Uprooted Evil 2

Jon

He heard the crunch of bone reverberate through Kireina's neck as she bit the first man clean in half with one snap of her vice like jaw. The men surrounding the now destroyed man just stood there in disbelief, half of them looking at Kireina, the other staring at the remains of their friend she'd just chewed down on. Whimpering dogs fleeing the scene and leaving the rest of these men to be judged by death incarnate herself and based off of the second man being torn in half, she wasn't in the mood to let them off in the slightest.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

The final man, who foolishly attempted to wrap a whip around Kireina's neck, was picked up between the dragon's teeth and catapulted across the clearing, hitting the base of a tree with a sickening crunch and snap before slouching into a pile on the ground unmoving.

He surveyed the area they were stood in from the back of Kireina's huge figure, carnage everywhere. Corpses and trees strewn about the place, to his left he spotted the first person the pair of them encountered from the group earlier, crushed under a tree in an attempt to avoid Kireina's feet. Too busy mesmerised by her sheer presence, the man had not even seen the tree fall as Kireina meandered around the forest with her massive bulk, unintentionally uprooting tree left and right in the process.

In the end, mother nature had done them a favour ending the man, some of the things he was saying to the pack of dogs he had with him were disgusting. Mentions of hunts and torture and flaying was all the convincing he needed that the best course of action was to remove this man and the rest of his friends from society. Kireina was wholeheartedly behind his decision and proceeded to get on with the dirty work herself, not that it was especially taxing for her. He did give her one rule though, scare the dogs, don't kill them. He had a soft spot for canines and these dogs didn't know any better than their owners.

Kireina let out a huff "We should check that shack I spotted earlier, there might be more of them." She said almost impatiently.

He checked his back to make sure his swords were still secured and checked his ankle for his dagger, all were present "I'm gonna go in quietly, we've made enough noise and mess to alert a town here." He said as he made his way down off her back and on to the destroyed earth below. "All the witnesses of your existence are all here, we're back to nobody knowing about you and I would like to keep it that way for as long as I can for now."

He patted her flank "Back up in the clouds with you, I'll be fine and if I'm not you'll sense it won't ya?" He said as he tried to sooth the anxiousness he felt from her.

She huffed again, he'd worked out that that was her way of showing him her annoyance, almost like a dog would. He found it somewhat cute.

"Fine, but If I sense trouble, I'm getting you out. I don't care who sees me." She said and set off from the ground into the air with one big flap of her wings. She'd not even said bye the cheeky sod.

He followed her quick ascent back up into the clouds with his eyes, in the corner of his right eye he noticed the plume of smoke that they'd spotted coming from the shack earlier. Thankfully, it was rather close to where he was right now so he didn't have to traipse through this bloody forest for hours.

He started walking in the direction of the smoke, climbing over a few trees in the process.

Gods, she really doesn't know her own size, does she?

Within 10 minutes of walking, he was just outside the shack. From the tree he was peeking around, there didn't seem to be anybody home. He circled around the building, noticing two horses tied up around the back of the shack and something he really didn't want to see. Flayed corpses. Fresh by the looks of it, blood dripping on to the ground from where the body was hung like a butcher's wares.

He looked down and shook his head, flaying had been outlawed in the North centuries ago when the Boltons bent their knees to Winterfell and agreed to abandon their practice of flaying their enemies. Seems like there were a few who hadn't heard the news.

After circling the shack and confirming there were two doors into the place, he threw a rock through the door that was wide open at the front. The aim was to draw some sort of movement inside but there was nothing, not a peep.

With a deep breath, he darted across the front yard of the shack and pressed his back to the wall next to the front door, he steadied his breathing and closed his eyes to focus on any sounds that were coming from inside. He heard a shuffle, a small one but it was a shuffle all the same.

There's somebody in there...

He pulled his dagger out and assumed a defensive stance, Master Miyamoto had always said the best form of defence was a good offence but the situation he was in right now didn't seem like the best time to be running in like a banshee.

He slowly peeked around the corner of the doorway and into the front room, nothing but a couple of tables and chairs, a lit fireplace and a few discarded drinking horns. He looked up to check the ceiling for any movement, you could never be too sure, Master M had proven that one training session when he pounced on him from above inside his hall one morning. He couldn't believe it when the old man had landed on him and then proceeded to show him how he'd even got up there. Now Jon checked every ceiling of every room he entered.

It wasn't a big shack, clearly it was an old hunting shack but it was still a nice one, made up of a combination of wood and brick, even had its own brick fireplace. There were four doors in the room, one on each wall. The first door he'd just walked through and the one directly opposite him was the back door to where the horses were tied up. The door to his immediate left was cracked open just a little bit and he quickly peeked through it, nothing but bedrolls laid across a wooden floor, couple of lanterns and a what looked like the only bed that was in this place.

He could only see forwards through the gap so he was weary about walking in. What he planned would alert anybody in the building but stop him from getting his throat sliced, so with his mind made up he kicked the door as hard as he could, it swung wide open and slammed against the wall behind it with a mighty thud. A quick look confirmed the room was empty and as quick as a cat, he darted across the main room and pressed his back to the wall next to the final door in the hopes of catching someone off guard.

