Chapter 4 - Free Folk's Camp

[Chapter Size: 2627 Words.]

Jon Snow POV

Somewhere on North.

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I was once again stacking bodies, but now with a telekinesis spell. Lucis didn't help me this time; she was rooted to the ground with a pale face. I suppose for someone who, despite seeing the undead on this side of the world, would be frightened by the presence of someone who could roar like a dragon and levitate bodies with some supernatural force.

"Don't be too surprised; we have to continue our journey. It's better if we keep moving." I told her once I finished stacking the bodies and burned them all with a small flame spell, which was the only destruction magic I knew. All those crows that were once arrogant became motionless bodies the moment I unleashed my impulsive shout. Some died moments later, but most seemed to have hit their heads on some hard surface.

Lucis didn't say anything; she just got up to continue her path and accompany me. She didn't speak any more, and it was a week after we encountered the first patrol groups from Mance's camp; after all, Lucis didn't lie.

"You! I know you; you were in Karsi's reconnaissance group. Where are the others?" A group stopped us from advancing to the camp, and he addressed Lucis.

"I was the only one who survived..." She said, making everyone look at her strangely, especially at me.

"Crows?" a woman asked.

"No... it was..." She didn't finish; she was nervous about the next words and didn't answer, but she gave the answer by looking at me. Everyone understood.

"Damn, he looks like a southerner, and he's prettier than my daughter!" One of them shouted, ready to attack me.

"Wait, he stole me!" She shouted, and everyone stopped, creating a silence among us.

"I stole?" I asked confused.

"Just shut up!" She grumbled.

"Got it." I said, knowing she was doing this to avoid fights. I just don't know if she's doing it to protect me or to protect her kin.

"For someone who hasn't said a word in the past few days, hearing you say we're screwing now is a surprise to me." I said with a playful smile.

She shot me an angry look, but she continued speaking on my behalf.

"He's a survivor of a tribe exterminated by the wights. He found us, and we attacked him, thinking he was a crow. He killed all of us and stole me; now he intends to join Mance's army." She finished, and everyone started analyzing me. There were 20 people wondering how I could kill a group of Lucis, which was so large, with almost a dozen people. But everyone had some respect in their eyes, which I found strange because killing one's own people usually resulted in revenge and more death. Not that I care much about that.

"Mance is not in the camp now, but the camp is 4 kilometers in that direction; you can pass." Said the group's leader.

"We found 8 crows a few days ago," Lucis suddenly said.

"Crows?! Did they follow you?" The leader asked, spitting on the ground.

"My new husband here knows how to kill and didn't waste any time; the crows turned to ashes as soon as we burned the bodies," she said cautiously, hiding the fact of what I did in front of her with the crows.

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier? Our friend killed 8 young crows!" He said, laughing. And if there was any respect in the look, now there was a hint of pride too.

After that, we continued on the path in the indicated direction.

We walked for another two hours before being able to see the camp on top of a hill; it was really enormous, there must be about 140,000 people here. So, we continued on the path and entered the midst of it; since we arrived at the camp, people looked at me as we walked. I was a 2-meter-tall man; that grabs people's attention who only follow strength in this part of the world.

I was even more surprised when a giant passed by me and Lucis with a stake in hand; it was different from the giants I knew, these wore more clothes and were much more robust. I would say that they would defeat the ones from Skyrim. We continued until Lucis took me to a large tent, but before we entered, she stopped me, speaking for the second time in days.

"Look, Jon Snow, if you don't want to die, you'll be the husband who stole me. You belonged to a tribe in the mountains to the west, which was decimated by wights. You are one of the freefolks north of the wall, and never call us savages again, unless you want to be surrounded by more than 100,000 people trying to kill you. I don't know what you are and how you did these sorceries, but if you want to live, you'll follow my advice. Got it?" 

"Ohh, now you behave like a true wife." I smiled at her, and she huffed.

"Okay, okay, understood, but I have my pride, and I won't tolerate disrespect, especially from people who want to kill me. Don't blame me if I kill someone here and there." I finally agreed with her.

