Chapter 319: The Nuisance and the Savior
Egger had many things he wanted to do, but holding back the White Walkers' advance was undoubtedly the top priority—the fundamental prerequisite for all other work and plans.
Melisandre confirmed that she could indeed feel the magic within the Wall. Egger suspected it mostly came from the unknown number of giant Weirwoods growing beneath the ice; it was their presence that deterred the White Walkers and the army of the dead, preventing them from launching a reckless total offensive.
However, while the magic in the Wall was grand and majestic, it was dispersed over a range at least a hundred leagues long and of unknown height and width. Its potency was greatly diluted by the scale of space, and its intensity seemed constant. The Night's Watchmen had no idea how to manipulate or strengthen this power.
On the other hand, the power of R'hllor's ancient foe—the aura of ice magic permeating the world—was growing stronger as the temperature dropped, and the rate of change showed no signs of slowing. This undoubtedly meant the White Walkers were becoming more powerful, an effect that extended to the wights as well. One day, the Wall's deterrent effect would fail to suppress the White Walkers' resolve to head south.
The most unsettling part was that no one knew exactly when that turning point would arrive.
Ranger patrols had long since ceased, but fortunately, the Night's Watch now possessed skinchangers capable of controlling birds. Upon taking office as Lord Commander, Egger immediately summoned the skinchangers to the Wall to conduct aerial reconnaissance of the lands beyond.
Shortly after returning to Queenscrown, reports began trickling back to him from the various fortresses.
The successful completion of Yohn Royce's risky mission to deliver a letter beyond the Wall half a month ago was no accident. The skinchangers exerted their maximum effort to scout far into the distance, but within a ten-mile radius of the Wall, they found not a single trace of the army of the dead or the White Walkers.
Either they were hidden beneath layers of snow, or they truly weren't near the Wall.
What were the White Walkers waiting for?
Or perhaps there was another possibility—they weren't waiting at all, but were planning some other, grander operation in a place beyond the Watch's sight.
...
The part where the Lands of Always Winter connected to the Seven Kingdoms was mostly blocked by the Wall, but at the westernmost end, there was still the Shadow Tower's Gorge and the mouth of the Milkwater which split the Frostfangs!
Such an obvious loophole could not be ignored. Egger demanded that the Shadow Tower conduct high-density patrols along the southern side of the Gorge, which undoubtedly required massive manpower. Thus, while racking his brains to build up Queenscrown, he also had to constantly find ways to reinforce the western end of the Wall.
Reality, however, refused to let him focus entirely on his work—Queenscrown had seemingly become a concentration camp for the not-so-ordinary people of the Gift, filled with nuisances and frustrating affairs.
First, there was Melisandre.
The priestess of the Lord of Light, along with her followers, had moved here under the guise of assisting the Lord Commander. While having such a stunning witch by his side for occasional deep communication and understanding was something many men would envy, Egger knew full well that the Red Woman was never his woman. She merely used her body to solidify relations with allies, finding a bit of pleasure for herself along the way.
Having an extraordinary individual in the same camp was reassuring, but it was incredibly annoying when that person constantly whispered mystical nonsense in his ear about the Long Night... prophecies... heroes born of boiling seas... and dragons hatched from stone. Furthermore, she took advantage of the dense population in Queenscrown to preach, which caused minor but genuine interference with the Logistics Department's normal operations. To make matters worse, after a few attempts, she had figured out the new Lord Commander's limits; her encroachments became increasingly frequent, leaving Egger—compromised by their physical intimacy—unable to truly snap at her.
Then there were the two bastard sons of Jaime and Cersei.
Due to the rules of the noble game, Robert's two sons had to take the black to save their lives. Tommen was relatively obedient, but Joffrey was utterly beyond discipline. Falling from Prince to Night's Watch recruit, he spent his days venting endless resentment on everyone and everything around him. If Jaime weren't there, Egger could have taken hard measures, but the new Lord Commander currently needed the Kingslayer and the Westermen loyal to him to follow orders. He also had to show some respect to Tywin, who was still very much alive in the West. He couldn't beat him or curse him, and it took a great deal of effort to come up with a barely acceptable way to handle him.
Finally, there was the ward of the Warden of the North—Theon Greyjoy.
The Ironborn youth, who hadn't yet had the chance to do anything foolish, naturally had no idea what monstrous, subhuman things he would do in another timeline. Feeling he had been loyal to the Starks only to end up exiled to the Wall, he was full of grievances and complaints. Egger spent some time talking heart-to-heart with him, offering several attractive but empty promises and arranging a job as a Queenscrown Archery Instructor to distract him, which finally settled him down.
...
As for the characters mentioned above, Egger could at least keep them out of sight, out of mind after making arrangements. But the biggest trouble—a certain girl who refused to go home even if it killed her—was the one that truly caused a headache.
The Capital of the Gift, developing rapidly under favorable policies, had become the playground of the second Stark daughter. Using the excuse that the road home was buried in snow and difficult to travel, she loitered in Queenscrown, running about all day. One moment she was in the Industrial District getting covered in ash while watching workers burn charcoal and smelt copper; the next, she was in the school, using her superior talent and the training she'd received from famous masters to torment the wildling children with a wooden sword on the training ground. Later, she'd go to the warehouse to grab dragonglass, claiming she wanted to contribute to the war between men and ghosts... naturally ending up making a mess for others to clean up.
Egger discovered to his dismay that because he hadn't played the role of a teacher to scold or truly instruct her in a long time, the authority he had built in King's Landing had vanished. To Arya, Master was slowly changing from a title for an elder to a term of endearment for a best friend... She began to use the word in increasingly varied ways, and Egger quickly summarized the patterns.
For instance—"Master, Master, Master!" repeated rapidly, sharp and clear, usually with an excited tone, meant she had found something new or had a great idea to share with him.
But if it was "Masteeeeeer," lazy and weak with a long, strange trailing note, it usually meant she was bored and wanted Egger to find some way to entertain her.
Those weren't even the most ridiculous. Sometimes, weird dialogues like this would happen between them:
"Master... oh, Master."
"What now?!"
"Nothing, just calling you. Hehe."
He couldn't chase her away, and he couldn't bear to be mean to her... after just a few days of this, Egger's scalp would tingle the moment he heard the word 'Master'.
Fortunately, an unexpected savior appeared just in time.
A few weeks after his successful election as Lord Commander, a convoy arrived from the industrial park in King's Landing, bringing a new batch of supplies and helpers for the Night's Watch. The leader of the group gave Egger a genuine, pleasant surprise.
...
Hearing the news, Egger rushed to the unloading plaza at the main gates of Queenscrown. At a glance, he spotted a figure in the crowd a size smaller than the rest. After a year apart, the once-naive girl seemed to have fully adapted to her role as the southern head of Night's Watch Industries. She wore a black trench coat that was warm yet still showed off her slender figure, and her pretty face bore a light touch of makeup and lipstick. Having just arrived and pulled back her hood, the "Black-Robed Woman" stood in the middle of the yard, calmly directing the unloading of supplies, showing not a hint of being a "newcomer" to Queenscrown.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!