"Coming of the Ice King"
Chapter 10
"Beyond the Wall danger lurks"
Despite Mycroft's earlier worries about being caught by other Night Watchers during their escape, nobody seemed to be interested in the enormous racket they were surely causing with all their weapons and equipment clashing against each other in the bags they placed upon one very irritated Caramel.
"There is something… odd about this." The eldest of the gathered refused to give in to the fake sense of security that the others in his party seemed to have fallen into, keeping his reign-free hand on the hilt of his hunting knife.
He expected there to be patrols. People guarding the ramp leading down to the Wilder side of the wall if not as part of the regular schedule, then at least as a last-chance revenge plan on Frostfinger's part.
Their last encounter did leave the man with quite the dent in his pride, after all.
It would surprise no one if he decided that, if he can't beat his opponent fair-and-square, he'll at least prevent him from fulfilling his goal.
The elder Holmes brother was sure something would go wrong during this small escapade and being instead met with little to no resistance, did nothing to calm his growing nerves.
"Be at ease, Mycroft." Jon tried to reassure the fox-haired man. "This road to the ramp is rarely used by patrols, as it goes right down the middle of our camp, completely in the open."
"Yeah." Finn agreed, thought even his usually loud voice was lowered to a mere whisper. "There are more sneaky ways to enter the camp that the higher-ups would rather have on-watch, whenever most of the residents are enjoying a snooze." He then grinned. "So there really is no reason for us to get caught here, see?"
That may have been what they believe, but Mycroft's gut told him that he must remain vigilant.
He barely knew this world.
It may resemble his own during an era long past, but he mustn't let that cloud his judgement.
Shaking his red-head Holmes pulled on his horse's reins to make it go quicker, earning a huff of protest from the overloaded Caramel.
"I grow weary of this overbearing stillness in the air." He whispered, looking around nervously. "It makes me feel... watched."
This is exactly why he hated field work so much, despite being an invaluable asset to the government.
Because of the overbearing paranoia that comes with it.
Even after all these years the remains of that obsessive urge to check every dark room, every suspicious corner, still haunted him.
He shook his head to clear it.
Paranoia won't help him get to his goal, so he might as well stop feeding to it.
It may not have been spoken outright but the command to "go faster" was heeded by the others, regardless.
They jogged towards the ramp, the snow crunching under the force of their boots with every step they took.
But just as Jon was about to open the gate to the ramp...
"Hold it." Mycroft's hand stopped the younger man's inches away from it's target. "We're not alone here..." The fox-haired man narrowed his eyes at a shadow hiding behind one of the buildings.
The others were quick to respond, pulling out their weapons and getting into defensive stances at the ready.
The shadow, seeing their actions, simply chuckled.
"Put those things away, will you? Before you poke your eyes out with them." Denner Frostfinger's voice reached their ears and they all blistered, lowering their weapons. "Well, Mycroft." The man focused his attention on the Holmes, eyeing him with scrutiny in his beady eyes. "I was wondering when you'd spot me."
Mycroft grit his teeth.
"How long?" He managed to hiss out.
Denner grinned a wolfishly proud grin.
"Ever since you left your horse's stable box." He then shrugged. "You weren't exactly stealthy with your movements."
The ex-British Government cursed under his breath.
'Sloppy!' He berated himself. 'This is exactly what happens when you let your skills rust from the lack of use, you old fool!'
Vowing to go back to his training routine whenever he's not trying to sneak out of the fortress, the fox-haired man focused on the task at hand.
"Why are you here, Frostfinger?"
The older man smirked.
"Just wanted to wish you a merry journey, no need to be suspicious."
Mycroft narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"You expect me to believe you didn't come here to take me into custody?"
"Why would I do that?" Frostfinger chuckled. "After all, you're doing me an enormous favor by taking those four idiots out of my hair."
Mycroft raised an eyebrow.
"Though I cannot argue about Finn and Cotter's worth..."
"Hey!"
"However, I must object to your willingness to let promising cases such as Jon Snow and Gared."
The elder man shrugged.
"One could see they weren't really meant for this role. Too restless, they are. Their urge to explore the world beyond the Wall, would overpower them sooner or later. So why not send them out into the wilds before that day comes? Would save us all a lot of hustle, don't you think?"
