Disclaimer: I do not own Elder Scrolls or A Song of Ice and Fire. All rights belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 7
Rose Road 297 A.C
The midday sun shone high above as Jon and the rest of his companions rode calmly. The landscape around them consisted of vast fields of crops and wide plains, where people could occasionally be seen herding all kinds of livestock. It had been more than a week and a half since they left King's Landing. They rode in a simple formation, with Jon leading the way, followed by Pyp, who knew the roads of Westeros better thanks to his former job in a mime caravan. The rear was protected by Grenn, Edd, and Ghost.
"So, Jon, will you tell us why you weren't at the inn when we returned?" Pyp asked curiously.
The three young men had arrived at the inn in King's Landing where they were staying and were surprised to find only Ghost. Intrigued by their companion's absence, they went down to the first floor and asked the innkeeper if he had seen Jon. The man told them that Jon had left during the night and had not returned.
Jon did not immediately respond to the question; instead, he recalled what had happened when he woke up that morning.
Flashback
The sun was beginning to filter through one of the windows of the brothel where Jon had slept, yes, because the bastard son of Eddard Stark had spent the night in a brothel. He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was not in his room at the inn.
'Where in the name of all the gods am I…?' His thought was interrupted by the feeling of several small bumps tickling his chest. In addition, he felt a light weight on him, a weight that shouldn't be there. Moving his head, he saw that he was being embraced by two naked women, while a third slept on his chest, and the bumps that brushed against his skin were the women's nipples. 'Umm… This is new… When did I sleep with these women? … Ahhh… I remember now, I came to have fun at this brothel. But… didn't I hire two women? … Ah… that's right, the owner came to ask me to calm down, since I was making them scream too much.'
The owner had intervened because the girls' screams were making the other clients of the brothel uncomfortable, making them feel insecure about their own abilities. Unfortunately for many, the owner ended up joining in on what was happening in the room, adding a third scream of pleasure to the chorus.
Remembering what had happened, Jon moved carefully and easily managed to get out of the women's arms, who, losing the heat of his body, embraced each other. Out of that sensual trap, Jon smiled proudly as he searched for his clothes. After dressing and putting on the hood of his cloak, he left the room.
As he reached the brothel's common room, he noticed how all the women were looking at him with blushes and starting to whisper amongst themselves. Thanks to his heightened senses, he heard their conversations, which made the blood rush to his face. Embarrassed, he pulled his hood down even further to hide his blush, and, with quick steps, he left the brothel in the direction of the inn where he was staying.
End Flashback
"Let's just say I was doing a lady a favor." Jon said with an amused smile, avoiding telling them that he had spent the night in one of the most expensive brothels in the city.
"What kind of favor?" Grenn asked from the rear.
"A very fun and interesting one." Jon replied, smiling. The other three companions mirrored his smile with knowing grins.
"Wow, and here I thought you were a prude." Pyp joked. "And what was the girl like?"
"Who said it was just one?" Jon retorted.
"Come on… Don't tell me…" Grenn said, his eyes widening as he understood what Jon was implying.
"There were three girls. Two were brunettes, in fact, mother and daughter, and the third had skin as white as porcelain."
"Wow." Grenn, Edd, and Pyp said in unison, their faces full of surprise.
They burst into laughter as they continued riding calmly along the road, which would take them directly to Oldtown. After several hours of travel, they arrived at a bridge near a small castle made of wood and stone. Although it wasn't very large, its location on the terrain made it appear more imposing.
"Pyp, do you know where we are?" Grenn asked as they crossed the bridge.
"Umm… I don't remember well, but I think this place is called Bitterbridge." Pyp replied, rubbing his chin.
"How far are we from Oldtown?" Jon asked.
"Very far." Edd replied.
"What do you mean, Edd?" Jon asked, looking at the oldest of the group.
"As I recall from the few lessons I had, the road we're on is called the Rose Road. It goes all the way to Oldtown, but first, it passes through two places: one is Bitterbridge and the other is Highgarden."
"I see. That means we're still far away." Grenn said.
"Yes. It seems that tomorrow we'll have to increase our travel speed." Jon commented, heading towards a nearby inn. "We'll spend the night here and ride harder tomorrow."
