Chapter 78 - House Reed.

[Chapter Size: 2700 Words.]

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Third Person POV

North, 105 AC.

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After traveling for a week and a half, they arrived at the swamps, in the lands where House Reed's seat was located.

Jon and Rickon, as they had agreed, would visit the place, since both of them were curious to see it. Like Rickon, Jon had also never set foot there in this life. They were curious to observe the swamps in the southernmost part of the North.

They followed the main road, passing through a few villages, before they found Reed men already waiting for them to escort them to the main fortress, which stood in the flowing waters of the swamp, and was a mobile fortress.

"Lord Rickon Stark and Jon," said the man, approaching as he led the other guards.

"Hello..." Rickon led the group, but looked at him in confusion.

"Edric, my lord. In the service of House Reed as captain of the guard. Please, follow us. The boats are already prepared for us to go to the fortress," he said, since Greywater Watch stood within a lagoon in the swamp. The village was nearby, but it was still some distance away.

They entered the village where the fortress was located and continued toward the docks, while the people looked at them curiously. Rickon and Jon studied everyone around them.

They boarded the boats, Jon, Rickon, and the soldiers, while the Reed men quickly began rowing toward the castle, which was quite a strange construction due to the fact that it could move...

"How did they make this place?" Jon couldn't help but ask, looking at the structure covered in moss all around. It was made of solid stone. As a castle, it might not have the same quality as Winterfell, after all, Bran the Builder would not have been willing to go around building castles throughout Westeros, but even so, it was not as poor a construction as the Reeds' reputation made it seem, since the house was always described as reclusive and poor, but also strongly tied to the old traditions.

Rickon also looked at it curiously before turning to Jon. "You don't know? I thought you knew everything," he asked.

Jon merely snorted. "I wish I knew everything," he simply said.

Rickon shrugged, and they arrived shortly afterward at the edge of the fortress, which now that it was stationary, looked like an island, and a few men also came to help them. It seemed that Lord Reed maintained a fairly decent garrison, but there were also soldiers within the villages, since nothing in those lands could be called a city. There were neither enough people nor enough infrastructure for that. That place simply was not suitable, but there were still villages with hundreds of people, at most, scattered throughout the swamp.

It might have a harsh environment, but the climate was warmer than elsewhere in the North. Winter was already ending, but there was still snow everywhere. However, here the summer grew much warmer than in the rest of the North, and the people cultivated things they could not grow in other parts of the kingdom as well.

Anyway, they entered, passing through the gate and greeting a few more men who came up to them, until they found Lord Reed with a woman at his side and two young children. Jon remembered him from namedays ago, during the bear incident. The man had gone to his own home, the farm belonging to Jon's parents, and had seemed quite interested in his animals ever since arriving at Winterfell. Everyone had been paying close attention to Ghost, but Lord Reed was different. He himself had said that Jon was a warg. Jon shouldn't be surprised by something like that coming from a Reed.

Anyway, Jon let Rickon lead the meeting, since being the heir to Winterfell placed him in a higher position.

Lord Reed approached, shaking Rickon's hand with a restrained smile. He certainly didn't have the best of smiles, but there was sincerity in that expression.

They also met Lord Reed's wife, Lady Sind Reed. It was easy to tell that she wasn't a noblewoman, and that hadn't surprised Jon. Even so, she welcomed everyone naturally, without displaying any affectation or exaggeration, only giving Jon and the others a serious look. Then came the children, who were very curious.

"Is it true that you're going South?" the first one asked without even bothering to greet them first. He was about eight namedays old, while the other was basically hiding behind his brother's legs.

Rickon couldn't help but show a smug smile, making Jon want to kick him.

"Yes, we're traveling South." He said proudly.

"Just the two of you?" the boy asked, looking at Jon and Rickon, recognizing that they weren't exactly adults.

It wasn't as though it was particularly unusual for a fourteen-nameday-old boy to act like an adult in this world. The age of majority was already sixteen, and there were fourteen-nameday-old boys who were already lords.

Even so, two fourteen-nameday-old boys traveling South without any adult of higher standing supervising them, aside from the guards who were certainly under their command, might seem strange. Lord Stark, however, had made it quite clear that the guards were to interfere with any improper decisions the two might make.

