Song of A Northern Sorcerer

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Sitting atop his horse alongside his King, Ned could do little more than stare dumbly at the wanton destruction that'd just descended upon the Pyke. 'I knew that Nox had been holding back before. But to think that he has had this kind of power hidden under the surface all this time. By the old gods…Just how powerful is Nox? Just how powerful will he make anyone who follows him? I know I said that I was going to allow Jon to become his apprentice… but is such a thing even wise now? If Jon becomes as powerful as Nox and learns of his birthright, his true birthright…Will he want to take the throne? And if he does, will anyone be able to stop him from doing so?'

"Form up! Shields in front! Archers behind! Steady march towards the gate! Forward!" Lord Tywin's thunderous commands brought Ned out of his stupor just in time to watch as the Lord of the Westerlands drew his sword and kicked his heels to his horse's flanks, urging the beast forward.

Ned was about to join the man, but Robert's outstretched hand stopped Ned in his tracks. "Ha, fucking hells, Ned! That sorcerer of yours is something else!" Robert laughed. "If only we had him during the fall of the dragons, the war would've been over a lot sooner!"

"If only," Ned agreed absentmindedly, looking out over the sea of Northmen approaching the breach, his eyes searching for one soul in particular.

He wasn't very difficult to find. His blood-red glowing sword standing out like a bright torch in the middle of the night amongst his men. Keeping his eyes on Nox, Ned tracked his movements as he ran at his almost impossible speed towards the walls, passing by his men as if they were standing still. And just as Ned didn't think Nox could surprise him anymore, the man leapt from the ground to the top of the walls of the Pyke without breaking his stride.

"Haha! Look at those Ironborn cunts!" Robert laughed as the two watched the glowing red blade steadily move across the battlements towards the main gate. "If only the fucker didn't look so Valyrian, I'd be tempted to steal him from you, Ned. But I can't…I can't look at the fucker without picturing the mad dragon fuck who ruined my love."

Again, Ned had to bite his tongue. This time almost to the point where it bled. 'How can you truly love someone you met once and only spoke with a handful of times? Did you truly love her Robert, or merely the idea of her? And if it was the idea of her, what part did you love? The potential challenge she would bring in trying to tame her? Or would you have let her be who she is?'

Hearing the King's hammer being raised, an action that was mimicked by the Kingsguard stationed just behind the two of them, Ned left thoughts of his sister behind as he brought himself back to the battle at hand. "Come on, Ned." Robert laughed, kicking his horse forward. "We can't let that sorcerer of yours have all the fucking fun! Let's go kill some Ironborn!"

Cutting his way across the battlements, Nox found himself becoming bored with the whole battle quickly. This wasn't a fight. It was a slaughter. Even more so than the brief skirmish that'd been held at Barrowton. At least there the men had some morale and were willing to fight. Here, the defenders on the castle walls were damn near pissing themselves out of fear. Some of them couldn't even hold their weapons or shields steady before Nox cut them down like a farmer scything through wheat.

'Unbelievably pathetic,' Nox thought as he opened the back of an Ironborn that'd decided running was preferable to standing his ground. 'I had such high hopes upon reading up on these people that at least one of them would be able to at least provide me with some sort of challenge. But so far, they've been nothing but a disappointment.'

Walking up to one of the towers along the wall, Nox sent a burst of Force energy into the wooden door, blasting the door and the surrounding frame inwards and leaving them little more than splinters in the wind.

Stepping through the destroyed door, Nox immediately stopped and leaned back, just barely avoiding the axe that'd been aimed for his head. Swinging his lightsaber up, Nox bisected his would-be attacker vertically and then sidestepped to avoid his falling corpse. Swinging his lightsaber around himself slowly, as the dozen defenders worked to regain their footing. "Now then, gentlemen, why don't you simply make this easy on yourselves and tell me what I want to know, and I'll be on my way. Where are the Greyjoys?"

"Fuck you, greenlander!" one of the men shouted before rushing at Nox with a throwing axe in hand.

"Pathetic," Nox calmly stated as he sidestepped the charging man and with one swing cut clean through the man's leather and chainmail armor before readying himself as the rest of the Ironborn regained their feet.

One by one the defenders of Castle Pyke charged at him, and one by one they fell before they could even come close to reaching him. With the span of a few seconds, Nox stood alone within the tower, with only two surviving Pyke defenders left alive. The elder was clutching at the stump of an arm that he had left, courtesy to Nox. And the younger, obviously related to the man, was clinging to the elder in desperation and fear.

