Chapter 276: Changes in the Election
Robb had realized long ago—Egger always had a knack for speaking in large chunks that sounded quite reasonable. Rather than analyzing the logic or ideology behind those words, Robb was more interested in the details of education. Instinct told the young new Warden of the North that this was a vital skill related to governance, and mastering it would bring only benefits.
"Ha, that's a bit unfortunate. Queenscrown was only recently completed, and its basic 'sustenance' functions have only been operational for a short while. Everything else is still in the preliminary conceptual stage and hasn't been put into practice yet." Egger chuckled, and this wasn't a lie. "If your lordship is truly interested in the specific operations of this 'education' concept, we will have plenty of time to chat slowly during our inspection of the North. After traveling for so many days straight from Winterfell, everyone and their horses are exhausted. We might as well enter the town and enjoy some hospitality. Once everyone has eaten, bathed, changed, and recovered their spirits, we can discuss this."
"Very well."
The men and horses slowly passed through the gates of Queenscrown, entering the heart of this Capital of the Gift. In sharp contrast to the bustle outside, the world within the walls was instantly quiet. Square, tall buildings made of wood and stone filled the view. Aside from the guards, there were almost no bystanders walking among the structures... This confirmed Egger's earlier description of the town's entry permits and allowed Robb and the Winterfell party to relax.
In this small town, they at least didn't have to maintain high vigilance or worry about a stone suddenly flying out from somewhere.
Unlike a typical castle, Queenscrown had no obvious inner or outer ring structure or center. The buildings looked uniform, as if there were only two types: warehouses for storage and houses for living. Egger was the builder and de facto controller of this place, but not its legal lord. To avoid gossip and increase space utilization, he had ordered that no obvious "Great Keep," "Great Hall," or similar structures exclusive to a ruling family be designed, opting instead for a more practical block layout.
Yam had faithfully executed Egger's orders. This fully planned before breaking ground architectural complex resulted in a standardized grid of roads, which possessed a unique sense of order and modern charm. This made Egger feel comfortable, but it left the Starks—who were used to the grand labyrinth of Winterfell—feeling somewhat disoriented. The structure was simple and clear, but without a guide, they might actually get lost.
After walking a hundred meters and turning a corner, they arrived at an area that wasn't the geometric center of Queenscrown but was indeed the core building cluster. Here, Egger saw those waiting for him: Humphrey Hill, an old acquaintance from his time in the cells who was now the Logistics Officer stationed at Queenscrown... and Jon Snow.
What was going on? Egger frowned in confusion and looked at Yam.
His trip north to the Gift with Robb Stark was intended to let the North's new leader see for himself. His series of arrangements did not include playing the family card. Settling wildlings in the Gift was a matter of Northern security and of the utmost importance; no matter how much Robb valued brotherhood, it was unlikely he would be influenced by Jon's opinion. Making this soft-spoken young man a lobbyist might even backfire.
Yam noticed his boss's confusion and gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head, indicating that Jon's presence here wasn't his doing.
"Jon—Jon!" Before Egger could react, Arya had already run ahead, jumping up to hug her favorite half-brother.
Robb also embraced his brother, asking after their greetings, "Jon, shouldn't you be at Castle Black? What are you doing here?"
"The election for the new Lord Commander is underway at Castle Black. It's a mess with no one in charge, so I came here to see if Queenscrown needed any help."
Robb smiled and shook his head. "You, always so warm-hearted... but make sure you do your actual job well."
"The Lord of Stark is right to chastise me."
The two brothers joked affectionately, and Egger, having recovered from his shock, quickly calmed down. Jon must have urgent news to report; otherwise, he would never have risked coming to find him given the previous arrangements. Although Jon's answer revealed no flaws, Egger couldn't let them keep chatting like this. "It's cold out. Let's get indoors first. Once we've unloaded our things and relaxed, there will be plenty of time to reminisce."
Dinner was plentiful but not extravagant; the bathing facilities and quarters weren't as comfortable as Winterfell with its hot springs, but everything that could be considered had been arranged. After the welcome, the reception staff led the Winterfell party to their lodgings, while Egger sat in his office to hear the reports from the two Queenscrown managers.
