Chapter 6 Chapter Six Samwell

Sam was reading about the White Walkers when he looked up and saw the mouse. His eyes were red and swollen.I shouldn't be kneading so much, he kept telling himself as he kneaded.The dust made my eyes itchy, and I wanted to cry. There is dust everywhere in the ground.Every time a page was turned a little cloud of dust would be thrown into the air, and every time he moved a stack of books to see what was hidden there was always a gray cloud. Sam didn't know how long he hadn't slept. At first, he found a bunch of tattered loose pages, untied the string, lit a candle and read, but it got out of control, and now the very stout tallow candle only There was less than an inch left.He was exhausted, but he couldn't stop.I'll stop after one more book, he told himself, one more page, just one page.After reading another page, I will go up to rest and eat something.But there is always another page after one page, another page after another page, and another book waiting at the bottom of the stack.I'll just take a peek to see what the book's about, he thought, and when he realizes he's halfway through it.He hadn't eaten since the bacon and pea soup with Pyp and Grenn.Oh no, bread and cheese, but only a little, he thought, glancing briefly at the empty plate, and saw the mouse feasting on the crumbs.

The mouse was half the length of his pink fingers, with black eyes and soft gray fur.Sam knew he should kill it.Mice prefer bread and cheese, but they also chew paper.He had found large quantities of rat droppings on shelves and piles of books, and many leather covers showed gnaw marks. But it was nothing but a hungry little thing, how could he be stingy with a little crumb?However, it will eat books... Sitting in the chair for so long, Sam's back was stiff as a plank, and his legs seemed to be asleep.He knew he couldn't move fast enough to catch the mouse, but he might be able to smash it to death.At his elbow lay a huge leather-bound copy, The Black Centaur's Annals, in which Brother Joquin recounted in detail the nine years of Orbert Casway's life as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, page by page. They all corresponded to a day in his tenure, and basically all began, "Lord Albert rose early in the morning to go to the toilet"—except for the last page, which read, "Lord Albert was found dead during the night."

The rats cannot be allowed to ruin Brother Jokun's hard work.Sam's left hand reached for the book very slowly.The book was thick and heavy. He tried to lift it up with one hand, but it slipped from his fat fingers and fell down with a "bang".The mouse ran away in an instant and disappeared without a trace.Sam breathed a sigh of relief.Crushing the poor little thing would give him nightmares. "But you shouldn't eat books," he said aloud.Maybe next time he comes down, he should bring more cheese. He was surprised that the candle was almost out, wondering if it was today or yesterday that he had bacon and pea soup?yesterday.It must have been yesterday.Realizing this, he yawned.Jon would not understand his mood, but Maester Aemon would explain it for him.Before the maester went blind, he shared Samwell Tarly's love of reading.He could understand that when you're deep in a book, it's as if every page is a gateway to other worlds.

Sam stood up with difficulty, showing a painful expression, and his calf was numb, like a needle prick.The chair he sat in was so hard that when he bent over to get a book, it weighed heavily on his legs.I have to remember to bring a mat.It would be even better if you could sleep under it.He found a half-hidden vault behind four chests full of loose pages, all from lost tomes, and it was an ideal spot, but he couldn't leave Maester Aemon for long.The maester has been ill of late and needs attention, and there are crows too.Aemon had Clydas by his side, but Sam was younger, and the birds liked him better.

So Sam, with a pile of books and scrolls under his left arm, and a candle in his right hand, went back to Castle Black through the tunnel that his brethren called the Worm Way.A faint light illuminated the steep stone steps leading to the surface, and he knew it was day above.He left the candle in the hollow in the wall, and climbed.At the fifth step, he gasped for breath; at the tenth step, he stopped and shifted the book to his right armpit. The sky is the color of lead white.Looks like it's going to snow, Sam thought, squinting up.It made him uneasy.He remembered the night on the Fist of the First Men, and the legion of wights that came with the snow.Don't be a coward all the time, he blamed himself, now that you have so many sworn brothers around you, not to mention Stannis Baratheon and his knights.The strongholds and towers of Castle Black loomed before him, but they were dwarfed by the immensity of the ice walls.Climbing a quarter of the way up the ice wall, a small team is building a new zig-zag staircase, connected to the old ladder.The sound of saws and hammers echoed across the ice.Jon kept the craftsmen busy day and night, and Sam had heard some grumbling over supper that Lord Mormont would never have squeezed labor so hard.However, if there is no ladder, there is no way to go up the Great Wall except for the winch and iron cage, and you will be caught off guard in case of a situation.Although Samwell Tarly hated stairs, he hated iron cages even more. When riding, he always closed his eyes and believed that the chain was about to snap.Every time the iron cage scraped against the ice, his heart would suddenly stop.

