Chapter 149: Craster's Keep

At Whitetree, a total of 268 wildlings declared their allegiance to Eddard and House Stark of Winterfell before the heart tree, in exchange for the protection of Winterfell; these were all women, children, and the elderly.

Helen Pyke wore a sea-green hunting outfit over her chainmail, whispering into Eddard's ear.

"Lord Eddard, you should take all these women as salt wives. Look at them, many of these women have children, which proves they are fertile and productive. If you take them as salt wives, you could sire many strong children."

Eddard shook his head, "There are no salt wives in the North. Do you not claim to be my salt wife? With an Iron Bitch as a salt wife, I have no need for other women."

Helen Pyke revealed a fox-like smile, "You have finally given me a title. The boys here can be taken as bondmen. In the Iron Islands, captives are salt wives and bondmen."

The Iron Islands only have a few craggy islands with very little arable land, yet the Iron Islands have stood tall in the Sunset Sea for thousands of years; this is inseparable from the fierce ironborn and their longship fleet, and also inseparable from the systems of bondmen and salt wives.

Due to a heavy reliance on raiding, the combat death rate for men in the Iron Islands is high. For the sake of population growth, the ironborn take female captives of childbearing age as salt wives and male captives as bondmen. Usually, a man can have multiple salt wives but only one rock wife; the rock wife must be a free person native to the Iron Islands, while salt wives usually come from women seized during raids.

In the Iron Islands, the number of salt wives one possesses is a manifestation of a man's ability and status. This law-of-the-jungle salt wife system leads to many fierce warriors possessing many salt wives, allowing the bloodline of the strong to be passed down more. The ironborn believe that it is precisely because of the salt wife system that the ironborn have maintained their fierce character for thousands of years.

Bondmen provide the ironborn with labor for mining, shipbuilding, farming, and rowing. Many people confuse the bondmen of the Iron Islands with the slaves of the Free Cities, but in fact, there is an essential difference between the two. First, bondmen cannot be bought or sold, whereas slaves can be bought and sold at will like commodities.

Furthermore, in the Free Cities, the descendants of slaves remain slaves, while the descendants of bondmen in the Iron Islands are free ironborn; the children of bondmen can grow up normally by their parents' side, and upon growing up, they are trained as smiths, sailors, fishermen, or shipbuilders according to their talents.

The descendants of bondmen can even rise to the nobility in the Iron Islands; for instance, House Codd is the descendant of bondmen and salt wives.

In truth, a part of Eddard's heart agreed with the bondman and salt wife system; if the North were to implement such a system, the North might see a greater population increase, and bondmen could also provide a large amount of cheap labor.

In the military colonies of the Gift and the Wall, many criminals rely on farming and working in the military colonies to atone for their sins; they are, in reality, no different from bondmen.

Eddard raised his voice and said to the wildlings before him: "You claim to be free folk, valuing freedom above all else. You have all made sacred vows before the Old Gods. If you reach the lands of the North and commit illegal acts, you will lose your freedom and labor to atone for your sins like bondmen, and in serious cases, you may even be executed."

"The free folk and the people of the North are both descendants of the First Men and are both favored by the Old Gods. I hope you remember today's vow; Winter is Coming, and House Stark is your only hope. You pledge allegiance to Winterfell, and Winterfell shall protect you."

The wildlings looked at Eddard with cold, blank eyes. Eddard dispatched two hundred cavalry to escort these people to Castle Black; these wildlings would be escorted by the Winterfell soldiers of the military colonies to be settled in the Winter Town of Winterfell.

Theon carried a faint smile, "Lord Eddard, what use is it for these wildlings to swear before a weirwood heart tree? If one is lucky, it would be good if even one in a hundred kept their vow."

These words made the female wildling Osha very angry, "The free folk live hard lives in the frozen lands Beyond the Wall; the gods are our spiritual sustenance. The free folk are very pious toward the Old Gods, and we value the vows made under the heart tree."

Theon smirked, "When Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, was a member of the Night's Watch, he also took vows. If the King-Beyond-the-Wall is an oathbreaker and a chameleon, what are the vows of other lice-ridden wildlings worth?"

Jon Snow, standing to the side, was somewhat angry, "These are merely old men, women, and children; they are not Mance Rayder, who broke his vows. We hold sharp swords and fight in blood precisely to help those innocent old men, children, and women, to help the weak; otherwise, what is the point of fighting?"

Theon held his head high, "Wrong. History only remembers the strong. War is for conquest—conquering with iron and fire, writing history with blood. Who cares about women, children, and dying old men?"

Jon glared at Theon, while Theon wore a smirk. Eddard waved his hand and said, "Have you two argued enough? Jon, go with Lareza to protect the sisters of the Nurse Corps; Theon, go tend to the horses."

Theon hummed a tune as he left, and Jon suppressed his anger, leaving with Lareza.

