Leaving was one of the hardest things Jon had ever done. Saying goodbye to his siblings and friends was terrible. Bran had fallen while climbing putting him into a coma which had caused Jon to stay an extra day but ultimately there was nothing he could do to help the boy so he said an awkward goodbye while Lady Stark glared at him the entire time. Jon had given a sword to Arya before he left, she had always begged him for one and was the happiest he had ever seen her when he gave it to her though her mood was ruined upon his news, that she would also be leaving. She will go to the capital soon and it wasn't likely they would see each other any time soon. He and Robb shared a loving embrace and promised to meet again before Jon left. His father however shook Jon's hand and whispered in his ear. "The next time we meet I will tell you about your mother." While he was excited at hearing of his mother it was not likely to be anytime soon. His old life was back in Winterfell but now it was time for his new life to begin.
Jon had been on the road for a couple of weeks already and it wasn't what he had been expecting. Food was scarce the ground was hard and his body was sore from riding all day. But Jon was happier than he had ever been, he was free to do whatever he wanted to go wherever he desired.
The company was also nice. Ogmund was kind and funny always making jokes telling stories or singing songs. Ahtar was not very talkative but he told good stories and was always kind to Jon.
They were headed to white harbor, they would get a ship from there to Braavos. They had no idea what to do when they reached the free cities but as Ogmund said "We'll just figure something out."
Now Jon was tracking some rabbits he already had a few slung over his shoulder but Ahtar had an endless appetite. Every night they switched who caught dinner, the group had packed very little in terms of supplies and instead decided to find their food naturally.
Jon caught sight of a slight white fluff in the distance. Carefully he approached trying his best to not alert his prey. He knocked his arrow and moved around to find a shot, but to his disappear, a crack rang out through the air and the rabbit bolted before he could get a proper shot. Raising his boot Jon saw a broken branch under his foot. If he remembered correctly there was a stealth category in his ring he would have to look into that later but for now, he had to return to camp with the few rabbits he had managed to catch.
Before he left Jon had stuffed his inventory with things he might need. Though it was hard to use them without anyone noticing. It would be hard to explain if he just pulled a block of cheese out of thin air so he had to sneak off to take advantage of it. Jon had also put a few books he had wanted to read there that Maester Luwin had let Jon take with him as well as a few weapons.
When he reached the makeshift camp Jon saw that they had hitched the horses, started a fire, and moved logs around it to sit on.
"Ah he returns at last, what did you bring us this time," Ogmund asked as Jon came into his sight.
"This is all I found," Jon replied tossing the rabbits into his lap. Ogmund was by far the best cook out of the three though that wasn't much of an accomplishment as his meals were still bland.
"That's barely enough for one person," Ahtar remarked.
"Normal people don't eat five rabbits every night," Jon replied as he and Ogmund began skinning the animals. All Ahtar gave in response was a grunt as he trudged over and began helping.
Once they were finished Ogmund began to prepare and cook the meat. Jon and Ahtar sat around the fire in silence. The two of them got along but it was awkward when it was just the two of them seeing as Ogmund started most conversations.
Jon decided to go over and see his horse. The black stallion was given to him by his father for his fourteenth name day it was the best present he had ever received.
Jon heard some branches crack behind him and as fast as he could Jon equipped his sword and spun to face the threat. Only there wasn't one, deep red eyes stared back at Jon. Ghost stepped out of the darkness and came over to lick Jon. His white fur was tainted red from whatever poor animal ghost had claimed for his dinner.
Jon placed his sword in his sheath, just in case he needed it later, and took out a piece of raw meat. Ghost wandered all day and only came to the camp at night. Jon wasn't worried about him since he was about the size of an average dog but had the strength of a fully grown wolf already.
As he returned to the camp Jon began feeling a strange sensation that he was being watched. By the expressions on the other's faces, he could tell that they felt it too. The sensation was coming from all around them so they all gathered in a circle to see in all directions drawing their weapons in preparation. Jon had a simple castle-forged Bastard sword which was the main weapon of knights in Westeros. Ahtar carried a massive battle ax it was jagged and cruel-looking, something Jon would never want to face. Ogmund carried a one-handed short sword though he was past his prime and wouldn't be the most useful in a fight.
Five figures stepped out of the shadows all men with stern ugly faces. They wore makeshift armor with war paint on their faces and carried dull cheap weapons. Bandits, they had started to become a problem in the north in recent years lord stark seemed to always be dealing with some kind of bandit or thief as winter grew closer.
