Chapter 2: Shadow Tower

Jon found out that the man in charge of escorting the supplies was an old Night's Watch soldier named Tony, who was nicknamed "Old Bark" because of the large burns on his face and the years of wind and snow, which made his skin as rough as tree bark, hence the nickname.

Because he was a little sleep deprived, Jon grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, rubbed it hard on his face, and forced himself to find Tony who was directing others to move supplies.

But when Tony saw that it was Jon, he said sarcastically, "Oh! Isn't this Master Jon? Why don't you go back to your own fiefdom and come to me?"

"who is he?"

"That's Jon who said he was leaving the Wall."

"Is it the deserter? What is he doing here?"

"..."

The soldiers who were carrying supplies recognized that this was Jon who said he was leaving the Wall, so they all cast unfriendly eyes, a look of rejection, contempt, and disgust. There was a sneer on the corners of their mouths, as if silently saying: "Look! That's a deserter!"

But Jon was unmoved. He knew that it would make more sense for him to leave than to stay here. If the Seven Kingdoms were relatively stable, the Night's Watch would get more support and thus have fewer sacrifices.

Jon calmly took a few breaths and said, "I want to go with you to deliver supplies to the Shadow Tower."

To show his sincerity, Jon picked up the boxes and sacks of supplies on the ground and loaded them onto the car.

Tony looked at Jon in astonishment. He didn't understand why Jon, who had agreed to duel with Alliser to decide whether to stay or go, didn't think carefully about how to defeat Alliser but instead came to him to waste his energy.

However, Tony is usually close to Alliser, so since Jon came to him himself, he would not be polite.

So he said to the others, "Well, since Lord Jon wants to help, let's take a break."

He looked at Jon again, "Master Jon, once we move the rest of the supplies, we will set off."

Jon looked at the nearly one third of the cargo left. If he had to move all of it by himself, he would definitely have backaches in the next few days, and his fighting ability would be reduced, making the possibility of defeating Alliser even slimmer.

But he had no choice, Jon had to go to the Shadow Tower!

The dozen or so soldiers who were originally responsible for carrying the goods left one after another, and Jon began to carry the goods alone.

When he had just moved half of the remaining supplies, he felt his shoulders and forearms begin to weaken. He gasped and looked at the remaining goods. He knew he couldn't stop. Once he stopped, it would be difficult to gather his strength again.

Jon gritted his teeth and continued to move the goods, and Grenn found that he had not seen Jon for most of the day. Normally, the two were inseparable. When he heard that Jon was going to the Shadow Tower to move the goods, he came to find him.

Seeing Jon panting, Grenn hurried forward and asked, "What are you doing, Jon?"

Grenn didn't understand why he would waste his energy in such a place, but Jon waved his hand and didn't explain.

Although he didn't understand Jon at all, Grenn still went forward to help him. The two of them worked together for another hour and finally loaded all the goods.

Jon held his knees, leaned his butt against the carriage, and spat out a mouthful of saliva with the taste of blood. He looked at Grenn gratefully and said, "Thank you, brother."

Grenn was also panting, but his condition was much better than Jon's. Since the past two days, he had become increasingly confused about Jon's behavior. It was obvious that the duel with Alliser would be in two days, so why didn't he save some energy?

"I heard you were going to the Shadow Tower?"

Jon nodded.

Grenn curled her lips and said, "I really can't understand you any more."

On the other side, Tony, who felt that the time was almost up, came back with his men. He found Jon and Grenn resting and sneered, saying, "As expected of Master Jon. Let's go."

Jon knew that because he had walked into a trap, Tony was deliberately using this method to exhaust him, so he didn't leave him any time to rest.

Finally, at Grenn's request, they set out together for the Shadow Tower.

The Shadow Tower is located in a canyon on the west side of the Great Wall. They only need to walk along the wall, so there is no need to worry about getting lost in the dark. Therefore, they set out directly in the evening and are expected to arrive in the afternoon of the next day.

The entire team, consisting of twelve horses and a dozen Night Watch soldiers, was like a thin black worm, struggling to move forward on the snowy ground.

Jon and Grenn, who were at the end of the team, were responsible for vigilance, and of course their main responsibility was to clean up the traces of feces left by the mules and horses to prevent the wildlings from discovering the pattern.

