Chapter 23 Chapter 22 Tyrion

"Are you in such a hurry to go?" the commander-in-chief asked him. "I can't wait, Lord Mormont," Tyrion replied, "or brother Jaime will be worried that something will happen to me, and he may think you persuaded me to join the black army." "It's good if it can be so." Mormont picked up a crab claw and peeled it off with his hands.Although the commander-in-chief is old, he still has the strength of a bear. "Tyrion, you have a good mind. The defenders of the Great Wall need people like you." Tyrion smiled and said, "Master Mormont, for your words, I must find all the dwarves in the country and give you." While everyone was laughing, he sucked the meat of the crab horn into his mouth and stretched out his hand Take another one.The crabs had just arrived from Eastwatch that morning, frozen in an ice bucket, so they were extra juicy and juicy.

Sir Alliser Thorne was the only person at dinner who was not smiling. "This Lannister is clearly mocking us." "It's not you, Ser Alliser, it's you," said Tyrion.There was a hint of anxiety in the laughter during the banquet this time. Thorne stared at Tyrion, hatred in his dark eyes. "I see that although you are less than half the size of a person, you can speak freely. Maybe we should compete in the next game." "Why bother?" Tyrion asked. "Here are the crabs." As soon as these words came out, everyone laughed wildly.Ser Alliser pursed his lips and stood up. "If you have a kind of weapon, you can try it as a joke."

Tyrion looked deliberately at his right hand. "Well, Sir Alliser, I'm holding a weapon right now, though it's just a fork for eating crabs. Why, shall we make a gesture?" He jumped on the chair and began to poke Thorne with the little fork. chest.People's laughter almost knocked the roof off.The commander-in-chief even spat out crab meat, coughing and gasping for breath.His crow was not idle either, screaming strangely from the window: "Give it! Gesture! Gesture!". Ser Alliser Thorne left the hall stiffly, looking as if someone had stabbed a dagger in his chest.

Mormont was still out of breath, and Tyrion patted him on the back. "The spoils belong to the victor," he announced loudly. "Thorn's crabs are mine." The commander-in-chief finally recovered. "Look what you've done to us Ser Alliser, you're a wicked fellow," he scolded. Tyrion sat upright, sipping his wine. "Anyone who wants to draw a target on his chest should be ready for an arrow. I've seen dead people with a better sense of humor than you, Ser Alliser." "That's not fair." Bursar Bowen Marsh was red and fat like a pomegranate. "You should have heard the ridiculous nicknames he gave to the imps he was training."

Tyrion knew several such nicknames. "I'll wager the boys have a lot of nicknames for him," he said. "Keep your eyes open, my lords. Ser Alliser Thorne can clean up manure, not train recruits." "The Night's Watch has no shortage of grooms," muttered Admiral Mormont. "They're the kind that come in these days. Stableboys, thieves, or rapists. Ser Alliser has been in the Black since I took over. One of the few duly knighted knights in the Armed Forces. He was valiant at the Battle of King's Landing." "It's a pity I'm on the wrong side," said Ser Jeremy Lake grimly. "I was a fool to be with him. I stood on the wall with him, and Tywin Lannister offered a very generous offer." , or wear black, or be spear-pointed before dark. Ah, Tyrion, I don't mean to insult you."

"It's all right, Sir Jeremy. My father loves putting heads on the walls, especially people who have offended him. With your noble face, well, I think he will probably put your head on it." The King's Gate. I suppose it must be very striking." "Thank you very much." Sir Jeremy smiled sarcastically. Commander Mormont cleared his throat. "Tyrion, sometimes I do think Ser Alliser is right, that you are making a mockery of us and our holy calling." Tyrion shrugged. "Lord Mormont, we need to be taunted and taunted from time to time, lest life be taken too seriously. Fill me with some more wine, please." He held out his glass.

While Lake was pouring the wine for him, Bowen Marsh said, "You are not a big man, but you can drink a lot." "Oh, but I don't think Lord Tyrion is young at all." Maester Aemon, who was sitting at the end of the long table, said, the senior officers of the Night's Watch immediately fell silent and listened intently to the elder's words. "He's a giant among us, a giant who has come to the end of the world." Tyrion replied softly, "My lord, I've had many nicknames, but 'Giant' is the first I've ever heard of it." "Is that so," said Maester Aemon, rolling his cloudy eyes over Tyrion's face. "I'm speaking the truth."

