บท 17: Chapter 17

We stood at the gate of the outer wall. It was early morning, but people in this time woke early, so I wasn't worried about interrupting the sleep of those within. At the gate stood two men, guards if I'm any judge.

As we neared, they eyed us warily and clutched their pikes tighter. Stopping a few feet from them I introduced myself and my companions.

"Morning, I am Ser Ragnar and these are my companions." I said while sweeping my hand back to my group.

"Well, Ser, what can we do for ya?" One of the guards asked, with a hint of mockery.

"I have come seeking audience with your lord." I replied.

"Come to see lord Stark have you, I didn't hear nothing about any expected guests. What about you, Gan, did you hear anything bout visitors?" The guard asked his comrade.

"Not a thing, and how can we be sure you are who you say ya are? You don't look like no knight to me." Gan said while eyeing us up and down.

"That's right, look more like a bunch of giants to me." The first guard said.

"I request entry, will you provide it or not?" I said, loosing patience with these two.

They stared at me in silence for a moment. No doubt deciding if they should let me in. Not for the first time did they look towards our weapons.

"Lord Stark is a very busy man. Tell you what, I'll send word and if the lord is in the mood, we'll let you in." The first guard said.

"You would have us wait out here, with a child in this cold?" I asked. They looked at Maralynn and she ducked behind her father.

"Alright, you can wait in the gatehouse until word reaches our lord. Come on then." He said as he ushered us to follow. As we walked into the gatehouse, we were given a place to sit and wait.

"Now wait here until we figure out what to do with ya." He said before leaving us. Though, I could tell he posted a couple guards not too far away to watch us.

"That went better than expected," I said.

"Did it now, humph, the least they could do is give us a drink." Gentle replied.

"Not the warmest of welcomes, but at least they let us in." Aela said while leaning back into her chair.

"Hopefully we won't have to wait long." Ivar added.

"My lord, I believe this is the best we could hope for. Knighthood is not held with the same reverence and respect in the north as in the south." Brant explained.

"I understand, it's to be expected I suppose." I replied.

"So, have you figured out what you're gonna say?" Aela asked.

"Not exactly, I'll just play it by ear. I would prefer if we could have a private meeting, more one on one, but I won't hold my breath." I replied.

"So the plan is what, cross our fingers and hope for the best?" Ivar asked and I just looked at him for a moment before replying.

"We aren't from these lands. We don't have the same customs let alone the same gods. Hoping for the best is all we can do." I replied.

"Lord Stark has invited you to eat with his family. Now let's get a move on." The same guard said while making his way towards us. I nodded and we made our way to the main keep.

We crossed the bridge between the inner and outer wall which was separated by a moat. Once on the other side, we passed under the inner wall. The sheer thickness of the wall was unexpected, this was a well built defensive installment.

Not wasting any time we were led into the main keep, after relinquishing our weapons, and what greeted us was a large hall. On either side of the hall were tables that were for the most part unoccupied. In fact, this place could easily hold a few hundred people.

At the end of the hall, raised above to look down at the rest, laid the main table. At that table sat the lord of Winterfell, warden of the north, lord Eddard Stark. He sat in the middle of the table looking down at us as we neared.

Stopping a few feet from the table, I and the others bowed as a show of respect. Standing at my full height, I took a step forward and introduced myself.

"Good morning to you lord Stark. I am Ser Ragnar Lothbruk, and these are my companions." I said in an even tone.

Lord Stark has a long face and long brown hair. His closely trimmed beard had flecks of grey. His eyes are dark grey and at the moment, they appeared foggy. He looked slightly different then what I remember from the show. Though I couldn't be sure, my memory of the show was not the best.

Beside him sat his wife, Lady Catelyn. She is a beautiful woman, with fair skin, long auburn hair and blue eyes. High cheekbones gave her an elegant look. And like her husband, she too looked slightly different then what I remembered. She also had a large belly, and it looked like she was close to giving birth. Beside her sat a boy of about five. He has blue eyes and red-brown hair. He clearly takes after his mother. There were others as well but I didn't recognize them.

"Greetings to you, Ser, this is my family. My lady Catelyn Stark and my son Robb Stark. We are about to have breakfast, please join us." He said and we were directed to our seats.

"Tell me, Ser Ragnar, you don't look like any southerner. Where are you from?" Eddard asked while we ate.

"Not all of us are from Westeros, my lord." I answered.

"Care to explain?" He asked while his foggy eyes seemed to harden ever so slightly.

"Ser Brant and his children we only met a short time ago. As for the rest of us, we come from distant lands." I replied.

"Essos? No, you're far too pale, perhaps you're a wildling?" He inquired.

"I can assure you, my lord, that I am no wildling. My lands, from what we've been able to gather, are unknown to you. We are Nords, and we hail from Skyrim" I said.

"Nords, Skyrim, I have not heard of such things. Explain to me how you arrived here." He said.

"That is difficult to answer, my lord. We were on our way to battle, then we awoke in foreign lands. I believe you call it Sea Dragon Point. That is where we awoke." I said. Lord Stark regarded me for some time, not saying a word. His slightly hardened eyes turned as hard as stone.

"You come to my home, sit at my table, eat my food and speak of fantasies? Surely you take me for a fool." He replied.

"I give you my word, that I do not jest, nor do I seek to mock you, my lord." I replied evenly, not showing any emotion other than sincerity. I stared into his eyes and he stared into mine. There was clear tension in the air.

"Is everyone as tall as you in Skyrim?" Robb asked, completely unfazed by the tense atmosphere. His words however seemed to break the spell that locked us both in the game we played.

"Yes, most of my people are as tall as I am," I replied with a smile to the boy as his mother tried to hush him.