Seeing Lord Karstark's expression, a mix of anger and wariness, Aegor immediately sensed something was wrong.
Everyone had their own schemes. He was plotting a grand plan concerning the Seven Kingdoms and the Iron Throne, so naturally others would have their own smaller ambitions, suited to their rank and temperament. Because he was unfamiliar with the North's history and the deeply rooted unwritten rules among its noble houses, his attempts at persuasion had instead made Rickard mistakenly believe that he too coveted Last Hearth, trying to seize it to expand the influence of the Gift Army.
Aegor smiled bitterly to himself. Heaven and earth could testify he had no interest in a northern, barren, and cold earldom like Last Hearth. He was heading south to help the Queen claim the Iron Throne. Why would he want this icy fortress?
That said, he did not dare speak the truth to Rickard.
Fools fear the mad, and the mad fear those with nothing to lose. Aegor had dared to confront Robb after the Battle of Long Lake for several reasons. Firstly, Robb had been saved by a dragon, which couldn't be hidden. Secondly, the battle had just ended, and Robb's forces had suffered heavy losses, making him unlikely to seek further trouble. But the most important reason was the third: Robb Stark, now tempered by hardship and recently made a father, had something to protect. He wouldn't act without weighing the consequences.
But the old man standing before him?
In the original story, this was the man who publicly defied Robb's orders and executed Lannister prisoners. Robb declared him a traitor and had him beheaded. He was stubborn to the end, reckless, and unafraid of death. Trying to reason with such a man, to move him emotionally and persuade him to peacefully withdraw from Last Hearth?
It wasn't impossible, but it was far less likely than the danger Aegor would face if he confessed the truth and revealed he had already sworn allegiance to the Dragon Queen, surrounded as he was by Karstark soldiers.
Rickard hadn't fought at Long Lake and hadn't been saved by Daenerys's dragon. He felt no moral obligation. If he ordered Aegor arrested, or worse, executed, the Gift Army and the Queen outside the walls wouldn't be able to intervene in time.
If the risk exceeded the reward, then it should be set aside. That had always been Aegor's principle.
...
"You've misunderstood, Lord Karstark." He sighed, giving up on further negotiation. Pushing any harder might trap him. "Then my army will make do in the Winter Town outside the walls for now. Once the wounded recover, we'll return to the Gift. However, the upcoming expedition beyond the Wall will require a large quantity of dragonglass and saltpeter. I will send men across the North to acquire and purchase these materials. I hope you can order Karhold to cooperate and deliver them as soon as possible."
"That's easy to say." Rickard, seeing that Aegor had dropped the matter of the castle, snorted and calmed down. "As an elder, let me give you some advice. Don't let a little merit swell your pride. Stay a good Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and the North will not treat you unfairly."
Aegor pretended to accept the rebuke, nodded, and agreed. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he made an excuse to leave and turned toward the door.
The occupation of Last Hearth had been unexpected. The Gift Army didn't actually have that many wounded in need of recuperation. Certainly not so many that they needed to take over the entire castle. While there were plenty of houses in the Winter Town outside the walls, there was no open space large enough to house a dragon, and the place was too far from Crown Town. Whether Drogon, whose condition was not improving, could even make it back to the Gift wasn't the key issue. The key was this: with Daenerys Targaryen's temperament, would she tolerate her child being mistreated?
Impossible.
She had flown thousands of miles to fulfill her agreement with him, and in doing so, she had objectively saved the North. But the price she paid was steep: three dragons, one dead and two badly wounded. If after the war she couldn't even find a place in the North for her injured black dragon to rest, she would feel utterly betrayed.
Daenerys was captivated by the vision Aegor had painted and believed in the plan he had laid out. That belief made her seem gentle, calm, and reasonable in front of him. But a Queen with the blood of the dragon was no saint. Her temperament held steady only when things were going well, or at least heading in a positive direction. Her trust and admiration for him were far from enough to outweigh her love for her "children."
Rickard Karstark's refusal to yield Last Hearth would certainly infuriate Daenerys. At best, she might intimidate the Karstark host into surrendering the castle. At worst, she might lose her temper and order Rhaegal, still capable of flight and fire, to burn the city to ash. And if that happened, the Night's Watch's southward plans would be utterly destroyed.
