King Robert, having drunk too much and spurred on by the crowd, slammed his fist on the table and declared,
"I'll be the first king to conquer the lands beyond the Wall!"
Benjen Stark was the first to voice his support.
"We of the Night's Watch have long been ready to welcome His Majesty! Your Grace, when would you like to visit Castle Black and then lead a combined force to teach the wildlings beyond the Wall a lesson?"
The mention of war immediately piqued Robert's interest.
"I killed Rhaegar at the Ruby Ford back then. If I can kill Mance Rayder in the Haunted Forest this time, won't that proclaim my strength?" he thought to himself.
"Ned, you are the Lord of the North. Tell me, if we are to attack beyond the Wall, how should we deploy our troops?"
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Eddard Stark had Maester Luwin bring out a map of the North and the lands beyond the Wall, spreading it on the table.
Cersei, Catelyn, and the other women had already left, sensing they were not needed. Myrcella and Sansa also departed, but Arya remained.
"The lands beyond the Wall were originally one with Westeros, but eight thousand years ago, heroes like Azor Ahai and Brandon the Builder constructed the Wall to fight against the Others and the Long Night."
Eddard Stark pointed with a chopstick at the Wall, which stretched three hundred leagues across the northernmost part of the North.
"And the Night's Watch on the Wall serves as the first line of defense against wildlings and Others."
"There are nineteen castles along the Wall. However, to this day, only…"
Benjen Stark interjected, "Currently, only three castles are manned, and the Night's Watch numbers around nine hundred men."
"Shadow Tower in the west, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea in the east, and Castle Black in the middle are the only three remaining castles of the Night's Watch."
"The wildlings are elusive; they will climb the Wall when the Night's Watch isn't looking and enter the North."
"What? You mean wildlings can come into the North? Do we have wildlings here too?" King Robert asked.
He knew about wildlings; there were wildlings in the Vale too. But the wildlings beyond the Wall were different; they were older, more primitive, and more fearsome.
"Thoros, get out here!"
King Robert shouted.
A bald man in a red robe emerged from the crowd. It was Thoros; after arriving at Winterfell, he had bought a red robe at the Winter Town market and draped it over himself.
"Thoros, use your flames to see if there are any wildlings from beyond the Wall in Winterfell."
"As you command, Your Grace! But perhaps it would be more convenient to use greensight. Isn't the child from the Neck here as well?" Thoros said.
"A crannogman?" Eddard Stark frowned.
Jojen Reed stepped forward, his attire quite peculiar, wearing a fishing net and with a frog in his mouth. He walked up to Eddard Stark and bowed.
"My father is Howland Reed. It has been a long time, Lord Eddard."
"So you are his son!" Eddard Stark's expression didn't seem overly pleased.
Because he and Howland Reed shared a secret. And this secret could not be known to Robert.
"Jojen, can your greensight tell if there are wildlings lurking in Winterfell?" Eddard Stark asked.
"Far away, yet right before your eyes, he is the wildling."
Jojen Reed pointed at a singer.
The singer wore a black cloak, its tears mended with red thread, seemingly hinting at a story.
"Hahaha, I never thought my identity would be exposed after all! You're right, boy, I am a wildling. I am the leader of the free folk, the King-Beyond-the-Wall: Mance Rayder."
Mance Rayder stepped forward and said.
"What, you're really a wildling? But you play the lute so well, it doesn't seem right! And your singing is so good; that song, 'The Dornishman's Wife,' I can never forget it!" King Robert exclaimed.
"Robert, Eddard Stark, Benjen, you are all discussing how to attack beyond the Wall. Would you be willing to hear me out?" Mance Rayder asked.
"Speak!" Eddard Stark said gravely.
"Let the wildlings into the North. Together, we can face our common enemy, just as in ancient times, when the King-Beyond-the-Wall and the King of the North fought the Night King of the Nightfort," Mance Rayder said.
Speaking of Nightfort, it was once the largest of the Night's Watch's nineteen castles, but it had since been abandoned.
"You traitor to the Night's Watch, what right do you have to propose cooperation with us!" Benjen Stark angrily denounced Mance Rayder, though the two had no prior interaction.
Because Mance Rayder had deserted long before Benjen Stark joined the Night's Watch, they did not know each other.
Mufasa thought they might be in for a long war of words, so he decided to step out for some fresh air.
However, Mufasa's figure was spotted by Robert, who immediately called out to him.
"Mufasa, where are you going?"
"Heh heh, Your Majesty, I'm just going out for some fresh air, and to see if there are any other wildlings to catch them all," Mufasa replied.
"You were the one who suggested marching beyond the Wall, you can't leave! Come here, help us interrogate Mance Rayder!"
King Robert placed a chair next to himself and Eddard Stark, inviting Mufasa to sit there.
He had received a special honor!
Robb Stark, Theon, Jon, and the others looked at Mufasa with envy. Sitting with the king was at least the treatment of a duke!
"Mufasa, do you have anything you'd like to ask?" Robert inquired.
Mufasa thought for a moment. "Mance Rayder, how many wildlings are there? Give me a rough estimate."
"Not counting the Skane and Skagos islands, probably over two hundred thousand wildlings," Mance Rayder said.
"The land beyond the Wall is vast, much larger than the North, but the northernmost part is the Lands of Always Winter. There are no records of it, only some mentions in legends."
"What's in the Lands of Always Winter?" Mufasa asked, a question everyone wanted to know.
"Legendary creatures: the Others, giant ice spiders, and mythical ice dragons. It's a place where humans, including wildlings, cannot tread. To go there is to face certain death."
"The Others come from the Lands of Always Winter."
"Is there any way to deal with these Others you speak of?" Mufasa asked.
"I don't know, only that the dead must be burned, or they will rise again one night, becoming wights with blue flames in their eyes, and they will kill you while you sleep," Mance Rayder said.
"Lord Benjen, do you of the Night's Watch know how to fight the Others?" Mufasa looked at the First Ranger.
"According to the Night's Watch records, the Children of the Forest once gifted the Night's Watch a hundred dragonglass daggers each year. Perhaps dragonglass is the key to defeating the Others," Benjen said.
"My lords, it seems there is also a historical account in the ancient texts of Winterfell!" Maester Luwin interjected at this point.
"What history, Maester Luwin?" Eddard Stark asked.
"The Night King of the Nightfort was once jointly besieged by the King-Beyond-the-Wall and the King of the North. And Brandon Stark, the King of the North at the time, personally slew him with the ice sword, and then also killed his pale-skinned, blue-eyed Other bride."
"Are you saying Ice can defeat the Others?" Eddard asked.
"Ice is a Valyrian steel sword. Valyrian steel swords were a batch of weapons forged during the Freehold of Valyria using magic and special smithing techniques. Perhaps they possess the ability to fight the Others," Maester Luwin said.
Jaime Lannister looked at his Lion's Tooth sword and was glad Mufasa had given him a Valyrian steel sword.
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