Burning Cold
Chapter 3
Wolven Crow
"And that's what you saw?" Mance Rayder asked simply, sitting somewhat more upright at hearing what she had said.
"Yes. I saw a whole pile of animal corpses outside of the cave, and they were all big bastards. Shadowcats, direwolves, and more. Not as big as a mammoth, but… I guess that it doesn't want to steal those no more." Ygritte repeated, a small note of wonder in her tone.
Utterly panicked whispers arose in an instant. Any mention of the dragon to any but the toughest of the freefolk made nearly everyone flinch… Even Val herself, much to her shame.
"Or whoever was on its back is making it go for other things now that they got caught." The Weeper said gruffly, grabbing his scythe and tapping it to the ground loudly, silencing the crowd before he spoke.
"I'm still not convinced there was a rider at all." Val said finally, deciding that now was likely the time to say something. "It was pitch black when it attacked. I'm surprised we even saw the beast, let alone a rider."
Mance raised a single hand, quieting any more talk. "Dragons are wild animals, if the maesters south of the Wall speak any truths at all. If the dragon truly was wild, we'd be suffering constant attacks on the mammoths and possibly even ourselves, if only to satisfy its endless hunger… But it stopped, and is now hunting smaller prey despite that likely not being enough to satiate itself."
He stopped for a moment, looking around at the small band of freefolk leaders he'd picked to accompany him. "What do you believe - that a wild animal would suddenly decide to stop hunting a prey it knows it can catch with ease, or that someone is making it hunt something else in order to avoid more trouble with us?"
Val frowned slightly at the question. It'd been near a fortnight since it had happened, but she remembered it like it had been yesterday. She'd awoken to the sounds of screaming, almost a hundred wildlings dying to the stampede that the mammoths had wrought in their panic, before the giants managed to calm them down.
If someone was truly responsible for that… She didn't know what she'd do to them.
She wasn't the only one thinking about it, going by the varying expressions of the free folk in the room, none of which were happy in the slightest, and more than a few seemed to close their eyes in pained remembrance, or gulped hard.
"How far are we from your sighting, Ygritte?" Mance asked, turning away from the others to look back at the green-eyed girl.
"Only a day or so if we go fast enough." She said eagerly, even as her gaze became more thoughtful. "The only problem is going to be that the clearing only has a few small crevices to enter through, so…"
He nodded with a small smile. "Good work then, Ygritte. Go on, you've more than earned a good night of rest."
Before the girl could say anything more, Rattleshirt thrust his thumb towards the edge of the firepit where Mance had chosen to meet. "Now scarper, kissed by fire. We have to talk with Mance."
The proud archer stuck her tongue out at her leader, leaving before she could suffer any consequences for the slight, leaving Rattleshirt with a distinct scowl on his face.
Val couldn't help the slight snort of laughter at his expression, making him whirl on her with an angry expression. "You deserve that, you fool. She did us a good service and you throw her out on her ear like that?"
"If you want to tell me how to lead my warriors, feel free." He snarled, only for a nasty smirk to rise on his lips. "Or are you too busy getting fucked by that boy to even try?"
A dagger flashed from beneath her fur cloak, cutting his cheek. She'd been readying it before he'd even started talking, anticipating he'd react like that. "Oh, even if I was busy in that manner, I'd still be able to kill you and take over whatever paltry warband you lead. Don't forget that."
There was a wide-eyed look on his face that made her think she'd terrified him - only for the red to descend in his expression, an angry scowl striking his face.
It was over when Mance snapped his fingers, an impatient, almost angry expression on his face. "Are you two done? Are we truly about to fight amongst ourselves when we're about to meet a dragonrider? Have you truly forgotten how much damage they caused within a single, offhanded swoop? We all need to be one on this, or trust me, the dragon and his rider will wipe us all out as easily as one smacks away a fly."
Val felt shame crawl up her neck at the rather public dressing down, whereas Rattleshirt merely sneered slightly before sitting down once more.
"Go back to your war parties now. I have to talk with my good sister." Mance ordered quietly, as a small silence descended on this part of the camp, even the onlookers seemingly left silent at his reminder.
It genuinely felt hard to reconcile what she knew with what she'd experienced, she thought. An ice dragon, tales told of merely by wood witches and Mother Mole, only heard of but never seen…
Until now, when one flew in out of nowhere and stole a mammoth in the dead of night.
Mance Rayder stood, the fire casting him in a harsh light. He looked older, like a man who had seen more winters then he'd ever wanted to.
