## **Chapter 7: Raiders on the Road**
**12th Day of the 3rd Moon, 285 AC**
**Wagon Trail, Edge of the Haunted Forest**
**Three wagons standard wanderer setup.** Lead wagon: Vaelen's anvil, hammers, iron bars, spare wheels, family blankets/pots. Middle wagon: salt meat barrels, grain sacks, dried fish – feeds 15 refugees walking behind plus crofter families aboard. Rear wagon: Mara and four related crofter households trading wool cloth north. Small caravan fixed broken axles for smallfolk, salted meat before spoilage, traded tools north. Practical mobile repair crew, not rich merchant train. [1]
Forest dark even midday. Tall pines blocked 80% sunlight, trail slick snowmelt mud sucking wheels half-inch deep. Vaelen rode point mule, posture stiff pain-locked. **Black veins thick neck/hands/forehead lines age 38** – **Solvarin biology accelerated regeneration from Long Night blood**. Cells healed 2x normal speed baseline. Cuts closed hours not weeks. Dance fights gave superhuman speed/strength 2 hours. **Cost: burned life force.** Solvarins averaged 35 winters vs North 45. Heavy fighters died 38-42. Crimson shard pressed cool chest under shirt – family warning stone.
Raen drove lead wagon, eleven winters muscled from daily firewood hauls/axle lifts. Practice sword – 28-inch Northern steel, light pommel-balanced – sheathed right hip. Draw smooth 100 morning reps.
Vaelen half-turned saddle. "Raen, check rear wagon spokes. Looked loose yesterday."
Raen knotted reins crofter lad, jumped ground, jogged 40 yards back. Knelt rear wheel, thumb-tested each spoke tension, rocked axle side-to-side. "Tight enough. Mud worst next mile ruts."
"Good eye," Vaelen called. "Broken wheel strands us overnight raider bait."
**Hooves crashed left treeline** – heavy gallop, brush snapping loud. Mules ears pricked forward. Raen hand sword hilt instant. "Riders left flank! Twelve horses minimum!"
**Raiders exploded trail 50 yards ahead**, mounts sliding halt mud splatter. Twelve men desperate mix: four wildling halfbreeds (bone necklaces seal hide armor spears), five Stark levy deserters (rusted half-mail stolen swords round shields), three Ironborn stragglers (fishscale vests boarding axes short hooks). Horses lathered sweat foam – chased prior prey. **Leader: one-eyed brute mid-30s roan gelding, double-headed axe 6ft shaft beard crusted dried blood.** "Wagons HALT! Meat horses women coin – strip or die screaming!"
**"Circle formation NOW!"** Vaelen roared gravel-lung. Kicked mule 15 yards forward blocking trail head-on. Longsword out – 34-inch castle-forged edge razor dawn-honed.
Raen yanked reins hard left – lead mules lunged sideways wagon slewing 90 degrees blocking path. Crofter behind whipped middle wagon parallel 10ft gap. Rear wagon bumped tight last shafts locked forming **triangle fortress 9ft high** – canvas walls board sides mules/horses inside pen. Refugees piled wagon beds clutching spears pitchforks knives. Crofter men grabbed axes under seats ready gaps.
Raiders reacted trained: **six dismounted 25 yards foot-fighting**, **four horseback wheeled flanking**, **two shortbow archers reined 60 yards drawing fletchings nock**. Leader spurred direct Vaelen axe overhead two-hand chop 8ft reach screaming.
**Vaelen mule sidestep 3ft drilled** – axe blade buried 10 inches mud *thunk* shoulder-deep. Vaelen stabbed precise under left armpit through mail rings – 14 inches lung heart. Leader gasped bloody froth axe stuck ground slid horse right-side kicking mud dying 30 seconds.
**Foot wildling spearmen charged Raen first** – lead tattoo-face 30s leveled 7ft spear thrust chest-high. Raen stepped wagon tongue left 2ft point scraped shirt 1-inch tear past ribs. **Practice sword flashed hamstring slice** – tendon severed audible *pop*. Man collapsed forward screaming leg useless. Raen kicked supporting knee sideways stabbed throat cartilage. Blood hot spray boots/shins instant.
**Second raider levy deserter mace** – swung overhand skull-crush Raen's head. Crofter lad inside wagon stabbed spear board gap caught mace-man shoulder pinning arm high. Raen ducked mace *whoosh* ear-close counter upward groin stab through leather codpiece. Man shrieked falsetto mace dropped hands clutching wound. Raen collarbone thrust finished clean.
**Right-flank horseback Ironborn** – boarding axe hooked rear wagon tongue yank loose. Mara's husband rear guard 50s blacksmith climbed side fast hatchet two-hand overhead rider neck *crunch* vertebrae severed. Horse panicked left crashing trees rider dangling deadweight.
