Benjen shook his head. "Not now... When the situation beyond the Wall is clearer, I might go to Winterfell again."
"I came to say goodbye."
"You know, the Night's Watch is poor. You saved my life, but I have nothing to repay you."
"After much thought, I can only give you a student."
With that, Jon stepped forward, saluting Aldric with a hand over his chest. "Hello, Commander Aldric."
Aldric looked at the uncle and nephew, amused. "Giving Jon to me as a student probably isn't just to thank me, right?"
Benjen laughed. "Haha, of course not."
Then he turned serious. "Last night, after Jaremy returned to the council room and relayed your Sun God doctrine, the Old Bear decided the An'she faith isn't suitable for spreading within the Night's Watch yet."
"But the Wall needs this power to counter the growing threat beyond."
"So we hope you accept Jon as your student... If you agree, the Night's Watch will forever be a friend of the Silver Hand."
Aldric asked, "In what capacity does he join the Silver Hand? Night's Watchman, or the Lord's bastard?"
"Night's Watchman. Last night, the Old Bear and I witnessed his vows personally."
Young Jon was decent, and building a good relationship with the Night's Watch wasn't bad.
But Aldric wanted the person's opinion. He turned to Jon. "Jon, becoming a mercenary means you could die on the battlefield any day. Aren't you afraid?"
Jon said helplessly, "Same thing. Rangers die in the Haunted Forest too."
Aldric smiled. "All men must die. Then come with me."
With Aldric's permission, Benjen relaxed, patting Jon's shoulder. "Kid, work hard with Commander Aldric. Remember my words: obey his orders as you would mine."
Jon nodded gently. "I understand, Uncle."
Soon, Tyrion Lannister and his two servants arrived with their horses at the courtyard.
Learning Jon Snow would join Aldric's Silver Hand as a Night's Watchman, countless question marks popped up in Tyrion's head.
"Commander Aldric, you seem to have encountered some very interesting things in the Haunted Forest. Maybe share with me when you're free?"
Aldric perfunctorily agreed, "Next time, definitely next time."
Out of respect for the King and House Lannister, the Old Bear sent three Black Brothers to escort Tyrion safely to Winterfell.
Yoren, the Wandering Crow, also finished resting and prepared to travel the Seven Kingdoms again.
So when Tyrion left Castle Black, the group was larger than when they arrived.
Leaving the Wall, magical power fell silent again. The temperature rose slightly—though still bone-chilling.
This trip to the Wall, Aldric not only saw the majestic, cold scenery beyond and the true threat, but also gained the Night's Watch's friendship, a student, and a cute pet bear. Overall, no regrets.
Although Jon Snow was still a stranger to him, both student and teacher tacitly kept this unfamiliarity in their hearts.
As Aldric's first disciple, Kevin was very dissatisfied with the Night's Watch force-feeding a student to Aldric.
But after talking with his teacher, he dropped his grudge and accepted Jon as his junior brother.
As his teacher said, "Our cause is destined to be great and difficult. Countless enemies will block our way. Every friendship is precious. Don't push friends to the enemy's side. Always remember, compared to our cause, our personal likes and dislikes are trivial."
One evening after leaving the Gift, Tyrion let his servants prepare dinner and strolled over to Aldric. Watching Kevin and Jon spar with wooden swords in the wilderness, with the direwolf and bear cub playing nearby, he sighed, "Jon is a good lad. Becoming your student is his luck, and yours."
Aldric shook his head slowly. "Not yet. Only when Jon accepts the An'she doctrine from his heart will he be my true student."
Tyrion turned, looking into Aldric's eyes. "The Sun God's doctrine... I overheard some while you taught them these two days."
"Are you serious? Liberty, Equality, Fraternity... laughable."
"Am I, a dwarf, equal to a big guy like you?"
"Do you really think the robbers, thieves, and murderers Yoren collected... are equal to us?"
Aldric looked back, firm. "Though I am a commoner and you a noble, under the Sun's radiance, we are equal. If those criminals truly atone, they are equal to other ordinary people too."
Tyrion chuckled. "If such a world existed, it would be great. But sadly, we both know it's impossible."
"Men are born unequal. Some strong, some weak. Some born to inherit thrones, some only unpayable debts."
"Too naive, Aldric. If An'she's doctrine is this childish, your sect won't grow on this continent."
Without waiting for a response, he climbed into his carriage to read.
Aldric looked at the endless wilderness, whispering, "It exists, Tyrion. My grandmother saw it with her own eyes..."
The journey from the Wall back to Winterfell took nearly a month.
As a guest of the Lord, Tyrion had to report his safety to Winterfell's acting lord. After all, the Heir to the Westerlands disappearing in the North was no small matter.
Yoren and the three brothers also needed to see the Northern ruler to explain their presence south of the Wall, avoiding misunderstanding as deserters. Jon, as a sworn brother, had to go too.
