Chapter 111: Handing Over the Reins
Egger was deeply grateful that Oberyn had shown restraint during the duel, but now that he had yielded and the match was decided, he would have been satisfied if the Prince didn't mock him. Why was a man of Oberyn's high standing flattering him? What right did a logistics officer with mediocre combat skills have to discuss the meaning of life with a Prince of Dorne?
It was all a bit... too strange. Egger looked at Oberyn with confusion, only to see the man give him another ambiguous wink. Suddenly, his mind clicked, remembering a certain special preference the Prince was famous for. Could it be?!
"That... the Night's Watch has been quite busy lately, I wouldn't want to intrude. Once this war is over, if there is an opportunity, I shall discuss it with the Prince!" Egger felt a sudden chill run down his spine and hurriedly declined—he hadn't traveled all this way just to end up being the one taken instead of the one doing the taking.
No one can stop a combatant from yielding. Though the surrounding soldiers clamored for the two to go at it a while longer, they eventually parted to make way for Egger.
Suppressing his nervousness, he squeezed out of the ring and met Yoren, who was walking toward him. Before leaving King's Landing to join the royal host, Egger had written to the Wall requesting a steward to be sent to the Vale to take over the tedious post of Night's Watch attaché. Who would have thought the Watch would be so stingy that they wouldn't even send one extra man south, instead making Yoren pull double duty?
If Robert broke the Bloody Gate, Yoren would be responsible for escorting the rebel lords of the Bronze Alliance back to the Wall in black. If the rebellion succeeded... well, the Wandering Crow was planning to ask Egger for the next batch of recruits anyway. Two birds, one stone!
...
Though he knew exactly why Yoren had come, Egger had just yielded in the ring on the pretext of receiving a colleague; with countless eyes likely still on his back, he had to keep up the act.
"Yoren! It's been a hard journey for you!" Egger greeted him with a wide smile, holding his breath as he gave the Wandering Crow a massive hug. "When did you arrive?"
"Just got here. Seeing how big this camp is, I thought it'd take some doing to find you. Who knew you'd turned into such a celebrity? Found you as soon as I asked!" Yoren was bewildered by Egger's excessive enthusiasm but didn't overthink it, assuming the boy was just in a strange mood from living the high life in the south. "You've been living quite the comfortable life, haven't you? Even finding the time to join a tourney?"
Yoren, unseen for months, was back to his scruffy, bearded self, still wearing the clothes Egger had bought him in King's Landing—likely his only set of summer gear. He chuckled as he sized Egger up. "Oh, wait. I suppose I should call you 'Lord Chief Logistics Officer' now!"
"Drop it. Just call me by my name; it sounds weird coming from you." Anxious to leave the area, Egger grabbed Yoren and hurried toward his tent. "You've come at the perfect time. I'm handing things over to you here. I need to get back to King's Landing and start training new recruits so I can deliver them to you when the time comes."
"Hmm?" Yoren asked curiously. "Training recruits? Is that an order from Mormont? If you're training them... what do we need Alliser Thorne for?"
"It's hard to explain all at once. You know how difficult recruitment is, and the Wall is desperately shorthanded. I've decided to bring in a batch of helpers on a contract basis first." Egger led Yoren deeper into the Antlers camp, quickly leaving the sparring ring behind. "But the Lord Commander is afraid that mixing mercenaries with our sworn brothers will hurt morale, so he ruled that my hirelings can't go to Castle Black for training... Sending untrained men to the Wall is a death sentence, and I can't afford elite sellswords, so I have to do it myself."
"I see."
"The plan was ready long ago, but Robert... His Majesty ordered me to serve as the attaché, wasting gods know how much of my time. I haven't even started the drills. I left orders for the people in King's Landing to start recruiting, but being out here, I have no idea how they're doing." Egger's heart was full of fire thinking about the absurdity, but seeing the Antlers soldier still leading them, he bit back the urge to vent. "Fortunately you're here. I can finally free myself and try to get some men ready before your trip back."