"Don't worry. We know how to take care of ourselves," Rickon said firmly.

"Is it true that you made a field for the jousts? Are you really going to enter the tournament? Are you..."

The boy began bombarding them with questions, while Lord Reed placed a hand on his head. "Derick, let them settle in first. We'll have plenty to talk about. Let our guests breathe now that they've arrived from a long journey," Lord Reed said to his son.

The boy named Derick nodded, and Jon felt Lord Reed's eyes on him soon afterward, filled with curiosity.

"And I see you've brought only one wolf." He said, looking at Ghost, who was obviously accompanying them South, but there was also a certain bird flying above his head.

"Ghost is part of our team." Jon said, and the man nodded, although there wasn't just one. Three more soon followed: an eagle, a raven, and an owl.

Lord Reed followed their path as they flew overhead, while they landed on a branch, seeming more comfortable there, and remained watching Jon.

Jon stared at him, while Lord Reed gave a nod of acknowledgment. Jon said nothing either. They were led inside the Reed seat, while Jon listened to Rickon comment on the place and also gave his own opinion.

They were given rooms, and the first thing Jon went to do was head to the library, after Rickon said he wanted to explore the place.

Jon knew Rickon wouldn't be interested and stayed there for some time, until the Reeds' youngest son, named Donnel, found him first.

Jon looked at the pair of young eyes staring at him from the entrance to the library.

"What can I do for you, young Reed?" Jon asked calmly, while the boy seemed somewhat uncertain about approaching, but came closer anyway.

"Do you like to read?" Donnel asked.

"Of course."

"I don't, but the maester insists," he said carefully, sitting beside Jon, who was on the floor with a candle at his side.

"Reading is good. Just as a whetstone sharpens the edge of a sword, reading sharpens the mind," he said.

"Really...?" The young Reed seemed quite curious about the analogy, even becoming thoughtful before he began to understand and smiled as it clicked.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

"Something about the South. There are some interesting books here about Lord Flint around eight centuries ago, during a campaign against the ironborn," Jon said, curious to find a book about a neighboring house in the Reeds' library. Well, that shouldn't be too unusual, but it was something Jon had never read about before, so it interested him.

"Can you read it to me?" he asked curiously.

Jon smiled and nodded. "Of course," he said before beginning to read aloud everything he was reading, while the boy sat beside him to listen. Jon continued telling him about the battle that had happened long ago, while the boy seemed fascinated as he listened to him.

After some time, Rickon arrived, and he wasn't alone. With him was also the boy's older brother, Derick.

"Ah, you're here, and you're with my brother," said Lord Reed's eldest son, approaching with Rickon.

"Hey Jon, did you know this whole place is solid? It really feels like an island! They also have a heart tree here! And they have a good place to train. We can do that tomorrow," Rickon said excitedly. "I heard Edric, that guard who escorted us, has some skill with a sword. We can test him."

Jon nodded and stared at his friend. "You seem pretty comfortable for someone visiting one of your father's vassals' seats for the first time, without him," Jon said, while the Stark displayed a proud smile.

"Of course. You know I have to grow up," he said.

Jon nodded. It wasn't a lie. "Well, you're right about that."

The boy beside him also began to talk, asking questions about their training.

"Rickon said you're better than him. He said you won a tournament when you were almost half the age you are now."

Jon then noticed the interest of the four-nameday-old boy. "It's true, but I was 10 namedays old."

"In front of the king?" he asked. "My father was there!" the boy spoke again.

"I was lucky."

Rickon snorted beside him. "Lucky? You had men three times your age against you."

"Did you win fifteen hundred gold coins?" the boy asked again, while Jon looked at his friend.

"You told him everything?" Rickon merely shrugged. "He asked for all the details."

Jon nodded. "It's true, but we were lucky."

"Did you see dragons?"

There it was, a question every child in Westeros liked to ask. Jon could say that he had seen more dragons than most. He was probably the first person in that world to enter the mind of one, both in that life and the other, but clearly some things shouldn't be said.

"We did. We saw three dragons."

"You saw a black dragon, right? It invaded the camp. My father told me about it," the four-nameday-old boy said now, excited.

Jon told them what he could about that day, while the children listened in fascination.