Normally the escort team wouldn't care about these things, but Tony could use this to make things difficult for him.

As soon as Jon and Grenn relaxed a little, he immediately shouted: "You two! Do you want us to be captured by the wildlings?"

Because he was always worried about Jon, Grenn kept thinking hard on the way about why Jon took the initiative to ask to go to the Shadow Tower. Perhaps it was the fresh air outside the Wall that made his brain active. Grenn said in surprise: "Jon, you are not going to take the opportunity to escape? That would be a beheading!"

Grenn thought his discovery was very reasonable, because the canyon where the Shadow Tower was located was the only place to bypass the Wall and go to the North. He was worried that Jon had asked to go to the Shadow Tower in order to take the opportunity to escape.

Jon looked at Grenn in surprise, because even he hadn't thought of this. Just as he was about to answer, the voice of old bark Tony sounded again.

"You two! What are you whispering about instead of staying alert?"

Because of the tailwind, Tony's voice could be heard very loudly by Jon and Grenn. Combined with his facial features which were distorted by the burns, it seemed particularly frightening.

Grenn had no choice but to temporarily suppress his inner doubts and secretly decided that he must keep a close eye on him and not let him do anything stupid.

Of course Jon would not choose to escape from the Shadow Tower, where there were many traps set by the Night's Watch. Moreover, even if he got through, there were only a few people in the mountains. To say that he had a chance of death was a bit optimistic.

However, when necessary, Jon would choose to leave the canyon at the Shadow Tower. Once he reached a last resort, he would rather fight to the death than sit and wait for death. That was not his character.

In this way, after a day's trek, everyone finally arrived at the Shadow Tower.

The Shadow Tower was built on a cliff and covered with snow. The Shadow Tower almost merged with the mountain and required careful identification.

Jon looked at the several-meter-high black tower hidden in the shadows, and couldn't help wondering whether the Night King would open up a way to the south by attacking here.

Seeing the team escorting supplies, several Night's Watchmen suddenly appeared. They appeared in front of Jon and others as if they had emerged from cracks in the rocks.

In fact, this was because the path coming down from the Shadow Tower was too hidden, which created an illusion. Jon couldn't help but think that it was no wonder that the wildlings would rather climb the hundred-meter-high Wall than attack the Shadow Tower. It was really too dangerous here.

Following the escort team along the path that only allows one horse to pass into the Shadow Tower, Jon found that the fortifications here were built to a crazy degree. They even built small fortifications beside the climbing path that could only accommodate one person. No wonder Mance, the 'King Beyond the Wall' who defected from the Night's Watch and once served here, was unwilling to attack here.

Of course, in addition to the dangerous terrain here, Dennis, the commander of the Shadow Tower, is also a tough guy. He was knighted at the age of eighteen, won the tournament championship at the age of twenty-two, and has guarded this place for thirty years.

As to why he joined the Night's Watch, it is unknown.

It was dinner time for the Shadow Tower garrison, so Jon and the others arranged to have dinner together.

Although the environment around the Shadow Tower is harsh, it has all the necessary facilities, such as armory, stables, a sanctuary for prayer, and even a bell tower and a brewery.

The place where they had their meal was in a gray-black hall connected to the brewery, which could accommodate about three hundred people to dine together. Except for the soldiers on duty, almost all the soldiers of the Shadow Tower had arrived here one after another.

'This is a great opportunity.'

Jon was always observing the situation here. If there was no important news or meeting to be announced, the soldiers would only gather together at dinner, which was also a good time for Jon to accumulate recognition points.

Just as Jon was observing this place without saying a word, an old soldier with white hair and beard walked in at some point and sat down in the seat that was reserved for him at the front.

"That's Dennis, right?"

Grenn whispered in Jon's ear.

Jon looked over and found that Dennis looked very old, with pale hair and beard and deep wrinkles showing the traces of the passage of time.

But he was in good spirits, especially when he was chewing food, he did not feel any effort as expected for an old man of his age.

The two chatted idly, and Jon saw that some people were finishing their meal and leaving. However, he still couldn't think of a way to let everyone know that he was about to leave the Wall, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.