Chapter 425: "Sunk Cost"
Fires had broken out everywhere within the walls of the Shadow Tower. Beyond the hidden protocols, the section of the defense plan open to the public had reached its final stage: urban combat and evacuation.
As the rhythmic tolling of the alarm bells signaled the fall of the main gate, the soldiers on the walls began to abandon their posts. They retreated into the fortress in an orderly fashion, igniting buildings and barricades that had been prepared earlier in the night. Relying on the flames and their familiarity with the terrain, they fought a retreating battle, gradually contracting their perimeter toward the stairs leading up the Wall.
The outcome was decided. The White Walkers had not entered the fortress with the tide of wights, and Ben, holding the two Lightbringers, ultimately never got his chance to be an Other-slayer. However, this also meant that the unnatural extinguishing of fires would not happen inside the walls. In this normal combat environment, the advantages of disciplined training and a pre-set plan became immediately apparent. Though everyone knew the fall of the fortress was inevitable and they would have to retreat across the summit of the Wall toward other castles, the black-clad commanders did not panic. Seeing this, the Mountain Clan and New Gift soldiers followed suit, gritting their teeth to buy time for the evacuating women, children, and logistical staff.
Ordering the soldiers to move every scrap of flammable material they could find—lamp oil, pitch, even cloth and firewood—to the base of the stairs, Denys Mallister heaved a long sigh and looked toward the fortress, which had become a sea of fire. Most of the non-combatants had escaped; his only worry now was whether the materials he had gathered would be enough to truly destroy the staircase.
...
There were nineteen castles along the Wall, but only the original headquarters of the Night's Watch, the Nightfort, had been planned for construction at the same time as the ice wall. Brandon the Builder had included access to the summit—ice-hewn stairs—in the original blueprints.
The other castles did not enjoy such exclusive treatment. The eighteen remaining fortresses, including the Shadow Tower and Castle Black, were built later by the Watch's own builders. The stairs were constructed using massive logs driven deep into the heart of the ice. Through centuries of wind, snow, and constant reinforcement, they had practically fused with the Wall. Though made of wood, they were so cold and dense that they were incredibly difficult to ignite. If the wight army reached the base of the Wall before the Watch could destroy them, what then?
Just as Denys and his guards were racking their brains for where else in the fortress they might find remaining war materiel, things finally went right for once. A second group of reinforcements from Greyguard arrived via the stairs and winches, bringing wildfire down to the ground.
"Ser Denys!" The leader of the Greyguard reinforcements, who had been promoted from the Shadow Tower, recognized his old superior instantly. "We brought two crates of bombs, ten jars of wildfire, and a hundred men. Tell us where you need us, and we'll be there!"
"You've come at the perfect time! Pile everything around the base of the stairs. Once you're done, get back up to the top of the Wall and tell the men up there to prepare to burn the stairs—with wildfire!"
"What?" The leader of the reinforcements stared with wide eyes at the Shadow Tower—the place he had served for over ten years, now a familiar yet foreign landscape of rising smoke and flame. "Are you sure you don't need reinforcements?"
"Get back to the top of the Wall! That is an order!" Denys roared with all his strength, even turning to his own guards. "That goes for you too! Your new mission is to guard the summit. Do not let a single enemy climb up via the stairs or the face of the Wall. This is an order—execute it immediately! I can handle the tasks of covering the remaining brothers and lighting the fire here myself!"
"But—"
"But your mother's ass! Which part of 'This is an order' do your ears not understand? Get moving! Don't block the stairs for the brothers behind you who are running for their lives!"
Denys Mallister never used foul language. His uncharacteristic tone reflected the iron of his resolve. The reinforcements and guards, some trembling and others burning with a desire for battle, stood frozen for a few seconds, looking at one another. They understood the commander's intent: this venerable old man intended to go down with the fortress.
The words "We'll stay and die with you" caught in their throats, but in the end, no one could muster the courage to say them. They could only straighten their backs with respect, tears glistening in their eyes. "Yes, sir!"
...
Go down with the fortress? Bullshit!
Though Denys had white hair, a white beard, and a face full of wrinkles—looking for all the world like a stubborn old conservative—heaven knows he was never pedantic or narrow-minded. A fortress is an object; a person is alive. To die for a piece of stone? Only a fool would entertain such a thought! Furthermore, lighting a fire was a task a single fire arrow could accomplish; why would the commander of the Shadow Tower need to do it personally? Surviving to preserve fighting strength was the only move that truly benefited the war effort.
But speaking of fighting strength—there were still at least nine hundred soldiers in the Shadow Tower who hadn't evacuated. They were retreating toward him, some in panic and others with discipline, following the pre-planned tactics. Compared to an old man like himself, they were the true fighting strength!
But they were destined not to make it out. Denys had realized this the moment the wight vanguard breached the gate. If the defenders, with wights snapping at their heels, crowded around the stairs at once, it would cause absolute chaos. It was doubtful many would make it up, and if the wights got the chance to mingle with the crowd and swarm up the stairs, he would be a criminal for all eternity.
Though they were not yet dead—though they were still fighting and hadn't even reached fifty percent casualties—they were already the sunk cost the human side was destined to lose in this first exchange of the war. They could not be saved. To try and drag them out would only suck in more soldiers and put the entire Wall at risk.
However, to abandon hundreds of brothers to save his own skin? He was over seventy years old and had maintained an honorable reputation his entire life. If he took such a stigma to his grave now, he'd regret it so much he'd crawl back out of the dirt!
Denys wasn't going down with the Shadow Tower; he was going down with the brothers who had obeyed him and trusted him, the ones whose path of retreat he was about to cut off with his own hands. If destroying the stairs was like an amputation to save the body, then the knife performing the task—himself—should be buried with the limb he cut off!
He drew his longsword, using both trembling hands to pry open crate after crate of tightly nailed wood. He placed the bombs, protected by shock-absorbing straw, next to the piles of kindling. He opened the wildfire jars one by one, pouring the liquid onto the bottom-most planks of the stairs. During this time, a few logistical stragglers who had fallen behind the main force ran past, stopping to ask if he needed help; Denys roared at them until they fled up toward the summit.
After ten minutes of preparation, he leaned against the wooden railing, panting. He took down a torch mounted nearby and looked one last time toward the main road leading from the keep to the stairs.
He wanted to save a few more, even deserters, as long as they weren't being chased... but the last living thing to run past him was a dog kept in the Shadow Tower kitchens. The poor creature had felt the presence of the cold magic; with its tail between its legs, it whimpered past Denys's feet, not even looking at the commander as it skillfully scrambled up the stairs toward the top of the Wall.
Then came the shadow-wolves and shadow-bears—the vanguard of the wight host that had been the first to cut through the defenses at the gate. Under the Night King's command, they displayed a bloodlust that humans could never achieve. They ignored the soldiers right next to them, not bothering to slaughter the routing enemies or intercept Night's Watch units retreating from the walls. Like a hot knife through butter, they lunged with single-minded purpose toward the stairs. Despite the fact that half the fortress had not yet fallen and the gate-watch was still fighting, they were the first to appear in Denys's field of vision.
So fast! So precise!
Denys offered a silent word of praise—both for the enemy's efficiency and a deep admiration for the Defense Protocol that had anticipated everything. Even though he hadn't written it, a surge of pride rose in his chest: No matter how many tricks you use, you will still be thwarted by us humans.
He pulled his lips back into a toothy grin, let go of the torch, and spat out a curse he had never uttered in his life: "Come on, you sons of whores!"
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