Chapter 44 Chapter Forty-Four: Jon

A long call came from the dark night.Jon propped himself up, subconsciously grasping Longclaw.All around, the entire camp boiled because of it.The horn that awakens the sleepers, he thought. This long and deep voice stays at the edge of hearing.The sentries on the ring wall stood motionless, their heads turned to the west, their breath foggy.When the trumpets died down, even the wind stopped howling.The people rolled up their blankets, picked up their spears and swords, changed positions in silence, and listened.A horse neighed, and was immediately soothed.For an instant, it seemed as if the entire forest held its breath.The brethren of the Night's Watch waited for the second horn and prayed not to hear, fearing the answer to come.

This unbearable endless silence lasted for a long time, and people finally realized that there would be no second sound, so they smiled shyly at each other, intending to deny the previous tension.Jon threw some sticks into the fire, buckled his swordbelt, pulled on his boots, shook the mud and dew off his cloak, and tied it around his shoulders.The flames were burning more and more intensely beside him, he was fully dressed, letting the comfortable heat scorch his face.The old bear made movement in the tent, and as expected, Mormont opened the tent door a moment later. "Sound?" His crow landed on his shoulder, its feathers were messy, it was silent, and it looked pitiful.

"Sound, my lord," Jon confirmed. "Brothers are back." Mormont moved toward the fire. "It's Broken Hand. He's late." As time went by, Mr. Xiong became more and more irritable. "Go and make arrangements for the brothers to have hot food and the horses to be fed with hay. Also, I want to see Colin at once." "I'll get him right away, my lord." The men from the Shadow Tower should have arrived long ago, but they never showed up. The brothers couldn't help feeling suspicious.Jon had heard various versions of gloomy associations when he gathered around the campfire on weekdays—not all of them, of course, were the work of gloomy Eddie.Among the officials, Sir Odin Wheelers advocated withdrawing to Castle Black as soon as possible; Sir Malador Locke hoped to turn around and head towards the Shadow Tower, searching for Colin along the way to determine what happened; Going to break into the mountains. "Mance Rayder knows that he must fight the Night's Watch," Sauron declared, "but he will never imagine that we will go deep into the North. If we take the initiative along the Milk River, we will be surprised and caught unawares, Smash his army to pieces."

"Don't you forget, we're very outnumbered," objected Sir Odin. "Caster said he was raising a great army, thousands of thousands. Not counting Colin's men, we were only two hundred .” "Sir, two hundred wolves and ten thousand sheep, and you'll see what happens," said Smallwood firmly. "There are tough goats among the sheep, Sauron," warned Jarmen Buckwell, "and there might be a few lions, too. 'Rattleshirt,' 'Doghead,' Harmo, 'Rawhunter. 'Afin..." "I am as aware of their existence as you are, Bookwell," said Thoren Smallwood without waiting for the other to finish. "But this time I can chop off their heads, every single one of them. Come to think of it, they're all savages, not soldiers, and even if there were a few of them, they'd be drunk right now, On the way with a horde of women and children and slaves. We can mop them up and send them howling back to their rotten huts!"

They argued for a long time without reaching any agreement.Old Xiong insisted on not retreating, nor would he rashly embark on the journey of Ruhe, seeking a war rashly.In the end, everyone agreed to wait a little longer to see if the Shadow Tower team could appear, and then discuss it later. Now that they're here, it means the time for a decision has arrived.No matter what others thought, at least Jon was very relieved.If Mance Rayder must be fought, let it come quickly. Sad Eddie sat by the campfire and complained that the other guy was so inconsiderate and kept him awake by blowing his horn in the woods in the middle of the night.The orders Jon had brought gave him new subjects to complain about.Together they woke up Huck and gave him the Commander's instructions.The other party chattered endlessly, but his hands and feet were not idle, and soon called a dozen brothers to dig vegetable roots and cook soup.

