The North, Winterfell, Winter Town
"Creak... creak..."
In a bedroom of the "Red Lynx" tavern, an old-fashioned sentinel tree bed was swaying under the baptism of a storm.
In this storm filled with a pink atmosphere, Theon, acting as the sailor, and "Sweetwine" Amy were flanking the red-haired beauty from earlier.
Meanwhile, the voluptuous black-haired beauty named Emma was screaming wantonly, filling the entire bedroom with her somewhat exaggerated cries.
"Hiss... Lord Theon, I am Amy Flowers from The Reach. We have already reached an agreement with your father, Lord Balon Greyjoy. Tomorrow night is the day we take Winterfell."
"Huff... wha... what? My... my father?"
Although Emma's voice was very loud, this close-range conversation still allowed Jon to hear a name that was both familiar and strange to him.
"Your sister, hiss... Yara Greyjoy is already on her way. Moat Cailin and Torrhen's Square have been taken, and Barrowton is under siege. As long as we take this place, the entire North will belong to House Greyjoy."
Amy Flowers' voice was like honey, drawing Theon's mind toward that beautiful future. He was very happy; in his eyes, he had finally found the hope to prove himself.
"I will work hard, I will prove myself!"
Stimulated by this emotion, Theon's combat effectiveness seemed to increase significantly, leaving Emma utterly defeated.
If Ros were here, she would surely marvel at Theon's combat prowess; after all, when she was usually with him, Theon was just his usual mediocre self.
Afterward, Theon stayed in the room for more than half an hour. When he walked out the door, "Red-haired" Ros looked at him with a somewhat different gaze.
Tonight's events seemed like a minor interlude, but after the "Red Lynx" tavern closed, an owl with grey-white feathers suddenly flew out from there.
Early the next morning, a swift horse quickly broke the silence of Winterfell. When Theon walked out of his bedroom, he was directly woken up by Winterfell's new maester, Maester Naelys from the Kingdom of the Daughters.
Because of the relationship with The Citadel, after Jon took Maester Luwin away, he sent one of his own maesters to Winterfell.
Maester Naelys was specifically sent by Jon to help the North. He had high attainments in botany, medicine, and animal husbandry, and had thoroughly mastered many of the theories passed down by Jon.
Under the guidance of Maester Naelys, several household retainers of House Stark gathered under the heart tree. After Vayon Poole's death, Eddard Stark chose a former Lysene slave named Swann, introduced by Jon, as the steward of Winterfell.
This former high-level slave, who had received specialized training in Lys, managed the castle's affairs very strictly. It was precisely because of his presence that Winterfell became well-organized.
Many old castle buildings and facilities were even put back into use directly under his arrangement.
By the time Theon arrived, many people had already gathered. After habitually greeting the elders like Rodrik Cassel, Theon found a place to stand.
Eddard Stark stood under the heart tree with his lady, Catelyn Stark. After scanning the surroundings, Eddard spoke:
"I have called everyone here today to share some news. This morning, messages suddenly arrived from Barrowton and Torrhen's Square. They have been attacked by a group of unknown forces."
"Is it those southerners?"
"Has Barrowton suffered as well? Lady Barbrey is actually asking for reinforcements?"
"May the old gods protect us..."
...Amidst the discussions of the crowd, Eddard turned his gaze toward Rodrik Cassel, and the stout, bald Master-at-Arms of Winterfell stepped forward at the appropriate time.
"Respected Lord Eddard, I am willing to lead five hundred lads to provide support and, while I'm at it, find out exactly what the situation is. I think we should call upon the army of Castle Cerwyn in advance to come and assist."
"Would we be being a bit too cautious? Not only do we have to support The Wall now, but we also have to watch out for those mountain bandits and outlaws within the North. Constantly calling up the army will affect the management of the commons."
At this moment, Theon, who usually didn't speak much, spoke up directly.
"That is indeed the case. Although we have support from the Kingdom of the Daughters, if our troop movements are too frequent, it will easily affect our normal lives."
Upon hearing Theon's view, Maester Naelys also spoke up in agreement.
"Theon, do you truly think so?"
After listening to Maester Naelys, Eddard turned to look at Theon and then spoke those words.
"I... yes, I feel there is no need to call up the army for the time being. Let us wait until Ser Rodrik returns before we decide!"
Seeing Eddard's questioning gaze, Theon looked away somewhat fearfully.
"Very well! Let Rodrik take men to inspect the situation first!"