He calmed his breathing again and listen closely for any movement from the last room. Another shuffle and additionally, muffled speech, one higher pitched compared to the other one.

A man and a woman. Prisoners or hostiles? Was this a trick?

He looked down at the door knob and waited for it to turn, when he looked at it, he realised something. The door was bolted and locked from the outside.

He was 95 percent sure these were prisoners now.

He loudly banged on the door twice with his fist and shouted "Anybody in there!?" He asked. The muffled shouting and almost sobbing from the pair of voices almost confirmed his belief that these weren't hostile, almost.

"Stand back! I'm gonna break the door open!" He said as the pair inside went quiet. The bolt on the door wasn't the thickest thing in the world, he looked around the room in the hopes of finding a key but the chances were that it was probably melting at the bottom of Kireina's stomach at the moment.

He unsheathed one of his blades and lined it up in the small gap between the door frame and the door. He heard whimpers from within when his blade slid through and emerged on the inside of the locked room, with a lift and a quick downwards swing, he managed to sheer the old bolt on the door. He pulled his sword back but still kept it ready for when he opened the door, this could still be all some sick twisted game being played on him.

With his free hand, he twisted the door handle and pushed the door open, before anybody could jump him, he leapt backwards and readied his blade at the other side of the room. The whimpering and mumbling were much louder now that the door was open, but what he noticed even more was the smell.

The fuck has been happening in there?

"Hello?" He shouted from across the room, still waiting for the ambush. He wrinkled his nose in an attempt to fight the strong odour. His greeting was met with even louder cries, a woman's voice attempting to say something but struggling with it.

He slowly approached the room, the wall behind the door had nobody behind it since it was laid flush against it. "I'm putting my weapon down and I'm coming in." He said as he made an effort to make the steel of his sword being placed on the floor as loud as he could. He grabbed his dagger and approached the room in the hopes somebody went for an easy kill on an unarmed man.

He peered around the door frame and inside towards the other end of the unlocked room. Clearly a storage room, boxes, shelves and what have you spread around it. Two people, a man and a woman, gagged at the mouth and tied to a chair each. The man was older looking than the woman who looked almost his age.

They were both looking at him with wide eyes, he had one last look to see if they were armed before walking up to them and taking their gags off. The girl was crying the moment he took them off.

The man to his left looked at him like he didn't know what to make of him "Did Ramsay send you?" He asked with a hoarse voice. He looked battered and bruised, a couple of missing teeth and a nose caked in dry blood.

He shook his head as he checked the girl, both of them looked like they'd seen better days but there was a clear difference between the pair when comparing the treatment of the two. The girl was shaking like a leaf, tears in her wide, bloodshot eyes and her hair was dishevelled. The man had clearly taken the brunt of the physical torture.

He lifted his dagger to cut her binds, both of them flinching when he revealed it. They both calmed a little bit when he started cutting at the ropes around the girl's feet.

"I don't know who that is." He said as he broke through the rope around her feet and moved on to the one tied around her stomach "If he was one of those cunts with the dogs then he's dead." He said as he finished cutting the second rope. He looked at the man who looked a little less weary than before "They're all dead." He finished as he went around the back of the chair to cut the final rope around the girl's wrists. The man turned his neck and kept his eyes glued on him throughout the whole process.

The girl got up from her chair on wobbly legs and started rubbing her wrists. "Are you sure? Did you do it? Please, I need to know they're gone." She asked as she started to tremble with fear, she looked over her shoulder to the open door.

"I'm positive. There were 6 of them and a bunch of dogs. The hounds fled but the men are most definitely dead, very dead." He said as he worked on the ropes around the man.

The girl seemed to deflate when he said that, like a pressure being lifted, a steadying breath easing the state that she was in. The man's binds were finally free and he had to help him to his feet as he seemed to struggle somewhat.

The girl came across and took over helping the man, they seemed familial, either that or they were good friends or even lovers.

He stepped back towards the door and checked to see if the coast was still clear. They wouldn't be staying here much longer; the horses round back would rectify that.

He turned around "What are your names?" He asked as the pair of them slowly made their way out of the stench riddled room. He closed the door behind them as they passed through in the hopes of locking it away forever.

They beelined towards the table which had a few drinking horns, bits of cheese and hard bread left on it. The man turned around and looked at him then looked at the girl who still looked a little worried.

Understandable given the situation.

The man nodded his head at him "You first, what's your name?" He asked as he wolfed down some cheese before glugging whatever was left in the horn he'd picked up.

Should he lie? There was no reason to he realised.

"Jon." He said as he headed towards the back door and opened it. He turned back and picked up and sheathed his katana that he'd placed down earlier.

"Jon what?" The girl asked as she drunk and ate at a slower pace than the man.

"Jon Snow." He finished as he grabbed the shovel that was leant against the wall next to the door. He wasn't gonna leave these flayed bodies unburied.