There were dragons here two hundred years ago, watching the cages slowly descending, Sam thought, they could fly up to the city with a "whoosh".Queen Alysanne came to Castle Black on her dragon, and her husband Jaehaerys came later on his own.Did Silver Wing leave any dragon eggs?Did Stannis find any other eggs on Dragonstone?However, even if there are eggs, how to hatch them?The blessed Baelor prayed to his egg, and the rest of House Targaryen sought the help of witchcraft, but in the end, they found nothing but ridicule and disaster. "Samwell," said a sullen voice, "I have come for you. The Commander-in-Chief has ordered me to take you to him."

A snowflake fell on the tip of Sam's nose, "Jon wants to see me?" "Well, I can't say for sure," said sad Eddie Tollett, "what I don't want to see always comes to me, what I want to see never finds, and wishes have little to do with facts. But you Better go, Lord Snow will talk to you after talking with Craster's wife." "Gilly?" "It's her. If my nanny could look like her, I'd still be sucking a tit. You know, my nanny has a beard." "That means she's a goat," cried Pyp, as he and Grenn emerged from around the corner, longbow in hand and quiver at their backs. "Where have you been, killer? You weren't there at dinner last night, and a whole roast ox wasn't eaten."

"Don't call me a killer." Sam ignored the bull's joke.Piper was like that. "I'm reading. There's a mouse..." "Don't talk to Grant about mice. He's afraid of mice." "I'm not afraid." Grant said angrily. "But you dare not eat rats." "I can eat more mice than you." Sad Eddie Tollett sighed. "When I was a kid, I only got rats on festivals. I was the youngest, so I always ate the tail. There's no meat on the tail." "Where's your longbow, Sam?" Grant asked.Ser Alliser had nicknamed him "Stupid Bull," and he was growing more and more like a cow.Although he was tall when he came to the Great Wall, his movements were slow and clumsy, his face was red, his neck was thick, and his waist was as thick as a barrel.His neck was still red now when Pyp tricked him into making a fool of himself, but long practice had left his belly gone, his arms hardened, and his chest broadened.He was extremely strong and as shaggy as a bison. "Ulma is waiting for you at the shooting range."

"Ulma," repeated Sam, embarrassed.One of the first things Jon Snow did when he became Lord Commander was to have all his brethren practice archery every day, even stewards and cooks.He believes that the former Night Watch Legion put too much emphasis on swordsmanship and did not pay attention to bows and arrows. Of course, it is reasonable in the era when one out of every ten people is a knight, but it seems inappropriate now that there is only one knight out of every hundred people.Sam supported the order, but he hated practicing the longbow almost as much as he hated climbing stairs.He couldn't hit anything with gloves on, and his fingers blistered when he took them off.Bows and arrows are dangerous things.Satin once cracked half of his thumbnail on the bowstring. "I forgot."

"Forget? You're hurting the Wildling Princess, Killer," said Piper, who had recently begun watching them from her own window in the King's Tower. "She's waiting for you." "She doesn't! Don't say that!" Sam had only spoken to Val twice, when Maester Aemon visited her to make sure the baby was healthy.The savage princess is as beautiful as a flower, but he always stammers and blushes in front of her. "Why not?" Pyp asked back. "She wants to have your baby. Maybe we should call you 'The Bitch' Sam." Sam flushed.He knew that King Stannis had plans for Val—she was the key to bringing the northerners and the free folk together and keeping them together. "I don't have time to practice the longbow today. I have to see Jon."

