be able to get us down from here."

A skeptical look appeared on Jon's face due to the proclamation. "No offense, Arachne, but from what I saw when we were training I don't know if you will be strong enough to carry the both of us from here. Also, is it a good idea for you to rely on the suit's power? If it was calling to you with the same power of the Old One that trapped you in the first place aren't you worried about how the additional magic could affect you? It may not be the same as my ring but you have been under the Old One's power for far longer and it could be dangerous to you."

Arachne's eyes went wide at Jon's logic, "It felt so natural when I put it on for the first time. I thought it was reacting to me based on the time I spent as a spider, not because it too was a vessel for the Old One's magic."

"We can find another way if you don't want to risk the suit," Jon offered while putting a hand on Arachne's arm as a consolation. "I'm sure there would be a way to use magic to get us down."

Involuntarily, Arachne's right hand rose to clench the pulsating red gem that was still visible on her throat. "Even if I leave the cave, I can't forget what caused me to be here in the first place. The Old One is the reason I have been trapped for so long. I can't explain it fully but wearing the suit feels like I am embracing what has happened to me. For every day there is a night and for every light there is a shadow. Maybe, just maybe, for every curse there is a blessing and maybe this is a blessing from the Old God to make up for the time that I spent under her curse."

A puzzled look formed on Jon's face as he considered Arachne's reasoning. "I suppose that could be the case but it seems like a bit of a stretch. Why would the Old One, the one who cursed you, leave you something like that? I was taught that when something seems too good to be true than it usually is too good to be true."

"Is your ring too good to be true?" Arachne's words lacked hostility. It seemed that Arachne was hoping for a more positive reaction to confirm her theory was possible. "Is it so wrong to think that the good in the world should balance out the evils of the world?"

"No, I don't think looking for the good in the world is necessarily a bad thing," Jon's words were measured. "But, if you decide to keep it, I think you should be wary of being blinded to any negative side effects while focusing on the positives."

Arachne nodded solemnly, "I'm going to keep it for now, at least. At this point I would accept almost any negative side effects if it meant finally leaving this cave."

"Alright," though his reservations could be heard in his tone, Jon voiced his agreement. "Then let's get back to how we are going to get out of here. Unless that suit increased your strength by a fair amount, I still don't see how you would be able to climb down from here with my weight in addition to your own."

A flexed arm clad in the shiny black material was Jon's response. "In this suit, I should be more than strong enough to hold your weight while climbing down from here." Arachne walked to the edge of the balcony closest to the wall of stone that Jon had observed to be unnaturally smooth when he had found the cave in the first place. "You'll climb onto my back and we'll get out of here together."

Though the thought of having a woman carry him to freedom seemed slightly emasculating to Jon after hearing Sansa's tales of gallant knights rescuing damsels in distress, the prospect of being so close to Arachne's body more than made up for any discomfort he felt from the slight role-reversal. "Alright, let's do this!"

Jon walked over to Arachne and wrapped his arms around her neck before pressing against her backside.

Arachne surprised Jon by reaching behind him with both hands and grabbing his legs and picking him up while pulling his legs forward to indicate that he should wrap them around her waist. "No need to be shy now, Jon Snow. I won't be able to hold onto you while I'm climbing and falling from this height will not end well."

When Jon complied, Arachne put her right hand on the wall followed by her left and pulled them away from the balcony. Despite some shuffling when Jon noticed a growing discomfort caused by Arachne's body undulating against his own as they descended, it only took a few minutes for them to reach the ground and the bottom of the cliff.

As soon as his feet hit the ground Jon was met with a notification.

Quest Alert! Eyes on the Prize
Main Objective: Assist Arachne in altering her appearance so she can travel through the world unmolested by those that would fear someone that looked different than themselves.
Quest Rewards for Completion: 1,000,000 experience, Weaver Silk Under Armor set, Unlock Broken Treasure quest, gain Arachne as companion, Spell Tome: Conjure Familiar.

Jon's eyes widened as he remembered that the original reason that he decided to help Arachne escape was for the massive experience reward for the Eyes on the Prize quest. I should check my stats. Between all of the training in the cave and the experience that I got as a reward for that quest, I must have leveled up.

Jon Snow Level 22: 4,033,899/4,670,322

Just looking at his level caused a massive grin to spread across Jon's face. I gained two whole levels over the course of one night with the extra training time that I was able to access in the cave! I'll have to remember this place so I can grind in the future. If having the Stargaryan Ring was not already unfair enough when it comes to training now I know of a place where I can train as much as I want without having to worry about missing out on other opportunities.

