章 141: Escaped Prisoner
Moving their torches, both Robb and Jon came to a stop as they saw the flames flicker as the wind rushed over them. A cool breeze came down the long corridors of the crypts, coming not from behind them as one would expect, but in front of them. There was an opening up ahead somewhere, an opening that led up to the world above.
"Has the collapsing gotten worse?" Jon wondered, but as they both looked at the stone walls and roof of the crypts, the idea became less certain. Yet, neither could deny the cold wind they could feel brushing against their cheeks and making the flames flicker.
There was a source of wind up ahead.
"Must be," Robb replied, it being the only answer that made sense.
As the two pushed on, the tombs of the Stark family became even more sparse as they began to explore deeper and deeper. They were no longer moving through centuries of family history, but many millennia, the names upon the stones have become worn down to the point that their names were unknown.
It was a new place for them both, neither of them have ever come down this deep in their lives. There had always been a strange atmosphere surrounding the crypts, one that had terrified them all, the stories Old Nan told only making it even worse.
But that feeling was, while not gone, barely present.
Yet it was growing stronger, that strange feeling that made their hairs stand on end as they remembered the stories of Old Nan. However, Robb kept his torch high and his stride strong and long as he continued to move, Jon following behind.
Until eventually, the tombs stopped.
There were no more tombs belonging to House Stark, no more family members that had been buried under Winterfell. Yet the crypts still kept going, a wide expanse of tunnels that seemed to have no end in sight.
"What is this?" Robb murmured, both he and Jon coming to a stop as they looked upon the area before them. "Does it ever end?" It didn't make sense for the crypts to still keep going even after the tombs, the earliest of the Stark family members long since buried.
So, why were the crypts still without an end?
"None of this makes sense." Jon concurred, the two continuing to move further down, ignoring the various pathways that branched off, all of them empty and without tombs lining their walls. "Why would the crypts be built so large and expansive? It does not make sense."
"...Perhaps." Robb paused, frown deepening. "This labyrinth was not built with the intention of being a crypt?"
"Like what?" Jon questioned, looking around in awe. "Why build such an underground expanse of tunnels? What purpose does it serve...unless...a last line of defence? Surely not though?"
Robb shook his head. "I'm not sure." He answered truthfully. "But you're right, there is no need for a crypt to be this large, even for a family like ours with a history as expansive. And look at the walls and designs, the state of the stone, the craftsmanship. These are not like the upper levels and other branching pathways built to accommodate the Starks of the past few centuries. These were built, possibly by Bran the Builder himself."
"Bran the Builder?" Jon nodded his head. "If so, then the crypts are not a crypt, but a way for House Stark to fight against any enemy from within Winterfell should they lose walls. A place for the people within Winterfell to hide should an army ever besiege it."
"My thoughts exactly," Robb replied, looking up at a few of the tunnels that were collapsed fully, some water dripping down in puddles as it streamed through the cracks in the stone. They were on the lowest levels of the crypts, but something was strange.
As Robb came to a stop, Jon did also, looking upon the opening in the wall that the torch illuminated, a staircase leading further down. 'There are even lower levels? Impossible. This was meant to be the lowest level of the crypts.'
Yet, the cool wind they had been feeling constantly, that feeling that surrounded the crypts ever since they had been young, it all seemed to come from here. 'I have to know what's down there.' It was a thought shared by both Robb and Jon who spared a glance towards one another.
They then moved down, the only light they had been their torches which threatened to be put out by the gusts of wind that struck them like a wall. One hand rested against the wall, tracing against its cold surface as they moved down the spiral staircase and slowly, they came out into an opening, both Robb and Jon as they had on their journey down through the crypts, lighting the torches of the wall with their own.
"It's a prison?" Jon finally uttered, breaking the silence that had befallen them.
"And whatever it was containing." Robb finished, both looking upon the piles of broken stone and soil that were scattered on the floor behind the metal bars. "Has gotten out." Yet, as Robb entered inside the prison, the cold even more prominent here, his torch caught something, the light glinting off something.
He turned, Jon, continuing on to look through the tunnel that seemed to curve up, and there, resting upon the floor on its side, was a crown.
A crown of wrought iron fashioned into what looked like blades.
A crown fit for a King of the North.
'What are you doing here?' Robb wondered, crouching down to pick it up, brushing away some of the dust. 'And what was within this prison?'
Jon meanwhile, pulled away from the tunnel, brushing some of the loose soil from his hair that had dropped from the roof of the tunnel onto him. "I can't see where it goes. When they were digging, the soil packed up behind them and closed off their route. But, it can't be far, no more than a few miles I'd say. We can launch a search party..."
As Jon spoke, he turned, only to look upon Robb kneeling down with his back to him, hunched over and torch on the floor.
"Robb?" He questioned, cautiously moving forwards, seeing the crown clutched in Robb's hands first, his grip so tight upon it his knuckles had turned white. But as he placed one hand upon his shoulder, Jon felt how tense his body was and he quickly crouched down, turning Robb to him so he could see what was going on.
Only for him quickly recoil away when he saw Robb's eyes were pure white.
クリエイターの想い 
Carrots123
Carrots123 So, another chapter is done and with it, we see Robb and Jon venture down into the lowest level of the crypt to find it collapsed. However, we also see them beginning to question why the crypts were built so large and the idea of it being the last line of defence was always something I quite enjoyed as being a possibility. But, we also find a prison beneath Winterfell and whatever it was containing, not only had a Crown of Winter but whatever inside has escaped. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
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