Chapter 277: Arya Starts Making a List
On the Road, Stark Lands
POV of Domeric Bolton
"Raksa. Varko." Domeric said, and both of them nodded and started throwing mudballs at the Lannisters with great strength.
The mudballs struck the enemies and burst into Wildfire, consuming them within seconds.
The Lannisters had given Domeric a welcome opportunity to experiment with his wartime ideas and strategies. Perhaps Domeric should thank the Queen properly for this.
Mudball throwing continued for one more minute before the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, and the screams of the dying were all that remained on the battlefield.
With another wave from his wand, the wildfire shimmered down and disappeared.
"Leave no one alive." He ordered, and his guards took out their magical weapons and moved forward, killing any Lannister guard who had been unfortunate enough to suffer severe injuries but stayed alive till now.
He could see three Lannister guards hobbling away from the battlefield.
Before he could say anything, Ygritte released the arrows and got three head shots.
From then on, there was nothing more Domeric had to do as his men killed all the wounded men and then started looting their armor, weapons, gold, or anything of use from their bodies. No sense in wasting perfectly good material.
Then the naked bodies of the unfortunate Lannister men were put together in a huge pile.
Domeric threw a mudball at the base of the pile, which burst into wildfire and began consuming the pile.
"Take the palisades and collect the caltrops." He said as he himself began to fill the trenches, using transfiguration to hide any sign of blood and gore, making it look like nothing had ever happened here except for the ashes from the great bonfire.
Once they had collected everything, Domeric nodded and said. "Let's get out of here."
Perhaps many would not know what happened here in the future, and the history books would never record this battle.
But on this day, one of the North's most glorious battles had taken place here.
Twenty-four people faced over 200 cavalry and defeated all their enemies without taking a single blow.
And to the men of Bolton, Domeric now stood glorious and majestic above any Lord or King they had ever seen.
Calm, commanding, sharp-witted, and brave. For a moment, the men of Bolton thought he must be more than just a Lord in the North, but they quickly suppressed those thoughts.
They would follow their Lord no matter what. It was not for them to dictate what their Lord should or should not be. And if their Lord ever set their sights higher, they would gladly fight for him.
Domeric and his men rode quickly and soon caught up with Arya and the Stark guards.
Arya looked fairly shocked when all of them returned without any severe wounds.
Domeric's men had some blood on their armor from the men they had finished, so they looked like they had suffered some wounds, but aside from that small tidbit, everyone was as they were before they sent Arya ahead so that she would not witness the blatant use of magic.
The Stark guards looked relieved, but Arya merely looked suspicious and filled Ygritte with questions.
Ygritte answered a good few of them, but she also had to deflect many others when Arya started questioning about how all of them were alive after fighting against such numbers, how Ygritte, Domeric, Varko, and Raksa didn't have any blood or injuries, how all their horses were still alive and healthy and without any blood on them?
In the end, Ygritte simply told her that they used traps created by the Children of the Forest, good weapons, and a few other combinations of things to win the otherwise unwinnable fight.
Ygritte showed Arya her own weapon. Telling her how far it can shoot and lying about how it was enchanted by the Children of the Forest, much like all their armor.
Arya still looked suspicious, not believing all the lies she had been fed, but she didn't question them anymore.
The rest of the journey passed in blissful silence until Arya solved whatever was on her mind, and then she was back to asking both him and Ygritte questions once again.
What kind of traps did they use? How did they set up the traps?
He and Ygritte could only look at each other in helplessness while both Raksa and Varko looked amused at their reactions to the little girl.
For the first time since taking Arya from Winterfell, Domeric was starting to wonder if he bit off more than he could chew.
They would slip up in their lies sooner or later, and the clever girl will no doubt catch onto it and ask them to tell her the truth.
Arya might be a Stark, but she was nothing like Lady Catelyn or her elder sister, Sansa. Or, to put it more accurately, she wasn't like the old, naive Sansa.
And he had a feeling that she would fit in a place like Dreadfort far better than she would have ever fit in Winterfell.
Yes, he was thinking that he bit off more than he could chew when he brought Arya with him, but he would never regret that.
Some troubles were sometimes simply worth every drop of sweat shed for them.
"Arya." Said Domeric.
This interrupted Arya's next question to Ygritte. She turned to Domeric and replied. "Yes."
"I want you to make a list in your head. A list of the things you want to learn in Dreadfort. The things you want to learn most should be at the top of your list. We'll discuss your list when we get to Dreadfort," Domeric said.
"A list of things I want to learn? What can I choose from?" Arya asked, her eyes shining.
"You can write whatever you want. Moreover, if there is something you want to learn from someone, you can put their name on your list. But that doesn't mean I will accept everything. As I said, we will discuss your list when we get to the Dreadfort." Domeric said, hoping to keep Arya busy for a while.
"Okay. But I'll have to write them down. There's so much I want to learn in the Dreadfort," Arya said.
"Nope. You're not allowed to write. Also, you can't get help from others. The list must be in your head. This will also help strengthen your memory. Also, I have a feeling you're good at making lists." Domeric said.
"Really? Okay, then I'll do that," Arya said and started making a list of things she wanted to learn in his head.
Ygritte glanced at Domeric in gratitude, and he smiled at her.
And the group continued their journey in calm, peaceful silence, even if for a short time.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.278: Experiments on White Walkers and Wight
Ch.279: News Reaches the Casterly Rock
Ch.280: Tywin Lannister's Plan