No matter how the conflict played out, it would derail, if not destroy, his overall strategy.
What to do?
Walking the dozen steps from the center of the hall to the door, Aegor's forehead had already broken into a cold sweat from deep thought.
It wasn't just the current crisis that troubled him. He realized something even more disturbing: if he had simply done what a Lord Commander was supposed to do and nothing more, none of this would be happening. But because he had chosen to pursue a path he "should not have walked," situations like this would keep appearing.
He was not a god. He could not anticipate everyone's thoughts or account for every twist of fate. Though he had detailed plans, how many would be ruined by the unforeseen variables of human nature?
Humans were not as terrifying as the White Walkers, but their minds were far more unpredictable. Conquering the Seven Kingdoms would never be as straightforward as defending the Wall with a solid plan.
The road ahead would be difficult.
---
Just as he was about to reach the door, burdened with these thoughts and planning how to regain control of the Last Hearth situation, the door suddenly swung open.
A middle-aged man with a thick beard and fierce eyes burst in. Ignoring Aegor completely, he strode straight toward Rickard, who stood by the fireplace, shouting as he entered.
"Father, there's a dragon circling above the castle. It flew in from the south!"
...
What? Aegor's heart lurched.
Didn't he and the Queen agree that the dragons were not to approach the castle before he left, to avoid causing suspicion?
He hadn't even exited the hall, and the dragon was already overhead. Was she trying to ruin him?
Cursing silently, he quickened his steps, hoping to slip away before Rickard reacted, and escape the castle to avoid being trapped inside.
But the old man's reaction was faster than expected.
"Aegor, do you know what's going on? Stop! I said stop! Damn it, guards, stop the Night's Watch!"
Rickard's voice boomed across the hall. The castle guards, already tense from the sight of the dragon, sprang into action. The two men at the door drew their swords and blocked Aegor's way with hesitant confusion. His own guards, who had been waiting outside the hall, immediately drew their weapons as well, unsure of what was happening.
Just moments ago, the Night's Watch and the Karstarks had been casually chatting about the weather and the White Walkers. Now, in the blink of an eye, they were locked in a standoff, swords drawn and eyes wary.
To avoid rousing suspicion, Aegor had not brought many guards into the castle. But he still had a dozen men with him. That gave him a clear numerical advantage at the entrance to the hall. If Aegor had the swordsmanship of Jaime Lannister or Oberyn Martell, he might have drawn his blade on the spot and fought his way out before the rest of the castle guards could react.
And if he had planned a coup beforehand, he would have stationed men outside to provide support or launched a coordinated attack from within. But he hadn't come with such plans. Rhaegal's sudden appearance had thrown him into crisis, and without any backup arrangements, even escaping the hall would be difficult. Fighting his way out of the castle and escaping a hundred paces under pursuit back to the camp? He wasn't confident in that outcome.
Even worse, if he did manage to escape, the commotion would make it all the more difficult to gain control of Last Hearth in the future.
This Queen, repeatedly ignoring their agreements, was she trying to destroy him?
Aegor cursed internally, gritted his teeth, assessed the scene, and turned to face the Karstark father and son rushing toward him. In that instant, a flash of inspiration struck him. He relaxed his stance and removed his hand from his sword.
"Put down your weapons," he said firmly to his guards, then turned calmly to face Rickard Karstark.
The Night's Watch men obeyed at once and sheathed their swords. The tense Karstark guards hesitated, then followed suit with visible relief.
Just a misunderstanding, both sides thought, unwilling to fight.
"Why were you trying to run?" Rickard growled.
"Sorry, I was deep in thought and didn't hear you calling," Aegor replied with a shrug. "As for that dragon, there's no need to ask. There's only one person in the world who still has dragons. You know who that is."
Aegor still didn't know whether the dragon's appearance was the result of Daenerys losing control or simply acting on impulse again. What he did know was that he was in danger now and had to adapt.
Rickard Karstark was reckless, yes, but in the original story, he defied his liege only out of grief and vengeance for his son's death.
And now, the man who had just burst into the hall had called him "Father."
(To be continued.)
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