"Nine long summers have passed; indeed, winter is approaching." Ed's expression was as cold as frozen earth.
"It's the White Walkers, sir, the White Walkers are here."
Ed looked at the Mountain with amusement in his eyes.
"Before coming to King's Landing, the Lord personally beheaded a runaway Night's Watchman on the execution stake outside Wolfwood. His name was Will, from Seafront City in the Riverlands. He was a thief and a very experienced Night's Watch Ranger."
Ed's eyes widened, and his eyebrows stood on end.
This was within the Mountain's expectations.
The Mountain, being in the West, had absolutely no reason to know about this.
"He was caught in the wolf forest by the adults' free riders. In the adults' eyes, he was just a cowardly, incoherent idiot, and neurotic. Did he tell the adults that he saw the White Ghost?"
Ed was completely speechless!
*
Before him appeared a small hill, upon which stood a manor. But this was not a manor; it was the Stark family's execution ground. A dent ran down the middle of the black execution stake, where condemned prisoners rested their necks. The stake itself wasn't black; rather, it was stained black by the blood of the condemned year after year, eventually turning this massive piece of wood into a foul-smelling black.
Before the executioner's stake stood an old man—though he was not actually very old—thin and emaciated, barely taller than Robb, his hands bound tightly behind his back. He had lost both ears to frostbite from the bitter cold. He was dressed entirely in black, exactly like the uniforms of the Night's Watch brothers, only tattered and covered in festering sores.
Eddard ordered the prisoners to be untied. With each exhale, a puff of white mist formed at their noses—it was incredibly cold. Eddard glanced at the children: Robb and Jon sat upright, proudly straddling their saddles; Bran rode between them on his pony. This was Bran's first time witnessing an execution, and he tried hard to project a maturity beyond his seven years. A gentle breeze blew through the gates, and the Stark banner of Winterfell, adorned with the Wild Wolf, fluttered above them.
Eddard Stark removed his gloves, and his adopted son, Theon Greyjoy, immediately handed him the sword. Named "Ice," it was the Stark family sword, wider than a hand's breadth, and taller than Robb when standing upright. The blade was forged from Valyrian steel, enchanted, and its color as dark as black smoke. Nothing in the world was sharper than Valyrian steel.
Ed held his sword with both hands and said, "Before your execution, deserter, is there anything you wish to say?"
"My lord, I am not a coward. I come from Haijiang City. I have an older brother and an older sister. If possible, please pass on a message to my family that I have not disgraced my family because of cowardice. I saw the White Demons. It's true. They killed my companions. I am not lying. My lord, they are here. The White Demons are here."
No one believed the deserter, including Ed himself. When a person is facing death, fear prevents them from knowing what they are saying.
Eddard refused to listen to the wretched deserter's ramblings any longer. He proclaimed loudly, "In the name of Robert I of House Baratheon, King of the Andals, Rhoynar, and First Men, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Warden of the Realm, I, Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, hereby sentence you to death." With that, he raised his greatsword high above his head.
The deserter placed the executioner's cross on his neck and muttered, "The White Ghost, the White Ghost is coming! Run! Everyone, run! Head south! The White Ghost is coming! The White Ghost..."
Snap!
The greatsword of ice fell, the deserter's head rolled to the ground, landing at Theon Greyjoy's feet, where the man kicked the head a considerable distance. Eddard noticed that Theon's actions greatly displeased Jon Snow.
*
The Mountain stared at Eddard's face, as cold as the frozen earth of the North, and slowly said, "The White Walkers that Will spoke of are the Others. He saw them with his own eyes and fled the Wall in terror. He and two others went out on patrol. The officer accompanying him was named Weimar Royce, seventeen years old, the youngest son of Bronze Yorn of the Vale. Because he refused to fight with his brothers for land and property, he volunteered to become a member of the Night's Watch at the Wall."
