Chapter 18: Lies
"Fear," Egger summarized. "The grandest defensive fortifications and a standing army are inevitably used to oppose the most terrifying of enemies. It was fear that drove the First Men thousands of years ago to build such a high wall, and to establish and sustain an army of over ten thousand that produces nothing and answers to no lord. Beyond that, there is no other logical explanation."
"Fine, you make a compelling point," Tyrion admitted frankly. "But pray, forgive my small persistence: until I see them with my own eyes, I shall not believe in the existence of any legendary monsters or ghouls."
"Belief is your prerogative." Egger spread his hands; convincing the man that the Others existed wasn't his primary goal anyway. "In truth, before I personally traded blows with one and watched it shatter my steel sword with a blade of ice like it was hitting glass, I didn't much believe it either."
"Just a moment ago, I took you for the Night's Watch's accountant; how have you suddenly become a warrior brawling with White Walkers?" The dwarf looked intrigued. "Are you a steward or a ranger?"
"A ranger, alas..." Egger turned to Jon. "Lad, want to know why your uncle doesn't support your joining? Come with me and look at the steel shattered by an Other. You'll soon realize that the swordsmanship and agility you pride yourself on are—against such an enemy—utterly useless."
The bastard followed Egger without a moment's hesitation, and after a brief pause, Tyrion set off on his short legs to follow. Egger felt a surge of relief; while he was nominally showing things to Jon, his true aim was to use this as a pretext to get closer to Tyrion and steer the conversation toward the topics he actually wanted to discuss.
The Lannister and the bastard followed Egger through a few turns until they reached the room Benjen Stark had assigned him. The Watchman retrieved the evidence he had brought from the Wall to show Eddard Stark and placed it on a small wooden table for his guests to inspect.
"The one belonging to Waymar Royce was shattered much worse, but Lord Benjen left that with your father to return to the boy's family—the Lord of Runestone," Egger explained as he arranged the broken blades. "The two before you belonged to me and my comrade, Gared."
Tyrion raised an eyebrow. "The version I heard was that Waymar Royce went missing on patrol. Is it certain he's dead?"
"I watched him face an Other and be cut down with my own eyes," Egger lied. He had only heard it, but since Waymar Royce was definitely dead and neither of these two could possibly debunk him, he leaned into the claim. "Originally, another ranger and I would have died too, but a dragonglass dagger saved our lives. That black thing there—modesty aside, I made it myself. If you're interested, you can try piecing these swords back together. Steel frozen and shattered by ice magic isn't something everyone gets to see."
Jon, possessing the natural curiosity of a youth, couldn't help but start tinkering with the pieces. Tyrion, however, had little interest in weapons—especially broken ones. He paced the room with his hands behind his back, and finding no wine or cups, he walked back to Egger and looked up at him.
"You said your name is Egger. Egger what?"
Egger was delighted; he had been looking for an opening for his "performance," and the dwarf had just handed him a golden opportunity.
"I am not truly named Egger; that is just a name some Westerosi peasants gave me. I don't even know what it means." Egger put on a bitter smile. "I don't have a surname in the sense you understand. Where I come from, the way we name people is quite different..."
Egger hadn't expected it to go this smoothly. A few sentences had snared the man's attention. Now, he had to secure the win. "Our scholars, after a series of astronomical observations and calculations, reached a conclusion: the world is a sphere. If one sends a ship out and sails in one direction, they would eventually return to their starting point after circling the globe. To test this theory, we decided to fund an ultra-long-distance voyage. We built several incredibly sturdy ocean-going vessels out of steel and sent them sailing in the four cardinal directions..."
"Building ships out of steel? Impossible."
"If you place an iron bowl in water, does it sink? A steel ship works on the same principle; what determines whether a vessel floats or sinks is its displacement, not its material. If we have the chance later, I can explain it in detail."
"An iron bowl... displacement." Tyrion was a brilliant man; a quick mental turn allowed him to grasp the logic, but new questions followed. "But how do you manufacture an iron bowl large enough to carry men? If a single spot leaks, it would sink faster than a stone."
"We use a process of melting the joints between steel plates to fuse them into a single piece. As for the technical details, I am no expert and cannot explain them in depth."
"Sounds fascinating. Continue your tale." The dwarf pondered the image of steel plates fusing into a ship. For the first time, he felt his imagination was lacking. He fell silent and gestured for Egger to go on.
...
"As a somewhat known adventurer, I couldn't pass up such a fascinating expedition. After providing a significant sponsorship to the project, I secured a berth. I set out with the fleet, and after months at sea, we reached Westeros."
"I've never heard of foreigners landing from the Sunset Sea. Where is your ship?"
"Sunk. We discovered land, but while searching for a place to dock, we were caught in a storm. Originally, our steel vessels were designed to withstand tempests, but a massive wave threw the ship onto a reef... Just as you suspected, while steel ships are sturdy, when something goes wrong, they sink faster than anything. I was lucky enough to be on deck admiring the waves and wasn't pulled under. After clinging to wreckage for several days at sea, I washed ashore."
"And then?" Tyrion urged. "Surely the Northmen aren't so mad that they kidnap every person they see and ship them to the Wall?"
"I had been drifting at sea for days; I was starving. My first priority upon landing was finding food. Unfortunately, when I finally stumbled upon a settlement, I couldn't communicate. The villagers couldn't understand me and refused to help... A man has to eat, so I decided to take what I needed." Egger sighed. "Evidently, I am not skilled at theft. I was caught before I could even fill my stomach. My judge gave me the choice between losing a hand or taking the black. Thus, I became a man of the Night's Watch."
"Uh..." Tyrion's eyes went wide. "You were simply pressed into service by the Watch?"
"You could say that."
"That is the most magnificent load of horseshit I have heard all year." The dwarf's expression was unreadable. "If I had to choose, I'd much rather believe the Others are real."
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