Chapter 199: The Lords Begin to Arrive at the Wall
Castle Black, the Wall
POV of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont
3 Weeks Later
Lord Commander Jeor Mormont did exactly as Lord Bolton had said and sent word to all the Lords in the North, informing them of the situation and inviting them to Castle Black.
Frankly, there was nothing else he could do in this situation. The situation he was in was beyond his ability to handle on his own.
Even though he hadn't believed Lord Bolton when he claimed the expedition's goal was to find the White Walkers, Lord Bolton had slammed him in the face with the harsh reality by bringing back a Wight.
And Lord Bolton had left him with the thought that he had to be the first to deal with the White Walkers and their Wight armies as Lord Commander of the Wall.
And Jeor knew that with his current resources and men, there was no way he could stand against the White Walkers and their armies. So, he had no choice but to place all his hopes in Lord Stark and the lords to the north for a solution.
Lord Greatjon Umber and Lord Richard Karstark were the first to reach the Wall and Castle Black, and Jeor was now accompanying them in the room containing the Ice Sword.
Jeor had requested custody of the Wight and the Ice Sword from Lord Bolton, claiming it was the Night's Watch's duty, and asked for their safekeeping.
Lord Bolton initially resisted the request, but after some consideration, he approved.
He explained that he had been away from his lordship for too long and had urgent matters to attend to. Although he assured him that he would not leave Castle Black, he would be pretty busy for a while and advised them not to disturb him unless necessary.
He must have been quite busy, as he hadn't come to greet Lord Umber and Lord Karstark, even after they had arrived at Castle Black.
So, right now, the only people in the room were Lord Greatjon Umber, Smalljon Umber, Lord Rickard Karstark, Harrion Karstark, and himself.
"23 deserters in the last week. Two suicides." Lord Commander Jeor Mormont grumbled as he took a sip from the whiskey bottle that kept him warm even on the particularly cold nights.
"You don't need to worry, Jeor." Lord Greatjon Umber said, a serious look on his face as he stared at the amputated hand of his son and the Ice Sword kept at the corner of the dungeon room, which had plunged the whole room's temperature a few degrees below zero degrees Celsius. "We'll find every one of those cowards and give them the punishment they deserve."
"Strange thing is that I don't even blame them." Lord Rickard Karstark said as he wrapped his cloak tightly around himself to stave off the cold, "After seeing that… thing… I'm surprised you didn't have a mass desertion or rebellion attempt in your hands."
The Lord Commander didn't say anything and continued to look at the Ice Sword for another moment before he spoke, "Let's get out of here."
Both the other lords who had reached the Wall before any other lord in the North, thanks to their castles being the closest to the Wall, nodded and quickly left the room, their heirs, Smalljon Umber and Harrion Karstark, following after them.
"I'll need a good fuck to warm my balls after being in that room." Lord Greatjon Umber proclaimed loudly and started laughing at his own joke while the others merely shook their heads in exasperation.
"You'll have to go to Mole Town for your whores." Harrion Karstark said, "Unless you want to fuck Raksa the Giantess."
"Hah! What I wouldn't give to fuck that giant of a woman and get some pups from her."
"I'm afraid Lord Bolton would cut your balls before you reach anywhere near her." Lord Commander said with a smile, "He's rather protective of his people. And he sees the giantess as a little sister."
Lord Greatjon grumbled as they passed through the courtyard where Varko had taken Alliser Thorne's post for the time being and was teaching the recruits how to hold a sword properly.
They climbed up the stairs, walked past a corridor, and finally entered the Lord Commander's solar, where they all took a chair and went silent—not really knowing what to say or too lost in their own thoughts.
"So… Benjen Stark huh…" Lord Karstark said after a long moment, and the Lord Commander let out a tired sigh at that.
"The White Walker killed him." Harrion Karstark said, "Cut him straight in half. Right through the armor as if it wasn't even there."
"We know that boy." Lord Greatjon said, "I've heard the story a dozen times now. And don't want to hear it again." Then he, the lord, sighed, took the Lord Commander's bottle and emptied it at once, "Poor Ned." He said at last.
"Yeah. The Starks were four siblings once." Lord Karstark nodded, "Now Ned is the only one that's left."
"Well, at least Ned has half a dozen children in case something happened to him this Winter." Lord Greatjon nodded as his gaze once again went toward his own son's sword hand. Or what was left of it.
"You think the rumors about Sansa being betrothed to Lord Bolton are true?" Lord Rickard Karstark asked.
"Why? Do you want the lass for your own son here?" Lord Greatjon asked and then burst out into laughter, though it sounded forced and hollow to everyone's ears.
Maybe wondering if his own son had any chance with the lass now that he had lost his sword hand and years of training with it.
"Are you going to continue and skirt around the topic?" Smalljon asked once his father stopped laughing.
Both the lords turned and stared at him, and he met their gazes unflinchingly.
"Or do you not have the balls to talk about the White Walkers and the upcoming Winter?"
The room plunged into an uncomfortable silence at that.
"We'll talk about that when Ned comes." Lord Greatjon Umber said after a long silence, "Until then, anything we…"
He was interrupted when the door of the solar burst open and the Lord Commander's steward entered the room with a desperate expression.
"Lord Commander… Jaremy… he…"
"What happened, boy? Speak clearly." Lord Commander said.
"He… he burned the wight." His steward said.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.200: No Such Things as White Walkers
Ch.201: Self-Criticism