04 Night's Watch.pdf - Chaos Bleeds

Chapter 2: The Wall & The GiftThe Night’s Watch often sends a delegation to Mole’s Town to purchasesupplies they cannot make themselves: typically staples, such asflour, but often raw iron or bulk cloth for clothing, as well as black dye.The largest trade in Mole’s Town, however, is not in goods but in services.The tavern there runs a brisk business in both local ale and a placeto bide the time away from the Wall for an evening, and no man dressedin black need fear being turned away.The other thriving trade is the brothel next door, with the whores ofMole’s Town (often its extra daughters and widows, or even wildlingwomen in need of shelter) providing a necessary service for the Watch.Although sleeping with women is technically oathbreaking, it’s notfor nothing that it’s shorthand for a whore to say she’s “borrowed theblack.” So long as none of the men forsake their duties for a prostitute,their brothers and the Lord Commander turn a blind eye.Other Places of NoteSouth of Castle Black along the Kingsroad, there stands an empty toweron top of a small ridge. No one lives or guards there. Its only purpose isits flat stone top, the parapets, and the rough pyre of wood that standsatop it, with a rough lean-to roof to keep the worst of the snow off of it.It can be seen from the top of the Wall, though it takes a sharp eye todo so. You can also see the top two-thirds of the Wall from its height.This is Watchtower Ridge, and it serves as a signal outpost betweenthe Wall, the Gift, and lands to the south. Some say it was built alongwith the Wall, with the intent of others as well that could carry the signalthem all the way to King’s Landing. Some say it’s of far more recentconstruction, built during the time of the Old King. Either way, there’sno one living now who knows how old it is.The watchtower is designed to serve as a signal fire, in case of calamity.To either alert the Wall if the Gift is attacked, or to alert the Gift andplaces beyond should the Long Night eventually arrive, faster than ravensor horses or ships could spread an alarm. Once men from the Watch andthe town kept the town staffed constantly, ready to light the signal fire ata moment’s notice and replace the fuel as needed. Time and a dwindlingpopulation have left only weekly visits to the watchtower, as well as dutiesgiven to men who live nearby to light it if given the signal.There are other towers as well, two more within the Gift and onewithin sight of Winterfell, all within sight of the Kingsroad. They arealso unmanned and in various stages of repair—making them perfectlocations for bandits, oathbreakers, or lovers on the run.RangingsThe Night’s Watch does not merely stand the Wall but patrols the areasclosest on both sides, ever alert for signs of danger. Rarely doesa threat present itself in its full terror in A Song of Ice and Fire. Evenworld-shaking horrors are preceded by innocuous whispers, incongruousevents, and morbid coincidence. The adventure seeds in this sectionare designed to not only give Night’s Watch characters a reason to leavethe Wall now and again, but could also lead into larger challenges tokeep Westeros safe from the things that lie beyond (and more).In its mission to keep the Wall from attack, the Watch sends its meninto the lands of the Far North regularly, looking for threats and talkingto the inhabitants of the lands beyond. Once patrols of the Watchmight have been gone a month at a time, ranging far to the north intheir efforts to keep threats at bay. Most patrols stay closer these days,however; there aren’t enough men to justify it. Even the most stalwartsentry can grow careless given enough time.It is almost all the Watch can do just to keep the Wall maintained,much less extend their reach beyond. Rangings, however, can includeresupplying the Wall, whether in recruits or men, and offering assistanceto the people of the Gift in dire need. Even in these times, theright motivation sends the black brothers out from their posts to upholdtheir oath.Operating ProceduresThe number of Brothers on a given patrol varies depending on the mission:patrols of the Wall consist of four brothers, two rangers, and twobuilders. Rangings to the north typically have between four and eightbrothers, depending on the need. Rangings to the south, inside Westeros,are the most lightly manned. Between one and three rangers aretypically sent on these trips given the comparatively low risk involvedand the lack of manpower.Once upon a time, the Lord Commander would send men everythird day from Castle Black to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and every secondday from Castle Black to the Shadow Tower. It has been long and longsince there were enough men to spare for such regular patrols. LordCommander Mormont instead makes the most of the men he has byvarying the frequency of patrols and the number of men on each; unpredictabilitycan be a protection all its own.A Babe in the WoodsEven wildlings can protect the wall, provided they’re recruited earlyenough. The Watch was founded by men of Westeros, but nearly fromits founding, institutional neglect on the part of the Iron Throne set in.It did not take long for the Lord Commanders to decide that the oaththat bound them to the Wall and cut the ties to their former lives meantthat anyone could guard the Wall, whether their origins were Westerosior free folk. Every brother is an orphan when they come to the Wall; theblack is all the family they require.SetupWhile on a regular patrol, the brothers encounter a strange sight: the bodyof a wildling woman, dead of exposure, being guarded by a half-frozen,half-starved scarecrow of a boy. Alone, he’ll die. Alive and with the Watch,he’ll likely live to guard against the ones who gave him life in the first place.ObjectiveTo save the child from dying in the woods.Known FactsThe child is roughly six years old. He carries a hand axe that’s too big forhim, but the way he holds it shows he’s had some training. He growlslike a dog as the men approach, crouching over the body of the woman—hismother, from the looks of it.63