Chapter 18 Synopsis: Enemies in the halls. Enemies in the field. Lord Stark is out for blood. Thankfully, the plot has been uncovered, and much can be done to unwind this network of spies. Lord Harry's brother Doberic seems especially eager to help.
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Last Time: ... "Lord Stark looked piercingly at Harry, not angry at the man per-se, but at the news he brought, "If your interrogation proves true, this assassin will seek to kill my son"
Lord Stark turned to his master at Arms with a steely resolve and growled, "Ring the castle bells! We need a riding party armed and mounted without a moment to lose."
"And you!" He gestured to the small retinue of night guards, present in the hall for the disturbance. "we have known spies in our halls, hunt them down and take them into custody."
Ser Cassel just nodded stoically and ran quickly out of the room towards the gatehouse, yelling for the guards to follow him. A moment later they heard the deep gong of the bells ring out over the castle, followed by shouts and the sound of many moving feet. "
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Chapter 18: A Call to Arms
Striding with purpose into the courtyard, Lord Edwyle noted the heightened level of activity, but his focus was on the collection of mounted men by the gates, some of whom were receiving a few last minute supplies from various running servants. A few were obviously still dishevelled from having been raised from their beds, but they'd made good time in donning armour and mounting up nonetheless. Time was more crucial than presentation tonight.
Ser Cassel mounted his own steed, and the men turned to their lord, awaiting instructions. Most were still unaware of exactly what emergency was brewing, but the ringing bells had them on a knife-edge of heightened readiness and adrenaline.
Lord Stark raised his hand for momentary calm, and bellowed to be heard by all in the vicinity. "Men of Winterfell, hear me now! A traitor and assassin rides with your Heir. His life is in peril!" a few gasps were heard at this declaration, Lord Stark continued with grave authority, "I charge you to bring me Lord Rickard's sworn sword" this generated more gasps "who we now know to be a traitor to the North and it's people!" this got a roar of outrage from the mounted men, who knew this man well enough to feel betrayed. Dropping his voice, Lord Stark continued with an icy tone "Ride hard and ride fast! You are men of the North. You shall be the sword that reminds all men winter is coming. It comes to all those who would harm the Stark pack. Now go! And may the old gods guide your way!"
A roar-like cheer rose from the gathered riders on Lord Stark's final words as they kicked at their horses and pulled on the reigns, jostling to be first out the gate, which was still in the process of rising.
Harry observed with some amusement that Lord Stark had a great sense of the dramatic. Though that did give him an idea.
He had come across an obscure talisman in the Black archives a sennight ago and had been carrying it around looking for an opportunity to test it out. The talisman was said to bring bad luck to your enemies. It wasn't enough to cause them to keel over and die... though he was sure the Black who invented it had been aiming for that outcome. But if your enemy tended to be clumsy or forgetful, they would suddenly be much more dramatically clumsy, or overly forgetful to the point of injury.
It was subtle, and Harry hadn't had any enemies of his own to test it on, but here was the perfect chance to help the Starks and satisfy his curiosity at the same time. So, with the focus fully on Lord Stark, Harry took the chance to surreptitiously pull the talisman out of his expanded pocket and banish it into Ser Cassel's saddle bag. He'd have to find out how the confrontation went later, to see if it worked.
With a bellow from Ser Cassel, they watched the men gallop out of the now raised portcullis, leaning forward for greater speed. They were taking great risk in the dark night, with only the lit torches held by some of the more diligent riders to light their way. But their blood was boiling, and it was clear nothing would halt their keen progress.
Sighing, Lord Stark called over a messenger and told him to have the bells stop ringing, since he could now hear them not just here but also down the hill in Wintertown.
Allowing the messenger to hurry away towards the gatehouse and Wintertown, Lord Stark took a moment to look around at the now much emptier courtyard. Lord Stark cringed as he realised his household was in utter disarray.