The report contained much, but it boiled down to one sentence: Queenscrown's reserves were about to run dry.
The wildlings had brought all the grain they could when they marched south to attack the Wall, but stored grain was ultimately a finite resource. The King-Beyond-the-Wall's original plan was to acquire supplies from the North and further south after breaching the Wall, living off the land as they moved south to escape the winter. Instead, Egger's introduction of external aid and strong defense forced them to surrender and settle in the Gift before they could even take the first step.
Without the vast Haunted Forest as a source of supplies, the New Gift-folk could never survive the winter on just the grain they brought south—especially when half of that grain was being held at Castle Black by the Chief Steward, who refused to release it to feed wildlings.
Using less than half the Gift's grain to feed nearly eighty percent of the New Gift-folk and logistics employees was an impossible task. Queenscrown's warehouses were emptying at an alarming rate. To avoid panic, Humphrey and Yam had gritted their teeth and continued to distribute food normally according to Egger's instructions.
"We've tried every means to delay the final collapse: reducing work intensity or even suspending projects to slow consumption; small, slow price increases while adding other daily goods to divert the money the wildlings use for grain; encouraging residents to hunt and forage in the wilderness... even quietly making contact with the Mountain Clans to acquire Castle Black's reserves through them," Yam finished his report with a face full of worry. "But the control over grain at Castle Black is very strict. Despite our best efforts, we've only slightly delayed the time until the granaries are completely empty."
"To tell the truth, my lord, taking two thousand men south to the North for over a month actually helped a lot. Without those two thousand mouths, the granaries might already be empty," Humphrey added with a shrug. "Now we just need a definitive figure. When will all this be resolved?"
"You've worked hard." Egger had a good grasp of the general situation in the Gift and Queenscrown and knew his subordinates weren't exaggerating. A lack of grain was a lack of grain; even if he had stayed personally, he likely couldn't have done better. "The path from the Gift to the North has now been cleared. The first batch of relief grain will arrive in a matter of days. Keep up the work for this final stretch and wait for the supplies from Braavos."
"That's wonderful."
"The way you handle things truly puts us at ease! Could you tell us about the trip south to put out the fires?"
The two managers were overjoyed and asked about the details. Egger gave a brief account, emphasizing the hot potatoes Robb Stark had tossed to him and outlining his preliminary plans for those troublesome individuals. The communication between superior and subordinates lasted for nearly two hours until Jon Snow knocked and entered.
This young man had come all the way from Castle Black; what he had to say or discuss was certainly far more urgent than the routine affairs of Queenscrown. Egger stopped his trivial instructions and looked at the newcomer.
A single glance confirmed it: there was news.
Egger turned back and nodded to the other two. "Let's leave it at that for today. I need to think before making further arrangements. Go back and rest early—oh, and before you sleep, check the guest quarters again and ask our guests from Winterfell if they need anything else."
"Yes, we'll take our leave then." Humphrey and Yam, chosen for their keen eyes, quickly bid Egger farewell and left the room together.
"Jon, long time no see." Egger smiled and nodded to Jon. "Did you chat with Robb, or did Arya pin you down?"
"A bit of both... Our sister is very sad over Father's death. She's only pretending to have moved past the grief; deep down, she's still blaming herself. I comforted her for a while, which is why I'm late."
"I see." Egger had no intention of discussing a little girl's worries. Once the door was closed, he shifted the topic directly. "Sit. Tell me about the situation at Castle Black."
Jon sat down without hesitation and reported: "While you were away, the plan to prevent a new Lord Commander from being elected went smoothly. Ser Denys Mallister's votes fluctuated around four hundred, and Cotter Pyke followed closely behind, but he stayed just over three hundred—some of which were the votes we arranged. After staying deadlocked for half a month, the third-place candidate, Othell Yarwyck, our First Builder, withdrew from the election."
