"No one broke the rules, my lord," Aegor had anticipated this and showed no sign of panic. He replied without hesitation, "The Night's Watch did not participate in the war. Only I accompanied the men from the Gift who went south this time, and I swear I did not take part in any combat, not even so much as touching a weapon."
"Stop playing word games. The Gift is the Night's Watch's territory. The people you brought marched under the banner of the Gift Army. Anyone could see that the Night's Watch was involved. And as for participating in combat—given your current rank, it's only natural for you to avoid direct fighting."
"Please allow me to explain the entire sequence of events," Aegor continued. "Because the Night's Watch accepted the Wildlings, the population of the Gift surged, and severe food shortages forced us to seek support from the North. Not long ago, the Logistics Department organized a grain convoy, intending to circle the entire North to collect as much food as possible. As the convoy approached Glover territory, it received word that Deepwood Motte had been seized by a group of unidentified pirates."
"'Unidentified pirates'? That's what the Night's Watch calls Ironborn invaders now? How interesting." Robb Stark's expression twitched slightly. He immediately realized how Aegor was going to frame this—just like how King Robert had called the Brotherhood Without Banners 'rebels,' Aegor intended to define the Ironborn in a way that would legitimize his own actions. "Then you 'conveniently' retook Deepwood Motte, captured a few prisoners, and upon interrogation learned that the pirates were Ironborn. Since you didn't know they were Greyjoys beforehand, it doesn't count as interfering in the Seven Kingdoms' internal affairs?"
"You could say that. There's a saying where I come from—'Ignorance is not a sin.' But there's more to it. A large migration came down from beyond the Wall about a month ago. Fleeing the winter and the White Walkers, the Free Folk arrived at the Wall en masse. During their crossing, they launched an assault on the gates. The Night's Watch was short on men and found it hard to resist, so we called for help from the Mountain Clans. Thousands responded and were stationed along the Wall," Aegor explained, then raised a finger. "And coincidentally, within my grain convoy, there happened to be a thousand Mountain Clansmen. The task of attacking Deepwood Motte fell largely to them."
"What are you trying to say? Weren't these Mountain Clansmen brought south by you, the Night's Watch's Chief Logistics Officer?"
"Legally speaking, the lands the Mountain Clans inhabit are part of the North. Their deployment along the Wall was merely temporary, and only at the invitation of the Night's Watch. They were simply providing manpower. They never took the black. They merely moved from the mountains to the Gift. They still owe allegiance to House Stark," Aegor answered calmly. "As your subjects, upon seeing Deepwood Motte under your rule occupied by a band of pirates, isn't it natural for them to rise up in righteous anger? As for me and the Night's Watch Logistics Security Team, we were merely... offering some insignificant military guidance and support out of friendship."
The Mountain Clans were his subjects. Reminded of this, Robb Stark did recall the fact. These so-called Mountain Clans were in truth Wildlings who had settled south of the Wall. The rulers of the North had long employed a policy of appeasement and inclusion to manage them: recognizing their chieftains as minor lords, granting them the status of Earls. As long as they acknowledged Stark rule, sent some modest tribute in peacetime, and a few warriors during wartime, their internal affairs were left alone.
These Mountain Clans were technically on par with houses like Umber and Karstark, but their allegiance to House Stark was far weaker. None of the Lords of Winterfell had ever mobilized the clans on such a large scale as Aegor had just done. And Robb Stark, who had hurriedly assumed his father's mantle as Warden of the North and had never personally visited the Mountain Clans' lands, knew only what his father Aegor and some seasoned bannermen had told him about these "nominal subjects."
...
"'Insignificant military guidance and support'? Without a complete command system, these Mountain Clansmen would have trouble even marching in formation from their villages to Deepwood Motte, let alone capturing it in a single assault and taking Balon Greyjoy's daughter prisoner."
Aegor—or more likely his subordinates—had clearly exercised full command. Robb understood this perfectly. Still, he had to admit, the Night's Watch's excuse sounded plausible. He stroked the short beard he had deliberately grown, and his stern expression gradually softened. "I see."
Sensing the opening, Aegor struck while the iron was hot. "So, to summarize the matter—the Northmen acted on their own initiative to repel the invaders. I, a Night's Watch man, merely happened to be present at a critical moment, assisted a little, and once again played the role of a Night's Watch officer accompanying the army to receive prisoners."
Robb stared at Aegor for a while longer, then finally couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling up. After a few months apart, this man's ability to spout nonsense had clearly improved.
The explanation sounded plausible enough to fool common folk, but anyone with access to decent information wouldn't be so easily duped. Intuitively, Robb felt that Aegor had bent the rules. But emotionally, he couldn't bring himself to object. The lords of the other Six Kingdoms could certainly criticize Aegor for overstepping, but Robb himself had gained too much from it. What right did he have to take their side?
"Very well. I'll tentatively accept your explanation," Robb said. He wasn't fooled—he knew Aegor was forcing a justification—but so what? The North had clearly benefited from the Night's Watch bending the rules, and now they had an explanation they could present to the rest of the realm. That was enough. "I owe you a favor. But what you did did break the rules, after all. Don't go around talking about it. I'll announce that it was the Mountain Clans who helped my North retake Deepwood Motte."
"Of course. My trip south was solely to purchase grain and supplies from the northern lords. As for anything else, I know nothing."
"Mmm." Robb was satisfied with Aegor's reply and nodded. One man spoke falsehoods with his eyes wide open, the other turned a blind eye to it. And just like that, the most flagrant violation by the Night's Watch in centuries was quietly swept under the rug. "This place stinks terribly. I'll have to stay in the North's military camp tonight. Let's stop here for now."
What, that's it? Aegor was truly stunned. He still had much to discuss with Robb. He had rehearsed his speech and laid rhetorical traps, yet Robb had stopped just short of stepping into them?
"But my lord, regarding the Ironborn prisoners and surrendered soldiers, and the matter of resettling the Free Folk…"
"The prisoners captured by the Mountain Clans will be dealt with by the clans themselves. As for the ones who surrendered and offered to take the black, that's the Night's Watch's concern." Robb turned to descend from the city wall, leaving one final remark. "There are many things I want to discuss with you—about Bran, about the Free Folk your Night's Watch let in—but today's not the time. We've just reclaimed Caitlin Bay and defended our homeland. It's a day of victory, but I've got plenty left to handle. Today and tomorrow, the army will celebrate the victory, then disband and return home. I'll return to Winterfell as well. Since you'll be passing through Winterfell on your way back to the Wall, come see me then."
At this point, Aegor could no longer press him to talk further. A few more days to prepare wasn't a bad thing either. "Alright."
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)