"Well this is a right mess", he grumbled lightly to Harry, "you try to wake the guard and suddenly the whole town thinks we're being invaded." he looked around for a moment, "but I suppose the disarray does show we've been letting standards slide a bit over the winter"
Armed men were rushing about, grabbing pikes and bows before taking their post on the walls while still fitting their mail, or knocking their bows. Those more prepared were already squinting into the dark trying to find out what was going on and spot any invading army. It was clear that only those in the courtyard had heard the actual purpose of this call to arms, and most were still working on the assumption that an invasion was afoot.
Castle servants were carrying armour and crates across the yard to supply the walls. They'd also worked hard to set up an enormous fire in the middle of the courtyard to cast light for the castle residents. Really it was an absurdly large fire, he'd have to talk to someone about that.
He even thought he saw a man carrying a horse in the distance, amongst all the other men and servants rushing about, but the light still wasn't great, and it had already been a long night, so it was likely his imagination.
Passing a hand over his face, Lord Stark considered that perhaps ringing the castle bells had been a bit of a hasty move. Though, in his defence, the northern houses were never big players in the so-called 'game of thrones' and he didn't have much experience dealing with spies. He was caught off guard by the sheer scale of the infiltration Harry and Sirius had uncovered, and feared the risk to his family. A fear that was proven not unfounded when not one but two of the spies had drawn weapons in his own hall.
He'd already sent a few men off to capture the less dangerous spies in and around Winterfell. Names he recognised were on the list of those outed by Harry's interrogation.
"Well there's nothing for it now but to just go with it", Lord Stark sighed, though his blood was still boiling, so we wasn't too put out that everyone else was joining him in a late night shock to the system.
"Since the troops are out and manning their stations, we may as well treat it as a drill and inspect the defences." he concluded to no-one in particular. Though both Harry and Lady Marina nodded in agreement.
Lord Stark felt the need to clarify a bit for Harry, to ensure his new friends didn't think invasion was a serious risk in this area. "It's about time we had a proper drill anyway. We're well on the way into spring, and It might be a rare occurrence that the full might of Winterfell is needed on the walls, but it's not unheard of for wildling or Ironborn raiding parties to make it this far inland. Always best to be prepared."
"Follow me Lord Harry", Lord Stark said to the side where Harry had taken up position when the troops had left "I'll inspect the defences, and you can give me a more detailed retelling of the events earlier tonight as we go."
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Dobby was having the time of his life.
He had been waiting in the courtyard of Winterfell for Harry and Sirius when the bells began to ring. The sound was deafening, but Dobby ignored it as his attention was quickly caught by the reaction of the people around him. The castle had been roused and people were running everywhere in what he thought was a beautiful sort of chaos.
People everywhere were suddenly working, fetching things, carrying things, building things, dressing up. He wasn't entirely sure what the bell meant, but the effect was pure heaven for Dobby. So much work, and so many people clearly sharing in Dobby's excitement for work, if the speed they were going about things in the middle of the night was anything to go by. The excitement was contagious, and Dobby couldn't wait to get involved.
Dobby thought to himself that maybe he should ring some bells himself in the future, if that's what it took to get more people as excited by work as he usually was.
As Dobby observed people preparing the castle, he saw them carrying crates of weapons to the wall, setting up enormous fires to provide light, and carrying saddles and bags from the stables to troops on horses preparing to ride out. Dobby was eager to help in any way he could and thought he should start with the crates, as he thought they could be doing a better job and Dobby wasn't above helping his fellow worker.
As Dobby approached the crates, a man called out to him "hey you, grab a handle on this crate would you? We're taking them to the walls." Nodding, Dobby looked into the crates as he got closer, noting they were generally full of steel armour, helmets and shields. Without hesitation, Dobby lifted two of the crates, one on each shoulder and started towards the wall. He wasn't sure why the others were only taking one crate between two people, it seemed highly inefficient. They'd get far less done at that rate. Though the thought occurred to him that they may just want to extend the time they had to work so they could take more pleasure in it. Dobby had done that on occasion when he particularly enjoyed a task.