"A veteran named Gary, who had served on the Wall for forty years, was the most experienced Ranger; and Will, a Ranger with unparalleled stealth skills who had served on the Wall for four years, was ordered to enter the Ghostwood. Weimar and Gary were killed by the White Ghosts, and Will was so frightened that he fled south across the Wall. He was supposed to go back to report to Commander Mormont, but he did not. He was terrified, sir."
Ed kept swallowing. He remembered that the deserter's name was something like Will, and that guy kept saying "white ghost, white ghost."
Gary? Weemal? Will didn't mention either of their names before he died.
"My lord, you have captured Will. Will told you he saw the White Walkers, but you didn't believe him, just as you don't want to believe the Mountain now. Winter is coming, my lord! The White Walkers are coming. If they breach the Wall, the Stark people will be the first to be slaughtered. Why was the Wall built? Think about it, why build a wall a thousand miles long?"
The Mountain paused, carefully examining Eddard's facial expression: "The Wall wasn't originally built to stop the Wildlings from moving south. So what was the Wall meant to stop? My guess is that Brandon Stark, who built it, must have written the secret into his family tree. But eight thousand years have passed, and that secret has eventually become a family motto. Now, all that's left is a proverb: Winter is coming!"
"How did you know the White Ghost was here?" Ed stared at the Mountain, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.
He didn't know that Will, Gary, and Weimar Royce were patrolling the Ghost Forest together. The terrified 'old man' couldn't get many things out of his head, and the only thing he kept repeating was "White Ghost, White Ghost, White Ghost."
"Don't ask me how I know, Lord Eddard. You should investigate whether Will, whom you beheaded, has two companions who are missing and still haven't been found. Send a raven to the Wall, and Lord Commander Mormont will reply." The Mountain stood up, looking down at Eddard. "My lord, I suggest you stop investigating Jon Arryn. Your focus should be on the North. The White Walkers are coming, and the wildlings of the North will march south in droves to escape, attacking the Wall. If you continue investigating Jon Arryn, you will die, and all your guards, grooms, treasurer, Sister Mordan, blacksmith, and butcher boy Michael will all die, die a horrible death."
A fire ignited in Eddard's eyes, and he stood up abruptly: "Sir Gregor, the Lannisters have finally sent you to threaten us in person. The Northmen are unyielding to the death and have never been afraid."
The Mountain chuckled: "My lord, I'll say it again, I wasn't sent by the Lannisters. As for the North's unwavering spirit and fearlessness, I believe it. But what will happen to your two daughters after you die? The Red Keep is full of liars and schemers, who can they trust? My lord, you should focus on the North and the Wall, because winter is coming, and the White Walkers are coming."
"Sir Gregor, please leave!" Ed's face was ashen, and his tone was sharp as a knife.
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The Mountain stared at Eddard Stark, then turned and walked out. He ducked down and squeezed through the doorway, stopping and burying his head inside the door frame. "My Lord Hand," he said, "you may soon meet a man in black. He's a recruiter from the dungeons of King's Landing. Ask him about Will, Gary, and Weemar Royce."
"Lord Gregor, you need not concern yourself with what I should do or how I should do it. Tell your master that anyone who dares to harm my daughter will surely regret it."
The Mountain shrugged, snorted, and turned away.
Listening to the Mountain's footsteps as he descended the spiral staircase, exited the corridor, entered the courtyard, and exited the Prime Minister's Tower, until the footsteps were completely gone, Ed remained standing, motionless.
The Lannisters were far too arrogant, daring to send the Mountain to threaten him directly and implying that they would use his two daughters to blackmail him. Eddard was filled with rage, and if it weren't for his status as Hand of the King, he would have restrained himself from drawing his sword.
The Lannisters... are just... too arrogant!
But how could the Mountain know about the beheading of the deserter?
That day, there were only twenty followers, and they were absolutely loyal guards of the family.
Will had almost completely forgotten what he said that day if the Mountain hadn't brought it up today!
How could the Mountain know... Will and the White Walker?
Was he implying that there was a traitor among them? Or was it that a wizard had given the Mountain a... great prophecy?