Chapter 407: "The Battle to Reclaim Master"
To say he was merely pretending would not be entirely accurate; Egger truly had a mountain of tasks to handle.
The disruption caused by the three dragons had effectively ruined the planned closing ceremony and awards for the archery tournament. Calling the entire population of Queenscrown together again for such a trivial matter was clearly not worth the effort, but every story needs an ending. Egger planned to find time for a small, private ceremony inside the castle to go through the motions and complete the formalities.
While that wasn't a major issue, war preparations were a never-ending cycle. The shipload of saltpeter brought back from King's Landing looked substantial, but most of it required purification. The final output of high-purity niter was only about a thousand kilograms. Unfortunately, as the primary ingredient by weight in the black powder formula, it was consumed at a terrifying rate. Within a few days of starting large-scale production, it was nearly exhausted, resulting in only some four hundred dragonsteel explosive charges... though a massive surplus of charcoal and sulfur remained.
At this point, Qyburn—whom Egger had specifically named to bring back to Queenscrown—found himself with a new mission. The Northern climate was certainly unsuitable for natural niter formation, but the boiling and refining of saltpeter were unaffected by the weather. By dispatching Qyburn to various Northern castles and winter towns to train personnel on-site—digging soil to boil niter and then purchasing the finished product to be sent back to Queenscrown—they could prepare effectively for the future, even if it didn't arrive in time to combat the White Walkers.
In an ideal scenario, a single dragonsteel bomb could kill wights within a radius of a dozen meters. As a hidden trump card, its power was sufficient. The figure of over four hundred sounded like a vast quantity—after all, even the grand brand of Lightbringer only had seventy-seven units produced... however, considering that the Gift had twenty-one fortresses in total, this number became much less impressive when distributed.
Furthermore, dragonsteel arrows, whose morale-boosting effect outweighed their actual combat utility, could not be hoarded entirely in Queenscrown. All the fortresses along the Wall except Castle Black had missed the archery tournament due to the distances involved, but Egger wanted the news of Lightbringer's arrival to spread throughout the Gift. The best way to achieve that was to have them appear everywhere for on-site demonstrations.
Poring over the defense diagram of the Gift, Egger meditated for a long time, gradually refining the distribution plan he had previously sketched. Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, the Shadow Tower, the Nightfort, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea were the highest priorities for defense; each would receive thirty dragonsteel bombs and two Lightbringers. Of the remaining fortresses, seven held high military value—controlled by the Mountain Clans and the Night's Watch, and slated to be defended at all costs—and would receive twenty bombs and one Lightbringer each. Some would also be stationed along the Gorge. As for the remaining nine residential fortresses, which were filled with new Gift-dwellers and were less sturdy due to mediocre repairs and lacked stairs to the top of the Wall, they would be evacuated if threatened and thus received no resources.
Soon, a large amount of precious war materiel would be dispersed and transported along the Wall. This seemed to scatter valuable resources, but the existence of the Wall offered an unexpected advantage: as long as the top of the Wall did not fall, personnel and supplies could be transported between fortresses via the straight, wide road atop the Wall. An attack on any fortress except Westwatch-by-the-Bridge effectively meant fighting the entire line of the Wall.
After dinner, Egger received a succession of visitors.
Melisandre came to inquire about the progress of retaining the Queen. It was unclear if the R'hllor faith had internal rules—such as do not steal clients already fooled by other priests or one priest per Prince That Was Promised—but despite her intense interest in Daenerys's every move, the Red Priestess flatly refused Egger's suggestion to go talk to the Queen yourself. She left satisfied after learning the Queen had agreed to fight alongside her dragons.
Then came the Lord of Blackhaven. Beric Dondarrion, as a vassal of Stannis, showed a strange lack of hostility toward the Dragon Queen. However, Egger would not let his guard down; when Beric casually asked what they had discussed, Egger spun a few lies to brush him off.
While the first two were merely checking in, as the night grew deeper, Warner Buckwell paid a mysterious visit.
This young Crownlands noble, who had once defected and betrayed Stannis to seize the Red Keep for Renly, possessed the passion, capability, and methods that made one think, No wonder he dared to rebel. Even after being sent to the Wall in black, he remained restless. After swallowing the vision Egger had painted for him, Warner not only organized the Crownlands nobles who shared his fate but also used his cousin, Jarmen Buckwell, as an intermediary to lobby many nobles exiled by Robert for supporting House Targaryen during the Rebellion... successfully convincing them to support Egger's election and reforms.
Warner Buckwell had been a massive help, both in getting Egger elected and in managing the Gift afterward.
Aside from his seemingly innate talent for networking and organization, Warner was a military talent capable of leading an independent command. His suppression of the Tor tribe rebellion, his patrols ensuring the new Gift-dwellers remained orderly, and his cool-headedness in tracking down fleeing tribes during false alarms had all proven his competence. While the soldiers from the Logistics Department were barely adequate as mid-to-low-level officers, when it came to comprehensive leadership, common-born lads could not compare to those of noble birth, who had been raised in such environments and trained in the City Watch.
Warner's purpose in seeking Egger today was unusual: he too saw the immense potential and value in Daenerys Targaryen. The Dragon Queen was the best springboard for Egger to fulfill his promise to the noble faction within the Night's Watch—leading them out of the Gift and back onto the stage of power in the Seven Kingdoms.
The young noble's analysis and suggestions were correct, but Egger simply laughed after hearing Warner's serious proposal. If he needed someone else to remind him of such things, how could he be the Master of the Gift?