Dobby left behind groups of shocked servants and soldiers as he crossed the yard towards the walls. All of them looking at the crates and then the somewhat scrawny man almost hidden from view underneath them as they moved through the yard. They quickly put it out of their mind though, as the shout of "get back to work" was bellowed by the sergeant of the gate, overseeing preparations. Though now a number were wondering if they had to watch out for more than one of the merchants in the training yard.
Getting swept up in the excitement of the activity around him, Dobby decided he would help out with setting up the fires next. A steady stream of servants were piling more and more wood onto the fire in the middle of the yard, making it larger and larger to cast more light around the castle. Dobby thought he could definitely help here. If big was what they were aiming for, he could deliver. After all, Dobby had come to respect Lord Stark and he was a friend of Harry's, so only the best would do.
Popping out to the forest behind Winterfell, Dobby found a large tree that had clearly fallen early in the winter and dried out in the recent warmth. It was about half as wide as Dobby was tall and certainly taller than the average tree in the forest. It would make a perfect addition to the fire.
Grabbing the tree trunk and popping back to a dark spot just outside the gatehouse, Dobby began dragging the tree into the yard through the gates. Said gates had been about to close, as the gate guards began releasing the portcullis. Thankfully with a short lived levitation charm, Dobby slowed the descent to give himself enough time to get through with his load.
He ignored the strangled cries of surprise from the gate guards as he dragged the tree through. They were probably just jealous they didn't think of going to the forest for wood before he did. This was a problem Dobby was familiar with after his time working with the house elves of Hogwarts. After all, with so many industrious workers around, it put stock to the words 'the early elf catches the snidget'.
Dobby looked at the fire after propping the tree trunk up and encouraging it to light with a little magic. Dobby had to snap the trunk in half with a bit of his magic as well, in order to get it into the fire pit, propping the two pieces up like a massive teepee. Now though, Dobby was happily admiring the fire thinking it was now worthy of Harry's friend Mr Stark. He looked around and happily saw that most of his new friends in the yard were also taking a moment to stare at the fire and chat, which was a good sign.
"Snapped it in half like a twig" one said, "with his bare hands!"
"Saw it with me own eyes" another said, "I think he was one of those new merchants. No wonder the older one is so good in the training yard"
"Would think he had giants blood if he wasn't so small"
Dobby was a bit disappointed that everyone seemed to have stopped working, even though they were admiring his fire. He was even more disappointed he couldn't see any of the giants he thought he heard some of them talking about. Though, in looking around, he found one group of people working frantically over by the stables getting a group of riders ready, and thought that looked like a good place to find more fun.
Striding up to the stables, dobby saw servants running out carrying saddles, bags, feed, and all sorts of other things. Feeling that fetching and carrying seemed pretty straight forward, Dobby entered the stables. However, as he stepped into one stall after the other, he was disappointed to find they had already been stripped bare.
Horrified at the thought that one of these clearly industrious workers might think Dobby was slacking off if he is seen leaving the stables with nothing in his hands, Dobby decided there was nothing for it. He looked at the regal war horse in the stall who was staring straight back at Dobby with interest. It was one of only two horses left in the stables at this point. There was only one thing left to carry, and Dobby would not be seen as a slacker.
Stepping out of the stables with the horse held above his head, Dobby was shocked to see that the yard had already emptied of all the horsemen and the servants that were helping them. Seeing one last messenger on a horse heading quickly towards the gatehouse where the bells were tolling, Dobby figured that was his best bet for finding the other horses. So quickly strode off towards the gatehouse carrying his load with a smile.
Bouncing up the stairs to the battlements behind the messenger, Dobby looked around and quickly noted there were no other horses in sight. Dobby was shocked, he may have lost the large group of horsemen, but he had found an entire group of soldiers that didn't have a single horse between them. This seemed a bit unfair to dobby, since those other soldiers had one a piece. Dobby figured that if he couldn't find the horsemen, he should leave is new horse friend here with the archers, so they didn't feel left out.
