RoWE - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Fishing for People

It was impossible for him to return to the Wall to participate in the capture of a wight, so how could he remotely control the Night's Watch to accomplish the bold feat of "capturing a wight" without command authority... This required careful planning.

Of course, since Mormont had specifically written to ask for men and supplies, it was clear that he wasn't planning to launch the expedition immediately. Aeg still had some time to plan this matter. Let's put this aside for now and focus on the present.

***

During dinner, Aeg relayed the urgency of the letter to Yoren. The old crow, who still had some money in his pocket, enough to enjoy a few more days in King's Landing, couldn't hide his dismay and disappointment at the sudden order to return.

"You can take your time on the road," Aeg instinctively advised him, fully understanding how the other felt after a year as a member of the Night's Watch, "When are you leaving?"

"Taking my time on the road is a good idea, but I dare not stay here after receiving the order." Yoren said with a troubled expression, "Anyway, I've already gathered a dozen people, and the preparations are complete. We'll leave tomorrow."

"Good, then I'll ask you for a favor. The one we talked about before, Jaqen H'ghar, who was caught for stealing books, leave him with me to help out."

"That dangerous guy?" The old man stared at his brother in black, puzzled: "What do you want him for?"

"Since he spent several nights in the library reading books, he must be literate." Aeg explained, "The office is currently short of someone who can read and write."

"Literate men aren't hard to find, are they?" Although Yoren was illiterate, he found the excuse amusing: "I'll be blunt, Aeg. That guy can come and go freely even in the Red Keep's library. If you rescue him from his chains, he'll disappear without a trace. I've made up my mind that before I hand him over to Alliser at the Black Castle, I absolutely won't let him or the other two murderers out of their cage."

Aeg completely agreed with and supported Yoren's judgment and decision, but if he couldn't keep Jaqen, could the Black Castle? With the skills and unpredictable methods of this top Braavosi spy, even a master like Barristan could only catch him by luck, trapping him in a room. What Aeg wanted to do was just to do him a favor—since he would run away sooner or later, letting him out at least a month early could be considered a significant favor. As for what happened next, he would keep him around for as long as possible. Making the acquaintance of such a capable person was never a bad thing.

He didn't waste any more words and directly handed a round, shiny gold coin to the old crow: "Don't worry about it. Agree to this, and the travel expenses will be enough for you to eat and drink well all the way to the Black Castle. Not only that, next time you come to King's Landing, I'll give you ten men."

Ten men? By the time you come to King's Landing again, you'll be lucky if you haven't run off yourself. Yoren sneered disdainfully, but after squeezing the heavy gold coin in his hand, he finally nodded: "Alright, be careful yourself. Don't let the Kingsguard find out that the guy they caught is still alive and kicking outside, and don't get killed by him."

"I'll be careful."

***

Tyrion's passion for entrepreneurship remained high. He got up early every day and left the house without a trace. This little man and his brother Jaime Lannister were two extremes—the elder brother was the heir chosen by their father but yearned for knightly virtues, honor, and public recognition; while the younger brother, a dwarf whom his own father wished had never been born, subconsciously craved his father's and the family's approval.

He was enthusiastic about the sudden career he had found, and more than making money, he probably wanted to earn a second glance from his father, Lord Tywin.

Ah, Aeg, don't worry about others. Think about your own affairs instead.

Clearing his mind, Aeg dressed and left the room. After washing up and agreeing on a time to meet and hand over with Yoren at the breakfast table, he went to the office as usual to begin his day as the head of the Night's Watch office.

After the sun had risen a bit, Arya also came diligently for her lesson. Unfortunately, Aeg was already prepared to go out and rescue Jaqen H'ghar.

"Master!" The girl didn't feel discouraged at all, "Where are you going? I want to come too!"

