Chapter 22: Singer
It was another judgement day in Winterfell. I was going to give justice to those who wanted it. The peasants were in a row in the great hall and were waiting for their turn.
"Next!!" The guard yelled as two men and a woman came forward.
As far as I can see, the woman and one of the men were very old and the man's eyes were blind and there were some scratches on his face. The other was rather young but there was a scowl on his face as he eyed the old man and woman. Also, the young man was limping as he walked and it was obvious his wound was fresh because there was a trickle of blood on his pants. They knelt before me as I motioned for them to rise and talk.
"My lord," It was the old man who spoke first, "When Lord Rickard was alive, I and my wife owned a small and old house in Wintertown, one made from wood. Winters were cold but at least, we had someplace to cover our heads. But two days ago, my grandson who was living at the New Gift with his family came and kicked us out of the house, claiming it for themselves. He even beat me! We only had that house and had nowhere to say. Please, my lord, help us!"
My eyes went to the young man. The scowl was constant on his face but when he saw me looking at him, the scowl was replaced by an obedient look. This man was a good player, that's for sure.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" I asked the young man.
"My lord, me, my wives and my kids were staying in a barn in the New Gift. I have seven boys to look after and the barn was too small for us so we came here, hoping my grandfather could help us. However, he told us that his house is not big enough for thirteen people. We had nowhere to go so I asked to stay at least for a night. The next day, when we were leaving, I tripped on a rock and sprained my foot so I went back to my grandfather and asked to stay for a few days. However, he tried to shove me back saying that I was already over my stay. I held on to him to not fall and he fell, instead of me. That is it."
"Liar!!" The old man yelled while I banged the armrest of my seat to silence them. The old man held his tongue back and looked at the young man, venomously.
"Enough!" I yelled and looked at the young man, "Tell me, where do your wives and children stay?"
"At my grandfather's house, my lord," he said.
"Your grandfather says that he didn't want you at his home and you threw him and your grandmother out? How come your wives and children are still at that house?" I asked.
The young man began fidgeting, "We didn't have anywhere to stay, my lord…" His eyes searched everywhere for an escape. It was obvious he was the guilty one here but I still let him continue. "We... we… we bought the house from him for two gold dragons."
The old man wanted to open his mouth to refute but I raised my hand and stopped him. My eyes turned to the guard who escorted them, "Who owns the building?" I asked the guard.
After I had rebuilt all the houses in Wintertown, documents were distributed to the owners to prove their ownership of the building. Thus, it was a pretty easy matter to solve.
The old man took out a scroll and gave it to the guard. The guard was one of the rarest ones who knew how to read so he quickly skimmed through the document.
"Elric, son of Harlon, the old man is the owner of the house, my lord." the guard said.
I nodded my head as I gave my judgement, "The change of ownership of the properties in Wintertown is supervised by the scribes in here and the trade must happen before their eyes. Thus, the owner of the house is Elric, son of Harlon." I turned my eyes to the young man, "You, your wives and your children will leave the house immediately. For lying to your liege and for the attempted theft of property, you shall be flogged five times in the centre of Wintertown and you shall serve five moons in the fields but what you gain will be given to Elric, son of Harlon, per your punishment. Meanwhile, your wives will be given jobs at the local tavern and they will stay in a winter house with your children."
A satisfied smile graced the face of the elderly couple while the young man's face drained of its colours. He tried to speak out against the sentence but the guards were already there and taking him to the dungeons.
Just as I was going to call the next person, some guards barged through the door and ran before me. I looked at them angrily, "What is this?!"
"My… my lord," One of the guards came beside me and whispered to my ear but it was obvious he was out of breath, "There are some green dwarves outside, they want to speak with you…"
"Green dwarves?" I frowned.
"Aye, my lord. They are green and brown." the guard said.
I rose to my feet and proceeded to go to the gates but stopped at the last moment and turned to look at Maester Luwin, "I will not accept anyone today, let them come the next day." I said as I turned to leave.
