Chapter 5

A group of eighty savage-looking men in furs, armed with stone and bronze weapons, came running out from the trees overlooking the narrow mountain pass.

Several arrows flew but were mostly blocked by shields, only a few doing more damage other than to preoccupy the Stark men as their attackers closed the distance. The mountain men most likely didn't want to risk killing the horses.

"Quick, we must flee!" Came the panicked suggestion of a guard that had an arrow glance of his helm.

Usually, Chad would have agreed, but this might be the perfect opportunity to either gain some men or discredit his father. Perhaps even both.

"Hold!" Chad ordered, not really caring if they did as he commanded, they were his father's men after all, not his. He cared little if they died after how they had treated him during the trip.

Calling up a visible blue shield to protect against projectiles, Chad rode out between the Stark men and the attacking horde before activating a Sonorous Charm.

"Who dares attack the Chosen of the Old Gods, and faithful First Men of the North? If you are Seven worshipping southron c*nts, then prepare for death!" Chad's voice boomed out.

Seeing their prey not trying to escape and some unexpected mystical sh*t, the leader of the raid gave a signal to halt the attack, but still surround the eleven mounted men to prevent their escape.

There was plenty of time for the raid leader to indulge his curiosity before killing the foolish travellers for their weapons and horses, especially the one that invoked the Old Gods.

"What kind of First Man doesn't even speak the Old Tongue?" Laughed a clansman mockingly, not believing the claim.

"One that is nine years of age, and has a father that rather suck a southron c*ck than recognise his heritage!" Returned Chad, his charmed voice dwarfing the others in the level of volume.

"But you haven't answered my query," Chad continued, "are you a Seven worshipping deviant, or a follower of the Old Gods?"

"Aye, we still remember the Old Gods, not that they care much about us. Though a bold claim to speak in their name, child." Said the leader, coming within twenty metres of Chad.

Looking around and seeing the raiders content to talk first, Chad dropped his shield to build trust. He put up an invisible one though, no need to tempt fate by leaving himself unprotected.

"When my father, Lord Stark of the North, decided to send me south to learn from Jon Arryn, I prayed in front of the Heart Tree of our Godswood for protection. They blessed me with abilities and a weapon named Retribution, a giant Warhammer that was not meant for a man to wield, yet I could do so easily."

"Oh, and where is this mighty weapon. That would be proof indeed of a blessing." Came the sceptical question from the clansman.

"My dogsh*t father tried to steal it from me, so I returned it to the earth..."

"Boy, show some respect for Lord Stark!" An older Stark guard rebuked Chad, unable to continue watching him disrespect the man he had sworn his life to in front of wilding-like savages.

Chad narrowed his eyes in anger, not appreciating being interrupted while he was trying to show strength. He raised his hand in a shooing manner, and the culprit was blasted from his horse by an unseen force.

"Why would I show respect to the man that sent me here to die? Or did you think ten guards was enough to pass through these lands unscathed? The next time one of you speak out of turn, you will lose the ability to walk. I have put up with your sh*t long enough as it is, am I clear?" Chad announced to the Stark soldiers, paying close attention to the one rising from the dirt with a furious expression on his face.

"Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I can make another if you have a Heart Tree for me to pray to. And before you get any ideas like my father, no, you will not be able to take it from me. Though if you swear allegiance to me and my cause, the Old Gods will let me fashion you a set of indestructible armour and weapon."

"And what's to stop us from forcing you to do so anyway? We outnumber you eight to one, have you surrounded, and can kill you from range if need be." The leader threatened, aiming to exert his leverage.

Chad's casual use of magic had the leader of the raid spooked, but he still believed that he could quickly kill the child if needs be, Old Gods or not. One tended to lose their fear of Gods when they had not witnessed their power for thousands of years.

Chad had seen this coming, no one in the clansman's position would have done anything differently. His magic may have given him time to bargain, but it would not truly deter these savage men.

They were a people that had defied fire breathing dragons and their lords, even when massively outnumbered, a child with a few tricks and sweet words was not going to instantly sway them to his side.

Time for the brutal approach, he wanted to unleash his pent up anger anyway. Laughing at the man threatening him, Chad dismounted from his horse. Its mobility would not be as useful as invisibility.

"You seem to have mistaken my civility for weakness, or maybe my desire for these guards to make it out of this situation alive. They are my father's men, not mine, and they have annoyed me constantly for the past few weeks. So do with them what you will. Now, who is the next in charge after you? I rather not accidentally kill him after I finish torturing you to death."

