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The Redfish (Edmure SI) chapter 102
🕑 Added 2023-07-21 14:32:33 +0000 UTCNorthern flames
Robb POV
The sun was disappearing from the horizon as the night descended. Dark storm clouds could be seen fleeting toward us. We knew that with it came death. Standing on the wall of Hardhome, I looked down as my men entered the settlement. Mance Rayder stood beside me, waiting for me to do something that would let him kill me.
Looking behind me at the settlement, I saw the wildlings gathering everything they could carry with their hands to the harbor. Children and the elderly entered the ships first. But I could see quite a few men trying to push themselves forward and disregard everyone else. I couldn’t blame them too much, as fear had overtaken them.
“You better keep your word, Stark,” Tormund said.
I understood why he was concerned. After the ships were provided to them, nobody questioned or cared why. They rushed to escape this forsaken land to safety. Even if I would take my word back, I didn’t think most of the wildlings would care. Only the core of Mance’s forces cared about it. The rest were too happy to leave no matter what.
“Once we return to my home, I will marry Val and proclaim you as the people of the North,” I replied. “You will be given land and some freedom to live your lives as you want, as long as you follow the laws of the North.”
I was adamant about it. It would be hard to convince the rest of the lords to accept them. If they started breaking laws right and left, I wouldn’t be able to stop some people from carrying out their justice to the wildlings. I fear many Northmen would be too happy to do so, and they wouldn’t mind ignoring my orders.
“It is going slower than expected,” Mance commented as he saw the wildlings had trouble boarding the ships.
“At this rate, it will take almost all the night for them to get into the ships,” I said. “Go, lead them. I think Tormund alone will be enough to keep an eye on me.”
“Tormund?” Mance turned to the white-haired man.
“I will be fine. The Stark boy is puny. I can handle him if needed,” Tormund replied boisterously.
With Mance leading the wildlings, they should take less time to get to the ships. And seeing the ever-approaching storm clouds, we didn’t have much time. My men entered the settlement but didn’t do anything and stood in place. They still were cautious of the wildlings and, without my ordering, wouldn’t move to help anyone.
“We should prepare defenses,” I said to Tormund. “Your people won’t be able to board the ships in time.”
“We have sturdy and tall walls,” Tormund replied. “They will repel the dead.”
“For how long?” I asked. “An hour or two? They will climb the wall and rush to the settlement.”
“Then we defend it,” Tormund didn’t seem concerned much.
“Who will?” I asked. “Someone might need to stay behind while we take the ships.”
“You ask too many things,” Tormund replied.
I sighed. The wildlings might be great warriors, but they needed more strategic thinking. They might know fighting, but they don’t understand warfare. Looking at the sky, I could tell we had about two hours until the dead came. Not enough time for the wildlings to board the ships. It took too much time to coordinate a hundred thousand people.
“Let’s go,” I said. “We will meet, my lord, and discuss the defensive plan.”
“You are not to leave my sight,” Tormund replied.
“I will not. You will be coming with me, right?” I asked Tormund. “There is nothing for us to do here. Or do you like to watch the clouds?”
Tormund grunted in agreement. We soon climbed down the walls and walked to the gates where my men were gathered. Quite a few wildlings were staring at them and keeping an eye on them, especially on the men of Night’s Watch. The woman with red hair and the man with bones covering his armor was among them.
“My lord,” Lord Umber was the first to greet me.
“Lord Umber, Lord Karstark,” I turned to them before checking how the rest of the men were doing. “Lord Manderly, how long do you think it will take to board the ships at this pace?”
“Six hours, I would say,” Ser Wylis Manderly replied. “Sooner if they throw away their possessions.”
“And be left with nothing?” Tormund asked. “You would want us to depend on you for everything, wouldn’t you?”
“If it were me, I would like not even one of you to step into our lands,” Lord Umber replied.
“Keep talking,” The man in Bones said. “Give us a reason to kill you all and take the ships for our own.”
“Heh,” Lord Umber snorted. “Kill us? Please, I can see that most of your renowned warriors are already running before children and women can. We would gladly die to kill you all, so please give us a reason.”
“Enough, Rattleshirt,” Before I could say anything, Mance returned. “We won’t be able to board the ships before nightfall. And the dead won’t wait for us.”
“We need to plan our defensives,” I said. “We will give all our animal fat and oil. Only fire can stop the dead, but the Others don’t mind it. They can only be killed by dragon stone and the Valyrian steel.”
“We only need to worry about the wooden walls in front of the settlement,” Mance said. “They won’t be able to pass through the cliffs. And if they try, they will fall to their death.”
