Chapter 216: The Captive
Wildfire mixed with large quantities of lamp oil and pitch loses its explosive properties. In a typical castle siege, a single conflagration naturally wouldn't stop an attacker from scaling or sabotaging other sections of the wall. However, before a unique defensive structure like the Wall—where the only viable breakthrough point was the gate—a mass of eerie green flames engulfing the entrance proved to be the ultimate deterrent.
The Wildlings had no intention of braving the assault from above to extinguish the fire, and it was clear this roaring green blaze wouldn't subside anytime soon. Now, it was time to assist the brothers on the ground.
"Leave twenty men here. Blow the horn if anything happens!" Egger shouted, handpicking a line of the elderly and infirm to remain on sentry duty. "The rest of you, take your gear downstairs and help our brothers below!"
Unsure of the situation at the base of the Wall, Egger waited for the first wave to descend before leading the direct subordinates of the Logistics Department down the lift. To his relief, the battle below was nearing its end; he wouldn't have to personally charge into the fray.
A tower was ablaze, corpses littered the ground, and living souls were darting in every direction—though fortunately, most of those still moving wore black. The low wooden walls and roadblocks had failed to keep the raiders out, but they proved a lethal hindrance to the Wildlings attempting to flee a losing battle. Within Egger's line of sight, two Wildlings were run through from behind as they tried to scramble over the walls. Groups of two or three brothers were sweeping the towers and buildings for any stragglers... Castle Black had not yet been fully cleared, but for all intents and purposes, the fighting was over.
What followed was the business of extinguishing fires, treating the wounded, and tallying losses. Builders and stewards set aside their weapons and began the grim work of post-war cleanup.
Jaime approached, his sword slick with blood. Having survived a major engagement, he seemed to have temporarily forgotten his great transgressions; his face finally shed its mask of indifference. "This godsforsaken place... is it this 'exciting' every day?"
"Hardly." Egger knew that being swept into a bloodbath immediately upon arrival could easily terrify newcomers. Jaime and his bodyguards had no choice, but if the young men in the Logistics Department—who hadn't signed their lives away—wanted to quit out of fear, he'd have a mess on his hands. "This battle only happened because of a tactical blunder by the Watch command. Now that I'm back, I won't give the Wildlings another chance to pinch us like this!"
"Being pinched isn't the worst part... as the headquarters of the Night's Watch, couldn't Castle Black have built a sturdier wall?" The Kingslayer looked both puzzled and annoyed. "There are so many derelict towers here. You could tear a few down and dig up some mud, and it would be enough to throw up a high wall."
Jaime was finally talking, which was a good start. Egger didn't disagree with the suggestion and simply shrugged. "I'll pass your advice along to Commander Mormont. Take your men and find somewhere to rest; the brothers will handle the rest of the work."
A dispute broke out some ten meters away. Recognizing Jon's voice, Egger immediately led his men over to investigate.
"This bitch killed at least two of our brothers!"
"She surrendered. She is my prisoner now," Jon replied, standing his ground against the speaker.
"I didn't see her surrender."
Jon yanked the wildling woman forward. "Do you surrender?"
"I surrender," she muttered, her breath misting in the cold air.
"You've got a taste for this wildling bitch! The Wall is too lonely, and that bastard blood of yours is acting up, isn't it?"
"She is my prisoner," Jon insisted, sticking to his claim. "Is there a rule saying we don't take captives in war? We can interrogate her to learn their strategies and deployments!"
"Wildlings would sooner bite off their tongues than answer questions. It's a waste of breath."
Egger approached and saw the woman in Jon's grasp—she had red hair.
It was Ygritte. Her features were obscured by the night, but she had indeed participated in the raid only to be captured by Jon in the chaos. Was this just a young man's lust guiding his hand, or were they destined to meet?
Egger chose not to dwell on the meaningless question and interrupted the bickering brothers. "If any are still alive, take them! Even if we can't interrogate them, they can be used to send a message to Mance Rayder at a critical moment!"