The other three nodded, though they exchanged glances, not understanding Jon's urgency to reach Oldtown quickly. However, despite their curiosity, they shrugged and followed Jon, who was already entering the inn.
Ocean Road 297 A.C
The setting sun illuminated the sky as, in the middle of a forest in the territories directly controlled by Highgarden, a small camp could be seen. Near a river, where four horses were drinking water, there were also four people. Three of them were fighting against the fourth.
Jon moved his tournament sword to block the attacks of Grenn, Pyp, and Edd. The three friends used every tactic they could think of, but so far they had failed miserably, as Jon blocked all the attacks without moving from his spot.
"Ahhh!" Grenn shouted as he launched a horizontal slash, which was quickly blocked by Jon's sword. After that failed attack, Grenn felt a great pain in his abdomen, an unmistakable sign that Jon had struck him there. The air escaped from his body, and dropping his weapon, he fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen.
A few seconds later, both Pyp and Edd suffered the same fate.
The three friends remained on the ground for a few minutes until they finally managed to catch their breath. When they got up, they saw Jon looking at them with amusement.
"Damn it, Jon. Did you have to hit so hard?" Grenn asked as he walked towards his tent to put away his training weapons.
"Yes, Jon. Do you have to be so rough?" added Pyp, doing the same as Grenn.
"No, I don't have to be. But it's necessary." Jon replied, watching Edd head towards his own tent.
"If you don't learn to endure the blows, you'll be the first to be neutralized in a battle." Jon said as he headed to the place where they would light a campfire at night to prepare their rations.
The three boys nodded and entered their respective tents. When they came out, they had changed the clothes they wore under their chainmail armor, which they still kept on. They did this on Jon's recommendation, who had told them it was better to be prepared for a possible attack by bandits or thieves. As they walked towards the campfire, they saw Jon finishing cooking lunch.
Noticing that Jon was finishing cooking, the three decided to do other tasks. Grenn went into the forest to hunt some rabbits to replenish supplies and get some fat for the maintenance of their armor. Pyp also went into the forest to gather firewood for the night's fire. And Edd, who complained that he had been left with the worst task of the day, approached where the horses were grazing, under the care of Jon's wolf.
"Come on, Edd. Just go get the horses. Ghost won't eat you." Edd said cynically, imitating his friends' words. "Of course he won't eat me. He'd eat the horses first and then, if he's still hungry, he'd try to eat me."
After complaining, Edd continued on his way and finally reached where the horses were. As he approached, he saw Ghost appear among the trees. Jon's wolf had grown considerably and was now a bit larger than a normal wolf.
"Come on, boy." Edd said to Ghost once he had the horses' reins in his hands.
The wolf made no sound and simply followed Edd, who began to return to the camp.
When the son of House Tollet arrived at the camp, he saw that Grenn and Pyp had already returned as well.
"Hurry up, Edd!" Pyp shouted, waving his fork. "Jon made bacon!"
Hearing what his companion had prepared, Edd quickly took the horses to the designated place for their stay during the night. After tying them up quickly, he headed towards where his companions were. When he arrived, he sat down and took a plate with bacon and vegetables.
The four companions began to eat quietly, immersed in a comfortable silence. This silence lasted a few minutes until Grenn, Pyp, and Edd looked at each other. The three nodded, and then Grenn spoke: "Jon, why are you in such a hurry to go to Oldtown?"
Edzard's apprentice looked at his companions, wondering whether to tell them or not. However, what Pyp said next made his eyes widen, as it was something he never expected.
"Does it have something to do with Edzard?"
Jon froze and dropped his fork upon hearing that. His mind was trying to figure out how they knew that name.
"H-h-how do you k-k-know that n-n-name?" Jon asked, still in shock.
The three boys looked at each other and, after nodding, reached under their armor and took out some necklaces. The necklaces they held were similar to the one Jon wore around his neck. Jon, taking his hand to his necklace, took it out as well.
"These necklaces appeared a few months ago in each of our possessions." Edd replied, looking at Jon. "Mine appeared when I was thinking about whether I should join the Night's Watch."
