Chapter 151: The Garrison of the Mud Gate
Egger realized that Tyrion was right; he might truly be lacking a bit of killer instinct lately. Since leaving the Wall, his role had gradually shifted from a Night's Watch ranger to a black-clad merchant. The expedition to suppress the rebellion in the Vale had consumed too much of his time, and while the long-term vision, decisiveness, and ruthlessness of a capitalist had yet to be fully forged, the sharp edge of a soldier had been slowly blunted by day after day of recruiting clients and smooth-talking investors. Perhaps it was time to hand these tedious, repetitive tasks to his subordinates and go stir up some real trouble himself.
This time, Tyrion's plan required the Two Giants to step forth personally. Toppling an opponent through the marriage of coin and power without shedding a single drop of blood was a high-level maneuver. If Egger wanted to go further in this world, he had to learn it.
To unseat the Commander of the City Watch in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms within three days using only the capital strength of the Night's Watch industries... had the person boasting not been Tyrion Lannister, Egger might have doubted it. Could a commercial organization less than a year old truly possess such influence?
After finishing lunch, Egger spent a few moments drafting a formal letter of complaint. This letter was merely the opening act of a bloodless blitzkrieg—the first shot. It didn't need to be devastatingly accurate; it just needed to be fired. Consequently, the content was simple: in his capacity as Egger West, Chief Solicitor of the Night's Watch, he reported Janos Slynt for harassing a female employee of the Night's Watch office and interfering with the normal operations of the logistics department, citing suspicion of abuse of power and solicitation of bribes.
Paired with the story Arya was set to tell, this should be enough to give Eddard a general impression of Slynt and pave the way for everything that followed.
In the afternoon, while waiting for the list Tyrion promised to send, Egger received another letter from the Wall, delivered via the Red Keep.
Egger guessed it was the requisition list for next month's supplies, but as he finished reading, he felt a jolt of adrenaline. The first piece of news: the vanguard of the wildling army was approaching the Wall, and the defenders now required massive reinforcements in manpower and materiel. The second piece of news was a bombshell—after weeks of effort deep within the Haunted Forest and suffering double-digit casualties, the rangers had finally captured a wight. The creature had been loaded onto the warship Black Crow at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and was already en route to King's Landing. Aided by the ocean currents and northern winds, and boasting a luxury crew of over a dozen rowers, the ship was making incredible speed and was expected to arrive within ten days!
Birds carrying messages took time to fly; this letter had been written days ago, and there was no telling how long it had sat with the Grand Maester before reaching his hands. It said ten days, but in reality, there might only be a few days left. That meant the ship carrying the wight would arrive in King's Landing any day now!
There was enough on his plate already, and now another crisis was crashing in. Troubles truly loved to cluster together... Egger felt his mouth go dry, but he understood: it wasn't that these events were colliding by chance. Rather, the wheels of history were rolling forward, and these things were meant to happen simultaneously. It was only because of his unique position as a man of the Night's Watch in King's Landing—the intersection point between the Wall and the capital—that made it seem like such a coincidence.
With the rumors regarding Cersei and Jaime spreading and the movements of both wildlings and White Walkers north of the Wall, any hope for the Night's Watch industries to develop in peace was now a luxury. Fortunately, the capture of a wight was not bad news for him as a man of the Watch. Now, he only needed to consider how to manage the shockwave the wight would cause once it hit the capital and the Seven Kingdoms, and how to profit from it without disrupting his business operations. That was the real task for a Chief Solicitor.
No, the present was always what mattered most. He would worry about the wight once it was safely offloaded at the docks. For today, his focus remained on toppling Slynt as quickly as possible so Tyrion could flee to Casterly Rock and avoid the coming storm!
"My lord, what does the letter say?" Nina asked, noticing the change in his expression. "Is the demand for supplies from the Wall beyond our capacity?"
"How could that be?" Egger smiled, carefully tearing Jeor Mormont's letter into two pieces. He handed the part containing the supply list to Nina and tucked the other half into a drawer. "Hand this over to the warehouse and procurement departments. Gather everything as quickly as possible and ship it to the Wall."
Nina scanned the list and looked startled. "My lord... the volume here is fifty percent higher than last month. If we fulfill this without a discount, after paying out dividends to investors and covering wages and expenses, we won't be making much profit at all."
"You're forgetting the four thousand gold dragons I made from selling the papermaking and printing rights. Besides, when did I ever say my primary goal was making money? As long as our cash flow is stable, the supplies for the Wall must never be compromised. Tell the department heads: not a single grain of wheat is to be missing." If the wildlings or White Walkers breached the Wall, the game would be over. That was the bottom line, and he would hold it no matter how busy he got. "Arrange this immediately. Also, I'll be heading back early today. After dinner, I need to visit the people on the list Tyrion provided."
