Chapter 211: Everything Starts Here
Egger stayed in Winterfell for only a single night before setting out. After several more days of relentless trekking, he finally arrived at the abandoned Gift village he had chosen as his base of operations.
Queenscrown sat beside a pocket-sized lake that didn't even appear on most maps. Because of this fine body of water, it had once been one of the largest settlements in the entire Gift. Dense, flourishing groves of oak and apple trees grew around the lake, partially veiling the ruins of the homes where the people of the Gift had once lived. In the center of the small lake lay a tiny island covering only a few acres. A towerhouse stood upon it, its shadow reflected in the calm blue water. As the northern wind blew, ripples danced across the surface.
...
Queen Alysanne Targaryen had once spent a night in this tower. In honor of her visit, the villagers had painted the merlons atop the structure gold, making it look as though it wore a queen's crown, giving the place its name.
Located in the New Gift and situated near the Kingsroad, the site offered convenient transportation and fertile soil. Trees could be planted on the shore, and fish could be caught in the water; its habitability was exceptionally high. Unfortunately, with the decline of the Night's Watch and the constant raids by wildlings climbing over the Wall, the residents eventually had to abandon it, leaving it a mere cluster of ruins.
But now, the area showed signs of a fresh beginning. Utilizing local materials, collapsed houses had been rebuilt and missing roofs replaced. From a distance, one could see workers busily moving in and out.
The arrival of a party of over a hundred men quickly caught the attention of those within. Within moments, Yam—the leader of the vanguard Egger had sent here to break ground—stood before him.
"My Lord, you've come!"
Egger nodded to him. "Yes, I should have been here sooner. Looking at the state of this place, you've done well."
This was sincere praise. Compared to their last meeting, the young man from the West looked noticeably darker and more weathered. He had first established the obsidian mines for Egger on Dragonstone, and a few months ago, he was chosen to be sent north to pave the way for the Queenscrown base. He had rendered great service to the Night's Watch industries. Looking at it now, Egger hadn't chosen the wrong man.
"You flatter me, My Lord..." Having been praised by his superior, Yam, who looked several years older than his actual age, could not hide his joy. He quickly corrected himself: "Oh, you've had a long journey. Please, come into the town and rest!"
Yam—who could perhaps be called the Mayor—invited Egger and his company into Queenscrown. After most of the men were settled, he took Egger on a tour of the transformed village.
The changes here went far beyond what could be seen from a distance. The stone causeway leading to the island had originally been hidden underwater, but it had now been reinforced with stones and laid with wooden planks to form a level bridge. The ruins of the village on this side had been partially restored, and a low wooden palisade had even been erected around them...
"That building set apart from the others has the thickest walls; it's for the pyromancers to mix wildfire. The roof was built according to the Alchemists' specifications—if a fire breaks out, it will collapse and bury the room," Yam explained as he led Egger along the lakeshore, pointing out the burgeoning stronghold. "That one is the completed warehouse... and further down is the stable."
"Has the production of wildfire begun? Where are the Alchemists?"
"They've started, but we don't have the manpower to procure raw materials in bulk, so it's a stop-and-go process. We've only produced a few jars so far. But according to the pyromancers themselves, mixing wildfire here is much safer and easier than in King's Landing."
"Is that so? That's good." The reason for this, Egger mused privately, likely wasn't that the North was better for production, but rather that as magic returned to the world, wildfire was becoming easier to create everywhere. "Why are the stables still empty? What's in the warehouse?"
"We've hidden the few horses we have on the island. As for the warehouse... there's nothing in it for now. Every day, I simply direct the workers to build according to the plan, but in truth, we can't function as a logistics hub yet."
"Why is that?"
"Other troubles can be overcome with effort, but there is one thing I simply cannot solve: there is no guarantee of safety. My Lord, being in the south, you don't know the situation in the North," Yam complained helplessly. "A wildling army has reached the foot of the Wall. Although they can't break Castle Black, they are constantly sending small groups over the Wall to the south. Several sparsely populated villages near the Wall have already been raided and slaughtered. As for us at Queenscrown... you gave me ten guards, and I used money to hire some workers from the Gift farmers and Umber lands. In total, we are barely forty men. That's not enough to fill the teeth of a large wildling raiding party. We post sentries while we work during the day, but at night, we retreat to the island in the lake and pull up the bridge planks. That island is so small it's just barely enough for people to live on. Even if Lord Commander Mormont recognizes us as a logistics base, how can we stockpile or transfer supplies?"
I see, Egger thought grimly. He had been living comfortably in King's Landing; who would have thought the North and the Gift were already in such a state? He had thought he gave the vanguard high enough wages, but now that he thought about it, how much money is truly enough to work in such a perilous place?
"Has there been no attack here yet?"
"It's not that we haven't been attacked, it's just that the houses on the shore are all empty. Our belongings and people are on the island. When the wildlings come, we pull up the bridge, and they don't want to waste their time."
"You've worked hard." Egger felt a genuine surge of respect. Initially, he had simply allocated funds and sent men here to start building a base as a matter of course, without fully considering the local developments. If Yam and his men hadn't been so cautious, he might not have found any of his subordinates alive. "Now that I am here, that problem will naturally be resolved."
Standing on the lakeshore and looking around, Egger formed a plan. "First, we build the walls. Have you ever been to Inn at the Kneel?"
"I have, My Lord."
"Model it after the Kneel. Build a small holdfast on the shore to control the bridge, ensuring we can defend ourselves regardless of who attacks. If the walls are breached, we can retreat across the bridge to the island; if the island is attacked, we can fall back to the walls... gold is no object."
"An excellent idea, My Lord. But how large a perimeter should I build?"
"Hmm..." Egger pondered for a moment. "Not too large. Let's aim for enough space to house a thousand people."
"A thousand?" Yam gasped. "But the entire Night's Watch only has a thousand men. Where would we get so many people to house?"
"That is not for you to worry about. If my plan succeeds, it will only feel too small, not too large." Egger sighed, looking once more across the wind-swept lake and the repaired buildings on the shore. "Step by step. Let's start by not cowering on the island. I've brought over a hundred soldiers and employees of the Watch industries. In a while, the Northern soldiers borrowed by the Winterfell master-at-arms will report here too. Castle Black has plenty of men right now; I will station as many as possible here. You, the management, the pyromancers, and other skilled workers will live on the island. The rest of the combat personnel will be stationed in the fenced-in houses at this end of the bridge, with sentry and patrol rotations established. Once the walls are up, we start buying supplies from the Northern lords and transporting them to the Wall. For a base to be useful, it must be recognized—do you understand?"
"I... I understand." Yam didn't actually understand, but he could sense his leader had a grand plan, so he nodded quickly. "So the next task is to get the walls up as quickly as possible?"
"Yes—make the foundations solid; we might need to heighten or expand them in the future." Egger nodded. "There's no harm in telling you the plan. My intention is to build a solid, reliable militarized outpost. We will use 'safety' and 'full supplies' as our brand to attract the residents of the Gift to fill this place. If we can force some wildlings to surrender later, all the better. In the future, Queenscrown will become the central city of the Gift—a new town belonging entirely to the Night's Watch Logistics Department, with the castle you build as its heart and this lake as its anchor!"
"Uh..." Yam opened his mouth and couldn't help but ask: "But, what is the purpose of building this town?"
"That, again, is not for you to concern yourself with." Egger smiled and shook his head. "First, build the walls and ensure wildfire production stabilizes quickly. Then, buy grain and supplies from families across the North to supply the Wall... I've told you the long-term plan and the short-term tasks. If there are no other questions... well, the wages for the vanguard you led are doubled. Keep up the good work."
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