That team, which had traveled hundreds of miles from the North to Crown Town, ostensibly merchants but actually informants, disappeared without a sound. In the Gift, with people coming and going, unreliable rumors and news flying everywhere, a nameless fire pressed down in the hearts of many residents, and an epic expedition about to begin at this chaotic juncture, no one cared about the whereabouts or fate of these outsiders.
And the renowned Commander of Castle Black, Jon Snow, who had been sent by Aegor to Winterfell after the Battle of Long Lake to collect supplies, was delayed by dozens of hours compared to the informants, despite setting out earlier, because he was escorting a convoy loaded with saltpeter and Dragon Crystal weapons and hauling a great many supplies. Fortunately, the journey was smooth, and he finally managed to reach Crown Town, which was about to become the eye of the storm, and complete the task given by the Lord Commander.
After handing the supplies over to the Chief Logistics officials in the inner castle, Jon went to the core area of the castle and insisted on seeing Aegor immediately, despite the guards' reminders and persuasion that the Lord Commander was very busy.
To be honest, Aegor should not have been in the mood to receive a proper Night's Watch brother like Jon at this time. Although they all wore black, bore the same label, and were nominally sworn brothers, in essence he and many of the Night's Watch were on completely different paths. Those noble souls who thought only of keeping their vows and had no other desire than to guard the Wall could not only contribute nothing to the cause he was fighting for, they even had motive and reason to dislike him, betray him, or even assassinate him.
In such a situation, dealing too much with them had almost no expected benefit, while consuming time and bringing considerable risk, something no sensible person would willingly do.
But Jon was different. Aegor had no reason to refuse to see him. First, Jon had not abandoned his post at the Wall in defiance of orders, but had gone with the South Expedition to carry out Aegor's commands and had now successfully returned. Second, their private relationship was close. Before the South Expedition truly began, Jon might have come to persuade him to give up, but he would never come to kill him. Third, and most directly, as someone who had, according to Old Flayer's informants, participated in half of the Northern Lords' meeting, Aegor wanted to hear what had happened in Winterfell that day directly from someone who was there, in order to try and reconstruct the truth.
Soon, the Commander of Castle Black, who had, without exception, surrendered his weapon, was brought into the Lord Commander's office and received as he wished.
After a long period of questioning and narration, Aegor roughly grasped the situation of the meeting from his younger brother's account, then began pressing for specific details, asking again and again to make sure there were no errors in the information passed between them.
"So, Robb Stark initially invited you to this meeting because he hoped you could act as a spokesman, provide them with internal news about the Night's Watch, and might even lead the effort to deal with me. Is that right?"
"Yes, but I stated my views directly and successfully persuaded Robb Stark..."
Aegor waved his hand, showing he did not care about the later, subjective parts, and continued with his questioning.
"Then, halfway through the meeting, Roose Bolton used the excuse that you were an outsider and drove you out. Is that right?"
"It was not Roose Bolton who drove me out, I chose to leave on my own," Jon shook his head. "I am a man of the Night's Watch now, after all. It is reasonable for me to state my views, then allow the Northern lords to discuss their final decision among themselves. Besides, after the meeting, a guard I have known since childhood came to tell me the result. After their discussion, the Northern lords decided to accept your terms and remain neutral."
Such a young man.
When he says you are an outsider, you agree that you are an outsider? What difference is there between that and being forced out by tactics because you cannot stay, or being directly thrown out? And you even speak for Roose Bolton, saying it was reasonable?
Jon had grown a great deal in the years since he joined the Night's Watch, but perhaps there were some things he was destined never to learn. Aegor shook his head helplessly, amused but unable to laugh. He understood Jon too well. Unless it was for a cause he considered absolutely noble and right, the man was almost incapable of lying. Aegor had not yet done anything truly bad, so there was no way he could become some villain in Jon's eyes who needed to be deceived. It was clear that Jon's account of the events was trustworthy, and if so...
Jon had brought back the news that "the North agreed to be neutral", which matched what Old Flayer's messenger had reported. But aside from that point, there were several places where the two sides' accounts seemed similar, yet were actually worlds apart.
When Robb Stark first asked Jon to attend the meeting, he had no way of knowing that his bastard brother would firmly support Aegor and argue in favor of his policies. So the claim that Robb Stark instructed the lords to put on a show in front of Jon Snow did not stand.