The list Tyrion sent contained a string of names, but the one he recommended Egger visit first was Ser Jacelyn Bywater, the captain of the River Gate, commonly known as the Mud Gate.
This City Watch officer had once been close friends with Gerold, the current captain of the Night's Watch security team, and shared his distaste for Slynt. However, he was luckier than his friend; he was born into a cadet branch of the House Bywater in the Crownlands. Though his family held no lands, he was a noble—a theoretical vassal of the King according to the rules of Westeros. Furthermore, he had distinguished himself during Robert's suppression of the Greyjoy Rebellion, earning his knighthood. While Slynt despised him, he didn't dare move against him openly, which allowed him to remain the captain of the Mud Gate until now.
"A brave man who values honor," Tyrion had noted on the list, urging Egger to seek him out first.
After dinner, Egger set out from his residence with Jaqen, heading for the Mud Gate at the southern end of the city. His former young squire, Casey, was currently enjoying his role as an inspector at the security camp outside the city. This Faceless Man lurking within the Night's Watch industries did almost no work aside from teaching Arya swordsmanship and guarding the office door, yet he drew a full salary; it was time to put him to use.
...
Seasons in Westeros were irregular, but only in the long term. In the short term, climatic changes were slow and mild. Over the past six months, the temperature had been dropping imperceptibly. Subjectively, the season in King's Landing felt as though it were shifting from mid-summer into early autumn: scorching hot at noon, but beginning to turn cool and pleasant in the mornings and evenings.
At this moment, the sun had sunk behind the walls of King's Landing. The afterglow placed a shimmering golden crown upon the taller buildings within the city. The sky was a clear, deep blue, birds flew overhead, and thin trails of smoke began to rise from the chimneys of the residents' rooftops. With the arrival of autumn, the city's infamous stench seemed to have lessened considerably. To describe the atmosphere of King's Landing at this moment poetically: The day has exhausted its heat.
If not for the menacing, blood-red comet hanging in the eastern sky, it would have been an entirely peaceful evening.
Egger arrived at the Mud Gate before the sun fully disappeared below the horizon. After some negotiation with the soldiers, he entered the gatehouse and, within the captain's private room, met the target of his visit.
...
The Captain of the Mud Gate was a middle-aged man who had clearly seen much of the world. His brown hair was streaked with grey, his eyes were deep-set beneath prominent brow ridges, and his jaw was startlingly broad. Of course, his most defining feature was his right hand—it had been severed at the wrist and replaced with an iron prosthetic.
Egger had eaten earlier than usual today, which meant he had arrived at a slightly awkward time: the host was in the middle of his meal.
"Chief Solicitor? Please, sit." Bywater stared at his visitor with a look of curiosity. Holding a fork in his left hand, he speared the last piece of bacon and brought it to his mouth. "What business do you have?"
Egger didn't answer immediately. Instead, he signaled behind him. "Kon, wait outside."
Jaqen nodded expressionlessly and withdrew.
Bywater chewed his food, his brow furrowing in confusion. He nodded to his own squire, dismissing him as well.
"Egger West... I've heard your name. But I regret to inform you that I have no coin to invest in your Night's Watch industries." The Captain of the Mud Gate set down his fork, pushed the plate aside with his left hand, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "If you've come for that, you may leave. If it's for something else, pray, get straight to the point."
A straight-talker. Although his tone was blunt, Tyrion's evaluation on the note gave Egger a favorable first impression of the man. "Ser Jacelyn, your friend Gerold sent me. I hear your relationship with Janos Slynt, the Commander of the Watch, is... less than harmonious?"
" Gerold? I hear that fellow is serving under you now and doing quite well." With a mutual friend established, Bywater's tone softened slightly. "True enough, there are no outsiders here, so I won't hide it. My relationship with Commander Slynt is not harmonious. To be precise, he doesn't get along with a large portion of the soldiers and officers. But as he is currently the Commander-in-Chief personally appointed by King Robert, what can we do but keep our heads down?"
"Right now, an opportunity to topple him sits before you. I wonder if you are interested, Ser Jacelyn?" When dealing with a straight-talker, the best method was to be equally direct; it saved everyone effort. "Slynt has encroached upon the interests of the Night's Watch industries, as well as those of myself and Tyrion Lannister. We are preparing to remove him from power. We have compiled a list of charges against him, but ultimately, we need witnesses and evidence to secure a conviction. And so, your friend recommended you to me."
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