The prospect of being able to effectively level the skills that now required so much experience to level up practically had Jon salivating but he was ready to finish the Return to Winterfell quest after so much time away. Alright, so I'm at level 22 now. Now I'll check my S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Perks.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Perks

2 Available

Strength: 6
Perception: 6
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.
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 4
Situational Awareness – Basic understanding of how to compose yourself in a given situation to help obtain your desired results
Intelligence: 10
Deeper Understanding – Get the most out of the books that you read. You can now find more insights in the books that you read.
Read-Absorb –Absorb the content of a book to increase your knowledge of its subject. Time taken for successful absorption is equal to the amount of time it would take to naturally read the book.
Read-Experience – Experience the content of a book. Choosing this method will provide a much more comprehensive of the contents of a book.
Intermediate Mysticism – Allows recovery of MP at a rate double to your current Intelligence level per minute outside of combat.
Agility: 5
Luck: 5

Alright, I have two points available to distribute. I could either add both points to Charisma to bring it up to six, which would put it in line with Strength, Perception and Endurance or I could add a point each to Agility and Luck so that five out of the seven perks would be at level six.

After careful consideration, Jon chose to take a different path by adding one point to Charisma and one point to Agility. My interactions have become much more interesting since raising Charisma to level four, hopefully the extra Charisma makes things even more interesting in the future. Considering how I fight, increasing my Agility only makes sense. I could always use more Luck but I would rather be skilled so I can make my own luck.

Anyway, let's see what my other stats look like.

Vitals

100 Available

HP: 200/200
SP: 350/350
MP: 350/350

Two levels worth of points are available to increase my Vitals. It's an easy choice here, 50 points to Stamina and 50 points to Magic. I think it's pretty safe to say that I've embraced the adage that the best defense is a great offense. I won't be able to take many hits but as long as I can take out my opponents before they get the chance to damage me then that should not be too much of a problem.

Now I'll check my skills.

Skills

Archery 11 (203,500/205,500)
Overdraw 2: Bows do 30% more damage.
Tracking Shot: Anticipate the way your opponent will move and adjust your aim accordingly. Shots to the head do three times more damage than regular shots. Chance for instant kill based on level of opponent relative to level of Archery skill.

Archery is very close to leveling up. It shouldn't be too hard to get to level 12 before I get back to Winterfell especially since it is my only ranged attack option if I don't want to reveal my magic to the Free Folk.

Blocking 12 (242,700/310,000)
Fundamental Defense: Blocks prevent 20% more damage

Evasion 14 (551,950/552,550)
Evasive Tactics: 30% more likely to evade enemy attacks

Light Armor 10 (53,950/102,400)
Agile Defender: 20% less damage taken when wearing Light Armor

Heavy Armor

My Blocking, Evasion and Light Armor skills are all at decent levels. If Arachne wants to continue her physical training now that she has that suit, they should level up pretty quickly. I still haven't had any chance to get experience with Heavy Armor but, at this point, it seems that it may be best to just stick with Light Armor rather than trying to start from square one with Heavy Armor.

One-handed 16 (773,250/846,036)
Armsman: One-Handed weapons do 20% more damage.
Dual-wield: Use one handed weapons with equal proficiency with either or both hands.

Two-Handed 13 (355,001/425,500)
Barbarian: Two-Handed weapons do 20% more damage.

My sword skills are pretty high level. Eventually I'd like to see if I can come up with any attacks that use magic to increase the power of my sword skills. Maybe I should go back in the cave after all… training magical sword skills would probably raise a few eyebrows and cause a lot more questions than I would want to answer. No, I'm not going back into the cave. I'm going to finish the Return to Winterfell quest.

Lock Picking 7 (10,500/12,800)

Pickpocket

Sneak 8 (16,780/25,600)
Stealth: You are 20% harder to detect when sneaking.

Still no progress with the Pickpocket skill but Lock Picking and Sneak are at a pretty good level at this point. It may just be because I know they could be higher but I would like them to be at least level ten since they could come in handy in the future at the most unexpected times.

Speech 8 (24,851/25,600)
Taunt: Words have power. With your words you can cause people to act out of character often forcing errors and lapses of judgment. 30% chance of success against those with lower levels; effective reduced by 1% per level for targets with higher levels.
Negotiation: 20% more likely to reach a compromise
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.

I can't believe that I didn't get any experience towards my Speech ability in the cave with how much time Arachne and I spent talking. I would have expected this skill to have grown quite a bit after my time in the cave. Oh well, hopefully the increase to Charisma will help me level this skill in the future.

