Chapter 314: Three Fires Upon Taking Office (Part II)
Egger's messenger had arrived.
Cotter Pyke knew there was no avoiding this, so he didn't waste time being indecisive. With a sharp toss of his head, he led Yohn Royce toward the new Lord Commander with a defiant, nothing to lose attitude.
Egger had things to say to them, but didn't he have a few words of his own?
However, as they drew within a few meters, they were blocked by Egger's subordinates.
"Surrender our weapons?" Cotter's eyes widened in disbelief. "I am a brother of the Night's Watch, inside Castle Black! On what grounds do you demand my steel?!"
"On the grounds that it is the Lord Commander's order."
"Hahaha! 'The Lord Commander's order.' Egger, have you done so many shameful deeds that you've finally learned to be afraid?" Cotter laughed in sheer fury, shouting his mockery from a few meters away. "The great Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, meeting sworn brothers in his own fortress, and he needs them disarmed first... Aren't you afraid of becoming the laughingstock of the Seven Kingdoms?"
Egger said nothing, merely staring at the two of them coldly.
He was indeed afraid of death. With Jeor Mormont's precedent fresh in his mind, he couldn't afford not to be. No matter the status or rank achieved, a mortal is ultimately made of flesh and bone. A drop of poison, a dagger, or even a well-aimed stone can end a life.
But demanding that Cotter Pyke and Yohn Royce disarm before seeing him today wasn't purely for safety; it was more of a ritual. A ritual to reveal their respective positions in the hierarchy and to reinforce that reality.
To put it bluntly: he was letting them know who was boss.
There was only one way to pass this test: obey the order and hand over the weapons, listen quietly to everything Egger had to say, and accept all arrangements unconditionally.
Any other reaction—whether attempting to push through while armed or refusing the order and storming off—would result in the dozen well-trained soldiers surrounding them seizing them instantly. They would be hanged in the courtyard of Castle Black immediately on charges of disobeying a superior officer.
Egger had indeed promised Denys Mallister not to trouble these two, but he felt that agreement was limited to not seeking retribution for anything that happened before he was elected. As for what happened after... he made no such vow.
The two sides faced off across the short distance; the air felt as though it had turned to ice.
Cotter had initially been laughing and mocking Egger, but after several insults failed to draw a single word of rebuttal, he began to feel like a stray dog barking at a wall. He fell into a sullen silence.
"Hmph. Utterly absurd!"
Yohn Royce was not like a crude man like Cotter who had curses ready at his fingertips. He spat this single sentence out and turned to leave in a fit of rage.
But his companion's reaction was unexpected: Cotter reached out and grabbed him.
As the commander of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Cotter Pyke never minded being called reckless. I'm a brute; what are you going to do about it?
But a man doesn't climb to the rank of commander by being a fool.
Cotter realized the situation had turned dangerous.
As the commander of Eastwatch, he could glare at Egger or mock him loudly; the man couldn't legally punish him for disrespect without appearing petty and narrow-minded—a permanent stain on his record.
But there was a red line that could not be crossed: disobeying a military command.
Even the smallest matter, when escalated to the level of principle, could cost a man his head.
Denys had said he reached an agreement with the new commander, but a man like Egger was not one to be bound by sentiment. If they took a wrong step today, neither the commander of Eastwatch nor the former Lord of Runestone would likely leave the gates of Castle Black alive.
Cold sweat began to seep down Cotter Pyke's back. His teeth ground together with an audible creak, but he kept one hand on Yohn while the other drew his weapon. Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers loyal to the Lord Commander, whose hands rested on their pommels, he spitefully slammed his battle-axe onto the ground.
If Yohn Royce hadn't understood such a blunt signal, his decades of life would have been in vain. He stood frozen in his half-turned posture for several seconds before finally succumbing to the threat of death. He shook off Cotter's hand, unbuckled his sword belt, and hurled it to the ground with a vent of frustration.
(Hmph. And I thought you weren't afraid to die!)
Egger gave a contemptuous smirk, but deep down, he also felt a slight sense of relief. After all, if he had been forced to execute his own men in the courtyard on his first day in office—no matter how justified the reason—it would have caused significant negative fallout.
The humiliation wasn't over. Under the smoldering glares of the two men, guards performed a full body search. After a nod of approval, they were finally allowed to pass and stand before Egger, who remained flanked by three soldiers.
