Ursa Major | Tormund Giantsbane

Chapter 17

Jon had arrived.

They saw a ship dock one morning and opened the gates to find that Jon was perfectly alive and well. Thyrsa had never seen Ser Jorah Mormont for obvious reasons, and was stunned to find his hair just as golden as her sisters' and mother's had been. She wondered how much he remembered about Saga. If he could tell her more stories.

"Isn't it your job to talk him out of stupid fucking ideas like this?" Tormund asked Ser Davos once Jon confirmed that he had not changed his mind about the raid beyond-the-Wall.

"I've been failing at that job of late," said Ser Davos.

Jon smiled, shaking his head as Thyrsa asked, "So, there are two Queens now and you are currently somewhat convincing one to help by going on this raid with the purpose of finding a way to convince the other one to help, too?"

He nodded. "Aye, sounds about right."

"Which is which?" said Tormund. "The one with the dragons or the one who fucks her brother?"

Gendry chuckled awkwardly. "The first is the Dragon Queen," said Jon, gesturing to Ser Jorah Mormont. "The second is Queen Cersei."

"The brother-fucker," reiterated Thyrsa.

"How many men did you bring?" said Tormund.

Jon looked around the table. "Not enough."

"We were hoping some of your men could help," said Ser Jorah.

"I'll be staying behind," said Ser Davos. "I'm a liability out there, as you well know."

"You are," said Tormund honestly. He leaned over to look Jon in the eyes, "You really want to go out there? Again?"

Jon remained serious. "Yes."

Tormund sighed. "Well, you're not the only ones. Come, I'll show you the prisoners."

As he led them down, he explained, "My scouts found them a mile south of the Wall. Said they were on their way here."

The prisoners stirred, recognized by Jon. "You're the Hound," he told the man with the scarred face. "I saw you once at Winterfell."

The man sat up but only glared. "They want to go beyond-the-Wall, too," said Tormund.

"We don't want to go beyond-the-Wall, we have to," said Beric Dondarrion. "Our Lord told us the Great War is coming–"

"Don't trust him," said Gendry sharply. "Don't trust any of them." He leaned close to the bars. "The Brotherhood... the last thing their lord told them to do was sell me to a red witch to be murdered."

"Thoros?" said Jorah, noticing one of the men who leaned against the wall. "I hardly recognized you."

He tilted his head up. "Ser Jorah Mormont. They won't give me anything to drink down here. I haven't been feeling like myself."

"Here we all are," muttered Beric, "at the edge of the world, at the same moment, heading in the same direction for the same reason."

"Our reasons aren't your reasons," said Ser Davos bitterly, still upset with the followers of the Lord of Light for what'd happened to Shireen.

Beric snorted, "It doesn't matter what we think our reasons are." He got to his feet, "There's a greater purpose at work. And we serve it together, whether we know it or not. We may take the steps, but the Lord of Light–"

"For fuck's sake," interrupted the Hound, "will you shut your hole?" He looked at Jon, "Are we coming with you or not?"

"Don't you want to know what we're doing?" said Jorah.