“They won’t die even if crushed,” Lord Commander said.
“No, but their bones will be broken,” Tormund replied. “At best, few will be able to crawl with one limb. Trust me, we tested it.”
“Most of the buildings are built of wood,” I commented.
“Aye,” Mance replied. “What of it?”
“We should burn Hardhome,” I stated. “Once we retreat to the ships, they will pass through the walls. So, we should burn Hardhome on our way out. We would leave walls of fire between them and us.”
“If it worked, we could take a good chunk of the dead,” The red-haired woman said.
“Ygritte,” Mance turned to the woman. “Take some men and start spreading hay into houses and preparing torches.”
“Ser Wyllis, lead my men to the Harbor and make sure that the boarding goes smoothly as it can,” I said. “Lord Commander, I will need a few hundred men to stay with us and defend the walls.”
“I will stay behind, too,” Lord Umber announced. “I will not trust my back to a bunch of wildlings.”
Quickly we made plans to hold the dead at bay while the rest of the people boarded the ships. We didn’t have much time, and men promptly started preparing. Animal fat and oil were brought to the wall. Some were spared for the wooden houses. Instead of waiting for death, I walked on the wall and observed the storm clouds approaching us.
…
I could feel the cold snow falling on me. Seeing anything beyond the fires we made near the walls was impossible. And those fires will be gone in an hour or two at most. Then it would be hard to tell what is happening. Looking behind me, I saw the roads to the harbor lit by torches and lanterns. Once it is time to retreat, we won’t have time to stumble in the darkness.
“Ser Wyllis, how much more time do we need?” I asked, seeing the knight of House Manderly climb the stairs to the top of the wall.
“Three, my lord,” He replied. “Boats will be left for the rest of you to get it. You will have to row to the ships, as they would take too long to depart the harbor otherwise.”
“Good, inform the others of it too,” I said. “And then leave to the ships.”
“You sure you don’t need me, my lord?”
“We have two hundred men from Night’s Watch, hundred Northmen, and four hundred wildlings watching the wall,” I replied. “Even if you counted for four men, you wouldn’t be needed. I will feel better knowing the ships will be prepared to leave soon without hiccups.”
“Aye, I will make sure that no mistakes will be made, my lord,” Ser Wyllis said. “I swear on my family’s name.”
I nodded thanks as Ser Wyllis left, climbing back to the settlement. I felt better knowing that Ser Wyllis would oversee that everything went smoothly. It would not be good if we retreated to find that the ships still couldn’t depart. We couldn’t afford such a mistake in this situation. After all, death was closing in on us.
It didn’t take much time for us to see shadows getting closer to the wall. With one hand raised and motion for the archers to prepare. The archers drew their bows, lit their arrows on fire with the torches placed on the wall, and pointed at the darkness. Just as I saw something move near the light of the fires near the walls, I let my hand down, and the archers let loose their arrows.
Before the arrows fell to the ground, archers quickly drew new arrows. I raised my hand as the flame arrows fell to the ground. I let out my breath, which I didn’t know was holding, as I saw the flame arrows hit the dead rushing at the walls. With a reserve, I ordered another after another volley of flame arrows to be loose on the dead that was now barely visible.
But I knew the icy wind I felt on my skin wouldn’t let the fire stay lit for long. Archers swiftly lit their arrows ablaze along the wall and aimed the approaching army of dead once again. They knew what must be done, and there was no need to waste more time for my orders to go through. A volley of fiery arrows soared through the frigid air, descending like falling stars upon the undead mass as I let my hand down.
Yet it wasn’t near enough to stop them. Some of the wights were engulfed in flames and fell. Others ignored the fire and continued to rush and slam at the gates. With a bone-chilling roar, the wights crashed against the wall and the gates. But even then, they didn’t stop. They climbed on each other's backs, clawing their way up.
“They are coming, Stark!” Tormund yelled, concern filling his face.
“Hold our positions!” I shouted back, trying to sound as assured as I could.
“Hold! Hold!” Lord Commanders raven caw.
It was still too early to panic, even if the wights ignored their burning brethren and pressed on. We still illuminated the dark lands with a fiery glow or burning wights. The crackling flames consume their decrepit bodies. But more and more emerged from the darkness. There are thousands of them if not tens of thousands. I wouldn’t even be surprised if hundreds of thousands were in the dark.
“Hold steady! Keep firing!” I yelled out again.
