Chapter 25: The Black Keep
Waking in the morning, just as the soon was cresting over the horizon, Jon emerged from his tent to go to train with the Jarl. Looking around, almost no one was up yet, Jon had a good feeling about this morning.
Jarl Svygard emerged from his tent and began setting up the instruction areas. Jon announced his presence and Svygard Bjornsson told him to come in. "Today, Jon, I will be instructing you on combat with axes. Today will be a shorter lesson, but I have my stewards packing up your camp now, so we will have more time before we set off.
The practice axes were made of iron, but were so blunt, that there was no square edge on the entirety of the iron axe head. With axe and shield, they began to practice, warming up with lighter strikes, but eventually giving it almost everything they had. Jarl Svygard was better with an axe than he was with a sword, surprisingly. He taught Jon some combinations of swings, pokes and footwork. Jon had grasped the basics of axe combat just from a few hours of sparring with Svygard. Eventually the Jarl had to stop to have his tent packed and his armor put on him. As squire to Jarl Svygard, Jon had to put his armor on Svygard. This was the first time Jon did this, and the Jarl patiently explained to him what to do, as he drank from a horn of ale.
Jon had finished dressing the Jarl in his armor, which was shiny, but had slight scratches and dings in it that were visible in the light. As Jon was placing the Jarl's pauldrons on him, he noticed a scratch deeper than the rest. It looked almost like an arrow as there was no deformity in the steel, indicative of a melee weapon. Noticing the look of confusion Jarl Svygard explained it was an arrow shot from one of the first men he had fought and how after the arrow was loosed, a large black bear killed the attacker, saving the Jarl's life. "That was not even the first arrow he shot at me, look here." The Jarl pulled up his arming shirt slightly, revealing a three pronged jagged scar on the right side of his stomach. "Yeah the son of a bi*ch got me good, but your father saved my life. I know you are curious as to how we know one another, but we have been close since. Even though we have saved each other's lives a few times now, I will never forget that one day, until I am dead." the Jarl said with a somber expression on his face.
On the march, Jon was provided a horse and rode on one side of the Jarl as his father took the other. "We are close now" Jarl Svygard spoke loudly to the other Jarls, it appeared that he was the leader out of them. "How far, Svygard?" asked one of the Jarls, riding up closer to Svygard.
"Oh, I believe it's just under 3 miles, if you could send messengers to prepare the men, please I would appreciate it." said Jarl Svygard in a steady tone. With that, the Jarl, whose name Jon did not know, fell back and sent for the messengers. Jon looked at Jarl Svygard, who just smiled and shrugged. They continued riding until they came to the bottom of a medium sized castle, black as the night sky.
"This is where the king was spotted yesterday. Tell the men to make ready, and bring the gate basher." Svygard barked at a messenger close to him, fidgeting in his seat. "Jon, stick close to me and your father once the gates are down, this is a nest of bees and they are dangerous here, I feel it." Jarl Svygard explained. "We will join up with the archers for now, listen to my commands and you will be fine Jon. Do you have a good bow?" asked the Jarl. "Yes, my bow has taken down beasts at almost 30 yards, consistently." replied Jon. Both his father and Jarl Svygard both started laughing hard. "Not a hunting bow, a WAR bow, Jon. The string is heavier, as is the draw weight, it will fling an arrow almost 200 yards." the men were both amused. "Well, uhm, no sir, I dont have a good enough bow." replied Jon.
The bow was brought to him, it was a dark oak bow, strong and good looking with runes carved into the arms of the bow. Jon's eyes lit up as he saw this bow being brought to him. It was almost as tall as he was and when he drew the string it was heavy. He could draw the bow almost all of the way back to his jaw, but not quite all the way. Jon continued to pull the bowstring back, but never let the string go, as he heard from his father that it would ruin the bow. Jon was ecstatic about the new bow and thanked the Jarl, and the steward who brought him the bow. This surprised the steward, who smiled and nodded before returning to his duties.
With the siege lines drawn and camp made, the Northmen settled in, around the city. With night falling, there was really nothing they could do yet, as they lacked the resources to build a siege engine or ladders. There was no drinking this night, as every man needed to have a clear mind and no hangovers, as combat would start the following morning.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone