Warg Maiden
Edited by xXFallenSakuraXx52
Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones
Chapter 10: First Strike
Imogen's POV
We live in a world of violence.
As a Free Folk, violence is how we survive. It was how we hunted. It was how we protect ourselves. And it was how we left a statement. Despite our moral code, even to a Dire, we are subjected to violence. It was how our ancestors were, to separate our humanity from the monsters living in the snow. We never kill a mortal man for pleasure. Not like the Thenns. In fact, Dires barely participated in raids. We never attack villages to steal.
However, there comes a time when survival comes first.
In order to get the crows out of the way, it was time to force them out of their nest.
Therefore, Styr and Tormund decided to attack a small village. Although Tormund made it clear not to kill all the villagers, they were to spare the children and younger women. Styr did not like it but said he and his men would try to limit their casualties.
We came without warning. No one seemed to notice three dozen wildlings coming in until Ygritte fired an arrow, killing a man from the back of his head. The man dropped dead right next to his son. I stood there and watched, the Thenns rushing in, swords and axes ready, while the rest of us tormented the ground. The villagers were screaming, running for their very lives.
I looked around Dark Sister in hand. One villager charged at me with a sickle. Rolling my eyes, I adjusted my grip and stabbed the fool straight in the chest. The man gagged, falling to his knees. Yanking the sword out, I walk around until I spot a boy hiding underneath the wagon. Grabbing the boy by the ankle, forcing him up, and pinned to the wagon. He whimpered, closing his eyes. I grabbed his face roughly to look at me.
"You know how to get to Castle Black?" I asked
"Yes. Yes." He whimpered.
"Listen here, boy," I sneered, forcing him to look at the Thenns hovering over a pile of bodies. "They are gonna eat your parents. Go tell the crows at Castle Black."
The boy stumbled after I shoved him. I stood there watching him run for his life as he made his way to Castle Black. Styr came over and stood next to me.
"You think he'll send word?" he asked.
"After you taste his parents' flesh, he will," I answered bitterly.
Styr scoffed before going back into the raid.
I took a deep breath and started walking around. After almost an hour, the raid had ended. The younglings, adolescents, and surviving adults were forced into a building and locked in. At the same time, the Free Folk gathered much-needed supplies.
"We better get goin'," Ygritte said.
"Why? We got a place to base," Tormund countered.
"You fool, if we stay, the crows know of our location," I growled. "Get the supplies we need and move out."
All eyes were on me. I was annoyed and pissed off that we had to do this raid in the first place. But I knew it had to be done in order to catch the crows' attention. They will send their men to find and hunt us in a few days. And if Jon says there are a thousand crows at Castle Black, they wouldn't be afraid to send a hundred men to eliminate us.
There was no argument, as Ygritte and many others agreed it was best to leave. We achieved our goal and caused a disturbance. Thus, we gathered the supplies we needed before leaving the village, going back into the forest to hide and wait as we made our way to Castle Black.
.o0o.
Jon's POV
It was a three-day run for Olly to arrive at Castle Black. The boy was in near exhaustion, barely able to utter a word. Jon was assigned to comfort the boy and regain his strength before getting the information needed. With Sam and Maester Aemon's help, they got food and water in the boy's belly, and after a few hours of rest, Olly told them what happened. Told them the wildlings had attacked his village. What shocked Jon was that a woman wearing a wolf's mask spared Olly and told him to run to Castle Black.
Imogen, what are you planning? Jon thought.
When Olly told the council and the Night's Watch what happened in his village in the Shield Hall, there was increased tension in the hall. To discover that three dozen wildlings climbed over the Wall and Thenns are now in the mix. Thenns were the most difficult for the Night's Watch to defeat because of their brutality. They rarely crossed paths with Thenns since they lived farther up North than any tribes. So, hearing Thenns below the Wall stirred outrage.
"We need to teach them a lesson about the way we deal with their kind," Yarwyck bellowed.
"Aye!" the men agreed.
"Three dozen bodies with slit throats tossed off the top of the Wall," Yarwyck continued. "Seems like that would be a good lesson."
"Aye!"