Deactivating his lightsaber, Nox kicked up a nearby stool and sat down across from the two. "Now, there are two ways things can go from here." He explained calmly to the two near trembling men. "First, I kill you two slowly and painfully and then walk out of here and tear apart the Pyke brick by brick until I find the Greyjoys and bring them to heel. Or two, you tell me where they are holding up, and this all ends much sooner and with a lot less death and destruction. You have thirty seconds to decide."

"Fuck you, greenlander!" the elder near shouted, before groaning as the pain in his severed limb spiked, forcing him back down. "We tell you, and our liege lords will find out and they'll make examples of us and our families!"

"Possibly, or you suffer now," Nox replied disinterestedly. "But I can understand wanting to protect your families. So, tell me what I want to know, and I can assure you that the Greyjoys will know nothing of your duplicity. Fifteen seconds."

"They're in the Great Keep just across the stone bridge!" the younger man all but shouted, drawing a sharp look from the elder.

"Thank you," Nox nodded, rising to his feet. "Now, to keep my end of the bargain."

Jerking his right hand, Nox quickly snapped the two men's necks with the Force. 'Never leave an enemy behind to stab you in the back.' Nox thought as he stared down at the corpses. 'A lesson all Sith learn at a very early stage.'

Hearing war cries and the thunder of thousands of footsteps, Nox tilted his head to the side as he reached out with his senses. 'It appears that the King's vanguard has wasted little time in beginning their approach.' Nox thought as he felt the unmistakable presences of the King, Stark, and Lannister all slowly approaching the castle main gate with most of their forces before them. 'Well, I suppose I should hold up my promise and open the door for them before continuing on to find the Greyjoys.'

Walking out of the tower and back onto the ramparts, Nox took a moment to cloak himself in the force before jumping off the ramparts and onto a nearby roof before anyone could notice his presence. The cloak didn't make him invisible like a true stealth field generator. But it did make it so anyone that gave him a passing glance would simply dismiss his presence immediately. Not a good trick for deceiving those who were force sensitive. But in a city battle like this with thousands of non-force sensitives, it might as well have been one. Once he was on the roof, it was a simple matter of jumping from one roof to the next as he made his way across the condensed buildings towards the main gate. Once he was in line with the gate, he took a moment to scrutinize it. 'Reinforced steel. Layered with thick treated wood. And two dozen defenders arranged in a half-moon formation just within, ready to fight back against the first ones to breach the gate. A fine gate for this era to be sure and a decent plan. But in the end, useless against the Force.'

Reaching out with the Force, he grabbed hold of the old sturdy gate around the edges. The defenders that were standing ready all started yelling as the steel gate groaned as the metal bent inwards seemingly without cause. The groaning stopped as the gate reached its structural limits. Then all hell broke loose as the gate's wooden beams and steel gave way, showering the defenders with a hail of wooden splinters and broken steel pieces.

'That should be enough for now.' Nox through, watching in mild amusement as the defenders began yelling over one another as they tried to form some semblance of defense. 'Don't want to take all the glory for myself. And besides, I still have some krakens to hunt down.'

Turning his back on the now opened gate, Nox quickly and quietly made his away across the roof tops that composed the buildings within the gatehouse portion of the Pyke. Once he reached the cliff edge that separated the mainland portion of the Pyke from the Great Keep, Nox took a moment to kneel and observe his surroundings. The only way to access the Great Keep of the Pyke was by a single large stone bridge that crossed from the mainland to the keep. However, that bridge was now littered with makeshift barricades and well over a hundred defenders, all of whom were frantically trying to reinforce their defenses as defenders from eh main gate came filtering to the bridge and began to spread word of the gatehouse's fall.

'Well, could go for the brute force approach,' Nox thought as quickly assessed the fighters beneath him. 'But that would just be a waste of time. Instead, let's go for a more…unconventional approach. And seeing as how all of their attention is focus solely in front of them, none of them are looking up. All the better for me.'

Backing away from the edge of the house he was standing on, Nox carefully considered the Great Keep before him. Finding a spot that he deemed suitable, Nox backtracked to the opposite end of the house until his heel was on the edge. 'If nothing else, this will be interesting.'

