Chapter 34 - Return to Winterfell.
Chapter 34 - Return to Winterfell.
[Chapter Size: 2800 Words.]
---------------------------------------
Third Person POV
North, 100 AC.
---------------------------------------
The journey to Winterfell went smoothly.
On that last day there, they stayed a few more hours at the farm while Jon needed to say goodbye to everyone.
He had already made the most of his time with his family over the last few days, as well as with the people from the village, but he needed to return so as not to offend Lord Stark even more in front of the other lords of the North.
At least, during that trip, he managed to accomplish some important things.
One was saving his father.
Another was getting rid of that monstrous bear, which was no longer a threat to the people of the forest, the villages, or the hunters who lived along the edges of the Wolfswood.
Jon had managed to preserve the creature's stuffed head.
After Owen removed the eyes that had already been destroyed during the fight, they replaced them with black stones. They also removed all the fat, flesh, tongue, and internal remains, applying a special oil over the entire skin to preserve it.
There was no guarantee that it would last forever, but with the oil being reapplied and the necessary maintenance done once a week, the head would slowly petrify over time, with no further risk of decomposition.
Curiously, Jon knew that taxidermy technique because of his dreams. He had already seen that Jon Arctic making the mixture for that oil.
There were two ways to stuff an animal. One involved placing the body inside a layer of transparent crystallized substance, almost like a capsule, but that would require materials impossible to find there.
So Jon chose the other technique.
He used an oil made from animal fat mixed with herbs he had access to, asking Owen to carefully spread it across the entire head. It was necessary to remove all the flesh, fat, tongue, and internal organic parts. Otherwise, the process would not work.
In the end, only the skin, bones, and teeth remained.
In a way, it was a gift any lord would be happy to display on a wall.
The return journey was peaceful.
Jon ended up being treated well by everyone along the way, while Mort Mormont himself trained with him every time they set up camp for the night, and Rodrik also joined them.
Rodrik was determined to pester Jon, always demanding to know how Jon defeated the bear, with the boy always replying that it was with a bow, a direwolf, and strategy, not with a sword. 1
Lord Reed, whom Jon had met at the farm, returned to his own home along with his men, heading south, while the rest of the group went to Winterfell.
Lyarra asked Jon for a favor, whether he could send a message to Lord Stark, since she saw how Jon was surrounded by his birds. He now had 3 of them, Biri, Snow, and Shadow. They were the eagle, the smaller owl, and the raven. Aside from those 3 birds, Jon only had Ghost as his bonded warg animal.
Jon asked Biri to deliver the letter, since the eagle already lived in Winterfell.
With that, she flew ahead along the path. Snow, who always followed her, could not keep up with his winged friend since he was still a fledgling bird, and stayed with Jon.
In any case, Jon was immersed in thoughts about the things that had happened. There was something else he had realized amid all that confusion when he saw the story of that giant bear.
There were other direwolves in the Wolfswood. Most likely some of them were Ghost's parents. Although most of the adult pack died to the giant bear, some survived and hid.
Most likely, they were in the deepest and unexplored regions of the Wolfswood.
Two days ago, Jon asked Ghost to enter the forest alone while the giant wolf searched everywhere he could to catch the scent of other giant wolves, but he only managed to smell the scent of normal wolves. Ghost remained gone for an entire day before returning.
He had not found clear traces of the giant wolves, which was no surprise since he had not even covered a fraction of that region. The Wolfswood stretched across entire regions... Ghost could spend moons just getting to know part of it. And no one could venture that deeply into it.
But that only increased Jon's interest. When he arrived at Winterfell, he intended to send the giant wolf once again to search the forest for an entire week, trying to find some scent or clue.
And if the trail was found... Jon would personally set out to explore the forest and try to find them.
Jon loved having Ghost by his side, but he could not help feeling some pity for the wolf for being the only one of his kind.
Ghost never seemed dissatisfied and treated Jon as his own pack, but Jon was certain he would be happier if there were other giant wolves with him.
Because of that, he was more determined than ever to find other giant wolves. 'Maybe even a mate...', Jon could not help but think.
The idea of direwolf pups seemed very interesting to Jon. He could not help but let out a small chuckle while looking at the campfire that night.
"What are you thinking about?" Lyarra's voice asking pulled him from his thoughts, while they sat beside each other in front of the campfire at the camp.
They were one night away from finally arriving at Winterfell.
"Just thinking about a few things," Jon said with a mischievous smile.
"I hope you are not thinking about running away again," she commented with a snort. "We will be in Winterfell tomorrow morning. Have you remembered your speech yet?"
"Don't make me say that, grandma..." Jon groaned.