Sam yawned to meet Jon as he made his way across the camp, his round, pale face like a full moon beneath his black hood. "I heard the trumpet. Is your uncle back?" "This is the procession of the Shadow Tower." The hope of Benjen Stark's return was fading.The cloak that Jon found beneath the Fist Peak probably belonged to his uncle or one of his men, even the Old Bear wouldn't deny that, but no one knew why the cloak was buried there, wrapped in dragonglass. "Sam, I have to go." Around the wall, guards were pulling pickets out of the half-frozen ground to clear the passage.Soon, the brothers from the Shadow Tower climbed the hillside. They were all dressed in leather and sweaters, with steel or bronze reflections on their bodies. Their thick beards covered their resolute and thin faces, making them look like horses in their lap Unkempt hair.Jon was surprised to see that many of the horses were shared by two people.As they got closer, he could see more clearly that there were many wounded in the crowd.It looks like they've run into trouble along the way.

Although they had never met each other, he recognized Colin Halfhand at first sight.This tall ranger is a legend of the Night's Watch Legion. He speaks slowly but moves quickly. He is tall and straight like a spear, with long limbs and a solemn expression.His appearance was quite different from those of his subordinates, his face was shaved clean, his long frost-covered hair was tied into a big braid hanging down his helmet, and the black clothes on his body had faded to gray over time.He held the reins with only his thumb and forefinger—the rest of his fingers had been lost from the fatal blow to the head from the wildling's tomahawk.It is said that after blocking that blow, he hit the ax-wielding enemy with his crippled fist, and the blood sprayed into the eyes of the wildling, blinding him completely, and he was killed by Colin in the end.From that day on, the savages outside the Great Wall regarded him as the most awe-inspiring opponent.

Jon greeted him. "Lord Mormons wishes to see you at once. Let me show you the way to his camp." Colin got off his horse, "My people are hungry, our horses need to be taken care of." "My lord, everything is ready." The ranger handed over his mount to his men and followed. "You are Jon Snow. You have inherited your father's looks." "You know him, my lord?" "I'm not an adult, but a brother of the Night's Watch. Yes, I know Duke Eddard, and I know his father." Jon found himself having to move faster to keep up with Colin's strides. "Lord Rickard died before I was born."

"He's an ally of the Night Watch." Colin looked aside. "I hear you have a direwolf companion." "Ghost doesn't come back till daylight. He always hunts at night." Walking to the tent, I saw sad Eddie frying bacon and poaching a pile of eggs in a pot on the campfire.Mormont sat in his camp chair of wood and leather. "I'm almost worried about you. Trouble?" "We came across Afyn the Raven Hunter. Mance sent him on a scouting patrol along the Wall, and he bumped into us as we turned back." Colin took off his helmet. "Afyin can no longer harm the kingdom, but many of his subordinates have escaped. We have tried our best to hunt them down, but there are still a few people who have escaped into the mountains."

"What is the price?" "Four brothers were killed, and a dozen were injured. The enemy's losses were three times that of ours. We also captured prisoners, one of whom was too seriously wounded and died soon, and the other lived longer, so we can get some information .” "That's better to talk about. Let Jon make you a beer first? Or how about mulled mulled wine?" "A glass of hot water will do. Some bacon and an egg." "Okay." Mormont opened the tent door, and Qhorin Halfhand stooped in. Eddie stood by the kettle, stirring the eggs with a spoon. "I envy these eggs," he said, "if only I could make them so hot. By the way, the pot needs to be bigger so I can jump in. Well, it would be nice to have wine boiled in it. What better way to die than warm and drunk? A brother I once knew was drowned in wine, but the wine was bad, and the smell of his body added fuel to the fire."

