The sudden news made the subsequent celebration banquet somber and depressing.
With their own agendas, the group had no interest in celebrating any further. After a few drinks, they decided to leave.
Jon Snow, unable to hide his grief, grabbed a jug of wine and ran towards the Godswood.
Galon was worried that something might happen to him, so he sent another person to follow behind and watch over him.
Bran, who was also preoccupied, was soon pushed away in a wheelchair by Reed and his siblings.
Only Galon, Sansa, and Maester Luwin remained in the hall.
Galon's gaze swept over the remaining food before finally settling on Sansa, breaking the silence with his words.
"Besides news about His Excellency the Duke and Robb, have there been any other recent developments?"
His original intention was to inquire whether there was any news from the Iron Islands, but Sansa unexpectedly revealed the news brought by Earl Wyman.
"Sir Davos of Dragonstone previously brought news of Rickon's presence there, as well as the whereabouts of Joffrey and others..."
Sansa looked somewhat awkward and didn't finish her sentence.
Galon had already heard these messages through the Shapeshifting Heart Tree.
So he feigned shock and asked, "How come Rickon is on Dragonstone? And Arya is there too?"
Sansa shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either.
Maester Luwin then added, "Arya shouldn't be here, otherwise Sir Davos would have mentioned it as well."
Garon paused for a moment before speaking, "It seems Dragonstone intends to use Rickon to force King Robb to kneel."
Maester Luwin agreed, "Indeed, I think so too. So I sent a message to King Robb, and they should be receiving it soon."
Galon's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself.
"Currently, there's still no news from the Iron Islands, so it's not time to reveal my plans."
Let's wait and see how things develop.
After thinking it over, he changed the subject and reported the details of the war to Sansa and Maester Luwin.
When Sansa heard that Galon had won the great victory at Horned Hill and then wiped out the Ironborn one by one, her mood fluctuated with the progress of the war, and her sadness lessened a little.
After Galon finished speaking, she noticed the weariness on his face, so she took him to the hot springs to bathe and rest.
Throughout their journey, Galon constantly comforted Sansa.
The two walked to the bathroom door and couldn't help but hug each other.
This time, Galon didn't lay a hand on her; he simply soothed Sansa's sorrow.
They reluctantly let go of each other only when someone came.
Galon went into the bathroom alone, took a hot spring bath, and then turned around and went back to his room to rest.
Nothing happened that night.
The next morning, he got up and trained as usual.
After breakfast, Earl Wyman asked Sansa for permission to return to White Harbor.
As acting lord of the city, Sansa granted Lord Wyman's request and sent Maester Luwin to retrieve the food for Lord Wyman's journey.
Next, one after another, the vassals began to embark on their journeys home with spoils of war and supplies.
After the people from Bear Island left, only Glover's thousand men remained in Winterfell, and the city suddenly became much quieter.
Galon was left behind by Maester Luwin and Sansa.
The Iron Islands had not yet sued for peace, and neither side dared to be careless, so they decided to leave Garon in Winterfell to observe the situation.
Galon was happy to have this.
While letting the soldiers rest, he was also thinking about other things.
Grover lost over three hundred men in the war.
Although this loss is really nothing compared to the victory gained.
Galon was still very distressed.
These people were trained by him with great effort. The death of one of them is a permanent loss, and there is no way to replace them at the moment.
"Sigh, we need to find a way to replenish our manpower."
"Relying solely on Deepwood Fortress will eventually exhaust my army after several major battles."
However, after much deliberation, Galon was unable to find a suitable solution and could only place his hopes on the south.
Meanwhile, Maester Luwin approached him, mentioning Sansa's deal with Asha and wanting to arrange a meeting between Galon and Asha so that Asha could write a letter of surrender.
But Galon had a feeling that now was not the time to see her.
He planned to leave Asha waiting for a few days to extract information about the Iron Islands and make some preparations.
And just like that, several more days passed in the blink of an eye.
Taking advantage of my free time.
Galon spent a few days with Sansa in Winterfell, trying to comfort her and ease her grief.
As a result, Sansa's dependence on Galon grew stronger and stronger.
If her period hadn't been delayed, Galon would probably have already taken her.
Another day has passed.
Galon figured the time was right to meet Asha and planned to go to the dungeon to see her and try to extract some information from her.
But before he could reach the dungeon, a sudden, urgent chime came from the clock tower.
This is the sound of a bell indicating that enemies are approaching!
"Could it be that the Iron Seeds have returned?"
Galon's expression changed, and without paying any attention to Asha, he immediately turned around and climbed the outer tower.
However, he was surprised to see a group of people.
It's not iron.
Instead, it was a group of about five hundred people, all of them burly and covered in thick, unprocessed fur.
They carried obsidian weapons and followed haphazardly behind a tall man riding a unicorn.
The leader of the group saw Garon and his men on Winterfell and a look of delight appeared on his face. He shouted in Common in a thick, strange accent.
"In the name of the ancient inhabitants of Skaggs Island!"
"I, Sparta, leader of the Skaggs, appeal to the Starks, our ancient sworn brothers!"
Galon and the others on the city wall were completely confused.
Skaggs?
Galon recalled carefully, remembering that this group of people was merely mentioned briefly in the original work as island natives, without being described in detail.
His gaze swept over the unicorn beneath the leader, his eyes thoughtful.
"Galon, what should we do?"
Should we let them in?
Jon Snow, standing nearby, was equally surprised and couldn't help but ask Galon.
After a moment's thought, Galon said to Jon, "Go and inform Sansa and Maester Luwin that I will bring them over later!"
Jon nodded, turned and descended the city wall.
Garon shouted to the leader, "You can send a few men into the city to meet with Stark, the rest of you need to stay outside!"
Spartacus, without much thought, agreed.
He selected a few guards, led them along with the unicorn gifts he had brought, and entered Winterfell.
Galon stood beneath the main gate, carefully examining the Skaggs chieftain before him—who was also wrapped in animal skins, dressed like a proper savage, with some kind of mysterious totem branded on his bare arm.
Noticing Galon's gaze, Sparta glared back defiantly.
But with just one glance, he sensed that the equally tall Galon possessed considerable power, and he couldn't help but slightly restrain his arrogant expression.
"Come on, Stark will see you in the hall!"
Galon didn't care at all. He glanced warily at the unicorn he was leading, then turned and led them toward the hall.
A moment later.
After countless years, the Great Hall of Winterfell once again welcomed the Skaggs.