After a night's rest in White Tree Village, the two Ranger teams from Black Castle and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea continued their journey north to the next stronghold.
Although Lynd had stated his purpose for coming Beyond the Wall last night, both Benjen Stark and Mance Rayder simply took his words as a joke.
Because the snow in the forest was too deep, the team did not travel directly through the forest. Instead, they walked north for about half a day until they reached the banks of a river called Ghost Fork River.
Compared to the thick, soft snow in the forest, the snow by the river was clearly much harder and would not sink very deep when stepped on. The only thing to watch out for was avoiding stepping into small pits by the river that were buried under the snow.
The team continued west along the riverbank, discovering several more abandoned wildling camps along the way. However, unlike the cannibal tribe's wildling camp they had found earlier, these abandoned wildling camps were somewhat unusual.
This was because not only were the treehouses in these camps intact, but also various daily necessities, weapons, and food were still in them, as if the people in these abandoned camps had suddenly and inexplicably abandoned everything and left without taking anything.
These bizarre situations made the Rangers feel a touch of tension. They also lost interest in talking, returning to a state of silence, cautiously observing their surroundings.
Because the path was easier to travel, their speed increased significantly. Before dark, they had already reached Kraste's stronghold.
Although called a stronghold, it was merely a house built from branches and mud. It was situated on a small hill, surrounded by a dirt wall. From the outside, it looked so crude that it couldn't even compare to any farmer's home in The Reach.
"Crows, there are too many of you. Not all of you can enter!" When the team arrived at the dirt wall's entrance, Kraste blocked their path, his face grim, and said.
Kraste, with his white hair, was not only fierce in appearance, but his broad body and strong arms all indicated that he still possessed formidable combat power. Neither Benjen nor Mance could easily defeat him.
Although Kraste's attitude was somewhat harsh, as one of the few wildlings north of the Wall who could be called a friend of the Night's Watch, Benjen and his men showed him great tolerance. So they agreed that only a few people would enter, while the others would set up camp in the courtyard within the wall.
Kraste looked at the few people Benjen had chosen to enter the house. When he saw Lynd in the crowd, he couldn't help but be stunned. After all, Lynd's attire was completely different from the black cloaks of the Night's Watch around him, making him stand out too much.
"Who is he?" Kraste pointed at Lynd and asked in a deep voice, "He shouldn't be one of your Crows? Who is he?"
"This is Lord Linde Terra, the Earl of Summerhall. He has come Beyond the Wall for a certain matter, but it's inconvenient to say what it is." Benjen gave a brief introduction but did not reveal Lynd's other identity.
Kraste scrutinized Lynd, his eyes filled with jealousy, yet his tone was contemptuous as he said, "A Southern Earl, how rare! To actually walk Beyond the Wall in steel armor and not freeze to death, you truly are..."
"Kraste, shut your foul mouth! Lord Linde is not someone you can insult as you please!" In the crowd, a devout follower of the Seven Gods couldn't help but shout angrily.
Other Rangers who believed Lynd was the incarnation of the Seven Gods also glared at Kraste after their companion's rebuke.
Feeling that he had incurred public wrath, Kraste was somewhat surprised. He looked at Lynd again, then stubbornly said, "This is my territory! I can say whatever I want to whoever I want!"
He then said nothing more about Lynd, turning and walking back into the house. Benjen and Mance gestured for their men to set up a temporary camp in the courtyard, while the others who had been chosen entered the house together.
Upon entering the house, everyone picked up the bread placed next to the house, dipped it in a little salt, and ate it. Kraste's wives also brought salt and bread out to the other Rangers, but Lynd did not eat.
Seeing Lynd's action, neither Benjen nor Mance showed any surprise. This was because the bread Kraste provided was truly terrible, practically a pile of sawdust kneaded into a ball, and the salt was bitter. They assumed Lynd must have found the food too poor, which was why he didn't touch it.
After all, after Lynd produced that box of spice powder, which was worth as much as gold yesterday, they viewed Lynd as the kind of noble who had extremely high demands for food and lodging.
And Kraste said nothing either, because in his view, Lynd had come with the others, and since the others had eaten for so long, it meant their guest rights had been established. Whether Lynd ate or not was irrelevant.
Moreover, in the past, there had been Night's Watchmen who hadn't eaten bread and salt, and nothing had happened. So, in his mind, unless he made the first move, the Night's Watch would never attack him, whether guest rights were established or not.
Compared to the outside, it was much warmer inside the house. In the center of the house's great hall, a hearth built of stones neatly held a dozen logs. A large fire ignited the logs, radiating heat outwards, making the entire interior warm to the point of being somewhat stuffy.
Kraste sat on the only chair in the entire hall, enjoying the food his wife brought him, completely disregarding the other people in the house.
The Rangers were long accustomed to Kraste's behavior and said nothing. They took out the food they had prepared, placed it over the fire to warm, and went about their business.
Some of the deer meat that hadn't been finished yesterday was also put into the pot to stew. Soon, the aroma of the spice powder mixed with the meat wafted from the pot. Kraste, who had never smelled such a fragrance, couldn't help but put down the food in his hand, looking at the contents of the pot and swallowing his saliva.
His wives also craned their necks to look into the pot.
One very young girl couldn't help but walk over and ask, "What's in here?"
"This is spice from across Across the Narrow Sea, more expensive than gold," a young Ranger replied, then scooped a spoonful of broth with meat chunks from the pot into the wooden bowl in the girl's hand.
Before the girl could drink the fragrant soup in the wooden bowl, Kraste yelled at her, "You stinking woman, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and bring it to me."
An inner fear made the girl's body tremble. She then lowered her head and handed the wooden bowl to Kraste.
The young Ranger couldn't help but frown, but said nothing.
Kraste took the wooden bowl without ceremony and immediately took a sip, an expression of surprise appearing on his face. Then he simply poured all the soup and meat chunks from the bowl into his own bowl, mixing them with the food already inside.
Then, while eating the contents of his bowl, he said to the young Ranger, "Boy, you'd best behave yourself and not touch my things without permission. Otherwise, I'll chop off your head and hang it on a tree outside, so everyone knows Kraste's things are not to be touched."
Hearing Kraste's threat, the Ranger's face showed annoyance. He was about to stand up and say something, but Mance held him down.
Seeing Mance's action, Kraste smiled triumphantly, as if he had won a great victory.
Lynd paid no attention to the dispute before him. After entering the house, he looked at the infant cradled in one of Kraste's wives' arms. This wife, however, did not seem happy about her child's birth; instead, she looked miserable, as if the child was about to die.
This scene reminded Lynd of something: Kraste would sacrifice every one of his sons to the Others, and the time of sacrifice was usually during a blizzard.
Thinking of this, Lynd couldn't help but look outside. Although it was only a cold wind blowing now, judging by the sky and the gradually strengthening wind, a blizzard should appear tonight. It seemed Kraste's sacrifice of his son might be tonight.
Late at night, the blizzard arrived as expected. However, because they were prepared beforehand, the Rangers cleared the courtyard on the leeward side of the house and lit a huge bonfire there, which kept them warm even in the snowstorm.
Although it was much warmer inside the house than outside, Lynd and the others did not stay inside. This was because after the blizzard appeared, one of Kraste's wives had been crying continuously, even with the comfort of the other wives. Kraste, as if accustomed to it, sat by the bonfire drinking wine, completely ignoring his weeping wife.
The continuous crying made the atmosphere in the house very awkward and stressful. Benjen and Mance could not interfere in other people's family matters, and the crying was indeed annoying, making it impossible to sleep. They could only leave the house and go to the bonfire outside. In their opinion, the sound of the wind around them was more reassuring than a woman's crying.
In the early morning, among the Rangers, except for the two on watch who remained awake and continuously added firewood to the bonfire, Benjen and the others were all asleep. The intermittent snores were scattered by the cold wind as soon as they arose.