Placing the horse down gently, and looking at a job well done, Dobby bounced off to find the next place he could help. This was Dobby's best day ever!
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The day couldn't possibly get any worse for Nella.
She had spent the last few days darning old socks to recover from the loss of the entire bag full of socks she had 'misplaced' in the courtyard in Winterfell. Nella was more convinced than ever that the strange child of the forest she'd seen running around with socks darned to its jacket was the culprit. Though trying to convince the other servants in the laundry had them thinking she was seeing things. Even showing them the coin she had found in place of the socks hadn't convinced any of the others.
Still, Nella had diligently replaced all the socks by the rather dull task of mending old socks. Nella wasn't going to spend the coin to replace the socks as she was already planning to use it for a trip to see her cousin in White Harbour. Maybe her bad luck could turn into a good thing, and a bit of a change of scenery should be good for her somewhat questionable state of mind.
Nella had just gotten back to her place after finishing the last of the socks, when the bells started ringing throughout Wintertown. Since Nella was still dressed, she shot out the door, and back towards the castle. It had been a long day already, but she wouldn't be one to stand by when her friends in the washing room were hard at work protecting Winterfell from … whatever it was they were protecting it from.
As Nella crested the hill and caught a view of the gate into Winterfell she stopped dead. In front of her was one of the strangest sights she'd ever seen, and Nella had seen some things in her time. The top end of a tree was slowly making its way through the portcullis of the castle, seemingly of its own volition.
Hurrying up through the gate just behind the tree, Nella was able to see that it was in fact not moving by itself but was being dragged by a creature small enough it had not been visible behind the bulk of the tree itself. Nella froze. There it was, wearing too many hats, resplendent in a sock covered jacket, and now dragging a tree. The child of the forest was back!
Looking around, Nella noted that no-one else seemed bothered by the presence of the child of the forest … or his tree for that matter. Nella stood there for a moment wondering whether she might be better off just going back to bed and forgetting the whole day. Nella just wanted a normal, simple life after all, she was just a simple handmaiden, she doesn't need strange mythical creatures in her life.
She was brought out of her musings by an abnormally loud groan of wood being stressed. Looking up, she was just in time to see the child of the forest snap the tree trunk in half with its bare hands and throw it on the fire.
Sharing a loud gasp with the people around her, Nella was glad to see at least this time she wasn't the only one surprised.
"Snapped it in half like a twig" she heard someone say among the crowd "with his bare hands!"
"would think he had giants blood if he wasn't so small" came a comment from one of the kitchen hands she knew in passing.
Nella passed her eyes between the kitchen hand and the small creature now standing proudly in front of the enormous bonfire it had created. How someone could possibly think 'giant' when looking at what was clearly a child of the forest, she didn't know. Giving the kitchen hand one last concerned look, Nella decided she'd better go find somewhere else to be. Her mother had always said stupidity wasn't catching, but she thought it best to be safe and not spend too much time around the fellow either way. Seeing the child of the forest had disappeared into the crowd, Nella decided it was best to put it out of her mind and find somewhere she could help.
Nella walked further into the bustling Winterfell courtyard, her eyes darting back and forth as the chaos of men preparing for battle unfolded before her. She had seen her fair share of commotion in her time, but this was something else entirely. Soldiers were hastily donning their armour, shouting orders, and grabbing pikes in anticipation of the imminent threat. In the midst of this pandemonium, Nella found herself frozen in place, her bewildered gaze fixed on a scene so absurd it defied all reason.
The small child of the forest hadn't disappeared as she had hoped. It was back, and it was moving across the courtyard at a determined pace. What truly boggled her mind, however, was the fact that this strange creature was effortlessly hoisting a full-grown horse above its head – and not just any horse, but one of the finest in Winterfell's stables. To add to the surreal spectacle, the horse was being held upside down, its legs curled inwards and its head twisted to look forward, as though it were trying to make sense of its bizarre predicament.