If that single point was not significant enough, then Roose Bolton openly declaring that Jon Snow was an outsider and implying he should not remain at the meeting, only to later send someone to inform him of the result, made it impossible not to suspect something else. Perhaps Old Flayer had, on one hand, pushed Robb Stark to formulate a sound countermeasure against Aegor, and on the other, immediately sold Robb out by informing Aegor himself, stirring up both sides, not only provoking a war between the Gift and the North, but also hoping to profit from both ends at once by changing allegiance.
If he did not already know the rough outline of the story, then even with Aegor's suspicious nature he would not dare to jump to such a shocking conclusion so quickly. But now, this strategy of being utterly loyal as long as he does nothing, and going to ruthless extremes as soon as he acts, was that not Roose Bolton's style?
The Boltons of the Dreadfort, once kings in ancient times, wanted to overthrow the Wolf family that had pressed them down like a mountain and make themselves masters again. This motive, how could Aegor, who was also trying to cast off his black cloak and change his fate, fail to understand, or even empathize with it? If Roose Bolton had come to him frankly to seek a place by the Queen's side, Aegor might have agreed to accept him and negotiate a suitable price. But Bolton ultimately had not done so. Worse, he had committed two great taboos.
First, he had tried to harm Aegor's friends. Aegor was about to become an enemy of House Stark, but being both enemy and friend was hardly unthinkable. The two sides stood opposed because of differing beliefs and interests. That was fate, but Aegor had never once thought of harming them, let alone destroying their line.
Second, he had tried to trick, toy with, or control Aegor himself. Everyone has their own quirks and sore spots. Bolton had underestimated his mind and his pride, wanting to use the Gift and the Night's Watch that he had managed for so long, his proud career and trump card, as his weapon. In truth, this was even more unforgivable than the first taboo.
Of these two taboos, either one was enough to make Aegor furious and hostile, to turn his guest away. Now Old Flayer had broken both, completely stirring his killing intent.
His rage shot to the clouds in a heartbeat, then plunged into the chasm of reason. After adjusting his breathing and letting out a long sigh to calm himself, Aegor smiled and nodded at Jon Snow.
"All right, I have a rough sense of what that meeting in Winterfell was like. Let us not talk about that mess any more. Your mission with the South Expedition has been completed very well this time. To collect so much Dragonglass and saltpeter in such a short time and arrange their delivery back to the Gift, I can imagine how hard that was. Rest for a day here in Crown Town, then return to Castle Black and continue your duties as commander. Oh, and since you are here, I do not need to send an order to Castle Black. In the upcoming expedition, I would like you to lead the Night's Watch of Castle Black, go Beyond the Wall first, and act as vanguard of the central army. If you have no questions, go back and prepare."
The so called vanguard of the expeditionary army was, of course, only a pretext. The true purpose of this arrangement was to temporarily send away those Night's Watch who had both motive and ability to start incidents that could shake his rule, so that the Gift could safely pass through the short, most dangerous and unstable window between leading the army away from Crown Town and settling the North to officially begin the South Expedition. And to make it look real, there was no better method than to have the highest commander from each fortress personally lead the way. Even though he did not think Jon Snow would betray him, Aegor still made this arrangement.
He had prepared himself to face questions and doubts, and had already thought through how he would persuade Jon Snow to accept the order. But Jon's reaction was somewhat different from what he had expected.
Jon showed no reaction to this sudden appointment, merely gave a simple "Mmm", then remained seated where he was, frowning and silent, looking as though there was something he wanted to say but could not, as if deeply troubled by some great problem.
"Is there anything else?" Aegor asked in a gentle tone, though he secretly felt a flicker of unease at the other's strangeness, and even could not help glancing toward the sword hilt beneath the table.
Because he believed Jon Snow would not turn against him, Aegor had not brought anyone else into this meeting. But if his judgment was wrong, if this boy had actually...
"No..." Jon blurted out, then shook his head as if making a great decision. "No, actually, yes."
He took a deep breath.
"My Lord, you know that I am the bastard son born when my father, Eddard Stark, had an improper relationship with an unknown southern woman while he was in the South for the War of the Usurper. I am the product of desire and sin. Everyone, myself included, has believed this firmly for many years. But not long ago, someone I deeply respect told me that this is not the truth."
These words came out of nowhere and contained nothing concrete, but Aegor understood at once what had happened. His pupils widened slightly, and he cursed inwardly.
What the f*ck.
(To be continued.)