"Jon? Jon? Do we know Jon, Grenn?" "He means the Commander-in-Chief." "Ooooooh - the great Lord Snow. Of course. But why are you dating him? He can't twist his ears." Pyp twisted his ears, showing his ability.He has a pair of protruding ears that are red from the cold. "Now he has really become Lord Snow, compared to us, he is too honorable." "Jon has his responsibilities," Sam defended his friend. "The Wall is his now, and he must take care of everything." "A man has a duty to his friends, too. If we hadn't helped, it might have been Janos Slynt who would have been Lord Commander, and Lord Slynt would have sent Jon on patrol naked on a mule." Craster's Bastion,' he would order, 'Bring me back the Old Bear's cloak and boots.' We saved him from embarrassment, and now he has too many responsibilities to sit down to the fireside for a cup of mulled wine. Don't have any time?" Grant agrees. "His responsibilities didn't keep him from the field. Basically, he was there fighting every day." It was true, Sam had to admit.Once, when Jon came to talk to Maester Aemon, Sam asked him why he spent so much time practicing swords. "Brother Xiong didn't take part in daily training at all when he was commander-in-chief," Sam pointed out.In answer, Jon put Longclaw into Sam's hand, told him to feel the lightness and balance of the sword, and made him turn the blade so that ripples gleamed in the smoke-gray metal. "It's Valyrian steel," he said, "forged with magic, so sharp it's almost indestructible. A swordsman should be one with his sword, Sam, but Longclaw is Valyrian steel." , I am not. Halfhand can kill me as easily as you can kill a bug." Sam handed back the sword. "I can't get enough of the bugs, they fly and I get hit in the arm a lot and it hurts." Jon smiled. "Okay. Colin kills me as fast as you eat porridge." Sam liked porridge, especially sweet porridge with honey. "I don't have time for small talk." Sam left his friends and walked towards the armory, clutching the book tightly to his chest as he walked, which reminded him of the oath: the shield of the kingdom.Alas, I wonder what the people of the Seven Kingdoms would say if they realized that Grenn, Pyp, and melancholy Eddie Tollett were guarding the kingdom. The interior of the conning tower has been destroyed by fire, and Stannis Baratheon occupies the King's Tower as his residence, so Jon Snow lives behind the armory in the humble room that used to belong to Donal Noye.Gilly is leaving when Sam arrives, wrapped in an old cloak Sam had given her when they escaped Craster's Keep.She almost ran straight for it, but Sam grabbed her arm, and the two books fell. "Gilly." "Sam." Her voice was hoarse.Gilly was black-haired and slender, with big, doe-like brown eyes.She was completely overwhelmed by Sam's old cloak, yet her face, half hidden by the hood, was trembling, pale and frightened. "What's the matter?" Sam asked her. "How are the children?" Gilly broke free. "They're fine, Sam. Fine." "It's a wonder you can sleep between them," said Sam cheerfully. "Which one was it that I heard crying last night? He can't seem to stop crying." "Dana's son. He cries when he wants milk. My...my baby never cries. Sometimes he clucks, but..." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I have to go and nurse them. If I don't go soon, the milk will leak on me." She ran across the yard, leaving Sam bewildered. He has to crouch to pick up dropped books.I shouldn't be carrying so many books, he told himself, sweeping the dirt off the books. It was Koloku Furta's "Overview of the Jade Sea", a thick volume of stories and legends from the East, Iraq. Maester Meng ordered him to find the book, which luckily appeared to be intact; Maester Tomax's Dragonlords: House Targaryen from Rogue to Apotheosis, and the Life and Death of Dragons was not so lucky.It had been turned over when it fell, and some of its pages were covered with mud, and one of them contained a rather beautiful colored picture of Balerion, the Black Death.Cursing himself for being a clumsy idiot, Sam wiped the pages to scrape the mud off.In front of Gilly, he was always embarrassed, and he would be hard... well, hard every time.A sworn