Nella blinked several times, trying to convince herself that what she was witnessing was merely an illusion, a trick of the light, or perhaps even a product of her own frazzled imagination. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not dismiss the reality of the absurd scene playing out before her.
As she watched the odd creature, jog through the frenzied crowd, Nella couldn't help but notice the horse's expression. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn that the horse looked as baffled as she felt. Nella had never seen that look in the eyes of a horse before, and thought it was unlikely she ever would again.
All around her, the soldiers of Winterfell continued their frantic preparations, oblivious to the strange duo in their midst. They were too preoccupied with their own tasks to notice the seemingly impossible feat taking place just a few feet away.
Nella's curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself drawn to follow the peculiar pair. She moved cautiously, weaving her way through the throngs of soldiers and servants, her eyes never leaving the creature and its equine companion.
The Horse Whisperer and the upside-down horse finally came to a stop atop the wall near the gatehouse. Nella, now thoroughly invested in the strange scene, hid behind a stack of barrels, peering out to see what would happen next.
To her amazement, the creature gently lowered the horse to the ground, taking care to ensure that it landed safely on its feet, before bounding off into the darkness. The horse, seemingly unharmed and no worse for wear, shook its head, as if trying to clear away the confusion of its recent ordeal. It looked around, bewildered but apparently unharmed, and then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, it trotted off along the wall.
With the horse now safe and the immediate spectacle over, Nella took a moment to gather her thoughts. Nella was a simple lady's maid. Her mother was a lady's maid, and her mother before that. All she wanted was a nice normal life, and it seemed to her that Winterfell was the wrong place to be for normal at the moment. Not, that anyone else had mentioned the strange things she'd seen. It was like Nella was the only one that could see these things happening, it was enough to drive a nice normal lady's maid mad. "If I'm not mad already" Nella thought.
Maybe it was time for that vacation. "Yes," Nella said to herself, "I'll head to my cousins in White Harbor tomorrow." After all, nothing strange ever happens in White Harbor. With a plan in mind, Nella went back to her duties, thinking of the trip ahead.
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Lord Stark strode purposefully through the chaos of the Winterfell courtyard, scanning the scene, keeping an eye out for those responding well to the all-hands call to action, and any inefficiencies that could spell death in a real invasion.
Harry followed closely behind, keeping pace with the formidable Lord of Winterfell while dodging errant guards and servants scurrying around. None would step in the path of Lord Stark, but too few knew Harry well enough to stay out of his way.
Lord Stark informed Harry that they would first ride a lap of the castle to inspect the preparations on the walls, then they'd trot down to Wintertown to inspect their own response to the bells.
Despite Harry's dubious track record with losing horses, Lord Stark had reluctantly decided to let him borrow one from the stable. Reasoning that he would be riding alongside Harry the entire time, and would be able to keep a keen eye on both Harry and the horse, so nothing could possibly go wrong.
The pair made their way to the stables, where Lord Stark knew his two personal warhorses would be waiting, the only two remaining horses in the stables after the riding party had left. One of these horses was the very same that Harry had misplaced just a few days previously. Thankfully the horse had been returned by an industrious young farming lad the same day Harry had lost it.
Upon arriving at the stables, Lord Stark pointed Harry further into the sables to the pen where he knew the second of his two prized warhorses was housed. "You'll find a mount in there" he nodded to Harry, "saddle up and meet me out front." Seeing Harry off, he ducked into the closest stall to fetch his own mount, a servant already helping him with the bridle and saddle.
As Lord Stark returned, now mounted on his impressive steed, he looked expectantly toward the stall he had sent Harry to, waiting for him to emerge. As Lord Stark continued to wait, he became increasingly more concerned. Had he left Harry alone with the horse for too long? Surely not! He'd only just entered and Lord Stark was sure he'd have noticed if anything had happened as there was only one exit to the stables.
Deciding to investigate, Lord Stark slowly approached the stall he had pointed Harry towards, his trepidation mounting as he got closer and Harry still hadn't emerged.
