31 Back to the Rivers

299 AC, High Heart…

Rody's eyes grew wide as he backed away in shock. "Who are you?!" He yelled while pulling out his sword.

The commotion caused the others to wake up as well. All eyes suddenly turned towards the albino dwarf who cackled in a high pitched sound.

"A woman? A dwarf? Or a witch? You choose," The dwarf woman cackled again.

Hunter's dogs were already up on their feet due to all the noises. However, instead of attacking the woman, they went towards her and began sniffing her.

Hunter and others watched with their mouths hung open as the dwarf patted the dogs' heads. Her red eyes turned up and looked at Rody and others.

"Won't you help this poor woman to fill her belly in this dark night?" The dwarf asked.

"She is the Ghost of the High Heart…" Hunter murmured. However, the cold and the silence carried his voice to everyone's ears.

"A ghost?" The prince's eyes grew wide as he hid behind Serena and looked at the dwarf with wonder.

"They say she has the power to see the future and revive the dead. Those who seek to harm her mostly meet bad ends." Hunter said.

"A wood witch?" Rody creased his brows. They also had some wood witches in the North but none of them looked as crooked as this woman. However, Rody also knew that messing with those women never brought good faith to anyone.

"We have some bread and apple left, you can take it if you want." Rody offered cautiously.

"Oh, I am no ghost, dearie. Just an old woman living by." The dwarf woman chuckled again and looked at Rody, "I will gladly take up your offer."

Rody lowered his sword and motioned for Hunter to bring out the leftovers. However, even after lowering his sword, its pommel was stuck to his hand, for he was wary of the old woman no matter her feeble looking body.

He was someone who fought the best knight of the Seven Kingdoms and defeated him but here he was scared of an albino dwarf.

The dwarf took the bread and apple from Hunter's hand and took a bite with her half rotten teeth. "Feeding an old woman during these hard times is something worthy of a place beside Gods."

All of them were watching the old woman eat the bread and the apple without any word leaving their mouths. Commonfolk were all the same, their belief in the supernatural was related to fear and this woman was the source of fear for many in the Riverlands.

"Can you really see the future?" A childish voice broke the silence as the prince strode forward and stood beside the dwarf, despite the piercing stares on his back.

"A cub hidden in a fawn's clothing will not make any difference, so what is there to say about the future?" The dwarf gulped down the last bits of the bread and some wretched words left her mouth.

Rody's gaze hardened at these words as he understood what the woman was saying. His grip on the pommel of his sword tightened but he still did not act upon it. "Since you had your fill, it is time for you to go."

He did not want others to suspect anything, for he liked Hunter and his family but did not want anything untoward happen to them because of the things they may learn untimely.

The albino dwarf turned her blood red eyes towards Rody and sneered with her gnarly lips. "A sword hidden in its sheath won't harm anything."

She pressed her cane on the ground and forced herself to rise up on her feet. "Since you offered me your bread. I should give you something in return. Alas, I do not have anything to give other than my words."

"We do not want anything but your swift leave from our camp." Rody said, unfazed.

"Don't be so hasty as you are the one dragging along a kitten wearing the skin of a fawn." Her red eyes wandered towards the prince but they quickly shot back to Rody. She walked towards him, leaving the prince behind her, she raised her cane to point it to Rody's chest. "The light must be snuffed out for the darkness to reign, lest the sword gets broken at the maw of the beasts and the cold of the winter."

"What should that mean?" Hunter asked with a questioning look.

"I don't know. It's just a mad woman's rambling who has no business with us." Rody spoke firmly but it was apparent he was disturbed by what the woman said.

The dwarf cackled and turned around to leave. However, just as she was going to leave, Hunter's dogs barked and crows nestled upon the weirwoods on the hill cawed.

The dwarf stopped and looked towards the thirty-one weirwood trees nestled upon the hill. A horde of crows rose from the trees and created a striking contrast upon the clear sky and moon. They headed towards the north without an ounce of inkling of their purpose.

While everyone was watching the crows with a sudden chill washing over them, the dwarf added her crooked voice to the cawing of the crows. "Your roles, you must fulfill, it's not time for the death's chill. Soldiers will come up the hill to make their own camp, still. If you stay, you might meet your end. It's best to leave, my friend, before the first light, to avoid a deadly end."

After speaking those words, the dwarf woman headed towards the south, passing by the prince like not even a strange word left her mouth. She was murmuring incomprehensible words and her back was slowly fading in the dark night.

Rody and others stood there with confusion and shock on their faces. However, the difference between them and the prince was the paleness of the prince's face. Rody strode towards him when he saw his state.

He put his hand on the prince's shoulder and asked, "Are you good?"