The two Watchmen walked and whispered about matters at the Wall. From Yoren, Egger learned that the rangers were already trying to capture a wight, though they hadn't made much progress yet. That was good news... Without stopping, they soon arrived at Egger's tent.
"Thanks for your trouble. Take this and buy yourself some wine." Egger smiled at the soldier who had guided Yoren, pressed a few silver stags into his hand, and led the Crow inside.
"I'm leaving for King's Landing immediately. You hold the fort here," Egger told Yoren before turning his head slightly. "Casey, pack up my personal things. Don't worry about items we can buy in the city; leave those for Yoren to use."
If they left in the afternoon, they could reach the Inn at the Crossroads before dark. The road back to King's Landing was the flat, open Kingsroad, lined with villages and towns—no need to worry about food or lodging.
"Yes, my lord!" Casey, having just seen his master go toe-to-toe with the world-famous Prince of Dorne, was currently brimming with worship for Egger, making him work even harder.
"Once you're finished, get the horses ready and wait for me at the entrance!"
...
Such chores were best left to the boy; Egger's own hands were still numb, leaving him with little desire for manual labor. After giving his instructions, he led Yoren back out of the tent. "My current title is 'Night's Watch attaché'—gods only know how King Robert came up with such an idea. Regardless, your safety and lodging are now the responsibility of 1-Lord Buckwell. I'll take you to meet him before I go. But first, I'll show you around the camp so you know where the temporary 'Business Street' is. If you want a good meal, a bath, or a woman, you can find it all there."
"A business street?" Yoren chuckled. "Forget it. Even if I know where it is, I've got no coin to spend."
"Don't worry, the Watch isn't short on coin these days," Egger smiled. "I'll cover your living expenses until you head back to the Wall."
Since Mormont had sent Yoren again, it was highly likely this man would be his primary contact for work in the future. The old man was a bit messy, but he wasn't a bad sort; spending a little coin to smooth over their relationship was a sound investment.
...
"Just how many men are in this camp?" Yoren didn't stand on ceremony and followed along. After a full turn, the Wandering Crow's eyes were nearly bulging; he had never seen so many soldiers in his life. "The King has so many men... it wouldn't kill him to send a few to the Wall. Why make us do all the recruiting?"
Most of these men didn't belong to the King, but explaining the intricacies of the noble games to a rough man like Yoren was an exercise in futility. Egger didn't bother. "About forty thousand left now, I suppose. Counting logistics, probably closer to sixty thousand. And that's with a home-field advantage where they don't need a massive train of laborers, an overwhelming edge, and no threat to their supply lines—and that's after splitting the host. There were more before." Egger shrugged helplessly. "But no matter how many there are, they won't send them to the Wall. Taking the Bloody Gate means loot, ransoms, and war reparations. What do you get for fighting wildlings at the Wall? The thankless job of guarding the realm was thrown to us, after all. Let's not speak of this nonsense; we'll rely on ourselves. Come, I'll take you to see Lord Buckwell."
The Antlers soldiers mostly knew Egger and knew their lord held the Watchman in high regard. When he came to visit, they greeted him and let him pass without even a challenge.
Inside the great tent, the old Earl sat at his desk, brooding over something that looked like an account book.
"Lord Buckwell."
"Egger." The old man looked up and gave him a friendly smile. "This fellow beside you stopped by earlier; I sent men to find you with him. I see you weren't far."
"Thank you for the help, my lord. I didn't introduce myself earlier; I am Yoren, a Wandering Crow." Yoren had seen enough nobles in his time not to be stage-frightened. "If there's any scum in the dungeons of Antlers that needs clearing out, you can hand them to me."
Man, do you know how hard it is to improve our image? Can you not mention 'scum' for five minutes? Egger rubbed his temples and quickly cut in. "My lord, the Order has sent someone to take over my post. I must depart for King's Landing immediately. I ask that you look after my brother Yoren here."
"Of course," Lord Buckwell nodded, agreeing readily. "However, I've run into a bit of trouble... to be precise, the entire royal host has run into trouble. Your mind has always been sharp; why don't you offer some counsel on how we should proceed?"
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