"A boy an old man and a foreigner, This ol be easier than we thought." One of the men said as he stepped forward. They were surrounded by five verses three and Jon had yet to kill someone and wasn't exactly looking forward to that prospect.
"If you think we're such easy prey then come and try," Ogmund said sounding more optimistic than he looked.
"If you insist," The man who Jon assumed was the leader said receiving laughs from the rest of his gang. The bandits all approached weapons raised three approached Ahtar seeing him as the biggest threat while only one faced off against Jon and Ogmund.
The man in front of Jon had half a head of height on him and was almost double his weight. Jon tried to act confident but that didn't stop the tremble of his hands as his sword made small erratic movements. A smirk plastered itself on the bandit's face once he saw Jon's fear and he began approaching almost causally seeing Jon as nothing but a child now. Jon took a deep breath to calm his nerves and steady his sword as he waited for the other man to make the first move.
The man was cocky and took a swing with full strength and no technique. The attack was easy enough to block and Jon quickly thrust toward the man's belly missing by only a hair. The bandit backed away a little seeming to recognize that Jon had some skill.
The man started to spin his sword back and forth slowly increasing in speed. Jon took a step back the sword could come from any direction there would be very little time to see an attack coming like this. There were no defensive openings either the blade was moving too fast for Jon to thrust in and the man was much stronger than him so stopping the blade would be very difficult.
As Jon was thinking he saw the blade change. He was swinging low, Jon moved his own sword to parry the blow but it kept going lower until it made contact not with Jon's sword but with the ground sending debris into Jon's face causing him to cover his face with his free hand. As he was showered with dry leaves and dirt his body screamed for him to move and Jon obeyed jumping backward with all the force his legs could muster. He reacted just in time as he felt a gust of wind slash through where he was only moments ago. His back crashed into a tree as his vision was finally recovered and he looked up just in time to see a blade flying directly at his face.
Jon tried to jump out of the way but felt a sharp piercing pain in his cheek. He lost his balance and rolled to the ground. The bandit pulled his sword out of the tree and turned to face Jon who was still on the ground. His breath was hitched this was the first time he had been injured by a blade. He could feel a warm liquid running down his face, his cheek felt like it was on fire.
The man began approaching him and Jon knew he had to get up or die. He slowly got to his feet and steadied his breath. The man looked cocky now that Jon was injured. Jon took up a defensive stance and waited, it didn't take long before the man swung high their blades clashed high then low they kept going in, but neither of them gave any room. He needed an opening his arms were getting weak and his swings were slower.
After a few more swings he saw it there were a few loose rocks nearby. Jon began to retreat in that direction bringing him closer. Once he reached them Jon carefully stepped over them trying to not draw attention to them, his plan seemed to work as the bandit approached without any care.
Jon raised his sword defensively and the bandit took the bait. He stepped into an overhead swing his foot landing in the loose gravel sending him to his ass and dropping his sword. Without wasting any time Jon swung his sword downwards slicing the bandit clean through his body and killing him instantly.
Looking around he saw that the others had all finished their fights as well. Ghost was chewing on the arm of one of the bandits and Ogmund was cleaning his sword. Ahtar was pulling his axe out of the leader's chest sending blood everywhere. Jon looked down at the lifeless body at his feet, he never thought killing would be hard but as he looked into the man's empty eyes he couldn't help but feel saddened by what he had done. But he had to do it, Jon told himself it was just a part of the life he had chosen so he would have to get used to it.
"You all done boy," Ogmund asked as he took a seat. Both he and Ahtar seemed indifferent to the lives they had just taken.
"Yeah it's over," Jon said walking over to take a seat. His cheek still hurt but the pain had subsided into a sting instead of burning.
"Get some sleep if you can well continue in the morning." Ogmund surprisingly didnt make some kind of jape to lighten the mood. "But first get that cut cleaned, wouldn't want it to get infected now would we."
Jon just nodded, he grabbed a small piece of cloth and wet it with some of his drinking water. The pain slowly faded as he washed the cut until it was almost gone. He still felt his blood slowly oozing out, but there was no more pain. Jon touched his ring to see if that had something to do with it.
Once inside Jon saw a red bar that said 96/100 and was slowly increasing, There was a small word above the bar that read health. Jon also saw that he had leveled up a few different skills including one-handed block and light armor. He selected a skill for each of them and exited the ring.