Tyrion was speechless.He only bowed his head politely and said, "Master Aemon, you are too polite." The blind maester smiled.He was a thin old man, wrinkled and bald, cowering under the weight of a hundred years, the various metals of his bachelor's necklace hanging loosely at his throat. "I've received a lot of compliments, but it's the first time I've heard 'you are polite'." This time Tyrion laughed first. After supper was over and the others had left, Mormont invited Tyrion to sit down by the fire, and handed him a glass of scalded wine, so spicy that it brought tears to his eyes. "We are in the extreme north, and the road here on the King's Road may be very dangerous." The commander-in-chief said as they drank.

"I have Jack and Maurice," said Tyrion, "and Yoren is going south just as well." "Yoren alone is enough. The Night's Watch will escort you to Winterfell." Mormont's tone was undeniable. "At least three people." "My lord, then I'd rather be obedient than obedient," said Tyrion. "You might as well send that boy Snow, and let him meet his brother." Mormont frowned through his thick gray beard. "Snow? Oh, you mean that bastard Stark son. I don't think so. Young people have to forget their old lives, brother or mother." Let it go. Going home and visiting family will only rekindle these long-forgotten emotions. I know these things well. My own family... My son has disgraced the family, and only my sister Maggie is left to rule Bear Island. I have many nieces I haven't seen it." He took a sip of his drink. "Besides, Jon is only a brat. I'm sending three strong warriors to keep you safe."

"Lord Mormont, I'm so grateful for your concern." The spirits made Tyrion drunk, but not so drunk that he couldn't tell the old bear was asking for something. "I hope I can repay your kindness." "Of course you can," Mormont said bluntly. "Your sister is queen, your brother is a great knight, and your father is the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms. Please petition them on our behalf and tell them we are How urgently we need help. My lord, you have also seen with your own eyes that the night watchman force is gradually withering. Our manpower is less than a thousand, six hundred are guarding here, two hundred are in the shadow tower, and the garrison of Eastwatch is even less. And less than a third of them can actually fight—the Great Wall is a full three hundred miles long. Please think about it, if the enemy attacks, I can only send three people to defend each mile."