"I have already settled everything regarding the Queen. The specific details... with the great enemy at hand, I won't go into detail to prevent you from being distracted. In short, keep your spirits up. After this battle is won, there will be a time for everyone to show their worth." Egger stopped smiling and added sternly, "Go back and inform the knights and lords. Control your people—no one is permitted to bypass me and go directly to the Queen to talk nonsense or strike deals!"
The advice and dedicated service of the exiled nobles indeed made Egger's control over the Gift effortless, but these men with criminal records were not loyal because they admired him; it was purely a matter of aligned interests. Egger had no men of his own and was forced to use them, but he watched them closely... as a transmigrator without a foundation, if he were betrayed once like Stannis, he would be left as nothing but bones, with no chance of recovery.
Egger and the Queen had a deal: she would fight for the Night's Watch once, and the Night's Watch would return her to the Iron Throne... but if Daenerys suddenly learned from others that many within the Night's Watch were already desperate to join her to escape the black, his earlier posturing would lose much of its significance.
Once the conversation—a mix of explanation and misdirection—ended, Egger finally managed to satisfy the man and send him away. He hadn't been settled for long before the final visitor of the day arrived.
...
Arya arrived aggressively, asking irritably before she had even stood still: "Where is my sword!"
"Not even a 'Master' anymore?" Egger looked up and glared at her, letting out a quiet breath through his nose as he pulled out Needle and placed it on the desk. "The sword is yours, but do you understand what I told you today? I don't want to have to catch you outside that tower again!"
"Hmph."
Arya reclaimed her sword, drew it to confirm it was her small blade, sheathed it, and plopped down in the chair across from Egger's desk—the same one Warner had occupied moments ago—staring at him with burning eyes.
Under such an unblinking gaze, Egger soon found himself unable to focus on administrative work. He put down his pen helplessly. "What else is there?"
"You didn't come when we were eating just now. Where were you!"
Why did this feel like an interrogation? Egger shrugged. "I didn't go anywhere. I ate right here. If you don't believe me, ask the guards at the door... or the kitchen boys. In the days to come, I'm afraid I'll be this busy for a while."
The room did indeed smell of food. Arya bit her lip and continued her questioning: "I just went to the lake to look. There are lights in the tower! You... you actually let the Mad King's daughter stay the night here!"
I'm only letting her stay the night, not staying the night with her. Why the jealous act? Fearing the girl might try something else, Egger could only explain gently: "She is my guest now. Have you ever heard of a host who refuses to provide a room for a guest just because they don't like them?"
"Do you... do you like the Mad King's daughter!"
"Don't overthink it. Didn't I explain it to you? Recognizing her as my guest is only so those three dragons will fight!" Egger adopted a stern expression and raised his voice slightly: "Little girl, if you waste more of my time with these senseless questions, I'm going to send you back to your room!"
...
The use of Master's Authority was effective on occasion. Seeing her interrogation met with such a firm rebuttal, Arya's fire was suppressed. Soon, she was left speechless, sitting there in a huff. She was angry at her parents for not making her prettier than the Mad King's daughter, angry that she was sure her Master had changed his heart but lacked proof, and angry that none of her own guards were formidable assassins...
After her assassination attempt failed and she was sent back to her room, she had spoken to her guards, demanding they find a way to deal with the Mad King's daughter. But those grown men, who usually acted tough and pretended nothing could defeat a man of the North, turned into cowards the moment it mattered. One said their mission was only to protect the two ladies and that assassination was not in their job description; another said it was extremely impolite to harm a host's other guests on their territory; another seriously lectured her on how terrifying dragons were and how even the Stark ancestors had knelt and surrendered.
In short, not one was willing to do it. It was as if the balls between their legs had shriveled from fear of the dragons.
Her Master was about to be snatched away, and she could only watch helplessly... the girl grew more panicked the more she thought. She wanted to ask Myrcella for a clever trick but was too embarrassed. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle. Running into Egger's room to spout a load of nonsense had left even her own head spinning.
Arya dropped her interrogative stance, set Needle aside, and leaned on the desk with her head cushioned on her arms, looking up and blinking her eyes as she stared at Egger.
She spent all day with Myrcella and had long noticed how adorable her friend looked when she fluttered her big beautiful eyes and long lashes. Even as a girl, Arya felt her heart flutter sometimes. Now, desperate and grasping at straws, she wanted to imitate Myrcella. Perhaps if her Master saw how cute she was, he would forget about the Mad King's daughter.
Arya had very large eyes, and blinking them was indeed quite adorable. It might have had a miraculous effect on a strange uncle with specific tastes, but Egger was perfectly normal and currently on high alert for any slip-ups. How could he possibly guess Arya's little scheme?
...
Faced with those blinking eyes for half a minute, he finally couldn't help but ask: "Are your eyes uncomfortable? Should I have someone look at them?"
"Your eyes are the ones that are uncomfortable!"
Arya's face turned red with anger. She gritted her teeth for a moment before what little reason remained in her small head was swallowed by shame and annoyance. She couldn't make any more clumsy moves; it was time for the ultimate move! She stood up with a start and dashed into the inner bedroom.
What is wrong with this little girl?
Egger rubbed his head and decided to ignore her. He buried his head back in his work for another ten minutes until he finished the task at hand. Closing the file, he realized the girl still hadn't come out... A slight sense of foreboding rose in his heart. He took an oil lamp and stepped into the bedroom to look. Sure enough—no one was in sight, save for a large, lumpy bulge beneath the covers.
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