"Mine was a few weeks before I lost you-know-who." said Grenn, with a sad smile remembering the girl he had loved.
"And I got mine when I was with the mime caravan in Stormlands, a few months ago."
Their companions' responses only confused Jon more, who still didn't know how they knew about Edzard.
"After obtaining this necklace, a man named Edzard appeared to me in dreams. He told me that I would meet someone and that with that person I would travel the known world and have various adventures." said Pyp, whose response was then repeated by the other two.
The words they shared, accompanied by small fragments of their dreams, made Jon finally understand everything. He understood why his master, during training, sometimes mentioned that the adventures he would live would not be solitary. He also understood why his ship had space for four other people. And now he understood why these three were so determined to accompany him on his journey.
'I should have suspected something like this was happening. After all, who would insist on traveling with someone they barely know?' Jon thought, as his mind recalled a phrase that had not been said by Edzard, but by his father, Eddard Stark.
'When the snow falls and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.'
'I never felt like part of the pack in Winterfell…' Jon thought sadly. But, a second after thinking it, the words Edzard had once said to him when he mentioned that phrase came to his ears:
'Lone wolves have only two options, Jon… Continue alone and fight until they become capable of surviving on their own, until something more powerful knocks them down, or… travel alone, strengthen themselves, and found their own pack to rely on. No matter how much we try, Jon… Mortals are social beings by nature; sooner or later we find another pack to belong to.'
'Could this be the new pack I will get? Will they be the ones I can call brothers and friends? I hope so. I will trust your judgment again, Edzard.' Jon thought, then realized something. 'Wait… there are supposed to be four more people and there are only three now. That means one more is missing… Maybe it would be best to tell everything when we are all together.'
With that thought, Jon looked back at his travel companions. Seeing them watching him expectantly, he sighed and was about to tell them about Edzard's request, but decided to leave the magic part for later, when they found the last of those who were supposed to be their travel companions. However, just as he was about to speak, he saw Ghost stand up and bare his teeth toward the front.
The wolf's behavior caught the attention of the four, who stood up abruptly.
"What's wrong, boy?" Jon asked as he approached Ghost.
The wolf responded by baring his teeth and tensely advancing forward.
"Jon, what's wrong with Ghost?" Grenn asked.
"I don't know, it seems he's picked up something." Jon replied, closing his eyes and concentrating to focus his senses in that direction. A second later, his ears caught the faint sound of a struggle, or at least what seemed to be the prelude to one.
"Jon?" Pyp asked, seeing Jon frown.
"It seems there's an ambush to the south, about a kilometer away." Jon replied seriously.
Jon's response surprised everyone, as no one expected him to be able to hear something so far away. However, no one could say anything, as Jon continued:
"Get your weapons. It seems you'll have your first test of blood and death today." He said, approaching his tent and taking his sword.
Grenn, Pyp, and Edd mimicked Jon's action, quickly running to their tents to grab their weapons. Once they had them, the four quickly headed to where their horses were. Untying the reins swiftly, they mounted and, ready, rode off to try to save those being ambushed.
"Ghost, track the place!" Jon ordered his wolf.
The direwolf made no sound and simply sniffed the air as he ran. When he seemed to catch the scent of something, he began to run southeast, in the direction of the road to Oldtown.
"Edd, Grenn, Pyp! Let's go!" Jon shouted.
The three mentioned nodded and, at the same time as Jon, spurred their horses, beginning to gallop at full speed, always following Ghost.
A small group of about six people was being surrounded by a large group of bandits. The six people in that group wore armor of different qualities, but all were full plate; that is, they had breastplates, greaves, bracers, gauntlets, gorgets, and closed helmets. Additionally, five of them carried spears, longswords, and shields, while the sixth only had a longsword at his belt. The spears bore pennants that displayed the same color and heraldry as the surcoats worn by these riders. The surcoat was gray and had a white watchtower with fire at the top.
The bandits surrounding them were not the typical poorly dressed and armed idiots; no, these bandits were suspiciously well-equipped. All of them, without exception, wore chainmail and boiled leather armor. There were twenty of them in total: half armed with good quality longswords and round oak shields reinforced with steel. The other ten only carried one-handed war axes but had strange crossbows that did not shoot a single forged iron bolt but fired three bolts per discharge.