"Did you drink?" "It's a bad thing when a brother dies. You'd take a few gulps anyway, Lord Snow." Eddie stirred the pot and added a pinch of cardamom. Jon crouched restlessly by the fire and poked it with his stick.He heard the Old Bear's voice from inside the tent, mingled with crow's accusations and Qhorin Halfhand's calm tone here and there, but he couldn't make out what he was talking about.They killed Afyn the Raven Hunter, which is good news.This man is one of the most cruel and bloodthirsty savage bandits. The nickname of "Crow Hunting" comes from the fact that he hunted down a large number of brothers in black. Ordinarily, Colin won a major victory, but why did he have such a complexion? dim? Jon hopes that the arrival of the Shadow Tower team will calm the eerie atmosphere in the camp.Just last night, when he came back from the dark to urinate, he heard five or six people sitting around the embers of the campfire talking quietly.He heard Chett muttering that the procession should have turned back long ago, and he stopped to listen. "This patrol is very stupid. It's just the stupidity of the old man." He heard the other party say, "In this wild mountain, you can't find anything but graves!" "I heard that there are giants, wolf spirits, and even more terrifying things in Frostfang," said the sister-boy Lark. "I promise you, I will never go there." "Old Xiong will not follow your wishes." "Maybe we won't go with him either," Chett said. At this time, a dog raised its head and barked loudly, and Jon hurried away before he was spotted.I didn't mean to eavesdrop, he thought.He had meant to tell Mormont what had happened, but his conscience kept him from telling it behind his brother's back, even brothers like Chett and Sisterboy.It was just idle talk, he consoled himself.They're cold and scared, aren't we all?A bare pinnacle that lives above the forest.Waiting day after day, terrified of what will happen to me every day, is really hard.The invisible enemy is the most terrible enemy. Jon drew his new dagger and played with it over the fire, watching the flames lick the shiny black glass.A few days ago, he cut a wooden handle himself and wrapped it with old hemp rope to make a handle for the knife. Although it looks ugly, it is very practical.Sad Eddie thinks the glass dagger is no more useful than a knight's breastplate ring, but Jon doesn't think so.Dragonglass weapons are fragile, but their blades are sharper than steel. Besides, they should be buried there for a reason. He made a similar dagger for Grenn, and later gave the Lord Commander one.The warhorn he gave to Sam.After careful inspection, the inside of the horn was already broken, no matter how he cleaned the dust from it, he still couldn't make a sound.The brass rim of the horn was chipped, too, but Sam loved antiquities, and even treasured things that were useless. "You'd better modify it and drink it with wine." Jon said apologetically, "so that when you drink, you will remember that you have patrolled far beyond the Great Wall and reached the Fist of the First Men." Sam bought a spear point and a dozen arrowheads, and he also distributed the rest as lucky charms to other friends. The old bear seemed to appreciate this kind of dagger, but Jon found that he still had a steel knife on his waist.Mormont didn't know who would have buried the cloak here, or what it meant.Maybe Colin knows?The experience of the Halfhand in the wilderness is unparalleled. "It's ready, you go, or should I go?" Jon put away his dagger. "Let me do it." He was just trying to take the opportunity to listen to their conversation. Eddie cut three big slices from a stale round of oat bread and put them on a wooden platter, topped with bacon and bacon grease, and a bowl of hard-boiled eggs.Jon returned to the commander's tent with the bowl in one hand and the plate in the other. Colin sat cross-legged, his spine as straight as a spear.Candlelight danced on his firm, flat cheeks as he spoke. "... Rattleshirt, Weeper, all these great and small chiefs are there," he gushed, "and they've got wolfs and mammoths, and they're more powerful than we can imagine. At least he Such a confession. I can't guarantee that all his words are true, and Iban thinks that this person is rambling in order to survive." "Whether it's true or not, the Wall must be warned," Jon said as he placed the plate between them. "And the king." "Which king?" "All kings. We don't care if he's real or not. If they claim a kingdom, they must protect it first." Halfhand picked up an egg, put it on the side of the bowl, and cracked it. "These kings are only busy with their own affairs," he said while peeling the shells, "how can we control us? We should place our hope on Winterfell, the Stark family is the pillar of the North." "Yes, that's right." Xiong Lao unfolded a map, looked at it with a frown, immediately threw it aside, and unfolded another one.He was sizing up where the wildlings might strike, Jon could see.On the Bailige along the Impassable Wall, the Night Watch Legion once occupied nineteen castles, but as their numbers dwindled, these fortresses were abandoned one by one.Only three cities were still guarded now, and Mance Rayder knew that as