"Her eyes…" The prince finally broke from his trance and looked at Rody with a fear stricken face. "Her eyes were white."

"White?" Rody furrowed his eyebrows, "You must have seen it wrong, there is no way for those red eyes to turn white."

"We should go to sleep. There is still time to sleep until morning." Serena said, holding her sister-in-law's hand tightly.

The group stood there in silence for a moment, processing what had just happened. Rody was the first to speak. "No, we should leave, now. It doesn't matter whether the woman spoke the truth or not, we shouldn't have camped upon this hill. This is a place any warring army might camp to take advantage of its terrain."

"It is known for that witch to speak about the future. We shouldn't stay here after receiving her words." Hunter added.

Rody nodded in agreement, and they quickly began to gather their things. The prince, still a bit shaken from the encounter with the dwarf, followed along quietly.

As they packed up their belongings, Rody couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The dwarf's words had stirred something within him, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. He knew he needed to stay alert, that there was more to this than just a chance encounter with a strange woman.

The words spoken by the prince were still on his mind. Eyes turning white in a moment were local legends in the North which, from the looks of it, were real in this case. He lamented his fate, he was just a simple boy when he joined Lord Stark on his way to the capital. When he was stuck in that Gods' damned tunnel and found his way to the prince's room, he should have cut his throat and been done with it.

His eyes wandered towards the prince who was packing his own things and wondered whether it was truly worth the hurdle to bring him all the way to Lord Stark.

He sighed, knowing that he couldn't bring himself to do it after all the things he endured on the way. He pushed those thoughts aside, it did not matter what he wished to do. What mattered was the value of the boy in this war and that was something that could not be contested, considering the prince's brother was sitting on the Iron Throne right now.

That was why the boy needed his protection on the way. However, what happened today opened his eyes as their numbers were low and there was no way he could defend every one of them at once.

He remembered the two daggers he picked from his loots. One of them was hidden on the side of his left boot, and the other was hanging from his belt. He took the one on his belt and unsheathed it to look at its blade.

It was not a good one as some parts of it were clipped and its edge was lost. Still, it was better than nothing. His eyes turned to the prince and he said, "Hey, boy. Come here, I've got something to give you."

The prince looked at Rody and left what he was doing to go towards him. There was still some fear on his face and he was not looking good.

"Stop thinking about that dwarf, you won't see her ever again." Rody said and extended the sheathed dagger to him. "Take this, since we entered the Riverlands, things got more dangerous. Hide it well, this will be your last line of defense."

The prince grabbed the hilt of the dagger with both hands and looked at it with a cranky look. "Thank you," he uttered after raising his head to Rody.

"Now, come and help me pack my things too." Rody said, trying to break the melancholic mood of the boy.

Once they had everything packed, they set off down the hill. The moon was still high in the sky, casting an eerie light on the surrounding woods. They walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

This time veering off the main road and into the forest and hills. The woods were dense and dark, but Rody knew they had to keep moving.

"My sister and wife won't be able to walk much, we need to set up a camp nearby." Hunter said, coming close to Rody.

"Aye, let's make a camp when we come close to the edge of the forest." Rody was also tired as he was the one who was on watch before the dwarf witch came.

As they were walking, they heard a cry of pain. They turned their heads to see the prince on the ground. Rody rushed over to him to see what happened to incur him to raise his voice so much in the dead of night. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

The prince winced in pain. "My ankle… I think I twisted it when I tripped over a root."

Rody cursed under his breath. They couldn't afford to slow down, not with the war going on so close to them. He touched the prince's feet to see whether it was serious but another scream sounded out from the boy's mouth.

"He won't be able to walk with that foot." Hunter said after coming and kneeling beside him. "We need to make a camp here."

Rody cursed again. They were nearing the end of their journey and now, he was stuck with another problem.

He looked around in search of a place to pass time until morning, that's when he saw it: a small cave entrance, hidden behind a thicket of bushes. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"Come on," he said, helping the prince to his feet. "We'll rest here for the night."

They made their way to the cave, which was small but dry. Rody started a fire using some dry brush and twigs he had gathered. He was not worried about someone seeing the fire as they were deep in the forest.

The group sat around the fire, trying to make themselves as comfortable as possible in the cramped cave. Rody and Hunter had managed to fashion a makeshift bed for the prince out of some branches and leaves they had collected outside, while Serena and Hunter's wife sat close to the fire, warming their hands.

Rody couldn't help but feel uneasy. He knew they were vulnerable here, with no walls to protect them from any potential danger. They had to rely on their own skills to keep themselves safe.

He took out the dagger he hid in his boot and sharpened it with a stone, trying to keep his mind occupied. Hunter was sitting beside him, keeping watch, while the two women dozed off beside the fire.