The leader of the six armored men, who wore noticeably different armor from his companions, more decorated, with beaten silver engravings and a closed helmet whose crest was shaped like the tower on his surcoat, looked at the supposed bandits and recognized where one of the weapons they used came from.
'Myrish crossbows.' thought the leader of the group.
"Ser Humfrey!" shouted one of the armed men as he approached the mentioned one. "What are your orders, Ser?"
Ser Humfrey Hightower was the fourth and youngest son of Lord Leyton Hightower, the lord of Oldtown. The young knight was no more than twenty-two years old, but despite his youth, he was a knight of some renown, having won one or two minor tournaments in the Reach region. However, being a tournament knight had not prepared him for a real battle.
He and his group had departed from Highgarden, the castle where his sister was the lady, as she was married to the lord of that castle, who had become the supreme lord of the Reach. They had started their journey back to Oldtown when they learned that there would be a tournament in a few weeks. He set out only with his own travel companions and did not wait for his good brother and his family, who also planned to go to Oldtown in about four days. That decision was something he now regretted, as just three days after starting their journey back home, they were ambushed by this group of bandits.
The bandits fired as they rode along the Ocean Road, killing the horses they were riding. Of course, this only affected the six, as the other five soldiers accompanying them lay dead, thanks to the crossbows hitting parts not well protected by the armor. The attack left him and the other five soldiers on the ground, surrounded by the bandits, who began to approach.
Ser Humfrey looked around and, swallowing a bit of bitter bile, gave an order.
"Throw your spears on my signal. Then draw your swords and prepare for battle." ordered the Hightower knight in a low voice.
The Hightower soldiers accompanying the young knight nodded slowly, as, being close, they could easily hear the order.
"Well, well… it seems you are not the person we were tasked to eliminate, but it doesn't matter." said the leader of the bandits as he approached the Hightower group. The bandit leader wore the same type of armor as his companions, but unlike them, he wore a brigandine instead of boiled leather. "How about you make this easy, boy? Surrender, and we will treat you as our guests until we can obtain a ransom for you."
Ser Humfrey frowned under his helmet and, tightening his grip on his sword, shouted, "Now!"
At that shout, the soldiers with the young knight threw their spears. The polearms, which were not meant to be used as projectiles, managed to cover the distance separating them from the bandits relatively quickly, taking some of them by surprise. The spears struck several bandits, who fell to the ground screaming in pain, as the weapons had pierced their chainmail and boiled leather.
"Little shits." said the bandit leader angrily as he watched his companions writhe in agony. Their armor might be good, but it was obvious that the weapons and armor of these guards, and especially the knight, were of better quality. Turning his gaze back to the Hightowers, the bandit leader barked an order: "Fire!"
At that order, the crossbowmen, who had already managed to reload their weapons, released a volley of iron bolts.
"Shields!" shouted Ser Humfrey as one of the guards who had traveled with him pulled him and covered him behind his shield.
The Hightower soldiers followed their lord's son's orders and placed their shields in front of them, forming a wall. The shield wall stopped some bolts, but several did not aim at the soldiers' bodies but struck their legs.
"Arghhh!" was the cry of two of the Hightower guards as they felt the forged iron bolts pierce their legs. After letting out that cry, the soldiers fell to the ground, as the wounds they had just received caused them intense pain. While they screamed, the bandits armed with swords and axes slowly approached them.
Ser Humfrey looked at his few soldiers and realized he could not win, at least not with the number of men he had. Observing his men, he saw the fear reflected in their eyes. Unfortunately, he had to stop looking at his soldiers, as one of the bandits' swords nearly cut his throat. Moving his sword, he began a fierce fight against his enemies. The men of his guard who could still fight did their best; their armor withstood some blows, but they would soon be overwhelmed and killed.
Looking ahead, Ser Humfrey saw the crossbowmen preparing to launch another volley of bolts. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the bandit leader raise his hand, ordering the final attack.
