After speaking with Melisandre, Aegor felt he had gained a great deal of useful information, but he couldn’t be sure how much of it had actually come from the witch, and how much he had simply imagined on his own. After leaving the welcoming feast, Aegor decided to focus on something more practical.

…

After escorting Arya back to her assigned room, he hurried to the guest quarters to visit the prisoners who had arrived with Melisandre and her followers. The dungeons in Queenscrown had not yet been constructed, and even if they had, political prisoners who had already been assigned as “new recruits of the Night’s Watch” wouldn’t be held there. In a dormitory meant for ordinary residents, Aegor met two men whose names he recognized.

Warner Buckwell, the former captain of the Old Gate and nephew of the Lord of Antlers. On the day Renly stormed King’s Landing, Warner was the first to lead his trusted men to abandon their post and turn back to capture the Red Keep, leaving Stannis no route of retreat and forcing him to surrender the Iron Throne to his brother Renly.

What a pity… He had only enjoyed the status of a hero for about a month before Renly’s sudden death sent him plummeting from the heights of power to the Wall.

Returns and risks are always proportional, and one must be prepared to accept failure.

As a key member and heir to his family, Warner could not have risked mutiny without the tacit approval and support of his kin. If the royal army that had gone west to destroy the Lannisters had not “delayed returning to the king’s service,” Warner would never have dared to betray the man seated on the Iron Throne. In theory, Lord Buckwell, who was more familiar with Aegor, should have also donned black. But those old noble families were airtight: no matter how deeply Stannis’s Master of Laws investigated, he could find no proof that Lord Buckwell “ordered his nephew to commit treason.” The delay in the army’s return was “legitimately” caused by various unforeseen troubles. And after Renly’s death, they quickly changed allegiance and pledged themselves to Stannis…

In the end, the Buckwell family escaped annihilation by sacrificing one of their own, just as they had done the last time they backed the wrong side—paying a heavy price, but surviving.

Jarman Buckwell wasn’t rescued, and Warner was sent in his place. The Buckwells truly had no luck… The lord of Antlers was now in the same situation as a handful of other noble houses.

The other acquaintance was Aegor’s old cellmate from when he was imprisoned for aiding Tyrion’s escape—Humphrey Hill, a bastard from the Westerlands who had managed the Lannister family’s accounts in King’s Landing.

…

…

Unlike the royal territories, the Westerlands had avoided the conflict by declaring neutrality during and after the siege of King’s Landing… After Renly’s death, Tywin personally wrote to Stannis, offering a large sum of gold in exchange for the Western lords captured by Eddard during the uprising.

Stannis, who was preparing to march south against the Golden Company and the Tyrells, accepted the deal under the heavy pressure of military expenses.

Judging by the ransom, which was clearly higher than normal, Tywin was in fact showing goodwill to Stannis—paying a kind of protection fee. But only nobles were fortunate enough to return to the Westerlands. Bastards like Humphrey, or commoners, weren’t so lucky.

…

“Who was it that said back then, ‘Anyone who wants to go to that damn place called the Wall can go’?” Aegor teased Humphrey. “So why did you change your mind and come here yourself?”

“Damn it, anyone with a bit of status was ransomed by Tywin, and Stannis didn’t want to keep us. He planned to send us to mine on Dragonstone.” Humphrey scowled. “I grew up in Lannisport. How could I survive that? You can’t even escape Dragonstone. Better to gamble on the Wall. Even if I die here, it’ll be quick.” He shrugged and admitted, “Of course, hearing that you came back to the Wall was the main reason. I came here to seek your protection. Whatever you say goes.”

“Haha… Don’t worry. I won’t mistreat a former cellmate. I’ll speak to Mormont on your behalf. No matter what, I’ll get you into logistics.”

“I’m no leader. I’m only good at managing accounts.”

Queenscrown, especially the settlement around it, was in desperate need of someone to manage the books. Yam was clever, but he came from a miner’s family and had never received formal training. He was handling countless matters alone, managing everything himself. Aegor had seen how exhausted he was and had long hoped to find someone to share the burden. Now that the right person had shown up, it couldn’t be better.