Lord Stark rounded the corner and stopped in despair, somehow having expected the sight before him. He stared at Harry, who was himself wearing a somewhat confused look while standing in the middle of the stall. A stall entirely bereft of any kind of horse!
"No" Lord Stark breathed out in shock, "no, it couldn't be. Not again." There had definitely been a horse in this stall this morning, and no-one would dare ride out on the Lord's horse. "W..where is your horse Harry?" Lord Stark choked out in confused desperation.
Harry looked up at Lord Stark with large innocent eyes and a baffled look that seemed to dash any sense of hope Lord Stark had left. "Ah, I'm not entirely sure Lord Stark, have you seen it?"
Harry was sure he heard Lord Stark whimper in a very unlordly manner, as he looked down at Harry with a mixture of bafflement and disappointment. Harry was very confused as to why he was directed to an empty stall, but maybe it was some kind of Westeros cultural thing. Either way, he still wasn't sure what he had done to make Lord Stark give him such a disappointed look.
Lord Stark fought to prevent himself from facepalming. He should have known better than to let Harry near his horses, he thought to himself, especially considering his previous experiences.
With a resigned sigh, Lord Stark turned away from Harry and said, "you'll have to follow me on foot then. We'll move slower, and keep an eye out for a spare horse as we go." Glancing back at Harry with displeased eyes, he added "and if we do find one, please, try not to lose it."
As Harry hurried along beside him, Lord Stark couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. In the midst of the chaos and tension surrounding the castle, the absurdity of losing a horse within the very walls of Winterfell was almost too much to bear.
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The frantic preparations in Winterfell continued as Lord Stark made his way to the battlements to inspect his archers. About halfway through his inspection, he had finally found another horse for Harry. Though Lord Stark could not shake the nagging feeling that he should really never let Harry near another horse again. He ascended the steps to the battlements, his mind focused on the preparations around him, taking note of any potential deficiencies in the defences he would raise with his Master at Arms when he got back.
As he reached the top of the wall, he paused for a moment, taking in the sight of his archers standing at attention, bows at the ready. However, his eyes were quickly drawn to a sight that had him stop dead, his jaw hanging open in absolute bafflement. There, among the ranks of the archers, stood his missing warhorse, staring proudly out toward the horizon as if it too were a soldier keeping watch over the castle.
For a moment, Lord Stark could only stare in disbelief at the bizarre scene before him. The horse seemed entirely at ease, standing as tall and regal as its human counterparts, its eyes focused intently on the distant horizon. It was as if the animal were daring any would-be attackers to breach the walls of Winterfell.
Blinking in bewilderment, Lord Stark shook his head and muttered under his breath, "This is definitely the last time Harry is allowed near a horse."
He cleared his throat and addressed his archers, doing his best to ignore the presence of the inexplicably placed warhorse. As he spoke, he snuck a glance occasionally at the animal, its presence atop the battlements a surreal reminder of the strange occurrences that had plagued Winterfell and the North in recent moons.
As Lord Stark concluded his inspection and turned to leave, he wondered how one merchant lord could cause so much trouble. Lord Stark saw Harry give a parting glance to the horse as they headed back down from the battlements, with an unreadable look on his face.
"Strange place to keep a horse" He heard Harry mumble, causing Lord Stark to miss a step and almost stumble down the stairs "must be a Westerosi thing". Just barely holding in the groan of disbelief he wanted to utter, Lord Stark decided it was best just to ignore it all and finish the inspection.
In the morning he would be posting guards around the stables with specific orders around certain merchant lords. Yes, that sounded like the best thing to do.
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Chapter 19 Teaser:
..."Sirius groaned, lying flat on his face in a melting drift of spring snow... again. His broom was partly embedded in a nearby tree, which had split the tree in an almighty crack. Sirius himself had bailed in enough time to meet the relatively softer earth, hopefully with no more than a few bruises to show for it.
He was, however, so much happier than his mud-covered visage would suggest."
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