Chapter 7: Escape?
The last remaining horse collapsed, still breathing but unable to stand up again.
Aeg looked south, then glanced behind him, and sat down on the ground.
Ten days had passed since the harrowing night of the encounter with the White Walkers, and they had been fleeing for ten days and nights. During these ten days, the total time they had slept didn't add up to a full day. Now, both physically and mentally exhausted, they really wanted to just fall to the ground and never get up again.
Fortunately, they were now only a few leagues away from their destination. Even if they dawdled, they would definitely be able to sleep safely south of the Wall tonight.
The escape had not been smooth. Although they had escaped from the White Walkers, trouble soon found them: the supplies for the patrol beyond the Wall were divided among the four members of the mission. Waymar Royce, as the commander and riding a warhorse, naturally carried the lightest but most precious dried meat; Aeg's horse carried blankets and spare clothes; Gared had bread; and Will was in charge of the oats for the horses. If you had to choose two items to leave behind and only take the other two to escape, how would you choose?
The answer wasn't important because Aeg and Gared had no choice. Will's horse was killed by the White Walker, and Waymar's was spooked and ran off. The two surviving Night's Watchmen were left with only half of their food and warm clothing... The problem soon arose: fodder must have both food and grass. Wild horses could certainly survive on grass alone, but the Night's Watch's horses were burdened, and the fat and protein in the oats were essential to maintain their strength. Now that the food was lost, the two men couldn't possibly feed the precious bread to the animals. Gared's horse collapsed after eating grass for two or three days, and Aeg's mount was only slightly better. Aeg suspected it was simply because he weighed less.
After the first horse fell, they stopped briefly and made a tough decision. They killed the first horse for its meat and distributed all the remaining bread to the surviving horse as feed. They loaded weapons, food, and blankets, weighing dozens of pounds, onto the horse's back and traveled on foot. The three survivors, eating horse meat and the horse eating bread, fled for several more days. After feeding the last piece of bread, they finally approached the Wall.
Gared sighed, took the things off the horse's back, and threw them aside, drawing his steel sword.
Aeg, who was leaning against a tree to catch his breath, looked at him questioningly. "What are you doing?"
"Killing the horse."
"Killing the horse?" Aeg was puzzled. "It's accompanied us all this way. Now that we're almost home, you're going to kill it? We're only half a day's journey from the Wall. We can make it back even on an empty stomach, not to mention we still have horse meat."
"Hmph." The old soldier snorted disdainfully. "Are you planning to return to Castle Black?"
"What do you mean?" Thinking also consumes energy, and Aeg really didn't have the energy to play riddles with the old soldier. "If not Castle Black, where else can we go?"
"I plan to cross the Wall and find a place to hide in the south," Gared stared at Aeg. "At the westernmost end of the Wall, there is a dangerous gorge that runs east to west, cutting off the Frostfangs. Because of its existence, the original builders of the Wall thought this section did not need fortifications, and only built a sturdy tower on the south side of the gorge, with an iron chain bridge leading to the other side. This tower is called Westbridge Watch. We all know that the Night's Watch has built nineteen fortresses along the Wall, and only this one is not adjacent to the Wall..."
Escape? Aeg's heart was shaken. He had been considering this for a long time. "So, we can use that bridge to bypass the Wall and go south? Wouldn't Lord Commander Mormont allow such a huge loophole to exist?"
"Of course not. The Skull Bridge has been sealed off, and Shadow Tower sends people to guard Westbridge Watch to prevent wildlings from climbing the gorge with ropes. We have to cross the gorge, first descending to the bottom and then climbing up to the south side. There's almost no path, it's dangerous and difficult, a large group with supplies would never be able to pass, but just the two of us lightly equipped, there's a good chance we can cross."
"What about after we bypass the Wall? Do you have any further plans?"
"No." The old soldier shook his head. "We'll take it one step at a time."
"Then what's the point of running? You know the fate of deserters." Aeg shook his head. "The White Walkers are terrifying, but there are ways to deal with them. As long as we stay within the Wall, relying on..."
"You don't understand shit," the old soldier interrupted him. "Waymar Royce is dead, and he's a noble!"
"It wasn't us who killed him."
"We didn't kill him, but in some people's eyes, it's no different from us killing him!" The old soldier said bitterly, "Subordinates must protect their superiors. Now that the superior is dead, the two of us slinking back, no matter what we say, our credibility will be questioned. White Walkers? Damned White Walkers. If Waymar had survived, it would be one thing, but now that only the two of us are returning, those guys will hardly believe us!"