The people began murmuring as I left the great hall. When I arrived before the gates, I saw a huge crowd surrounding the gates and there were even some giants amongst them. Seeing me coming, the guards parted the crowd and opened the way for me.
I saw over twenty figures under some weird hooded robes made from tree barks and leaves. I frowned as I looked at one of them's status screen.
[Name: Maighstir Uaine
Diplomacy: 32
Martial: 6
Stewardship: 11
Intrigue: 23
Learning: 102
Opinion: 92]
What the fuck!! What is that name? And what is that learning?!!!!!! Even Styr doesn't have that much learning.
As I was in shock, the hooded figure I was looking at removed her hood and gasps heard all over the crowd. A small creature with green skin and yellow eyes greeted us. She only had three fingers and a thumb. She didn't have any nails but sharp black claws.
These green creatures were children of the forest. I thought the last of them lived in Beyond the Wall with Bloodraven. How did they come here? Was it some plot of Bloodraven? Did something happen?
"Greetings, Chosen One. Come to renew our oath, we have." the small creature spoke with her melodic sound.
I was spaced out for a moment and when I came to my senses, I realized the crowd was pointing their fingers and murmuring amongst each other. I turned back to the children and said, "Let's talk about it in the Godswood."
I turned around without waiting for a reply and spoke to the guard nearby me while walking, "Call Styr to the Godswood."
The guard nodded his head and quickly went away. I looked back and saw them following me like ducklings. It did not take long for us to reach Godswood. Brandon was there brushing the branches of the heart tree with a small brush and an empty bowl in his hand.
He quickly turned around when he heard some voices and his eyes grew when he saw me. "Father!" he yelled and put the bowl and brush to the ground and rushed to me.
A smile graced my face as I caught him while he was jumping on me. "Were you brushing the branches, again? I thought Styr was going to teach you how to make weirwood paste?"
Brandon giggled, "Father, you make weirwood paste from the fallen small woods while brushing the branches."
I put him to the ground and patted his head as he sulked. He really didn't like someone touching his hair. I smiled and turned back to the children," This is my son, Brandon." I said.
Brandon opened his eyes wide and looked at the children. "Singers!" he yelled but quickly held his mouth and a red shade took over his face.
"Green, in your tongue, my name is. Good to know there are humans knowing our history, it is. Strong, your green blood is." Green smiled kindly.
I nodded my head approvingly. After all, I was a father and I had the right to be proud of my son.
As we were conversing, Styr came in with rushed steps. He stopped and his eyes grew wide when he saw the children. "Singers!" he exclaimed just like Brandon.
They began to talk amongst each other while I stood there waiting for them. I was getting impatient as I wanted to learn their reason for coming. "If you are finished, I would like to learn why you came now but not before," I said.
Green looked at the other children who nodded their heads. She turned to me and said, "Dead, the greenseer is. Spoken the truth before his death, he has. Come to renew our oath, so we have."
I was confused as hell. Was she mentioning the death of Bloodraven? What was the truth she had spoken?
Seeing our confused looks, another singer with nut-brown skin, accompanying her golden and green eyes came forward. "Allow me to explain, Chosen One, I am Leaf. Green is not as well-versed as me in human tongue." Green snorted as Leaf continued, "Bloodraven, the last greenseer, has died but before his death, he showed us the truth he has hidden from us. Nearly ten years ago, we discovered a disturbance in the stars and looked to the greenseer for his vision. However, he deluded us with wrong words for reasons of greed."
"Another greenseer? That is impossible! I was the last one!" Styr exclaimed.
Leaf smiled like a proud eagle, "The magic of the Wall and ours interweaved to create the perfect cover from the foreign magic. Thus, none could see us and harm us."
Styr's brows rose to his hairline as Leaf continued, "Anyway, three moons ago, he was wounded when he tried to control an animal. He said that another seer took over his host. You must know that the greenseer is old and he was already nearing his death by the time of his death. We didn't know where to go but at his last moments, he told us the truth. A chosen one appeared!"
"By the oath, we have sworn, we are bound to pledge our loyalty to the Chosen One when the time comes. Thus, we came," she said in one breath.
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