Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his head. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the stairs. As he walked the stairs down, with every step he felt more unsure, more scared. Finally the outdoors of the tower were in front of him. He closed his eyes, tried to think about what Jolly Jack would do, what Keran would do, what Ramsay Derran would do. And then he stepped forward and opened the doors. The first thing he saw was Eren Meratus sitting at the stairs, cleaning up his sword. Oh, shit.
“So the boy has woken up, I see.” Eren said - his lips formed a smile, but his eyes were not smiling. “Your brothers surely made this night interesting.” Eren nodded to the muddy ground as he spoke. And then Robett saw it - a body, lying on the ground with empty eyes staring at the darkness. Bryan.
“Did you? Why?” Robett spoke in shock, but Eren just chuckled at him. What is going on here?
“This idiot tried to kill me. Anyway, go boy, go see what else has happened in this castle while you slept, you’ll be surprised.” Eren’s stare was as intimidating as always, but apparently he really meant that Robett could go. “I’ll try to get some sleep myself. Try not to die, boy.” With these words Eren walked into the King’s Tower, leaving Robett alone in the rain.
As Robett walked to the yard he saw Ramsay sitting silently, leaning to one of the pillars of the platform. Robett ran to the ranger who was clearly in pain.
“Robett…” Ramsay said with his raspy voice as he noticed him coming.
“Ramsay! Are you okay? What is going on here?” Robett could see that Ramsay was injured, he was bleeding from his right leg - there had clearly been some kind of fight.
“Look at there.” Ramsay said with a broken tone and pointed to a couple of bodies near the door of the common hall. “I don’t know how you didn’t hear the screaming, but there was a lot of fighting here – a lot of death. There are more bodies on the Flint Barracks… They murdered many on their sleep. Those bastards… There were at least Devyn, Marsh, Dickon, Bryan, Mul… I think Griff was with them too… And many others.”
“So where is everyone now?” Robett asked quietly - he didn’t know how to react. The past days he had the feeling that something would happen, Devyn and Dickon had even said it, but this still shocked him.
“Many of them escaped - to south. Though I heard someone even ran to the north, from the tunnel… Anyway, Kip, Federico, Gareth and couple others took horses and rode after the deserters. I had to stay…” Anger could be seen in Ramsay’s red eyes when he said those last words. “But you don’t have to worry about me… Go to the maester… If he is still alive, he must send the word to Eastwatch and Shadow Tower… And the Starks.” Robett gulped and nodded to Ramsay.
Robett turned his look to the rookery and the quarters of the maester. His hands were shaking as he approached the door. He knocked. No one answered. Damn it. Robett opened the door, and what he saw almost made him vomit. There were four bodies on the floor. Maester Jon had been stabbed several times to the guts. Dom’s throat was open. Small Marsh lied on the floor looking like his head would have been smashed several times with a hammer. And Cruz was leaning to the wall, body and face full of bruises. But he is alive.
“Cruz!” Robett yelled and kneeled next to him. The boy who looked like a girl turned his eyes to Robett, and he could see the tears falling down his cheeks.
“Weasel… You came to save me.” Cruz spoke with no power in his words. “But… I think it’s too late.” Cruz moved his hand and showed the stab wound on his right ribs. “I’m bleeding out.”
“Who did this?” Robett asked, noticing that instead of fear he now felt anger - anger towards all these monsters and traitors.
“Devyn, Marsh… and Griff.” Cruz answered and coughed painfully. “They also killed the ravens.”
“What did they do to you?” Robett asked, shaking from anger. I will kill those bastards.
“You know what they did… And after they were done, they started to fight with each other… Griff smashed Marsh’s head open… And I just watched and cried.” Cruz’s face was full of grief and disgust. Robett took his hand, feeling the sweat and blood on it.
“You can survive, Cruz. I’ll help you.” Robett didn’t know if he believed it himself, but he had to say it, he had to help. What can I do?
“No, Robett. You can’t help, it’s over… Just give me the dagger… Marsh had a dagger… I’ll finish this myself.” Robett looked at Cruz in shock as he said these words. He could have never thought he would hear Cruz say something like that. No, I can’t.
“I can’t…”
“DO IT!” Robett had never heard Cruz scream like that, it left no room for him to answer. “And then leave… Go to Eastwatch, the First Steward is there… Or Shadow Tower… I've heard there are good rangers at Shadow Tower.” As Robett took the dagger into his hands he looked Cruz into the eyes – beautiful golden eyes that were crying. He had to suppress himself from crying as he handed the dagger to Cruz. Cruz took the dagger and for a while he just held it quietly, for a while Robett hoped he wouldn’t do it.
“Farewell, Weasel – You were a good friend.” After those quiet and tender words Cruz swiftly cut his own throat, and Robett couldn’t stop his tears anymore. He stood there looking at the blood draining to the floor, and wiped off his tears. After a moment he took the dagger from the lifeless and bloody hand of Cruz, gazing at the red blade.
Robett turned his look to the body of Maester Jon – a loved and happy old man who had never harmed anyone. And there he was, with more than ten stabs in his stomach. He deserved better. The rage boiled inside Robett. He tightened his grip to the dagger. I’m going to kill them, all of them.
[Go to Eastwatch][Go to Shadow Tower][Go after the deserters]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his h… moreead. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the sta… [view original content]
Yeah, I've been meaning to draw Robett for some time, but I've always skipped it to draw someone else So it absolutely is time to draw him since all the other major PoVs have been drawn.
And I'll absolutely draw Drymyr too, after he has been introduced.
Yeah, I've been meaning to draw Robett for some time, but I've always skipped it to draw someone else So it absolutely is time to draw him … moresince all the other major PoVs have been drawn.
And I'll absolutely draw Drymyr too, after he has been introduced.
I assume everyone has voted, so... Vote closed! And Robett will head to Shadow Tower.
This choice isn't actually as important as it could have been, because of certain earlier choice. I can also tell that if Robett wouldn't have been dragged into King's Tower by Eren (= if he would have waked up the guard) he would have witnessed some of this chaos first-hand and he would have also had a chance to save Cruz. That also would've affected to Robett's character development since instead of feeling anger and bitterness he would have felt a bit proud for saving Cruz, of course there would have also been some trauma from seeing the massacre with his own eyes.
