King Robert, having had too much to drink and provoked by the crowd, slammed his hand onto the table.
"I will 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 Your Grace! When would you like to visit Castle Black, Your Grace? Lead a coalition and teach those wildlings a lesson!"
Mentioning war only fueled Robert's interest further.
I killed Rhaegar at the Trident. If I can kill Mance Rayder in the Haunted Forest this time, wouldn't that demonstrate my strength to the world again? he thought.
"Ned, you are the Lord of the North. Tell me, if we are to attack beyond the Wall, how should we deploy our forces?"
Eddard Stark had Maester Luwin bring out maps of the North and the lands beyond the Wall, spreading them on the table.
Cersei, Catelyn, and the other ladies, realizing this wasn't for them, had left. Myrcella and Sansa followed, but Arya remained.
"Originally, the lands beyond the Wall and Westeros were one. But eight thousand years ago, heroes of that age, including Azor Ahai and Bran the Builder, constructed the Wall to fight against the White Walkers and the Long Night."
Eddard Stark used a chopstick to point at the Wall, stretching three hundred leagues across the northernmost part of the map.
"The Night's Watch on the Wall is the first line of defense against wildlings and White Walkers."
"There are nineteen castles along the Wall. However, currently only..."
Benjen Stark picked up the thread. "Currently, only three are manned. The Night's Watch has roughly nine hundred men."
" The Shadow Tower in the west, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea in the east, and Castle Black in the center. These are the only three castles left."
"The wildlings are elusive. They climb the Wall when the Watch isn't looking and enter the North."
"What? You mean wildlings come into the North? Are there wildlings here right now?" King Robert asked.
He knew of wildlings; the Vale had mountain clans, too. But the wildlings beyond the Wall were different—more ancient, more primitive, and more terrifying.
"Thoros! Get out here!"
King Robert shouted.
A bald, large man wearing a red robe stepped out from the crowd. It was Thoros. Since arriving at Winterfell, he had bought a red robe at the Winter Town market to wear.
"Thoros, use your flames. See if there are any wildlings from beyond the Wall inside Winterfell."
"As you command, Your Grace! Though perhaps using Greensight would be more convenient. Is the child from the Neck not here as well?" Thoros suggested.
"The crannogman?" Eddard Stark frowned.
Jojen Reed stepped forward. His appearance was distinct, wearing a net and holding a frog in his mouth. He walked up to Eddard Stark and bowed.
"My father is Howland Reed. It has been long, Lord Eddard."
"So you are his son!" Eddard Stark didn't seem overly pleased.
He and Howland Reed shared a secret. A secret Robert must never know.
"Jojen, can your Greensight reveal if there are wildlings in Winterfell?" Eddard Stark asked.
"Far on the horizon, yet right before your eyes. He is a wildling."
Jojen Reed pointed at a singer.
The singer wore a black cloak, its tears mended with red silk thread. It seemed to tell a story.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect my identity to be exposed after all! You're right, lad. I am a wildling. I am the leader of the Free Folk, the King-Beyond-the-Wall: Mance Rayder."
Mance Rayder stepped forward.
"What? You really are a wildling? But you play the lute so well! It shouldn't be possible! And your singing voice... that song, 'The Dornishman's Wife,' I haven't been able to forget it," King Robert exclaimed.
"Robert, Eddard Stark, Benjen. You are discussing how to attack beyond the Wall. Would you be willing to hear me out?" Mance Rayder asked.
"Speak!" Eddard Stark commanded solemnly.
"Let the Free Folk into the North. We can face our common enemy together, just like in ancient times when the King-Beyond-the-Wall and the King in the North joined forces to defeat the Night's King at the Nightfort," Mance Rayder proposed.
The Nightfort was once the largest of the nineteen castles but had long been abandoned.
"You traitor to the Night's Watch! What face do you have to speak of cooperation?" Benjen Stark rebuked Mance Rayder angrily, though the two had never actually crossed paths.
Mance Rayder had deserted before Benjen Stark joined the Watch, so they didn't know each other personally.
Lancelot felt they might argue for a long time, so he decided to step out for some fresh air.
However, Robert spotted him leaving and immediately called out.
"Lancelot, where are you going?"
"Hehe, Your Grace, I was just going out for some air. Maybe check if there are other wildlings and catch them all," Lancelot said.
"Attacking beyond the Wall was your idea; you can't leave! Get over here and help us interrogate Mance Rayder!"
King Robert placed a chair next to himself and Eddard Stark, gesturing for Lancelot to sit.
It was a distinct honor!
Robb Stark, Theon, Jon, and others looked at Lancelot with envy. Sitting with the King—that was at least duke-level treatment!
"Lancelot, do you have any questions?" Robert asked.
Lancelot thought for a moment. "Mance Rayder, how many people do you have? Give me a rough number."
"Excluding those on Skane and Skagos... about two hundred thousand," Mance Rayder answered.
"The land beyond the Wall is vast, much larger than the North. But the northernmost part is the Land of Always Winter. There are no records of it, only legends."
"What is in the Land of Always Winter?" Lancelot asked, a question everyone wanted the answer to.
"Legendary creatures. White Walkers, giant ice spiders, and mythical ice dragons. It is a place where humans, including the Free Folk, cannot tread. To go there is certain death."
"The White Walkers come from the Land of Always Winter."
"Is there any way to defeat these White Walkers you speak of?" Lancelot asked.
"I don't know. I only know the dead must be burned. Otherwise, they will rise in the night, becoming walking corpses with blue fire in their eyes, and kill you while you sleep," Mance Rayder said.
"Lord Benjen, does the Night's Watch know how to defeat White Walkers?" Lancelot turned to the First Ranger.
"In the records of the Night's Watch, the Children of the Forest used to gift the Watch a hundred dragonglass daggers every year. Perhaps dragonglass is the key to defeating them," Benjen said.
"My lords, in the ancient archives of Winterfell, there seems to be a record of this history as well!" Maester Luwin spoke up.
"What history, Maester Luwin?" Eddard Stark asked.
"When the Night's King of the Nightfort was besieged by the King-Beyond-the-Wall and the King in the North, the King in the North, Brandon the Breaker, used the sword Ice to personally behead him. Afterward, he also killed the Night's King's bride—the one with pale skin and blue eyes, a White Walker."
"Are you saying Ice can defeat White Walkers?" Eddard asked.
"Ice is a Valyrian steel sword. Valyrian steel was forged in the Freehold of Valyria using magic and special techniques. Perhaps it possesses the ability to kill White Walkers," Maester Luwin theorized.
Jaime Lannister looked at the sword Lion's Roar in his hand. He was very glad Lancelot had given him a Valyrian steel sword.