brother of the Night's Watch shouldn't feel that way, but when Gilly talks about her breasts... "Lord Snow is waiting." Two guards in black cloaks and iron halfhelms stood at the door of the armory, leaning on their spears.It was Hal the Hairy who spoke, and Mully helped Sam to his feet.After he reflexively thanked him, he walked in quickly, and when he passed the forge with the cutting board and bellows, he couldn't help but clutch the book desperately.A half-finished piece of mail rests on a workbench.Bai Ling stretched out under the cutting board, gnawed on a beef bone, and wanted to drink the marrow inside.The Wolf looked up at Sam as he passed, but made no sound. Jon's drawing room was behind those shelves full of spears and shields.He was reading a scroll of parchment when Sam entered, and Lord Mormont's raven stood over his shoulder looking down as if reading the parchment, but when it saw Sam it spread its wings and flew towards him, Shout, "Corn, corn!" Sam shifted the book from one hand to another, and with the other reached for a handful of corn kernels from the bag behind the door.The crow landed on his wrist and pecked one out of his palm so hard that Sam gave a cry and drew his hand back.The crow flew back into the air, and the yellow and red corn kernels were scattered everywhere. "Shut the door, Sam." Jon still had a faint scar on his face where a hawk had tried to goug his eyes. "Did that guy break your skin?" Sam put the book down softly and took off his gloves. "Yes." He felt dizzy for a while, "I'm bleeding." "We'll all bleed for the Night's Watch. Wear thicker gloves." Jon pushed a chair in front of him with his foot. "Sit down and look at this." He handed the parchment to Sam. "What's this?" Sam asked.The crows began to search the straw mats for kernels of corn. "A paper shield." Sam watched and sucked blood from his palm.He recognized Maester Aemon's handwriting at a glance. The old man's handwriting was thin and precise, but sometimes there were ugly smudges because the melted ink stains could not be seen. "A letter to King Tommen?" "At Winterfell, Tommen fought with my brother Bran with a wooden sword. He looked like a stuffed goose with all the padding on him. Then Bran knocked him down." Jon went to the window. "And now Bran is dead, and Tommen sits fat and white on the Iron Throne, with a crown in his golden curls." Bran wasn't dead, Sam almost said, and he went with Cold Hand beyond the Wall.Words stuck in his throat.I swear to secrecy. "You haven't signed the letter yet." "A hundred times the Old Bear asked King's Landing for help, and instead they sent Janos Slynt. Once the Lannisters hear that we have taken Stannis in, no humble letter will garner sympathy." "We took him in to defend the Wall, not to help him fight a war." Sam reread the letter quickly. "It's very clear here." "Will Duke Tywin care about the difference?" Jon took the letter back. "Why should he help us? He never paid." "Well," said Sam, "maybe he doesn't want to hear people talking about King Tommen playing with toys while Stannis is defending the kingdom. That would disgrace House Lannister." "Shame? To be honest, I want to bring destruction and death to the Lannister family." Jon picked up the letter. "The Night's Watch will take no part in the war of the Seven Kingdoms," he read. "We have sworn to defend the whole realm, and now the kingdom is in peril. Stannis Baratheon aids us against enemies beyond the Wall, but we did not support him..." "Well," Sam wriggled, "we're not backing him. Are we?" "I fed and lodged Stannis' men, gave them the Nightfort, and allowed some of the free folk to settle in the new grant. That's all." "Duke Tywin would say you gave too much." "And Stannis thinks it's not enough. From a king, the more you give, the more he takes. We're walking on thin ice, and the bottom of our feet is an abyss. It's hard enough to conspire with one king, and satisfy two at the same time." Totally impossible." "Yes, but...if Duke Tywin decides that we have betrayed the real king after the Lannister family wins, it may mean disaster for the Night Watch. He has the support of the Tyrell family behind him, and the entire High