Alchemy 8 (16,667/25,600)
Alchemist: Brewed potions and poisons are 20% more effective.
Potioneer's Instinct: Tasting ingredients will unlock their properties for use in poison and potion making.

Smithing 8 (18,000/25,600)
Apprentice Smithing: Craft beginner weapons and armor that are 10% more effective than standard weapons and armor.
Leather Working: Craft and improve leather apparel and armor twice as much

Enchanting 3 (500/800)

No surprise that my crafting abilities haven't increased since leaving Winterfell. Though I'm pretty sure several of the books that Arachne found for me in the cave were about Enchanting, I doubt I will have time to read them until I get back to Winterfell. I could absorb the content from those books but it seems like it would be a waste considering how much more I get out of experiencing the books. That's a problem for another day.

Destruction 11 (164,350/205,000)
Fireball 5 – Intermediate (1,850/3,200): Destruction magic that allows the user to shoot balls of fire from their hands. Cost: 50 MP. Damage: 40 HP (Strong likelihood of causing burn).
Flames 8 – Basic (13,500/25,600): Destruction magic that allows the user to shoot a torrent of fire from their hands. Cost 8 MP per second. Damage: 5 HP per second (Low likelihood of causing burn).
Frost 7 – Basic (10,300/12,800): Destruction magic that allows the user to shoot frost crystals from their hands in an arc that can hit multiple enemies at the same time. Currently shoots three snowflakes. Cost 10 MP. Damage: 5 HP per frost crystal (Low likelihood of freezing opponent).
Sparks 6 – Basic (5,000/6,400): Destruction magic that will call down the power of lightning from the sky that will home in on an opponent within 15 feet of the caster and strike without fail. Cost: 16 MP. Damage: 12 HP.
Magic Manipulation 11 (125,000/102,400): The ability to control the world as you see fit. The application of this skill is only limited by the creativity of the manipulator. If you can dream it, you can do it with Magic Manipulation. Level 10 Bonus: Your increased magical aptitude has increased. Damage from Destruction magic doubled and spells' cost for basic level destruction reduced by half.

Conjuration 10 (62,000/102,400)
Light 10 (61,500/102,400): Creates a ball of light that will float above you, illuminating your path. This ball of light will follow the caster as they move through the world. With finer control of your magic, you will have the ability to direct the ball of light as you please. 10 MP used per 30 seconds that the ball of light remains in existence.

Alteration 10 (100,500/102,400)
Warg 8 (15,500/25,500): The ability to enter and take control of another creature. The cost of this ability along with the variety of creatures that you can control is based on your relative levels and the familiarity between yourself and the creature that you wish to control. It will cost more MP to attempt to warg into a creature that is closer to your level and hostile towards you than it would to warg into the same creature if it was lower level and friendly towards you. The first time warging into a creature will have an additional MP cost to establish the warg link. As you warg more frequently with the same creature, the cost of warging into that creature will decrease.
Transfiguration 10 (85,000/102,400): Transfiguration is the ability to change the shape or properties of an object. The magical cost of this type of spell varies depending on the magical density of the subject. Magical density is determined by the magical potential of an object. Items with low magical potential, such as cloth, will require less magic to Transfigure than items with high magical density, such as dragon scale. When it comes to Transfiguration, what you can accomplish is limited only by your imagination and your magical reserves and if both are sufficient then there is nothing that you can't accomplish.

Illusion 10 (54,500/102,400)
Magical Distortion 9 (43,000/51,200): Using magic, blend an object perfectly with other objects in the vicinity to hide it perfectly from the untrained eye. The number of objects that can be placed under a magical distortion vary based on magical reserves and the cost of the magical distortion will vary based on mastery of illusion magic.
Calm 8 (10,000/12,800): Calm is a novice spell that will cause a hostile creature or person to cease their aggressions until they are enraged for any reason. Spell cost determined by the level of the target relative to your level; base cost 50 MP +/- 1% for every level higher/lower the target is when compared to the caster.

Restoration 11 (102,900/205,000)
Magic Ward 10 (101,400/102,400): There are two varieties of the basic Magic Ward. For 5 MP you can create a Magic Ward that will negate any damage from being taken from this spell. For 10 MP you can create a Reflective Magic Ward that will reflect the spell back upon the caster. Depending on your skill levels in other skills, either variety can be applied in a variety of ways which can then be used to negate damage.
Heal 4 (1,000/1,600): Restores 10 health points per second after being cast. Spell cost 12 MP per second when used by the caster on him or herself. Spell cost 15 MP per second when used to heal another.