They returned to their rooms and, later, had dinner with the Reed family. Jon was given a seat beside Rickon.

"I've been hearing a few things," Lord Reed said, looking at Jon.

Jon remained silent, a sign for him to continue.

"Lord Stark plans to make some changes in the North, if I'm not mistaken?" he asked curiously. Even the children stopped eating and looked at them.

"My father... Yes, he has some plans for the realm," Rickon said beside him. His tone was quite neutral.

"If half of what I've heard is true, then I believe the North will benefit greatly from it," he said, looking at Jon again, seeming to have more information than his words revealed.

It was obvious that Lord Reed was talking about Dragon Point and Jon becoming a noble... About marrying the Stark daughter. It was obvious that some rumors would get out, especially when Jon, Rickon, Lyra, and Bennard had spoken about it out loud in the middle of the courtyard. Nothing was official, but certainly some whispers were beginning to travel.

The fact that Lord Reed already knew about it made Jon think. He could say that the man had heard it through whispers, but Greywater Watch didn't seem like a place that received many visitors, and he also didn't seem like the kind of person who would spend his time listening to people from the North, unless it was through official letters?

He didn't think the man would pay much attention to whispers, but Jon also believed the man might have much more to him because of Reed blood. He knew that blood from another world. He knew they were important and that they could even produce greenseers among them.

Bran Stark, despite being the greatest greenseer of the century and a cousin of Jon in that other life, had children with a daughter of the Reeds and produced children powerful in those areas. His bloodline was always well known after his death, as were the Reeds themselves.

Anyway, the conversations continued, with Lord Reed asking about their plans to go South. In context, they would stay a few weeks in the Riverlands and then go to the Vale.

The next day, Jon went to the courtyard with Rickon and a few more Reed soldiers, mainly Edric. The children were also there to watch as they both began to train. Rickon was good, but Jon was exceptional, as always. No adult managed to defeat him, while Rickon came away dazed, though he had also lost few fights and had even beaten adults.

"You continue to be insufferable," Rickon said, sitting beside his friend, drinking some water from his waterskin and offering it to Jon.

"You were the one who used to shout to the Seven Winds that I would become the greatest swordsman in the North. I see you don't seem quite as enthusiastic about that these days." Jon mocked him.

"You and your damned mouth, Jon. I wasn't lying, you're really good, but you're insufferable about it. Don't let your arrogance go to your head."

"My arrogance or your jealousy?" Jon asked.

"Tsk." Rickon clicked his tongue and remained silent for a while, changing the subject. "So we're going to do that tomorrow, right?" Rickon said, looking at the sky. It was still morning, so there was some mist and the sky was closed in, cloudy.

"If it doesn't snow, we'll do it," Jon said.

An eagle landed near him, while he stroked it.

"Where are the others?" Rickon asked.

"They're exploring the swamp," he said, while Shadow, the raven, and Snow, the owl, were roaming around out there. The eagle was more than content to stay there near Jon.

Later, they went to the heart tree. Jon knelt before it and prayed briefly. Afterward, he returned to the library, while Rickon had a meeting with Lord Reed, a request from Lord Stark so that he could also teach him about the expectations of ruling Winterfell one day.

Jon spent time training with the guards and, at the end of the day, got Rickon and made him take care of his own equipment, since that was a condition they had set. They wouldn't have guards or servants doing it for them.

"We need to get a squire soon," was the first thing Rickon said when they finished.

"We aren't even knights and you're already talking about squires?" Jon mocked. Ghost was lying near them.

"We hope to be soon, right? We don't have much time to enter the tournament. I just want to see how this grand plan of yours is going to accomplish such things."

"I have a few plans, but don't worry. The world of the South is as wonderful as they like to make it sound, while we're the savages," Jon said.

Rickon stared at him for a moment, but nodded in silence. He didn't know what Jon was planning, but he would trust him.

There were robberies, bandit camps, criminals on the loose, and many things they could use to earn knighthood. They only needed a man willing to knight them after they had done a few good deeds.

For example, if Jon's fight against the wildlings, which had happened some time ago, had taken place in the South and some knights had come to assist them after Jon killed two men, he certainly would have been recognized and knighted as Ser Jon.

And with his animals, they would have plenty of bandits to attack soon.

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