Court and he did defeat Lord Stannis on the Blackwater." Sam may not have seen blood, but he knew the laws of noble warfare - all that his father had taught him from childhood. "The Battle of the Blackwater was just one battle. Robb won all the battles and lost his head. If Stannis could call the North..." Jon tried to convince himself, Sam realized, but was unsuccessful.No wonder, then, that ravens have flown out of Castle Black like a black-winged storm of late, to rally the lords of the North to support Stannis Baratheon.Most of these birds were sent out by Sam himself, but so far only the one that went to Kahuo City has returned, and the rest are strangely silent. Even if Stannis could win the north over, Sam didn't know how he could hold up against the combined forces of Casterly Rock, Highgarden, and the Twins; but without the support of the North, he would be finished sooner.If Lord Tywin calls us traitors for this, the Night's Watch will be finished too. "The Lannisters have their own representatives in the North. Lord Bolton and his bastard." "Stannis seems to be able to win Karstark's support, and if he can win White Harbor further..." "If you can," Sam emphasized, "if you can't... A paper shield is better than no shield, my lord." Jon shook the letter. "I suppose so." He sighed, picked up a quill, and scribbled his signature at the bottom of the letter. "Prepare the sealing wax." Sam heated a piece of black wax over the candle, dripped some onto the parchment, and watched as Jon pressed the Lord Commander's seal firmly onto the pool of melted wax. "Bring this to Maester Aemon later," he ordered, "and let him send Ur to King's Landing." "Okay." Sam hesitated, "My lord, can I ask... I saw Gilly leave just now, and she almost cried." "Val sent her again to intercede with Mance." "Oh." Val was the sister of the Queen of the King Beyond the Wall, and was called "Princess of the Wildlings" by Stannis and his men.Her sister Dana died in the battle, not by the sword, but spent her life giving birth to Mance Rayder's son.If the rumors Sam had heard were true, Red would soon be in her grave with her. "How did you answer her?" "I promised to intercede with Stannis, but I suspect it will be a waste of time. The King's first duty is to protect the country, and Mance is trying to attack the Seven Kingdoms. Your Majesty cannot forget that. My father once praised Stannis." Baratheon is just and unselfish, but no one ever mentions his tolerance." Jon paused, frowning. "I'd rather cut Mance's head off with my own hands. He was a brother of the Night's Watch, and by rights his life belongs to us." "Pyp said Melisandre was going to burn him to perform some kind of witchcraft." "Pyp should learn to hold his tongue. I've gotten this information from different sources. So-called King's Blood, wakes the sleeping dragon. But where Melisandre goes to find the sleeping dragon, no one knows. I think it's simply It's nonsense. Mance has no royal blood like the rest of us? He never wore a crown or sat on a throne. He's just a toubob, and there's no power in his blood." Crow looked up from the floor. "Blood." it screamed. Jon ignored it. "I'm sending Gilly away." "Oh." Sam nodded mechanically. "Well, that's...that's very good, my lord." That's best for her, go to a warm and safe place, away from the Great Wall and war. "She is going with her baby. So we need to find another nurse for the baby's nurse brother." "Goat's milk may last for a while. Until human milk is found, goat's milk is better than cow's milk." This paragraph of advice was read by Sam from a book.He moved in his seat. "My lord, when I searched the chronicles for you, I found another young commander-in-chief. About four hundred years before the outbreak of the war of conquest, Osric Stark was elected. He was only ten years old at the time, and the last time he served But it lasted for sixty years. Now a total of four commander-in-chiefs younger than you have been found, my lord, please rest assured, among the elected candidates, you are not the youngest at all, you are ranked fifth so far." "The four younger than me are all sons, brothers, or bastards of the King in the North. Come