The night was dark and rainy. Rumak could feel the rain bashing against his face as the army stood, ready to rush into the darkness. Raymun Redbeard walked in front of the first line. Rumak felt his thirst for blood, his heart was beating wildly, and he tightened his grip to the sword.
“Hear me, brothers!” King Raymun screamed in the rain. Raymun was leading the Hornfoot army, and Harron had the Nightrunners. Raymun would have given the Nightrunners to Rumak, but he preferred to march to battle beside his king. “This is a dark night, a night full of blood and death!” The king continued. “Magnar Krygorn marches against us, thousands of Thenns with him. Thenns are fierce! They are warriors! Warriors who are here to bring us down! And only one thing is for us to do so we can rise from this night as winners! WE MUST FIGHT! WE MUST KILL! WE MUST FUCKING DESTROY THEM!” The men and women around Rumak started to scream wildly, and he joined them.
“KING! KING! KING! KING! KING! KING!”
“TO WAR!” Raymun screamed and pointed his sword to the darkness of the forest and so the army started running to the battle. And soon the war cries of the Thenns could be heard from the darkness. I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them.
Now Rumak could already see the first wave of the enemies running against them, only couple seconds and the bloodshed would start. I’ll kill them. The last thing that flashed in Rumak’s mind, before he swinged his sword against the enemy, was Maya.
“AARGH!” The first one fell down to the feet of Rumak as he smashed him on the side, he parried an attack from the next one, moved forward, beat another one down, penetrated the next one. Rumak was in the heat of the battle tearing down anyone who dared to step in his way. He felt the thirst of blood, he was enjoying the killing, and man after another was put down by him. A wolf tried to attack Rumak from the left side, but he split the beast’s skull open with his sword. I am the real beast here!
Rumak stopped a swing of an axe with his sword and kicked the Thenn who held it to the stomach, Rumak started to feel invincible. He cut the throat of the man in front of him, nothing could stop him… Then he felt something striking in his back. It didn’t cut through the leather, but Rumak still stumbled to the ground. As he hit the ground a flash of pain went through him. Fuck!
Rumak turned on his back, and what he saw was a dead body of a Thenn falling towards him. The heavy body fell right on him. For couple seconds Rumak couldn’t do anything – he just coughed and tried to catch his breath. As Rumak finally tried to push the body away he felt something hitting his head and his sight blurred. He clenched his fists, trying to fight against the pain, but it was too much.
Rumak heard the sound of the battle around him, but he didn’t see anything. His head was in pain and it was hard to think clearly. Get… Up… Keep fighting… You have to… For the King. The noise of the battle seemed to fall away from Rumak.
His eyes were closed, he couldn’t open them. I am… A warrior… I must keep fighting. Rumak opened his eyes and he saw the dark sky above him. He pushed himself to sit up, and saw that their army had pushed the Thenns further away. Rumak stood up, feeling pain everywhere. The ground was full of dead bodies of humans and animals. Men and women marched past him, towards the battle.
“To the battle, my brother! We are beating the Thenns back to where they came from!” A Hornfoot man yelled to Rumak as he walked past him. Rumak looked at the battle that was far away in the dark forest, more than two hundred feet away from him now, and it seemed like the Thenns were falling back all the time. Why? This is too easy, fierce Thenns shouldn’t be running away like this. Rumak’s whole body was in pain, including his head, but he decided to march back to the battle – it was his duty.
If just a while ago Rumak had felt himself invincible, now he felt weak. He was unsure with his steps, his head was aching, and he could see the sword shaking in his hand. He was gritting his teeth, forcing himself to move.
As Rumak was getting closer to the fighting he saw something that made his heart beat so wildly it almost put him down on his knees. Another wave of the Thenn forces was approaching the battle from the left. No, this isn’t good.
Rumak saw how the Thenn forces hit their army from the side, starting to kill everyone on their way. He had a hard time keeping himself standing, the pain was so great. But his brothers and his King were in danger, he shouldn’t run away. But can I even help them in this state?
[Run to the battle][Go away and hide]
-
PS. Sorry for the wait that was little longer than usually, it was mostly because I was away from home two days. This isn't very long part, but there will be two more of this battle.
This will probably send him to his death but [Run to the battle]
Despite this being short with the lack of time you had to write it, this is still very good and it does not feel like the odds lie in anyone's favor at the moment. Good work with this part!
Rumak
The night was dark and rainy. Rumak could feel the rain bashing against his face as the army stood, ready to rush into the darkness… more. Raymun Redbeard walked in front of the first line. Rumak felt his thirst for blood, his heart was beating wildly, and he tightened his grip to the sword.
“Hear me, brothers!” King Raymun screamed in the rain. Raymun was leading the Hornfoot army, and Harron had the Nightrunners. Raymun would have given the Nightrunners to Rumak, but he preferred to march to battle beside his king. “This is a dark night, a night full of blood and death!” The king continued. “Magnar Krygorn marches against us, thousands of Thenns with him. Thenns are fierce! They are warriors! Warriors who are here to bring us down! And only one thing is for us to do so we can rise from this night as winners! WE MUST FIGHT! WE MUST KILL! WE MUST FUCKING DESTROY THEM!” The men and women around Rumak started to scream wildly, and he join… [view original content]
Rumak
The night was dark and rainy. Rumak could feel the rain bashing against his face as the army stood, ready to rush into the darkness… more. Raymun Redbeard walked in front of the first line. Rumak felt his thirst for blood, his heart was beating wildly, and he tightened his grip to the sword.
“Hear me, brothers!” King Raymun screamed in the rain. Raymun was leading the Hornfoot army, and Harron had the Nightrunners. Raymun would have given the Nightrunners to Rumak, but he preferred to march to battle beside his king. “This is a dark night, a night full of blood and death!” The king continued. “Magnar Krygorn marches against us, thousands of Thenns with him. Thenns are fierce! They are warriors! Warriors who are here to bring us down! And only one thing is for us to do so we can rise from this night as winners! WE MUST FIGHT! WE MUST KILL! WE MUST FUCKING DESTROY THEM!” The men and women around Rumak started to scream wildly, and he join… [view original content]
Rumak
The night was dark and rainy. Rumak could feel the rain bashing against his face as the army stood, ready to rush into the darkness… more. Raymun Redbeard walked in front of the first line. Rumak felt his thirst for blood, his heart was beating wildly, and he tightened his grip to the sword.