"Three and a third." Tyrion yawned. Mormont didn't seem to heed his words, and the old man put his hand in front of the fire to keep warm. "I sent Benjen Stark to find Yohn Royce's son, who disappeared on his first patrol. Royce's boy is as young as summer grass, but he insists on leading the team himself. , Said it was the duty of a knight. I didn’t want to offend his father, so I let him go. What’s even more stupid, I also sent two top players in the army to go with him.” "Stupid," the crow agreed.Tyrion looked up. The bird was glaring at him with black, beady eyes and fluttering its wings. "Stupid," it called again.He would have liked to strangle the bird, but the thought of old Mormont's anger would make him give up. The old commander paid no attention to the annoying bird. "Gary is about my age, but has been on the Wall longer," he went on, "but then he seems to have broken his oath and ran away. I didn't believe it, and thought it was never his turn, until he Lord Stark sent his head from Winterfell. As for Royce, there is no news. One deserter, two whereabouts are unknown, and even Benjen Stark is nowhere to be seen. ’ he sighed deeply. "Who am I going to send to him now? I'll be seventy in two years, too old and tired to keep going. But if I leave, who will take over? Alliser Thorne? Poe "Vin Marsh? I'd be as blind as Maester Aemon if I couldn't even see what they're really capable of. The Night's Watch is a motley bunch of morose lads and weary old men these days." Apart from the people who dine at my table tonight, I have only about twenty people who can read, and even fewer who can think, plan or lead. In the past, the Night's Watch built a lot of construction every summer, and each commander raised the city wall. Now we are struggling just to maintain the status quo.” Tyrion understood the urgency of the other person's words, and he couldn't help feeling slightly sad for the old man in front of him.The former earl has spent most of his life on the Wall, and he needs to believe that his years are worth living. "I promise to report this to His Majesty," Tyrion said solemnly, "and to my father and my brother." This was not a matter of ulterior motives, and Tyrion Lannister always kept his word.It's just that he didn't say the rest: King Robert would ignore him, Lord Tywin would ask him if he was out of his mind, and Jaime would just laugh. "You are young, Tyrion," said Mormont. "How many winters have you lived through?" He shrugged. "Eight or nine, I can't remember exactly." "And it's not long, is it?" "You are right, my lord." He was born during a severe winter, a particularly severe winter, according to the maesters, that lasted three years, but Tyrion's earliest memory was spring. "When I was a child I heard that a long summer would be followed by an even longer winter. Nine years have passed since this summer, Tyrion, and it will soon be the tenth. Think about it What does that mean." "And when I was a boy," replied Tyrion, "my wet nurse told me that if ever people would live in harmony and be kind, the gods would keep summer forever. Maybe it's us Better than expected, and the legendary Yong Xia has come." He grinned. The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was not in the mood for joking. "My lord, you would not be so foolish as to believe such a thing. The days are getting shorter, it is true. Aemon has received letters from the Citadel, which agree with his deduction. Summer is drawing to a close." It is an indisputable fact." Mormont reached out and grabbed Tyrion tightly. "You must teach them the seriousness of the situation. I tell you, my lord, the darkest ages are coming. The forests are haunted by monsters of all kinds. There are direwolves, mammoths, and snow bears as big as bison. I still dream I've seen scarier things." "You dreamed it," Tyrion repeated, feeling the need for some more stout. Mormont did not catch the sting in his words. "Eastern coast fishermen have seen white ghosts walking the shore." This time Tyrion couldn't help it. "The fishermen in Lannisport often see mermaids." "Denis Mallister writes that the mountain savages are moving south, slipping past the Shadow Tower in droves on a scale never seen before. They are fleeing, my lord... but fleeing from what What?" Admiral Mormont went to the window and looked out into the night. "Master Lannister, my old bones have never felt so cold in my heart and lungs. I beg you, tell your majesty the king exactly what I said. The winter is coming, and when the night falls, the night watchman It is the only barrier that can defend the kingdom and resist the forces of darkness sweeping from the north. If we are not fully prepared, God knows what the end will be." "God knows how miserable it will be if I don't sleep tonight. Yoren has made up his mind to start at dawn tomorrow." Tyrion stood up, drunk and fed up with prophecies about the end of the world. "Thank you, Lord Mormont, for your hospitality." "Tell them, Tyrion. Tell them. Make them believe. That's your best thanks." He whistled, and the crow flew toward him and landed on his shoulder.Mormont was smiling and feeding him grains from his pocket when Tyrion left. It was freezing cold outside.Wrapped in a heavy fur coat and gloves, Tyrion Lannister nodded to the stiff wretch standing guard outside the Commander's Keep.He strode, as fast as he could, across the courtyard to his room in the King's Tower.The boots broke through the ice of the cold night, the snow crunched under the feet, and the breath frosted in front of my eyes like a banner.He crossed his arms and walked faster, hoping that Maurice