Chapter 145: Unexpected Reinforcements

Many of Winterfell's vassals and family members viewed the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, as an enemy just like the Rock King, Samlo Crowl. Eddard, however, did not think so.

From the very beginning, Eddard knew that Mance Rayder was far more dangerous and far more cunning than the Rock King.

The cunning King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, had presented Eddard with a surprise right from the start.

In letters previously sent to Winterfell, the Night's Watch claimed that a Wildling army was attacking; according to Eddard's plan, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, had already gathered the Wildling army and appeared not far outside The Wall, setting up camp.

The Wildlings lacked discipline; the North and the Night's Watch Rangers could crush the Wildling army with a single night raid. If they could kill or capture Mance Rayder, the Wildling army would pose no threat to the North for generations.

Now that Mance Rayder's Wildling army was scattered across the Frostfangs, the upper reaches of the Milkwater, the Frozen Shore, the Haunted Forest, and even the area around Hardhome, Eddard's plan to annihilate the main force of the Wildlings in one fell swoop was almost impossible to execute.

In the hall of Castle Black, Eddard and the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the Old Bear, the First Ranger Benjen, the First Steward Bowen Marsh, and others stood looking at a map of the lands beyond the Wall, at a loss.

Eddard stroked the beard on his chin. "Lord Mormont, the raven letter sent by your sister, Lady Maege Mormont of Bear Island, says that a large number of Frozen Shore men traveled by canoe, crossed the Bay of Ice, and attempted to land on Bear Island, though fortunately, they were repelled by the soldiers of Bear Island."

"Now that Mance Rayder has scattered the Wildling army all over the lands beyond the Wall, could it be that he wants to lure the North and the Night's Watch Rangers into attacking, so that the Wildling army can then move to the Frozen Shore, cross the sea from there, and use Bear Island as a springboard to enter the North?"

The Old Bear was full of worry and shook his head. "Lord Eddard, I am a native of Bear Island; I know Bear Island and the Frozen Shore men north of the Bay of Ice best. The Frozen Shore men lack shipbuilding technology; they can only build canoes, and even then, the number of canoes is very limited."

"We do not know if the attack on Bear Island was Mance's order or a spontaneous action by the Frozen Shore tribal leaders. In any case, if the Wildling army wants to open the gates of the North, relying solely on crossing the sea is impossible, because the Wildlings do not have that many ships."

"Thousands upon thousands of Wildlings are gathered together. Eighty percent of these Wildlings have never seen The Wall. They have brought cattle, sheep, bedding, and food, and they have brought their families; they absolutely have no intention of turning back. If the Wildlings want to head south, they can only capture a fortress on The Wall head-on. Only after opening the gates can the Wildling army pass through smoothly; crossing the sea and climbing over The Wall are both unfeasible."

Benjen added, "Mance Rayder's Wildling army will sooner or later consolidate their forces and choose a spot on The Wall to make a breakthrough."

The experienced Ranger Thoren Smallwood said proudly, "Lord Eddard, the Wildlings are nothing but a group of uncivilized savages. To deal with such an enemy, we only need a thousand cavalry to leave the Wildling army dead in the fields and send them crying and screaming back to the deep mountains."

"Regardless of whether Mance Rayder has gathered his forces or not, if the Wildlings dare to consolidate, the North and the Night's Watch army will strike with a heavy fist to annihilate them. If he scatters them in various places, it will not be difficult for us to break them one by one. You lords studying such a vulnerable enemy so seriously is just a waste of time."

Eddard raised an eyebrow. "Underestimating the enemy often leads to failure. The lands beyond the Wall are the Wildlings' turf; being cautious when we march into the wild is never wrong. The Wildlings may be undisciplined and poorly equipped, but their numbers are far greater than ours."

The Master-at-Arms of Castle Black, Alliser Thorne, said contemptuously, "The Wildling army Mance Rayder has summoned may exceed one hundred thousand, but how many warriors are among them? They are nothing but a flock of sheep. Lord Eddard, the sigil of House Stark is a direwolf; letting thousands of wolves deal with over a hundred thousand sheep will result in a one-sided slaughter."

The Wildlings and the Night's Watch hated each other, and it was inevitable that the Night's Watch would have prejudices against the Wildlings. Eddard turned to the Old Bear and Maester Aemon. "Mance Rayder has suddenly summoned the Wildling army; what is the reason for this? I still remember some Night's Watch deserters saying they had witnessed the Others in the wild. The female Wildling I captured, Osha, also claims to have seen the Others and wights."

Eddard did not doubt that the Wildling army was heading south because the Others and wights were moving south from the Land of Always Winter in the north. However, because the Others had not appeared for eight thousand years, they had long since become creatures of Old Nan's bedtime stories, just like the Children of the Forest, and almost no one believed in their existence.