As sound as that logic seemed, it did nothing to ease Mycroft's suspicion of the other male.
"How... considerate of you, Mr. Frostfinger."
Said man frowned.
"What's that disbelieving tone supposed to mean?"
"You do not seem like the type of person to think much of others..." The fox-haired man explained slowly, afraid of accidentally changing the trainer's mind. "Forgive me for finding your sudden change of heart... abrupt."
Frostfinger snorted.
"Believe what you must, I will stand by my decision. You lot can go ahead, if you so wish. I will not stop you."
With that said, he turned on his heels and walked away.
The group kept their stances at the ready for a few seconds longer, in case the old man changed his mind, before hiding their weapons and continuing on their journey.
"..." Finn looked over his shoulder nervously. "Is he really gone?" He whispered to Mycroft. "Or is he just playing games with us?"
"Hmmm… It seems he is honoring his word." The fox-haired man rubbed his chin, inwardly cringing at the roughness he felt under his fingers and wishing for a razor. "Though unexpected, this sudden turn of events is fortunate, as it works to our advantage. We now know the real reason why no one tried to stop us on the way here."
Gared noded, catching on.
"They have been ordered by Master Denner to leave us be…"
Holmes smirked in approval.
"Exactly."
Now that they knew no one was going to stand in the way of their escape, all but Mycroft entered the ramp.
"Now you stay here like a good boy, Caramel." He petted the horse's snot. "Once I get the boy's down I'll return for you."
The animal snorted at him.
Taking it as assurance that what he said will be done, Mycroft joined the others in the ramp and they descended down the wall towards the dark and unpredictable wilds.
When the mechanism stopped, the four ex-night guards stepped out while Holmes stayed.
"And now…" He prepared the ramp to go back up, pulling the levers Jon pulled to get them down, in reverse order. "To go back for Caramel."
"Uh… sir?"
"Yes, Cotter?" Mycroft raised his eyebrow, turning to look at the man over his shoulder. "What is it?"
"I… don't think another trip to the top will be necessary." The skinny man stated, sounding as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.
Mycroft frowned.
"Why's that?"
"Because the horse is already down here…"
"...what?" The fox-haired man did a double take, following Cotter's line of sight.
Indeed. There, a few meters away, with his proud head dipped in a small patch of grass, was Caramel.
Mycroft Holmes blinked… then blinked again.
"Well… well, it seems even your animals are strange." Gared chuckled and walked up to the horse. "Where did you even get such an interesting breed?"
For a second the eldest of the men just glared at the horse accusingly before sighing.
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."
A few miles down the dark road, the way illuminated by torches, Cotter managed to find a good place for a campsite.
After they set up a large campfire, the four young men settled down on skin rugs and quickly fell asleep while Mycroft settled himself against a tree to better keep watch for the night.
'Let the kids sleep.' He told himself and then smiled. 'Look at yourself, Mycroft. It hasn't been a full day and you're already looking out for them.'
Mycroft yawned and adjusted his position.
'You've grown...'
He rubbed his eyes trying to get rid of the sting of sleepiness, but it was no use.
'soft…'
He hoped the uncertainty of whenever or not this location was safe, would keep him alert but it didn't.
Too much has happened today and he was just so tired...
'Old man...'
And with that he fell into Morpheus's embrace.
He was dreaming about sitting in front of his beloved fireplace, preparing to eat a wonderfully decorated piece of chocolate cake.
His mouth watered at the sight, his taste buds yearning for the familiar and beloved taste of cake in his mouth.
But before he could take the first bite…
A pair of strong hands grabbed him by the shoulders and brutally shook him.
The dream immediately disappeared and he was thrust into the real world.
The shaking didn't stop when he opened his eyes, so he pushed away whoever was violating his sleeping time.
"I'm awake. I'm awake!" He hissed rubbing his eyes. "What is it? What happened?"
Before him kneeled Finn, pale as paper and shaking like a leaf in a storm.
"It… It's…" He stuttered.
"Mr. Finn?" Mycroft placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alri-"
"It's the White Walkers!" The blonde finally exploded. "They're heading towards our camp!"