Running forward as fast as he could, Nox focused the Force into his legs as he approached the opposite end of the house. Right as he reached the edge, he pushed off with the force and flew into the air. None of the defenders on the bridge paid him any heed as they were more worried about what was in front of them instead of what could possibly be above them. As he quickly approached the Great Keep of the Pyke, he curled himself into a tight ball and rolled himself forward just before he crashed through a closed wooden window shutter.

The sound of a woman screaming and frantic scrambling around was the first thing to register in his mind as he rolled across the floor of the room before managing to stop himself before he collided with the wall of the room. "Damn it," he muttered, slowly rising to his feet and rolling his shoulder while using the Force to assess himself. "That hurt like hell. Right shoulder is dislocated. Cracked…one, two…three ribs. And a fractured radius in my right forearm. Lovely."

Turning his attention from himself to the other occupants in the room, Nox couldn't help but scoff and shake his head as he took in the two others that were using the room he'd just crashed into. Both of whom where frantically trying to redress. "Really? We're in the middle of a siege, and you two decide that now would be the perfect time to fuck? Force, the men in this land really do think with their cocks instead of their brains, don't they?"

The woman, a simple serving girl he would guess, had managed to cover herself mostly before trying to make herself as small as possible in the far corner of the room away from him. The man however, after lacing up his pants, had picked up a throwing axe and was now advancing on Nox. "I don't know who fuck you are, Greenlander, nor how you got here, but I'm gonna shove this fuckin axe so far up your arse that-"

Not in any mood to hear such blustering, Nox simply lifted the man off the ground with the Force and slammed him into the wall directly in front of Nox. "I'm in no mood to listen to your crude language at the moment," Nox growled as the man started clutching at his throat as Nox began choking the life out of him. "And unfortunately for you, I have need of something you possess. So, your death won't be quick nor painless."

The air around Nox's left hand condensed, forming a dark miasma of Force energy that shot out like spears and impaled the man before him. The Ironborn had a moment of realization of something going wrong before he screamed, an ear-piercing scream that Nox quickly silence by filling his mouth with a ball of Force energy. "Quiet." Nox grumbled as he began to pull the man's life essence out of his body and into his own. "This takes a great deal of concentration."

Nox could feel himself becoming revitalized as he absorbed the man's essence. His right arm twitched as his dislocated shoulder went back in placed while simultaneously his forearm cracked as the bone righted itself and healed over. Once his wounds were healed over, he released the no longer struggling man and watched dispassionately as he collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

"I hate doing that," Nox mumbled to himself as he checked himself over, noting how two of his three ribs were still not completely healed. While some dark lords reveled in stealing the life force of others, to Nox the technique always left a bad taste in his mouth, which was why he didn't bother to master it. Which was also why he usually ended up killing his victims when he used it.

Feeling a slight sensation from the Force registering a threat, Nox didn't even bother to turn around. "That would be a very poor decision for your health, my dear," he said, his words stopping the servant girl that'd been trying to sneak up behind him dead in her tracks. "Now, drop the knife, go back to your corner, and I'll let you live."

The knife that'd been in the girl's hand clattered to the floor as the serving girl scurried quickly back to the corner she'd been hiding in. "Good girl," Nox praised the young woman as he made his way towards the door, stopping as he reached out and grabbed the latch to open it. "I have no doubt that you will go and raise the alarm about my presence here. It's your duty to do so, so I will not be grudge you that. However, you will count in your head to ten a total of twenty times before you do so to give me a head start. Do so, and you will live to see tomorrow. Do not, and I will hunt you down when this is over and kill you, your parents, your siblings, and even your family pets if you have them. Understand?"

The young girl was practically hyperventilating as she nodded frantically. "Yes mi'lord."

"Good," Nox nodded, opening the door and stepping out before giving her a wave goodbye. "When you leave, tell the other servants to stay out of my way if they wish to live to tomorrow."

After leaving the room, Nox began wandering the mostly deserted corridors of the Great Hall of Castle Pyke while reaching out with his senses. 'This keep is mostly deserted save for the serving staff and a few defenders that are setting up choke points within the Keep. But there seems to be a decent number of men congregating in a large space just up ahead. There is no other clustering of men of that size anywhere, so if Balon is anywhere in the Keep, it has to be there.'

