Loki: Storm of Swords

Chapter 3 - A New Threat

It was a small harbor closer to Winterfell; quiet, peaceful and out of the way. The villagers were fishing families, with some who did the farming. Their children played along the shoreline and in the woods, and laughter could be heard almost every day. Not that day. That day smoke rose up from the remnants of the houses that were still ablaze. The boats were dragged up on the beach and they were also on fire. Bodies lay strewn about, mostly black from the flames, but a few were just bloody. The bodies of men were missing their genitals, and the children had been mutilated. Women and young girls were raped, naked and their skin exposed to the darkening sun. A few wolves were feasting on the carcasses when riders came into the village. They bore the Greyjoy banner, and the Lord of the Dreadfort, Theon Greyjoy, was at their head. He pulled up on the reins of his horse and glanced around. "By the Seven!" he quietly exclaimed. A few of the younger members of his guard vomited, spewing their breakfast onto the ashy and blood soaked ground.

"Who could have done this?!" a veteran asked in anger as he gently picked up the body of a child. Theon's visage took on a sickly pallor, but he did not lose his meal.

"Some new evil," was all Theon said as he caught sight of the body of a raped and murdered woman. He bit his tongue hard before he turned back to look at his second-in-command. "Ride back to the Dreadfort! Send a raven to Kings Landing. The queen and the Hand have to know about this."

"And your wife?" the lieutenant asked. Theon sighed as he thought of his wife. He had courted Margaery Tyrell for a year after the war was over before marrying her. She was an anxious creature, and he usually had to send her reports when he went out.

"Tell her that I am alright and that I am seeing to this situation here," Theon responded. The man nodded before he started to wheel his horse around. "And tell her that I love her!" Theon called after him. The soldier's arm went up in acknowledgement of the order. Theon grinned. He and Margaery had been playing games like that for years: getting each other worried, then adding affectionate phrases like that as an afterthought. It kept them amused.

"My lord!" shouted a voice and Theon turned. A soldier was waving him over and he approached, stepping carefully over the corpses until he reached a body that was at the shoreline. "This one is still alive," the man said, showing Theon a young man, who was in fact still breathing.

"Impossible!" the Lord of the Dreadfort exclaimed. "Stop his bleeding and send him back to the castle at once! Have the maester see to his injuries immediately! He could tell us what happened," Theon ordered. The soldiers carefully bandaged the poor lad up before putting him in a cart that managed to survive the destruction. They hitched that to a spare horse and made haste towards the Dreadfort castle.

Margaery Tyrell, now called Greyjoy, made her way swiftly into the courtyard, her lilac skirts billowing in the Northern breeze. The first rider had arrived but a few moments ago, and now, the watchers on the walls had said that the party was returning. The horses came galloping into the courtyard, and Margaery quickly caught sight of Theon as he dismounted his stallion. "Theon!" she called and he turned around.

"My flower!" he declared as he held his arms open. Margaery came to him, embracing him, before she pulled away and her nose wrinkled up at the smell of acrid smoke.

"From whence have you come?" Margaery queried.

"Whaleman's Village, one of the towns that is under my jurisdiction," Theon answered as he gently brushed a few strands of his wife's light brown hair from her forehead. Margaery nodded before she cast a glance in the direction of the cart and she paled when she saw the guards removing the body of the surviving boy. "Don't look," Theon told her, turning her away and holding her until they had taken the boy inside to be seen to by the maester.

"What horrible thing happened to him?" Margaery asked as she brushed a few tears from her eyes.

"The whole scene was ghastly, and I will not soil your beautiful ears with it. Just suffice to say that I will be sending men back to bury the entire village," Theon responded and Margaery gasped. That was when they heard a sound of footsteps and that was when Ser Loras Tyrell came down the stairs.

"What is going on?" he queried as he wrapped his arms around his sister. Theon looked at his brother-in-law and signaled with a wave of his hand. Loras parted from Margaery's side and followed Theon as they began to walk up some stairs to the ramparts.

"The entirety of Whaleman's Village was attacked and burned down. The men were whelped, the women raped and murdered, and the children butchered. That poor boy was the only survivor," Theon whispered to Loras and the Knight of Flowers looked sick for an instant. "I have already sent a raven to Kings Landing, and one to Winterfell to warn Brandon Stark."

"I can assume then that Robb Stark is seeing to his duties as Master of Law in Kings Landing?" Ser Loras queried and Theon nodded.

"You are correct. Once the boy is healed enough to be questioned, I will send another raven," Theon said.

"I could take the message," Loras offered and Theon looked at him for a moment. "I have to return to High Garden to visit my grandmother and father. Kings Landing is on the way, and I think her majesty would prefer an actual person to deliver the message," Loras explained and Theon shrugged his shoulders.

"Possibly... but you'll have to inform your sister. Margaery will use all her wiles to get you to remain," Theon reminded and Loras chuckled.

"Good thing her wiles don't work on me," he responded and Theon snorted. They both turned when a soldier approached and saluted Theon.

"Pardon me, my lord... but Maester Albine would you to be present for the examination of the village boy. He says he's ranting under the influence of the milk of the poppy, but you might be able to glean something from it," the man said.

"We'll be along presently," Theon answered and the guard left. He turned back to Loras and saw his brother-in-law studying him closely. "Whatever news I send to them, it could change history."

"What makes you say that?" Loras posed.

"This boy could tell us that we're dealing with a new threat."

Loki sat up suddenly, startling Sansa next to him in their bed. "Loki? What's wrong?" she asked sleepily, her hand going out and gripping Loki's shoulder. Loki's body was covered in sweat and his hair was sticking to the back of his neck. He turned to look at her and Sansa saw how wide his green eyes were.

"Something's wrong, Sansa. I can feel it!"