“Hear me, brothers!” King Raymun screamed in the rain. Raymun was leading the Hornfoot army, and Harron had the Nightrunners. Raymun would have given the Nightrunners to Rumak, but he preferred to march to battle beside his king. “This is a dark night, a night full of blood and death!” The king continued. “Magnar Krygorn marches against us, thousands of Thenns with him. Thenns are fierce! They are warriors! Warriors who are here to bring us down! And only one thing is for us to do so we can rise from this night as winners! WE MUST FIGHT! WE MUST KILL! WE MUST FUCKING DESTROY THEM!” The men and women around Rumak started to scream wildly, and he join… [view original content]
Rumak
The night was dark and rainy. Rumak could feel the rain bashing against his face as the army stood, ready to rush into the darkness… more. Raymun Redbeard walked in front of the first line. Rumak felt his thirst for blood, his heart was beating wildly, and he tightened his grip to the sword.
“Hear me, brothers!” King Raymun screamed in the rain. Raymun was leading the Hornfoot army, and Harron had the Nightrunners. Raymun would have given the Nightrunners to Rumak, but he preferred to march to battle beside his king. “This is a dark night, a night full of blood and death!” The king continued. “Magnar Krygorn marches against us, thousands of Thenns with him. Thenns are fierce! They are warriors! Warriors who are here to bring us down! And only one thing is for us to do so we can rise from this night as winners! WE MUST FIGHT! WE MUST KILL! WE MUST FUCKING DESTROY THEM!” The men and women around Rumak started to scream wildly, and he join… [view original content]
Rain bashed Skjorn’s face as he looked at Denyal Delen who stood next to him. The expression on the young man’s face showed that he was angry. Well, angry is better than scared.
“I can see the rage in your eyes, lad.” Skjorn said quietly. “Good. You’ll need it soon.” Denyal grunted something unintelligible, which made Skjorn raise his eyebrows. He shook his head subtly and turned to the army behind him. Hundreds of people stood there, waiting for his order. Skjorn let out a deep sigh.
Dogga walked to Skjorn, the night was dark but the eyes of this young Hornfoot man managed to be even darker.
“I have my men ready.” Dogga said with toneless words. “We’ll follow you.” Skjorn nodded, he knew that they had to move soon, or they would lose their opening to surprise the enemy. It’s time.
“Hear me!” Skjorn started. “Many good men will fall tonight, this war that was lit to flames by Raymun Redbeard will burn away much good! We can’t let this madman win! It is for us to stop him, follow me!” Skjorn heart was beating faster and faster, as he raised his sword towards the sky and turned around, leading the men towards the battle. He could hear battle cries screamed behind his back. He knew he could trust these men, they were eager to fight for their freedom.
The forces marched through the dark forest and soon they started to hear the sound of the battle. I hope we are not late. When the battlefield opened before Skjorn’s eyes he noticed that they were approaching the battle from behind. He could also see that the forces led by Alex Deepstone were already bashing against the army of Raymun Redbeard from the other side.
“Let’s go kill them!” Denyal screamed and was the first one to run towards the battle. Skjorn followed him quickly, and all the five hundred men behind him. As they got closer the enemy turned against them, screaming and shaking their weapons. An arrow flew right past Skjorn and he could hear the painful scream of the man behind him. That was close.
As they bashed against the enemy Skjorn managed to tackle the man in front of him to the ground, but at the same time he felt something hitting him behind the knee. He fought the pain out of his mind, swinging his sword against the enemy. Skjorn slit the throat of a big man in front of him, but when he turned around a Hornfoot woman with a hatchet was so close to him he had no time to react. An arrow hit the woman to the head. Skjorn glanced to the direction where the arrow had flew from – Dogga, that bastard saved my life.
Skjorn had no time to think, he moved forward and slashed down another Hornfoot from behind. He could see that the forces of the enemy were in panic and chaos - they were under attack from three directions. Men and women were running away, trying to slip to the darkness, just to get an arrow or hatchet to their backs and fall down.
Skjorn saw bigger group of the enemies retreating to a direction that offered them change to run away from the Thenns.
“AFTER THEM! AFTER THEM!” Skjorn screamed and started to run towards the escaping group, with dozens of men following him through the field filled with bodies.
“SKJORN!” Denyal screamed behind him, making him stop. “Look there!” Denyal pointed at the direction they had come from earlier. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Nightrunners marched towards them. No, no, no!
“For fuck’s sake… FORM UP! FORM UP!” Skjorn commanded, trying to make his men get ready for the rush of the Nightrunners that was coming, but there was not enough time, they were in total disorder.
“King! King! King!” Skjorn could hear them scream as they came closer and closer. Skjorn had to decide now what he would do, it was the last change to try to retreat. Stand or run?
[Command the men to retreat][Command the men to form up]
-
P.S. the part is extremely short again, but basically this battle is just one part divided to three PoVs, if that makes sense
Skjorn
Rain bashed Skjorn’s face as he looked at Denyal Delen who stood next to him. The expression on the young man’s face showed that h… moree was angry. Well, angry is better than scared.
“I can see the rage in your eyes, lad.” Skjorn said quietly. “Good. You’ll need it soon.” Denyal grunted something unintelligible, which made Skjorn raise his eyebrows. He shook his head subtly and turned to the army behind him. Hundreds of people stood there, waiting for his order. Skjorn let out a deep sigh.
Dogga walked to Skjorn, the night was dark but the eyes of this young Hornfoot man managed to be even darker.
“I have my men ready.” Dogga said with toneless words. “We’ll follow you.” Skjorn nodded, he knew that they had to move soon, or they would lose their opening to surprise the enemy. It’s time.
“Hear me!” Skjorn started. “Many good men will fall tonight, this war that was lit to flames by Raymun Redbeard will burn away much good! We … [view original content]
Skjorn
Rain bashed Skjorn’s face as he looked at Denyal Delen who stood next to him. The expression on the young man’s face showed that h… moree was angry. Well, angry is better than scared.
