Chapter 41 Chapter 40 Bran

The tower tower stands on the island, and its shadow is reflected in the calm blue lake.When the new wind blows, the ripples are like playing children chasing each other.Oak trees grew thickly along the shore, and the ground was strewn with fallen acorns.Behind the forest is a village, or the remains of a village. That was the first village they saw after going down the mountain.Meera scouted ahead to make sure no one was hiding in the rubble.Net and frog spear in hand, she darts between the oak and apple trees, startling three red deer and making them leap away through the undergrowth.Xia Tian noticed the movement and immediately chased after it. Bran saw the direwolf striding forward. For a moment, he just wanted to change into its shape and move forward with it.But Meera had waved them to follow, and he reluctantly urged Hodor into the village, Jojen following.

From here on down to the Wall, Bran knew, there was grassland, uncultivated fields and low hills, high meadows and low swamps.It was easier to walk than the mountains they had come out of, but the openness made Meera uneasy. "It felt like I had no clothes on," she admits, "with nowhere to hide." "Who does this land belong to?" Jojen asked Bran. "Of the Night's Watch," he replied. "This is the 'New Grant,' just south of 'Brandon's Gift.'" Luwin's lore history came in handy. 'Fortress Builder' Brandon gave all the land twenty-five leagues south of the Impassable Great Wall to the brothers in black as... as a source of livelihood. "He's proud that he still remembers his lessons." Some maesters argue that it's another Brandon, not 'The Builder,' but it's called 'Brandon's Gift' anyway.Thousands of years later, the kind-hearted Queen Alysanne visited the Great Wall on her dragon "Silver Wing" and admired the bravery of the night watchmen, so she suggested that "King Renrui" double the land and expand it to fifty leagues.This is the 'new land grant'. He waved his hand. "Here."All of these are. "

Bran could see that the village had been unoccupied for years.All the houses have collapsed, even the inn.It had never been a proper inn, and now there was only a stone chimney and two ruined walls, surrounded by a dozen apple trees.One of them grew out of the hall, where the floor was covered with a wet layer of palm leaves and rotten apples, and the air was filled with a strong smell, something like wine, that almost drowned out all the other smells.Meera poked at some of the apples with her frog spear, trying to find something to eat, but to no avail, they were all brown and infested with worms.

It was peaceful, peaceful, and quiet, and there was a certain comfort in it, but there was something sad about the empty inn to Bran, and Hodor seemed to feel the same. "Hodor?" he said, confused. "Hodor? Hodor?" "What a land." Jojen picked up the dirt and rubbed it between his fingers. "There's a village, and an inn, and a stronghold in the lake, and apple trees...but where are the people, Bran? Why do people leave like this?" Nice place." "Because of the wildlings," Bran said. "Wildmen came through the Wall or the mountains to rob and steal and take women. Old Nan said if they were caught, their skulls would be made into cups for drinking blood. And the Night's Watch is not as strong now as Brandon or Queen Alysanne's time was so strong that many wildlings could come. The places near the Wall were often plundered, so the people moved south, into the Umber lands in the mountains or east of the King's Road. The Greatjon will also Suffering from looting, but not as frequently as in the land grant."

Jojen Reed turned his head slowly, listening to voices only he could hear. "We've got to take cover, there's a storm coming, a violent storm." Bran looked up to the sky.It was a beautiful autumn day, clear and crisp, sunny and almost warm, but Reed was right, there were dark clouds in the west and the wind seemed to be picking up. "The inn has no roof, but only two walls," he pointed out. "Let us go out to the Tower Keep." "Hodor," said Hodor.Maybe he agrees too. "We don't have a boat, Bran." Meera poked lazily at the leaves with her frog spear.

"There's a causeway there. A stone causeway, hidden under the water. We can walk across." Or 'they' could—he had to sit on Hodor's back.Well, at least keep your body dry. Brother Li De exchanged a look. "How do you know?" Jojen asked. "Have you ever been here, Your Highness?" "No, Old Nan said it. That tower is topped with a golden crown, see?" He pointed to the peeling patches of gold paint on the battlement across the lake. "Queen Alysanne slept there, so they painted the walls gold as a tribute." "The causeway?" Jojen surveyed the lake carefully. "Are you sure?"

