The wildfire, mixed with a large amount of lamp oil and asphalt, had lost its explosive force. In an ordinary castle siege, a single fireball would never have been enough to stop attackers from climbing and assaulting other parts of the wall. But when it came to the special defensive structure of the Wall of Despair... where the only viable breakthrough was the gate, a mass of strange green flame covering that entrance became the most effective defense.
The wildlings made no effort to extinguish the blaze despite the attacks from above, and the roaring green fire was clearly not going to burn out anytime soon. Now, it was time to support the Night's Watch on the ground.
"Leave twenty men here. Blow the horn if anything happens!" Aegor shouted, selecting a row of old, weak, and sickly men to stay on guard and continue watching. "Everyone else, take up your weapons and head down to assist the brothers below!"
Since he wasn't certain of the situation on the ground, Aegor waited for the first group to descend before taking the soldiers under the logistics department down by elevator. To his relief, the fighting was almost over, and he wouldn't have to engage in combat himself.
…
One of the towers was burning. Corpses were everywhere. People were moving in every direction. Fortunately, most of those still moving wore black. The low wooden palisades and makeshift barricades had done little to stop the attackers from entering, but they did cause problems for the wildlings as they tried to retreat. From where Aegor stood, he saw two wildlings stabbed in the back by brothers of the Night's Watch as they tried to climb the walls and flee.
Scattered groups of Watchmen searched through the towers and buildings, hunting for any wildlings who may have slipped through and remained in hiding. Castle Black had not been fully cleared, but the battle was effectively over.
The next tasks were to extinguish the flames, tend to the wounded, and tally the losses on both sides. The craftsmen and officers sheathed their weapons and began post-battle cleanup.
Jaime approached, blood still on his sword. After the brutal fight, he had finally shaken off the weight of his earlier mistakes. His expression was no longer numb.
"This cursed place... is it always this lively?"
"Of course not," Aegor replied, knowing well how such a brutal welcome could frighten newcomers. Jaime and his guards had no choice, but if the young men of the logistics corps, who had not yet sworn themselves, decided to back out in fear, he'd be in real trouble again. "This battle happened entirely because of a failure in command. Now that I'm back, I won't give the wildlings another chance to attack us from both sides again."
"Being attacked on two fronts isn't the worst part… This is the Night's Watch headquarters. Can't Castle Black build a proper wall?" The Kingslayer looked both confused and annoyed. "There are so many unused towers here. Just tear down a few and use the rubble and dirt to raise a proper barricade."
…
Jaime speaking up was a good sign. Aegor certainly wouldn't oppose his suggestion. He shrugged and said, "I'll pass your suggestion along to Lord Commander Mormont. In the meantime, take your men and find a place to rest. The Night's Watch will handle the rest."
Voices were raised a dozen paces away. Aegor heard Jon's voice and immediately led his men over to investigate.
---
"This bitch killed at least two of our brothers!"
"She surrendered. She's my prisoner," Jon replied firmly.
"I didn't see her surrender."
Jon grabbed the wildling woman and asked, "Do you surrender?"
"I surrender," the woman said. Her breath fogged in the cold air.
"You fancy this wildling whore, don't you? The Wall's too lonely, and your bastard blood's heating up, eh?"
"She's my prisoner," Jon repeated. "Is there a rule against taking prisoners during battle with wildlings? We can interrogate her. Learn their tactics and movements."
"Most of them would rather bite off their tongues than talk. It's a waste of time."
Aegor arrived just in time to see the woman Jon was holding—she had red hair.
It was Ygritte. He hadn't recognized her in the dark… She had joined the raid on Castle Black and ended up captured by Jon during the chaos. Was this just a lustful boy fixated on a red-haired wildling, or fate?
Aegor didn't care to ponder such nonsense. He stepped in, cutting off the argument. "If they're alive, take them prisoner. Even if we can't get anything out of them, they might be useful for sending a message to Mance Rayder later."
"The prisoners are still eating our food!"
Compared to the new troops he had trained in King's Landing, the Night's Watch, which once seemed so strict now appeared undisciplined. A random soldier dared to confront the Chief Logistics Officer? Aegor frowned. Clearly, his authority had diminished.
"The food issue will be handled by the logistics department. Stop wasting breath. Clean the field. The kitchen staff will prepare dinner!"
The chief craftsman and steward were both straightforward men, not inclined to give commands. Lord Commander Mormont and the chief ranger were absent. After a year away, Aegor had returned and quietly assumed leadership. He became the de facto boss. Steaming onion soup was soon brought out from the kitchens. Everyone received a portion, and some was taken up to the sentries on the Wall. With bread, they could quickly recover the energy spent in battle.
Counting was especially difficult in the dark. It wasn't until midnight that a preliminary report was ready: twenty-six Night's Watch brothers had been killed, several more injured. About two hundred wildlings had taken part in the assault. Seventy-six were confirmed dead, five captured, and the rest fled into the night.
The elite soldiers Jaime had brought from the Westerlands had fought like reapers, spears in hand. They alone had killed nearly half the attackers, and lost only four of their own. The wildlings had tried everything to lure the Night's Watch rangers away, only to stumble into a force even deadlier.
Against some of the wildlings' best fighters, the kill ratio was a decisive victory. But with the Free Folk outnumbering them by a hundred to one, this success meant little.
After the soup and bread, after the bodies—wildling and brother alike—were burned, there was still no horn from atop the Wall. No one could say whether the wildlings would strike again that night, but the three hundred defenders couldn't just wait. After consulting with the chief craftsman and steward, the three acting commanders established a new watch schedule: twenty men would remain atop the Wall, and thirty more would guard the towers surrounding Castle Black at all times.
Under the pretense that they hadn't yet sworn their oaths, Aegor excused his logistics men from watch duty. After a thousand-mile journey and a harrowing battle, it was a miracle no one had been injured or killed. Following his arrangements, they moved into Harding Tower chosen because Jon and his friends lived there as well. The Night's Watch may be one brotherhood, but people still formed their own cliques. With the commanders' tacit approval, men often chose their own lodgings, staying with those they trusted. Castle Black had been built for five thousand. There was more than enough space.
It had been a chaotic, exhausting day. Aegor had no strength left to catch up with Jon. He and his men simply cleaned their rooms, lit the fireplace, made their beds, and fell fast asleep.
---
The wildlings didn't launch another attack that night. After a full night's rest, they returned to the Wall the next morning.
The situation was grim. One-third of their oil barrels had been used in the prior night's battle. Only one cask of wildfire remained. Worse, the outer gate had been completely warped and twisted by the giants and burned nearly to slag. It had separated from the ice wall itself and could no longer be opened or closed. It would never withstand another assault.
That night, they dragged the bodies left near the Wall into the forest and burned them. Then the wildlings launched a second large-scale attack, this time with chariots covered in animal hides. But without the support of raiders climbing the Wall from the southern side at Castle Black, they were quickly driven off by the green flames—still burning strong despite attempts to smother them.
The wildfire was gone, and few barrels of oil remained. But Aegor had an idea. He ordered all the empty barrels from the towers filled with water and stacked them atop the Wall in neat rows.
Maybe these "oil barrels," pretending to be what they were not, had frightened the wildling skinchangers controlling the scouting birds. Maybe the memories of being roasted by wildfire twice had shaken their courage. Or maybe they had noticed the return of the rangers and feared the Wall's full strength had returned. Whatever the reason, by the third day, the wildlings ceased their attacks entirely. That afternoon, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and Ser Jaremy Rykker returned to Castle Black with a contingent of rangers.
(To be continued.)