CHAPTER 56

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CHAPTER 56

284 AC

After breaking my fast and feeding my familiars, I made my way to the courtyard to meet Robb and Jon. One of the things I noticed when I woke up this morning was that my mana level had increased; my maximum mana was now 100. I could sense that I was getting close to a breakthrough; I think I could become a level 3 druid in a few months. The fights to the death in the forest and the one in the training space were starting to take effect. Thanks to 5x, these two fights were as effective as if I had fought to the death ten times.

I was just passing by the stables when I heard a bang behind me. As soon as I heard that sound, I turned around and jumped back, casting the "Quersumby ( oakshield )" spell and bracing myself with my arms to protect my chest. My heart started beating like crazy, and I was ready to cast attack spells in the direction of the sound. But at that moment, I realized that a horse kicking on the barn door made the noise.

When I realized this, my heart started to slow down, and everyone around me was looking at me like I was crazy. Thank God the bark armor on my arm was not visible because it was under my shirt, but many people had heard me shout "Quersumby ( oakshield )" and so they were looking at me like I was crazy.

It seems that what I've been through has affected me a little more deeply than I thought. The fact that I was so skittish and ready to attack made me wonder if what they call PTSD was something like this. My right hand is injured anyway; I guess I better not go out of Winterfell for a while. At least I should rest a bit until my hand is fully healed. When I got to the courtyard, I saw Robb and Jon waiting for me. When Robb saw me, he raised his hands and shouted.

"Aermir, at last, you are here. Where were you? We became trees while waiting for you."

"Don't be a drama queen. I'm here."

As soon as I said that, Robb's face fell, and he said in a stern voice.

"I think you're forgetting whom you're talking to, you commoner; you are in the presence of the next lord of Winterfell!"

For a few seconds, there was a deadly silence. We were both looking at each other without blinking our eyes, and suddenly we both burst into waves of laughter. Robb, while laughing, said.

"I got you for a second there, right?"

"Nah, I knew you were joking."

"You did not, and I saw the shock on your face for a second."

"Whatever man, let's get on with it. What did you concoct for today? What kind of mischievous deed are we going to do?"

After thinking a bit, Robb said, "I didn't think about it yet; what do you guys want to do?"

Jon said hesitantly, "We can explore the crypt."

I said, "it could be fun."

"I have a better idea; let's call Sansa, Arya and bran too," said Robb with a mischievous grin.

"Why, what are you planning? You usually don't want Sansa anywhere near you when you are being naughty."

"Because it won't be that big of a mischief, and it's going to be worth it even if Sansa reports me to mom. This is what we are going to do..."

After a while, we went down the stairs to the crypt with all the Stark children except Jon, and Robb was telling the others a horror story about the crypt. When we reached the end of the stairs, we were greeted by dark corridors with no light but the dim glow of some torches. The Stark kids really love playing here, and I love exploring this place, too. This crypt is a vast place and must be more extensive than Winterfell. The corridors connecting most of it are buried under tons of dirt, and comparing all of it to the parts we can currently get into is like a drop in the bucket.

As we were walking through the dimly lit corridors, something white suddenly passed at the end of the corridor in front of us, and Sansa screamed when she saw it. Hearing Sansa, Bran started to scream too, but Arya was curious as she couldn't see the white thing.

"What happened? What happened? Tell me what you saw."

Sansa stopped screaming after a few seconds and replied to Arya, pointing ahead.

"I think I saw a ghost, something all white passed at the end of the hall."

Meanwhile, Rob broke in and said, "Don't be ridiculous; there is no such thing as a ghost; it was just a story." Then he pretended to think a little and continued.

"But maybe it's a white walker like the ones in Old Nan's stories who came to kidnap us and turn us into themselves."

We came to the end of the corridor in curiosity and fear. Meanwhile, Arya tried to pick up one of the swords on the tombs, but she couldn't carry it because it was too heavy and gave up. We were just turning the corner when something white came out from behind the tomb on the side and jumped in front of us.

"Rawr, Blooodd!!"

"Kyaaaa!"

"Ahhh!"

Sansa and Bran screamed and tried to flee, but after a moment of fright, Arya realized it was Jon and stopped running. Robb and I were on the floor laughing, then Sansa and Bran saw this and stopped running. Then Sansa came towards us with her hands on her hips and started hitting Robb.

"You guys are assholes! How could you do this? Mother will hear of this."

"Aww, aww! Sansa, stop it. You have to admit it; it was funny."

Sansa angrily said, "it was not funny!"

"of course, it was not funny for you, but it was hilarious for us."

After Sansa's anger wore off, we started walking around the crypt and playing games. It would be normal to think that children would be afraid to enter here, but the atmosphere of this place looks pretty different to me than other cemeteries. We like playing in here. Yes, it's cold and dim and somewhat damp inside. But this cold is not a cutting cold like the outside. Even "cold" would be the wrong word to describe the feel of this place.

What would be the right word to describe this feeling? "refreshingly cool" would be the right word. the cool air inside is welcoming and like embracing me. I feel it is almost like calling me to stay here. Maybe it is because of the magic inside; I can feel it too. It permeated the walls and the ground; it is ancient magic. It is so old that it has almost lost all of its shape and effect. The core of this magic is either damaged or running out of mana.