“I can see the rage in your eyes, lad.” Skjorn said quietly. “Good. You’ll need it soon.” Denyal grunted something unintelligible, which made Skjorn raise his eyebrows. He shook his head subtly and turned to the army behind him. Hundreds of people stood there, waiting for his order. Skjorn let out a deep sigh.
Dogga walked to Skjorn, the night was dark but the eyes of this young Hornfoot man managed to be even darker.
“I have my men ready.” Dogga said with toneless words. “We’ll follow you.” Skjorn nodded, he knew that they had to move soon, or they would lose their opening to surprise the enemy. It’s time.
“Hear me!” Skjorn started. “Many good men will fall tonight, this war that was lit to flames by Raymun Redbeard will burn away much good! We … [view original content]
Skjorn
Rain bashed Skjorn’s face as he looked at Denyal Delen who stood next to him. The expression on the young man’s face showed that h… moree was angry. Well, angry is better than scared.
“I can see the rage in your eyes, lad.” Skjorn said quietly. “Good. You’ll need it soon.” Denyal grunted something unintelligible, which made Skjorn raise his eyebrows. He shook his head subtly and turned to the army behind him. Hundreds of people stood there, waiting for his order. Skjorn let out a deep sigh.
Dogga walked to Skjorn, the night was dark but the eyes of this young Hornfoot man managed to be even darker.
“I have my men ready.” Dogga said with toneless words. “We’ll follow you.” Skjorn nodded, he knew that they had to move soon, or they would lose their opening to surprise the enemy. It’s time.
“Hear me!” Skjorn started. “Many good men will fall tonight, this war that was lit to flames by Raymun Redbeard will burn away much good! We … [view original content]
Well, this one is more than clear... Vote closed! And Skjorn will command the men to retreat. You'll have to wait a while for the next one since I haven't had nearly any time for writing these past couple days, but don't worry, the story will continue.
Sorry for the extra long wait, my studies have started again so that's one reason Not the only reason though, because I've lately had more inspiration to my other story than to this particular part, which was a pain to write. Certainly not the best one, but it brings this chapter to its cliffhangerish end anyway And I certainly do have more inspiration for many things that will come in the next chapter
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Rambton
Seeing with one eye on a rainy night and running in an army of over thousand men and women was even harder than Rambton had expected. But he knew that Ariyana was running in front of him with her shadowcat, Skadol and Hrenhild were on the right to him, Lynessa was behind him, and on the left there was the only Thenn fighting for Raymun Redbeard – Barryn.
“King! King! King!” Rambton heard everyone chanting around him, but he didn’t join it. Raymun will never be a king to me. Instead Rambton clenched to his sword and tried to clear his mind, soon he would have to kill. Rambton could hear someone screaming something in the Old Tongue in the distant darkness.
“They are retreating!” Harron Crowsbane shouted. “Don’t let them escape! Hunt them down! Hunt them down!”
Through the darkness and rain Rambton ran forward and forward, waiting for the moment he would swing his sword against the enemy. It quickly became clear that the battlefield was in a total chaos, ground full of the dead and injured. Both armies were more or less shattered, only this force that Harron led was still in form, and apparently the smaller group of Thenns they were chasing.
They moved further and further to the dark forest and finally they caught up some Thenns. The forces split as a small part of them started to crush the ones they had caught and the other part kept chasing the rest of the Thenns with Harron leading them. Rambton ran behind Ariyana and saw as she and her beast killed several enemies who screamed in agony as they fell. One of the Thenns rushed towards Rambton, and just as he was about to strike the man with his sword the shadowcat jumped from the darkness, bringing down the Thenn. Soon Rambton got to swing his sword however, as the Thenns didn’t even try to get away anymore, but decided to fight to the end. Rambton was worried that he would be surprised because his sight was limited, but he seemed to be lucky, and even managed to kill couple of the Thenns.
After some time they had killed all of them, and Ariyana took the lead of this group of about hundred warriors.
“Listen up!” She shouted. “There are still Thenns out there, trying to get away! The more we let escape the easier it will be for them to regroup and rise against us later! Follow me!” And so they continued their marching deeper to the forest, trying to find the escaping enemies.
After several minutes of moving they started to hear war cries from the darkness. At first they thought they had found another group of Thenns, but then they could hear what they were chanting.
“Flesh! Flesh! Flesh!” Could be heard from the distance. What in the world?
“That’s not the Thenns, they wouldn’t chant in the Common Tongue.” Ariyana said quietly. Then she sat down, closed her eyes, and as she opened them there was something wrong with them. Her shadowcat ran to the darkness, towards the screams. She is warging. For a while they stood there silently. Finally Ariyana’s eyes turned back to normal, but her expression was worried.
“It’s the men of the Ice-Rivers.” She said with chilling tone. “They were tearing down a group of Thenns… And they’ll head here next.”
“How much of them was there?” Skadol asked anxiously. “Can we fight them?” Ariyana shook her head.
“No, too much. We must retreat back to Raymun and the Hornfoots… Hopefully Harron does the same.”
“Harron has enough forces to beat some fucking river cunts!” Hrenhild boasted, but Ariyana’s expression told she didn’t share the opinion. And so Ariyana made the command for them to retreat, and everyone obeyed. She really is made to lead.
As they moved hastily through the forest they bumped into another surprise. A relatively big group of Thenns – almost as big as theirs – was approaching from the left, screaming from the bottom of their lungs.
“Form up!” Ariyana screamed and they turned to face the Thenns. “Let’s kill those fuckers!” The Thenns rushed against them with the will and rage of beasts and Rambton saw men falling in front of him. As the first enemy rushed in front of him he managed to block his attack, but received a nasty punch that sent him to the ground. Rambton could already think it was his end, but Hrenhild saved him by attacking the Thenn from behind. As Rambton scrambled up he tried to give Hrenhild a thankful smile, but with a shocking flash an arrow landed straight to the face of the old woman and she fell silently to the ground. Fuck! Rambton couldn’t stop to think about it as he saw that their forces were being shattered, and so he tried to run away.
He didn’t know where he was running, but he ran as fast as he could. Then he saw Skadol, approaching him from the left. Rambton stopped.