on, tell me something useful, tell me about our enemies." "White Walkers." Sam licked his lips. "They're mentioned in the Chronicles, but not as often as I'd imagined—I mean the records I've found and consulted, and there's obviously a lot more I haven't read. Some of the older books have fallen to pieces fragments, and when I tried to look at them, they shattered. And the real ancient books... Maybe they were completely broken, or maybe they were buried in a hidden place that I couldn't check, or maybe... Maybe they didn't exist at all .Our oldest historical records were written after the Andals came to Westeros. The ancestors left only runes on the rocks, so what we think we know about the Age of Dawn, the Age of Heroes, and the 'Long Night' The so-called historical facts are all supplementary records of the monks thousands of years later. In the city of learning, some doctors do not believe these at all. For example, ancient legends mention that many kings who ruled for hundreds of years, galloped on the battlefield for a thousand years. Knights of the year, and there were no knights at all back then. You know the stories, Brandon the Builder, Symeon the Stareye, the Night King... We say you are the Nine Hundred and Ninety Eight Lord Commanders of the Night's Watch, but even from the earliest rosters I could find, I only counted six hundred and seventy-four Lord Commanders, which means..." "The earliest roster..." Jon cut him off. "What information about the White Walkers?" "Dragonglass is mentioned in the books. In the Age of Heroes, the Children of the Forest gave a hundred obsidian daggers to the Night's Watch every year. Most stories claim that the White Walkers come when it is cold, or that the cold comes because of them. Sometimes , they appear during snow storms and melt away when the weather is clear. They hide from the sun and are only active at night...or when they appear it becomes dark. Some stories tell of them riding dead animals, including bears , direwolves, mammoths, horses...all dead bodies anyway. The White Walker who killed little Paul was riding a dead horse, so this account is clearly true. Some stories also mention giant Ice spider, I don't know what that is. Also, people killed by the White Walkers must be cremated, otherwise the corpse will be resurrected and become their slave." "We already know this. The real problem is, should How to resist them?" "Assuming the stories are to be believed, it's clear that ordinary swords can't cut through White Walker armor," said Sam, "and the swords they wield are cold enough to splinter steel. Only fire affects them, and nothing else." In addition, obsidian is their natural enemy." He remembered the ghost he dealt with in the Haunted Forest, and after being pierced into the body by the dagger made by Jon, the ghost immediately melted. "I found a narrative about the 'Long Night', about the last hero beheading the White Walkers with the sword of dragonsteel. They should not be able to resist dragonsteel." "Dragon steel?" Jon frowned. "Varerian steel?" "That was the first thing that came to my mind." "So as long as I convince the lords of the Seven Kingdoms to donate the Valyrian steel swords in their family possessions, everyone will be saved? It's not difficult." He smiled wryly, "Have you found out what the White Walkers are? They come from Where did it come from, what is the purpose?" "Not yet, my lord. Maybe I'm reading the wrong books. There are hundreds I haven't even had time to touch. Give me a little more time, and I'll find them if I can." "There's no time." Jon said sadly, "You go and pack, Sam, and you go with Gilly." "Going?" Sam didn't understand for a moment, "I'm going? To Eastwatch, my lord? Or... I..." "To Oldtown." "To Oldtown?" His voice became a scream.Horn Hill is very close to Oldtown.go home.The thought made him dizzy.Father. "Aemon is going, too." "Aemon? Master Aemon? But... but he's a hundred and two years old, my lord, he can't... Could you let me go with him? And who will take care of the crows? If they are sick or injured, who... " "Clydas. He has been with Aemon for many years." "Clydas is just a steward, and his eyesight is getting worse. You