CHAPTER 183: NEW PLAN

Chapter 183: New Plan

Beyond the Wall, True North

POV of Robb Stark

As if feeling their attention on him, Lord Bolton opened his eyes and looked at all of them for a short moment before he spoke, "You don’t need to worry about Weeper and his people."

"Why is that?" Qhorin Halfhand asked. "Does this have something to do with the fire in their camp that I saw last night?"

"Fire?" Jon asked Robb, looking slightly confused.

Robb shrugged in response. He had drunk a little too much last night, and he couldn’t even remember who brought him back to his tent.

Lord Bolton nodded. "I sent some of my wargs to light fire in the food supplies at Weeper’s camp. All of the food they had burned down. This morning, my wargs reported that they saw him and his people pick up their tents and leave for the south to forage for more food. His army won’t be in fighting condition any time soon."

Robb stared at Lord Bolton in astonishment and awe. Lord Bolton had done his thing again. While Robb himself was so drunk yesterday that he couldn’t even remember how he got to his tent, Lord Bolton hadn’t succumbed to the complacency of victory and had managed to sneak up on the enemy.

Destroying the enemy’s remaining food supplies. That would certainly inflict heavy damage, especially in these lands where food was scarce and hard to come by.

As Lord Bolton had said, the Weeper’s army wouldn’t be in fighting condition any time soon.

But Lord Bolton’s maneuver made Robb feel ashamed of himself again. Wasn’t this something he should have done?

If his father, Lord Eddard Stark, had been here, Robb could picture him staying away from yesterday’s celebrations, contemplating in his own tent what he could do for the retreating enemy.

He doubted his father could destroy the enemy’s food supplies as effectively as Lord Bolton. After all, Starks didn’t have wargs, but they could still launch sudden, nighttime raids or find other methods.

But Robb was certain that his father, Lord Stark, would not celebrate or participate in a celebration until the danger around them was over. Yet, instead of considering how to avert the danger they were in, Robb was busy getting drunk, just like the other heirs and lords.

In this moment, Robb realized that he didn’t think or act much differently than any other Northern Lord’s heir. He should act as heir of the Warden of the North, as his father had, rather than as an ordinary heir, and take on more responsibility than anyone else.

But in this regard, Lord Bolton was more like Lord Eddard Stark than Robb himself, taking on more responsibility than anyone else.

The camp erupted in cheers at Lord Bolton’s words, but a raised hand from Lord Bolton shut them all up.

"With that said, you all will now take your men and go back to the Wall." Lord Bolton said.

"What?" He asked in surprise, and the rest of the people in the tent had a similar reaction.

"Fuck that. Who are you to tell me what to do?" Smalljon said in anger, but a simple look from Lord Bolton’s apathetic gaze shut him up and silenced the tent.

"Is there a reason why you want us to go back to the Wall?" his uncle Benjen asked.

Lord Bolton nodded. "My wargs reported that the Thenns have left their homes in some mass migration. For those of you who don’t know who Thenns are. They are the largest and most developed tribe living on this side of the Wall. They easily number over 20,000. I would guess that 15,000-18,000 of them are capable of participating in battle. And... some groups of them are even said to be cannibals."

Lord Bolton’s words were met with silence, and even he felt a shiver run through his body at the mention of cannibalism.

"My wargs reported that the Thenns are some 120 miles north-west of us. This means it would take them 1-2 weeks to reach us if they were to find out about us. Thankfully, they have no idea that we are here. But that doesn’t mean we’ll remain hidden from them. We’re not the most inconspicuous bunch of people, and they have their own wargs after all."

Everyone in the tent had grave faces by this point, their previous victory all but forgotten on the face of this new threat.

"I suppose you have a plan in mind then." Qhorin Halfhand said, and Lord Bolton nodded.

"Yes." He took out a map and put it on the table. "We’re here." He said and pointed at a position in the map, "The Thenns are here, and the remaining army of Weeper will be here, to the south of us. Scattered and foraging for food for the next few months. You cannot go West. You cannot go South, and going further North is just as foolish. So, you’ll go east from here. Then, after you’re sufficiently away from here, the men of the Night’s Watch will lead you further South-East until you reach Eastwatch-by-the-Sea."

Robb’s initial impression was that Lord Bolton’s plan was indeed feasible.

If Lord Bolton’s information was accurate, the north, west, and south sides were filled with wildlings like Thenns and Weeper’s men, while the east was a relatively safer area.

If one were to travel east for a while, then turn south and head southeast to reach Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the fortress at the eastern end of the Wall, it would not be too difficult.

But Robb had something else on his mind.

As Lord Bolton explained the plan, he implied that the Night’s Watch would lead the way.

Until now, Lord Bolton and his men had always stood in front of the host, but now Lord Bolton was ceding that place to the Night’s Watch.

Moreover, Lord Bolton always used the word "you" instead of "we" when explaining the plan.

Was Lord Bolton’s intention to send them back to the Wall while he and his men continued their expedition?

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Next Chapters’ Name:

Ch.184: This Is Something That Must Be Done

Ch.185: Half-Baked Plan