They slowly followed him out the back door and leant against the wall, they watched him dig two holes for the two bodies that were hung up near them.

"Jon Snow? As in Lord Stark's ba.....son?" The man said as Jon slammed the shovel into the ground a little harder at the mention of that man.

He huffed out "The one and only." He said as he worked as quickly as he could with the hole. He didn't expect to find himself digging graves today but he supposed that was just life, kicking you in the dick one minute then sucking it the next.

"And you two, what are your names since I've just revealed myself?" he asked as he finished the first grave and started on the second.

"My name is Harrion and this is my sister Alys." The man, now revealed as being called Harrion, answered.

Harrion and Alys. Those names ring a bell but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Well it's nice to meet the pair of you, wish it was under more agreeable circumstances." He said as he ripped the soil apart with his shovel.

Alys chuckled and so did Harrion "I met you 10 years ago Jon, when my father came to Winterfell for a visit and brought me along with him. I danced with you at the welcome feast, don't you remember?" She asked.

Danced with him? He's only ever danced with...

His eyes went wide when he looked back at them "Alys? Alys Karstark? And Lord Harrion?" He said to which the pair confirmed with a nod.

He shook his head and finished off with the second hole, he then chuckled "Small world." He said as he walked towards the two hanging bodies. The mood instantly changed when he looked upon their remains.

Kireina's quick death was a mercy for them. They deserved a whole lot worse.

The two Karstarks looked down at the ground, almost in respect as he cut the two bodies down. He ran into the shack and emerged back outside with two white sheets he found in the bedchambers. He wrapped both of the bodies in a sheet each and gently picked them up and placed them in each one of the respected graves. He shovelled dirt over the top of them and closed his eyes for a few seconds after in respect. They'd be left in unmarked graves but at least they'd been returned to the earth instead of being left out to dry like somebody's washed clothes.

He returned to the two Karstarks and placed the shovel back where he'd gotten it from in the first place. He turned to them and assessed them both now they were in broad daylight "Are you able enough to ride one of these horses?" He asked the pair, mainly looking at Harrion who looked a lot worse than Alys.

They both looked at each other and seemed to come to an agreement without even speaking "Yeah, we should be alright. Me and Alys will share, she'll have to take the reins. Bloody cunts messed up my hands with what they were doing to me." Harrion said as Jon nodded.

He looked around as he prepared the horses for their journey, if push came to shove, he'd have to introduce them to Kireina if the situation became dire but for now, they'd have to rely on horses.

"Do you have a rough idea where we are?" He asked.

He walked over to the horses and closed his eyes while he had his back to the pair of them and attempted to reach out to Kireina. She wasn't far away but he didn't know if she'd be able to hear his thoughts from where she was. "Can you spot any landmarks Kireina?" He asked her through their bond.

"I know at one point we stopped near a river west from here. When we were apprehended, we weren't far from the Dreadfort according to our escorts. Ramsay and his men travelled south with us, I know that at least." Alys said.

"We had to go around the Sheepshead hills, mainly to avoid Hornswood scouts." Harrion added.

"Is everything okay? Are you hurt?" Kireina asked almost frantically.

He finished with the first horse and moved to the next one, both of the stallions seemed very keen to be away from this place. He couldn't blame them.

"Yes, I'm okay. I've got a couple of people that needed help and I'm gonna need some sort of direction to go in. Did you see any castles or anything?" He asked. He was pretty sure their best bet was to head towards Hornwood, but he wasn't exactly sure of the direction.

"The forest is too dense for me to pinpoint anything. You're probably going to have to go north." She replied.

Forest is too dense. North it is.

"We are probably in The Hornswood forest so heading northwest is probably the best idea. House Hornwood should welcome you surely?...Unless I've missed something since I've been away?" He said as he finished with the second horse and turned to them with a quirked eyebrow.

"No, you haven't missed much I'm afraid, other than your father searching high and low for months looking for ya and this one here becoming your sister-in-law soon." Harrion said as he struggled but just about managed to mount his horse. Alys followed him up and sat at the front to take the reins.

He kinda walked into the whole 'your father has been looking for you' comment he had to admit. He knew Lord Stark would have looked for him but he hadn't thought it would've become public knowledge about him leaving. He thought Lord Stark would've respected his choice when it came to leaving but...

...Sister-in-law?!

He looked at the pair as he effortlessly mounted the red stallion, it seemed very keen to get going, stomping its two front hooves into the soil.

"Sister-in-law?" He asked them as they slowly started trotting away from the murder shack this Ramsay liked to call his home.

Alys nodded and smiled as both horses trotted away, northbound "Aye, me and your brother Robb are to wed. Me and Harrion were on our way back to Karhold after our visit to Winterfell to confirm the betrothal. That's when all this happened." She finished as her smile faltered slightly.

He huffed and smiled. Robb was betrothed, that was the first bit of news about his family he'd gotten in 3 years. He looked back at Alys who now had her eyes looking ahead of them, she was a pretty lass he had to admit, a proper northern girl for his brother. He was made up for him.