"You're not going to tell me off about Rattleshirt, are you?" Val asked immediately, deciding it was best to know now.
He smiled then, a brief reminder of the man that her sister loved so much, not the King he usually was. "No. You wouldn't heed me even if I tried."
"I wouldn't." She admitted, wondering if she'd feel such bravery if he wasn't married to Dalla. "Then why do you want to talk to me?"
"I wanted to ask why you decided to come along, in all honesty." Mance said casually, as he picked up his instrument off where it had been leaning against a log, strumming it with a single thumb. "I would have thought you'd want to stay at the camp with Tormund and Dalla, and yet you're here."
That was it? Val thought with some amazement. "You made it sound important."
"It is important, but you're only going to find out why if you answer me." The King replied simply, his face was hidden in shadow, knowing she'd take the bait… and damn her, she really was going to.
"Because I'm curious about what sort of beast feeds itself on an entire mammoth… And now, the sort of person that allows it to satiate itself whilst killing dozens of people." Val said honestly, an ugly frown rising to her face at the idea that someone had ordered it to do that.
Mance didn't say anything for a long moment, merely looking at her. Thoughts were flashing in his mind on what to make of her answer, she knew.
"I wouldn't be so dismissive and hateful of this rider, if I were you… If only you knew of the tales of the dragons that once roamed the south of the Wall, you'd see that far worse can happen." He said, strumming another note, an oddly melancholic note. "Entire castles ten times larger than Castle Black burned to the ground, armies laid to the torch, and… That's only speaking of how the Seven Kingdoms came to be one."
"So… I'm meant to forgive them for what they did?" She demanded a note of anger entering her tone at the idea. "Just because they could have done worse?"
"No. I merely want you to put aside your bad blood with them, for what I want you to do, Val." Mance replied, with a small frown. "If you're not-"
"Don't put words into my mouth, Mance." She interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "So what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to be the one to talk to the dragonrider." He said honestly, his features half-hidden by shadow. "If Ygritte is right, we'll only be able to get a few people in there, without taking precious hours that might just lead them to believe we're planning an attack… So, I want you to be a part of the first scouting team, and try to get them talking. I'll be shortly behind, but I want you to be there first."
"Why?" Val asked confusedly, not really comprehending why he wanted to do things in such a roundabout manner.
"Because it's far easier to speak to a beautiful, charming woman of seemingly little importance, then it is to talk to the King beyond the Wall." Mance answered simply, as the fire illuminated his face fully for what felt like the first time. He was right, she had to admit… Everyone who dwelled beyond the Wall knew who Mance was, but did they know about his good sister? It was unlikely. "With any luck, you'll make them amenable to a more indepth negotiation, and then… I'll hopefully be convincing this person, whoever they are, to either aid us, or keep to themselves and not bother us."
"You… You don't want to punish them for what they did?" She blinked, almost letting a note of disgust escape into her tone. How could he…?
Mance noticed regardless, a scowl rising to his lips. "A dragon whose rider is killed turns wild. Do you want us all to die here, beyond the Wall, in lands that wish nothing more to kill us just for a small amount of justice?"
Val fell silent at that particular remark. She knew so little about dragons, that she couldn't help but have to bow down to his superior knowledge as much as it annoyed her to do so.
Something about that however, tickled at her mind. "How do you know so much about these creatures?"
He looked at her with a vaguely surprised expression, before a wistful smile rose to his face. "A boyhood fancy… I thought I might be able to tame a dragon and then somehow bring the Watch and the freefolk together peacefully. Not be caught between two worlds like I was at the time, but merely be a part of one."
"Of course, Maester Aemon was quick to point out I had no dragon blood in my veins." Mance continued after a while, not looking at her as he stared into the fire, as he often did whenever he thought of the Night's Watch. "Not unkindly so, Aemon was never like that… He was trying to let me down gently. But… He never knew that he'd destroyed another dream of mine. One dream among many, but it was one all the same."
Val knew he didn't like to talk much on his time at the Wall. He was a free man now, even a King, and nearly everyone had forgotten what his cloak had been like… And he was eager to keep their memories short, unless people get fidgety about his rightfulness.
"Enough on that." The King said, standing up suddenly, as he looked at her. "You've got a bright and early day tomorrow, so you should be getting to sleep."
"Fine enough with me, Mance." She said, letting out a small yawn as she stretched out a bit. "Just… Remember that you can trust me with whatever's plaguing your thoughts. You married my sister, I have no small amount of incentive to keep you safe and sound of mind."
