WILOW-Ch.362: Leaving Riverrun
Near the Riverrun Castle, Riverlands
POV of Domeric Bolton
Two days later.
Domeric sat on his horse and led his army away from Riverrun.
Beside him, Ygritte was sitting on her own horse, and Varko, Raksa, and Ser Barristan Selmy followed behind him, who were then followed by his personal guards, who were then in turn followed by the 1st Legion soldiers.
The duel with Ser Barristan Selmy took place in a clearing in the forest outside Riverrun with only a few spectators.
The duel was harder than his duel with Ser Jamie Lannister, as he wasn't allowed to attack back. But he had not stopped his daily sword practice with his Sworn Shields and thus became a better swordsman since then.
Moreover, since he had restructured his muscles with the Dragonlord ritual, he was able to regain strength through training. He had not missed a single workout since then unless absolutely necessary.
Despite that, Ser Barristan Selmy showed his experience and almost nicked him more than a few times, with only his inhuman reflexes allowing him to move out of the way of the strike.
In the end, Ser Barristan was too tired to continue and accepted his defeat before giving him an oath of loyalty and accepting him as his lord.
He kept his part of the deal and told Ser Barristan about the secret marriage of Prince Rhaegar and Lady Lyanna and their child, Aegon Targaryen, who was then named Jon Snow.
And that was how he gained one of the most famous knights in history in his entourage.
"You still haven't told me how you're going to cross the Golden Tooth." Ygritte said as she rode beside him, "You plan on taking that secret with you to your grave?"
He looked at her and gave her a cheerful smile.
"No."
"I'm starting to doubt you even have an idea about crossing the Golden Tooth."
He put a hand on his chest and mock gasped, "Even my own wife is starting to doubt me now. Woe is me."
Ygritte frowned, and seeing no other reaction from her, he chuckled.
"You're right, though." He said.
"About what?" she asked.
He leaned into her ear and whispered, "About me not having a plan."
Ygritte gave him a sharp glare. "You're kidding, right?"
"Nope." He said with a cheerful smile.
She scrunched up her brow, looking cute as fuck while doing so. "You always have a plan."
"Well… I do know a few ways in which we could cross the Golden Tooth." He said with a shrug.
"But most of them are magical in nature, and one of them would cost me some of my men. If possible, I would rather not use them. But if push comes to shove, then I won't have any problem in crossing the Golden Tooth."
Ygritte let out a sigh at that. "Well, at least we're not going to our deaths." She looked at him, "Want to share some of your plans with me?"
He shrugged, "They're really not all that complicated. I could use the giants with the hammers to destroy the gates and enter the castle. I could sneak inside and open the gate from inside on my own. I could sneak inside and force the commander to open the gates for us. I could use a wildfire barrel to blow the gates. Or use the wyverns and wildfire to burn the castle to the ground. Really. I've dozens of options on my mind. But I'm trying to find one that would allow us to cross the castle with minimum bloodshed from our side."
"And have you thought about such a way?" she asked.
He nodded. "Two ways, actually." He said, "First one is to find an alternate path to go across the castle."
She frowned at his words, so he explained.
"Take Moat Cailin, for example." He said, "The Castle looks impenetrable, and the swamps around that area are a death trap. But I know for a fact that the Reeds, who have lived in that area for centuries, know of a way or two to go through the swamps and come out the other side without needing to siege Moat Cailin."
"So. You're saying that…"
"Yes. Most castles like these usually have a hidden path that the nearby smallfolk can use to go from one place to another. Like how the fishermen living near the Green Fork River knew where the river is at its shallowest."
Ygritte nodded in understanding. "What is the second option?"
"The second option is to be used when I'm either not able to find such a path or such a path doesn't exist in the first place," he said. "The second option is that I use my magic to create such a path on my own."
"Huh!?"
"Oh, don't look so surprised." He smiled, "Just because I don't use my magic to do large-scale transfiguration doesn't mean I'm not capable of it."
Then he frowned, "Unfortunately, this will take a lot of time. Perhaps even a whole week or longer. So, I would rather search for the first option. That would allow us to quickly cross the castle without anyone knowing, and then we'll be able to attack the Lannister army by surprise."
Ygritte nodded at his words and went quiet.
He looked at her curiously as she gained a thoughtful expression.
She finally looked at him, her eyes a little hesitant, and asked, "Can I use magic as well?"
He raised an eyebrow at her words.
"Do you want to?" he asked.
She nodded, "Yes. You're doing so much for our people. I want to help you, too."
"You're already helping." He said.
She frowned, "I… know. But I also don't want to be left behind by you."
He scratched his cheek and nodded, "Once this war is over, I'll see what I can do for you."
Ygritte smiled at his words and jumped from her horse into his.
He caught her in the last moment, and she gave him a cheeky smile and sat in front of him.
"Well then. Lead on, my lord." She said with a smirk, and he smiled.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.363: Restocking
Ch.364: New Ships from Yunkai
Ch.365: Golden Tooth