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The Old Falcon was highly efficient. Two days later, he had arranged a meeting with the chieftains of the Prince's Pass tribes at the Tower of Joy, north of Kingsgrave.
Arthur chose the Tower of Joy for two reasons. One was to "check in" at the site of his uncle and mother's brother's battle, hoping to unlock a card.
The other was to comply with Lady Nymeria's strong demand to get the Manwoody family away from Skyreach.
Since the agreement limited each side to seven people at the negotiation site for security, the people of Skyreach saw accompanying Arthur to the Tower of Joy as an honor.
Without needing an invitation, the Manwoody family of three volunteered. Along with the organizer, the Old Falcon, Skyreach's master-at-arms Ser Mason, and Arthur's squire Penrose, they formed the seven-person team. The Manwoody retinue, heading home anyway, accompanied them north.
The journey from Skyreach to the Tower of Joy took about four days on horseback. On the road, they encountered many caravans and groups of hedge knights. Every so often along the route, Dornish-style domed watchtowers and accompanying waystations dotted the slopes descending from the Red Mountains.
During the journey, Arthur accepted the warm invitation of Lord Dagos and his "second playthrough" (the NG+ joke from before, referring to his sons/family) to rest for a day at Kingsgrave. They arrived at the Tower of Joy on the fifth day.
The Tower of Joy looked much like the domed watchtowers Arthur had seen along the way. It stood four stories high on a slope, connected to the waystation below by a flight of stone steps.
Learning that the wildling chieftains had not yet arrived, the Old Falcon and Dagos chose to rest at the waystation, while Arthur planned to explore the area around the tower.
"It's hard to imagine," Penrose sighed, looking at the surrounding scenery as he followed Arthur. "That legendary Kingsguard like the 'Sword of the Morning' and the 'White Bull' died in such an ordinary place."
Ser Mors Manwoody pointed to a stone forest not far from the tower. "Dickon and I came here specifically once. There are many graves over there, including those of the men who died in the battle at the Tower of Joy."
"Let's go take a look."
Arthur's interest piqued, and he walked along the stone path toward the cairns Mors had indicated.
There were indeed many cairns in the stone forest. Some had been weathered by wind and sand, the inscriptions on the stones worn away, making it impossible to tell who lay beneath.
After walking around the graves, Arthur guessed that one of them likely belonged to William Dustin, husband of Lady Barbrey Dustin.
Because on two other cairns nearby, he could faintly make out two Northern names: Ethan Glover and Martyn Cassel.
House Glover was a major bannerman of House Stark, and Martyn Cassel was the brother of Winterfell's master-at-arms, Rodrik Cassel, and father of Jory.
It had to be said, Uncle Eddard handled this matter a bit poorly. The saying "the living go south, the dead return north" wasn't honored; he buried them in a foreign land.
Although there's a poem saying green hills everywhere can bury loyal bones, no need to return wrapped in horse hide, given that conditions fully permitted it, he should have shown proper respect to the bannermen who died for him by returning their bones.
As Arthur and his group emerged from the cairns, they saw two boys carrying buckets and rags heading up the steps to the Tower of Joy.
The older boy greeted them. "My Lords, food is ready at the waystation. This tower hasn't been garrisoned for a long time and must be full of dust. It needs cleaning."
Hearing this, Arthur abandoned the idea of entering the tower. After glancing at his silent system interface, he returned to the waystation to prepare for the upcoming negotiations with the wildling chieftains.
On the third day after their arrival, the wildling chieftains finally arrived.
Among the seven leaders, two stood out: Ugo, chieftain of the Mountain Shadow Tribe, and Tik, chieftain of the Crow Men.
Arthur wasted no words. He placed two prepared documents on the table.
The first document was an improved version of the allegiance agreement Arthur had reached with the wildling chieftains of the Torrentine valley after defeating the Vulture King.
1. Sworn Allegiance: All wildling tribes of the Red Mountains in the Prince's Pass must swear allegiance to the Governor of the Dornish Marches.
2. Preservation of System: Wildling tribes will continue to exist as tribal units, ruled by their chieftains. They may choose to substitute military service and labor for tax payments.
3. Enhanced Exchange: Chieftains must not prevent tribe members from voluntarily leaving the Red Mountains to work in the lands of Marcher lords.
Wages and treatment for wildlings hired by Marcher lords must equal those of their own subjects.
Trade markets will be established where goods are sold without discrimination.
4. Freedom of Religion: The Governor of the Dornish Marches cannot force tribes to change their faith, nor can chieftains forcibly prevent members from converting.
5. Feudal Obligations: The Governor has an obligation to protect the wildling tribes from harm.
Upon a chieftain's death, their heir must go to Starfall to renew the oath of allegiance to the Governor and receive confirmation of their legitimacy.
Conflicts between tribes or between tribes and Marcher lords must be submitted to the Governor for arbitration; private warfare is forbidden.
6. Hostages: Upon signing, direct blood relatives must be provided as hostages to ensure loyalty.
The second document detailed the treatment for tribes that fully submitted, modeled after the integration of the tribes following the defeat of the Vulture King's son, Kian, and the establishment of Eagle's Nest. This meant unconditional compliance with Arthur's demands, from system to faith, relocating from tribal lands, and complete assimilation.
Few wildling chieftains could read. When Tik of the Crow Men finished reading both documents, his face darkened. "What is the meaning of these two documents?"
Ugo asked in confusion, "Meaning of what? Tik, what does it say?"
When Tik explained the content—especially the second document—to the other chieftains, the room exploded.
Shouts and roars filled the air, accompanied by fists slamming onto the table.
Arthur picked out phrases like "Free Folk never kneel," "insult," and "war" from the chaotic noise.
However, he just watched them quietly until Ugo signaled for silence and grimly repeated Tik's question.
Arthur spoke calmly. "These two documents are for all wildling tribes of the Red Mountains. If the chieftains here are willing to sign the first document, you may go to the Mountain Corps garrison later to do so."
"If you are unwilling, you may return to mobilize your armies and gather your warriors for war. Those who survive the war will naturally accept the second document."
Ugo's expression was dark. "Do you know what consequences will follow if we take your words and these documents back with us?"
He pointed a finger at the other angry chieftains.
"War. Chaos. The entire Dornish Marches will flow with blood!"
Arthur replied, "Both documents are products of the war between myself and the wildling tribes of the Torrentine valley."
"I know that every Free Folk tribe is proud and unruly. To make you adapt to the order and rules I established, bloodshed and war are likely unavoidable."
"This is the choice I give you. As for the outcome... let the old and new gods decide!"