Benjen leaned in, "Eddard, Jon is truly more like you; he understands your good intentions."

The Northern soldiers emptied Whitetree of its stored grain, food, and ale, and also found some valuable furs and amber. Subsequently, the joint army of the North and the Night's Watch continued to march northward.

The Old Bear sat on his horse, looking at the eagle in the distant sky, "In a few days, we will reach Craster's Keep."

Robb was amazed to hear this, "There is actually a keep Beyond the Wall? Is it a wildling fortress?"

Benjen smiled, "Robb, a wildling keep Beyond the Wall is not like those in the North; you will see when you get there."

Two days later, the army arrived at the legendary Craster's Keep. Theon, Jon, Robb, and Helen Pyke all laughed when they saw the keep.

It was nothing more than a hut built of mud, situated on a hillside, surrounded by an earthen embankment that served as a courtyard wall, with a small gate in the southwest of the small courtyard.

"Many farmers' yards in the Winter Town are better than this," Robb concluded.

Benjen smiled, "Craster's Keep is the name given by the Rangers of the Night's Watch. Do not underestimate this unremarkable yard; many Rangers, while patrolling Beyond the Wall, rely on Craster's Keep to make it back to the Wall alive."

Robb, Jon, Theon, and the others all stopped smiling. Jon frowned and asked, "Uncle, why is that?"

"Because during patrols Beyond the Wall, it is common for Rangers to run out of food," Benjen told Jon. "In the surrounding settlements, many wildlings are hostile toward the Rangers; they would love to kill the Rangers, let alone offer help. Although Craster is a foul-tempered wildling, he is a friend to the Night's Watch. In his hall, the Night's Watch can obtain food and ale."

Jon stroked his chin, "So, this Craster is a good man."

"Craster is no good man," the Ranger Thoren Smallwood rode past, "The Night's Watch often gives him gifts, such as axes, shovels, and the like, and only then is he willing to help the Rangers. If there were no profit to be made, do you think this old man would help the Rangers? Come to think of it, Craster even has a blood relation to your House Stark of Winterfell!"

Jon and Robb were both shocked. Robb said, "Craster is a wildling; what relation could he possibly have to House Stark?"

Thoren Smallwood smiled without a word. Benjen said, "Craster's father was a Ranger named Tom Stark, though he was not a Stark of Winterfell, but a Stark of Barrowton. When I joined the Night's Watch, Tom Stark had already been dead for many years. The old men in the Night's Watch all say that Craster is the son of Tom Stark, and I believe that is correct."

This point also surprised Eddard. When Eddard attended the wedding of Barbrey and Fellan at Barrow Hall, he had met some Starks of the Barrowlands; they were actually no different from commoners. Some Starks of the Barrowlands were responsible for guarding the ancient tombs of the First King of the Barrowlands. This branch of the Starks passed down various legends about the Undead, the First King, and the Barrow King.

On the road, a Ranger had once quietly told Eddard that Craster possessed over a dozen wives and that he would place newborn baby boys in the snow during blizzards as a sacrifice to the Cold God. It is rumored that the white-skinned, icy Undead would brave the heavy snow to carry away the crying baby boys, and thus Craster's Keep could remain safe and sound when the Undead attacked.

If Craster was indeed a bastard of the Barrowlands Starks, then his sacrificing of baby boys to the Undead likely had to do with the Undead legends of the Barrowlands. Legend has it that powerful necromancers could transform the souls of sacrificed baby boys into Undead within ice coffins. Although this legend has not been verified, it explains how the Undead reproduce.

Eddard knew clearly that in this expedition, the threat of the wildlings was far less than the threat of the Undead. Eddard possessed too little information regarding the Undead; Craster, having sacrificed his own sons to the Cold God for many years, must be very knowledgeable about the Undead.

Upon thinking of this, a plan formed in Eddard's mind.

In the courtyard, a young, thin girl was feeding rabbits; seeing so many cavalry, she screamed and fled into the hall.

Before long, Craster walked out, gripping a sharp axe. He was an old man with graying hair, but his arms were thick and sturdy, and he walked with a vigorous gait. His flat nose and drooping lips were twisted into a look of negation, making him appear very sinister.

A dozen women huddled behind the fur curtains and windowsills, peering with terrified eyes at the massive army of Northern and Night's Watch cavalry.

Craster frowned; clearly, this was his first time seeing thousands of cavalry and infantry. He saw the Old Bear Mormont and Benjen.

"You bunch of stinking crows, bringing so many people to my home, what are you doing?"

The Old Bear smiled, "Craster, we mean no harm; we are just passing by to see an old friend."

Craster's eyes lingered on the Ice-River Wolf Emblem on Eddard's breastplate, then met Eddard's eyes.

"You are the legendary Duke Eddard? You and Benjen really do look alike! You bring the Northern Army here; are you planning to go attack Mance Rayder?"