“Lord Aegor has a keen eye,” Warner said sarcastically. “With the support of House Stark, you’re practically ruling here like a king handing out land. If you knew Stannis would win, why didn’t you tell us?”

“The Night’s Watch is neutral. I’m not sure what Ser Buckwell means.”

“Come now, stop pretending. You stormed the Red Keep that day and took away that little servant girl right in front of me. Do you think I couldn’t guess who she really was?” Warner snorted. “I didn’t recognize her at first. But when Renly and Margaery came to King’s Landing looking for Lord Eddard’s youngest daughter, I got suspicious and considered reporting it… But I told my father first, and he personally instructed me to act as if I’d seen nothing. Otherwise…”

Is there more to this story?

Aegor felt a chill down his spine, but then thought: who knows if he’s telling the truth? If he had really known Arya’s identity, he would’ve used it earlier to blackmail Aegor for more benefits from the Night’s Watch in King’s Landing. Why wait until now to bring it up? It was more likely that Warner only recognized Arya after seeing her again in the Gift two days ago and remembered what had happened. He probably made this story up just to make Aegor feel indebted.

There really is no such thing as an impenetrable wall. If that brat Arya hadn’t been running around, the secret might’ve stayed buried for a lot longer… Now, I can’t even risk dealing with the Riverlands. The thought reignited the anger smoldering in Aegor’s gut.

“What are you talking about?” Humphrey Hill asked, confused.

There was no point in discussing it further. Aegor was now focused on winning over future sworn brothers. He shook his head and said, “Alright, let’s not talk about messy matters. We’ve known each other for a while. Now that we’re at the Wall, I’ll look after you. Ser Buckwell… once you’ve taken the black, you’ll hold the status of a knight. You’ll likely join the Rangers or be appointed as commander of a newly reopened fortress. That’s outside my jurisdiction. But if you have any troubles in your daily life at the Wall, come to me. If I can help, I will.”

Warner sighed. He did hold a piece of leverage over Aegor, but Renly was dead, and the Tyrells were in danger. Even if he told the truth, would King Stannis grant him a pardon? And he was now in someone else’s territory. His future livelihood would likely depend on this man… With that in mind, his shoulders drooped. “Thank you.”

“Don’t be disheartened. We’re all brothers here. I’ll even share something with you two.” Aegor hadn’t forgotten the main reason for his visit. “Two years ago, I was shipwrecked at sea and drifted to Westeros. After I came ashore, I was so hungry I stole two potatoes. That’s how I ended up on the Wall. Ever since I put on black, I’ve been thinking about how to leave the Night’s Watch legally and shed this identity.”

“Haven’t you already done that? And yet you still returned.”

“Yes, I’ve achieved that part. Most people might be content enjoying a cushy post as Chief of Logistics in King’s Landing, but I’m not most people. I have ambition. I have dreams. I have family waiting for me at home… I want to take off my black cloak with honor, own a strong, ocean-going vessel, and sail west at sunset to return home.” Aegor spoke without hesitation. “And now, through hard work, I’m closer than ever to that goal. One day, I will achieve it.”

“Wow,” Humphrey said. “And what does this have to do with us?”

“What I want is to create a complete and universal system for Night’s Watchmen to resign. Once it’s established, every man forced to take the black will have a chance to reclaim his life…” Aegor glanced at Ser Buckwell’s expression and continued. “But we can’t do this without first resolving the current crisis facing the Wall. I have a plan for that, but it requires unity. Only by working together can we survive and see the goal through.”

Humphrey shrugged. “I came here because I had nowhere else to go. Of course I’ll support you.”

Aegor nodded to his old cellmate, but turned to look at Ser Buckwell. Humphrey was a scarce talent in the settlement, but he could only represent himself. Warner Buckwell, however, could influence many of the royal nobles forced to wear black… more than a dozen future mid-level officers in the Night’s Watch.

