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"A bully?" Jon almost choked on the word The accusation was so unjust it took his breath away "They were the ones who came after me Four of them"

"Four that you’ve humiliated in the yard Four who are probably afraid of you I’ve watched you fight It’s not training with you Put a good edge on your sword, and they’d be dead meat; you know it, I know it, they know it You leave the You shame them Does that make you proud?"

Jon hesitated He did feel proud when he won Why shouldn’t he? But the ar it sound as if he were doing so "They’re all older than er and stronger, that’s the truth I’ll wager your er ht?"

"Ser Rodrik Cassel," Jon said warily There was a trap here He felt it closing around him

Donal Noye leaned forward, into Jon’s face "Now think on this, boy None of these others have ever had a master-at-aronalley What they know of fighting they learned between decks, in the alleys of Oldtown and Lannisport, in wayside brothels and taverns on the kingsroad They ether before they came here, but I proh to own a real sword" His look was grim "So how do you like the taste of your victories now, Lord Snow?"

"Don’t call one out of his anger Suddenly he felt ashauilty "I neverI didn’t think"

"Best you start thinking," Noye warned hio"

By the time Jon left the arh the clouds He turned his back on it and lifted his eyes to the Wall, blazing blue and crystalline in the sunlight Even after all these weeks, the sight of it still gave him the shivers Centuries of windblown dirt had pocked and scoured it, covering it like a filrey, the color of an overcast skybut when the sun caught it fair on a bright day, it shone, alive with light, a colossal blue-white cliff that filled up half the sky

The largest structure ever built by the hands of sroad when they had first caught sight of the Wall in the distance "And beyond a doubt the rin, but even the Irew silent as they rode closer You could see it from miles off, a pale blue line across the northern horizon, stretching away to the east and west and vanishing in the far distance, immense and unbroken This is the end of the world, it seemed to say

When they finally spied Castle Black, its ti more than a handful of toy blocks scattered on the snow, beneath the vast wall of ice The ancient stronghold of the black brothers was no Winterfell, no true castle at all Lacking walls, it could not be defended, not from the south, or east, or west; but it was only the north that concerned the Night’s Watch, and to the north looh it stood, three tihold it sheltered His uncle said the top ide enough for a dozen are catapults and monstrous wooden cranes stood sentry up there, like the skeletons of great birds, and a them walked men in black as small as ants

As he stood outside the ar up, Jon felt alsroad, when he’d seen it for the first tiet that it was there, the way you forgot about the sky or the earth underfoot, but there were other ti else in the world It was older than the Seven Kingdoms, and when he stood beneath it and looked up, it ht of all that ice pressing down on him, as if it were about to topple, and somehow Jon knew that if it fell, the world fell with it

"Makes you wonder what lies beyond," a familiar voice said

Jon looked around "Lannister I didn’t see--I ht I was alone"

Tyrion Lannister was bundled in furs so thickly he looked like a very s people unawares You never knohat youfrom me," Jon told him He had seen little of the dwarf since their journey ended As the queen’s own brother, Tyrion Lannister had been an honored guest of the Night’s Watch The Lord Co’s Tower--so-called, though no king had visited it for a hundred years--and Lannister dined at Mor the Wall and his nights dicing and drinking with Ser Alliser and Bowen Marsh and the other high officers

"Oh, I learn things everywhere I go" The littlestick "As I was sayingwhy is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to knohat’s on the other side?" He cocked his head and looked at Jon with his curious mismatched eyes "You do want to knohat’s on the other side, don’t you?"

"It’s nothing special," Jon said He wanted to ride with Benjen Stark on his rangings, deep into the ht Mance Rayder’s wildlings and ward the realainst the Others, but it was better not to speak of the things you wanted "The rangers say it’s just woods and mountains and frozen lakes, with lots of snow and ice"

"And the gruet the for?"

"Don’t call me Lord Snow"

The dwarf lifted an eyebrow "Would you rather be called the Imp? Let them see that their words can cut you, and you’ll never be free of the ive you a name, take it, make it your own Then they can’t hurt you with it anyestured with his stick "Co some vile stew in the co hot"

Jon was hungry too, so he fell in beside Lannister and slowed his pace tosteps The as rising, and they could hear the old wooden buildings creaking around the, over and over, forgotten Once there was a muffled thump as a blanket of snow slid from a roof and landed near them

"I don’t see your wolf," Lannister said as they walked

"I chain hi They board all the horses in the east stables now, so no one bothers hi cell is in Hardin’s Tower"

"That’s the one with the broken battlement, no? Shattered stone in the yard below, and a lean to it like our noble king Robert after a long night’s drinking? I thought all those buildings had been abandoned"

Jon shrugged "No one cares where you sleep Most of the old keeps are empty, you can pick any cell you want" Once Castle Black had housed five thousand fighting men with all their horses and servants and weapons Noas ho into ruin

Tyrion Lannister’s laughter steamed in the cold air "I’ll be sure to tell your father to arrest more stonemasons, before your tower collapses"