“Skadol.” He said as calmly as he could, catching his breath, still hearing the screaming of the battle from behind. Skadol kept walking towards him, and at the last moment Rambton saw the rage in his eyes and pulled his sword to parry the swing of Skadol’s hatchet. Rambton managed to disarm Skadol and kicked him to the ground.
“You fucking, worthless, piece of shit.” Rambton hissed, and he could even see a hint of fear in the eyes of Skadol as he pointed his sword against him.
“Fuck you, crow! It’s your fault…” Skadol muttered and turned his gaze to the ground. Rambton knew what he had to do, and he wouldn’t hesitate. This savage doesn’t deserve a third chance. And so with a cold look in his eyes Rambton plunged his sword to the throat of the wildling. Skadol lied in the ground, blood running out of him, death in his eyes. Rambton let out a sigh.
The screams of the battle had moved further away. This is a chance for me to leave this mess behind. He thought about Ariyana. Is she even alive anymore? Rambton closed his eyes. There were two options – return to the battle or run away – to somewhere, Rambton had no idea where would he go. He put his hand where his right eye had been. Painful memories came back, he remembered Keran again, he remembered all the rangers of Castle Black and he remembered what he had before he was sent to the Wall. Can I rise back up from this shit?
Sorry for the extra long wait, my studies have started again so that's one reason Not the only reason though, because I've lately had more … moreinspiration to my other story than to this particular part, which was a pain to write. Certainly not the best one, but it brings this chapter to its cliffhangerish end anyway And I certainly do have more inspiration for many things that will come in the next chapter
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Rambton
Seeing with one eye on a rainy night and running in an army of over thousand men and women was even harder than Rambton had expected. But he knew that Ariyana was running in front of him with her shadowcat, Skadol and Hrenhild were on the right to him, Lynessa was behind him, and on the left there was the only Thenn fighting for Raymun Redbeard – Barryn.
“King! King! King!” Rambton heard everyone chanting around him, but he didn’t join it. Raymun will never be a king to me. Instead Rambton clenched to his sword and trie… [view original content]
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Robett
Robett could feel that he was waking up, but he was still asleep. He heard the words of the young boy talking about death in his head. He saw the slave screaming and dying, and he saw the cold eyes of Eren Meratus. Then he opened his eyes.
The room was dark and empty. Robett could see the dried blood on the floor, but the body was gone. He stood up and noticed the pain around his left eye. Eren knocked me out. He looked out of the window, but couldn’t see much – only rain and darkness. Robett walked to the door of the room, and for his surprise the door wasn’t locked. ‘When Eren Meratus asks you to do something, you do it.’ For a while Robett just held his hand on the handle, thinking about what would happen if he now left this room. ‘Let this be a lesson to us all.’
Robett closed his eyes and opened the door. The corridor was silent, and even darker than the room he came from. Robett gulped and started to move towards the stairs. As he walked the stairs down, with every step he felt more unsure, more scared. Finally the outdoors of the tower were in front of him. He closed his eyes, tried to think about what Jolly Jack would do, what Keran would do, what Ramsay Derran would do. And then he stepped forward and opened the doors. The first thing he saw was Eren Meratus sitting at the stairs, cleaning up his sword. Oh, shit.
“So the boy has woken up, I see.” Eren said - his lips formed a smile, but his eyes were not smiling. “Your brothers surely made this night interesting.” Eren nodded to the muddy ground as he spoke. And then Robett saw it - a body, lying on the ground with empty eyes staring at the darkness. Bryan.
“Did you? Why?” Robett spoke in shock, but Eren just chuckled at him. What is going on here?
“This idiot tried to kill me. Anyway, go boy, go see what else has happened in this castle while you slept, you’ll be surprised.” Eren’s stare was as intimidating as always, but apparently he really meant that Robett could go. “I’ll try to get some sleep myself. Try not to die, boy.” With these words Eren walked into the King’s Tower, leaving Robett alone in the rain.
As Robett walked to the yard he saw Ramsay sitting silently, leaning to one of the pillars of the platform. Robett ran to the ranger who was clearly in pain.
“Robett…” Ramsay said with his raspy voice as he noticed him coming.
“Ramsay! Are you okay? What is going on here?” Robett could see that Ramsay was injured, he was bleeding from his right leg - there had clearly been some kind of fight.
“Look at there.” Ramsay said with a broken tone and pointed to a couple of bodies near the door of the common hall. “I don’t know how you didn’t hear the screaming, but there was a lot of fighting here – a lot of death. There are more bodies on the Flint Barracks… They murdered many on their sleep. Those bastards… There were at least Devyn, Marsh, Dickon, Bryan, Mul… I think Griff was with them too… And many others.”
“So where is everyone now?” Robett asked quietly - he didn’t know how to react. The past days he had the feeling that something would happen, Devyn and Dickon had even said it, but this still shocked him.
“Many of them escaped - to south. Though I heard someone even ran to the north, from the tunnel… Anyway, Kip, Federico, Gareth and couple others took horses and rode after the deserters. I had to stay…” Anger could be seen in Ramsay’s red eyes when he said those last words. “But you don’t have to worry about me… Go to the maester… If he is still alive, he must send the word to Eastwatch and Shadow Tower… And the Starks.” Robett gulped and nodded to Ramsay.
Robett turned his look to the rookery and the quarters of the maester. His hands were shaking as he approached the door. He knocked. No one answered. Damn it. Robett opened the door, and what he saw almost made him vomit. There were four bodies on the floor. Maester Jon had been stabbed several times to the guts. Dom’s throat was open. Small Marsh lied on the floor looking like his head would have been smashed several times with a hammer. And Cruz was leaning to the wall, body and face full of bruises. But he is alive.
“Cruz!” Robett yelled and kneeled next to him. The boy who looked like a girl turned his eyes to Robett, and he could see the tears falling down his cheeks.
“Weasel… You came to save me.” Cruz spoke with no power in his words. “But… I think it’s too late.” Cruz moved his hand and showed the stab wound on his right ribs. “I’m bleeding out.”
“Who did this?” Robett asked, noticing that instead of fear he now felt anger - anger towards all these monsters and traitors.
