Chapter 30: Forced March
The chief ranger, with a stern face, instructed everyone to bring the remaining horses closer to the tents. He set up traps and alarm mechanisms with Aeg and Yoren among the surrounding trees and arranged for night watchmen before allowing everyone to move freely and resume the issue of dinner.
"What did I just say? One moment you're a philosopher, and the next, you're a true warrior." Tyrion said, still shaken, as he drank the remaining meat soup from the bottom of the pot. He had been protected by Aeg during the attack and now felt more complex about the Night's Watchman, "I never believed the Night's Watch was the most elite force in the Seven Kingdoms, but now I'm starting to wonder if you really did kill a White Walker."
Fighting wildlings would make any force look like the most elite in the Seven Kingdoms, Aeg thought with amusement. Of course, he couldn't undermine his own people's prestige, "Um, thank you for the compliment, but I never deceived you."
"Call me Tyrion. I owe you a favor." The dwarf said, "About our previous agreement, I'll try my best to make it happen."
"Then I'll thank you in advance, Tyrion. cough." Aeg coughed, having forced himself to adhere to the titles and etiquette appropriate to the hierarchical system of Westeros. Now, returning to normalcy, he found it hard to adjust.
***
Everything started and ended quickly. Aeg wasn't sure what image he had portrayed in the battle in Tyrion's eyes, but he knew the truth: he hadn't done anything extraordinary.
The brave and strong wildling men were now gathered under Mance's command, stationed among the peaks of the Frostfangs, discussing ways to deal with the White Walkers. The attackers from earlier were weak even among their own kind. Any trained soldier, as long as they weren't hit by the initial arrow volley, couldn't possibly lose that fight. The few minutes of forming up, confronting the wildlings, and charging to drive them away were simply following the chief ranger's orders and executing them quickly. Any other ranger would have done no worse.
Protecting Tyrion was intentional, but it was purely for his own consideration of leaving the Wall. Even if he hadn't done it, the wildlings' scattered and weak arrow volley was unlikely to threaten the dwarf. Perhaps it was this subconscious action that moved the Lannister?
Since things had come to this, he naturally had no reason to reveal his own shortcomings. Tyrion was probably witnessing real combat for the first time, and it was understandable that he imagined the person who drew their sword to protect him as braver and stronger than they actually were. This misconception wasn't intentional and didn't seem to have any disadvantages for him, so there was no need for further explanation.
***
"How did the wildlings get here?" Jon had killed an enemy for the first time in his life. The mix of guilt and hormonal stimulation left him flushed and unable to calm down for a long time, "I rarely heard such news in Winterfell."
"Actually, it's been a long time since something like this happened. Crossing the Wall is dangerous." Aeg explained heavily, "If it's just for survival, the abundant resources in the wolf woods are enough for the wildlings to eat. But these wildlings probably want to head further south to find a place to spend the winter and escape the White Walkers. Without transportation or food, they can't possibly escape the patrols of the Northern lords to reach the Neck, so they had to risk attacking us. Even if they hadn't caught us, the nearest villages and farms would have suffered."
"White Walkers." The more timid of the Lannister guards shuddered, "Aren't those just creatures from fairy tales? Do they really exist?"
On ordinary days, they wouldn't believe in White Walkers and such "nonsense," but now, having just repelled an attack in the dark, their ability to think and their rationality were at their weakest. The distant trees swayed in the cold wind, casting eerie shadows, and it seemed as if something was watching them from the darkness. Hearing Aeg speak, everyone felt a chill of tension.
"Don't worry, this guy here has killed one." Jon said excitedly, feeling proud that he knew the White Walker killer before others, "If those things really show up. Aeg, do you still have your obsidian dagger?"
"I do, don't worry. Not only can White Walkers not cross the Wall, but even if they could, I'd kill them one by one." Aeg patted his bag and boasted with a smile.
Despite his confident demeanor, Aeg couldn't relax. At this moment, north of the Wall was likely a living hell, with no small groups of wildlings surviving. Except for the tens of thousands who had gathered together, the rest had either crossed the Wall and the Great Gorge to escape into the North or had become part of the army of the dead. Although he was determined to leave the Wall to avoid confrontation with these creatures, he was still part of the human world. If the Wall were breached and the Seven Kingdoms faced a massive attack, he, a traveler with no relatives or backing from a major power, would find it difficult to escape to another continent.
The group finished their dinner, which had been interrupted by the wildlings, still without any desire to sleep. They chatted for a while longer until Benjen came out of the tent and stood before them, "Stop chatting and get some sleep. We can still find remnants of walls to rely on here, but further north is a flat, uninhabited no man's land. At the pace of the last two days, we'll have to travel for three more days and spend two nights in the wild. It's too dangerous. After much thought, I've decided that we'll start a forced march at dawn tomorrow, not camping at night, pushing the horses to their limits, and aiming to reach Castle Black in a day and a night."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Aeg knew that the plot was beginning to change subtly, and the attack outside the original story was the biggest manifestation. Whether it was caused by his presence, the "butterfly," was unknown: perhaps his existence had altered the journey back to the Wall, or perhaps this group of wildlings would have been killed by the White Walker he had slain. In any case, the direction of the plot had indeed changed, and if there could be one unexpected event, there could be a second. The wildlings' combat effectiveness might not be fearsome, but the stones they threw and the arrows they shot could still be lethal.
"Then, you go in and sleep first. Jack and I will take the first half of the night." Aeg stood up, "Leave the things. We'll clean up."
Everyone did as they were told, and the camp was soon empty, with only a few people left. Before leaving, Tyrion patted Aeg, "Be careful, you two."
***
Nothing happened during the first half of the night, and it was Jon and Morris's turn to keep watch during the latter half. The night passed without incident. When the sun rose the next day, everyone got up early, packed up the tents and belongings onto the horses, saddled up, and set off northward.
The weather worsened, and the surface temperature finally dropped below freezing, meaning the falling snow could now accumulate on the ground. Forced marches were routine for the rangers, especially for Aeg, who had recently experienced the ten-day great escape. But the others in the group didn't have the same endurance. After several hours of traveling over hundreds of leagues, Tyrion and the two Lannister guards were numb in the buttocks. Upon entering the gates of Castle Black and dismounting, their legs trembled as if they had forgotten how to walk.