A Ruined Sept

[Ollie]

Located in the woods just over a mile west of Winterfell, all that remains of this once humble sept is rubble and rotted wood.

[Sam]

Lord Tarly arrives, Heartsbane hanging from his back, with his brother Bran riding close behind him. He tied his horse's reins to a tree nearby and entered the sept, looking cautiously around, while Bran remained outside with the horses.

[Horas]

A soft word from the woods.

"Loose."

Arrows fill the night.

[Horas]

Rask looks off in the distance to where Ser Brandon fell off his horse. He turns to look at Kess, then nods once. The wildling woman lopes off in that direction, her sword drawn.

Rask puts his bow on his back and walks towards Lord Simon. He crouches down in front of him. There is some object clenched within Rask's hand, and he holds it so tight a trickle of blood runs out from his fist.

He doesn't know if Tarly can hear him any longer, but he speaks anyway. "We free folk are not like you southrons. These people don't follow me because of birth or title. They follow because they know that if anybody harms any one of them... I will rip out their fucking throat."

Rask opens his palm. The object within is the claw of a bear, slick with the old wildling's blood.

"One other thing. You took someone very dear to me. That makes this personal." He grunts. "She says 'hi'." Holding the claw between forefinger and thumb, Rask leans over and draws it across Simon's throat. When the man is dead, Rask stands.

Kess returns, her blade red. Rask looks at her, then the others. "We leave. Twos and threes. Dice in the other camps or drink in the town before heading back to ours. No stories. If someone asks, you haven't heard anything. Nute... you stay."

The wildlings disperse by twos and threes, while Nute sits in a dark grove and waits.

[Sam]

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Several hours later, fifty riders of the Reach arrive after a few minutes ride, at the head of the column rides Ser Danwell Costayne.

[The Smith]

The find the bodies of Lord Simon Tarly and his brother Brandon filled with arrows and with their throats cut. A horse is still tied to a tree. And Heartsbane is gone.

[Sam]

Cries go up among the men, and Ser Danwell kneels and pulls one of the arrows out of his lord's body, to examine it. He waves a hand hand half the horsemen race back to Winterfel at all speed.

[The Smith]

A steel arrow is pulled from the body. But he sees several bone and bronze arrows also littering the ground.

[Sam]

He takes the two bodies and puts them unceremoniously across the back of two horses, doing the best he can with what he's got, and turns to ride back toward the castle.