We entered the tent after the guards let us pass, after Lucis exchanged a few words with them. When we entered, I heard people arguing; I heard Mance's name mentioned in a few voices.

Inside, there was a woman similar to Lucis; she argued with a man with graying hair, not more than 50 namedays. Obviously, both were leaders of the tribes unified by Mance. And as they said Mance wouldn't be here because of those scouts, I didn't even bother to look for him.

They didn't even notice our presence; Lucis didn't bother announcing us. We stood in a corner waiting for their conversation to finish along with other people inside the tent.

"Varamyr, you're a fool if you think I'll send more of my people north after other tribes or as scouts," the woman growled.

"We need someone watching north, Karsi!" The man shouted, and I finally saw wolves that I hadn't noticed before at his feet; they growled at the wild woman, and Lucis at my side held her weapon. It seems this woman is related to my "wife" in some way.

"So let's wait for Mance to return from the South to decide anything," she said, growling at him without caring about the wolves. I liked her ferocity.

"Whatever," he grumbled and turned to leave, but not without looking at us in the corner, or rather, looking at me.

"I know a member of the Free Folk, and I know you are not one," he said, and his wolves began to growl. While everyone analyzed me, ignoring his words, I crouched down in the midst of his wolves and looked into their eyes.

"Beautiful little dogs you have there," I commented, but my voice emitted a trace of power that made all the wolves shrink and whimper in fear.

Needless to say, everyone was surprised by the animals' reaction. Even Varamyr himself began to look at me cautiously. I stared at him while he did the same. These people only know and follow strength, so I must build my position while I'm here. It was 10 seconds later that he averted his gaze, shrugged, and left the tent.

Karsi looked at me fascinated, wondering what kind of exotic animal I was or where I came from. Her gaze shifted to the girl by my side.

"Lucis, why are you here alone with this unknown man?"

"We've been patrolling the west for weeks, our group of 30 was reduced to less than 11 by the wight. And one day we found him wandering alone... we thought he was a disguised crow, so we attacked..."

"He killed all of you?" she asked, and her voice showed clear surprise.

"Yes, aunt, he only spared me and stole me." She said with shame.

'Aunt? So, they're relatives?' I wondered.

"I see, and is he a crow?" She asked me to look deeply into my eyes.

"On the way here, we encountered 8 crows; I saw him kill all of them without hesitation. Clearly, he is not one of them." She said confidently.

"Is that true?! What tribe are you from?" She asked me.

"I was born south of the wall, just ended up in this land by accident. Since then, I've been killing everyone who tried their luck with me." I shrugged, not caring about the disbelieving look Lucis was giving me at that moment. I can't do anything about it; after all, I am an honest person.

But the expected reaction didn't come.

"HAHAHAHAHA, you finally found a man to steal you, Lucis, congratulations! This one has balls from what I see, very good indeed. Now you can go make nieces as strong as their father." Lucis blushed with shame at her aunt's comment.

"But first, go to my tent; your brother is with my little girls." She finished her words to the surprise of many.

Clearly, she is thinking that I am now her niece's husband, connected to their tribe. I may be a southerner to them, but as she heard that I killed both her people and their crows, I became a strong point in her opinion and would give good children, as she thinks. Not to mention that my demonstration with that Varamyr helped in that judgment. Of course, this didn't mean she would trust me; I'll probably have many Free Folk behind me in the next few days spying on me.

'And now? Should I wait for Mance to return before deciding to go to the Wall?' I asked myself when we finally left her aunt's tent.

"I'm trying to save you, what the hell was that?" She said to me frustrated.

"I can't do anything about it; I'm just being honest," I simply said.

She looked at me and spoke.

"I'm going to see my brother and cousins now, what are you going to do?" She asked cautiously, wondering if I can cause any trouble. Of course, I can.

"I'm interested in giants; in Skyrim, I killed many of them. I want to see what these are like." I said with a calm but excited tone, thinking about a fight against the big men. Lucis looked at me as if I were talking some fantasy.