Lord Leyton's son closed his eyes and began to pray to the Seven, the gods worshipped by the Andals, for his soul to find peace in the other world, as it seemed he would not survive. Thus, after reopening his eyes, Lord Leyton Hightower's youngest son charged with his weapon in hand, seeking death in battle.
Moving his sword quickly, Humfrey managed to cut the throats of two bandits before being hit by several crossbow bolts. The impact made him stagger, and he ended up tripping over his own feet. As he fell, he saw his remaining guards being killed by the large number of bandits.
While the young knight was on the ground, he did not hear how the voice of the bandit leader, who had been giving orders to his men, faded away. A white wolf, slightly larger than a normal wolf, pounced on him and, with a single movement, tore out his throat.
This caused astonishment among the crossbowmen, who, upon snapping out of their stupor, aimed at the wolf, which stood still in front of them, baring its teeth. The crossbowmen placed their fingers on the triggers of their weapons to finish off the wolf, but just as they were about to shoot, a small tremor shook the place, causing them to lose their balance and fire randomly.
The iron bolts flew in all directions, managing to wound a few bandits but also killing some unfortunate ones. After that, three horsemen appeared from behind the trees and quickly rode towards the disoriented crossbowmen. A fourth horseman appeared on the path and charged at the bandits.
Jon pulled the reins of his horse and made it jump, reaching the place where the sounds of battle were coming from. Upon arrival, he saw a group of soldiers with unknown heraldry fighting against another group of soldiers without insignias.
'That's strange. Why would a group of soldiers attack those of a noble house?' Jon wondered, before realizing what was happening. 'Of course… unless they aren't guards, but very well-equipped bandits.'
After thinking that, Jon sent Ghost to attack one of the soldiers, who seemed to be in charge. When his direwolf obeyed, he saw the crossbowmen preparing to shoot his wolf, so, concentrating his magic, Jon sent a spell through his horse's legs and created a small tremor. The tremor caused the crossbowmen to miss and end up killing some of their own comrades.
After that event, Jon saw Grenn, Pyp, and Edd emerging from the trees behind the crossbowmen and charging at them. That had been Jon's plan from the beginning. He had separated from his companions upon realizing there could be several enemies. While riding, he devised this risky plan and sent his companions to surround the area. And it was a good thing he did, as otherwise, he would have had to use magic to finish them off.
Seeing his companions fight, Jon spurred his horse and quickly charged at the remaining bandits, who were still disoriented by the tremor, making them easy prey. Grabbing his greatsword, he made a quick slash, killing four bandits in one stroke. After that, he dismounted and, starting to run, charged at the remaining enemies. His adversaries, who had somewhat recovered, charged at him, but they couldn't do anything against the Dovahkiin's apprentice, as their attacks missed, leaving openings in their defenses. Jon saw these opportunities and, using his enhanced skills, quickly killed them.
While eliminating the nearby soldiers, Jon observed that his companions were almost efficiently finishing off the crossbowmen. The word "almost" was used because they didn't kill them in one blow but required two or a few more. Fortunately, the initial charge managed to surprise the enemies, preventing them from counterattacking quickly. However, Jon knew they still couldn't fight well against the bandits, so, with a soft whistle, he called Ghost to rush to their aid.
While running towards the crossbowmen, Jon noticed an idiot trying to flee, so, with a quick movement, he threw a throwing knife, which lodged in the unprotected part of the bandit's neck, causing him to fall and start choking on his own blood.
Ignoring the dying bandit, Jon continued his run, and when he reached the crossbowmen, he used his sword and easily killed several of them. A few minutes later, all the bandits had been eliminated.
"Hey, Jon. Does it always stink like this when people die?" Pyp asked, approaching while covering his nose with one hand.
"Yes. When we die, we always smell like shit." Jon replied, crouching down and taking a piece of cloth from one of the bandits' garments to clean his sword.
"That proves the gods hate us by making us fart when we die." Edd said, approaching.
"Seems like it." Grenn agreed as he began walking among the corpses.
"Grenn, we can loot the dead later." Jon said, seeing his companion trying to scavenge from the fallen. "First, help me see if there are any survivors."