As Chad finished speaking, he unleashed his magic in the semblance of an Aura, like how he did to Mrs Black's portrait, a fierce pressure extending out over his surroundings.

When the clansmen raiders felt the pressure hit them, it was enough to make a few of them collapse down onto a knee out of surprise. The rest that caught themselves in time had to only slightly resist the force, the pressure too spread out to force everyone down at the same time.

Now that Chad had declared his intentions, the leader had no other option but to fight. To surrender would mean all kinds of problems for his reputation and command. Readying his weapons, he was about to give the order to attack when his eyes bulged out in fear.

No matter how hard he tried, his teeth were locked together and preventing him from talking! His jaw had been magically clenched shut. Looking at the cruel smile on the boy slowly walking towards him, he couldn't help but lament his choice to push the kid.

"Wait!" Came the call of a young man near the leader, noticing his distress. "I am Dolf, son of Ulgulf, and I would like to hear more on your offer to serve the Old Gods!"

The man that couldn't be more than twenty tried to sound casual after his initial panicked shout, but his darting eyes towards the stock-still leader betrayed his emotions.

"Oh, well if there is a chance to recruit some loyal warriors then I guess I can hold back on the slaughter. But a word of warning, this oath is for absolute loyalty to me for life, breaking it means certain death! However, for such a steep price, I offer a reward to match. You will have full plate mail armour that will not rust, break, or even dent.

"A weapon of your choice will have the same properties, never dulling, and so light you could swing it for hours. After ten years of service, you will get farmland large enough to easily keep your family fed. And if you don't want to become a farmer, well, you could always have someone else run it while you continue to serve in the army instead for some extra pay."

Chad released the leader from his telekinesis, but locked eyes on the man with a look that promised death if he didn't take the chance Dolf's words had given him to live. He felt the overwhelming urge to inflict as much pain and misery as he could...

And the 'Cruel' Flaw must be starting to act up. He had been in this world for nearly a month, and the CYOA flaw wanted to be satisfied.

Clearly angry at being defeated, but not suicidal, the man that should be named Ulgulf asked a question of his own. "Where will this land be? Lowland lords have lied to the clans before."

With a smile, Chad replied easily. "Oh well, what else did you expect from Andals that worship incestuous gods? They are so used to fucking each other, that they tend to fuck everyone else they meet as well! But you don't have to fear me not being able to deliver, I already have the land deed for Moat Calin and its surrounding lands.

"But that is ten years away, and until then, I had planned to fulfil the mission the Old Gods gave me. If the Andals can come here and take our lands, kill, rape, pillage and spread their religion, what's stopping us from doing the same to them? Andalos is ripe for the taking!"

The gathered men looked at the boastful child that had just spoken about slaughtering them, only to switch to conquering the hated invader's ancestral homeland, like he was deranged.

They couldn't even free themselves from Arryn rule, how were they supposed to conquer foreign lands?

"I know what you are thinking, 'you don't have the manpower or the resources to do so', right?" Chad once again addressed the crowd. "But I never said we had to do it by force or all at once! Pentos covers most of the old Andalos lands, and it is often regarded as the most vulnerable of the Free Cities.

"They prefer to hole up behind the huge walls of their city, and whenever it is threatened by Dothraki, they would rather pay a bribe than fight. If we take a bit of land at the edge of their territory and fortify it quickly, how much effort do you think they will put into trying to remove us? Besides, we could always retreat back to my lands if they do take us seriously and send a force too big for us to handle."

What Chad was suggesting was more of a prolonged raid, than an invasion. If things went well and they met little resistance, then a more permanent position could be taken.

As long as they held a castle on the coast with a means to evacuate their army, then it would be hard for the weakest of the Free Cities to do much. Well, other than to send ships at him, but if his crews were fully armoured warriors, it would need to be a lot of them.

However, the main reason why Chad was so confident in taking some land from Pentos to set up a new base as his foundation, was because Pentos is not allowed by Braavos to have more than twenty warships. Nor are they allowed to hire sellswords, make contracts with free companies, or maintain an army.

Loyalty for life and ten years of service was a lot to ask for someone with a comfortable lifestyle, but the mountain clans were barely managing to survive.

They were just able to scrape by with infrequent raids into a land that was well fortified and where their opponents were expecting them. Add the lack of weapons and armour into the mix, and it was easy to see why they willingly joined the Lannisters at the slightest chance to free themselves from such a life in canon.

Chad liked his chances.