Reaching the uppermost floor of the Keep, Nox found himself before a set of doors nearly twice as tall as himself that were slightly ajar and no one guarding them. Hearing voices coming from within, Nox leaned against the wall and listened to what was going on in the room beyond.

"-telling you, uncles! It was the Storm God himself! He threw lightning from his hands and destroyed the northern wall of the Gate Keep!" A young man was shouting desperately between desperate gasps of air.

"And so, instead of holding your position on the wall, you turned tail and fled back here like a craven Greenlander. How pathetic, nephew," a second, slightly older voice said. "Perhaps we should save the Greenlanders the trouble and send you to the Drowned God now. We can simply tell your dear father that you fell in defense of the wall. A much better tale then telling him the 'heir' to the Iron Islands ran with his tail between his legs from battle."

"Enough, Euron," a third, harsher voice cut in, ending the tirade of the newly named Euron. "Maron did right in retreating back so that we can have time to prepare against this…supposed sorcerer."

"There's nothing 'supposed' about this sorcerer, Uncle Victarion! I saw what he did with my own two fucking eyes! We need to get father and get on the ships and get out of here before he gets to us!" the young man, Maron, shouted desperately.

"So, your plan is to simply leave the Iron Islands to King Robert," a fourth, slightly more cultured voice chimed in. "You would abandon your people to his wrath just to save your own skin? If that is your plan, then tell me why my men and I should not simply kill you now and present your corpse to Robert as a peace offering?"

Deciding he'd heard enough and that he wanted to have a little fun, Nox knocked on the door with enough force to open the heavy door, revealing himself to the occupants on the other side. "Oh, excuse me," Nox muttered, looking around the room. 'Hmmm, Maron, Victarion, Euron, the noble cultured voice one and a dozen men at arms. This might possibly prove to be a bit entertaining.' "I'm looking for a pathetic cowardly weasel named Balon Greyjoy. I've been tasked him bringing him to King Robert alive…or at least partially alive that is. If you gentlemen could kindly point me in his direction, I'll leave you to your bickering."

It was almost comical to watch as the dozen men at arms tried their best to form a human shield between Nox and the Lords while the Lords themselves did their best not to act surprised. "So," the one he identified as Euron, drawled while stepping forward. "You must be this 'sorcerer' that turned my beloved nephew into a coward. You've got balls, I'll admit that. But apparently all that power has rotted your mind. That's the only reason as to why you are here, alone. In the heart of our power."

The moment Nox was able to get a good read on the man, he immediately put this Euron Greyjoy on his list of others keep an eye on. His comments were crass, and his manner was that of a prankster. But Nox could see beyond those facades to the keen mind beneath. A mind that was far more open than others he'd met. Yes, he would have to keep a close eye on this man. Provided he lived the day that was.

"Who can say for sure," Nox shrugged before pointing towards a table near the side windows that held several dozen pitchers and glasses. "Mind if sate my thirst? Slaughtering all of your men on my way here has made me quite parched."

Nearly all the Ironborn shifted their weight forward to charge at his comment, but Euron showed the respect and command he held amongst his brethren as he stopped them all with a simply outstretched hand. "Of course, I'm not one to deny a dead man his last request."

Walking over to the table, Nox took his time in examining each pitcher for poison or any other nefarious chemicals before picking up a pitcher of red wine and pouring himself a glass. After his failure to spot the poison cup offered to him by Lord Paladius on Nar Shaddaa, Nox had made a point to learn how to detect contaminants in drinks to prevent himself from being taken unaware like that again.

Uncoupling his mask, he held it loosely off to the side as he took a long drink. "This isn't bad," he remarked. "Would this be Arbor gold by chance? I'll have to have a case delivered if it is."

All the Ironborn were staring at him in stunned silence as his face was revealed to all. Euron was the first to overcome his surprise. The reaver threw his head back and laughed a full belly laugh. "Hahaha! This is too fucking much! A blind man! A fucking blind man made my beloved nephew run like a fucking coward. This is too funny."

Finishing off the cup, he set it back down on the table and turned so he was facing Euron and the nobles. With his supposed handicap now exposed, he wasn't surprised as Euron and the cultured noble to begin directing the other Ironborn with hand signals to quietly surround him. 'Not as dumb as I thought. This is proving more and more promising with each passing minute.' "Blind I may be, Euron Greyjoy, but I still see better than most. Just in a different manner is all. And I'm not dead yet, so why do you assume having a drink was a 'last request', as you call it? Your nephew saw me destroy the strongest part of your defenses and I cut my way through your men to get here. So, knowing that, what chance do you think you and your men have? Even if you are the supposed 'best' the Iron Islands have to offer?"

