Chapter 4: Onwards Towards Cregneash
The golden rays of the early morning sun showered Jons pale face with its warm light. He could feel it warm his skin as he slowly stirred. His form lumbered forward as he got up from the hard ground of the camp. He could still recall the vision from the previous night. His soul rang out in joy at the finally learning of the identity of his mother. Yet, his heart also filled with grief at the tragedy of the end of her life. Losing the person, she loved to another, losing her brother to the man she gave her heart too, and losing her remaining child due to a misunderstanding caused by grief. While he could feel some resentment for his father, it was overcome by the love he felt for him. Eddard Stark was his father and he had mourned him greatly when the news of his execution arrived at Castle Black.
Jon could only feel conflicted by the news, yet he knew he was cherished and loved by both his parents. He could only wish the tragedy his parents had underwent had not occurred, though without it he would not have his siblings. His thoughts continued to spiral until he felt the wet, cold nose of Ghost gently press against his hand. His grey eyes looked upon his closet friend and were greeting with a concerned look in Ghosts eyes. Jon could only let out a small sigh as he began to pet his companions head. The stroking motion of his hand as it ran through the thick snow-white fur helped sooth his troubled soul.
His attention was soon taken away from his troubled thoughts as he heard stirring occurring behind him. His gaze soon turned to see his newest companions from the night before waking from their slumber. He could now see the forms of Bederick and Roger more clearly. Bederick was the shorter of the pair of hunters, while Roger was the taller of the two.
Bederick seemed to be a size similar to the Lord of Greywater watch when Jon had last seen him grace the halls of Winterfell. Bederick stood around five feet tall and seemed skinny as a twig. The man's frame was wiry though Jon did not doubt those arms of his were strong from use of the bow. He wore the rough spun garb Jon grew used to seeing on most smallfolk. His new companion had a head of dark chestnut hair that fell down to the back of his neck. His skin was a tad darker than Jon's pale skin. It seemed more of a peachy color. The man seemed to be of an age similar to Jon, though it was hard to tell as his skin was covered from head to toe in dirt and soil of the forest ground.
Roger on the other hand was a bear of a man. He eclipsed both Jon and Bederick in height and seemed to have some form of giants blood. Jon could only assume we must either be half-giant or even an Umber as he stood at over six and a half feet tall. The larger hunter also boasted a more filled out frame as the muscles of his arms and legs seemed to almost be the size of tree trunks. Roger seemed to be more bear than man. His head was crowned with short black hair as it barely reached past his ears. His face seemed comely enough, though it was partial ruined by the massive scar which ran down from the top of his head to his neck. It would seem the larger of his companions either was a warrior or had a story to go along with the scar. He to was dressed in the rough spun clothes of the commoners though they seemed to strain against Roger's massive frame.
As Jon studied the forms of his newest friends he was soon greeted by the demanding bark of Ghost behind him. Jon soon turned his attention back to his direwolf and could see the questioning gaze in Ghosts intelligent stare. It would seem his pondering would be interrupted for breakfast was on Ghosts mind. With his mind fully awaken Jon strode towards the center of the camp with his hand upon the hilt of Longclaw.
"Looks like the princess and her bear have finally woken Ghost", said Jon. Ghost followed along and let out a bark in agreement.
Shaking the groggy feeling of waking up, Roger turned to address Jon, "If you are feeling this snarky in the morning I wouldn't want to anger you while you slept".
"Ha you say that now Roger, but you get enraged just like a bear hibernating if we wake you up", said Bederick as he soon howled out with laughter.
Roger could only let out a huff as he soon lumbered toward one of the packs close to the campfire. He seemed to be searching for something and soon withdrew a bundle. As soon as he had pulled out the bundle, Ghost stood still as his full attention was on the bundle, and with a few silent steps he stood before Roger. Jon could see an exacerbated look come onto Rogers face as he unfurled the bundle. In it for all to see was more of the jerky.
With a motion which spoke of repetition, Roger had withdrawn a few of the bundled jerky. He threw a few pieces to Ghost, who in a quick motion devoured the jerky in moments. Jon could only smile fondly as Ghost lapped up what remained of the jerky. Roger moved around the camp and handed Jon and Bederick there portions as he soon dug into his own.
"It's a good thing your beastie is more preoccupied with receiving some jerky than getting into some of the animals we hunted earlier", said Bederick.
"Ghost is very well behaved. He'll hunt his own meals though you'll want to keep an eye on your jerky. I feel that he has grown to like the taste of it", said Jon with a friendly chuckle.
