RoWE - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Pursuit

The officer, determined to achieve merit, had made up his mind, and the three soldiers had no choice but to suffer along. Will, who had been a poacher, was excellent at stealth and tracking. He quickly deduced the number and condition of the people they were pursuing, about ten including men, women, and children, likely a wildling family.

In the minds of the residents of the Seven Kingdoms, wildlings had a reputation for being strong and fierce, and in many parts of the North, they were even used by adults to frighten children. However, the Night's Watch, who frequently dealt with them, did not fall for this. The black-clad men knew well that wildlings were essentially just wild farmers who did not pay taxes or perform corvée labor, and considered this to be "freedom."

The Night's Watch was different. No matter whether you believed it or not, the fact was that despite its continuous decline, it remained one of the largest standing armies on the continent, described in more modern terms as "professional soldiers."

In this era of feudal lords, when nobles wanted to wage war, they had to inform their vassals, who would then gather their soldiers. These "soldiers" would put down their hoes, take up arms, and march to the assembly point led by knights, thus forming an army.

The Night's Watch was different. Their sole mission was to guard the Wall, and they were always in a state of war readiness. All their supplies and food came from the offerings of the people of the Gift and donations from the families of the North. Even in the most peaceful times, the Night's Watch did not engage in production. Although the quality of their recruits was lacking, an army that trained daily could be considered elite in this backward world, akin to picking the tallest among the short.

And the rangers were the "combat troops" within this standing army. Compared to the "support troops" like the craftsmen and stewards, they barely engaged in chores like laundry and cooking, focusing solely on training and patrolling, compared to wildlings armed with sticks and stone axes, who spent most of their time merely trying to survive, the rangers had a significantly higher average combat effectiveness. Leaving aside certain wildling "warriors" who were one in a thousand, few wildlings dared to engage in combat with well-trained and fully equipped rangers when the numbers were not greatly disparate and no effective ambush could be set.

At least the small group of wildlings that Aeg and his companions were now eyeing did not dare.

This group of wildlings had initially moved slowly westward along a route parallel to the Wall. Upon sensing the pursuit of the four rangers, they began to veer northward in a desperate attempt to escape. It was Ser Waymar Royce's first time leading a patrol, and he would not easily give up. The two groups, one in front and the other behind, embarked on a marathon through the ice and snow.

*****

Aeg and the other three Night's Watch members pursued the wildlings closely during the day, wrapping themselves in thick blankets at night to conserve energy. Thanks to the advantage of having horses, they managed to stick closely to their quarry, tracking them north for three days, then turning northwest for two days, before veering north again... Thanks to the absence of storms and heavy snow, Will never lost sight of their target.

"It's been nine days, my lord."

"Is nine days a long time?"

"Not long," Gared replied calmly. "But we only brought enough rations for about ten days. Even if we're frugal, we can only last twenty days. And we still have to return. If we continue the pursuit, the second half of the journey back..."

"I heard from Ser Alliser Thorne," Waymar said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "During the last winter, rangers lasted six months beyond the Wall with only a month's worth of supplies. How did they manage that?"

Will and Aeg, who had been silent, exchanged a glance and coughed to hide their embarrassment. Waymar's sarcasm might have been effective, but he chose the wrong target.

"If my lord wishes to know how it was done, I can enlighten you," Gared said, seizing the opportunity to retort. He had never liked the young noble and wouldn't miss a chance to put him in his place. "I was part of that mission. After the food ran out, we ate horse and dog meat, then dug up roots and scavenged for anything that moved. When there was nothing left to eat, the commander ordered us to carry our brothers' bodies. Fortunately, it didn't come to that. We endured the storm until we reached Craster's Keep, and with the help of that wildling who marries his own daughters, we made it back to the Wall alive."

"If the commander wishes to try that, I can only promise to do my best to bring everyone home alive," Gared continued, watching with satisfaction as Waymar's expression turned uneasy. "But the Lord Commander has warned us not to seek help from Craster with fewer than ten men, and roots and horse meat are not easy to digest."

The young noble's face changed several times. Aeg thought the youngest ranger captain might fly into a rage, but he quickly calmed down and even miraculously conceded, "Very well, no matter what happens, we'll turn back and end the pursuit tomorrow. But on this last day, we must take the initiative to attack and try to capture one or two 'tongues' alive. Whether we succeed or not, we'll start the journey back tomorrow."