He smiled then, sincerely with a near upturn into a smirk. "I already do, Val. Good night now."
"G'night." Val yawned again, rubbing her eyes as she fought against the urge to sleep right there and now. It wouldn't be good for her back or anything of the sort if she did that, and that'd be murderous for tomorrow…
Tomorrow, huh? She thought faintly, glancing at the twinkling night sky, almost fearing that the black shadow of the dragon would rise up again for a brief moment. But… Nothing ever did come.
Even when she was in front of the crevice that Ygritte had seen, considering it for herself. The others were farther back, the rocks that were needed to climb up here being too shaky and rickety to support more than one person.
She experimentally shuffled sideways into the crevice, grimacing at the slight scraping of the rocks against her skin. Glancing further in, she saw that it thankfully didn't narrow very much, but it didn't widen much either.
"You think we can get through?" Ygritte asked, tilting her head to the side, her voice coming out as a whisper, the four of them well aware of what would happen if they were too loud.
"I think that if I can, you'll be able to." Val replied with a small frown, as she stepped out of the crevice to look at the small party she'd gathered. "Thistle will be able to, too, but… As for you, Dormund…"
The man, even if he wasn't much older than Ygritte, frowned somewhat. "I could squeeze through 'hat."
"Are you really that worried about us?" Thistle asked with a small smirk.
"No, you women can handle yerselves, I know that much." Dormund shook his head, completely ignoring the doubtful look on Ygritte's face. "I just don't think it's a very good idea to only have only three people to meet this fella, whoever they are."
"You've got a point, Dormund, I'll give you that." Val said finally, wondering for a brief moment if Mance hadn't lost his mind, sending such a small number of people to talk to this dragon rider. "How about if you can't squeeze into here, you go back and warn Mance? That sound alright to you?"
"Aye." The deep-voiced man said with a small nod. "Let me go first then, so I can find out now, rather than later."
Val merely shrugged, hopping down from the rocks with a small leap and landing in the snow. She felt momentarily thankful that it had snowed, she thought, for otherwise the ground would have been absolutely lethal - being frozen rock.
Dormund climbed up the rocks as quickly as a man of his size could, before he stood in front of the crevice, experimentally raising his arm up and down within it, before attempting to slide his body through sideways. He actually managed to squeeze in and for a short moment, Val thought that he might actually be able to go through.
But Tormund's son exited it quickly, deep scratches in his furs that even reached his skin, frowning. "Ah… Damn it all. It gets smaller all of a sudden, and… Yer seeing the results."
"Don't worry, you had a go at it." Val said sympathetically. "Are you hurt in any way?"
"Nah. Didn't even reach my skin really… And I was being a right fool, trying ta force my way through the crevice in the first place." Dortmund admitted, shaking his head in mild defeat. "Damn it. Guess I had better get to Mance then…"
"Just don't rush it. It's a good day or more of trekking, and if you injure yourself…" Val said, letting the implication hang in the air. It was well-known how hostile the Frostfangs could be, especially so… High up.
The red-haired man nodded brusquely, as Thistle and Ygritte tapped him on his back somewhat encouragingly. He disappeared quickly into the snowfall, the crunch of his boots against the snow echoing only for a moment.
It was decided then, after a tiny bit of deliberation with the remainder of her party, that Ygritte would go first, she'd go second whilst Thistle backed up the rear.
She'd pointed out that it was almost like they were protecting her, to which they merely shrugged.
"You're the one that has to talk to the man, not us," went the well-reasoned answer, that left her feeling oddly frustrated.
She'd wondered what it'd be like to be a princess in a castle, like the tales that Mance had told her and Dalla when he'd crossed the wall… And she couldn't help but feel like this was a small example of that.
Protected because I'm important… I hope this is the end of it. Let Mance be the big boy, not me.
The thought of the man she considered her king to be a 'big boy' was almost enough to make her giggle, despite the seriousness of the situation.
Her humor must have shown up on her face however because Thistle gave her a particularly queer look, as they shuffled carefully and quietly along the crevice, trying their hardest to not get caught by any poking rocks.
The murky ice above them began to progressively give them less and less light, until the three of them were in nothing but darkness, even the light from where they'd entered dimming as the day slowly turned to night.
Ygritte stopped in her tracks, her hand tentatively reaching out and then retracting like she'd been bitten by something. She shivered somewhat as she stretched out her fingers, glancing at Val as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "There's snow there. I'm going to see what's beyond it, if you're alright with that."
"Just come back as soon as you've poked your head through it and gotten a look at what we're in for." Val replied equally as quietly.
