WILOW-Ch.315: The End of King Robert's Reign
Hardhome, True North
POV of Domeric Bolton
The air swirled, and four people dropped out of nowhere.
Domeric landed on the ice-cold ground and looked at the scenery around him.
They were on top of the cliff overlooking the large flat expanse of land in Hardhome, where a few ships had landed.
He could see the men coming ashore and setting up tents.
"They're here," Ygritte said, and he nodded.
"Are you sure this many men will be enough?" she asked.
"250 men, all decked with magical armor and weapons." He said, "Should be more than enough as long as we don't run across the Thenns or any other large tribes that still remained in these lands."
"I pity those who were left behind." Ygritte said, "All of them will die when Winter comes."
He nodded, "Then they'll rise as White Walkers' wights, and we'll fight them with Dragonglass, Valyrian Steel, and with all the other methods we can find."
"Let us go and greet the men," Ygritte said.
He nodded and took her hand in one of his, and Varko and Raksa held his other hand.
Then, a moment later, they were in front of the tents being set up. The men saw them coming and bowed to him.
He nodded and went to the command tent, where Walton was talking with the captains under him.
Walton looked at him, and his eyes widened. "My lord." He bowed.
The others in the tent followed his action and bowed to him as well, and then there was silence in the tent.
"Tell our men to rest for the rest of the day. We'll start our journey tomorrow. And not stop until we've captured a White Walker itself."
He then took out a few chains from inside his bottomless pouch and gave them to Walton.
"Frost Steel chain treated with Dragon Fire and coated with a thin layer of Valyrian Steel." He explained, "It does not break under the Ice sword. We'll use these chains to bind the White Walker."
He gave a chain to each captain and one to Walton.
He had made more than a dozen chains as a precaution, and all of his companions held a chain as well.
"Kill the wights if you must. Capturing them is no longer important. Our target now is the White Walker." He said.
Once they captured a White Walker, wights would no longer be of much importance to Domeric. After all, he could already create temporary wights with the White Walker crystals he possessed.
And with a White Walker at his disposal, obtaining real wights wouldn't be difficult at all. All he had to do was throw a few corpses in front of the White Walker.
"Any questions?" Domeric asked.
"My lord, which direction will our journey take?" Walton asked.
"First, we'll follow the coastline south, then enter The Haunted Forest to the west. Upon reaching the Antler River, we'll follow it north. From there, we'll wander north until we find the White Walker trail. I don't know how long it will take. So be prepared." He said.
"Yes, my Lord," Walton said.
"Does anyone have any other questions?" Domeric asked again.
No one said anything, and he nodded.
"Good. Take the day off. We'll start our journey tomorrow morning."
With that, he, Ygritte, Varko, and Raksa left the tent.
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Courtyard, Red Keep
POV of Ser Barristan Selmy
Barristan Selmy stood at the corner of the courtyard and looked at the King sparring against a Lannister guard.
Ever since Lord Arryn died, the King has lowered his drinking and binging and has picked up the hammer once again.
After seeing the Ice Sword and hearing about the White Walkers, he could understand why that was.
The King wanted to participate in one last war before dying.
He stood on guard and watched as King Robert wielded a war hammer and continued to hit the guard before the shield finally broke, and the guard fell with a cry of pain, his forearm bent at the point of impact.
He sighed.
This was the 17th Red Cloak whom the King had injured this week.
He knew that the King hated the Lannisters. He himself did not like them very much. But injuring them like this when they could not fight back seemed rather petty to him.
"Next." King Robert said, and the Red Cloaks in the courtyard looked at one another before a young boy was pushed to the front.
King Robert didn't seem to care for the young boy and raised his warhammer.
But the warhammer never struck the terrified boy.
Before the King could bring down his hammer, his face was contorted with pain. The warhammer slipped through his grasp and fell on the ground with a loud 'thud'.
The King held onto his left chest. His face was turning purple by the second from a lack of air, as if someone had strangled his throat.
Then the King fell to the ground, and the courtyard was silent.
"Help your King, you fools!!!" He shouted and rushed forward to make sure that yet another King would not die in his watch.
He reached the King and tried to help him in some way, but he was no Maester and had no idea how to help his liege.
He turned to the boy who had frozen in shock, "Bring the Grand Maester. Now!!!"
It took five minutes for the Grand Maester Pycelle to arrive at the scene.
The King had lost consciousness a while ago but was still breathing.
The Grand Maester asked them to put the King on a stretcher and bring him to his study.
They did as they were asked.
Pycelle told him that the King had suffered a heart attack and his condition might yet worsen.
He was told to wait outside the door as the Grand Maester did what he had to do to save the King.
The other Kingsguard arrived, and he explained the situation to them. They stood outside the door with him. They could do nothing to protect the King from a heart attack. They could only stand there in silence.
The Queen arrived, and he told her about the situation as well. She sneered and left.
Grand Maester Pycelle continued to attend to the King's health throughout the night. And when the dawn arrived, Grand Maester Pycelle gave them the news.
King Robert Baratheon, first of his name, was no longer in the world with them.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.316: Renly Sets His Sights on the Throne
Ch.317: For the Greater Good
Ch.318: Facing the Realities of Life