need the maester's help. And Maester Aemon is so weak, let him go to sea..." Sam thought of the Arbor and the Queen of the Arbor, almost Bite your tongue. "He's old...maybe...maybe..." "His health is in danger, I know that, Sam, but the risk is greater in staying. Stannis knows who Aemon is, and if the Red Woman insists on the king's blood for her spell..." "Oh." Sam paled. "Darion will join you at Eastwatch, and I hope his singing will win us some men in the south. The Blackbird will take you to Braavos, and you will go there first, and then arrange your own way to Oldtown." Itinerary. If you still intend to keep Gilly's child a bastard, send her and the baby to Horn Hill; if not, Aemon will find her a servant in the Citadel." "My illegitimate, illegitimate child." It was he who brought it up, yes, but... water, sea, I'll drown.Ships often sank, and autumn was the season of storms.However Gilly will be with him and the baby will be able to grow up safely. "Yes, I... my mother and sister will help Gilly with the baby." I can write a letter without going to Horn Hill myself. "Darion can escort her to Oldtown without me. I... I follow your instructions and practice archery with Ulma every afternoon...well, except in the cellar, but you asked me to look up the White Walkers .Really, the longbow gives me a sore shoulder and blistered fingers." He showed Jon a burst blister. "I'm still practicing, and I can hit the mark sometimes, but I'm still the worst marksman in the Night's Watch. But I like Ulmah's stories, and someone should write them down and put them in a book." "You write. There is paper, ink, and longbows in the Citadel—I hope you don't let your archery go to waste. But Sam, there are hundreds of archers in the Night's Watch, but only a few can read and write. I I want you to be my new bachelor." These words made him shrink back suddenly.No, Heavenly Father bless me, I will not talk too much in the future, I swear by the name of the Seven Gods.Let me go, please let me go. "My lord, I...my duty is here, those books..." "...they'll still be there when you get back." Sam felt at his throat, he could almost feel the chain, choking. "My lord, in the school city...they will let me cut up the corpse." How does it feel to be entangled in the neck?You want chains, taste it.For three days and three nights, Sam's hands and feet were handcuffed to the wall, and he cried when he woke up, and fell asleep after crying.The chain at the throat was the tightest and ripped at the skin, and if he turned over in his sleep he couldn't breathe. "I can't wear a necklace." "You can, and you must. Maester Aemon is old and blind, and his strength is fading. Who will replace him in the days to come? Maester Mullin of the Shadow Tower is more of a warrior than a scholar, and Harmon of Eastwatch Maesters spend more time drunk than sober." "If you ask the Academy City how many bachelors..." "I have this plan, the more the better. But Aemon Targaryen's descendant is not so easy to find." Jon looked confused. "I thought you would be delighted. There are so many books in the Citadel, you can have a good time there, Sam, and I'm sure you'll learn the basics." "No. I can read, but... a maester is also a healer, and blood-blood-blood makes me dizzy." He showed Jon a trembling hand. "I'm Sam 'Dark' Sam, not some 'killer.'" "Coward? Tell me, what are you afraid of? Afraid of the scolding of the old people? Sam, have you seen ghouls swarming up the Fist of the First Men, like a tide of living dead, with black hands stretched out and bright faces on their faces?" blue eyes. You even killed a White Walker with your own hands." "It was the dragon—the dragon—the dragon—the dragon crystal who killed it, not me." "Enough. You have conspired to make me Commander-in-Chief, and now you must obey my orders. You must go to the Academy City to forge a necklace, and if you need to dissect a corpse, do it obediently. At least, the corpses in Oldtown are not will rise up and protest." He doesn't understand. "My lord," said Sam, "my father-father-father-father, Lord Randyll, he, he, he, he, he . "No son of House Tarly wears a necklace, nor blood of Horn Hill bows to lesser