Warner frowned at Aegor. He had swum in the muddy waters of King’s Landing long enough to sense what was happening. They were all going to swear their vows soon, and once they were sworn brothers, they would naturally help and protect one another. There was no need for Aegor to go out of his way like this unless…

(Aegor is trying to recruit me. The Chief of Logistics is one of the Corps’ highest-ranking officers, and he wants to bypass the Lord Commander to form his own faction among future officers. He has serious ambitions!)

…

“It’s easy to say there should be a mechanism for resigning from the Night’s Watch. But how? Can people like us, who’ve offended the king, benefit from it too?”

“That’s a secret for now.” Truthfully, Aegor had no idea yet, but expanding his influence could only help. From Melisandre, he’d learned that keeping secrets and playing mysterious often produced miraculous results. “But I promise, the system will apply to every Night’s Watchman. And I’m getting closer to success every day.”

Having witnessed Aegor build the Night’s Watch enterprise in King’s Landing from the ground up, Warner couldn’t doubt his confidence. “Understood… I, and the friends who came here with me, will be your loyal, secret supporters as Chief of Logistics.”

—

People with desires are the easiest to sway. Thankfully, not everyone was like Jaime, who truly wished to be a good Night’s Watchman and refused to budge… Humphrey and Warner both accepted the promises Aegor offered and agreed to spread them among the royalist nobles and displaced Westerlanders.

At this point, Aegor’s influence and voice among the Night’s Watch had caught up with the top-ranking officers. He had finally lived up to his title of “Chief.” But he wasn’t content to stop there. Today marked a strong first step toward forming his own faction.

After handling this important matter, Aegor let out a sigh of relief, bid farewell to his old acquaintances, stepped into the cold night air of Queenscrown, and quickly returned to his quarters. He took off his coat, added a few logs to the fire, and prepared for sleep.

“Master, where have you been? Why are you just getting back?”

Aegor was startled by Arya’s voice. He looked around, only to find no one in sight. Then he spotted the girl buried beneath the quilt, only her head sticking out. She was rubbing her sleepy eyes, clearly just waking up.

Still sleeping in my bed? Aegor glared. “Didn’t you say your stomach wasn’t hurting anymore? What are you doing here now?”

“I… the fire was going out. It was cold.”

“If it was going out, add firewood. Why do you need someone else to do everything for you?”

“But I couldn’t find any firewood.”

“Oh… fine.” Aegor paused. It was clear Yam hadn’t arranged things properly. But with so much on his plate, it was hard to blame the mayor for such a minor oversight. He walked over and tucked the blanket around Arya, reminding himself she was a little girl who had just lost her father. No need to get angry. Be gentle. “Is the quilt warm enough?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. You can stay here tonight.” Aegor patted her head. “But there are things we need to talk about.”

“Mm.” Arya’s nose and mouth were buried under the covers, her bright eyes fixed on Aegor.

“Running away from home is dangerous. It might seem fun, but it causes those who care about you to lose sleep from worry. I’m very angry, and I want you to promise—no more of this. No matter where you go, who you’re with, or what you’re doing, you must tell your family. Ideally, you should bring someone along to protect you, just like when you took sword lessons in King’s Landing, alright?”

Arya knew she had gone too far. She nodded obediently. “I promise.”

“Good. Second thing—you’re a girl. Don’t sneak into my bed, or anyone else’s, for something so trivial. It’s not just dangerous for you, it could also cause trouble for others. I’m serious, do you understand?”

“Oh… I’m sorry, Master. I understand.”

“Right. If you do it again, don’t call me ‘Master’ anymore.” Aegor didn’t know how long she’d remember the lesson, so he could only hope the warning would stick. “You stay here tonight. I’ll find another room.”

“Huh?” Arya poked her head out of the quilt, seemingly embarrassed for taking his bed. “You don’t have to. Let’s just share it—just for tonight.”

It would certainly be a charming experience to have a noble girl warm his bed, but with so many people now in Queenscrown, Aegor wasn’t about to risk his future for something so foolish. “Didn’t we already agree last time it would be the last night? If you’re cold, stay in bed.” He walked to the door, put his coat back on, turned, and said, “Good night.”

(To be continued.)

***

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