Eddard nodded slightly, "Craster, I have heard many Rangers speak of you; you are one of the few wildlings willing to cooperate with the Night's Watch. If you can provide us with some intelligence on the wildlings, I have a gift for you."

"Spare me that," Craster said, shouldering his axe. "That boy Mance Rayder did send people to find me, but I drove them away. The wildlings in the nearby villages have all left; some went to the Frostfangs, some went to the Haunted Forest, who knows? They are foolish enough to be willing to follow Mance Rayder to their deaths, but I am not that stupid."

Eddard leaned forward in his saddle, "For the past few days, I have often heard the Rangers speak of the famous Craster's Keep. Now that I have arrived at your doorstep, might I come in and sit for a while?"

Craster gave a light snort, "My hall can hold at most a few dozen people; you have so many, you won't fit. The Rangers are my friends, but what are you people of the North?"

Robb opened his mouth to curse, but Eddard stopped him, "Craster, I heard your old man was a Stark?"

"Maybe so. Back then, my mother did tell me he was called Tom Stark, from the Barrowlands," Craster stroked his snow-white beard, "I only saw him a few times."

"Look, we might even be relatives!" Eddard tried to build rapport, "Don't worry, only a dozen of us will go in; we won't eat any of your food, nor will we drink a drop of your water. We will just chat about Mance Rayder."

If Eddard ate Craster's bread and salt, he would be a guest under Craster's roof, and neither host nor guest could do anything detrimental to the other, otherwise, it would violate the sacred Guest Right. Those who violate the Guest Right suffer the curse of the gods and are doomed to destruction.

Benjen handed over a sickle. A sickle was not worth much south of the Wall, but in the North, which lacked smiths, a sickle was a hot commodity. Craster accepted the gift with satisfaction.

"Fine, you lot come in! Don't bring too many people!"

Craster turned and entered the hall. Eddard began selecting men; Syrio Forel, the guard Dawson, Domeric, Jon, Benjen, the Old Bear, Helen, and others were granted the opportunity to enter Craster's Keep.

In the dim hall, an old wooden table was set up. The air smelled of mold, along with the fragrance of ice roses and the stench of bedding from the second-floor bedrooms. The second-floor bedrooms were connected to the ground-floor hall by an old staircase. A dozen of Craster's wives stood, some at the far end of the ground floor, others on the stairs to the second-floor bedrooms, quietly peering downward.

At the north end of the hall, there was only one chair. Craster sat there, while Eddard, the Old Bear, and the others could only stand.

"Ask whatever you're going to ask and be quick about it! Once you're done, I'm sending you off," Craster said carelessly.

Eddard adjusted the collar of his sable cloak. "It is rumored that the Others are marching south from the Land of Always Winter, constantly harassing the Wildlings. Is this true?"

Craster was clearly startled. He stood up and glared at Eddard.

"Are you mad? Wasn't it agreed that you'd only ask about Mance Rayder? Why are you asking about the Others? I am a god-fearing man; in my hall, the mention of the Others is not permitted."

Eddard looked at the young women around them. "Are these all your wives? Or your daughters? Your hall is full of women; where have the boys gone?"

Benjen and the Old Bear Mormont were astonished. The Old Bear Mormont whispered to Eddard, "Lord Eddard, Craster is a Wildling. The law ends at The Wall; Beyond the Wall is lawless territory by nature. Why do you concern yourself with this? We should respect the customs of the Wildlings; after all, the gods they serve are far more cruel than ours."

"Indeed, Eddard, Craster is a friend of the Night's Watch," Benjen chimed in.

Craster's face flushed red, and he glared at Eddard. "Get out! You are not welcome here!"

"Wolf King! Save me!" A haggard, thin girl rushed out. Her belly was distended, clearly pregnant, and she knelt before Eddard.

"My name is Gilly. I am pregnant. If I give birth to a girl, it is fine, but if I give birth to a boy, Craster will give the boy to the Cold God. Those Others will come when it snows and take the crying male infants from the snow. All the women in the house know this!"

"You bitch!" Craster grabbed Gilly by the hair and threw her to the ground. Gilly wailed, and two women rushed down, attempting to rescue Gilly, but were kicked and beaten to the ground by Craster.

Jon went up to try and save Gilly but was kicked over by Craster. The old man was as strong as an old tree root and possessed savage strength. Robb rushed forward but was also thrown to the ground by Craster.

Craster grabbed an axe. Eddard whistled, and the direwolves Night-Walker and Sunshine appeared immediately.

"Ah!" Craster let out a miserable shriek as his wrist was bitten by the direwolf Night-Walker. The axe fell to the ground. By the time he struggled to his feet, the Assassin Sword of the Water Dancer Syrio Forel and the greatsword of the guard Dawson were already pressed against Craster's throat.

(End of chapter)