Chapter 197: Retreating at the Peak
What should have been a comfortable and peaceful period of hiding and avoiding the war became nail-biting with the inclusion of a tiny "off-book" member. Renly's army had not yet entered the city, but the Red Keep had already been taken by the mutinous City Watch; Stannis's chances of victory were now minuscule. If Renly were to enter the city and discover that Egger was hiding Lady Stark...
That would be like tattooing a direwolf sigil on his forehead to declare his allegiance. At that point, forget considering whether or not to accept Renly's recruitment—he'd be thanking the Seven just to keep his life.
Inside a room in the large manor, Nina took up her old trade—personally tailoring and sewing a well-fitting set of black clothes for Arya and cutting the girl's hair until it was barely an inch long. For a long time, Egger had requested the girl to be well-behaved, dressed up, and lady-like; in the end, he had to personally order her to be thoroughly disguised as a tomboy. In this life, there are always so many unpleasant things one simply must do.
After personally participating in Arya's makeover and fabricating a background and identity for him, the expected search failed to materialize. After the city had been under martial law for two days and nights, the streets and alleys reopened. The struggle for King's Landing was over.
The Night's Watch office reopened. Thanks to his vast network of friends, Egger quickly gathered a large amount of information regarding the battle from various channels, gaining a general overview of the situation in the city.
...
The afternoon of the day before yesterday, at the same time Egger was bringing Arya home under the very noses of the rebels, Stannis had also led his cavalry back to contest the Red Keep. At that time, the fighting inside the castle had not yet ended; soldiers loyal to Stannis still controlled parts of the fortress, including Maegor's Holdfast. With the enemy caught between the internal defenders and Stannis's external force, Stannis quickly retook the southern gate and most of the area within the red walls.
However, the battle soon fell into a stalemate. As Renly's forces—having entered from the north of King's Landing and broken through the interception of the city reserves—arrived at the Red Keep, the two sides engaged in a fierce tug-of-war over the buildings and side gates.
Whether in terms of soldier quality or commander ability, the troops personally led by Stannis were far superior to the mutinous reserves and Renly's men. Unfortunately, enemy reinforcements continued to pour into the city and arrive at Aegon's High Hill, leaving the former in a lopsided disadvantage: to hold the Red Keep, Stannis had to retake every side gate and building, but the enemy only needed to hold any single gate while waiting for reinforcements to remain invincible... The fighting lasted until the sun sank below the horizon. Seeing that several efforts to fully reclaim the Red Keep had failed, and realizing that if he delayed any longer he wouldn't even be able to escape... Stannis finally bit his tongue and abandoned the Red Keep. He retreated south out of King's Landing through the River Gate—which was still under the control of the Narrow Sea lords—before the enemy could complete their encirclement. After routing the enemy forces along the banks of the Blackwater, he signaled the Dragonstone fleet to dock, took his soldiers, supporters, and kin aboard, and retreated to Dragonstone.
Compared to the many famous siege battles in ancient history, this struggle for King's Landing could truly be described as a clash of the amateurs—it was just that the more amateur side happened to win through sheer numbers and popularity. But for Egger, this clash between the two stags resulted in the most troublesome outcome: had Stannis killed Renly, the civil war in Westeros would be effectively over; the Night's Watch industries would only need to comply with policy by closing the brothels and stopping the erotic business, while all other operations could proceed as usual. Conversely, if Renly had killed Stannis, Egger could have comfortably shed his black cloak and sided with the new King, joining the Small Council and instantly becoming an influential figure in the Seven Kingdoms.
But as it happened, neither Baratheon was dead.
The stalemate of the two Kings remained unbroken, and Egger was suddenly plunged into an awkward position. He now faced several difficult problems:
The first and most pressing problem: how to settle Arya, who was hiding in the manor.