The fire-kissed girl pushed forward, the crunch and slight groan of the snow almost making her flinch. She wasn't usually so instinctively afraid, but… If they were even slightly right about what lay beyond this crevice…
She wished that she had Mance's optimism, or the ability to believe that everything would sort itself out. Maybe that was why he ultimately became the King beyond the Wall, she thought, because he was the only one who genuinely believed that he could get them past the Wall permanently.
The seconds that turned into minutes dragged on, and Ygritte still hadn't returned. Thistle seemed to be growing increasingly concerned, fidgeting ever so slightly with the bone bracelet on her wrist, before glancing at her with a slight jerk of her thumb to the nearby exit.
Val shook her head, before raising four fingers. The spearwife seemed slightly unhappy, but nodded all the same.
They waited again, the cold and the mountain that trapped them seemingly getting longer and sharper, as Val rubbed her arms as much as she could in the tight space, trying to not feel the numbness creeping up her body.
Thistle looked at her expectantly, her fingers tense as they rested at her side where her dagger lay.
She hesitated if only for a moment, before nodding, creeping along the crevice with a wary gait. She prayed, a personal rarity, for Ygritte to merely be delayed, and not…
There was no time to get distracted, she knew, steeling herself as she stepped through the snow, to see a sizable, snow-covered clearing with a veritable pile of animal corpses… All of whom were the ones that Ygritte had described.
They seemed relatively fresh as well, or at least, conserved particularly well by the cold. There was no greenery anywhere, and she saw that far off the other end, there was no mountainous terrain… Meaning that she saw what she could only describe as a bird's eye view on what she could only assume was the Haunted Forest, the Fist of the First Men far off to the right, and countless other sights beyond the wall.
Her breath was briefly taken away by the sight, in spite of everything.
"Picked a good place for their hideout, haven't they?" Thistle commented quietly, pulling Val out of her reverie.
"They have," she admitted somewhat reluctantly. "But let's not get distracted."
To their right, was a massive cave, several times taller than any keep she'd ever seen in her life, and right below the overhang, was… Ygritte.
A white direwolf, nearly as large as a horse, stood over her prone form, whilst a crow, dressed in torn, black leathers and shaggy, dirty long brown hair, stood over her with a somewhat exhausted expression.
He glanced up, and saw them immediately, even as Val raised her hand to stop Thistle from pulling out her weapon.
"Who are you?" He demanded hoarsely, his voice gravelly from what felt like a mixture of disuse and injury.
"We're just here to talk, crow." Val said placatingly, raising her hands. "And to make sure one more of our own doesn't have to die needlessly."
He glanced at the direwolf, who didn't move for only a second, before stepping off of Ygritte, who'd gotten disarmed during the chaos. The girl, somewhat thankfully, remained still despite that.
He's a warg, she thought with mild, yet instinctive wariness, watching as the white wolf quietly plodded over to his side.
"You still haven't answered my question." He pointed out tersely.
"I'm Val." She introduced herself, managing to keep her cool, before gesturing at the other spearwives. "These two are Thistle and Ygritte."
"...Jon Snow." The crow volunteered gruffly, looking at her with piercing, grey-black eyes. "What are three wildlings doing here?"
"Looking for a dragonrider." Thistle declared, glaring at him with condemnable bravado. "Is that you, crow?"
Jon Snow grimaced intensely, looking at them with renewed wariness. "And if that were so… What would you plan to do?"
"Talk." Val quickly said, glaring fiercely at the spearwife who merely harrumphed in response. "Just talk."
"And who wants to talk?" The crow asked bluntly.
She looked at him for a long moment, contemplating whether or not to give him the truth. Whilst she was now confident that the dragon was here… Was he the rider, or merely here by coincidence?
"Tell me if you're the dragonrider first." Val countered, her gaze turning hard as iron.
The direwolf silently bared its teeth, its piercing red eyes looking at her intensely, whilst Jon Snow's expression went as cold as ice.
"I don't have to tell you." He said coolly, as suddenly the ground began to shake all around them, the wind picking up to the point of nearly knocking them all over if only for a moment.
She saw it then, terror roorting her to the spot.
Piercing blue eyes shining in the darkness of the cave, as great wings of crystal ice briefly shined against the moon… And it looked straight at them.
"...None of you will be harmed." He promised then, a note of regret entering his voice. "Just tell me what I want to know, and… Then I'll talk to Mance Rayder."
AN: Lots of thanks to Seri and Ottomatic for beta'ing this chapter.