Chapter 161: Ravens from Other Lords
Last Hearth
POV of Domeric Bolton
They spent the next few days in Last Hearth, removing any weak link in the additional host they had gained for their journey North of the Wall.
By the time Domeric's men had culled the weak, 200 of the 700 men had been removed, and the Umber/Karstark host was only 500 strong. Half as many men as he has, but none of them with half as much training as his own men.
He just hoped that they wouldn't be too much of a burden in this expedition.
Lord Greatjon Umber himself showed an interest in going up North and bashing some wilding skulls. A statement that earned him a secret glare from Ygritte, as well as from all the Free Folk in his army.
But he had already explained the hatred that the Umbers held for the Free Folk and had warned them from acting against their host.
Especially because they were under the guest right, and breaking the guest right would destroy his reputation in the North.
Lord Greatjon Umber also seemed rather keen on getting him drunk and proving once and for all that the Umbers were better than the Boltons at something.
Unfortunately for them, he cheated, transfiguring the ale into water before it could enter his mouth.
Of course, the water would turn back into ale sooner or later, so he would have to remove it from his system to make sure that he doesn't get drunk and use Fiendfyre to burn down the whole castle.
Lord Greatjon Umber looked at him with grudging respect when he defeated most of the Umber men down the table before he, too, lost consciousness and fell out of his chair.
After that, he went back to his room, where he cast a muggle-repelling spell, after which he went back to his ritual room and went about removing the remaining magical residual from his body.
On the second day in the Last Heart, Lyra called him via Communication Mirror and informed him that a small army of 500 men had left Winterfell in the morning with Robb Stark and Jon Snow at the head, along with Ser Rodrick Cassel as their adviser.
He almost cursed when he heard that bit of news.
Despite what he said earlier, he was sure that if the Umber and Karstark heirs died, he would definitely bear the brunt of the blame.
But getting blamed by House Karstark and House Umber was something he could deal with.
The death of the heir of House Stark, on the other hand, would cause a whole different level of problem.
He would need to scout ahead in advance with the Valyrian Glass Candle and ensure that they don't encounter the Thenns, who have finally begun migrating with their 20,000 people. Or Weeper, who had an army of over 13,000 people by this point.
If even only 2/3rd of the people in their tribes could fight, they would still outnumber this host many times over.
Yup. This expedition just got a whole lot more complicated.
He, Lord Greatjon Umber, Smalljon Umber, Harrion Karstark, and a few other relatives went out to hunt for the rest of the day.
He could have easily used magic to win some bigger games, but he knew that if he defeated the others in everything, then that would only breed resentment, so he told them that he was not much of an archer, allowing them to get a small win over him and be smug about it.
The next day, they received a raven from Winterfell informing Lord Greatjon that Robb Stark was also leading a host of 500 men and would be joining them in the expedition.
Lord Greatjon informed him about this, and they both decided that they would wait for Robb Stark to catch up to them before moving on their journey to the Wall.
What he did not expect was that the next day, Lord Greatjon received a few more ravens from various other lords informing him that the Dacey Mormont, Cley Cerwyn, Larence Snow, Galbart Glover, Benfred Tallhart, and a few other heirs from some smaller houses would join them in Last Hearth with their own smaller hosts.
Even the reclusive Lord Howland Reed had sent his son and daughter, Jojen and Meera Reed, with 20 men for this expedition.
Why?
He had no idea.
Did these people think that the land beyond the Wall was some kind of retreat where he went to enjoy his holidays?
All in all, the addition of all the heirs and their own hosts would increase the number of men in the expedition army from the initial 1000 men to about 3000 men, and the time required to allow the other heirs and their hosts to join them would go up from the initial 10 days to a whole month.
He knew that Last Hearth didn't have the resources to feed such a large host for so long, so he talked with Lord Greatjon Umber and decided to share the expenses since he was the leader of this expedition, regardless.
Unfortunately, Lord Greatjon Umber was as prideful as always and declined his offer, though he did seem grateful for it and seemed to hold him in higher regard after that offer.
Regardless, he knew that to feed so many additional men, he would have to make some changes in his supply lines. Not only that, he would also have to prepare for warm clothes and proper living tents for the men who are unprepared for the cold up in the land beyond the Wall.
This whole expedition was turning out to be a big headache.
On the plus side, though, when he does reveal the truth about the White Walkers, all the future heirs of their houses will be there to witness it.
At least then the lords in the North would be forced to acknowledge the White Walkers' return. And for Domeric, that meant the first phase of his plan had succeeded.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.162: Bran the Builder
Ch.163: The Reason for the Expedition