When he got back Jon realized how tired he was, he was about to go to sleep before the attack and the fighting had made him even more exhausted so all that was on Jon's mind right now was getting some sleep. Once he was satisfied with the cleanliness of his cut Jon collapsed on the ground not caring about anything else at the moment, not even the horrid stench of death could stop him from rest.
The rest of his journey was uneventful they road for another week before reaching white harbor and now the white city was in Jon's sight. The city was breathtaking it wasn't as impressive as Winterfell but it had beauty everything was made out of white marble and looked to be shining. The streets were bustling with people going about, and there were guards with a mermaid on their shields. Manderlys the lords of white harbor and the richest house in the north even more so than the starks.
The city was filled with various travelers and merchants from around the world. People crowded the streets making it impossible to ride through so the three placed their horses in a stable for the time being.
"Let's get some rooms for the night and well catch a ship in the morning," Ogmund said as they were leaving. So the three of them split up, Jon made his way down a crowded street with ghost at his side. The dire wolf didn't draw too much attention since he was only the size of a hound so everyone assumed he was.
Everywhere Jon looked the city seemed to be bustling with life there were stalls lining the streets as far as the eye could see all selling strange things Jon had never seen before. Someone could find anything here from jewelry to building materials. Though Jon had no desire to purchase anything he already had everything he had for now stored in his ring.
Jon had been wandering aimlessly for a couple of hours just taking the city in and now the sun began to dip in the sky sending a bright pink shooting across the sky and with it a freezing northern breeze winter truly was coming. The streets had cleared quickly as the cold winds began to blow leaving only a few stragglers most likely true northerners.
Jon decided it was about time to settle in for the night but with a sinking feeling he realized he never asked Ogmund and Ahtar where they were staying. It wasn't that big of a problem though Jon could just stay anywhere and meet up with them in the morning. So Jon set off to the nearest inn he could find. It looked old and run down but if it had a warm fire and a soft bed it was good enough for Jon.
He reached for his coin purse as he entered only to meat air. Jon looked down confused and where his coin purse usually lay was nothing it was gone, all of his gold gone. Where could it have gone did he leave it on his horse give it to the others put it in his inventory? No, the last time he saw it was strapping it to his belt as he left the stables. It must have been stolen Jon was so caught up in the wonders of a new city that he forgot about the crime that surly plagued it.
So Jon's only options were to search every inn in white harbor or sleep outside in the northern air. Jon decided that the latter was a better option white harbor wasn't as cold as Winterfell so it wouldn't be as bad especially if he had ghost to keep him warm.
After a few minutes of searching, Jon found a small patch of nature in the middle of the city. Thinking that the grass would be softer than the stone walkway Jon walked over and curled up underneath a tree. Ghost lay beside him keeping him warm as he drifted off to sleep.
Gunner
Gunner looked down sadly at the empty grave that would soon hold his father. He had just finished digging it and now could only wait as the priest blessed his father's body and lowered him into the earth. His father had died of sickness the same one that had taken his mother years ago. Now Gunner was all alone at the age of sixteen he would have to take care of himself.
He didn't know what to do his mother had been a bartender at the local inn and his father had been a guard. Gunner had no business to take over not even a house or land to inherit the only thing he could do was take after his father and become a guard of falkreath. Though he had always wanted more, to leave this tiny excuse for a hold and build his own life. But that was impossible now he had no gold to spare and had little to no training with a sword. So for the time being he was stuck in this hold.
Gunner stabbed his shovel into the dirt lifted it and turned it over showering the pale body of his father. He repeated the action until the body was no longer visible and would never see the light of day again. He had to be strong he told himself he was all alone now and would have to be strong but nothing he could tell himself would prevent the tears from leaking down his face or the feeling of hopelessness weighing him down.
As the last shovel full of dirt landed Gunner tossed the tool to the side and wiped his face. There were few people in attendance the priest, a few guards, and Lod his father's best friend. Even still he could not let them see his weakness. His father's grave was only one of hundreds in this cemetery people die all the time and there was nothing Gunner could have done to prevent this.
The next day he joined the guards he was barely old enough but they let him in any way. He was told about everything he would have to defend the hold against bandits, wildlife, and the occasional spriggan or hagravin. But before anything he was going to start training. His father had taught him a little but never anything advanced. But supposedly his training was to last a couple of months and then he would given a position and his watch would begin.
Sorry the update took so long and was so short but I decided to change up the story and introduce new characters