◉◉◉◉◉
Jimmy had meant to slip into Winterfell's cellars, if only to confirm what might still be hidden there.
Ned had told him how to open the passageways, and Jimmy remembered every step.
But the sight below drained all interest from him.
Two mounted knights were riding down peasants for sport, loosing their hounds and laughing as the frightened villagers stumbled through the snowless mud outside the castle walls.
Jimmy stared for a heartbeat.
Ever heard of a punch that falls from the sky?
Hawk Strike.
"Boom!
He dropped like a missile and drove his fist straight down.
One of the knights vanished beneath the impact. Horse, rider, armor flattened into the earth as if the world itself had swallowed them.
Jimmy rose calmly.
The second Dreadfort rider just sat there, stunned, as if his mind couldn't decide what he'd witnessed.
Winterfell's winters don't bring snow. Do they bring falling knights now?
Jimmy launched forward in a blur, seized him, and twisted.
Crack.
The man's head turned too far. His body didn't follow.
A second twist, just to be sure, and the corpse folded in a way no living spine should.
"Woof Woof Woof~"
Five snarling hounds surged in.
Jimmy didn't even move.
Horus struck like lightning from above, Claws raked, Beak snapped, Wings battered flesh and bone.
In seconds, all five dogs lay still.
Jimmy crouched and began stripping cloaks and armor from the dead riders.
That was when the villagers approached slowly, cautiously, with pitchforks and tools held in trembling hands.
A weathered farmer spoke first.
"My lord… could you take their things with you?"
Jimmy looked up, puzzled.
"If you leave them here," the man continued quickly, "we'll try to burn them. But if Dreadfort men come back and find their armor, they'll know it happened near our village. They'll punish us. They'll wipe us out."
"Winter's close, the bodies won't rot fast. Wildcats and wolves won't come this near But the Bastard's men will. They always come with dogs."
Jimmy nodded once.
"Skin those five hounds and bring me the pelts," he said. "I'll take the riders into the Wolfswood and leave them where no one will find them."
He gestured at the crushed horse.
"Carve it up, Share the meat Eat it quickly. I'll take the other two horses."
He did not offer them the dog meat.
Not because people in the North wouldn't eat it if they had to. But because these weren't ordinary dogs.
Ramsay's influence had made the Dreadfort riders keep vicious beasts trained to kill, half-feral, fed on human flesh when food ran short.
Jimmy had seen their eyes, glassy and red with hunger.
He wasn't about to let villagers put that in their mouths.
…
He worked swiftly.
By the time the village had done as he asked, Jimmy had stitched the pelts into a rough cloak and thrown it over his shoulders, Warm enough. Better than freezing for miles.
Before he left, he looked the farmers in the eye.
"Eat the horse meat tonight," he warned. "Don't store it, Dogs will smell it and follow. If they find you, you won't survive."
The villagers didn't argue.
They weren't strangers to this kind of grim work. They butchered the horse with practiced hands, cutting it into manageable portions, They cleaned the bones, then burned them down in the fire until they could be crushed and discarded through a nearby ice hole.
No trace. No proof. No target.
…
As Jimmy walked away, he glanced back at the village.
Now he understood why Ramsay terrorized the smallfolk around Winterfell.
These weren't timid peasants.
They did not recognize Bolton riders as their rightful masters. To them, there was only one true lord of Winterfell.
Stark.
A boy-king's decree? Madness.
Did Ramsay think flayed skins would frighten Northern farmers into obedience?
They skinned their own game, too. They knew the work. They knew the smell.
All it took was a small group of Dreadfort riders riding out alone, and they risked an ambush. For a time, Ramsay's men didn't even dare walk the darker alleys at night.
…
Jimmy unrolled his map and studied it.
The new lands' forests lay ahead. The Shadow Tower. The Gorge. Bay of Ice. Sea Dragon Point.