"I would hope so. I don't really want to stay in the forest for a while longer. We've got hides and meat to bring back to Cregneash", said Bederick.
"Oye Jon get your arse over here. Help me store the hides, while I get the meat packed away. If you can gabber, you can help work", yelled Roger.
Jon slowly moved towards the hanging skins which were upon a drying rack under the shade of the evergreen trees. He slowly knelt by the rack as he carefully took each skin down. It had been many moons since he had done this himself. He carefully laid the skins down and was careful not to fold the skins. For they were brittle and would be easy to break. He continued his work as the other members of the camp set out to complete their tasks.
With his task completed Jon wandered the camp helping Roger and Bederick with each of their tasks. While Ghost remained vigilant and stood alert over the camp. For it would not do without someone watching in case an animal or someone else was attracted by the smell or scent of the hunters labors. With quick movements the goods were secured and ready for transport and the party of four was soon onwards toward Cregneash.
Jon, Ghost, and the hunters traveled down a well-worn dirt path which seemed to run straight through the forest. They travelled in silence as everyone remained alert incase of any danger. The only sounds that could be heard were the steps of the humans and the songs of nature. The party transversed the path for some time till up ahead the ending of the forest was in sight. Jon could see the morning sun grow brighter as they left the gentle shade of the trees. Up ahead Jon could make out lazy waves of smoke circling the sky as it brought a gentle theme to the sight of the village before him.
The village of Cregneash was encircled by a wooden palisade. The village itself was a scattering of wooden framed structures with a covered thatch roof. It seemed the buildings were held together with some form of mud packed into the wood to keep the wood held together. Jon could hear the ranging of banging metal as his eyes spotted a few forges as they entered the village. It seemed the village was quite small and trusting as there were no guards posted by the wooden gate into the village. He could spot small children as they ran around the people who walked upon a beaten dirt road without a care in the world. Apart of Jon still felt like this was a dream as these people seemed to look upon him not with disdain or vigilance but more with curiosity. What was ever more curious was that the locals seemed unbothered by Ghost as his silently followed Jon and his companions.
"Welcome to humble Cregneash Jon. We are a village of mainly hunters and laborers, though we do have a few blacksmiths around", said Roger.
"Aye we are quite small compared to some of the other settlements on the Isle of Mann, but you won't find a more welcoming people", said Bederick confidently.
Jon could only nod to the statements of his companions as he was in awe. Jon had never experienced a welcoming like this. He had grown used to the cold stares of servants, of sneer remarks made by others, and the cruel stare and words of Catelyn Stark. He had not faired any better at the Wall, till he had lead the men of the watch at Castle Black. Though later on he had grew to be excepted by the Free Folk it was due to time and his efforts in combatting the Great Enemy. His mercy and humanity had only been rewarded by the betrayal that ended up killing him. This was definitely a paradise compared to what he had been through before.
"Come Jon we have to introduce you and your beastie to the village chief", said Roger.
Looking upon the large frame of his new friend Jon could only nod briefly as he and his newest companions headed into the direction of a central building. This was a surreal experience for Jon as Ghost and himself followed Bederick and Roger as they led him to the meet the village head.
Gizzit: Thanks for the positive feedback. I hope you enjoy how the story will unfold.
please don't1: I'm glad you like the story so far. And I plan on updating this story and my House Stormbreaker story more frequently. I will also update my Roman one and House Greystark story too.
ibragimovruslan553: I felt like trying something new with the story with having Eddard and Ashara be Jon's parents. And I agree I do like Ned Stark a lot and I think Sean Bean did a great job portraying him in the show. I just think Eddard's character is very interesting since he was a very honorable and just person yet fell to tragedy due to his honorable nature.
Jebest4781: I do plan on Jon becoming apart of Arturia's court later on in the story. I have some ideas though I'll show them in later chapters. I don't want to spoil the story before it's really flushed out. And thank you for the kind words regarding the story so far.
tsougrhs.59: I wanted to go in a different direction regarding the story. I felt that it was an interesting choice in the show for Jon to be the legitimate son of Rhaegar and Lyanna. Though it hasn't been confirmed yet in the books. I just liked the idea of Jon being the son of Eddard and Ashara in this story as I have plans for this concept in the story.
Author's Note: I wanted to thank everyone for the support regarding this story. I plan to keep the poll open for a few more days. Feel free to vote while it is still up. So far Rebirth of a Bastard Direwolf and The Old's Fill Our Sails are in the lead. Like I said before I will not be abandoning any of my stories I will just plan on updating some more frequently. Also, I am looking for a beta reader who can hopefully help me with some of my stories. Feel free to PM if anyone is interested.