All of my magic skills are at least at level 10 which was the second objective for the Return to Winterfell quest. Even though it seems like this quest has taken forever, it will all be worth it if I can save someone from the life of a cripple. Jon equipped the Weaver Silk Under Armor set under his armor and immediately felt the strong, silky, smoothness of the under armor set as a sharp contrast to the rough feeling of the attire he had become accustomed to wearing before he exited his stats.

Jon's attention shifted to the book in his hand with the words 'Conjure Familiar' emblazoned across the cover. Just as he was about to crack the book open a sound to his left caused him to store the spell tome into his inventory before turning to see what had happened.

What he saw caused him to draw a sharp breath. Arachne was on her knees clutching the glowing gemstone centered on her neck. Though the gemstone regularly pulsed with power it was glowing much more vibrantly than he had ever seen before… as were Arachne's eyes, causing her to look positively demonic.

Quest Alert! Broken Treasure
Main Objective: Though she made it out of the cave, Arachne is not out of the woods yet. The final temptation of the Old God is attempting to enslave Arachne to continue the punishment that started so long ago. To save Arachne from a fate worse than death, find a way to break the curse within a year.
Rewards for Completion: 2,500,000 experience, ?, ?, ?
Penalty for Failure: Arachne will be forever lost to the power of the Old One.

Jon quickly accepted the quest before rushing to Arachne to make sure that she was ok. "Arachne, it'll be alright. Fight against the power of the Old One! Don't let it lock you away again!"

Arachne snarled at Jon, showing the razor sharp teeth that lined her mouth in a feral approximation of a smile. The voice that came out of her mouth was nothing like what Jon had come to expect from the lilac haired woman. In a dark voice that resonated power, Arachne spoke, "This one has not finished her penance yet. Until she has she will never be free of me."

"We'll see about that," Jon countered as he channeled as much magic as he could before casting an overpowered Calm spell.

The light from Arachne's eyes gradually diminished until they were back to the blood red that was normal for her. As the power receded back to the gemstone on her neck, a single tear escaped her left eye before she slumped forward in a faint to be caught by Jon.

Illusion: Calm +5000

Unsure of when Arachne would wake up, Jon scooped her up in his arms and started to make his way back to the camp where he had left the Free Folk both so long ago and so recently. As he ran, a sound broke through the stillness of the night. There was a wolf and it was very close.

Instead of breaking into a panic, Jon broke into a smile at the sound. Though it was possible to distinguish the howl of a male wolf from that of a female wolf with relative ease, it was much more difficult to distinguish the howl of one male wolf from another male wolf or one female wolf from another female wolf. Jon thought he could tell the difference between the howl of a direwolf from one of its less distinguished brethren.

Ghost is close, Jon thought to himself. After treacherous members of the Nights Watch tried to kidnap Ysolda, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince the Free Folk that another traitor of the Nights Watch succeeded in doing the same thing with another young woman.

Another howl told Jon that Ghost was getting closer. To prepare for the arrival of his trusty direwolf, Jon gently placed Arachne on the ground and readied himself to draw his sword from its sheath to confront the man who was fleeing from his duties and breaking the vows that he made to the Nights Watch and the realm.

There was a rustling sound in the bushes and a young man garbed in black with a black cap that covered foppish blonde hair and the thick leathers of the Watch with a thick fur trim hurdled into the through the bramble with a slightly deranged look on his face. Upon seeing Jon, the man's eyes went wide before he tried to charge Jon in an attempt to overpower him so he could continue his flight from the undead creatures north of the Wall.

Unfortunately for the man, Jon was more than ready for him. He was able to avoid the man's lunging attack with an effortless dodge while using his momentum to pivot around the man while drawing his sword and using the pommel to knock the man out by smashing it against the base of his skull.

Evasion +500
One-Handed +500

Jon bent down and used his hands to quickly pat down the man to ensure that he did not have any concealed weapons. He was gratified to find a small knife in the man's right boot which could have caused a problem if it went unchecked and it was assumed that the man had been secured.

As Jon removed the knife from the man's boot, and stored it in his inventory, he was promptly bowled over by a wall of white fur the hit him with a surprising amount of force before he felt a rough and slightly slimy tongue liking at his face.

While laughing at the absurdity of such a large animal behaving like a mere pup, Jon shoved Ghost's eyes away so he could look his canine friend in the eyes. "It's good to see you too boy! I see that you even brought me a souvenir from your travels. Hopefully he didn't cause you too much trouble."

Ghost stared at Jon with a look that Jon interpreted to mean, "A single man like this couldn't hope to challenge me, it was all he could do to keep himself together while he knew I was in pursuit."