Hand her over to Renly and Margaery? That pair of drama queens certainly wouldn't harm Arya, but by doing so, Egger would not only lose a fan and apprentice but also instantly offend the entire Northern faction and Stannis... On the other hand, not handing her over and keeping the highborn Lady Stark in his house was no solution either, especially with a squad of his own guards living in the manor. Their overall loyalty to him was high, but human nature is the one thing that least withstands a test...
The second problem: when Renly, as the King of the Iron Throne, recruited him again, should he refuse a second time and risk offending him, or grit his teeth and stand in opposition to Melisandre to serve a King who might very well end up a corpse soon?
Compared to the first two problems, the final difficulty—while not life-threatening—was a heavy blow to the Night's Watch industries: Stannis escaping back to his stronghold meant the war was not over. With Dragonstone and King's Landing belonging to opposing camps and unlikely to allow smooth passage for ships, the raw material supply for the dragonglass business in the city faced disruption... although there were tons of stock in the industrial park, it wouldn't last half a month even if supplied only to King's Landing, let alone Egger's original plan to sell dragonglass nationwide.
Additionally, there was an unconfirmed report—the former Hand of the King, Eddard Stark, had failed to escape when the city fell and had been taken by Renly's forces inside the Red Keep.
...
"You just had to run around. Your sister Sansa and King Stannis managed to escape smoothly, but your father ran back from the River Gate and got caught. Want to guess if he went back to look for you?"
"I... I..." Arya stammered, her face falling as she finally tasted the bitter lesson of her own recklessness. "What do we do? Will they—will they mistreat my father? Master... I know I was wrong, I beg you to save him!"
"The Night's Watch takes no part in the affairs of the Seven Kingdoms!" Egger blocked Arya's request with his signature shield, answering irritably. "Besides, how would I save him? Your father is the Lord of Winterfell; he'll surely have good food and drink in the Red Keep's cells. Nothing will happen to him. It's me who is currently trying to figure out how to save myself!"
As the leading family of the North, capturing the head of House Stark meant holding the lifeline of the North, the Riverlands, and the Vale. Would nobles as shrewd as Renly and Margaery be brain-dead enough to kill him?
What Egger was worried about was the possibility that if Renly and Margaery learned of Arya's disappearance and recalled how close she was to him, they might come to his door for an inspection...
"My Lord, I don't understand why you are unwilling to join Renly's Small Council... but there is actually a way to solve both problems at once." Nina looked with worry at Arya sitting behind the table. This girl who had once contributed much to the Night's Watch industries was now a constant threat to Egger's life. "Go north under the guise of official business for the Night's Watch. Secretly return Lady Stark to her family and kin, and take the opportunity to avoid the spotlight for a while yourself... By the time you return and Renly's Small Council is full, he can't exactly kick someone else out to make room for you, can he?"
How could Egger not have thought of this himself? But Renly was no fool. Why go on official business now and not earlier or later? Leaving specifically when he entered King's Landing—isn't that a clear sign of running away because he refused to serve? Stories of famous scholars going into seclusion to avoid a ruler's summons and refusing to take office were things Egger had heard since he was a child, he thought these stories of living in seclusion were just fabrications by people looking to hold out for a higher price—to put it bluntly, it was just posturing. Who would have thought that one day, he would actually face such a choice?
Only by experiencing it personally can one realize: refusing to take office and going into seclusion isn't necessarily about refusing to drift with the tide; it might just be for other more realistic, complex, and unspeakable reasons.
He had a massive business in King's Landing; running away was never the priority choice under normal circumstances. But now, with the added task of helping Arya escape the capital, it had actually become a rather good option. Egger stared at Arya for a while and hardened his heart. "Fine, I'll leave King's Landing for a while... To be honest, in this capital of the Seven Kingdoms filled with 'Great Men,' having to consider this and that is truly exhausting. As the Chief Logistics Officer of the Night's Watch, it really is time I returned to the Wall to reinforce my presence and see how far the construction of Queenscrown has progressed!"
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