"Take the initiative to attack?" Will couldn't just watch anymore; he grew anxious. "But... Lord Benjen told us to investigate the reasons for the wildlings' appearance and their movements, not to..."

"What have you discovered in these nine days?" Waymar interrupted the poacher. "Another nine days of pursuit won't be as convenient as capturing a live wildling for interrogation. Gared, what do you think?"

Gared could spar with Waymar using his experience and status as an old soldier, but in the end, he couldn't disobey an order from a noble and superior. He grimaced and reluctantly replied, "I'll do as my lord commands."

Waymar smirked disdainfully. He enjoyed seeing others unhappy with him but forced to obey. He snorted inwardly and turned to Will. "You, go ahead and scout. Report back on the specific situation, and we'll discuss how to proceed."

The poacher glanced helplessly at Aeg and Gared before accepting the order and leaving. The remaining three dismounted and found a place to sit and rest among the trees.

*****

Aeg stood on a rock half-buried in the snow to observe his surroundings. The weather grew colder with each passing day, and being over a hundred miles north of the Wall, the temperature should indeed be lower. But what made Aeg uneasy was not the cold, but the people.

To be precise, it was Ser Waymar Royce.

It wasn't that he was afraid of him. The young noble, though somewhat accustomed to luxury, couldn't be labeled as a spoiled brat without a guilty conscience. Apart from his arrogance due to his status, he hadn't done anything to provoke anger. What Aeg feared was the plot related to this young man.

If he had known earlier that one day he would cross over into this world, he would have read the novels and watched the series over and over again. But there are no "ifs" in life. In his original world, whether watching the series or reading the novels, he had only skimmed through them, knowing the general storyline but not remembering any details.

However, there was one plot he couldn't forget. Waymar Royce was the unfortunate soul killed by the White Walkers at the beginning of the story of ice and fire. As the first named character to appear in both the novel and the series, his death revealed the true existence of the world's greatest antagonist and set the tone for the plot, serving as an important "hook."

But in good conscience, Aeg, as a time traveler, felt that even if he couldn't climb the ranks, earn promotions, become a king, and reach the pinnacle of life, he shouldn't be a mere supporting character who dies at the beginning of the story! So, when he learned ten days ago that this patrol would be led by Ser Waymar Royce, he was reluctant.

Unfortunately as someone who had come to the Wall with a crime, he had neither the power to choose his superior nor the right to refuse a normal duty, so he had to grit his teeth and set out again, delving deeper into the haunted forest.

The Haunted Forest, indeed, without ghostly shadows, how could it be called the Haunted Forest? The northern winds never ceased beyond the Wall, blowing through the trees and casting eerie shadows like grotesque creatures, giving this dark wilderness its name. Aeg still remembered the sight of his first patrol north of the Wall. Suddenly, memories of the legends and plots flooded his mind, and every shadow around him seemed like a White Walker standing silently, waiting to ensnare the living. Every weirwood carved with a human face could startle him. When the first day's patrol ended, he almost couldn't stand when he dismounted. Now that he thought about it, it was quite embarrassing.

Now, he had been beyond the Wall more than ten times and had encountered wildlings two or three times. He no longer feared the Haunted Forest, with its ghostly reputation.

But traveling with Waymar reawakened the unease hidden in his heart. The dense shadows of the trees seemed to conceal some indescribable danger, making him as anxious as an animal facing its natural predator.

He circled the resting spot, finding no unusual signs. The chill and sense of crisis on his back might just be an illusion caused by Waymar's presence? Upon reflection, it was unlikely that the man's luck would be so bad that he would encounter White Walkers on his first patrol. Once back at the Wall, he would have to find a way to avoid being paired with this harbinger of doom from House Royce.

Aeg shook his head and returned to the others, sitting down quietly to wait for Will's return from scouting, under their curious gazes.

*****

The cold wind blew, and the horses moved restlessly, snorting. Aeg remained vigilant, paying attention to the sounds of the environment while pondering ways to avoid Waymar and leave the Night's Watch. About an hour later, Will returned.

"Hmm?" Waymar looked up, questioning the poacher with his eyes, speaking in his characteristic arrogant and nonchalant tone: "It'll be dark soon. The wildlings should have stopped to light fires and set up camp, right?"

Will dismounted, walked over to the three of them in a daze, swallowed hard, and looked absent-minded: "I know you won't believe me... but something happened up ahead... The wildlings, they're all dead."