Just then, Mance and several other members of the Free Folk burst into the clearing with their weapons drawn as they eyed down the mighty direwolf. Clearly trying to take control of the situation, Mance spoke in a steady voice, "Be gone with you, beast. We don't want to hurt a beast so favored by the Old Gods, just as you don't want to hurt the lad. Just step away."

Realizing that he had to diffuse the situation before the arrows started flying, Jon pushed the direwolf's large head away from his face and stood while keeping a hand on the neck of the wolf. "He's alright; it's that one that we need to watch out for."

Mance's eyes moved from Jon to the Direwolf and back to Jon before he spoke. "Jon Snow, you can't mean to tell me that the beast that stands beside you could possibly be the pup that would follow in your shadow at Winterfell?"

Jon stroked Ghosts neck in an attempt to reassure him that the men that were approaching were friends while keeping his voice level, "Aye, this is Ghost. Even though he is a bit bigger than when you last saw him, I can assure you that the pup and this brute are one and the same."

"But how could that be?" Mance's confusion while attempting to reconcile the fully grown direwolf with the pup that he had become accustomed to seeing with Jon at Winterfell were one and the same. "Judging by his size, that direwolf has seen many winters. Can you say the same?"

A grimace formed on Jon's face at the reminder that he was still considered untested by the Northmen that had seen what would be considered a 'true winter'. He took a moment before responding, "Aye, this direwolf is one and the same though I do not believe that the two of you ever had a proper introduction. Ghost, this man most likely has several names that I have not yet heard but he is Mance and Camen the leader of the Free Folk. Of all the people that might have tried their luck searching for me since we left Winterfell, he is the only one that managed to accomplish the task."

Ghost strode forward purposefully towards the man that Jon had identified while making audible sniffing sounds. Though the advance initially caused Mance to raise his guard, he adopted a look of begrudging acceptance as Jon kept pace with the massive beast and it sniffed his hand as if to test his character.

Although Jon became nervous when Ghost did not react immediately as his snout came into contact with Mance's outstretched palm, when Jon felt Ghost's shoulders moving slightly and looked back to see Ghost's tail wagging he knew that he didn't have to worry about the direwolf attacking his fellow travelers.

"I would say that we have bigger things to deal with than Ghost finding us right now. He was not exactly alone when I found him," Jon gestured to the member of the Arachne and the member of the Nights Watch. "The girl seemed to be escaping from the man before I knocked him unconscious while Ghost was following both of them."

The simple gesture from Jon was sufficient to shift the focus of Mance, and the other members of the Free Folk that had accompanied him in to the wood to face the fearsome wolf that they heard howling, to the unconscious bodies on the ground in the near vicinity. Not unexpectedly, Mance was the first to find his voice, "I can't speak to where the woman was stolen from but I would bet the last gold dragon in my purse that the man is a member of the Nights Watch. From the looks of it, maybe I should say that he was a member of the Nights Watch, being so far south of the Wall."

Jon nodded while trying to keep a smile off his face as his attempt to mislead Mance seemed to be accepted without question. "After what we saw of the Nights Watch at that town, I can't say that I'm surprised. If I hadn't seen that there were still honorable members of the Nights Watch when I was in the Shadow tower, I would question how the Lords of Westeros put faith in the members of the Nights Watch to keep the realm safe."

Mance's face became unreadable as Jon made his comment. "Oh, is that what they do? You truly believe that they 'keep the realm safe'?"

A disgusted look formed on Jon's face as he thought about what members of the Nights Watch had done under the guise of keeping the realm safe. "They say the words and vow to protect the realm."

Mance harrumphed, "Aye, they vow to protect the realm but what are they protecting the realm from? I know that you have seen enough to know that sometimes the realm needs protection from its supposed protectors."

A resolute nod was Jon's immediate reaction. "They let those Wildlings loose on the village of Dawnstar before moving against the very menace that they allowed to prey upon the town."

Mance's eyes narrowed at the way that Jon had said Wildling. "Those men made their choices, both the Cave People that you speak of and the men of the Nights Watch that said their fancy words. Surely you can't think less of a man for acting upon his right to make the decisions that shape his life?"

Jon's face showed his frustration as he tried to reconcile how he felt about what had happened in Dawnstar and what had almost happened to Ysolda. "Nay, I don't think it's the fact that they chose to make the decisions that should be focused on in their judgment but rather how their decisions impacted others and how much others suffered because of the decisions that they made that should be the deciding factor."