“Devyn, Marsh… and Griff.” Cruz answered and coughed painfully. “They also killed the ravens.”
“What did they do to you?” Robett asked, shaking from anger. I will kill those bastards.
“You know what they did… And after they were done, they started to fight with each other… Griff smashed Marsh’s head open… And I just watched and cried.” Cruz’s face was full of grief and disgust. Robett took his hand, feeling the sweat and blood on it.
“You can survive, Cruz. I’ll help you.” Robett didn’t know if he believed it himself, but he had to say it, he had to help. What can I do?
“No, Robett. You can’t help, it’s over… Just give me the dagger… Marsh had a dagger… I’ll finish this myself.” Robett looked at Cruz in shock as he said these words. He could have never thought he would hear Cruz say something like that. No, I can’t.
“I can’t…”
“DO IT!” Robett had never heard Cruz scream like that, it left no room for him to answer. “And then leave… Go to Eastwatch, the First Steward is there… Or Shadow Tower… I've heard there are good rangers at Shadow Tower.” As Robett took the dagger into his hands he looked Cruz into the eyes – beautiful golden eyes that were crying. He had to suppress himself from crying as he handed the dagger to Cruz. Cruz took the dagger and for a while he just held it quietly, for a while Robett hoped he wouldn’t do it.
“Farewell, Weasel – You were a good friend.” After those quiet and tender words Cruz swiftly cut his own throat, and Robett couldn’t stop his tears anymore. He stood there looking at the blood draining to the floor, and wiped off his tears. After a moment he took the dagger from the lifeless and bloody hand of Cruz, gazing at the red blade.
Robett turned his look to the body of Maester Jon – a loved and happy old man who had never harmed anyone. And there he was, with more than ten stabs in his stomach. He deserved better. The rage boiled inside Robett. He tightened his grip to the dagger. I’m going to kill them, all of them.
[Go to Eastwatch] [Go to Shadow Tower] [Go after the deserters]
Nooooo Cruz
( This is a hard decision to make but I think I'll go with [Go to Eastwatch] Really looking forward to the next Robbet part :,)
[Go after the deserters]
Go to Shadow Tower
[Go to Shadow Tower] request help from the rangers.
Goddamit! RIP Cruz.
That escalated quickly [Go to Shadow Tower]
[Go to Shadow Tower]
[Go to Shadow Tower] Wow, i quite clearly saw they are planning something, but I never thought on something big like this.
[Go to Eastwatch]
[Go to Shadow Tower]
[Go to Shadow Tower]
[Go after the deserters]
Damn, I missed the last voting. Wouldn't have changed anything though, as I would have voted for the winning option either way.
And holy shit, that was an unexpected massacre. I never expected that many people to die at once
[Go after the deserters]
This sounds like the most interesting choice in my opinion.
Here is two more illustrations for you:
Ramsay Derran, one of the survivors of the massacre in Castle Black.
Alexia, Hornfoot girl who atm is travelling with Maya and Terry Snowflake (more about that in the next chapter).
Hey, just as seeing you are doing a lot of drawing, would I be able to make a request to ssee Robett and Drymyr? That'd be awesome! Thanks
-Stigz
Yeah, I've been meaning to draw Robett for some time, but I've always skipped it to draw someone else
So it absolutely is time to draw him since all the other major PoVs have been drawn.
And I'll absolutely draw Drymyr too, after he has been introduced.
Haha epic. Robett definitely needs to be drawn and I apologise for adding YET another to your waiting list. I suppose we are all greedy >:P
Anyway, very excited for when the next part comes out and best of luck with the drawing! XP
I assume everyone has voted, so... Vote closed! And Robett will head to Shadow Tower.
This choice isn't actually as important as it could have been, because of certain earlier choice. I can also tell that if Robett wouldn't have been dragged into King's Tower by Eren (= if he would have waked up the guard) he would have witnessed some of this chaos first-hand and he would have also had a chance to save Cruz. That also would've affected to Robett's character development since instead of feeling anger and bitterness he would have felt a bit proud for saving Cruz, of course there would have also been some trauma from seeing the massacre with his own eyes.
Rumak
The night was dark and rainy. Rumak could feel the rain bashing against his face as the army stood, ready to rush into the darkness. Raymun Redbeard walked in front of the first line. Rumak felt his thirst for blood, his heart was beating wildly, and he tightened his grip to the sword.
“Hear me, brothers!” King Raymun screamed in the rain. Raymun was leading the Hornfoot army, and Harron had the Nightrunners. Raymun would have given the Nightrunners to Rumak, but he preferred to march to battle beside his king. “This is a dark night, a night full of blood and death!” The king continued. “Magnar Krygorn marches against us, thousands of Thenns with him. Thenns are fierce! They are warriors! Warriors who are here to bring us down! And only one thing is for us to do so we can rise from this night as winners! WE MUST FIGHT! WE MUST KILL! WE MUST FUCKING DESTROY THEM!” The men and women around Rumak started to scream wildly, and he joined them.
“KING! KING! KING! KING! KING! KING!”
“TO WAR!” Raymun screamed and pointed his sword to the darkness of the forest and so the army started running to the battle. And soon the war cries of the Thenns could be heard from the darkness. I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them.
Now Rumak could already see the first wave of the enemies running against them, only couple seconds and the bloodshed would start. I’ll kill them. The last thing that flashed in Rumak’s mind, before he swinged his sword against the enemy, was Maya.
“AARGH!” The first one fell down to the feet of Rumak as he smashed him on the side, he parried an attack from the next one, moved forward, beat another one down, penetrated the next one. Rumak was in the heat of the battle tearing down anyone who dared to step in his way. He felt the thirst of blood, he was enjoying the killing, and man after another was put down by him. A wolf tried to attack Rumak from the left side, but he split the beast’s skull open with his sword. I am the real beast here!
Rumak stopped a swing of an axe with his sword and kicked the Thenn who held it to the stomach, Rumak started to feel invincible. He cut the throat of the man in front of him, nothing could stop him… Then he felt something striking in his back. It didn’t cut through the leather, but Rumak still stumbled to the ground. As he hit the ground a flash of pain went through him. Fuck!
