Post by The Stranger on Apr 20, 2008 15:49:49 GMT -5
Jaymes’ garron snorted, shooting two sharp puffs of frost into the otherwise still air. He could faintly hear the sounds of horses and men behind him, a score of each. He had been on the wall almost half a year now, and had been on half a dozen ranges beyond Whitetree village, which was now a military outpost of the Lord of Winterfell. It marked the general boundary inside which very little happened that the Black Brothers did not know about. Beyond Whitetree, there were patrol areas and rangings that were sent out on a regular basis, but no amount of men could keep the lands beyond the Wall constantly under surveillance. Since the Battle on the Milkwater, the Watch had kept a relatively strong presence north of Whitetree in the form of patrols that rotated shifts each fortnight.
By now Jaymes’ competence as a leader and commander was obviously noted by his superiors and he was slowly gaining more influence and respect in the watch. He had been on these ranging before, but this was the first time he had commanded a full score of his brothers with no-one above him. He’d started by bringing them to the place where he had previously encountered wildling resistance, on his very first ranging. The corpses were gone, and many layers of fresh snow covered that which had been bloodied during the fight. There was no indication a fight had taken place here, save for the few makings Jaymes had made on certain tree trunks along the way, to mark the path. He’d turned the men north from there, towards where the wildling had said his compatriots were gathering.
He had had passed the line on his map that marked the point of Whitetree, even though that village was over a hundred leagues to the west. Jaymes’ orders were to patrol the Haunted Forest, up to the Antler River but when he came to that river, he gave his men the order to cross it. His commanders had waved off his report of wildlings gathering when he brought it in form his first ranging, so Jaymes was determined to find the evidence to make them listen to him. He pushed his men hard, but allowed them time to rest and there was enough game, even this far north, so the brothers did not go hungry.
They had been across the Antler River for half a fortnight before they came on any sign of wildlings, but eventually they found a large number of footprints, all heading in the same direction; north. A day after that, along the trail, they came to a camp that had been broken and poorly concealed; a firepit with the bones of some meal and several other obvious signs that men had slept there, less than a day prior. Ser Jaymes ordered his men to move out, and a few hours later they saw a group of five-and-twenty wildlings walking north in a loose formation, with none watching their rear.
Ser Jaymes delivered his orders silently, with a series of hand-signals that he had created and taught to his men on this ranging. As many of the wildlings were to be spared as possible, Jaymes wanted to be able to question at least one of them. The twenty black brothers maneuvered their horses into a delta formation and began to canter forward toward the wildlings, who had moved out of the dense forest into a small clearing. A shout went up from their group, and most whirled around to see the black brothers bearing down on horseback.
When the Black Brothers were ten feet away, Jaymes raised his arms high into the air, and the formation opened up into a line, which tore through the small circle that the wildlings had formed. The horsemen enveloped the wildlings, half of which had died in the initial impact of the charge, though Jaymes saw three of his men pulled from their horses and butchered on the ground.
Then the wildlings broke, and started to flee. Ser Jaymes shouted orders to capture them, and the fleeing men were ridden down. Seven took spear thrusts through their backs, but four others were captured alive, albeit slightly wounded and bruised. They were bound and dragged before Jaymes, who ordered the rest of his men to set up a camp.
Ser Jaymes Farman increases to Novice Tracking
Ser Jaymes Farman increases to Expert Battle
By now Jaymes’ competence as a leader and commander was obviously noted by his superiors and he was slowly gaining more influence and respect in the watch. He had been on these ranging before, but this was the first time he had commanded a full score of his brothers with no-one above him. He’d started by bringing them to the place where he had previously encountered wildling resistance, on his very first ranging. The corpses were gone, and many layers of fresh snow covered that which had been bloodied during the fight. There was no indication a fight had taken place here, save for the few makings Jaymes had made on certain tree trunks along the way, to mark the path. He’d turned the men north from there, towards where the wildling had said his compatriots were gathering.
He had had passed the line on his map that marked the point of Whitetree, even though that village was over a hundred leagues to the west. Jaymes’ orders were to patrol the Haunted Forest, up to the Antler River but when he came to that river, he gave his men the order to cross it. His commanders had waved off his report of wildlings gathering when he brought it in form his first ranging, so Jaymes was determined to find the evidence to make them listen to him. He pushed his men hard, but allowed them time to rest and there was enough game, even this far north, so the brothers did not go hungry.
They had been across the Antler River for half a fortnight before they came on any sign of wildlings, but eventually they found a large number of footprints, all heading in the same direction; north. A day after that, along the trail, they came to a camp that had been broken and poorly concealed; a firepit with the bones of some meal and several other obvious signs that men had slept there, less than a day prior. Ser Jaymes ordered his men to move out, and a few hours later they saw a group of five-and-twenty wildlings walking north in a loose formation, with none watching their rear.
Ser Jaymes delivered his orders silently, with a series of hand-signals that he had created and taught to his men on this ranging. As many of the wildlings were to be spared as possible, Jaymes wanted to be able to question at least one of them. The twenty black brothers maneuvered their horses into a delta formation and began to canter forward toward the wildlings, who had moved out of the dense forest into a small clearing. A shout went up from their group, and most whirled around to see the black brothers bearing down on horseback.
When the Black Brothers were ten feet away, Jaymes raised his arms high into the air, and the formation opened up into a line, which tore through the small circle that the wildlings had formed. The horsemen enveloped the wildlings, half of which had died in the initial impact of the charge, though Jaymes saw three of his men pulled from their horses and butchered on the ground.
Then the wildlings broke, and started to flee. Ser Jaymes shouted orders to capture them, and the fleeing men were ridden down. Seven took spear thrusts through their backs, but four others were captured alive, albeit slightly wounded and bruised. They were bound and dragged before Jaymes, who ordered the rest of his men to set up a camp.
Ser Jaymes Farman increases to Novice Tracking
Ser Jaymes Farman increases to Expert Battle