While listening to Jon's rationalization, Mance nodded with an impassive face. "Sound reasoning but how can you judge a man's choice without knowing what drove him to make such a decision?"

"The villagers of Dawnstar should not have had to fear for their lives just because of where their village was located," Jon spat with ill-concealed frustration. "They depended on the Nights Watch for protection and it was because of members of the Nights Watch that decided that they did not have to abide by the vows that they had sworn to uphold that the village suffered. The Cave People may have had it in their minds to attack the village before they were given a way to do so by the Nights Watch but the fact remains that they would not have been able to do so without the assistance of those traitors."

It was Mance's turn to nod but his face was unreadable, "Treachery can open doors that are best left closed but, whether the door was opened to them or they found a way, who is to say that the Cave People would not have found another way to attack the village even if the Nights Watch did not assist them by providing passage through the Wall?"

The words echoed through Jon's mind, "That may well be the case but we can never know either way, now. I was forced to spend some time in the caves of the Cave People and did not see anything that made me think that they led a life of privilege. It could have been that they saw attacking the village as their only means of surviving when winter comes to Westeros but they should have found another way."

For the first time since the conversation had started, a trace of a smile started to form on Mance's face, "You have more wisdom than many men twice your age, Jon Snow. You are not letting your judgment be clouded by what you have been brought up to believe. It would be easy to think that the Cave People were in the wrong simply because they happened to live north of the Wall but, in this case, it would seem that the members of the Nights Watch were at least equally responsible for the fate of Dawnstar."

Jon walked to Ysolda and made a show of checking her pulse before turning to Mance to respond. "After meeting you lot, I think that men should be judged from their choices instead of where they born or who they were born to. Evil lives in men's hearts and is just as likely to find a home in the heart of a man born to privilege as a man born to squalor."

Though there was a hint of amusement in his voice, Jon detected the steely resolution in Mance's voice when he spoke, "So, it seems that you have figured out just how far from Winterfell the Free Folk have come from. Now you have a choice. You have seen that we can interact and live alongside the people of, what you call, the North amicably after making the choice to do so. You have also seen how much destruction a man's choice can have on others even if his intentions may be to provide the best life possible to his people."

After hearing Mance's words, Jon waited to be presented with a choice for several moments until he realized that Mance expected him to determine what the choice was on his own, "In my eyes, it is not where you come from that determines whether or not you are a danger to those around you but the choices that you make. I know that there is far worse lurking beyond the Wall than desperate people that are trying their best to make the best of their lots in life. I'm not saying that desperate people can't be dangerous, the Cave people show that is not the case, but when compared to the true enemy it seems like a better decision to band together as men and work towards a world where we band together to deal with true threats and work together to make sure that each man can provide for his own rather than fight amongst ourselves while the true enemy creeps closer."

For the first time since Jon and Mance started talking, the men that he had brought with him gave a cheer of approval. Mance looked to his men and saw recognition in their eyes after hearing Jon's impassioned words. "Well said. There is a great evil to the North of the Wall. I have dedicated to gathering those who would rather band together to have a chance at survival than make short term gains that would see everyone at odds when we are forced to face the true threat."

Reminding himself of proper decorum Jon closed his mouth, which had fallen open at Mance's proclamation of uniting people to face off against the true threat to the north. "I don't care if the Free Folk are Wildlings. I saw the glowing blue eyes of what lurks beyond the Wall and I saw how it was able to dismantle armed men with the ease of a master at arms taking down a green child. If you are willing to go up against such a threat then I will not be the one to make people aware of where you and those who chose to follow you come from."

Mance nodded succinctly at Jon's conclusion then made eye contact with two of his men before gesturing to the unconscious member of the Nights Watch causing them to break ranks and collect the downed man. "It looks like the job of 'protecting the realms of man' now falls to us. I can't pretend that I don't look forward to delivering this man of the Nights Watch to the justice that they have been so quick to deliver to my people."

Though Jon was hesitant because Mance had all but admitted that he and the Free Folk that were Wildlings that had ventured south of the wall to escape the undead monstrosities that were coming as surely as winter, Jon couldn't find it within himself to disagree with how Mance must be feeling after being hunted by the Nights Watch for the simple crime of being who he was. "I'll look after the girl until she wakes up. Before she passed out I told her that I would take care of the man who was chasing her. It would be better if she woke up to a familiar fae after what she's been through."

After a snort, Mance cast an appraising gaze at Jon, "You already have two women that can barely tolerate each other at each other's throats because of their desire for you. Are you sure that you're man enough to add a third to the mix?"