Arrows reach the skulls and bones of the wights and collapse them in flames. It was good thinking to cover the base of the wooden wall with stones, as by now, the fire probably would reach us. Yet it wasn’t enough as the dead collapsed on each other their continued to claw their way. And even though the gates still held, it was only a question of time before they collapsed under all this weight, even with all the support we managed to make.
I didn’t know how much time had passed. An hour? Twenty minutes? I couldn’t afford to count the time as I had to focus on everything happening below the walls. Suddenly a gust of icy wind passed by us. I felt the hair on my arms stand up, and my heart started to race suddenly. The snow began to fall more fiercely than ever, and soon it covered the fires, extinguishing them and letting the wights reach the wall easier.
“We can’t hold them for much longer!” Someone shouted.
“We can hold them back!” I yelled louder, trying to drown out the men’s doubts. “For the North! For a living! Drop the logs!”
Quickly men bend to pick up round logs covered in animal fat or oil. As some of them prepared to drop them, others quickly used their torches to set them aflame before their rolled off the wall into the mass of the dead. The logs knocked them back and engulfed them in flames again. But I knew it wouldn’t be the end and ordered the men to keep firing.
As the night wore on, the defenders continued to fight with all their strength and determination. Each fiery arrow seemed a beacon of hope against the encroaching darkness. But I knew the battle was far from over, even if they had held the line for now. Fearing the answer, I didn’t even dare ask how much time had passed.
…
I was getting anxious. As our arrows started to run out, the piles of the dead continued to grow. I could hear the loud creaking of the gates and knew they wouldn’t last long. We didn’t have logs to throw at them anymore. But the dead continue to claw closer and closer to us. And I could feel the Others not far behind them extinguishing the fire when it threatened to spread too much and consume them all.
“My lord!” I snapped my neck toward Lord Umber as he came to me. “The time is up.”
Instead of answering, I turned my eyes to the harbor to see lit fires, signaling they were prepared to depart. Yet my heart grew heavier as I saw the mass of the dead still upon us. Soon Lord Commander, Mance Rayder, and Tormund came to me too. They waited for my orders, but I could tell the wildings were about to run before hearing them.
“The wall will be breached if we leave,” I said. “Someone has to stay behind.”
“Just set the wall on fire as planned,” Tormund said.
“It won’t be enough,” Mance agreed with me. “There are too many of them. They will run right through the fire and chase us.”
“It isn’t part of our deal,” Tormund said. “I will not die today.”
“Not part of the deal!” Lord Umber yelled. “We are here because of your worthless lives. The least you can do is be a bit thankful. But I guess the wildlings as you are, you are not capable of it.”
“Lord Umber, enough!” Uncle Benjen said. “We don’t have time to argue. I will stay and order some of the men of the Night’s Watch to do the same.”
“No,” Lord Commander responded by taking off his Valyrian steel sword from his belt and handing it to Benjen. “Let this old man do his duty. You have to keep watch over the Wall, Benjen. Tell my sister I am sorry, but this sword will be more valuable on the Wall.”
“Lord Commander?” Benjen, just like me, turned to the Old Bear.
“Lord Stark, all I ask of you is to forgive my son, Jorah, and let him return home, even if he would never have the title of the lord.”
“It shall be done,” I replied.
“You alone won’t be able to hold the men from running away,” Lord Umber said. “I shall stay too. And will burn as many of these wretched shits as possible.”
“Lord Umber?” I couldn’t believe what I heard.
“I am not doing it for you, wretched wildlings,” Lord Umber spat at Tormund. “But I am an old man. I have questioned you too many times, my lord. And even though you never punished me for my stubbornness and insubordination, I still feel guilty about it. You have proven yourself strong, honorable, and good, but I still didn’t follow you as I must have. I want to meet your father with a proud face, so let me do this.”
“Greatjon,” I didn’t know what to say to him. “May the gods me with you.”
“Ha! All I need is my trusty axe,” Greatjon laughed. “Tell my son that it is his time to protect Last Hearth. Tell him I am proud of him and believe he won’t disappoint me. And I rather not see him any time soon, or I am going to kick his sorry ass.”
I nodded, remembering every word he said. Even Tormund had no comments to reply and thanked lord Umber and Lord Commander before we left the wall and ran to the harbor. We stayed silent even when we led the rest of the men through the empty settlement and got into the boats. I never turned my eyes from the wall, even when we boarded the ships.
We left Hardhome in silence and looked at Hardhome as it was set aflame, illuminating the night sky. I thank them once again, even though they would never hear it. I continued to watch Hardhome as we sailed away further and further. The fire was still visible no matter how far we were.