"If we go after them, we'll be giving them what they want," Ser Alliser said, being the voice of reason. "They want to draw us out, pick us off a few at a time."
"We have just over one hundred men," Maester Ameon said. "And that's including stewards and builders and me. We can't afford to lose a single man. We must remember our first responsibility. We are the Watchers on the Wall."
Pyp turned to face the men, "There's got to be a way to protect them."
"You're a champion of the common people, Lord Snow." Ser Alliser taunted Jon. "What do you say to Brother Pyp's propositions?"
All eyes turned to Jon, including Olly, as much as Jon agreed that the wildlings must be dealt with. It comes against numbers. Does the Night's Watch deal with thirty-six wildlings or prepare to go against ten thousand led by Mance?
"Mance Rayder is coming," Jon replied. "If the wildlings breach the Wall, they'll roll over everything and everyone for a thousand miles before they reach an army that can stop them."
Ser Alliser nodded in agreement, "We need to shore up Castle Black, and we need to defend the Wall. That is our job."
Suddenly, the horn on top of the Wall blew. It was one blow indicating this:
"Rangers returning," Pyp called out.
Everyone got up and ran outside. Jon and Pyp ran fast, along with three brothers, to the one gate of the Wall. They ran halfway when they saw two Rangers limping in from the cold weather. Jon grabbed hold of one of them, realizing it was Eddison, while Pyp collected Grenn. Eddison looked up, seeing Jon.
"Thought you'd have blue eyes by now," Eddison jested through chattering teeth.
Jon couldn't help but laugh when hearing that.
Anyway, the men lead the two rangers back into Castle Black. They set them by a wagon near a fire pit to warm them up. Ser Alliser and the council made their way over.
"What took you so long?" Ser Alliser asked, almost demanding.
"We were held up," Grenn answered, shuddering.
"By what?" Ser Alliser asked.
Grenn lifted his right arm, showing the bruising that marred his skin, "Chains."
"We were guests of the mutineers at Craster's Keep," Eddison muttered bitterly.
"And the mutineers stayed?" Jon asked.
"They're not going anywhere," Grenn answered, shuddering more. "They've got Craster's food and his wives."
Jon mentally cursed as he pulled away to think about it. A dozen or so Watchers knew of Castle Black's secrets. Men who can tell Mance Rayder and the other Chieftains the truth from a lie. Jon told Mance there are at least a thousand men at Castle Black, and their security is up to date. Then he remembered a Dire wolf waiting on the other side of the Wall.
"Poor girls," Eddison mumbled. "Never thought they'd miss their daddy."
"Karl's running things now," Grenn added. "He's the one who put a knife through Craster's mouth.
Karl. As in Karl Tanner from Gin Alley of King's Landing? Jon thought.
Jon has seen him and heard his conversations in the corner of the dining hall. The man was no honorable man. He was a ruthless killer, a cutthroat assassin who enjoyed killing. One was saying it was all he had ever done. How Karl was given amnesty is surprising, for the man deserves the executioner's ax instead of being a Brother of the Night's Watch. Let alone earning the position of a ranger. So, if Karl is out there, that man will sing if it means sparing his life if he doesn't kill the Wildlings first.
"We need to ride north and kill them all," Jon advised Ser Alliser.
"We just went over this, boy. Justice can wait," Ser Alliser said.
"It's not about justice," Jon snapped. "I told the wildlings we had over a thousand men at Castle Black alone. "
This caught Ser Alliser's attention.
"Karl and the others know the truth as well as we do. How long do you think they'll keep that information to themselves when the wildlings are peeling their fingernails off?" Jon said. "Mance has all he needs to crush us, he just doesn't know it yet. As soon as he gets his hands on them, he will. Then he'll throw his full strength at us. And even if every one of us kills a hundred wildlings, there's still not a thing we can do to stop them."
"I don't think I can kill a hundred wildlings," Pyp mumbled.
All eyes were on Ser Alliser, who was acting commander until the Choosing.
Even Ser Alliser couldn't decide.
Jon knew they were fucked.
I know this is a short chapter, but the next one will be longer.
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