"No, I'm going to see off my brothers in black and the new recruits back to the Wall. It's just a bunch of scum and rapists, nothing to see. You either wait here or go back to the Red Keep." Aeg shook his head. Rescuing one of the prisoners who had agreed to join the Night's Watch in the north was something that couldn't be seen by the Stark family.

"I want to see them off too!"

Aeg raised his eyebrows: "Don't make trouble, be good."

The girl glared at the man for a few seconds before softening: "Hmm... alright, I'll wait for you in the room. How long will you be gone?"

"Before the sun sets." The Night's Watchman's expression eased: "Watch the shop for your master, and there will be a reward when I return."

"Hmph!"

Aeg nodded in satisfaction. The first step in disciplining Arya had gone quite smoothly.

Humans are just another kind of animal, and compared to adults, children have more animalistic traits than human ones, and this is more pronounced the younger they are. Smart "animals" are highly malleable. As long as you consciously guide them from the beginning with various reward and punishment mechanisms to form corresponding habits, making them conditioned to know when their requests will be met and when no amount of coaxing or tantrums will work, future interactions will be much simpler—Arya had already seen Aeg's expression earlier and knew that when he looked like that, there was no room for negotiation, so she didn't continue to make a fuss.

Of course, these principles are simple to say but difficult to implement at first. Aeg also took advantage of Arya's good nature, her belief that he was a master, and his lack of fear of offending her, relying on a set of rules to suppress the arrogance of this Stark princess and achieve such astonishing results in a short time. This obviously surprised the Winterfell guard responsible for escorting Arya to and from school. The gray-robed soldier's eyes almost popped out: When did their unruly young lady become so obedient?

***

The Night's Watch's first outpost in the south was located opposite the East Garrison, one of King's Landing's two "police stations." There was nothing valuable or important in the office yet. After a brief explanation, Aeg left Arya and the open door with confidence and rode towards the northwest of King's Landing.

Riding out of the Gods Gate and strolling along the beginning of the King's Road for a few miles, he quickly found Yoren and his group waiting for him.

Two carts were parked under the shade of the trees by the roadside, one dragging a wooden cage for the prisoners, the other carrying some spices, medicines, and herbs that Yoren had just bought. The shipment of supplies provided by Tyrion and Aeg for the Wall greatly reduced Yoren's pressure, otherwise, he would have had to spend days running around for purchases and overseeing an entire caravan.

Besides the two carts and the horses pulling them, there were also five or six donkeys and a dozen people under the shade of the trees. The Night's Watch crow himself sat on the board of the cargo cart. The few orphans he had tricked with promises of "food and warmth" were either squatting or standing by the roadside, bored, curiously watching Aeg approach on horseback with the prisoners forced to join the Night's Watch—even a fool could see that although he wore the same black clothes, the man coming was much more imposing. Perhaps he was an officer of the Night's Watch?

The clever ones had already begun to think about how to please their future superior, but Aeg didn't give them the chance to waste their efforts. He walked straight towards Yoren, greeted him, and the latter jumped down from the cart.

"Changed your mind?"

"Why should I change my mind?" Aeg snorted, looking at the three people in the cage.

Yoren's fear of these three was justified. One of them had no nose, just a hollow in his face; another was a fat bald man with sharp teeth and a face full of pus-filled pimples, his eyes like those of a beast; and the last one, with neat features and tidy clothes, looked gentle and was in stark contrast to the other two, yet he was unharmed, creating a strong sense of incongruity.

Very ordinary, not at all the suave and handsome appearance of the actors in the TV show, Aeg thought. If they hadn't been locked in this cage, he would never have been able to pick Jaqen H'ghar out of a crowd. As a spy and assassin, the other had achieved the point of "ordinary appearance."

However, who knows if Jaqen's current appearance was his true face? How did the Faceless Men change their appearance, mostly through human skin masks or with the help of magic?

He didn't let his gaze linger on the target for too long. After deliberately looking around, he said loudly, "The Night's Watch office needs someone who can read and write to help out. Any of you know how to read?"