"Well, we shall see what my mood is like tomorrow. Maybe I can convince my son to accept your excuses more easily..." she said.
Jon sighed. Lyarra originally wanted him to create a poem about his fight against the bear, but Jon completely refused. He felt far too embarrassed by the idea of having to sing something like that in Winterfell.
He sang about heroes, but he would never make a song about himself and sing it!
She merely laughed at his indignation, not seeming to care at all about how embarrassing that was for him!
Then they continued the night normally.
When they resumed traveling at dawn, they arrived at Wintertown in the middle of the morning and followed through the city directly toward the castle.
Some people looked at Jon and began whispering. Certainly the news that he had run away had already spread, but that was still not more important than the gossip from the Harvest Feast.
Of course... they still did not know that he had killed a monster in the Wolfswood. And Jon preferred for it to remain that way for now.
So he paid no attention to the stares while heading to the castle. He merely searched for his biological grandmother, but was unable to find the lilac eyes in the crowd.
Most of the lords had already left by that point. It had been more than six days since Jon left the Harvest Feast. It normally lasted an entire week, and the final banquet would happen that night, though nothing very official. A large portion of the lords were already returning to their own castles.
Lord Stark was waiting for them, and many people were present in the courtyard, even lords.
His eyes immediately fixed on the boy.
Lyra looked ready to jump with joy upon seeing Jon and even showed a huge smile.
Bennard was not there, which was no surprise.
Meanwhile, the other Starks and Benjen's wife waited for the group's return beside him. Rickon maintained his posture, and Walton Stark wore a smile.
The first to appear before the group, unsurprisingly, was Lyarra, with Rodrik coming right behind her and Mort greeting those present while beginning to whisper a few things to Benjen, making Lord Stark raise an eyebrow.
"Jon! You're back!" Lyra shouted, almost running toward him.
"Do not break decorum, Lyra," Benjen warned.
"But Jon—"
"Not yet, my girl. Jon has something to say, doesn't he, boy?" Lyarra spoke while everyone in the courtyard turned their attention toward him.
Jon could see the Manderlys there as well. The Mormonts were there, obviously, and also the Glovers, all still present at the castle.
Then he looked at his grandmother and sighed. She had managed to spare him from the embarrassing poem he would have had to make. But in exchange, she demanded that he apologize publicly to redeem himself.
"You have been busy these last few days, boy." Lord Stark was the one who broke the silence, trying to ease the tension.
Jon lowered his head, somewhat embarrassed, but soon looked at him with a gleam of determination in those bright green eyes. "Lord Stark, I apologize for leaving. I know I dishonored House Stark, and I will accept any punishment... but I would like to say in advance that I brought a gift to try to make up for the problems I caused," he said in a firm tone, making Lord Stark raise an eyebrow, glimpsing for a moment something far greater than a boy of 10 name days.
Then some of the men who had accompanied them to the castle stepped forward carrying a large sack and placed it at Jon's feet. There was something inside it.
"When we found the boy, we realized Jon had become an excellent hunter." Lyarra praised him while her comment was heard by everyone in the courtyard with some amusement. "Go ahead, Jon. Show them." She looked at him, drawing even more confused stares.
Jon nodded and began removing the sack from whatever was inside it. He opened it and let the cloth fall to the side, finally revealing the contents.
Then the gigantic bear's head appeared before everyone.
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Lord Stark immediately raised his eyebrows.
Alys placed a hand over her mouth.
Rickon froze in place.
Walton opened his mouth like a fish.
Lyra took a step back.
Shock spread among everyone present.
"Jon... what is this? This bear..." Lord Stark stepped forward, completely breaking decorum as he approached the creature to examine it.
"Who killed this?" he immediately asked in a serious tone. But what he truly meant was, 'how many did it take to kill this thing?'
Clearly, it had not even crossed his mind that Jon had actually done that.
"It was him," Mort answered calmly. "The boy killed the creature. Alone."
"Mother... is that true?" He did not want to doubt his vassal, who was his uncle on his mother's side, but he still had to ask.
"It is true. My brother speaks the truth, and we understand your doubts, son. Why not ask Jon himself?" Lyarra retorted.
Lord Stark stared at Jon.
Jon nodded first. "I went into the forest to hunt it after I found my father on the verge of death. I was angry," Jon said.
Lord Stark could feel there was not a single lie in those words.
He remained silent for a few seconds. "We are going to have to talk about this, boy. There is no doubt this is the same bear that attacked us years ago," he said.
He might have doubted it, but the creature's head was right in front of him. What more proof could there be?
"This is my gift, Lord Stark. If a certain type of oil I created is applied correctly, the head will petrify in one or two years. It is a gift I have to try to apologize for running away from Winterfell," Jon explained.