The doubts on Jon's face must have been clear to Mance as the older man let out a deep, booming laugh. Not one to appreciate being the butt of jokes, especially after growing up as a bastard in the north, Jon's mouth set in a deep scowl before he responded, "Ygritte would be the first to tell you or anyone else who dared to tell her what to do that she is one of the Free Folk and she will make her own decisions. Ysolda lost everyone in her village to the treacherous members of the Nights Watch and is only traveling with us to find the last person that she has known in her life. Arachne shouldn't be a problem."

Mance's eyes narrowed at the slip of the tongue that made it seem that revealed there was more to the story than Jon had initially let on. "Arachne is it? One might wonder how the two of you had time to make acquaintance before she fell unconscious."

Cursing himself for the slip of the tongue that roused Mance's suspicion, Jon tried to cover his tracks, "Not as much as you may be thinking. The man yelled her name while he was chasing after her and I only just had time to assure her that everything was going to be ok before he attacked me and she passed out."

Apparently satisfied with the explanation, the suspicious look on Mance's face disappeared as he inclined his head while sweeping his arm across his body as if inviting Jon to go to Arachne. "Alright then, grab the girl and let's get back to the camp. Your wolf's howling made it impossible to sleep and there are two women who were quite displeased to find that you had left in the middle of the night without bothering to tell anyone where you were going. One of them seemed to take it in her mind that you just disappeared from your covers after stirring fretfully and going back to sleep."

It took every ounce of control Jon had to not let the surprise that Ysolda had managed to figure out that something was amiss change his expression from mild confusion. "How could anyone just disappear from under the covers?" Jon tried to maintain a joking tone to discredit any claims about how he managed to find himself away from the camp, despite how true the claims happened to be.

It was apparent that Mance was skeptical about Jon's explanation but the older man decided not to press the topic choosing instead to focus on what the addition of two additional travelers could mean with the already tenuous détente that Jon had established when he, Ygritte and Ysolda were fetching the horses that Jon and the members of the Nights Watch had ridden to Dawnstar. "Well, whatever the case may be, I would recommend that you decide what you are going to do about the situation you may well find yourself in depending on how that girl interacts with the other two that have set their eyes on you. Securing a prisoner is definitely the easier of the two options that we are faced with."

Unsure of whether or not the tentative peace between Ygritte and Ysolda would withstand Arachne's presence, Jon merely shrugged. "The situation is far from ideal but we'll have to make the best of it. After all, it wouldn't be right to leave her here with everything that she's been through."

"Right you are," Mance agreed. "Even this far south of the Wall, traveling alone is always a risk and that risk is even greater for a woman who can't defend herself."

Though the concept of Arachne being unable to defend herself was laughable to Jon as he knew that she was strong enough to carry another person down the face of a cliff in addition to her own weight, he nodded agreement while thinking that, with the exception of the women of Bear island and the Iron Islands, most of the women of Westeros were not trained to be able to defend themselves in the event of an attack while they were traveling.

Apparently Mance's men were experienced in taking prisoners. In almost no time, they had checked the man for weapons before binding his hands and hoisting him from the ground to carry him on their shoulders. Taking that as a queue to act, Jon moved to Arachne and scooped her as gently as he could from the ground to carry her as if she were his bride and they were retiring to their chambers for the first time as man and wife.

The men's apprehension at traveling with a beast such as Ghost was evident as they kept casting glances in the direwolf's direction. Fortunately, Ghost was content to be reunited with his master and did not show any signs of aggression or hostility to the men that Jon was clearly not looking at as a threat.

The trip back to the camp was made in relative silence and the silence that had fell upon the group made the trek seem much longer than when it was just Jon traveling by himself in the moonlight. Still, eventually the group made their way back to the camp which was abuzz with activity despite the late hour due to the wariness of the Free Folk caused by the howl that had broken the stillness of the night.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as he made it back into the camp, he was immediately met by Ygritte and Ysolda who had matching expressions of annoyance on their face as they found another girl in Jon's arms.

Living up to the fiery association most made with her hair, Ygritte was the first to speak. "Who's that you're carrying? Did you leave the camp to find her? Why are you the one carrying her? What was a girl with ridiculous hair like this doing by herself this far from the closest town? If she's been injured then she should be tended to by the old women, they have experience dealing with injuries. You shouldn't be bothering with her."