nobles." If you want chains, taste for them. "Jon, I cannot disobey my father." Jon, his name is Jon, but Jon is no longer there, facing him is Lord Snow, with gray eyes as cold as ice. "You have no father," said Lord Snow, "only brothers. Only us. Your life belongs to the Night's Watch, so stop talking, go back and pack your clothes, plus everything you want to take to Oldtown, and you will meet tomorrow Depart an hour before sunrise. One more order. From now on, you must not call yourself a coward. You have been through more in the past year than most people will go through in a lifetime. You must face The Citadel, and you must face it as a rightly sworn brother of the Night's Watch. I cannot command you to be brave, but I can command you to hide your fear. You swore it, Sam, remember?" I am the sword in the dark.But his sword skills are terrible, and the darkness frightens him. "I... I will do my best." "It's not a question of trying your best. You have to obey." "Obey." Mormont's raven flapped its great black wings. "Yes. Aemon... Does Master Aemon know about this?" "He agrees with me." Jon opened the door for him. "There is no farewell ceremony. The fewer insiders, the better. Gather by the cemetery an hour before first light." Sam couldn't remember how he got out of the armory, and the next thing he was stumbling through mud and snow.I could hide, he told himself, I could hide in a cellar among the books and live with the rats down there, sneaking up at night to steal food.Crazy idea, he knew it was futile.If he disappeared, the cellar was the first place the brothers would search, on the other hand, the place they were least likely to search was beyond the Great Wall.But that's crazier.The wildlings will catch me and slowly torture me to death.They could burn me alive, just as the red woman tried to burn Mance Rayder. He found Maester Aemon below the crow's nest, handed in Jon's letter, and poured out his fears. "He doesn't understand." Sam felt like throwing up. "If I wear the necklace, my lord father-father-father-father...he, he, he..." "My father also objected to my choice of a life of service," said the old man. "It was his father who sent me to the Citadel. King Daeron had four sons, three of whom gave birth to males. Too many dragons are born.跟太少一样危险，他们把我送走那天，我亲耳听到陛下告诫我父亲。”伊蒙抬去斑斑点点的手，捻着悬垂于细脖子上、由多种金属串连而成的颈链。 “链子很沉，山姆，但我祖父的决定是明智之举。雪诺大人的决定也一样。” “雪诺。”一只乌鸦低声说。“雪诺。”另一只附和道。然后所有的乌鸦都跟着叫起来，“雪诺，雪诺，雪诺，雪诺，雪诺。”是山姆教会了他们这个词，所以在这里他注定得不到支持。他认为伊蒙学士跟他一样进退两难。他会死在海上，他绝望地想，他年纪太大，很难度过这段旅途。吉莉的婴儿也可能会夭折，他个子不若达拉的儿子那么大，也没那么强壮。琼恩是想除掉我们吗？ 第二天早上，山姆发现自己在为马上鞍，他曾骑着这匹母马从角陵一路来到这里。随后，他牵它沿着向东方的道路，朝墓地走去。鞍囊里鼓鼓囊囊的塞满了奶酪、香肠、熟鸡蛋，还有半只腌火腿——这火腿是三指哈布在他命名日时送他的礼物。“你小子懂得欣赏厨艺，杀手。”厨子说，“你这样的人多些就好了。”火腿是无价之宝，去东海望的路冰冷漫长，而长城的阴影下没有村镇，也没有客栈。 黎明前一小时，黑暗沉寂，黑城堡宁静得出奇。墓地里，两辆双轮拖车在等他，还有黑杰克·布尔威和十几个经验丰富的游骑兵，他们就像他们的矮种马坐骑一样结实强硬。白眼肯基用那只完好的眼睛看见了山姆，便大声诅咒起来。“别理他，杀手，”黑杰克说，“他赌输了，他说我们需要把尖叫着的你从床底下拽出来。” 伊蒙学士身子太弱，骑不了马，有一辆拖车便是为他准备的。车板上兽皮堆得老高，顶上固定着皮革顶篷，以遮挡雨雪。吉莉和她的孩子将跟他一起乘坐。第二辆拖车负责运载衣物，还有一箱伊蒙认为学城或会缺少的稀有古书。山姆照着师傅列出的名单，花了半个晚上，才找到其中四分之一。这是件好事，否则我们还需要一辆车。 学士裹在一件有他三倍那么大的熊皮里，由克莱达斯领着往拖车走来，疾风忽起，老人一个踉跄。山姆赶紧冲到他身边，用一条胳膊扶住。再来一阵风，有可能把他吹过长城去。“抓紧我，师傅，马上就到。” 盲人点点头，风又掀开了他们的兜帽。“旧镇总是很暖和。蜜酒河中有座小岛，上面有家客栈，我还是个年轻学徒时常去那里。若能再坐在那儿呷苹果酒，一定很惬意。” 等他们把学士安顿到车上，吉莉怀抱着襁褓出现了。兜帽底下，她眼睛哭得红红的。琼恩与忧郁的艾迪也同时赶到。“雪诺大人，”学士招呼，“我在我房里为你留了一本《玉海概述》，由瓦兰提斯冒险家柯洛阔·弗塔所著，他曾到东方旅行，造访过玉海内外所有土地。其中有一段你也许会感兴趣，我让克莱达斯标了出来。” “我一定会看。”琼恩回答。 一条白色的鼻涕从伊蒙师傅鼻子里流了出来，他用手套背面揩去。“知识就是武器，琼恩，战斗之前先要武装好自己。” “我会谨记。”这时，天空中下起小雪，朵朵柔软的雪花缓缓飘落。琼恩转向黑杰克·布尔威。“尽量加快速度，但别冒愚蠢的风险。你带着老人和婴儿，要照顾好他们，保证他们穿暖吃饱。” “您也是，大人，”吉莉说，“您对另一个孩子也要一视同仁。替他再找个奶妈，正如您答应我的。那男孩……达拉的儿子……我是说，小王子……你要给他找个好女人，让他长得高大强壮。” “我保证。”琼恩·雪诺庄严地说。 “别给他取名字，别，直到他满两岁。还在吃奶时就取名字不吉利。你们乌鸦也许不知道，但那是真的。” “遵命，小姐。” 吉莉脸上掠过一阵怒气。“别这样叫我。我是个母亲，不是什么小姐。我是卡斯特的妻子，卡斯特的女儿，现在成了母亲！” 忧郁的艾迪接过孩子，让吉莉爬进拖车，用发霉的兽皮盖住双腿。东方的天空已由黑变灰，“左手”卢急于出发。艾迪把婴儿递上，吉莉将他抱在胸口吃奶。这也许是我最后一次看到黑城堡了，山姆一边想，一边爬上母马。尽管他一度很讨厌黑城堡，离别却让他难受得如同被生生撕裂。 “我们走。”布尔威下令。鞭子一甩，拖车隆隆起步，在飘落的雪花中沿着布满车辙的道路缓慢前进。山姆在克莱达斯、忧郁的艾迪和琼恩。雪诺身边多逗留了片刻。“好吧，”他说，“再见。” “再见，山姆，”忧郁的艾迪道，“你的船不会沉，我认为不会，只有我在船上它们才会沉。” 琼恩注视着拖车。“我第一次见到吉莉时，”他说，“她紧张地背靠着卡斯特堡垒的墙壁。她是个瘦小的黑发女孩，挺着大肚子，畏畏缩缩地躲避白灵。他抓了她的兔子，我想她害怕他会撕开她肚皮，吞食里面的婴儿……但她真正害怕的并非那头狼，对吗？” 对，山姆心想，危险来自于卡斯特，她的亲生父亲。“她不明白自己有多大的勇气。” “你也一样，山姆。祝愿你们的旅途迅捷而又平安，替我好好照顾她和伊蒙，还有孩子。”琼恩那奇妙的微笑中透着悲哀。“拉起兜帽吧，山姆，瞧，雪花在你发际融化呢。”