Rumak turned on his back, and what he saw was a dead body of a Thenn falling towards him. The heavy body fell right on him. For couple seconds Rumak couldn’t do anything – he just coughed and tried to catch his breath. As Rumak finally tried to push the body away he felt something hitting his head and his sight blurred. He clenched his fists, trying to fight against the pain, but it was too much.
Rumak heard the sound of the battle around him, but he didn’t see anything. His head was in pain and it was hard to think clearly. Get… Up… Keep fighting… You have to… For the King. The noise of the battle seemed to fall away from Rumak.
His eyes were closed, he couldn’t open them. I am… A warrior… I must keep fighting. Rumak opened his eyes and he saw the dark sky above him. He pushed himself to sit up, and saw that their army had pushed the Thenns further away. Rumak stood up, feeling pain everywhere. The ground was full of dead bodies of humans and animals. Men and women marched past him, towards the battle.
“To the battle, my brother! We are beating the Thenns back to where they came from!” A Hornfoot man yelled to Rumak as he walked past him. Rumak looked at the battle that was far away in the dark forest, more than two hundred feet away from him now, and it seemed like the Thenns were falling back all the time. Why? This is too easy, fierce Thenns shouldn’t be running away like this. Rumak’s whole body was in pain, including his head, but he decided to march back to the battle – it was his duty.
If just a while ago Rumak had felt himself invincible, now he felt weak. He was unsure with his steps, his head was aching, and he could see the sword shaking in his hand. He was gritting his teeth, forcing himself to move.
As Rumak was getting closer to the fighting he saw something that made his heart beat so wildly it almost put him down on his knees. Another wave of the Thenn forces was approaching the battle from the left. No, this isn’t good.
Rumak saw how the Thenn forces hit their army from the side, starting to kill everyone on their way. He had a hard time keeping himself standing, the pain was so great. But his brothers and his King were in danger, he shouldn’t run away. But can I even help them in this state?
[Run to the battle] [Go away and hide]
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PS. Sorry for the wait that was little longer than usually, it was mostly because I was away from home two days. This isn't very long part, but there will be two more of this battle.
This will probably send him to his death but [Run to the battle]
Despite this being short with the lack of time you had to write it, this is still very good and it does not feel like the odds lie in anyone's favor at the moment. Good work with this part!
[Run to the battle]
[Run to the battle]
This might be Rumak's undoing, but running away and hiding is the coward's way, while Rumak is certainly not a coward.
[Run to the battle] R.I.P Rumak
[Run to the battle]
[Run to the battle]
Do it, just do it.
[Run to the battle] Cause reasons.
[Run to the battle]
[Run to the battle]
Vote closed! Rumak will run to the battle. Well, I won't say anything about the consequences to avoid spoiling...
Anyway, next part comes either later today or tomorrow. It will be a Skjorn part and it's the penultimate part of this chapter.
Skjorn
Rain bashed Skjorn’s face as he looked at Denyal Delen who stood next to him. The expression on the young man’s face showed that he was angry. Well, angry is better than scared.
“I can see the rage in your eyes, lad.” Skjorn said quietly. “Good. You’ll need it soon.” Denyal grunted something unintelligible, which made Skjorn raise his eyebrows. He shook his head subtly and turned to the army behind him. Hundreds of people stood there, waiting for his order. Skjorn let out a deep sigh.
Dogga walked to Skjorn, the night was dark but the eyes of this young Hornfoot man managed to be even darker.
“I have my men ready.” Dogga said with toneless words. “We’ll follow you.” Skjorn nodded, he knew that they had to move soon, or they would lose their opening to surprise the enemy. It’s time.
“Hear me!” Skjorn started. “Many good men will fall tonight, this war that was lit to flames by Raymun Redbeard will burn away much good! We can’t let this madman win! It is for us to stop him, follow me!” Skjorn heart was beating faster and faster, as he raised his sword towards the sky and turned around, leading the men towards the battle. He could hear battle cries screamed behind his back. He knew he could trust these men, they were eager to fight for their freedom.
The forces marched through the dark forest and soon they started to hear the sound of the battle. I hope we are not late. When the battlefield opened before Skjorn’s eyes he noticed that they were approaching the battle from behind. He could also see that the forces led by Alex Deepstone were already bashing against the army of Raymun Redbeard from the other side.
“Let’s go kill them!” Denyal screamed and was the first one to run towards the battle. Skjorn followed him quickly, and all the five hundred men behind him. As they got closer the enemy turned against them, screaming and shaking their weapons. An arrow flew right past Skjorn and he could hear the painful scream of the man behind him. That was close.
As they bashed against the enemy Skjorn managed to tackle the man in front of him to the ground, but at the same time he felt something hitting him behind the knee. He fought the pain out of his mind, swinging his sword against the enemy. Skjorn slit the throat of a big man in front of him, but when he turned around a Hornfoot woman with a hatchet was so close to him he had no time to react. An arrow hit the woman to the head. Skjorn glanced to the direction where the arrow had flew from – Dogga, that bastard saved my life.
Skjorn had no time to think, he moved forward and slashed down another Hornfoot from behind. He could see that the forces of the enemy were in panic and chaos - they were under attack from three directions. Men and women were running away, trying to slip to the darkness, just to get an arrow or hatchet to their backs and fall down.
Skjorn saw bigger group of the enemies retreating to a direction that offered them change to run away from the Thenns.
“AFTER THEM! AFTER THEM!” Skjorn screamed and started to run towards the escaping group, with dozens of men following him through the field filled with bodies.
“SKJORN!” Denyal screamed behind him, making him stop. “Look there!” Denyal pointed at the direction they had come from earlier. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Nightrunners marched towards them. No, no, no!
“For fuck’s sake… FORM UP! FORM UP!” Skjorn commanded, trying to make his men get ready for the rush of the Nightrunners that was coming, but there was not enough time, they were in total disorder.
“King! King! King!” Skjorn could hear them scream as they came closer and closer. Skjorn had to decide now what he would do, it was the last change to try to retreat. Stand or run?
[Command the men to retreat] [Command the men to form up]
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P.S. the part is extremely short again, but basically this battle is just one part divided to three PoVs, if that makes sense
[Command the men to retreat] Skjorn's smart enough to know his men can't hold that much force on their own. Anyway good part!
