Chapter 189: Strange Footprints
Beyond the Wall, True North
POV of Domeric Bolton
The magic armors had done their job as they escaped the area that Weeper's people had surrounded them, but that didn't mean things were going easily.
Unfortunately, due to a three-week delay because Domeric miscalculated the Glass Cande's functionality, eventually they had to fight a total of 28 small groups and kill over a thousand men and women before they were finally out of the area that the Weeper was using to forage for food.
By this time, the White Walkers had moved once again, and he had to use some wild direwolves' blood as a blood sacrifice so that he could charge the petrified Dragon Egg once again.
He wasn't sure whether the direwolves that were exhausted from blood loss would survive if he released them. So, he took them with him, along with the small host.
He would release them once they recovered, or if one of the wargs wanted them, they could take them as warging animals.
He wanted to treat them as well as he could because the dragon egg that was recharged thanks to them allowed him to use the Glass Candle to find the White Walkers once again.
One day later.
"Footprints. That's all I see." Benjen Stark said, not even trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.
"No. There's… something weird about these footprints." Qhorin Halfhand said as he studied the wights' footprints on the ground.
"You found something?" Benjen Stark asked as he jumped down from his horse to study the footprints on the snow. "Hmm… now that you point it out. There is something… strange about these footprints. I just can't tell what it is."
"They look unnatural." Kalmyr, the most excellent tracker in his army and one of the wargs he had brought with him on this expedition, spoke as he knelt and sniffed the ground and frowned. "There's no smell."
Qhorin nodded at Kalmyr's words. "True. I noticed the same thing. But… there's something else we are missing here. Though the lack of smell is alarming enough as it is."
"Why is that?" Smalljon asked as he knelt and looked at the tracks as well. But he was sure that just like him, Smalljon didn't know how to read the tracks either and was just doing it to look impressive. "True, some of the wildlings we killed smell like hell. But what makes it alarming?"
"All living things have smell," Kalmyr said as he whistled and sat down on the ground, getting ready to warg into one of the wolves under his care.
They were simple arctic wolves. Not the direwolves Domeric was so fond of. But these wolves also had a great sense of smell and were great trackers. Both these traits made Kalmyr invaluable to him.
Well, he would have been invaluable in this expedition if he hadn't used the Glass Candle to learn his target's location by cheating.
But with the Glass Candle, he could only scout from above. In places like a city, where there were many covered places to hide, Kalmyr's skill was still invaluable to him.
And since the Glass Candle failed to show at the exact vicinity of the White Walkers, he still had to rely on Kalmyr this time.
"Even those who've just taken a bath have a smell." Kalmyr said as one of his wolves arrived in front of him, and he looked in the wolf's eyes, "Only those who've been dead and have been frozen for a long while don't have any."
Then Kalmyr's eyes went white, and he slumped down on the floor.
He and Qhorin helped the man's body against a tree as the wolf bowed in thanks before sniffing the target and darting forward.
"Be careful," Domeric said, and the wolf huffed before vanishing among the trees.
Now, all that remained was to wait and allow his scouts time to discover the White Walkers' location.
At least, that's what Domeric told the other heirs and commanders.
His guests didn't know, but Domeric was a warg, too, even though he was a special kind of warg.
But Domeric didn't want anyone else to know about it if possible. Knowing he was a warg meant knowing which animals he could warg into, too.
And that would increase the likelihood of his close friend falling into a dangerous situation, and could lead to the detection of his numerous espionage operations.
After all, as long as no one knew the truth, Hedwig was just an owl. And most people wouldn't even notice an owl nearby while they were talking, and even if they did, they wouldn't hide their conversation from her.
Domeric turned away from the others and walked towards his tent. Once inside, he called out for Hedwig to come.
-Pop
With a pop sound, Hedwig apparated inside the tent and landed on Domeric's shoulder.
"Hello friend, how are you?"
-Hoo, hoo
Hedwig hooted in response while nipping Domeric's ear.
"Okay, okay. My fault." Domeric said, took two pieces of bacon out of his bottomless pouch, and gave them to Hedwig. He always kept some bacon in his bottomless pouch for Hedwig, and the stasis charm kept them from spoiling.
After Hedwig finished her snack, Domeric set to work.
"Okay, girl. We have work to do."
Domeric looked into Hedwig's eyes, and in that moment, a connection was formed between the two.
But unlike normal wargs, Domeric didn't lose control of his own body.
This was what made Domeric a special warg. Unlike other wargs, when Domeric formed a warg bond with Hedwig, his consciousness didn't leave his body.
Instead, it was as if Domeric and Hedwig shared their consciousness, and Domeric could see and hear information from Hedwig in his own mind.
And Hedwig, unlike other warg animals, did not consciously enter a sleep state while Domeric formed a warg bond with her.
Rather than using Hedwig's body, Domeric was instructing and directing her.
This type of warg bond had several advantages over a normal bond.
First, Domeric's ability to maintain control of his own body was something only other wargs could dream of.
And Hedwig's continued consciousness during the warg bond allowed her to utilize her natural instincts better.
After all, no matter how much a warg could warg into an animal, it was impossible for that animal to fully utilize its abilities.
Once the warg bond was formed between them, Hedwig flew out of the tent, and Kalmyr began flying in the direction he had gone.
And everything Hedwig saw was reflected in Domeric's mind at the same time.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.190: Playing Cat and Mouse
Ch.191: Magical Dominance