"Sure," Bran said. Meera scouted carefully, and found the trick easily: it turned out that this was a three-foot-wide aisle, leading directly to the center of the lake.Cautiously probing ahead with her frog spear, she advanced step by step.In the distance, the road floated out of the lake, climbed to the island, and turned into a short stone staircase, leading to the tower gate. The aisles, steps, and pylons were in a straight line, giving the impression that the causeway was straight, but it was not.Beneath the surface of the lake, it zigzags and zigzags, stretching one-third of the island's width in one direction and then back again.The bends are unpredictable, and the long road means that anyone who tries to get close will be exposed to the arrows of the tower.The underwater rocks were sticky and slippery, and Hodor nearly lost his footing twice, yelling "Hodor!" in panic, before finally regaining his balance.The second time scared Bran enough.If Hodor had fallen into the lake with him in the basket, he would probably have drowned, especially since the big stable boy tended to forget Bran's existence as soon as he was frightened.Maybe we should have stayed under the apple tree at the inn, he thought, but it was too late now.

Thank goodness there was no third fright.The water never went up to Hodor's waist, but it reached the Reeds' chests when they came to the island and climbed the stairs to the tower.The door was still strong, but the heavy oak planks had warped with age and could no longer close completely.Meera pushed it open with all her might, the rusty iron chains creaking.The door beam is very low. "Bend over, Hodor," Bran said, and Hodor obeyed, but didn't bend low enough, and Bran bumped his head. "It hurts." He complained. "Hodor," said Hodor, straightening up.

They found themselves in a dark, closed room big enough for four.The stairs built on the inside of the wall spiral upwards on the left, and downwards on the right, all separated by iron fences.There is also an iron fence overhead.Killing hole.He was glad no one poured boiling oil over it. The fences were all locked, and the railings were all red and rusty.Hoduo clung to the door on the left, grunted, and pulled it hard, but nothing happened.He tried to push in, again to no avail.Then he shook and kicked and banged and rattled them, and pounded the hinges with his huge palm until the air was filled with bits of rust, but the door remained unresponsive.Down doors are just as hard to shake. "No way in." Meera shrugged.

Bran was sitting in a basket on Hodor's back, with the killing hole just above his head.He reached out to grab the railing and tried to pull it, but as soon as he pulled it, the fence door fell from the ceiling, with bursts of rust and gravel. "Hodor!" Hodor yelled.The heavy iron bars smashed over Bran's head and fell on Jojen, who kicked it away, and Meera laughed. "Look, Your Highness," she said, "you are stronger than Hodor." Bran blushed. Without the bars, Hodor was able to crawl into the killing hole with Mera and Jojen.Then two marshmen grabbed Bran's arms and pulled him up too.Hodor was the hardest, he was too heavy for the Reeds to help him like they helped Bran.Bran had to let him find some big rocks. Fortunately, there were a lot of big rocks on the island. Hodor piled them high enough, then grabbed the edge of the collapsed hole and climbed up. "Hodor." He grinned at everyone, panting happily.