"Ah, whatever! If you need to know where my tent is, come back here, and my aunt or her guards will tell you." She said and began to turn to leave.

I nodded and headed towards where I saw the last giant. Lucis went to the other side while occasionally watching me. She must be wondering what kind of trouble I'm going to get into by the end of the day.

The vast wild camp stretched for miles, a nomadic city erected in the arctic lands beyond the Wall. Housing an impressive population of 140,000 people, of which 100,000 were skilled warriors, the place pulsed with tribal and wild energy.

Tents and makeshift cabins dotted the landscape, sewing a disorderly tapestry in the midst of the snow-covered scenery. Flaming banners with tribal symbols fluttered in the icy wind, marking the presence of different clans within the camp. The sound of drums resonated through the air, echoing the rhythms of the wild.

Warriors, clad in fur and makeshift armor, performed training and preparation rituals, while the smell of campfires mingled with the biting northern cold. Diverse peoples, united by the common pursuit of freedom and led by Mance Rayder, created an atmosphere of fervor and determination as Jon walked.

'If this place manages to pass the Wall, the damage will be great for the common people, but I doubt they will survive against the armies of the realms.' Jon pondered.

People were still watching me, having bright purple eyes and my height, I stood out from the crowd, questions about who I was or where I came from were heard here and there. Ignoring the people around me, I walked towards where I crossed paths with the giant, finally spotting mammoths in the distance, and it was in that direction that I headed.

"These mammoths are almost like the ones in Skyrim," I thought with fascination.

One of the giants noticed me beside the mammoths and came to me. She spoke some words that I didn't understand at all. Now, I was looking at him wondering how I would communicate with him. Until I heard a voice approaching, I drew too much attention going to the giant so casually, and the giant seemed to be getting angry and raising its voice.

"You! What do you want with the giants?" asked a big red-haired man approaching from the rest of the tents.

"Do you speak their language?" I asked when I saw this man approaching.

"You're almost as tall as I am and quite handsome for a free folk. Who are you? And yes, I speak the Old Tongue," he spoke while the giant continued to stare at me, wanting to know what I wanted here. I noticed that the redhead must be about 10 cm taller than me, an experienced warrior with those piercing eyes.

"It's not polite to ask for a name without introducing yourself first," I looked at him as I said these words. He was surprised by my arrogance and laughed loudly.

"I like you, boy, despite being prettier than all my daughters, you have courage. Call me Tormund Giantsbane. I'm so tall, and I earned that name because once I drank milk from a giantess when she mistook me for her son," he told me cheerfully. I'm starting to find these people very bipolar now; there are people here who want to kill, and at the same time, there are people who want to make friends.

"I am Jon Snow, wanted to talk to the giants, but I don't know the Old Tongue. Can you say a few words to him?" I asked. He nodded, seeing that he liked me.

"Tell them that I'm here to challenge them to a fight with their best champion!" I said with a smile. Tormund choked, looking at me as if a second head had grown on my shoulders.

"Are you blind, look at the giant! Do you want to face him?" He said incredulously.

"Come on, man! Just say it." I crossed my arms and insisted.

He looked for 10 seconds before addressing the giant; the big man was also surprised.

Thinking that these beings were like the giants of Skyrim, he would speak to their leader to accept my challenge. And it happened as I predicted; the giant took steps toward where there were other giants. Tormund couldn't help but be silent after that.

A few minutes later, he spoke again.

"Do you really want to die, don't you?" Tormund asked anxiously.

"I like challenges, and by the way, it won't be the first giant I face," I said, and he raised his eyebrows.

He couldn't comment further because four giants walked toward us; they said something to us that I didn't understand, but Tormund relayed their responses to me cautiously.

"This is Mag the Mighty, the leader of the giants. He said he liked your eyes and accepted your challenge," he passed on to me.

I smiled, happy to exchange punches with someone comparable to my strength.

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Author's note:

* Without many thoughts, I hope you like it.

* Thank you in advance, I hope you have a good read.