"Prisoners just eat our food!"
Compared to the new army he had trained in King's Landing, the discipline and quality of the Night's Watch seemed rather mediocre; even a common soldier dared to talk back to the Chief Logistics Officer? Egger frowned, realizing his authority was still tenuous. "The matter of food will be handled by the Logistics Department. No more talk. Clear the battlefield! Kitchen staff, prepare the evening meal!"
The Chief Builder and Chief Steward were both honest souls who disliked giving orders, and with Commander Mormont and the First Ranger absent, Egger found himself inadvertently acting as the temporary master of the castle upon his return. Steaming bowls of onion and meat broth were soon carried from the kitchens. Everyone received a share, and portions were sent up to the sentries atop the Wall. Paired with bread, the meal quickly replenished the strength spent in the great battle.
In the dark, a full count was difficult. It wasn't until midnight that the preliminary figures were ready: twenty-six defenders of Castle Black had perished, with several wounded. Approximately two hundred Wildlings had attacked; seventy-six were killed, five were taken prisoner, and the rest vanished into the night.
The elite soldiers Jaime had brought from the Westerlands had fought in a spear formation, proving as unstoppable as gods of death. They alone accounted for nearly half the kills, while losing only four men. The raiding Wildlings could never have dreamed that while they had successfully lured away the Watch's finest rangers, they would stumble upon an even more formidable force from the West on the very day of their attack.
Against the finest the Wildlings had to offer, this casualty ratio was a resounding victory, though it felt insignificant considering the enemy host was a hundred times their size.
After the broth was drunk, the bread eaten, and the bodies of both Wildlings and fallen brothers burned, no further horn blasts came from atop the Wall. No one could tell if the Wildlings would strike again that night, but three hundred men couldn't wait forever. After consulting with the Chief Builder and Steward, the three commanders drew up a new watch rotation—ensuring twenty men were atop the Wall and thirty were in the towers around Castle Black at all times.
Invoking their status as non-members of the Night's Watch, Egger excused his Logistics Department employees from the rotation. After a thousand-mile trek followed by a harrowing battle, they were lucky to have suffered no casualties. Egger settled them into Hardin's Tower—picking it because Jon and his friends lived there. The Watch was a brotherhood, but cliques existed everywhere. With a superior's tacit permission, men usually chose to bunk with those they knew and liked... regardless, Castle Black was built to house five thousand; there were plenty of empty buildings.
It had been a chaotic and exhausting day. Egger had no strength left for catching up with Jon. After a simple cleanup of the room with his followers, he lit the hearth, laid out his bedroll, and quickly fell asleep.
The Wildlings did not attack again that night. After a night of peaceful sleep, the defenders met their second day at the Wall.
The situation was grim. A third of the oil barrels had been consumed in the night's battle, and only one jar of wildfire remained. Most troubling of all, the outer gate—damaged by the giants and scorched by the night's fire—was completely warped and had detached from the ice wall, which had lost a layer to the heat. It could neither be opened nor closed properly; it clearly wouldn't survive another round of sabotage.
The Wildlings launched a feint at dawn to drag their dead back into the forest for burning. That night, they launched a second large-scale assault using hide-covered war wagons... but without the coordination of raiders south of the Wall, they were swiftly repelled again by the green flames that even water could not douse.
The wildfire was spent, and few oil barrels remained. Thinking quickly, Egger arranged for men to fill every empty barrel they could find in the towers with water. These were hauled to the summit and stacked in the corners.
Perhaps these bluffing oil barrels intimidated the Wildling skinchangers scouting with birds, or perhaps the two experiences of being scorched by wildfire had broken their courage. It was also possible they had detected the return of the rangers. By the third day, the Wildling assault ceased. Commander Mormont and Ser Jaremy Rykker returned to Castle Black with a portion of the rangers.
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