If he could convince the officers of the Night's Watch and clarify that the Others were a threat to all mankind, the officers might agree to negotiate with Mance Rayder. In that way, the Wildlings could enter the North peacefully, avoiding a bloody battle and saving many lives. Eddard could gain many subjects and laborers, and the population of the North would see a great increase.

Ser Jeremy Lake let out a disdainful laugh. "Lord Eddard, Mance Rayder was once a Ranger of the Shadow Tower. He was a Wildling orphan raised by the Night's Watch, yet his bloodline destined him to be an oathbreaker, a chameleon."

"Mance Rayder is a very cunning man. He is skilled in music and swordsmanship and is familiar with both the Wildlings and the Seven Kingdoms. I believe that when Mance Rayder incited those Wildlings to leave the settlements they had inhabited for generations, he must have used the legend of the Others. The Others were always meant to scare people."

The female Wildling Osha had been standing with Jon, Syrio, Theon, and others. She said indignantly, "The Others are not a legend, Crow. When you are killed by the Others and the wights, you will know regret."

Jeremy Lake laughed exaggeratedly. "Does a meeting between Night's Watch officers and a Northern Duke need a female Wildling to point fingers? When have we fallen to this state, that we must associate with a female Wildling?"

Eddard said calmly, "Osha is my servant. When she was in Winterfell, she served in the kitchen, and she has also performed the other tasks we assigned her with all her heart."

The First Steward Bowen Marsh rubbed his hands. "Lord Eddard, if the female Wildling Osha is truly as reliable as you describe, then she can be considered one in a hundred among the Wildlings. Most Wildlings are cunning, cruel, and bloodthirsty monsters."

"The Wildlings are not only enemies of the Night's Watch but also enemies of the Seven Kingdoms. If there really are Others slaughtering Wildlings beyond the Wall, then I would consider that heaven-sent justice. We don't even need to attack; we just need to hold The Wall and watch the Others and the Wildlings kill each other beyond the Wall. When they are dead in the fields, we will play a dirge for them."

The female Wildling Osha gave a soft hum. "You are all fools of summer; you have never seen the power of winter. No matter if the Others kill Free Folk or Crows, those who kneel, all these people will become blue-eyed wights. How can you fight the dead?"

In the hall of Castle Black, the female Wildling Osha raised the threat of the Others and the wights. Benjen lowered his head in silence, Maester Aemon's blind eyes seemed to be in deep thought, the Old Bear's brow was tightly locked, and Thoren Smallwood burst into loud laughter.

The Master-at-Arms of Castle Black, Alliser Thorne, said contemptuously, "My lords, shall we allow this female Wildling to interfere with the progress of our war council with such nonsense as the Others?"

Thoren Smallwood added, "Wildlings have no sense of honor; they are simply not the same kind of people as those in the civilized world. Who knows if this female Wildling will run off to Mance Rayder's side once the war starts?"

Jeremy Lake echoed, "Exactly, we should drive the female Wildling Osha out."

Eddard said softly, "My lords, Osha is my person, she is from Winterfell. She is merely expressing an opinion; does she deserve to be driven out?"

Ser Jeremy Lake, Ser Alliser Thorne, and Ser Thoren Smallwood immediately shut their mouths. These men were among the few formally knighted individuals in the Night's Watch.

The Night's Watch had various factions, and these men clearly belonged to the same one. Eddard knew very well that Jeremy Lake and Alliser Thorne had served in the City Watch of King's Landing during the Usurper's War. After Lord Tywin led the Westerlands Army to trick open the Mad King's gates, Alliser Thorne and Jeremy Lake became prisoners and were sent to The Wall by Lord Tywin.

As for Ser Thoren Smallwood, he was from House Smallwood of Acorn Hall in the Riverlands. Eddard did not know why he had come to The Wall, but in any case, he was very close to Alliser Thorne and Jeremy Lake among the Night's Watch officers.

Now, Winterfell had garrisons at Green Guard, Westbridge, and the Nightfort on The Wall. The ice cellars of these castles were all stocked with large amounts of grain, seafood, and ale. After the Night's Watch cooperated with Winterfell, the Night's Watch's supplies and food relied entirely on Winterfell. By relying on the tax shares from the military colonies in The Gift, they could better fortify The Wall, and the lives of the Night's Watch had improved significantly.

Eddard controlled the dining tables and the purses of the Night's Watch. The cooperation between Winterfell and the Night's Watch was unprecedentedly close, and any Night's Watch officer had to listen to his opinions seriously.