Seeing Theon's persistence, a flash of pain flickered in Eddard's eyes.
As the meeting concluded, the people present slowly left the Godswood. As Theon walked, he appeared distracted and out of sorts.
"Thump... Ouch..."
While Theon was thinking about what to do tonight, someone suddenly slapped his shoulder heavily. Already nervous, he instinctively struck back, only to hear a familiar cry of pain.
"Ouch, Master Theon, don't use so much force. I'm not your enemy."
The speaker was Hallis Mollen, the Captain of the Guard at Winterfell. After Rodrik Cassel's unfortunate grandson died, this lad from House Mollen became the Captain of the Guard.
Before Hallis Mollen became the Captain of the Guard, he was on the best terms with Theon, often going to play three-person games with Ros.
"I really didn't expect you to make such a suggestion. Don't you usually never care about the lives of those commoners? Why the sudden change of heart today?"
"Perhaps the old gods gave me guidance!"
After being teased by Hallis Mollen with an arm around his shoulder, Theon said somewhat speechlessly.
Since Theon had grown up in Winterfell since he was a child, he had no idea what the faith of the Iron Islands was actually like, so he followed the local customs and believed in the old gods.
"Hey! I heard that last night you went looking for... mmm..."
Before Hallis Mollen could finish his sentence, Theon clapped a hand over his mouth. After checking that no one around was looking, Theon said with an unfriendly tone:
"What kind of nonsense have you been hearing outside? I'm telling you, I was just visiting a whore normally. You'd better not talk nonsense!"
Hallis Mollen was a man with a loose tongue; any rumors or gossip he heard would be spread far and wide by him.
Upon realizing the other party was just engaging in his usual teasing, Theon's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back down.
After chatting aimlessly with Hallis Mollen for a while, Theon returned to his bedroom and didn't come out again.
As time passed, nightfall descended directly over Winterfell. Normally, Winterfell's night market would last until around the middle of the night.
With the end of the night market, the entirety of Winterfell and Winter Town fell into a state of silence. Aside from the occasional barking of a dog, no other sounds could be heard.
"Meow... hiss..."
On a wall by the main road, a night cat was issuing a warning to a male that had intruded upon its territory. The intruder also had its fur standing on end, emitting low growls from its mouth.
However, very quickly, the two night cats seemed to sense danger and promptly jumped down from The Wall.
Under the bright Moonlight, some blurry figures suddenly appeared on the road leading to Winterfell. These figures were very alert, moving only within the shadows.
Since the gates of Winterfell were closed, few people were active here, aside from the City Watch soldiers in Winter Town.
Normally, there would be soldiers patrolling here, but tonight, this main road was unusually silent, as if everyone had fallen asleep.
Under the lead of Amy Flowers, these mercenaries from The Reach crept directly toward the vicinity of Winterfell's South Gate.
Although mercenaries on the continent of Westeros were not as numerous or diverse as those on Essos, those who could make a name for themselves here were basically among the best in the industry.
The "Flowers of the Night" was a mercenary company that specialized in unsavory work. Many of its members came from all over the world; whores, assassins, exiles, bastards, and masters of mysterious powers could all basically be found among them.
Under the operation of Emma, who had shared a night of pleasure with Theon, a glass lantern flashed three times directly toward the position of Winterfell's South Gate.
Following the signal from outside the city, three flashes of light also appeared directly at the gatehouse of Winterfell's South Gate.
"Prepare to move!"
Under Amy Flowers' whispered command, the order was passed all the way to the rear. Immediately following, those members of the "Flowers of the Night" who had been hiding in the shadows swarmed forward, rushing to the vicinity of the city gate.
"Click... click..."
Amidst a series of slight noises, the mechanism of Winterfell's South Gate slowly began to move. Seeing that the gate had opened a crack, Amy Flowers hastily signaled everyone to rush up.
The people of the "Flowers of the Night" often used this method to complete their missions; such things were already very familiar to them.
Therefore, after opening the city gate, they would not run up and attack while screaming. Instead, they would expand the theater of operations, either destroying the gate mechanism or seizing the gatehouse.
Amy Flowers, who was leading from the front, soon saw Theon dressed in black at the gate. Looking at his excited expression, Amy was somewhat helpless.
"Why did you come down? Weren't you supposed to stay in the gatehouse and wait for our people to go up?"
Upon hearing Amy Flowers' words, Theon did not answer directly but said with some excitement:
"As a noble Greyjoy, I hope to personally lead you to complete the mission!"
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