WILOW-Ch.354: Wyvern Rider - I
Near Riverrun Castle, Riverlands
POV of Thistle
Thistle pulled the cloak around her husband and set him up against the trunk properly so that he wouldn't fall.
Roghomyr was vulnerable when he was skin changing with the wyvern, so she had to see to his protection when he was in that state.
She didn't need to worry about it as Lord Bolton had given both Roghomyr and Vothora 4 guards each for their protection, but she had been protecting Roghomyr like this for a decade before they bent their knees to Lord Bolton, and old habits were hard to break.
At least now she could leave him behind with peace of mind.
Even if her own precautions proved insufficient and the enemy somehow found Roghomyr's trail, she was confident that Lord Bolton's men would protect him.
Roghomyr's eyes were rolled back in his head, and she knew that he was now controlling the smaller of the wyvern in the clearing.
Once she had properly secured him and made sure that no one would find him in his current location, she climbed down from the tree and went up to Shadow Wing.
The wyvern gave her a snort as she nuzzled its cheek and patted its head.
The wyvern, or her husband in this case, gestured for her to get on its back as it lowered its body.
She nodded and used the rope stairs to climb onto its back and onto its saddle.
"Give me the large one." She said, and the guards below nodded and brought a large barrel covered in red runes.
Some magic that she didn't understand or care to understand.
The men hefted the barrel up to her, and she secured it in front of her, making sure that it wouldn't fall by mistake.
Lord Bolton had told her what was inside the barrel and what would happen if it exploded.
And she certainly didn't want what Lord Bolton described to happen to her or to be in the wrong place.
If she dropped the barrel in the wrong place, then hell would ensue.
She looked at the other wyvern. It was a different species of wyvern and slightly larger than Shadow Wing.
The teenage boy on top of the wyvern also secured the load.
She looked at the bottomless pouch tied to her belt. The other wildfire bombs were kept inside. A thousand were given to her and a thousand to the boy.
More than necessary for their tasks.
But Lord Bolton wanted them to have extra wildfire bombs on hand in case things went wrong on other battlefields.
The two wyverns looked at each other. Then the wyvern she was sitting on grunted as the first rays of the sun started to come from the horizon.
The other wyvern snarled back and moved out of the way.
Shadow Wing turned its head to give her a look. After flying on his back for so long, she knew what that look meant.
She held the barrel tightly to herself. The saddle was made with some magic, and she knew that she wouldn't fall even if the wyvern turned upside down.
The wyvern flapped its wings and started running in the clearing.
One flap. Two Flap. Three Flap. Four Flap, and then they were off.
Shadow Wing continued to flap its large wings, and it continued to fly up and up.
She looked back and saw the other wyvern taking off after them.
She looked down and saw the forest becoming smaller and smaller.
She grinned.
Flying on the back of a wyvern never got old.
She still remembered the times when the only thing her husband could control was a single direwolf, and both of them had to search for food in the cold to survive each day.
They had come a long way from then.
Sure, they had to bend their knees to a southerner, and she was not proud of that. But Lord Bolton had been fair to them.
He was not as soft and ostentatious as other southerners. He did not hesitate to get his hands dirty when necessary, and he did not look down on the common people.
On the contrary, he felt responsible for their well-being and did everything in his power to ensure they had enough to eat and lived in warm homes under a roof that wouldn't leak.
She never imagined she would encounter such a nobleman in the south.
After all, even the leaders she had witnessed beyond the Wall had never cared for people in this way.
Moreover, Lord Bolton had helped them despite them being Free Folk, even knowing that it would cause him trouble if the other lords found out.
And if he hadn't helped them, they would still be north of the Wall, starving and searching for food, living in fear of the White Walkers.
Most importantly, he had made her husband far more powerful than he once was and had given him a wyvern as well.
Considering all of this, Thistle thought that kneeling before Lord Bolton wasn't so bad after all.
She would never have thought that of any other southerner, but Lord Bolton was worthy of their loyalty.
Thanks to him, life couldn't be any better for them, and now it was finally time for them to repay Lord Bolton for all his generosity.
After all, she might not be very smart, but she was not ungrateful.
Once Shadow Wing had gained enough altitude, it spread its wings and glided toward the river.
She wrapped her arms around the barrel, and after getting to the edge of the Forest, Shadow Wing continued to glide in a circle.
A few moments later, the other wyvern joined them, and they both continued to fly around in circles for the next few minutes until she felt the mirror vibrate in her pocket.
She took out the mirror and followed the instructions. Lord Bolton's face came in front of her.
She could see rows upon rows of horses behind him and knew that he was ready as well.
"Begin." Lord Bolton said with a nod, and the mirror returned to normal.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.355: Wyvern Rider - II
Ch.356: Victory Celebration
Ch.357: Deciding the Next Course of Action