would not forget to warm his quilt with the hot bricks from the stove. The Impassable Great Wall behind the King's Tower shimmers in the moonlight, huge and mysterious.Tyrion stopped and stared, his legs aching from the cold and the exercise. Suddenly, he had a strange madness in his heart, and decided to take another look at the end of the world.This is his last chance in this life, he thought to himself, he will set off to return south tomorrow, and he really can't think of any reason to return to this frozen barren land.The King's Tower was so close, but Tyrion couldn't help walking around it, past the warmth and the hotbed that was so easy, toward the vast, pale wall of ice that was the Wall. On the south side of the wall was a staircase of rough wooden beams, sunk deep in the ice and frozen firmly.The long staircase twists and turns, like a bolt of lightning, winding up the city wall.Brother Blackshirt had assured him that the staircase was stronger than it looked, but Tyrion's feet hurt so badly that he couldn't climb it on his own.So he went to the iron cage by the well, climbed in, and pulled hard three times on the rope with the summoning bell at the end. He just leaned against the Great Wall, stood among the iron bars, and waited endlessly.Later, Tyrion can't help but wonder why he asked for it.At last he decided to forget about this occasional whim, and when he went home to sleep, the iron cage jerked and began to rise. He ascended slowly, jolting at first, then leveling off.The ground was getting farther and farther away from Tyrion's feet, and the cage shook, and he gripped the bars so hard that even through his gloves he could feel the chill of the metal.He noticed that Maurice was already lighting a fire in the room, and he secretly approved.The commander-in-chief's bedroom in the tower was completely dark. It seemed that Old Xiong had a much slower mind than him. The iron cage is higher than the tower, and continues to climb slowly to the height.Castle Black lay beneath his feet, carved in moonlight.From above, you realize how rigid and empty its windowless fortresses, crumbling walls, and rubble-strewn courtyards are.In the distance, he saw the lights of Mole's Village, half a league away, on the King's Road to the south, and the icy streams pouring down from the mountains and running through the plains, shining on the water surface and reflecting the moonlight. .Otherwise, the world is an endless barren of wind-beaten hills, jagged rocks and wilderness dotted with snow. At this time, a thick voice came from behind him, "Damn it, it's that dwarf." Then the iron cage was jolted violently, stopped for an instant, hung in mid-air, slowly swayed back and forth, and the rope creaked. "Let him in, God damn it." The iron cage began to move towards the Great Wall, and the wood creaked and groaned in pain.Tyrion waited for the cage to stop shaking before he opened the gate and jumped to the frozen ground.A burly man in black was leaning on the winch, while another held the cage with gloves on.They wrap their faces in woolen scarves so only the eyes are visible.It looked rather corpulent with layers of black wool and leather. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" the man standing by the winch asked. "Look one last time." The two looked at each other helplessly. "Small man, you can see what you want." Another person said, "As long as you don't fall, otherwise Xiong Lao will definitely skin us both." There is a wooden cabin under the crane, when the person pulling the winch opens the door Inside, Tyrion saw dimly the dim light of the brazier coming from within, felt a little warmth, and then he was alone. Bitter cold, the wind ripped at his clothes like an eager lover.The Wall was wider than the Kingsroad here, so Tyrion didn't have to worry about falling, but the surface was slippery.The brothers in black had paved the passageway with gravel, but the ground had been smoothed by long trampling, so the ice gradually filled the gaps between the gravel and swallowed up the gravel.When the channel is smoothed again, it will have to be paved with gravel again. Fortunately, Tyrion could not cope with the situation at hand.He looked to the east and west, and saw that the Great Wall stretched out in front of him like a white avenue without beginning and end, with dark abyss on both sides.He decided to go west, for no reason at all.So he leaned against the north side and walked in that direction along the path that seemed to have just been paved with gravel. His exposed cheeks were flushed red from the cold, and his feet were already protesting, but he ignored it.The wind howled in his ears, the rubble crunched under his feet, and before him the Wall snaked along the hills, rising like a white bow before disappearing on the western horizon.He walked past a gigantic trebuchet as high as a city wall, its base sunk deep into the wall, its throwing arm taken out for repairs and forgotten to put back in, so it lay there like a broken toy, half hidden in the ice. From the other end of the catapult came an unclear interrogation: "Who is it? Don't move!" Tyrion stopped. "Jon, I'll freeze to death here if I don't move," he said, as a furry white figure stalked toward him, sniffing at his furs. "Hello, Ghost." Jon Snow came towards him.He wore layers and layers of fur and leather to make him look bigger and taller, the hood of the cloak drawn down over his face. "Lannister," he said, pulling the scarf from his mouth. "I didn't expect to meet you here." He brought a heavy spear with an iron head that was taller than others, and put his