Chapter 218

As Ygritte was dragged away by Jon, her face full of defiance, the hall erupted into chaos once again.

Some cursed Jon for being blinded by lust, while others hurled insults at the wildling woman’s ingratitude. But it was undeniable that every member of the Night’s Watch was deeply unsettled by the sheer scale of Mance Rayder’s invasion plans and their own dire lack of manpower. The more astute among them had already begun discussing possible strategies.

Aegor sighed as he watched the wildling woman leave. He turned to Mormont and shook his head slightly.

He had managed to salvage some dignity in the verbal sparring, suppressing Ygritte’s arrogance for the moment. But such a war of words was ultimately meaningless. While it might be true that “time is on the Night’s Watch’s side,” the brothers had to survive long enough for that to matter. And the reality was grim—only the Others knew when their strength would grow great enough to approach the Wall without hindrance. Neither of the two possible outcomes—“the wildlings breach the Wall and destroy the Night’s Watch” or “the Night’s Watch holds the Wall until the wildlings are all turned into an army of wights”—was acceptable to Aegor.
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“Lord Commander, what I told that wildling woman earlier was pure conjecture meant to save face,” Aegor admitted. “But the reality is this: we have no way to stop Mance Rayder’s assault if he follows through with his plan.”

“We must immediately relocate all remaining Gift residents into our strongholds for protection,” Maester Aemon said slowly. “Our manpower is already critically low. If we allow the wildlings to continue slaughtering or driving the people southward, the situation will only worsen. We cannot afford another tragedy like Mole’s Town.”

“I’ll make the arrangements as soon as possible. Does anyone else have suggestions?” Mormont asked.

“Both Castle Black and the Shadow Tower need walls as soon as possible,” the Master Builder said gravely. The traditional rules of the Night’s Watch forbade the construction of defensive walls around their strongholds, but with wildlings now attacking their bases, it was time to reconsider.

Mormont hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Add it to the agenda. Start by repairing or dismantling the ruined towers at Castle Black and using the spare stone to build walls.”

The First Ranger spoke up next. “We must also resume patrols along the top of the Wall to prevent the wildlings from climbing over and launching a flanking assault. Without the height advantage, we’re nothing.”

“The Wall’s summit hasn’t been cleared of snow or gravel in years. It’s barely passable,” the Master Builder countered. “If the wildlings want to attack from the top, they’ll have to clear a path first. I don’t think they have the time.”

“Walking along the Wall might be difficult, but for those crazy enough to climb seven hundred feet of ice, navigating the summit isn’t much harder,” the First Ranger retorted.

“Fine, you’re right,” the Master Builder grumbled. “But even if we want to resume patrols, where will we find the manpower? Clearing the paths and assigning patrols requires people. If we assign too many, our bases will be undefended. If we assign too few, how will they deal with wildlings already atop the Wall?”
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“It all comes back to the same problem—lack of manpower,” Aegor interjected, cutting through the argument with a serious expression. “Without addressing this, everything else is just a stopgap. And there’s another issue: the wildlings are using birds to scout us from the air. Everything we do, they see. Every military movement, every weakness—it’s all exposed to them. Now that Mance Rayder’s plan has been revealed, this war has turned into a game of open cards. To win such a battle, we need more than just luck—we need strength equal to or greater than theirs.”

“There’s no doubt we need outside aid,” Mormont said, taking a deep breath. “Otherwise, our only options will be annihilation or negotiating with Mance to open the gates.”

“Negotiation is an option,” Jaremy Rykker said cautiously, “but there’s no guarantee the wildlings won’t turn on us the moment they’re inside. To them, we’re nothing but kneelers. Unless we can put a blade to their throats, they’ll never follow our laws. That wildling woman today clearly views letting us live as a form of charity.”

“If we can’t humble the wildlings, there’s no point in talking about negotiation,” Aegor added. “Without power, it wouldn’t be negotiation—it would be surrender. We need to find a way to break Mance Rayder’s confidence. And if we’re looking for outside help…”

“You’ve spent years in the South,” Mormont said, turning to Aegor. “Don’t you have any connections? Perhaps mercenaries?”

