Carliene Stark

Chapter 36

Carliene

I was lying stiffly on the hard ground, the thin layer of straw and the scruffy blanket unable to keep the cold away. The room was dark and reeked of death. My head burned and cold shivers kept me from sleep. I could not sleep and I could not wake, my eyelids as heavy as a smith's anvil. My skin felt hot and itchy, my chest ached with every breath and my throat was raw and dry.

A sudden burst of noise and light tore me from unconsciousness. My eyes weren't used to the brightness that flooded in from the door so I was unable to make out any details of the room or building I lay in. There were muffled voices and someone was entering. Sounds of footsteps and something dragging, then a thud like a sack of corn had been dropped and a groan.
The footsteps left along with the light, which I realised was coming from a torch. The only thing that stayed was the groaning creature. I could not tell if it was a man, women or child, but if it was in here it didn't matter. We would all belong to the gods soon.

My linen shirt clung to my skin as I awoke shaking, a dull pain lingering in my head. I could still taste the smell of death at the back of my throat for a breath. It had felt so real. Too real. I could see through the thin curtains of the only window that it was still dark out. There lay a heavy silence in the air. Trying to calm my heart I rose from the bed and made my way to the window, slipping behind the curtains. There were no stars in the sky and the moon was dulled by a layer of fog. I desperately wanted a breath of fresh hair, but the window didn't open and I did not want to face whatever guard shad been posted at my door. For a shot moment I wondered what had happened to Ser Euron.

Would they return him bloodied and bruised? Surely not, people weren't usually cruel just for cruelties sake. Usually people always had a agenda. Like this commander. Money and power was the full range of his interests. Even when I had lain my suspicions out honestly he had only laughed, telling me I had no business meddling in such affairs.

My thoughts returned to the night terror. Was it just a night terror. Old nan used to tell us stories, of wargs and skin changers. Men who could look through the eyes of animals and even man. I could still remember me and my brothers sitting at the fire and listening to her with awe.
I found myself thinking of Jon. I hadn't thought of him in a while. Up at the wall at the very edge of the realm. He's a brother of the nights watch now, not your brother anymore, a voice of reason told me.

"He's the only brother I have left" I realised, a knot forming in my throat.

Maybe they would let me write to him. A sudden spark of enthusiasm flew through me. If I managed for Lord Kevan to take me serious, maybe he would let me send a letter to the wall. Of course they would want to read through it but I didn't plan on sending any confidential information anyways. I would just like to ask how he is doing and tell him that I am thinking of him.

But first I would have to get out of this mess. My dream had given me new confidence, there had to be a reason, there just had to be. The ride along the docks had been frustrating. There was no sign of any illness or anyone trying to cover one up. But it would spread eventually, I just had to find the source first. Before this Commander Vylarr could drag me back to the rock.

I walked back to the bed, maybe if I fell asleep again I could dream up more details. I laid down on my back, closing my eyes and trying to think myself back into that place. That dark smelly place, filled with suffering souls. I tried drifting off, concentrating on imagining the smell and the darkness. Imagining a dark grey sky and the docks filled with fog.

There was the smell of the sea in the air and a cold gust ruffling my fur as my claws scrapped across the oily wood of the docks. My whiskers helped me feel my w ay though the darkness along with my nose. It was better than I ever could have imagined. I could make out and tell so many smells apart. It was like I was seeing with my nostrils. Amongst the salt of the sea and the scent of fish oil there was a painter, more pungent odour. The smell of death. It was not an unpleasant smell as it promised a meal during ill times. This night my curiosity pulled me to it though, slipping through barrels and boxes and through a hole in the planks of a large structure. In here the air was heavy with the aroma, every breath felt like a bite from a fresh corpse. I could hear breathing and stirring, but it didn't worry me. Anything that smelled like this would pose no danger to me. I approached one of the stinking masses. This one lay still and I knew it would never rise again. My eyesight was short so I had to get really close to see. The horror unfolded before me. A face covered in blisters, white eyes staring into the darkness.