Jon could taste thethe truth The Watch had built nineteen great strongholds along the Wall, but only three were still occupied: Eastwatch on its grey ept shore, the Shadoer hard by the mountains where the Wall ended, and Castle Black between the deserted, were lonely, haunted places, where cold winds whistled through black s and the spirits of the dead manned the parapets

"It’s better that I’m by myself," Jon said stubbornly "The rest of them are scared of Ghost"

"Wise boys," Lannister said Then he changed the subject "The talk is, your uncle is too long away"

Jon reer, the vision of Benjen Stark dead in the snow, and he looked away quickly The dwarf had a way of sensing things, and Jon did not want hiuilt in his eyes "He said he’d be back by one, unre for Ser Waymar Royce, his father is bannerht search as far as the Shadoer That’s all the way up in the ers have vanished of late," Lannister said as they rinned and pulled open the door "Perhaps the grury this year"

Inside, the hall was ireat hearth Crows nested in the ti Jon heard their cries overhead as he accepted a bowl of stew and a heel of black bread from the day’s cooks Grenn and Toad and some of the others were seated at the bench nearest the warh voices Jon eyed thehtfully for a moment Then he chose a spot at the far end of the hall, well away from the other diners

Tyrion Lannister sat across fro at the stew suspiciously "Barley, onion, carrot," he muttered "Someone should tell the cooks that turnip isn’t a meat"

"It’s loves and war from the bowl The smell made his mouth water

"Snow"

Jon knew Alliser Thorne’s voice, but there was a curious note in it that he had not heard before He turned

"The Lord Commander wants to see you Now"

For a htened to move Why would the Lord Co about Benjen, he thought wildly, he was dead, the vision had come true "Is it my uncle?" he blurted "Is he returned safe?"

"The Lord Co," was Ser Alliser’s reply "And I a my commands questioned by bastards"

Tyrion Lannister swung off the bench and rose "Stop it, Thorne You’re frightening the boy"

"Keep out of matters that don’t concern you, Lannister You have no place here"

"I have a place at court, though," the dwarf said, sht ear, and you’ll die a sour old et another boy to train Now tell Snohy the Old Bear needs to see him Is there news of his uncle?"

"No," Ser Alliser said "This is anotherfroe that concerns his brother" He corrected himself "His half brother"

"Bran," Jon breathed, scra’s happened to Bran"

Tyrion Lannister laid a hand on his arm "Jon," he said "I am truly sorry"

Jon scarcely heard him He brushed off Tyrion’s hand and strode across the hall He was running by the time he hit the doors He raced to the Coh drifts of old snow When the guards passed him, he took the tower steps two at a time By the time he burst into the presence of the Lord Commander, his boots were soaked and Jon ild-eyed and panting "Bran," he said "What does it say about Bran?"

Jeor Morruff old rey beard He had a raven on his ar it kernels of corn "I am told you can read" He shook the raven off, and it flapped its wings and flew to the here it sat watching as Mormont drew a roll of paper from his belt and handed it to Jon "Corn," it muttered in a raucous voice "Corn, corn"

Jon’s finger traced the outline of the direwolf in the white wax of the broken seat He recognized Robb’s hand, but the letters seemed to blur and run as he tried to read theh the tears, he found the sense in the words, and raised his head "He woke up," he said "The gods gave him back"

"Crippled," Mormont said "I’m sorry, boy Read the rest of the letter"

He looked at the words, but they didn’tto live "My brother is going to live," he told Morathered up a fistful of corn, and whistled The raven flew to his shoulder, crying, "Live! Live!"

Jon ran down the stairs, a smile on his face and Robb’s letter in his hand "My brother is going to live," he told the guards They exchanged a look He ran back to the co his rabbed the little man under the arms, hoisted hioing to live!" he whooped Lannister looked startled Jon put him down and thrust the paper into his hands "Here, read it," he said

Others were gathering around and looking at him curiously Jon noticed Grenn a few feet away A thick woolen bandage rapped around one hand He looked anxious and uncoed backward and put up his hands "Stay away from me now, you bastard"

Jon smiled at him "I’m sorry about your wrist Robb used the same move on me once, only with a wooden blade It hurt like seven hells, but yours must be worse Look, if you want, I can show you how to defend that"

Alliser Thorne overheard him "Lord Snoants to take my place now" He sneered "I’d have an easier ti this aurochs"

"I’ll take that wager, Ser Alliser," Jon said "I’d love to see Ghost juggle"

Jon heard Grenn suck in his breath, shocked Silence fell

Then Tyrion Lannister guffawed Three of the black brothers joined in frohter spread up and down the benches, until even the cooks joined in The birds stirred in the rafters, and finally even Grenn began to chuckle

Ser Alliser never took his eyes frohter rolled around him, his face darkened, and his sword hand curled into a fist "That was a grievous error, Lord Snow," he said at last in the acid tones of an enemy