There was a labyrinth of small windowless rooms above, dark and deserted, and Meera poked around and found the way to the stairs.The higher they climbed, the better the light.On the third floor, hollow arrow holes appeared on the thick outer wall, real windows appeared on the fourth floor, and the highest fifth floor was a large circular room with arches on three sides leading to small stone balconies. On one side is the toilet, and there is a sewage pipe underneath, which leads directly to the lake. When we got to the top of the tower, the sky was completely overcast, and the clouds in the west were black.The wind was strong, blowing and crackling Bran's cloak. "Hodor," said Hodor when he heard the sound of the cloak. Meera turned around, "Standing on top of the world, it feels like a giant." "The trees in the Neck are twice as tall," her brother reminded her. "Yes, but they're surrounded by trees of the same height," Meera said. "In the Neck, the field of vision is oppressive and narrow, and the sky can't cover it. Here... feel the wind, brother? Look how vast the world is." Yes.From here, you can see very far.To the south are rising hills, and beyond are gray-green mountains.The land-grant plains undulate and extend in every direction as far as the eye can see. "I thought I could see the Wall from here," Bran said disappointedly. "That's stupid. There's still fifty leagues left." Just thinking about it made him feel tired and cold. "Jojen, what do we do when we get to the Great Wall? My uncle always emphasized to me how huge it is. Seven hundred feet high and seven hundred feet wide at the base, so the gates are more like tunnels through the ice. How can we get through to find The Three-Eyed Raven?" "I hear there are some abandoned strongholds along the walls," Jojen replied. "Once a castle built by the Night's Watch, but now they are deserted. Maybe one of them can be passed." Yes, Old Nan called them "ghost towns."Maester Luwin had made Bran memorize the names of every stronghold along the Wall.That was difficult, because there were nineteen of them, and no more than seventeen were manned at any one time. At the banquet at Winterfell to welcome King Robert, Bran had recited those names to Uncle Benjen, from east to west, and from west to east, making Benjen Stark laugh, "You know them better than I do, Bran. You should be Chief Ranger. I'm just warming your seat." But that was before the fall, before the cripple.When he awoke, his uncle had returned to Castle Black. "My uncle said that when castles are abandoned, the doors are sealed with ice and stones," Bran said. "Then we'll dig them up," Meera said. It made him very uneasy. "It shouldn't be. Maybe something bad will take the opportunity to come from the other side. We might as well go straight to Castle Black and ask the Lord Commander to let us through." "My lord," said Jojen, "we must avoid Castle Black as we avoid the Kingsroad. There are too many people there." "They are the Night's Watch," said Bran, "and have sworn to be impartial, and to take no part in the kingdom's quarrels." "Not bad," Jojen said. "But just one broken oath is enough to sell your secret to the ironborn or Bolton's bastard. Besides, there's no certainty that the Night's Watch will let us through. They may detain us, or send us back." "No! My father is a friend of the Night's Watch, and my uncle is Chief Ranger—he probably knows where the Three-Eyed Raven lives. And Jon is at Castle Black." Bran had been hoping to see Jon again, Hope to see their uncle too.The Brothers in Black who were last at Winterfell said that Benjen Stark disappeared on patrol, but must be back by now. "I bet the Night's Watch would even give us horses," he continued. "Quiet." Jiujian put up a shade to cover his eyes, staring at the direction of the setting sun. "Look, what's... a man on a horse, I think. Do you see that?" Bran set up the pergola too, squinting hard to see.Seeing nothing at first, until something moving caught his attention.At first he thought it was Xia Tian, ​​but he was wrong.A man rides on a horse.Too far away to see details. "Hoduo?" Hodor also put his hands on his eyes, but looked in the wrong direction, "Hodor?" "He's in no hurry," Meera said, "but I feel like he's heading for the village." "We'd better go in so as not to be found," Jojen said. "Summer is near the village," Bran objected. "Summer will be all right," Meera assured. "It's just a man riding a tired horse." Huge raindrops began to hit the stones, forcing them to retreat to the next level, which was very timely, because a moment later, the rainstorm fell with a clatter.Through the thick walls, the sound of raindrops hitting the lake can also be heard.They sat in the circular empty room, and the darkness around them gradually gathered.The north balcony faces the abandoned village.Meera crawled out and peered across the lake to see what had happened to the man on horseback. "He took shelter from the rain in the ruins of the inn," she told them when he returned, "and seems to have built a fire in the grate." "We'll have a fire too," Bran said. "I'm so cold. There's broken furniture under the stairs. We can ask Hodor to split it open for warmth." Ardo liked the idea. "Hodor," he said hopefully. Jojen shook his head. "When there is a fire, there is smoke. The smoke from this tower can be seen far away." "If anyone is watching," her sister argued. "There is someone in the village." "one person." "One man is enough to betray Bran, if he is not a good man. There was half a duck left yesterday. Eat and sleep. In the morning, the other party will continue on the road, and so will we." Jojen always makes up his mind and tells everyone to follow suit.So Meera quartered the duck—which she had caught with the rope net by surprise in the swamp the day before yesterday.Cold ones are not