"What will happen to us?" Aeg furrowed his brows. He hadn't thought of this during their escape.
"What will happen to us?" Gared sneered. "Although we're bringing back information about the White Walkers to Castle Black, whether we'll be treated as deserters is just a matter of a word from above. Since we might be treated as deserters, why not just really escape?"
Aeg was silent for a moment, then said uncertainly, "The Night's Watch is so short on manpower now, and we're rangers after all. Lord Commander Mormont wouldn't just execute us, would he?"
"Lord Commander Mormont certainly doesn't want to execute us, but Waymar Royce's family will want an explanation!" Gared said with hatred. "The Royce family used to be the highest kings of the Vale, and they are also an ancient family of the First Men, with a history of over a thousand years. Even after being subdued, they have always been the strongest vassals of House Arryn in the Vale. Even the Starks have to be polite to them. And that kid's father sent his son here and generously provided a large amount of supplies to the Night's Watch. Such a great noble, if he wants an explanation for his son's death, do you think Lord Commander Mormont will protect us?"
*****
Due to the fact that the ruler of the Vale did not participate in the War of the Five Kings in the original plot, most people may not have much impression of House Royce. However, if you are told that the Vale knights brought by Sansa to Winterfell to help Jon Snow defeat Ramsay Bolton in the Battle of the Bastards were all under the command of Waymar Royce's father, Yohn Royce, and that half of them were directly from House Royce, you would understand what kind of great family this is.
Aeg didn't know if Gared was exaggerating. Although he had been in this world for almost a year since his transmigration, having been born in a world that advocated equality for all, he honestly didn't understand how much influence and power the great nobles of this world had. But he was well aware that, despite being played around by the schemes of Littlefinger and Varys, these great families could easily deal with a Night's Watch soldier.
No wonder the surviving member of the patrol in the original plot chose to run.
Now the question was: the surviving member of the patrol who crossed the Wall ultimately died by Eddard Stark's sword. Aeg did not believe that his joining the escape as a transmigrator who didn't know the way or the people could change this fate... Should he return to Castle Black or escape south by bypassing the Wall through the Frostfangs gorge? Or, more abstractly, should he hand over the decision of his fate to the Night's Watch or take control himself?
*****
"Even if the Lord Commander doesn't ultimately cut off our heads, we'll be on the blacklist. Next time there's a dangerous or suicidal mission, we'll be the first choice," Gared continued, adding another compelling reason to escape. "Not to mention, Benjen Stark will surely lead men north to find out if the White Walkers really exist. If we're not beheaded, we'll be the undisputed guides and cannon fodder. I've been at the Wall for forty years, and I know the nature of these officers very well. They don't even need to squat, and I can guess what they'll shit out."
Aeg had nothing to say. He sighed, at least Gared was right about one thing. Benjen Stark did indeed lead men north in the original plot to search for Waymar Royce, and during this search, he also disappeared. Even if Aeg could survive another patrol, there would still be the ranger expedition initiated by Lord Commander Mormont to search for Benjen Stark; followed by the wildling invasion and the White Walker attack... He was just an ordinary person who had only recently learned to use a sword and ride a horse. Who could guarantee that he could survive one crisis after another?
There was no time for long-term planning. He must leave the Night's Watch as soon as possible. There's no better day than today. Why not escape with Gared!
It was a pity about the horse he was used to riding, which had escaped the White Walkers' swords with him and was now to become food on his path as a deserter.
Just as he was about to make a decision, the exhausted horse on the ground began to groan uneasily, struggling to stand up, as if sensing Gared's intention with the drawn sword. The old soldier waved his sword, intending to end its life quickly, but suddenly his expression changed, and his movements hesitated. "What's that sound?"
"Don't scare me." Aeg's hair stood on end. After being gestured to be silent, he quickly shut his mouth. The two of them remained motionless, one sitting and one standing, quietly receiving the information transmitted by their surroundings.
The howling of the cold wind and the rustling of the leaves shaking constituted the background sound of the world, besides which there was only the breathing and heartbeats of the two men and the uneasy snorting of Aeg's horse. But gradually, a rhythmic thumping sound with a fixed frequency emerged from the background noise. From far to near, from what seemed like an illusion to clearly audible, "thud," "thud," with a distinct rhythm, obviously approaching the two of them.
This was the sound of hooves trampling on the thin snow, a sound they had heard for ten days and were certainly not unfamiliar with. But now the horse that had accompanied them on their escape was lying exhausted on the ground. Where was the sound of hooves coming from?
Was it Waymar's horse that had been scared off, catching up, or...