The Night's Watch was divided into three organizations: Stewards, Builders, and Rangers. The Rangers were the elite of the Night's Watch, and the most capable brothers of the Night's Watch were almost all Rangers. The Rangers were the sharp sword of the Night's Watch against the Wildlings, and they were full of skilled men.

Eddard saw the fierce "Black Jack" Bulwer, Jarmen Buckwell, "Kedge Whiteye," and the veteran Ranger Daven, who had a mouth full of wooden teeth. These were all experienced Rangers and Benjen's brothers.

The men of the Night's Watch hated the Wildlings just as the Wildlings hated the Crows on The Wall. Eddard soon understood that even if the Night King appeared beneath The Wall with an army of Others and wights, these Night's Watch officers might not be willing to open the gates for the Wildlings. Trying to persuade the Night's Watch to negotiate with Mance Rayder and peacefully accept the Wildlings crossing The Wall was impossible.

Only by sweeping the lands beyond the Wall with sword and fire was war the only choice.

Over the next few days, Eddard and the Old Bear made final preparations for the expedition.

To Eddard's delight, the North still received reinforcements at the last moment.

Liddle, "Big Bucket" Wull, and Donnel Flint brought a thousand warriors from the Northern clans.

Eddard said in surprise, "Warriors of the mountain clans, I never summoned you. Why have you brought soldiers to Castle Black?"

"Big Bucket" Wull said loudly, "Lord Eddard, the Wildlings are our enemies. The Wall and the Starks have protected us. Since Winterfell and the Night's Watch are marching beyond the Wall, how could the mountain clans be missing?"

Liddle clenched his fists. "Lord Eddard, I heard that Mance Rayder has gathered an army in the Frostfangs. Who is better at mountain warfare than the mountain clans?"

On the map, the Northern Mountains of the North and the Frostfangs beyond the Wall actually belonged to the same mountain range, only severed by The Wall. These warriors of the mountain clans could indeed be put to great use.

Eddard asked curiously, "Why not send a raven to notify Castle Black?"

Black Donald Flint frowned. "Did the raven not arrive? We clearly sent a raven."

Perhaps the raven got lost, or it encountered an attack by a bird of prey; it was common for ravens to fail to arrive.

Two days later, an army of Rockborn that appeared at Eastwatch gave Eddard another surprise. Billy Stane, the leader of the Driftwood Hall clan on Skagos, and Resson Magnar of King's Hall, led two thousand Rockborn warriors to Castle Black.

The Stane Clan was the most powerful of the Northern tribes on Skagos, and the Magnar Clan of King's Hall was the King of the East on Skagos. The Rockborn coalition they brought came from over twenty Rockborn tribes, two-thirds of which were from the nine major tribes.

Eddard embraced Billy Stane and Resson Magnar.

"I heard that the Rock King Samlo was running rampant on Skagos. You should have stayed on the island; why bring Rockborn warriors to Castle Black?"

Billy Stane's long face was incredibly resolute. He said calmly, "The Rock King has already become a rat crossing the street. Lord Eddard, rest assured, his nephew, Donald Crowl of Abyss Keep, will deal with the Rock King; if not, there are other tribal leaders."

Resson Magnar wore a rugged smile in his thick beard. "Lord Eddard, back then, under the incitement of the Rock King, we Rockborn became traitors to the North. Now that the North is going on an expedition, the Rockborn should naturally participate enthusiastically and fight for Winterfell and the Starks!"

The castles on Skagos had no ravens and no Maesters, so they could not send letters to Castle Black, which did not surprise Eddard. However, what puzzled Eddard was that Eastwatch had not sent a letter to Castle Black to notify them of the arrival of the Rockborn army.

"Why did the commander of Eastwatch, Cotter Pyke, not send a letter to Castle Black? I remember that Eastwatch has a Maester."

Billy Stern explained: "Lord Eddard, that Ironborn commander did send out a raven, we all saw it; he said the raven would deliver the letter to Castle Black, so that the Northern Army and the Night's Watch would wait for the Rockborn army to arrive and set out together."

This is truly strange; the raven sent earlier by the mountain clans also failed to reach Castle Black successfully, and now the raven from Eastwatch has actually gotten lost too. Logically speaking, neither the mountain clans nor Eastwatch are very far from Castle Black; for a raven, it should be nothing more than a short trip.

Over such a short distance, both ravens actually got lost and went missing, failing to deliver the message; this makes one worry. This definitely does not look like a coincidence.

An eagle circled above Castle Black, and the direwolves Night-Walker and Sunshine suddenly bared their teeth and barked wildly at the eagle.

Eddard understood in an instant: it was a skinchanger.

(End of this chapter)