[Command the men to retreat]
[Command the men to form up]
[Command the men to retreat]
A tactical retreat can be better than fighting against a vastly superior army and Skjorn should know that.
[Command the men to retreat]
[Command the men to retreat]
[Command the men to retreat]
Well, this one is more than clear... Vote closed! And Skjorn will command the men to retreat. You'll have to wait a while for the next one since I haven't had nearly any time for writing these past couple days, but don't worry, the story will continue.
Sorry for the extra long wait, my studies have started again so that's one reason
Not the only reason though, because I've lately had more inspiration to my other story than to this particular part, which was a pain to write. Certainly not the best one, but it brings this chapter to its cliffhangerish end anyway 
And I certainly do have more inspiration for many things that will come in the next chapter 
-
Rambton
Seeing with one eye on a rainy night and running in an army of over thousand men and women was even harder than Rambton had expected. But he knew that Ariyana was running in front of him with her shadowcat, Skadol and Hrenhild were on the right to him, Lynessa was behind him, and on the left there was the only Thenn fighting for Raymun Redbeard – Barryn.
“King! King! King!” Rambton heard everyone chanting around him, but he didn’t join it. Raymun will never be a king to me. Instead Rambton clenched to his sword and tried to clear his mind, soon he would have to kill. Rambton could hear someone screaming something in the Old Tongue in the distant darkness.
“They are retreating!” Harron Crowsbane shouted. “Don’t let them escape! Hunt them down! Hunt them down!”
Through the darkness and rain Rambton ran forward and forward, waiting for the moment he would swing his sword against the enemy. It quickly became clear that the battlefield was in a total chaos, ground full of the dead and injured. Both armies were more or less shattered, only this force that Harron led was still in form, and apparently the smaller group of Thenns they were chasing.
They moved further and further to the dark forest and finally they caught up some Thenns. The forces split as a small part of them started to crush the ones they had caught and the other part kept chasing the rest of the Thenns with Harron leading them. Rambton ran behind Ariyana and saw as she and her beast killed several enemies who screamed in agony as they fell. One of the Thenns rushed towards Rambton, and just as he was about to strike the man with his sword the shadowcat jumped from the darkness, bringing down the Thenn. Soon Rambton got to swing his sword however, as the Thenns didn’t even try to get away anymore, but decided to fight to the end. Rambton was worried that he would be surprised because his sight was limited, but he seemed to be lucky, and even managed to kill couple of the Thenns.
After some time they had killed all of them, and Ariyana took the lead of this group of about hundred warriors.
“Listen up!” She shouted. “There are still Thenns out there, trying to get away! The more we let escape the easier it will be for them to regroup and rise against us later! Follow me!” And so they continued their marching deeper to the forest, trying to find the escaping enemies.
After several minutes of moving they started to hear war cries from the darkness. At first they thought they had found another group of Thenns, but then they could hear what they were chanting.
“Flesh! Flesh! Flesh!” Could be heard from the distance. What in the world?
“That’s not the Thenns, they wouldn’t chant in the Common Tongue.” Ariyana said quietly. Then she sat down, closed her eyes, and as she opened them there was something wrong with them. Her shadowcat ran to the darkness, towards the screams. She is warging. For a while they stood there silently. Finally Ariyana’s eyes turned back to normal, but her expression was worried.
“It’s the men of the Ice-Rivers.” She said with chilling tone. “They were tearing down a group of Thenns… And they’ll head here next.”
“How much of them was there?” Skadol asked anxiously. “Can we fight them?” Ariyana shook her head.
“No, too much. We must retreat back to Raymun and the Hornfoots… Hopefully Harron does the same.”
“Harron has enough forces to beat some fucking river cunts!” Hrenhild boasted, but Ariyana’s expression told she didn’t share the opinion. And so Ariyana made the command for them to retreat, and everyone obeyed. She really is made to lead.
As they moved hastily through the forest they bumped into another surprise. A relatively big group of Thenns – almost as big as theirs – was approaching from the left, screaming from the bottom of their lungs.
“Form up!” Ariyana screamed and they turned to face the Thenns. “Let’s kill those fuckers!” The Thenns rushed against them with the will and rage of beasts and Rambton saw men falling in front of him. As the first enemy rushed in front of him he managed to block his attack, but received a nasty punch that sent him to the ground. Rambton could already think it was his end, but Hrenhild saved him by attacking the Thenn from behind. As Rambton scrambled up he tried to give Hrenhild a thankful smile, but with a shocking flash an arrow landed straight to the face of the old woman and she fell silently to the ground. Fuck! Rambton couldn’t stop to think about it as he saw that their forces were being shattered, and so he tried to run away.
He didn’t know where he was running, but he ran as fast as he could. Then he saw Skadol, approaching him from the left. Rambton stopped.
“Skadol.” He said as calmly as he could, catching his breath, still hearing the screaming of the battle from behind. Skadol kept walking towards him, and at the last moment Rambton saw the rage in his eyes and pulled his sword to parry the swing of Skadol’s hatchet. Rambton managed to disarm Skadol and kicked him to the ground.
“You fucking, worthless, piece of shit.” Rambton hissed, and he could even see a hint of fear in the eyes of Skadol as he pointed his sword against him.
“Fuck you, crow! It’s your fault…” Skadol muttered and turned his gaze to the ground. Rambton knew what he had to do, and he wouldn’t hesitate. This savage doesn’t deserve a third chance. And so with a cold look in his eyes Rambton plunged his sword to the throat of the wildling. Skadol lied in the ground, blood running out of him, death in his eyes. Rambton let out a sigh.
The screams of the battle had moved further away. This is a chance for me to leave this mess behind. He thought about Ariyana. Is she even alive anymore? Rambton closed his eyes. There were two options – return to the battle or run away – to somewhere, Rambton had no idea where would he go. He put his hand where his right eye had been. Painful memories came back, he remembered Keran again, he remembered all the rangers of Castle Black and he remembered what he had before he was sent to the Wall. Can I rise back up from this shit?
[Return to the battle] [Run away]
End of chapter 2
[Run away]
End of one great chapter. I doubt he will succed to run away just like that, but still, he could try.