Lord Stark continued staring at the boy before finally nodding. He raised his arm and touched the boy's shoulder, seeming satisfied. "Very well... we will have much to discuss."
He truly did not know what to say in the face of that, but he would learn the truth in a private conversation with the boy.
At the same time, he felt proud that the boy was trying to make up for his rebellious behavior from 6 days ago. So all of this was a public display to ease the situation.
Although Jon had already planned to give the head to Lord Stark, the demonstration in the courtyard had been one of Lyarra's demands.
"Take this inside." Lord Stark ordered while his men moved to place it somewhere so he could decide later what to do with the bear's head. It certainly was a good trophy.
"Now come, Jon. Everyone was quite worried about you. By the way, you said your father was dying, but my mother, despite hiding many of the details..." He began, giving his mother a somewhat dissatisfied look, which she did not care about at all. "You said your father was dying, but my mother informed us that everyone was fine."
"He managed to survive, Lord Stark. When I arrived at the farm, he was in critical condition. However, they managed to stop the infections and the hemorrhaging. My father would have lost his arm if the bear's bite had worsened his wound," Jon explained.
"I see..." Lord Stark asked for no more details; they would talk in the solar.
"Hello, boy. You seem to have gotten yourself into trouble," Alys commented.
"Hello, Lady Stark. I apologize for running away and worrying all of you."
"It's alright. You're here with us again, that's all that matters," she replied with a calm smile.
Jon walked over to Rickon. "So, I demand to know how you managed to kill that bear! Explain it to me quickly!"
"Rickon, stop being so demanding. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it. First, I must give attention to your father, as he requested," Jon rolled his eyes.
Rickon clicked his tongue. "I want all the details."
Then came Lyra, who jumped into his arms.
"You faced that bear alone?" she exclaimed, with admiration, fear, and even excitement.
"I do not recommend it," Jon simply said.
She pouted.
"I don't believe that story," Walton spoke before Jon could even try to confirm it.
"Then don't believe it," Jon mocked.
"Arrogant brat," Walton muttered.
Jon merely rolled his eyes and followed Stark, who asked him to accompany him to the solar.
"Hey, tell us about what happened in the South!" He had not even taken a step before the Manderly twins demanded it along the way.
"Alright, I'll tell you after I settle things with Lord Stark in the solar," Jon said.
The entire courtyard, despite not interacting, looked at the boy full of questions and curiosity. They saw it as something incredible, since they believed Lyarra Stark's words, but to Jon, he had merely used a bow and mobility. It was not all that impressive, it had only required strategy.
Of course, using his skills with the bow, and also having a view from the sky through Shadow, had been necessary, but even so...
In any case, he followed them to the solar. Benjen and Lyarra Stark were already there with him.
"Well, let us begin. I believe Jon can tell my son his story from the night he simply ran away after the banquet," Lyarra requested.
Jon had to explain everything to them until he finished. Lord Stark stared at him at the end without knowing what to say about the boy.
"So, son, what did you think?" his mother asked, while Jon was already closing the door to the solar and running off to find Rickon and the others, who were already pestering Ghost in the courtyard, asking the wolf questions while he merely watched them in silence.
Lord Stark simply sighed. He did not refrain from drinking some wine.
"Well, they certainly will talk about this. Not only in the North," he murmured.
"I know, but the boy did something heroic. He deserves attention."
"I know, but too much attention is bad for a boy... like him. He does not have a powerful foundation behind him like a name, mother," Benjen said.
"He has House Stark. Did we not commit ourselves to protecting the boy when you brought him as your ward?"
"Right. Now let us talk about this oil that can petrify stuffed animal heads." He did not know if it would work as the boy claimed, but it had certainly caught his attention.
"Would you believe me if I said the boy invented it?" Lyarra spoke with a silly smile.
Lord Stark merely sighed upon hearing that.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝
I deeply appreciate your support since the beginning of this exciting journey!
🌟 RaccoonLeague | Patreon🌟
Visit our Patreon for more: https://www.patreon.com/RaccoonLeague
Extra Content Already Available:
🏴☠️ One Piece - I Am a Different Luffy!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: DragonBorn! 30 extra chapters!
👑 HOTD: Jon Arctic! 30 extra chapters!
🌀 Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI!: 30 extra chapters!
🗡️ The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! 30 extra chapters!
⚡HP - Jon Arctic as Severus Snape! 30 extra chapters!
⚡ Harry Potter - Shadow Monarch! Finished! [100%]
⚡Danmachi – The Alchemist! [Coming Soon.]
Visit our Patreon for more!!
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