After a flat, impassive glance at the two, Egger turned back to lean against the railing, looking down at the courtyard. Maester Aemon's ashes had been gathered, and the debris from the cremation had been cleared, but a dozen black-clad soldiers were still busy in the area, tools in hand.
"Lord Cotter, Lord Yohn. Can either of you guess what those men down there are doing?"
The two turned their stiff necks to observe for a moment. Both had a fair idea in their hearts, but both kept their lips sealed tight.
Egger hadn't intended to wait for an answer anyway; he revealed it quickly: "That's right. They are building a gallows. A gallows for traitors."
"The two of you either oppose my ideas, have personal grudges against me, or harbor doubts about my character... in short, there are many disagreements and conflicts. But you are not traitors; at most, you are dissenters." Egger put his hands behind his back, his voice calm and level. "Regardless, the fact remains—I am the Lord Commander. And whether you believe it or not, right now, the only thing on my mind is how to turn the Wall into a solid shield that the Others cannot breach. I have no interest in playing internal games with you."
He looked at them coldly. They were roughly the same height, but because Egger was younger and stood straighter, he gave off the impression of looking down on them. "You may keep your opinions and your views. You can be my dissenters forever. But I will never allow anyone to stand in my way or ruin my work at a time like this. If someone does, they are my enemy and a traitor to the Night's Watch! I don't care how much seniority they have, how noble their birth is, or how powerful their backers are—I will hang them without hesitation on the gallows meant for traitors!"
Having clarified the simple stakes, Egger turned his focus toward the individuals.
"Cotter Pyke. Both Maester Aemon and Ser Denys believed I should allow you to continue as commander of Eastwatch. Out of respect for them, I am choosing to give you a chance. I am choosing to believe you will set aside personal bias, put the interests of the Watch and all humanity first, and guard Eastwatch well. I promise you, I will not summon you frequently or force you to travel back and forth between Eastwatch and Queenscrown just to humiliate you with disarming and searches to waste your time. And you—you must promise me that you will do your job exactly as I expect."
Though his face was red with fury, Cotter's reply was unexpectedly blunt and direct: "I will set aside my bias, obey all your orders, and guard Eastwatch!"
"Excellent. I believe you. During the process of helping the North expel the Ironborn invaders, I captured dozens of surrendering soldiers. They have agreed to join the Night's Watch to atone for their crimes and are currently held at Queenscrown. You are of the Iron Islands as well; I trust you can manage your fellow countrymen. Not a single one of those men is allowed to escape. If one does, you can bring me your resignation!"
"Furthermore, I have received reports that ice has begun to form in the Bay of Seals, where the easternmost end of the Wall extends into the sea. To prevent the army of the dead from bypassing the Wall over the frozen surface, I will assign an additional two hundred men to Eastwatch alongside those prisoners. I don't care what methods you use—prevent that sea from freezing over completely!"
This was a real concern. The Bay of Seals connects to the Shivering Sea, and due to currents and tides, the surface rarely freezes, but nothing is absolute. Fears of the Others crossing the ice had always existed within the Watch. Naturally, Egger wanted to guard against it. However, the more important task for those two hundred men was to slowly infiltrate Eastwatch, monitor Cotter Pyke, and quietly undermine his authority.
If Cotter faithfully fulfilled his duties, the men Egger sent would obey him like normal subordinates. But if there was any sign of Cotter plotting or sabotaging efforts out of spite—however unlikely—those hidden pieces in Eastwatch would act instantly to seize him and take over the castle.
A commander and the soldiers of their fortress share a bond; Egger didn't deny that. But he did not believe that bond was strong enough for the men to follow a leader into rebellion or certain death—especially now that he had started paying the entire Watch a stipend.
Having finished with one, Egger turned to the other. "Lord Yohn. Whether your formation of the Lords Declarant counts as treason against the Iron Throne is not for me to say. But I will not explain a second time that I am not responsible for Waymar Royce's death. I must admit, his sacrifice bought me the chance to escape. I didn't like him, but he died fighting—of that, there is no doubt. Out of respect for a martyr and a former comrade, I truly do not wish to kill his father—unless you force me."
"If you continue to stubbornly oppose me, I promise you, you will be the one who loses. And on that note, I must offer a friendly reminder: you have more children than just Waymar. If you obstruct my actions in the Gift or affect my arrangements for guarding the Wall, I will be forced to execute you."