Lynd leaned against the wall of the house, appearing to be asleep, but in reality, he was constantly listening to the movements within the wall.
Inside the house, the infant's mother had already cried herself unconscious. Kraste's other wives were tending to her. A little girl, only five or six years old, sat by the bonfire, holding her younger brother, at a loss.
At this moment, Kraste, who had been drinking wine by the bonfire all night, stood up. He put on his cloak, took the infant directly from the little girl's arms, said nothing, lifted the deerskin door curtain, and walked out.
After stepping outside, Kraste looked at where the Rangers were resting. He did not leave through the main entrance but walked to the low wall and climbed over it. Although he was old, his movements were still agile, and he made no sound when climbing over the wall. The Night's Watch on duty did not notice anything unusual.
As Kraste carried the infant into the forest, Lynd also stood up, walked outside the wall, and entered the forest.
The Night's Watch on duty thought Lynd was going to relieve himself, so they had no reaction. Moreover, in their opinion, given Lynd's strength, there would be no danger even in the forest.
Upon entering the forest, Lynd channeled the power of the Ice Dragon Rune to his feet. This allowed him to instantly freeze the soft loose snow when stepping on it, enabling him to walk on the loose snow as if on solid ground, doing so completely silently.
He could even form ice skates directly on his feet, allowing him to glide across the snow. These were small tricks that the Lost Country Knight, who lived in ice and snow year-round, excelled at.
However, as soon as he thought of the opponents he might encounter later, he chose the method that consumed the least Dragon Rune magic, saving the rest of his magic for emergencies.
After Lynd entered the forest, Glory also emerged from the trees and followed by Lynd's side. Man and beast followed Kraste from a distance, crossing the now-frozen Ghost Fork River and entering the forest on the opposite bank.
After walking for about another ten minutes, a clearing appeared in the forest. In the center of the clearing was a completely withered weirwood tree. All the branches at its top were dry and broken, with only the main trunk relatively intact, though its surface was covered in cracks. Some of these cracks extended deep into the heart of the tree, tearing the weirwood from the inside out.
The weirwood's face, however, was perfectly preserved, but a large amount of sap flowed from its eyes and mouth. This sap was red, making it look as if the tree was bleeding from its seven orifices. Anyone seeing this sight would involuntarily think that the weirwood had suffered greatly before its death.
In front of the weirwood's face was a simple altar built of stone. Ancient runes of the First Men were carved on the altar, and four candles were placed at its four corners.
After placing the infant on the altar, Kraste lit the candles at the four corners of the altar.
These candles were clearly made of special materials. Even with the cold wind raging around them, the candle flames remained extremely steady, showing no signs of extinguishing.
After lighting the candles, Kraste hurriedly turned and left.
After Kraste left, Lynd had Glory patrol the surroundings, while he walked out of the trees and came before the altar, looking at the infant on the altar and the ancient runes carved into it.
At this moment, footsteps sounded behind Lynd. Then, Kraste, who had left earlier, emerged from the forest again, an axe in his hand.
"Southern noble boy, you shouldn't be so curious. You should stay obediently by the bonfire," Kraste glared at Lynd fiercely, saying in a low voice, "It's alright, it will be over soon. The Lord will like you as a sacrifice..."
Kraste's words were not yet finished when Glory appeared behind him, biting his neck clean off, and then turned and returned to the forest.
From the moment he arrived at Kraste's stronghold, Lynd had no intention of letting this beast Kraste live. If he hadn't needed Kraste to lead him to the altar and help him draw out the Others, he would have dealt with him the moment he first saw him.
He had just ordered Glory to deal with Kraste in the forest, but he hadn't expected Kraste to be so brave as to run back. However, the final outcome remained unchanged.
Lynd did not dispose of Kraste's body; he still needed the corpse for something.
At this moment, the infant in the swaddling clothes, perhaps awakened by the cold, suddenly began to cry. And the ancient runes on the altar slab began to glow with a faint light, the flames at the top of the four surrounding candles turning from red to silver-blue.
The Others had arrived.
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