Chapter 251: Examining the Ice Sword
Winterfell, Stark Lands
POV of Domeric Bolton
"The duel will be held in the evening. Any objections?" Lord Stark said.
"No," Jamie replied.
"No objections," Domeric said with a smile.
"Good then. I don't want any act of violence in Winterfell until then. Anyone who starts a fight will have to answer to me." Lord Stark said before turning to Domeric. "Lord Bolton, follow me and his grace. And ask your men to bring the Ice Sword."
Domeric nodded and handed the bottomless pouch, which held the Ice Sword, stuffed inside a runic weirwood box, to Ygritte.
"Have the men send it to me in a few minutes." He said, "And be mindful of the Lannisters. Don't let them catch you alone…"
"And be near Varko." She said with a smirk and took the bottomless pouch. "Don't worry. I got this."
Domeric nodded, looking at the people surrounding the courtyard, and then he declared. "Any Stark man who was injured fighting for me today will gain 100 gold dragons. The ones who fought for me but are still uninjured will gain 20 gold dragons. Let it not be said that Domeric Bolton doesn't reward those who help him in his hour of need."
Then he nodded to Lord Stark, who gave him an exasperated look even as his men cheered in the background. Then Lord Stark motioned to him and King Robert, and they went toward the main keep.
Shortly after arriving in Lord Stark's solar, the guards stationed outside reported the arrival of Domeric's men.
"My lord, Lord Bolton's men have arrived with a wooden box and are requesting permission to enter."
"Send them in."
Upon Lord Stark's approval, Domeric's men entered with the wooden box they had carried. They placed it on the table, and after Domeric's signal, they left the solar and returned to their duties.
Only five men remained in the solar: King Robert Baratheon, Lord Eddard Stark, Domeric, and two Kingsguards.
"So, this is it." The King said as all three of them, along with Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Meryn Trant, looked at the box made of weirwood kept on top of the table.
"This is a box made of wood from a weirwood tree," Domeric said before pointing at the various runes running across the box in red colors. "The Children of the Forest carved runes on it with the sap of the Heart Tree to contain its energy, which made it easy to transport."
Looking at the confusion on King Robert's and Ser Barristan's faces, Domeric explained, "The room in which this Ice sword was kept in Castle Black had a temperature below the point at which water freezes into ice. The whole room was covered with a sheen of ice; the locks had to be unjammed with heat as they stopped functioning, and it was tough to remain in the room for very long."
"A load of rubbish." Ser Meryn Trant snorted.
"The last man who thought something similar tried to pick up the sword," Domeric said. "He got frostbite as soon as he touched the sword, and later the frostbite became so bad that we had to cut off his arm. If you believe this to be a load of rubbish, then I'm sure you won't hesitate to try to wield the sword, right, Ser Meryn?"
The pedophile gulped, and even Ser Barristan looked annoyed. "Ser Meryn, please keep your thoughts to yourself." Ser Barristan said, and the pedophile nodded.
"Well, get ready for some cold then," Domeric said, and when Lord Stark nodded, he used a steel bar to remove the wooden lid.
There was a hiss of cold air that left the wooden box as soon as he opened the lid a little bit. He continued to push, and a moment later, the box was ajar. They all started shivering in the cold.
"By the gods." Ser Barristan Selmy said, and Domeric pried the whole lid open and revealed the Ice Sword to the King at last.
"Fucking hell, Ned, I knew you wouldn't lie but…" King Robert said and moved toward the Ice Sword.
"Robert." Lord Stark said and moved his hand to stop the King, who instantly came to his senses.
"Almost forgot about the frostbite thing," King said and chuckled to himself. "Still… how did you kill the White Walker… while it was still wielding it?"
"We didn't," Domeric replied. "Even when Varko, Benjen Stark, and I fought against it together, it had no trouble defeating us all. It killed Benjen Stark, kicked Varko away with the ease of a child kicking away an insect, and was about to kill me when my other sworn shield fired a Dragonglass arrow at it. The arrow pierced its head where it had no protection, and it shattered into hundreds of Ice Crystals like these." He said that before showing an ice crystal which was much colder than normal snow, but not as cold as the Ice Sword, and could still be held by human hands.
The King picked up the Ice Crystal and instantly put it down on the table, rubbing his hand from the cold experience.
"This is… still hard to believe." King Robert said as he looked intensely at the Ice Sword, his brow and beard already gathering a thin sheen of snow on top of it.
Domeric may not like King Robert, but the man had a damn good beard.
But it seemed the King still wasn't entirely convinced.
It wasn't that Domeric didn't understand King on this point. If someone had simply shown him a magical sword and told him the White Walkers had returned, Domeric also would have had plenty of doubts.
At this point, Domeric could only do what he could to allay the King's doubts.
"Would you like a demonstration, your grace?" Domeric asked.
"Demonstrations? Of what kind?" King Robert asked.
"To prove that no weapon except those made from Valyrian Steel and Dragonglass works against the White Walkers," Domeric said and took out leather gloves from his pocket along with a Dragonglass holder.
He picked up the Ice Sword with the help of the Dragonglass holder, kept it at a distance from himself, and took it out of the box.
"Ser Meryn. Strike the Ice Sword with your own." Domeric said.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.252: What Do You Want from Me?
Ch.253: Great Migration Plan
Ch.254: Giving Some Warnings