as delicious as freshly baked ones that are hot and crispy, but at least they can fill your stomach.Bran and Meera shared the breast meat, Jojen ate the thigh, and Hodor devoured the wings and claws, humming "Hodor" with each bite and licking the oil off his fingers.Today it was Bran's turn to tell stories, and he told them about another Brandon Stark, Brandon the Shipbuilder, who had sailed beyond the Sea of ​​the Setting Sun. By the time the ducks were gone and the story was over, night had fallen and the rain was still falling.Bran wondered how far Summer had wandered and caught a deer. The tower was gray and gradually turned to pitch black.Hodor was restless, walking up and down, pacing around the wall, looking into the toilet every time he turned around, as if he forgot what it was.Jojen stood by the north balcony, hiding in the shadows, looking out into the night and the rain.Somewhere in the north, lightning struck across the sky, instantly illuminating the interior of the tower.Hoduo jumped up and let out an exclamation.Bran counted and waited for the thunder, and when he reached eight, the thunder sounded.Hodor shouted, "Hodor!" I hope Summer isn't so scared, Bran thought.The dogs in the menagerie at Winterfell were always afraid of thunderstorms, just like Hodor.I should go and appease him... The lightning flashed again, and this time the thunder came when the number reached six. "Hodor!" Hodor cried again, "Hodor! Hodor!" and he grabbed his sword as if to fight the storm. Jojen said, "Be quiet, Hodor. Bran, tell him not to shout. Can you take his sword, Meera?" "I can try." "Hodor, shh—" Bran said, "be quiet. Stop calling Hodor stupidly. Sit down." "Hodor?" He handed the long sword to Meera meekly, but his face was full of doubts. Jojen turned back into the darkness, and they could all hear him gasp. "What's wrong?" Meera asked. "There are people in the village." "The one we've seen?" "No, one with arms. I see an axe, and a spear." Jojen's voice had never been so fitting for his age, like a boy's voice. "When the lightning struck, I saw them moving under the trees." "how many?" "Many, many, countless." "Did you ride a horse?" "No." "Hodor," Hodor sounded terrified, "Hodor. Hodor." Bran was a little scared himself, but didn't want to show it in front of Meera. "What if they come here?" "No." She sat down next to him, "Why did they come here?" "For the rain," said Jojen darkly, "unless the storm dies down soon. Will you go down and bar the gate, Meera?" "I can't even close the gate. The wood is too bent. Good thing they can't get through the bars." "They can. Just drop the lock or the hinge, or climb up the kill hole like we did." Lightning tore through the sky again, and Hodor whimpered.Immediately afterwards, a thunderclap rolled across the lake. "Hodor!" he yelled sharply, covering his ears with his hands, and stumbling around in circles in the dark. "Hodor! Hodor! Hodor!" "No!" Bran yelled back. "Stop calling Hodor!" useless. "Aaaaador!" Hodor wailed.Meera tried to grab him and keep him quiet, but he was too strong to push her aside with just a shrug. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa and a lot!" the stableboy shrieked as lightning filled the sky, telling them to shut Hodor up. "Quiet!" Bran screamed in horror as Hodor staggered past, reaching for Hodor's leg, reaching out, reaching out... Hodor staggered, but suddenly closed his mouth, turned his head slowly, and sat cross-legged on the floor.The thunder boomed, and he didn't seem to hear it at all.The four sat in the dark tower, barely daring to breathe. "Bran, what have you done?" Meera whispered. "Nothing," Bran shook his head, "I don't know." He lied.I got into him like I got into Xia Tian.For a moment, he was Hodor.It scared him. "There's a situation across the lake," Jojen said. "I saw someone pointing at the tower." I can't panic.I am the Prince of Winterfell, Eddard Stark's son, almost grown up, and a wolf, not a boy like Rickon.There will be no fear in summer. "Maybe it's just the Umbers," he said, "or the Notts or the Norries or the Flints, down the hill. It might even be a brother of the Night's Watch. Did he wear black?" Cloak, Jojen?" "All clothes are black at night, Your Highness. The lightning comes and goes so fast, I can't tell what I'm wearing." Meera said warily, "Brothers in black should ride horses, shouldn't they?" Bran didn't think so. "It doesn't matter," he said confidently, "even if they want to come here, they can't help it. Unless they have a boat, or know the causeway." "The causeway!" Meera ruffled Bran's hair and kissed his forehead. "My dear prince! He's right, Jojen. They don't know about the causeway, and if they did, they couldn't come in the dark." "But the night will end, if they linger until morning..." Jojen didn't finish.After a moment, he said, "They were adding wood to the fire that the man before him had lit." Lightning flashed across the sky, filling the tower with light, and carving the people into shadows.Hodor hummed as he rocked back and forth. For that bright moment, Bran felt the fear of Summer.So he closed his eyes, opened his third, and the boy's hide slid off like a cloak, leaving the tower behind him... ...found myself in the rain, crouched in the bushes, with a stomach full of venison.The sky overhead was ripped apart by lightning, and thunder rumbled.The smell of rotten apples and wet leaves almost overwhelmed the human scent, but it was there.He heard the clattering of hard leather and saw people moving under the trees.A man with a stick staggered past, with a skin over his head so that he could not see or hear.The direwolf pulled away far enough to come behind a dripping bramble bush with the bare branches of an apple tree.He heard men speak, and beneath the smell of rain and leaves and horses came a sharp, vehement fear...