well as they did. "We can count on Ser Allisa Thorne to bring back some new recruits from King's Landing. For now we might as well send men from the Shadow Tower to guard Greyguard, and men from Eastwatch to the Long Wagon..." "Greyguard Castle is almost completely collapsed. If there are enough people, it is better to guard Shimenzhai. According to my impression, Icescar City and Deep Lake Residence can also be used. In addition, we must send patrols along the city every day inspect." "Patrol, yes, we'll try to do it twice a day. Fortunately, the Wall itself is an insurmountable obstacle. Even if they find an unguarded spot, the wall itself will not prevent passage, but it will greatly slow down their progress. The more people there are, the longer it will take. Judging from their efforts to collect everything, they must have brought all the women, children, and livestock... I dare say that no one has ever seen a goat climbing a ladder? Climbing a rope? Impossible , they have to build a ladder, or build a big slope... This project will take at least a month, or even longer. It seems that the best way for Mance is to go under the wall, through the city gate, or..." "gap." Mormont looked up sharply. "what?" "They're not going to climb the wall or dig a hole, my lord. They're going to break through it." "But the Great Wall is seven hundred feet high, and the foundation is thick, much wider than the walkways on the city. Even if a hundred strong men dig with shovels and axes, I think it will take a year." "Having said that..." Mormont tugged at his beard and frowned. "How to say?" "What else? Use spells." Colin bit off half an egg. "Otherwise, how can Mance choose Frostfang as the assembly point? It's cold and desolate, and there is a long and arduous journey from the Great Wall." "I thought he chose to gather in the mountains to avoid detection by our rangers." "Perhaps so," said Colin, swallowing the egg, "but I think there must be something deeper here. He's looking for something in this high and cold place, looking for what he needs." "What?" Even Mormont's crow lifted his head and screamed when he heard that.The voice was as sharp as a knife in the closed camp. "Some kind of power. As for what, our prisoner couldn't say. Perhaps we pressed too eagerly, and he died without saying much. But I suspect he didn't know." Jon heard the wind outside the tent.The strong wind trembled through the stones of the surrounding wall, pulling hard on the ropes of the tent, making a shrill and thin sound.Mormont touched his lips thoughtfully. "Some kind of power," he repeated, "I must know what it really means." "Then you have to send people deep into the mountains as soon as possible." "I would not put my brethren in danger." "We are just dying. Think about it, why are we wearing black clothes? Isn't it just to defend the kingdom and safety to the death? In my opinion, fifteen scouts should be sent immediately, divided into three groups, each with five people. One One group explored the banks of the Milk River, one group went to Windsound Gap, and another group set out to climb the Giant's Ladder. The three teams were commanded by Jarmen Bookwell, Thoren Smallwood and myself. We must find the group What awaits us beyond the mountains." "Wait," cried the crow, "wait." Commander Mormont let out a deep sigh. "There is no other choice," he reluctantly gave in, "If you can't come back..." "Someone will come down Frostfang, my lord," said the ranger. "If we are, it will be all right; if not, it must be Mance Rayder, and you are at the throat. He doesn't Might leave you alone and rush south, because then his rear guard and baggage will be in trouble. He must attack by force, and this happens to be easy to defend and difficult to attack." "It's not that strong here," said Mormont. "We die collectively at most. But our death buys the necessary time for our brethren on the Wall. Buys them time to hold the empty castle and block the gates; buys them time to seek aid from the king and lords; buys them time Time to polish the axes and repair the catapults. Our lives were worth it." "Martyrdom," grumbled Crow, walking up and down on Xiong Lao's shoulder. "Die in duty, die in duty, die in duty, die in duty." Xiong Lao sat dejectedly and silently, as if unable to bear the heavy burden entrusted by this speech.After a long time, he said, "May the gods forgive me. Go pick your man." Qhorin Halfhand turned his head, his eyes met Jon's, and they looked at each other for a long time. "Very well. I want Jon Snow." Mormont blinked. "He's still a kid, and he's my clerk, not even a Ranger." "It should be enough to have Tollett take care of you, my lord." Colin raised his crippled palm with only two fingers left. "Beyond the Wall, the old gods are still strong. They are the gods of the First Men... the gods of House Stark." Mormont looked at Jon. "what do you say?" "I would," he replied immediately. The old man smiled sadly. "Sure enough." It was dawn when Jon and Halfhand walked out of the tent side by side.The cold wind howled around them, billowing black cloaks, and flying reddish slag from the embers of the campfire. "We're starting at noon," the Ranger told him. "Go find your wolf."