Chapter 74: Capturing Wildlings and a Night's Watch Deserter

In the camp, Helen Pyke strongly encouraged Eddard to fund the Ironborn to raid the wealthy south.

Eddard looked at Helen through the flames, "Your courage and adventurous spirit are commendable, but you underestimate the strength of the southern lords. The Ironborn's naval combat ability is indeed peerless in the Seven Kingdoms, and they once ravaged every coastline, but today, every great house has learned how to deal with the Ironborn."

"The Riverlands have the Mallister family of Seagard to guard the coastline, the Westerlands have the Farman family of Fair Isle to defend against the Ironborn, and the Reach has the Shield Islands, guarding the mouth of the Mander River. Don't forget that the Reach also has the Redwyne family's Arbor Fleet and the Oldtown City Watch."

"The Iron Islands possess thousands of longships, yet they still cannot dominate; King Balon has already proven this. War is a competition of comprehensive strength, including economy, population, military, and mobilization capabilities. This is why the fleet of the Sealord of Braavos can dominate the seas, while the Iron Islands fleet cannot."

Helen Pyke was deeply convinced, "It seems Eddard is the one who considers things thoroughly; a female pirate like me couldn't think of these."

Eddard laughed, "Helen, if the North builds a powerful fleet in the future, wouldn't you be better off as the fleet commander than as a Pirate Queen?"

Helen Pyke gave a sweet smile and stretched, "Lord Eddard, I must go to sleep; there might be a fleet in my dreams!"

The Winterfell household guard had already begun their watch. Eddard and Helen Pyke returned to their respective tents, and Eddard soon fell into a deep sleep.

Suddenly, a burst of intense fighting sounds startled Eddard from his dream. He hurriedly got up, threw on his wool cloak, and walked into the night.

By the time Eddard arrived outside the camp, the battle was already over. Three men in black lay in a pool of blood on the ground, and two women were dead nearby. A man in black with a mouth full of blood was subdued by the guard Dawson and kneeling on the ground, while a woman was kneeling and begging Helen Pyke for mercy.

Before long, Theon, Domeric, Jon, and Fellan arrived one after another.

"What happened?" Eddard asked.

"Lord Eddard, it's a Night's Watch deserter and some Wildlings." The guard Dawson, strong as an ox, held down the Night's Watch deserter beside him, "I went to take a piss, and these guys actually dared to attack me."

Eddard examined them carefully; the three men in black lying on the ground were indeed dressed as Night's Watch, all in black, and the dead women were all Wildling spearwives. Helen Pyke had captured one female Wildling, and Dawson had captured one Night's Watch deserter.

Eddard looked at the Night's Watch deserter before him, "You are a sworn brother of the Night's Watch who has deserted; what is your name?"

The Night's Watch deserter was bald and gaunt; he spat out a mouthful of blood, "My name is Steve."

"Steve, you should have stayed at the Wall to defend against the Wildlings. Why did you break your oath and flee with the Wildlings?" Eddard questioned.

Steve jerked his head toward the female Wildling, "Ask Osha! You can't stay in that hellhole of a Wall."

The Wildling Osha was tall and slender, yet full of strength. She stared at the Ice-River Wolf Emblem on Eddard's chest in the firelight, "You are the Wolf King of House Stark? Lord Eddard, the cold wind has already begun to blow, and the Others are killing beyond the Wall. We crossed the Wall just to survive."

Theon laughed, "Pfft—," "Wildling, you really know how to make excuses for yourself. The Others are killing? Heh! That's a well-spun lie; why didn't you say the Old Gods guided you to cross the Wall? Lord Eddard, slaughter this liar!"

To the people of the Seven Kingdoms, the Long Night was eight thousand years ago, and people had long since treated the Others as legends; no one believed that the Others, the Children of the Forest, or giants were still alive. However, as a Chuanzhe, Eddard knew very well that the Others and the Night King were a real threat beyond the Wall, and he believed Osha's words.

One of the purposes of Eddard's trip to Castle Black this time was to discuss the potential future threat of the Others with the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the Old Bear Mormont.

"We cannot verify that this Wildling is lying, so, first tie up Osha and Steve and take them to Castle Black."

After dawn, Eddard took his attendants and the two captives and set off for Castle Black. Two days later, they arrived at Queenscrown in the Gift.

Because of constant invasions by Wildling Raiders, the Gift had long been deserted, and Queenscrown had also fallen into ruin. However, Eddard had established military colonies here; the residents of Queenscrown farmed during normal times and trained during the off-season to deal with Wildling Raiders. Their taxes were shared between Winterfell and the Night's Watch.

Now, Queenscrown was under the charge of the Winterfell household guard Tomard, nicknamed "Fat Tom," who was an amiable man. Today, besides the soldiers of the military colony, Queenscrown had over five thousand residents. Eddard was delighted to find that many fields had been sown, a sea of green, and the town now had a mill, a smithy, and a beehive.

Eddard stayed in Queenscrown for one night and continued toward Castle Black the next day. When the seven-hundred-foot-tall Wall appeared under the gray-blue sky, Theon, Jon, Domeric, and the others were all stunned.

They passed by the famous Mole's Town and finally arrived at Castle Black.

The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the Old Bear Mormont, and the First Ranger Benjen Stark were overjoyed at Eddard's sudden visit. They immediately summoned the high-ranking officers of the Night's Watch to welcome Eddard and his attendants.

Maester Aemon, blind and withered with age, was nearly a hundred years old, yet he remained spirited and clear-headed. The Lord Steward Bowen Marsh also came; his face was ruddy, his cheeks red and fat, so the Night's Watch soldiers secretly called him "Pomegranate Man."

In addition, there was the First Builder Othell Yarwyck, who had a lantern-like chin, and the lean, grim, and cold Master-at-Arms of Castle Black, Ser Alliser Thorne.

The Old Bear gripped Eddard's hand excitedly, "Lord Eddard, I heard you took the Northern Army to suppress the rebellious Rockborn on Skagos; how did you find the time to visit Castle Black?"

"The various tribes of the Rockborn have declared their submission, Skagos has returned to the rule of Winterfell, and the war is over," Eddard announced.

Benjen Stark hugged his brother, "Eddard, you should have given us a heads-up so we could prepare a welcome feast."

"We are all our own people; there is no need for a welcome feast."

In the hall, the Black Brothers brought barrels of ale and served roast chicken, roast boar, onion and beef stew, squirrel meat, goose eggs, and more to treat Eddard and his attendants.

"The commander of Eastwatch, Cotter Pyke, mentioned the Rockborn rebellion in his letter," the Old Bear Mormont tore off a chicken leg and clutched it in his hand, "Cotter Pyke said that Greatjon Umber demanded that Eastwatch dispatch the Night's Watch fleet to help House Umber deal with the Ironborn Pirates. The Night's Watch is impartial and cannot participate in the internal disputes of the Seven Kingdoms, so he had to refuse."

"Refusing to help the North made all of us brothers of the Night's Watch very embarrassed. After all, eighty percent of the Night's Watch's donations come from the North, and House Umber has always been generous to the Night's Watch. We really wanted to help the North deal with the Rockborn, but there was no way; our vows bind us."

Eddard took a sip of ale, "I fully understand Cotter Pyke's decision. It's fine; we can cooperate more deeply."

Thanks to the book friend "Loyal Bookworm" for the monthly ticket; thank you for your support!

(End of chapter)