Chapter 154: Another Expedition?
Dreadfort Castle
POV of Domeric Bolton
"Raksa told me everything that happened in your 'simple and safe' expedition." His aunt said as she entered his room and closed the door behind her, and he cringed.
Yup, he was definitely going to hear an earful now.
"So, it's true that the White Walkers are back?" his aunt asked, sat down in a chair, and took out an Arbor Gold bottle, filling a glass cup with it.
Meanwhile, these Arbor Gold wines' bottles were produced by glassmakers in the lands of Bolton and sold by Domeric to other merchants and lords like many others. Glass-bottled Arbor Gold wines were now sold as a premium product.
So… if she was not going to scold him about his death battle with the White Walker, then maybe a glass cup of this premium wine wouldn't be a loss.
"They're back. Yes." He said, not knowing how to convey this piece of information subtly. "And I killed one of them. It was hard to kill it by normal means, but I managed to do it, nonetheless. So, it's not as hopeless as you might think."
"You fought and killed one of them?" she asked with her emotions warring between pride, fear, anger, and exasperation.
"And brought back a Wight as well." He added, "Now I just have to find a way to show the Wight to the lords of the North and then the lords of the rest of the seven kingdoms in a way that people won't suspect me of being a Necromancer."
"Why would they suspect you of anything?"
"Because they don't know about my magical method of travel and don't know that I went North of the Wall. To them, it would seem like I brought the undead out of my own backyard, and I don't plan to tell anyone about magical travel so that I won't have any worthy explanation either."
"I do hope you're not saying that you risked your life for nothing." She said, and he put his hands up in a placating gesture.
"Nothing like that. I have seen the White Walkers and their wight armies with my own eyes, and now I know they are real. It just means that I'll have to go North once again. This time with an army and in a way that everyone would notice."
"Like your last heroic expedition North of the Wall…" she drawled, and he nodded.
"Exactly. Something like that would be enough to get the attention of everyone in the North and even some in the South. Then, when I come back, I'll show the Wight as well as the Ice Sword left by the 1st White Walker, and everyone will believe my story, and no one will suspect me of anything."
"So that's your amazing plan. You go on gallivanting across the realm and leave all your duties to me. Once again."
"Of course." He said with what he hoped was a charming smile. His aunt rolled her eyes and sighed with exasperation.
"Very well then. I'll inform Walton to gather the 1000 men for your 2nd expedition. Hopefully, you won't meet another horde of Wights this time."
He nodded in reply, wondering how long it would take before he was able to equip each one of his 1000 men with Dragonglass weapons.
He would have to go down South himself if he wanted the Dragonglass weapons before the end of the month.
"We must also inform Lord Stark of the new expedition. We do not want them to think we are preparing for war while we are preparing for the expedition." His aunt said.
"Hmm. I'll take care of it."
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Winterfell Castle
POV of Eddard 'Ned' Stark
Ned Stark was having breakfast with his family on yet another typical day in Winterfell.
Arya, his playful daughter, was teasing Sansa about something.
Sansa, despite her usual ladylike demeanor, was throwing harsh barbs at her sister.
Robb was ignoring all of this and was finishing his food as quickly as possible so that he could get back to his lessons and learn more things so that he could become a lord as capable as Lord Bolton one day.
Bran was playing with his food.
Rickon, his youngest son, was pushing away any food that Cat was trying to feed him with a persistent frown.
And Jon… Jon was sitting among the guards in the lower tables, like every day.
Yes, just a typical day in Winterfell.
A typical day, which stopped being normal when a giant eagle flew through the door of the Great Hall and landed at their table.
By this point, they had all gotten used to the giant eagle and knew who the sender was.
"A letter from Sansa's betrothed," Arya shouted with glee as she reached for the letter, but the eagle moved its claw at the last moment, getting out of Arya's reach and looking at him with the claw raised in his direction.
A letter personally for him then.
He took the letter from the eagle's leg, and it made a nod before flying away.
Given the intelligence the eagle was displaying, he had to wonder if it was just a normal eagle or a warged bird instead.
He put the thought out of his mind and opened the letter, reading through it quickly with a frown forming on his face the more he read.
"What does it say?" Sansa, his daughter, asked eagerly, and even his son, Robb, slowly moved toward him, trying to be inconspicuous, but doing a poor job of it.
He gave the letter another go to make sure that he had read everything correctly and let out a sigh, "Lord Bolton is going North of the wall in another expedition with 1000 men. He is asking for permission."
Arya squealed in glee, being a most fervent fan of Lord Bolton and his heroic activities.
Sansa gasped in fear for the foolish risk her betrothed was taking by going North of the Wall.
And Robb… he didn't like the resolute look on Robb's face.
"That's so cool." Arya said, jumping in her seat in excitement, "What do you think he'll bring from the North this time, father. Maybe he'll go to the Lands of Always Winter and bring an Ice dragon from there."
"Arya. Stop speaking like that. Do you know how dangerous the land North of the Wall is?" Sansa said.
"Father. I want to go with Lord Bolton on this expedition as well." Robb said this with the determination that only a young boy who had never seen an actual battle could muster.
"Me too, me too. Father, please…." Arya said.
"Absolutely not," Cat said, silencing the whole table, and he let out a sigh.
This was going to be a long day.
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Ch.155: What Are We?
Ch.156: Boyfriend and Girlfriend