Only Aldric, Kevin, and Rennel were negligible add-ons. They didn't ask permission to leave, so they didn't need to report back.
So entering the Winter Town from the Kingsroad, the group parted ways.
Aldric's trio drove the wagon back to the Blacksmith's Courtyard. Pushing open the heavy wooden gate, aside from more carpentry tools and half-finished furniture, nothing changed. This familiarity warmed the hearts of the three who had traveled for over two months.
Leaving Kevin to unpack, Aldric and Rennel went to the large house converted into a Sept, finding Brother John talking to a middle-aged man.
Seeing John working, they sat obediently in the back corner, waiting quietly.
Only after the believer bowed and left did John show a delighted expression. "Aldric, Rennel, when did you get back?"
Rennel laughed. "Just walked in and came to see you. Miss us?"
John sighed. "Of course... I often prayed to the Seven for your safety. Being alone in this yard is really boring."
Aldric was puzzled. "Bored? Before we left, didn't many believers come here?"
"Gone. After the King took the Ice Spider, fewer people came. This is the North after all... sigh..."
Rennel comforted, "Haha, don't be sad. Later, have Aldric make a good meal to comfort you."
John remembered something. "By the way, didn't you send Conrad and Eddie to recruit? They returned with men two weeks ago. They asked me to tell you the new recruits are settled by the river where you forged Kevin's armor. Go there as soon as you return."
"I must go see."
Aldric turned to leave, calling Kevin to head to the river.
From the courtyard to the river was a ten-minute walk.
Through the messy forest, Aldric saw tents pitched beside the forge, forming a small camp.
In the clearing, Conrad and Eddie were guiding two youths sparring with wooden swords. Others watched with folded arms.
Approaching, Aldric greeted his comrades. "Conrad, Eddie, Juan!"
Hearing Aldric, the three instructed the recruits and gathered around.
"Commander, you're back."
Eddie shook Aldric's hand. "How was the Wall? As magnificent as legends say?"
Aldric nodded. "Yes, three times higher than Winterfell's walls. Truly spectacular. I'll tell you about the journey later. Introduce the new brothers first; I can't wait."
Eddie nodded, turned to the gathered youths, and shouted, "Brothers, this is the 'Spider Slayer' Aldric Seres I told you about, Commander of the Silver Hand. He just returned from the Wall. Come meet him."
Stopping practice, the recruits gathered, bowing or raising fists to salute Aldric.
Aldric pressed his hands down. When the noise settled, he cleared his throat. "Comrades, I am Aldric Seres. As Commander of the Silver Hand, I sincerely welcome you."
"Before coming to Westeros, I led a fifty-man mercenary group back home to countless proud victories."
"So doubt not, in Westeros, I will lead you from one victory to another!"
"Today is our first meeting. Introduce yourselves so we know each other."
He pointed to a bearded young warrior on the right. "Start with you. Name, weapon, proudest achievement."
The warrior checked left and right, confirmed it was him, stepped forward. "I am Kili, from Clan Liddle. Axe and round shield. Proudest achievement: killed a wild boar alone."
"Good. Next."
"I am Kane, from Clan Pennington. Axe and round shield. Proudest achievement: killed a bastard from Clan Condon with my brother."
Oh, killed people.
Aldric glanced at Eddie. Eddie raised an eyebrow, signaling reassurance.
Aldric understood, didn't probe, and encouraged the next.
As everyone spoke, Aldric sketched the outline of this new recruit platoon:
As Eddie described, these mountain clan youths were simple and unworldly.
Though some experienced clan conflicts, most "combat" experience was limited to fighting beasts. Blood and courage stories mostly revolved around animal blood and survival.
They joined for a richer life. All had some weapon skill: spear, shield-axe, bow.
Whether relatively or absolutely skilled, Aldric didn't mind.
After a few battles, they'd get skilled. If unfit for combat, logistics or cooking was fine.
But whether these proud youths would obey him, Aldric wasn't sure. He decided to show off and assert dominance.
He picked up a practice staff and addressed the recruits. "First meeting today. I believe you have doubts about my qualification and ability to lead you to victory. Words are weak. Let's make a bet."
He took out five Silver Stags. "Starting now, I give you the time of one song. Form teams freely to challenge me."
"No matter how many in a team, I fight alone."
"If you win, these five Stags are yours."
"But each person challenges only once. You decide how to team up."
Aldric's words caused an uproar.
Five Silver Stags was a lot for these mountain warriors.
They gathered in twos and threes, discussing heatedly.
Some called friends; some tried to form a massive team.
Some felt ganging up was unfair and chose to go solo.
Aldric listened quietly, noting each recruit's performance, assessing character, intelligence, and relationships, mentally assigning roles.
When discussion ended, seventeen men formed several teams. The largest had four; the smallest, one.
Aldric looked at the eager recruits and asked Conrad, "You three not forming a team? Five Silver Stags."
Conrad looked askance. "For what? Getting beaten for free? Forget it."