He could practically feel the cockiness radiating off of Euron as he drew himself up to his full height. "I've sailed across most of the known world, blind man, all the way to Qarth and back. I've met and talked with the warlocks of Qarth and I've seen a shadow priestess perform rituals while other red priestess use their power to discern the future from the flames. And while the power is unquestionable, it all comes with a similar cost. It's exhausting. The Warlocks would sleep for a day after performing a ritual. And the shadowbinder I watched had to be half carried away after she was finished with her task. And you, you destroyed a wall. Fought through dozens, maybe hundreds of our men and made your way here. I'd be surprised if you even had enough power left in you to defeat one of us, let alone two dozen."

"Sixteen," Nox corrected. "There are sixteen of you. Yourself, Maron, Victarion, another noble and a dozen men at arms, totaling sixteen. Not two dozen. I'm blind, not inept."

Euron recovered quickly. "Apparently so. I like you, sorcerer. So, I'll make you a deal. I let you live, and you teach me how to throw lightning from my hands like my nephew claims you can."

Reaffixing his mask, Nox shook his head. "And you still think that you are in control. Foolishly naïve." The men now had him fully surrounded, four of whom had crossbows aimed at his back waiting for Euron's signal to end his life. "While what you said about mystical powers exhausting those who use them is technically correct, your reasoning is flawed. Because whoever said that I use the same type of power as these warlocks and shadowbinders?"

"Kill the bastard!" the young Greyjoy, Maron, shouted, his sword clearing its sheath. "A new galley and captaincy to the one who ends this fucker's life!"

"Foolish," Nox growled, lifting his left hand.

In response, the four men behind him with crossbows all rose into the air, clutching their throats as Nox cut off their air with the Force. Clenching his fist and twisting it, he broke all four of their necks simultaneously while using the Force to draw his lightsaber into his right hand and activating it before their bodies could hit the floor. "Now, who wants to die next?"

The sudden death of four of their comrades halted the Ironborn, but only for a second as Victarion gave off a vicious war cry and charged at him, his two-headed axe held high and ready to cut him down.

"You're full of openings." Nox commented quietly, using the Force to carry his voice so that all of the men could hear him despite his tone.

Sliding his left foot forward, Nox brought his lightsaber down on an angle, cutting through Victarion's right arm before following the attack up with a swift kick with his right foot into Victarion's chest. Victarion's chest armor folded like cheap metal beneath the force of the impact, the impressively sized Greyjoy was sent flat onto his back. Winded, armless and weaponless.

"You're all full of openings." Nox remarked further as the rest of the Ironborn charged at him.

Moving in a blur of motion, Nox cut down one attack after another, exploiting every opening he could find in the men's armor and form. One foolish idiot got it in his mind to try climb atop a table and make a jump at him, but he didn't even get the chance to start his descent before Nox ended his pathetic life with a bout of Force lightning from his left hand. Within seconds, the Ironborn number had been reduced to half. Soon after there were only four left standing: Euron, Maron, the noble and one man at arms.

Euron was skilled, there was no doubt about that. But his movements had been honed to fight on the rocking of a ship, not on land, and it showed as the man was incredibly off balance as he unconsciously tried to constantly correct himself while swinging wildly at Nox. "You're good," Nox remarked as he dodged the wild attacks. Eventually, Euron overextended and Nox was able to step within Euron's reach, brining his knee up into the pirate's gut and doubling the man over. "But not good enough."

Raising his lightsaber, he brought the blade down intent to cleave through the man's head. But at the last moment he threw himself back as he felt a tremor in the Force. The bolt of a crossbow passed through the air where he'd been not a moment before. While he managed to avoid the bolt, his movements redirected his lightsaber, so instead of cutting through Euron's head, his lightsaber merely grazed across his face and over his left eye, leaving Euron to scream in agony as he clutched at the burning wound.

"Die, sorcerer!"

Using the Force to support himself, Nox managed to spin in a tight circle despite being bent backwards to the point of being nearly parallel to the floor. Circling around his opponent, Nox brought slashed at Ironborn's back, cutting deep and making the man collapse face first onto the cold stone floor. "Prince Maron!"