Grenn looked at Jon for a moment but finally decided to obey. "Alright."
After that, the group of four companions approached where the members of House Hightower had been killed, and as they approached, they talked.
"Hey, Edd. Which house do they belong to?" Jon asked while moving a body to check its pulse.
"According to the sigils, they must be from House Hightower." Edd replied, recalling the teachings he had received. "They are the family that rules Oldtown."
Hearing that, Jon nodded while continuing to search for a survivor. 'I hope there's at least one alive. If we manage to save a Hightower, we might get some help that facilitates access to information.' Jon thought as he kept searching. Unfortunately, it seemed luck was not on his side. However, just when he was about to lose hope of finding a survivor, he heard a voice.
"Help me." said a soft, almost choked voice filled with pain.
Jon and the rest of the group looked in the direction the voice came from. Seeing a man lying down, seemingly moving his arm, they all ran towards him.
Upon arrival, they found a man wearing highly decorated plate armor, with a closed helmet that had a crest similar to the tower on his surcoat. The man lay on the ground with six crossbow bolts embedded in his body: two in one of his legs, one in his thigh, and another in his calf. The other four were in the upper part of his torso: one near the upper left part, another in the right side ribs, one in his left shoulder, and one in his left forearm.
"H-h-help… P-please…" he stammered.
Jon looked at the man and, reaching into his bag, took out a potent sedative. Then, he removed the closed helmet, revealing his dark brown hair. Although the man's eyes were half-closed, they could be seen to be an intense blue color.
"Drink this, Ser." Jon said, approaching. "Don't worry. You won't die today."
With those words, Jon brought the vial to the man's lips and watched him drink the sedative. Two seconds after ingesting it, the man fell asleep.
"Grenn, Pyp, Edd. Help me move him carefully." Jon ordered.
The three mentioned nodded and moved the man to another place, where they laid him on a fur cloak.
"Look for other survivors." Jon ordered while beginning to remove the man's armor. After quickly stripping him of his armor, Jon gave him a potion that would numb the sense of pain for a few hours. Then, he took a pair of tongs from his enchanted bag and, using his great strength, began to extract the bolts. When all the bolts were removed, he started applying small amounts of a regeneration potion to the wounds.
'With this, your internal wounds will be more than healed.' Jon thought while beginning to sew the wounds with threads sterilized with magical fire. While sewing, he heard his companions' footsteps; turning his head, he looked at them and saw them shaking their heads.
"I see." Jon said, understanding that there were no other survivors.
After finishing treating the only survivor of the ambush, Jon covered the man with a cloak and then left Ghost to guard him. After that, Jon and the rest of his companions approached the bandits' corpses and began stripping them of anything valuable.
"I didn't know you were half a maester, Jon." Grenn said with amusement while taking one of the bandits' swords.
"I'm not half a maester, I'm just good at healing." Jon replied as he began searching for something valuable in the bandit leader's pockets. As he reached into one of the armor's pockets, he found a letter.
"What's this?" Jon thought as he opened it.
I hope you follow the instructions and kill the fat flower by any means necessary.
If you fulfill this order, you will have much gold. And remember, failure is not an option.
"Fat flower? Who would be called that?" Jon wondered as he looked at the note. Shrugging, he decided not to give it much importance. 'They're not after my head, so it's not my business.'
After deciding not to do anything about it, Jon put the letter in his bag and continued stripping the corpses of anything valuable.
Author's Note:
To those who have made it this far, thank you for reading. To be honest, my English writing skills are not strong, and I'm relying on Google Translate and the dictionaries that come with Office 2019.
Well, let's continue with the translation. Now we're getting into some Westerosi politics. You know, hiring people to kill you on the way sounds pretty normal for Westeros… As for which house is behind this, well, the Tyrells aren't very appreciated by some houses…
And about the fight, I'll just mention this… none of Jon's friends are veteran warriors or even decent ones anymore, they fight like that thanks to some rings Jon gave them, so they can fight better.
I apologize for any spelling errors. Please don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter, or if there's something that needs improvement, or if you have any questions about the story. Any constructive advice is welcome. With nothing more to say, see you in the next chapter.