Egger breathed a sigh of relief. He had left Castle Black at a critical moment to let his two rivals lower their guard and fall into mutual strife, buying himself time and space. It was a risky plan: if Denys and Cotter had reached an agreement for some unexpected reason and elected a Lord Commander, he would have returned to find the Gift transformed. In that case, unless he led the wildlings in a rebellion, there would be no other way to turn the tables.
But the North would never sit by while anyone took control of the Gift by force. If it came to that, he would have to break with House Stark—controlling Robb alone wouldn't be enough; he would have to place the other four visiting Great House members under house arrest. With tens of thousands of New Gift-folk, this was theoretically possible, but the wildlings were by no means loyal subordinates. If things reached that point...
He would have to defend against wildling betrayal, face the fury of his Night's Watch brothers, and continue managing the Gift under sanctions from King's Landing. If the Night's Watch industries were confiscated by the Iron Throne, even the Braavosi aid would likely vanish. It would be a dead end.
Rather than seeking death, Egger would prefer to take the money and flee across the Narrow Sea.
Fortunately, the worst didn't happen. Othell's withdrawal was expected. In terms of both ability and seniority, he was far behind the commanders of the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch. With no hope of winning, his withdrawal and the release of his approximately two hundred votes were intended to force a resolution.
"How has the situation changed since he withdrew?"
"After the third candidate withdrew, both leading sides have been scrambling within Castle Black, trying everything to pull the First Builder's former supporters to their side... After the election two days ago, Denys Mallister's votes reached four hundred and fifty, while Cotter Pyke approached four hundred. The gap has actually narrowed."
Egger crunched the numbers and quickly spotted the anomaly. "That only adds up to a little over eight hundred. About sixty of those were arranged by us. Where are the remaining nearly two hundred votes?"
"Ser Warner Buckwell received over a hundred votes," Jon replied. "While you were away, Sam and I weren't idle. We've been communicating privately with the brothers at Castle Black, patiently explaining the benefits and feasibility of the Gift Settlement Plan... The fact that the New Gift-folk have been well-behaved for these two months, combined with your efforts fighting and gathering grain for the Gift in the North, has won more and more support for the Reformists. After Othell withdrew, many brothers who originally voted for him gave their votes to your supporters. If you were to run personally, the vote count would surely be even higher."
So that was it. The nearly two hundred brothers who originally voted for Othell did so because they believed the First Builder would make a competent Lord Commander, but his supporters weren't his puppets. Othell could withdraw, but he couldn't command those who voted for him to cast their votes for someone else. Consequently, in the major shift of the third candidate's withdrawal, dozens of votes leaked from the Conservative camp to the Reformist side—Egger's side.
"Good." Egger nodded with satisfaction. Jon and Sam, especially Sam's intellect, were the reason he felt confident leaving Castle Black for the North to find a way out. The two young men hadn't disappointed him.
But he soon realized something was wrong: if this was all good news, why would Jon rush to Queenscrown? Just to let him relax a day early?
"But the opposition has noticed your plan," Jon quickly resolved Egger's confusion. "After the news reached Castle Black that the Gift army retook Deepwood Motte, forced the surrender of Moat Cailin, helped the Northerners regain control of their homes, and that Robb is coming north to visit the Gift with you, Denys Mallister and Cotter Pyke surely realized you haven't given up. They have started meeting and communicating frequently. They are likely plotting a way to deal with your triumphant return."
"How many votes can we influence and control now?"
"The Westermen's votes are definitely yours. At a more optimistic estimate, about two hundred of the original brothers at Castle Black are willing to vote for you. Combined, it's still less than two hundred and sixty votes."
Less than a third of the Night's Watch membership. In other words, the Conservatives still controlled over two-thirds of the total votes. If either Ser Denys or Cotter Pyke decided to give their votes to their old rival, Egger would have no power to resist.
Jon shook his head. "Sam thinks the probability of that is almost zero, but we can't rule out the possibility of the Conservatives reaching a compromise in some other form. We don't know what they will do yet—but regardless, I felt you must know this in advance and be prepared to respond."
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