Chapter 118: King Beyond the Wall
Dreadfort Castle
POV of Doric Bolton
Varko arrived at the solar in a short ti. He kicked Raksa on her butt and told the huge girl to get back to her post.
Raksa didn’t even complain. She just sleepily rubbed her eyes, put the helt back on, and went outside.
And now he was alone in the room with Varko, who a few minutes ago was grinning like a loon in the magic mirror.
Yeah. The unsettling feeling was still there.
"So..." Doric spoke nonchalantly. "Any reason why you were smiling so much in the mirror?"
The grin ca back full force and held back the urge to use Petrificus Totalus on the man.
Varko must have picked up on his discomfort because he coughed in embarrassnt and then smiled weakly at him.
"Well... I stole Karsi last night. She beat
bloody for it, but she accepted
in the end." And just like that, the foolish grin ca right back though his cheeks were tinged pink this ti. "It was... great." The man said more to himself than him.
Doric blinked at the news for a mont. Then a similar grin appeared on his face.
"Good! I knew you could do it. Congrats man. I’m so proud of you."
He got up from his chair and went around the table to clap Varko on his shoulders.
"I suppose you deserve a reward for this." He said and thought about what kind of reward he could give his two newly married subordinates.
"How would you like to go to Sumr Island with Karsi and spend a week there? Just enjoying your ti with her?"
Varko smiled at his question but then shook his head.
"As much as I would like that, my lord, I’m afraid I cannot take the offer," Varko said. "Both Karsi and I have our own duties. Without
there to protect you, I would always feel uneasy. Also, Karsi is a general and has to take care of her own troops as well. She can’t just leave them whenever she wants."
Hmm... he had expected that sothing like this would happen. But it was still annoying.
"What do you want then?" he asked. "Tell . If it is sothing within my power then I’ll give it to you."
Varko thought about his words for a few monts before he carefully spoke. "Karsi has two daughters. Johnna and Willa. Both of them are excellent archers. Well... not anywhere near as good as Ygritte but they are still pretty good. If you could make a magical bow for them as well..." Varko trailed off, probably wondering if he had asked for a bit more than was proper.
He just smiled in return. "I will not just make magical bows, but magical quivers for them as well." He said with a smile.
It would take him about four hours to do all that, but he was willing to put in such an effort for his best swordsman under his service and his 2nd General.
Now that the mystery about Varko was solved, he could relax and get on with his work.
There was a patient in the hospital awaiting his visit, and if he played his cards right, he could eventually recruit a talented new subordinate to his ranks.
"Let’s go Varko. We are going to the Hospital."
"As you wish, my lord."
Then Doric and Varko with Raksa in tow left the castle and rode their horses towards the hospital.
After a short ride, they arrived at the hospital and Doric walked towards the patient’s room. He knew where the room was very well because he was the one who brought him here.
When they reached the room Varko and Raksa waited outside while Doric entered the room. And he saw the man he was looking for.
"How are you doing Mance?" he asked as he looked at the man sitting on the bed and looking at his missing right leg.
Mance looked up at him and smiled a toothy smile.
"For soone who lost his right leg and almost died a week ago? I’d say I’m doing pretty darn well." Mance said with a toothy smile. "What is this place anyway? The white walls and the clean room. I’ve been to Winterfell once before. And I know that the castle was not half as clean as this place."
"It’s a place called ’hospital’," Doric replied.
Mance looked confused about that. "Hosti... what? I’ve never heard of that term before."
"It’s a new term. Created by yours truly." He said with a smile. "In essence. It is a building that has a few maesters and midwives in it. Except the only thing they do here is heal people."
"A building to heal people. Huh! Even the common folk?"
"Especially the common folk." He nodded. "Anyone who cos here pays 10 copper stars for a eting with the Healer. The healer then finds what affliction the man, woman, or child has and then prescribes the right dicine for it which they buy from the nearby shop."
"And you made this all on your own?" Mance asked, looking impressed.
"Yes." He replied. "But I’m not here to talk about my accomplishnts. I’m here so that we can talk about you."
"... What’s there to talk about crippled old ?" Mance asked toothily but he knew that Mance was being cautious now.
His face beca serious "Crippled or not. You were once the king beyond the wall. Before the Weeper took that title at least. But you were the leader of the free folk for a decent amount of ti. And the people followed you then..."
"Out of necessity." Mance interrupted him. "I told them that if we don’t move to the South then we’ll all die when the Winter ca. The free folk didn’t follow
because they liked my beard. No. They followed
out of necessity. Because they knew what was coming."
His lips thinned at that. "I know. But the fact remains that you were their king once upon a ti. And titles such as these hold weight."
"You’re afraid of ," Mance said in realization.
"No Mance. I’m not afraid of you but what you represent." He said.
"And what do I represent?" Mance asked.
He pulled a chair, put it near the bed, and sat down on it.
"I’ve worked long and hard for the past few years to make my lands as prosperous as they are." He said in a somber tone while looking outside the window.
"You and I both know that I took a risk when I brought the free folk to my lands. Till now I’ve kept the various tribes apart and given them their own livelihoods to live a better life than the that was granted to them North of the Wall." He said and waited a while before continuing.
"But the fact remains that despite all that I’ve done, they still consider themselves free folk in their hearts. And if the relationship between them and the people of the North deteriorates, then they can rally behind the king who once united them before."
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Ch.119: Ambassador
Ch.120: Tyrion on His Way
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