"One can imagine—your remaining two sons and daughter would likely seek revenge." A fierce light flickered in Egger's eyes as he forced a snarl onto his face. "Call me arrogant if you wish, but I have this confidence—if I am forced to become an enemy of the entire House Royce, I will win!"
"If your children, kin, or subordinates come for revenge, I will kill them as they arrive. One by one, pair by pair. If necessary, I will do as King Robert did to the Targaryens and wipe out every 'Royce' until not one remains. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try!"
Yohn Royce stared back fearlessly with his gray eyes, leaving Egger unsure if his words had even landed.
"Of course, rest assured, I won't give you another chance to throw your life away." Egger dropped the demonic facade. "From today, you and the rest of the disgraced Valemen are transferred to the Logistics Department. You will be responsible for purchasing and guarding the transport of miscellaneous goods from the Seven Kingdoms to Queenscrown. I will assign each of you one or two colleagues to work with you and monitor your movements... to ensure you never have the leisure or opportunity to harbor dangerous thoughts again."
It was phrased politely, but the essence was simple: separate Yohn Royce from his power base—the other Vale lords exiled to the Wall—exile them from the Wall and the Gift simultaneously, and put them under surveillance doing tedious, trivial work that could never threaten the big picture.
The above was the arrangement Egger had settled on after a long internal struggle, finally choosing to abandon the once and for all approach in favor of this middle ground.
He had understood from the start: he could never reconcile with these two, especially Yohn Royce. Rather than being gentle and being seen as weak, he chose to play the absolute villain.
This approach had two possible outcomes: either it truly terrified them, ending internal strife in the Watch, or it sparked their warrior spirit, escalating the conflict until he was forced to kill them anyway.
Egger couldn't predict the outcome, but to ensure losses were minimized if the latter occurred, he had his backup plan ready. He would let Cotter Pyke return to Eastwatch—only after his own men and eyes were in place. If the brute showed the slightest sign of movement, Egger would ruthlessly lean into his villain role and pull the problem out by the roots.
He was giving his enemies a path to live. Whether they walked it was up to them.
"No. Yohn is going nowhere. He stays at Eastwatch." Just as Egger had finished and was about to wave them away, Cotter Pyke spoke up coldly. "I swear by the Drowned God that I will never oppose you in any form again, but I make this one request: he stays with me at Eastwatch."
Egger looked at the speaker in surprise.
Everything he had said to these two old men today was a carefully considered order, not a negotiation. He hadn't expected to meet unexpected pushback at the very end.
He stared at Cotter intently for a moment and suddenly realized why the man looked ready to die rather than yield: he likely thought Egger was transferring Yohn away to find a chance to murder him quietly.
It really was... proof of the saying: if you keep moving up, one day you'll become the villain in someone else's story.
God as his witness, Egger had never thought that.
The reason was simple: as his most well-known public opponent, no matter when, where, or how Yohn Royce died... the public in the Gift and the Seven Kingdoms—especially Houses Stark and Royce—would conclude that Egger had killed him. Since he couldn't escape the fallout, why hide it?
If Egger decided to kill someone, he would do it by the law, not with meaningless cloak-and-dagger schemes.
But Cotter's decision to step forward gave Egger at least one piece of information: the man was afraid, truly afraid. And that meant his performance as a villain and his blatant threats had worked.
This man Cotter, who had been screwed over significantly by Yohn, still wanted to protect him. Egger truly didn't know what to say. He thought for a moment and realized that perhaps agreeing to this condition wouldn't be so bad.
"You are certain you insist on this?"
"I insist."
"Fine. But let me make one thing clear: if I find even the slightest hint or clue that Yohn is still refusing to let matters rest and is continuing to cause trouble, I don't care if you knew or if you participated. Unless you personally bind him and bring him before me, I will assume the two of you are in a conspiracy." Egger narrowed his eyes. "If there comes a day when I have to hang him on that gallows down there, I promise—there will be a place for you right beside him. Even so, do you still insist?"
"I will keep him in check. If he continues to ignore the big picture, I will no longer consider our friendship."
"I hope you can do it." Egger huffed. "I have said all I have to say. For now, stay in Castle Black for another two days. When you can leave for Eastwatch depends on my word... I'll offer you one final piece of advice; take it or not: put Yohn in charge of the de-icing work at the Bay of Seals. If he spends enough time and energy on that, he might have less strength for dangerous thoughts."
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