Unable to get a word in to answer her questions, Jon waited until a pointed look told him that she was waiting for his answers. "That was a lot of questions. Her name is Arachne. I ran into her when I went into the woods to stretch my legs since I was having trouble getting to sleep. I was the last person she saw before she passed out and want to be there for her when she wakes up so she isn't frightened waking up in an unknown place surrounded by unknown people. There was a deserter from the Nights Watch that has been taken prisoner and will be delivered to justice after breaking his vows. I don't think there are any injuries, it looked like she fell unconscious." Jon mentally ticked off the questions that Ygritte had posed as he responded to her. "What's wrong with her hair? I think it looks nice."

Apparently Jon should not have added his last thought as it caused the frowns on the girls' faces to deepen. Ysolda crossed her arms in front of her body in a defiant pose before speaking, "I heard you moving about under your furs but I saw you there. It was like you were there one moment and then you disappeared."

Ysolda's statement caused Jon to gulp audibly. "People don't just disappear," Jon tried to sound reassuring. "Maybe you just missed it when I got up to stretch my legs."

A blush started to form on Ysolda's face that was quite visible in the light of the moon as she shook her head. "After that man almost took me after what they did to my family and friends, I was scared what would happen to me if you hadn't done what you did. It made me feel safe knowing that you were laying so close. I… I just watched you after I heard you stirring. You were lying there and looked to be sleeping soundly until there was a shimmer and you disappeared. I looked around the camp but couldn't find you and then there was that howl that woke up everyone else."

Ysolda shrieked as she felt warm breath on her neck followed by a damp pressure at the hairline behind her right ear. She turned around and saw Ghost looking at her with a puzzled expression as she fell to the ground and scrambled to put Jon between her and the massive beast.

As if to prove her boldness in contrast to the quivering mess that Ysolda had become upon seeing the direwolf, Ygritte strode forward confidently and raised her hand to pet Ghost. "What happened to you, boy? You're much bigger than the last time that I saw you."

It was evident that Ghost appreciated the attention as he leaned his shaggy head forward and proceeded to lick Ygritte's face with a quick swipe of his massive tongue. Ygritte laughed and took the display of affection as permission to continue stroking his shaggy head.

"Don't worry, Ysolda, Ghost would never attack a friend. Isn't that right boy?" Jon asked while beckoning Ghost to come forward to meet his new friend. "Ysolda, this is Ghost. Ghost, this is Ysolda. You wouldn't let anyone hurt her, would you?"

Ghost padded over to Jon and sniffed at Ysolda. Choosing to believe in Jon's words, Ysolda reached out with a trembling hand and hesitantly allowed Ghost to sniff her hand before Ghost pushed his head against her hand as if to let her know that he wanted her to pet him. "He's so soft," Ysolda marveled. "How did you meet him?"

"His mom made it south of the Wall and was roaming the Wolfswood outside of Winterfell. She was killed by a stag leaving five pups, one for each of the Stark children and the runt, Ghost, for me," Jon told the story with a smile on his face. "Ever since that day, Ghost has been my friend even if we get separated, I know eventually he will make his way back to me."

Hearing Jon say his name, Ghost turned his attention from the petting that he was receiving to the person that Jon was carrying and sniffed her before nuzzling his head against her body in an attempt to wake her up. Jon was tempted to send Jon away so Arachne could rest peacefully but he decided against that course of action when he felt Arachne stir in his arms.

Wanting to make sure that Arachne was safely on the ground, where he would not accidentally wake her if she squirmed in distress after the way that she had lost her consciousness, Jon hurried over to the bedding that he had abandoned so recently by the reckoning of everyone else in the camp and gently set Arachne down. Ghost and the girls were quick to follow Jon but, while Ghost decided to take the opportunity to sniff at the human lying in the furs that still smelled of Jon, the girls were trying to mask their distaste at the idea of Jon sharing his furs with the unknown woman that he had brought into the camp.

As Ghost continued his ministrations a soft moan rumbled from Arachne's throat and she turned her head causing her straight lilac hair to fall in front of her eyes obscuring them from view. With a surprisingly sure motion considering how she had fell unconscious in the first place, Arachne pushed herself into a reclining position while flicking her head to get the hair out of her eyes. Her confusion was evident as she looked from the furs to the massive direwolf that had backed away several steps when she had started to stir then to Ygritte and Ysolda before finally resting on Jon.

"What's going on?" Arachne asked in a slightly lethargic voice. "What happened?"

AN2: Finally out of the cave! I can't tell you all how nice it is to get Jon out of the cave while writing this chapter. Please let me know what you thought of the pacing of events in this chapter in your reviews. Next chapter should wrap up the Return to Winterfell arc and get Jon back to Winterfell to deal with some of the more canonical events that have been set in motion along with quite a bit of new stuff that I hope you will enjoy. Until next time!