Sea Dragon Point was sparse and wild. Endless pine, little human presence, and more than a hundred hidden caves tucked into the rock.
Bears might be sleeping there. Wildcats might stalk the ridges.
Jimmy didn't care.
"Horus," he said, folding the map, "we split up."
"You find Rickon. While you're at it, pick a place and start improving the shelter. Clear out any wolves, bears, or wildcats in the area."
"If I'm guessing right, they'll be somewhere near the Wall. Search hard. When you find Rickon, grab him and bring him to me."
Horus dipped his head.
"Understood."
Horus set Jimmy down at Sea Dragon Point, circled once overhead, then climbed back into the gray northern sky.
Jimmy rolled his shoulders.
"Time to get to work."
He strode straight into the rocky caverns that riddled the coastline.
…
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The dull echo of stone being struck carried through the cave.
Rickon froze.
Behind him, Osha gripped a rough wooden staff, though it did nothing to steady her nerves. Shaggydog bared his teeth, a low growl rumbling in his throat, tail tucked but body tense.
The great talking eagle outside was beyond them. Shaggydog would fight if he had to but there was no mistaking it.
He would lose.
Rickon knelt and wrapped his arms around the direwolf's thick neck, whispering reassurances. The eagle had not harmed them, If it had meant to, they would already be dead.
The Umbers' escort had lasted only seconds once the eagle descended from the sky.
Rickon still did not understand why House Umber his father's bannermen had chosen to send him toward Winterfell. Winterfell now belonged to Ramsay.
If he had reached it, survival would have been unlikely.
Instead, he and Shaggydog had been plucked from the road and carried here.
The eagle had told them someone wished to see him.
Osha quietly cut the ropes from her wrists and nudged Rickon forward.
They stepped deeper into the cave.
…
"Rickon, right?"
The voice was calm.
"And that's Shaggydog, six pups in the litter, wasn't it? Not many left now."
Jimmy crouched, studying the direwolf with casual interest.
"Lady was executed. Nymeria ran free. Grey Wind died at the Twins. Summer went beyond the Wall and likely won't return. That leaves Shaggydog and Ghost."
Before Shaggydog could lunge, Jimmy caught his muzzle in one hand and pressed him gently but firmly to the ground.
The direwolf strained—then stilled, pinned as effortlessly as a hatchling.
"What do you want?" Rickon demanded.
"Me?" Jimmy smiled faintly. "I'm the one who came to save you. I gave someone my word."
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small necklace, holding it out.
Rickon's eyes widened.
"My mother sent you?"
"That she did."
Jimmy stood and released Shaggydog.
"Come on. You're my guests tonight. Work can wait."
He glanced toward the cave mouth.
"I'll bring others here in time. Until then, be cautious. You know where you are?"
"Sea Dragon Point. Forests everywhere. Shadowcats. Wolves. Bears."
Osha spoke hesitantly. "My lord… could you let the wolf go?"
Jimmy blinked. "Ah. Right. Rickon, can you calm him?"
Rickon nodded.
Jimmy released Shaggydog fully. The direwolf immediately pressed against Rickon's side, and after a few murmured words, the growling faded.
A gust of wind stirred the air as Horus landed lightly on Jimmy's shoulder.
Shaggydog bristled again before settling.
…
Jimmy led them deeper into another chamber and pushed open a heavy wooden door.
Inside, hides and meat were stacked in neat rows along the stone walls.
"Didn't have much time to cure the pelts properly," Jimmy said. "Osha, right? If you have the skill, help me treat them. Sea Dragon Point gets colder than it looks."
"Yes… my lord," Osha replied.
She stared at the piles.
Shadowcats. Snow bears. Wolves.
Each one died from a single crushing blow to the skull.
If she wasn't mistaken, whatever killed them had done so with something heavy.
A hammer, perhaps.
She swallowed.
Whatever else this man was savior, madman, mystery he was no ordinary wanderer.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!