“Mercenaries?” Aegor let out a bitter laugh. “Lord Commander, you must be joking. Do you know how much mercenaries cost? The Logistics Corps has some business dealings in King’s Landing, and they’re doing well. But hiring mercenaries—enough to fight ten thousand wildlings—is out of the question. Besides, with war raging in the South, anyone who can wield a weapon has already gone there to sell their services. Prices are higher than ever. What we need are cheap—or better yet, free—reinforcements.”

Cheap, or free reinforcements? Such a thing seemed impossible.

Aegor hadn’t thought of anyone fitting that description when he spoke. But half a second later, an idea struck him. “When Robb Stark marched south, did he enlist the mountain clans?”

“The mountain clans?” Heads turned toward Aegor, and a few faces lit up with realization.

“Yes,” someone confirmed. “Each clan sent warriors to join Robb. Their leaders all know Eddard Stark and call him ‘Ned the Lord.’ The moment they heard his orders—especially since they involved raiding the richest lords in the Seven Kingdoms—they were eager to comply.”

Hope flickered and died in Aegor’s chest, but Mormont quickly rekindled it. “Wait. It’s true they sent warriors south with Robb. But unlike the rest of the North, the mountain clans don’t farm.”

They don’t farm? What does that mean?

Realization dawned on Aegor. “They don’t farm, so the harvest season doesn’t matter to them. Even though they sent their warriors south, the rest of the clans can still come to our aid!”

“Exactly!” the First Steward exclaimed, slapping the table in excitement. “The mountain clans live like wildlings but have been tamed by centuries of Northern rule. They’re fierce fighters—men and women alike. If we can persuade them to help defend the Wall, our manpower problem will be solved!”
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The Night’s Watch had long traded with the mountain clans, so they were well-acquainted with these “friendly barbarians.” After some discussion, Aegor gained a preliminary understanding of them.

As Tyrion Lannister once said, wildlings were “those unlucky enough to find themselves north of the Wall when it was built.” The mountain clans, by contrast, were the lucky ones who ended up south of it.

These clans lived in the mountains north of the Wolfswood, near the Gift, and shared nearly identical customs and lifestyles with the Free Folk. They worshipped the Old Gods, were fiercely independent, and consisted of around forty tribes. The Flint and Norrey clans, closest to the Gift, were particularly friendly with the Night’s Watch due to their proximity to wildling raids across the Gorge.

They were poor, warlike, and proud—the perfect allies.

“How many people do they have?” Aegor asked.

“No one knows for sure—no census has ever been taken. Altogether, they might number twenty to thirty thousand across forty clans. But the farther a clan lives from the Wall, the harder it will be to convince them. Even if we can gather one or two thousand, it will make a huge difference.”

“One or two thousand…”

“Some of them might even be women!”

“Is that all you think about?”
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“Good. It seems today’s meeting wasn’t a waste,” Mormont said, a faint smile breaking through his grim expression. He coughed to silence the room. “The details can be worked out by each department. For now, I’ll assign tasks.”

The hall fell silent as everyone turned to the Lord Commander.

“Rangers will maintain watch along the Wall’s summit and the areas surrounding our strongholds. Builders will begin constructing walls for Castle Black and the Shadow Tower. First Steward, you must relocate the remaining Gift residents into the three main strongholds and ensure they’re cared for. Chief Logistician, you’ve dealt with many people in the South. You’ll visit the mountain clans and seek their aid.”

Mormont glanced toward Jaime Lannister and his remaining guards. “Finally, I will assign twenty more rangers from Castle Black to Eastwatch for ship training, so the warships Lord Manderly donated can be put to use. As for the gap in our ranger numbers, Andrew Tarth will oversee the training of the new recruits and assign them to fill the vacancies. All tasks are to begin immediately. Dismissed!”

The meeting concluded, and the hall emptied as the Night’s Watch set to work.