Righting himself, Nox brought his lightsaber back around ready to end the cultured noble, only for something unexpected to happen. Instead of having his lightsaber cut through the metal of the man's sword, the two blades…locked upon meeting one another. The fact that his lightsaber had been blocked completely floored Nox as a thousand and one questions immediately raced through his mind. It was only because of a warning from the Force that he was able to avoid the follow up attack from the noble, but even then, only just as the man's blade left a slight scratch across the surface of his chest plate.

"Get the prince and the injured out of here!" the cultured noble yelled over his shoulder to whoever was still able to move while he stood before Nox, his sword held in a mid-guard and, surprisingly, unblemished. "I'll deal with the sorcerer cunt!"

Tracing a finger along the scratch on his chest, Nox did nothing to stop the man at arms and Victarion Greyjoy as they helped Maron and Euron Greyjoy to their feet and carried them out of the hall. 'Interesting,' he thought, focusing in on the blade in the noble's hand. 'There are very few substances that can stand against a lightsaber, beskar being the most well known and most sought after. But even then, it will yield after prolonged contact. But that sword… That sword is completely unblemished after locking blades with a lightsaber. Most interesting.'

"Tell me, is that Valyrian steel by chance?"

The noble hesitated. "And what if it is?"

"Just curious," Nox remarked. "I've only seen one example of Valyrian Steel since coming to these lands and that is the Stark family sword, Ice. And, as remarkable as the weapon is, I couldn't exactly ask my host to let me experiment on a basically priceless family heirloom. But now, here you are with a Valyrian sword. So, let's make a deal. You hand it over, and I let you live. Refuse, and I take the sword from your corpse."

"Like hells you will!" The noble shouted, taking up an absurd stance, but one that the noble no doubt found 'heroic'. "I am Lord Dunstam Drumm, the Bone Hand! The Captain of the Thunderer and Lord of Old Wyk of the Iron Islands! I've been killing men twice your age and skill since before your father squirted you into your whore of a mother's cunt! And I will be damned to the depths of the Drowned God before I see my family's sword in the hands of a Greenlander cun-"

To Lord Dunstan's eyes, Nox must've seem to have moved from his several paces away to right by his side in the blink of an eye. In truth, Nox had simply used the Force to subtly make the man believe that Nox was still standing in place when in truth, he'd been approaching the man throughout his tirade. The hissing of his lightsaber cut through the sudden silence as Nox activated his weapon while it was pressed firmly against the man's side. The lightsaber easily cut through the Lord's body, sticking out the opposite side from where Nox was standing.

"A lightsaber doesn't truthfully cut in the conventional sense. The blade in fact burns through whatever it touches. I can only imagine the agony you must be feeling at this moment, forced to stay standing as my lightsaber slowly burns you from the inside." Nox's voice was completely devoid of emotion as he held his position, lightsaber piercing through the Ironborn Lord and using the Force to keep him in place. "Normally, I would relish the opportunity to fight one as skilled as you. Especially as we were on equal footing with you having a Valyrian sword. And while I would've still killed you in the end, I would've made your death quick. But you made a fatal flaw. And that was insulting my mother. A woman who was tortured and brutalized before my very eyes simply because I was born with the Force. And now, not only will you die a slow agonizing death, but I'm going to take your sword and melt it down and experiment on it to my heart's content."

Lord Drumm's eyes bulged as he tried to fight a quickly losing battle against the pain coursing through his body. "Don't talk." Nox growled, twisting the blade and ripping it out of the man, "just die."

Sidestepping, Nox let the Ironborn Lord fall face first to the ground, dead. Deactivating his lightsaber, Nox used the Force to summon the Valyrian sword, Red Rain, along with its sheath and the belt the Lord used to hold the sheath to his waist. It took him a minute, but Nox managed to configure it so that the belt crossed his chest from his shoulder to his hip, leaving the pummel of the sword over his right shoulder.

Reaching out with his senses, he quickly found the three retreating Greyjoys and their one surviving man at arms. Now that he had seen them, fought against them, he could easily pick up their presences through the Force and track them. They were moving as fast as they could out of the keep and making their way across a stone bridge to the next keep on the island chain.

"Run, little mice," Nox smirked beneath his mask as he set off on a leisurely pace, letting the Greyjoys run freely from him. "Run back to your brother and 'King'. It'll make finding him all the easier once you lead me directly to him."