saber in a leather case and hung it at his waist.On his chest hung a shiny black horn inlaid with silver. "I didn't expect to be found here." Tyrion admitted, "I suddenly had a thought, if I touch Bai Ling, will he bite off my hand?" "Not if I'm there," Jon assured him. Tyrion scratched the back of the White Wolf's ear.It looked at him impassively with those red eyes.The beast had grown to his chest height.Another year, Tyrion thought grimly, and it might grow taller than himself. "What are you doing here tonight?" He asked, "Could it be that you want to freeze your life..." "I've drawn the night watch," said Jon, "and it's not the first time. Good Ser Alliser asked the Warden to 'take care' of me. He probably thought I'd be fine if he kept me up all night." Dozed off during morning practice. But I've let him down so far." Tyrion chuckled: "Then Bai Ling can do magic?" "Not yet." Jon smiled, "But Grenn has been able to compete with Hodder this morning, and Pip doesn't drop his sword as often as before." "Pip?" "His real name is Piper, the short boy with protruding ears. He saw Grenn and I practicing, so he ran over and asked me to teach him too. Thorn didn't even teach him the correct posture for holding a sword. Him." He turned to look north. "I have a mile of the Great Wall to patrol, let's walk together?" "Just walk slowly," Tyrion said. "The chief guard only told me that I must keep walking so that my blood won't freeze, but he didn't say how fast I should walk." So they walked together, and Bai Ling followed Jon like a white shadow. "I leave early tomorrow morning," said Tyrion. "I know." Jon's tone sounded oddly sentimental. "I plan to stop in Winterfell for a while. So if you have any message for me to convey..." "Tell Robb I'm going to be Commander of the Night's Watch and keep him safe, so he might as well learn to sew from the girls, and tell Mikken to melt down his sword and make horseshoes. " "Your brother is as big as I am," laughed Tyrion. "I refuse to deliver a message that might kill me." "Rickon will be sure to ask you when I'll be home. Try to explain to him where I've been. Tell him he'll take care of all my things while I'm gone, and he'll be glad to hear that. " There are plenty of people asking for something today, thought Tyrion Lannister. "Actually, you can write a letter home." "Rickon can't read. As for Bran..." He stopped suddenly. "I don't know what message to send him. Help him, Tyrion." "What can I do? I'm not a maester. I can't cure his ailments. I don't have a spell to set his legs back." "You helped me when I needed it most," Jon Snow said. "I gave you nothing," said Tyrion, "just words." "Speak to Bran, then." "You're telling a cripple to teach a cripple to dance," said Tyrion. "It's a terrible thing to do. But I know brotherhood, Lord Snow. I'll help Bran as I can. " "Thank you, Lord Lannister." He took off his gloves and held out his hand. "Good friend." Tyrion found himself surprisingly moved. "Most of my relatives are bastards," he grinned, "and you were the first one to be friends with me." He took the glove off between his teeth, and took Jon's hand, flesh sticking with meat.The boy's grip was firm and strong. When Jon Snow put his gloves back on, he turned suddenly and walked to the cold, low battlements to the north.The height outside the city wall dropped sharply, leaving only a dark and cold desert.Tyrion followed, and they stood side by side at the end of the world. The Night Watch Corps will never allow the forest to extend within half a mile north of the Great Wall. The iron trees, sentinel trees, and oaks that originally grew within this range were cut down hundreds of years ago to create an open space. For one thing, it is impossible for any enemy to attack without being discovered.But Tyrion had heard that the wild woods had grown back in some of the strongholds between the three strongholds over the decades, and the gray-green sentinels and pale weirwoods had entrenched themselves in the shadows of the walls. Down.Fortunately, Castle Black used a lot of firewood, so the blackshirt brothers were able to keep the woods out with axes. Even so, the forest was not far from them.From here, Tyrion could see the shadowy trees hanging over the edge of the clearing, like another Night Wall running parallel to the wall.Even the moonlight can't penetrate the ancient intertwined roots, so few people go to log.Rangers say the trees there grow so tall they look brooding and loathe the living.No wonder the Night's Watch calls it the Haunted Forest. Tyrion stood and watched, all around was silent and dark, with no lights and shadows, and the strong wind was blowing, and it was as cold as a knife.He suddenly felt as if he had begun to believe in all kinds of legends about the public enemy of mankind and the strange ghosts in the cold night, and his weird jokes were no longer frivolous. "My uncle is over there." Jon Snow leaned on a spear, looked into the endless darkness, and said softly. "The first night they sent me up, I thought Uncle Bunyan would be back that night, and I'd be the first to see him, and sound the horn. Only he didn't come back that night, never did, and I They're all waiting for him." "Give him more time," said Tyrion. A howl of wolves came from the far northern border, followed by wolves one by one joining in the long howl.Bai Ling tilted his head to listen. "If he doesn't come back," Jon Snow assured him. "I'll go find him with Ghost." He put his hand on the direwolf's head. "I believe you," said Tyrion, but all he was thinking was: Who will send for you after that?He couldn't help shivering.