Chapter 196: We're Heading Back
Beyond the Wall, True North
POV of Domeric Bolton
"I found one! This fucker's still kicking." Varko shouted, and everyone's eyes turned to look in the same direction.
Varko brought the Wight they had captured 2 months ago. He had wrapped the Wight with a cloak, but it still showed its nature by trying to bite in the direction of anyone it could see.
"How is it still alive?" Dacey Mormont asked as she threw another dead wight into the great pile of bodies. "Didn't all of them die?"
"Don't know. Don't care." Varko shrugged, "Found this one with its leg trapped under a log. If you want to know how it's still moving around, then you can ask the White Walkers the next time you meet them."
Dacey shut up after that while the others went back to pulling the bodies to the pile.
"At least we'll have something to show for this fucking expedition aside from that blasted ice sword," Smalljon said as he sat on the ground and clutched his hand, which was wrapped in a cloth.
When Domeric told the men about the defeated White Walker, they asked for the body, and he showed them the Ice crystals, which were still thrumming with cold and death magic to his senses but probably looked like simple ice crystals to them.
They had not totally believed him until he showed them the Ice Sword. At that point, Smalljon tried to pick it up and got a 2-degree frostbite within a moment before he jerked back in pain and fell on the floor, writhing in pain and cursing the White Walker's mother and sister to hell.
"You three. Create a cage for it. You four. Make a sledge. We'll have the wolves pull the sledge." He said, and the men he'd ordered bowed and went about doing the job without any complaint, even though they were not very happy about it.
He changed direction and went where Jon and Robb were looking coldly at the black colored cloak covering Benjen Stark's bisected body.
There were two other bodies similarly covered lying beside that cloak, and Meera Reed was crying beside one of them.
He moved toward one of the bodies and removed the cloak.
The totally crushed body of Galbart Glover appeared in front of his eyes.
He looked at the now deformed magical armor and found no magic coming from it.
It seems that Galbart was not able to get to his Dragonglass dagger in time. Or that he panicked and totally forgot about it.
Whatever happened back then no longer mattered. What he was sure of was that Galbart Glover wasn't able to do anything, and the Wights continued to attack him.
After a long while, the magic in the magical armor simply burned out, and at that point, the collective weight of dozens upon dozens of wights on top of him crushed him to death.
He covered the body once again and looked at where Meera Reed was crying beside the third dead body.
Jojen Reed. Another death on his conscience. And he actually felt pretty bad this time. The boy was young and had a long life ahead of him. He was also a genuinely good person.
He went beside Meera Reed and put a hand on her shoulder. She wiped her tears and looked up at him.
He gave her a sympathetic look and knelt beside her. "I won't say that I understand your pain. I've never had any brothers or sisters of my own."
Domeric never considered Ramsey Snow as his brother. "But I do sympathize with you. I know it doesn't matter anymore. But I'm really sorry for what happened."
Meera simply nodded and went back to sobbing.
Looking at her, he was reminded of Dennis Creevy, who had lost his older brother in the Battle of Hogwarts.
He could still remember the betrayed look Dennis gave him when he met him after the battle. Asking him why he didn't save his older brother.
"Will you be alright?" he asked, and she gave him a tentative nod.
He wondered if his presence was even helping her. He, who brought her and her brother up North and led them on this merry chase in the first place.
He patted her shoulder one last time before he got up and went toward the pile of bodies.
"She'll get over it." A voice said, and he turned to find Qhorin Halfhand taking out the pieces of the girl who had been pinned to the tree. "I know I sound crass, but brothers, husbands, fathers, and sons die all the time in the North. The women can do nothing but get up and keep moving. As everyone else does."
He remained silent as Qhorin took out the head and threw it in the great pile as well. Then Qhorin let out a sigh and said, "Benjen was a great man. Humble and down to earth despite his upbringing. A great ranger, swordsman, and leader. His loss will be felt by us all."
He remained silent until his men stopped bringing any more bodies. Then he took out a ball filled with Wildfire and threw it at the great pile.
The pile started burning at once.
Qhorin stared at the green flame with an unreadable expression for a moment. "You had something like this. Why didn't you use it against the White Walker?" His tone was barely a step below accusatory.
"I did." Domeric replied, "It didn't work. The bastard froze it before the ball could go anywhere near it."
"I see. I suppose that makes sense." Qhorin nodded and bowed in apology. Then he stared at the great pile of bodies that was catching fire rapidly. "So. What now?"
"We have the wight. We have the Ice sword. We have the witnesses and the dead bodies of our friends. That's enough proof." He said, turning to look at Qhorin, "We're heading back."
Domeric surveyed the area once more, the men who had made cages and sleds for the Wight, the burning corpses, and the bodies of the three men they had lost.
But when his gaze fell on Jojen Read's body, he noticed something strange.
Was it just him, or had Jojen Read's eyelids fluttered just now?
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.197: Don't Worry, I Will Save Your Brother
Ch.198: They Need to Know