**Archers loosed volley** – first arrow *thunk* lead wagon board 4 inches Raen's ducked head. Second grazed lead mule haunch shallow – animal squealed bucked wild kicking raider horse passing close ribs-crack. Crofter woman hurled iron cook pot 20 yards *crack* archer left knee man yelled tumbling horse mud.
**Third foot raider scaled middle wagon side** – fingers gripping canvas rope knuckles white. Refugee girl 14 hayfork stabbed down hand bones *crunch* tines through. Man fell 8ft screaming mangled fingers. Fourth deserter bashed wagon side flail – staves splintered deep layered pine boards held flexing.
**Leaderless raiders faltered** – foot milled unsure horse flankers circled slower arrows spent yelling confusion.
**North trail thunder** – **Mara's six Glover nephews** scouting half-mile back heard fight axes across saddles fresh mounts. Lead Glover bellowed "STARK MEN!" crashed treeline. Axes sheared first archer mid-draw head half-off second wheeled panicked nephew lance ribs-pierce.
Glover charge smashed circling horse raiders – axe heads caved nasal helmets *crunch* sheared sword arms shoulder. Two foot raiders broke running woods tripped mudslide Glover hooves trampled spines snap.
**Fight ended 4:30 minutes.** Twelve attackers: 11 dead, 1 hamstring-crawler dragged begging (Glover axed quick mercy). Trail mud churned bloody soup calf-deep. Two raider horses dead neck-broke, four bolted riderless trees, six captured stabled rear pen.
Vaelen slid mule ground **left forearm gash 6 inches bone-deep** axe-glance missed artery 1/4 inch. **Black veins ballooned wound edges instant** – muscle knit visible 15 minutes eyes-open skin sealed tight pink seamless. **Veins raced collarbone/neck thickening 50% instant** – **life force drained 2 weeks burned**. Leaned lead wagon wheel longsword planted propping breathing deep labored chest tight.
Raen sheathed practice sword ran over hands boot-blood. "Gash closed already? Veins huge neck now."
**"Solvarin blood heals fast,"** Vaelen breathed heavy fist chest. **"Cells regenerate 2x normal from Long Night survival. Baseline averages 35 winters vs North 45. Wounds burn life force payment – arm full strength tomorrow heart lost two weeks permanent."** **Coughed fist open – red flecks palm glistening** proof immediate. **"Dance fights cost months. Father's father died 32 shadowcats. Rest hits 45 max."**
Raen ripped clean strip dead wildling shirt packed wound-bed precaution tourniquet-wrapped elbow-above. Vaelen tested fingers grip strong. "Good tight. Slows bleed-back if fails."
Crofters practical swarm: dragged 11 bodies trail-edge brush pile stripped useable boots (4 pair decent) mail shirts (3 salvage) waterskins/arrows (24). Checked own cuts (3 shallow spear-grazes) stabled 6 captured horses rear pen inventory. Mara inventoried ledger-voice: "Two broken arms wagon-jolt refugees no dead livestock. Good day blood-price."
**Torren Glover lead salt-beard 45** walked spitting bloody grass eyed Vaelen neck veins pulse-thick. "Twelve raiders? Deserters smell easy wagons always got overbold no outrider horn."
**"New rules today,"** Vaelen gravel. **"Daylight 30 miles maximum camp high ground only three pickets 100 yards axes ready."**
Raen wiped sword mud/grass clumps. "I run first picket tonight every night."
Torren grunted respect. "Eleven winters first kill clean throat work. Winterfell wardens train that steel Lord Stark takes fighters young."
**"Three wagons need fighters first,"** Raen flat.
Vaelen nodded faint. **"Lords throne-war crowns we wagon-war salt wheels meat. Double salt meat packs tomorrow spoilage kills refugees faster raiders."**
**Dawn burned body pile** – oil-doused 20 gallons middle wagon barrel flames roared greasy black smoke 90 minutes. Normal corpse stink no blue Others-glow. Crimson shard pulsed warm chest – bigger threats northbound.
**Noon stream halt 30 minutes.** Vaelen sat tailgate lead wagon chest tight breathing shallow handed Raen whetstone oilcloth. **"Thirty strokes each side practice sword test thumbnail sticks edge sharp enough."**
Raen crosslegged schik-schik-schik steady rhythm paused stroke 15. "Rear pair mules throwing shoes forehooves worn quarter-inch."
**"Shoe all four tonight camp,"** Vaelen eyes half-lidded fatigue. **"Lame mule kills caravan dead."**
Wagons rolled 4pm restart. Vaelen arm full motion splinted precaution. **No new veins past collarbone** – curse baseline + healing cost logged permanent. **Raen drove lead scanning woods trail flanks constant.** First kill logged brain. Fear spike passed 10 seconds. Road teacher hardest.
**One year or six months Vaelen maximum** – healing accelerated endgame. Greyjoy Rebellion rumors coastal. Worse shadows Haunted Forest heart.