Suddenly, there was a rustling outside the cave. Rody's hand tightened around the hilt of the dagger as he stood up, eyeing Hunter. Hunter was already on his feet, his bow ready. On the other hand, the dogs were looking at the entrance of the cave with their ears perked up and wide eyes.

They peered outside, but there was nothing there. Rody knew better than to let his guard down, however. He could feel eyes watching them from the darkness.

Just as he was about to speak up, a loud, eerie howl echoed through the forest. The sound sent shivers down Rody's spine, and he saw that the others were equally frightened.

"What was that?" Serena asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Probably some wolves or wild dogs. Wars cause the games to dwindle in the woods, and that causes them to run amok during the night." Hunter said, lowering his bow.

"Let's return inside. It is not good for us to stay like this." Rody said as he went back inside the cave.

They spent the rest of the night in tense silence, alert more than ever, listening for any more sounds or signs of danger.

When the first light of dawn broke through the cave entrance, they gathered their belongings and set out again. Even though they hoped to rest a bit, their stay in the cave was more restless than ever. The prince was still hobbling on his twisted ankle, but they couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long.

They pushed on, keeping to the edges of the forest. Their pace was slower than before as the prince could only move at a snail's pace because of his foot. He was constantly complaining and wanting to rest and that was why Rody had Hunter help him to make a small sledge to drag the boy on the way.

As they were keeping off the road, Hunter's dogs suddenly stood still and looked towards the west. A moment later, the group felt the ground tremble and heard the sounds of hooves.

They quickly hid themselves behind the bushes and waited as the sounds grew louder. Soon, their sights were marred by a long line of cavalry running towards east. However, what made them crease their brows was that each man riding the horses were covered in blood and most of them were injured.

"Do you know what lies to our west?" Rody asked Hunter, who was holding his dogs to keep them silent.

"Riverrun," Hunter said. "They should be the ones who were besieging the castle but why are they running away?"

Rody couldn't keep the smile from his face. "And how many days would it take for us to walk to Riverrun?"

"I would say around half a day," Hunter said but his eyes turned to the young boy who was lying on the sledge. "But with our current state, it would take at most a day."

"Good, we will go to Riverrun." Rody said with a grin on his face.

"Why?" Hunter asked. "They would conscript us right away,"

"The noble that asked me to bring the boy is most probably in that castle. You don't need to worry about anything." Rody said. "As you helped me on the way, you will get your share as well."

Hunter groaned in a restless way but still nodded his head. They waited until the last Lannisters were lost in the horizon. Only then, did they leave the bushes and continue their way.

They set off towards Riverrun, their progress slowed by the prince's swollen ankle. The makeshift sledge that Hunter had fashioned was a great help, allowing the boy to rest and be pulled along when he grew too tired to walk. The dogs helped too, scouting the path ahead and warning the men of any dangers. As they traveled, Rody and Hunter kept their eyes peeled for any sign of danger, as the sight of the Lannister cavalry had left them on edge.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, they came across a small clearing, surrounded by tall trees. It was an ideal spot to make camp for the night, so they set up a small fire and began preparing their meager dinner of stale bread and wild vegetables. Hunter tended to the prince's swollen ankle, applying a poultice made of herbs and leaves that he had gathered during the day. The boy winced in pain as Hunter wrapped the poultice tightly around his ankle, but he seemed to feel some relief once it was done.

They ate their meal in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Rody couldn't help but wonder what awaited them in Riverrun. Was the castle overrun by the Lannisters or did Lord Stark break the siege? Would they be able to find him there or did something befall on him on the way back to the North? He pushed these thoughts aside, knowing that he would have to deal with them in due time.

As night fell, they settled in for the night, with Hunter keeping watch while Rody and the prince slept. The dogs were curled up by the fire, their ears perked up and their eyes watchful. It was a peaceful night, with only the sounds of the forest surrounding them. The prince's ankle seemed to have fared well, with the swelling reduced and the pain lessened.

As the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, they packed up their camp and set off once again towards Riverrun. The prince was able to walk for longer periods of time now, thanks to Hunter's poultice and the sledge. They made good progress, and by midday, they could see the walls of Riverrun in the distance.

Rody's heart leaped with hope and anticipation as they drew closer to the castle. He could see rows of tents arranged across the river and many banners winding across the camp. He saw a white sunburst on black, A red stallion upon a gold shield which rested on a brown field, A roaring giant with broken silver chains on flame-red and many others. However, the most striking one was the banner that hung upon the highest point of the castle with the trout of the Tullys… A running gray direwolf, on an ice-white field… The sigil of House Stark.