Jon Snow rode hard out of the darkness, his horse's flanks heaving.
Aldric slowed, waiting. He had expected Jon to stay.
"Jon," Aldric said. "You're leaving your brother? Your king?"
Jon reined in beside him. "My Uncle Benjen told me once... we choose our brothers. Ned Stark will always be my father in my heart. Robb, Arya, Bran... they are my blood. But the men I bleed with, the men who stand for what is right... they are my brothers now."
He looked at Kevin, at the ragtag group of deserters. "The Silver Hand are my brothers."
Aldric nodded. It was a heavy price for growth. "Then ride with us."
Thirteen riders, a wolf, and a bear vanished into the night.
Dawn brought pursuit.
Twenty riders crested the hill behind them, the sun glinting on their armor. It was the Karstark sunburst.
"They're catching up!" Kevin shouted, reaching for his sword. "Teacher, we have to fight!"
"No," Aldric ordered. "Keep riding. Don't look back."
"But—"
"Rule Number One!" Aldric roared. "Obey orders!"
Kevin gritted his teeth and spurred his horse.
Aldric stopped. He turned Blitz around and leveled his spear, blocking the narrow path alone.
Rickard Karstark rode to the front. He raised a hand, halting his men.
"Aldric," the Lord of Karhold said, his voice heavy. "Why run? You're a hero of the North."
"I am no deserter," Aldric said calmly. "I just walk a different path. What happened at Oxcross turned my stomach, my lord. My faith does not allow me to watch butchers work and call them heroes."
He gripped his spear. "Did Robb send you to kill me?"
Karstark shook his head. "The King wants you back."
"I can't go back. I sell my sword, Lord Rickard, not my conscience."
Karstark looked at him for a long moment. "A mercenary with a conscience," he mused. "That's a rare bird. You say we are butchers? Maybe. But war is butchery. Do you think the Tyrells don't loot? Do you think the Lannisters are saints? Everyone has blood on their hands."
"Maybe," Aldric said. "But not today. Not mine."
Karstark sighed. He reached into his saddlebag and tossed a heavy leather pouch. Aldric caught it. It jingled.
"I have three sons," Karstark said. "Harrion is missing. Eddard is dead. Torrhen... Torrhen has one hand, but he is alive because of you. I meant to give you land after the war. A keep. But I suppose that's gone now."
"Eighty dragons," Karstark said. "Take it. Go."
Aldric weighed the pouch. "Be careful, my lord. Without me, men will die who shouldn't."
Karstark laughed, a harsh bark. "We Northmen are harder than you think, wizard. We'll crush the lions without your magic."
He wheeled his horse around. "Ride well, Aldric."
Aldric watched the Karstark banner fade into the distance. He tossed the gold to Jon. "Quartermaster. Keep it safe."
They crossed the mountains in two days.
Without the army slowing them down, they moved fast. The shared exile forged a bond tighter than any oath. At night, huddled around a small fire, rank disappeared. They weren't commander and soldiers anymore. They were thirteen souls against the world.
"Where do we go?" Lennar asked, tuning his lute. "The Wall?"
"It's the only place that's clean," Aldric said. "Or at least, the only place where the filth is honest."
"A bard at the Wall," Lennar chuckled sadly. "I'll freeze my fingers off. But maybe they need new songs."
They descended into the Riverlands, hoping for supplies. Lennar remembered a village near the Goldroad—prosperous, peaceful. A good place to rest.
When they arrived, the village was a black scar on the green earth.
Smoke curled from the ruins of thatch cottages. Bodies swung from the rafters of the inn. The silence was absolute.
"Scavengers?" Kevin asked, hand on his hilt.
"No," Aldric said, looking at the systematic destruction. "Soldiers."
"Bury them," Aldric ordered. "It's the rent we pay for camping here."
They dug graves in the twilight. It was grim work, but it felt necessary. It felt human.
Suddenly, Ghost barked.
Aldric drew his sword and ran to the back of a burned-out bakery. The direwolf was scratching at a wooden bulkhead door set into the earth. Bell joined in, prying at the wood with massive claws.
"Back!" Aldric ordered.
He lifted the door. Darkness.
"Come out," he called softly. "We aren't soldiers."
Silence.
Martha and Wendy pushed past him. "It's okay," Martha cooed. "We have food. Are you hungry?"
Slowly, two figures emerged. A girl of ten, her face streaked with soot and tears, clutching a boy of five.
They were shaking.
Martha wrapped them in blankets and gave them jerky. The girl ate voraciously, but her eyes never left Aldric's armor.
"Where are your parents?" Martha asked gently.
"Momma put us in the hole," the girl whispered. "She said... hide. Don't make a sound."
She started to cry.
The boy didn't cry. He walked up to Aldric. He looked at the towering man in bronze armor, at the sword, at the golden light that seemed to hum around him.
"Are you the King's men?" the boy asked. "Did the King send you to save us?"
Aldric knelt. He felt a lump in his throat. "No, lad. We aren't the King's men. We're just... unemployed mercenaries."
"Oh," the boy said. "My papa hires mercenaries sometimes. To help with the forge."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out two eggs. They were warm, slightly crushed.
"Momma gave me these," the boy said seriously. "She said keep them for when I'm hungry. But eggs are expensive. Can I hire you? To find my momma and papa? I miss them."
He held out the two eggs.
Aldric stared at the eggs.
Silence descended on the group. The wind rustled the burned timbers.
Then, Aldric started to laugh.
It started as a chuckle and grew into a roar. He laughed until tears streamed down his face. He laughed at the absurdity, the cruelty, the cosmic joke of it all.
"Two eggs!" Aldric shouted, holding his sides. "He wants to hire us for two eggs! To fight an army! To save his world!"
He looked up at the darkening sky.
"Fuck you, Omu! Fuck you, Light!"
He screamed at the heavens.
"You drag me here! You make me a puppet! You want me to fight your shadows? In this world? A world of shit and blood and kings who rape and burn?"
"Fuck the Kings! Fuck the Lords!"
"You want a savior? Fine! I'll do it my way!"
"I won't just save this world! I'll break it! I'll burn the whole rot down and build a Kingdom of Heaven on the ashes! If you don't like it, come down here and stop me!"
The outburst echoed off the hills. His men watched him, wide-eyed.
Aldric took a deep, shuddering breath. The cage he had built around himself—the caution, the hiding, the "go with the flow"—shattered.
He looked at the boy. His eyes began to glow, not with the reflection of the sun, but with an inner, golden fire.
He took the eggs.
"Kid," Aldric said softly. "I accept the contract. My name is Aldric Seris. And I will bringing your family home."
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