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Tyrion

Are you certain that you must leave us so soon?" the Lord Commander asked him

"Past certain, Lord Mor what has become of me He may decide that you have convinced me to take the black"

"Would that I could" Mormont picked up a crab claw and cracked it in his fist Old as he was, the Lord Coth of a bear "You’re a cunning man, Tyrion We have need of rinned "Then I shall scour the Seven Kingdoms for dwarfs and ship thehed, he sucked theand reached for another The crabs had arrived fro, packed in a barrel of snow, and they were succulent

Ser Alliser Thorne was the only man at table who did not so much as crack a smile "Lannister mocks us"

"Only you, Ser Alliser," Tyrion said This tihter round the table had a nervous, uncertain quality to it

Thorne’s black eyes fixed on Tyrion with loathing "You have a bold tongue for someone who is less than half a ether"

"Why?" asked Tyrion "The crabs are here"

The reuffaws froht line "Come and make your japes with steel in your hand"

Tyrion looked pointedly at his right hand "Why, I have steel in h it appears to be a crab fork Shall we duel?" He hopped up on his chair and began poking at Thorne’s chest with the tiny fork Roars of laughter filled the tower room Bits of crab flew froasp and choke Even his raven joined in, cawing loudly from above the"Duel! Duel! Duel!"

Ser Alliser Thorne walked froer up his butt

Mor for breath Tyrion pounded hioes the spoils," he called out "I claim Thorne’s share of the crabs"

Finally the Lord Commander recovered himself "You are a wicked man, to provoke our Ser Alliser so," he scolded

Tyrion seated hiet on his chest, he should expect that sooner or later someone will loose an arrow at him I have seen dead men with more humor than your Ser Alliser"

"Not so," objected the Lord Steward, Bowen Marsh, a ht to hear the droll naives the lads he trains"

Tyrion had heard a few of those droll naer the lads have a few names for hiood lords Ser Alliser Thorne should bewarriors"

"The Watch has no shortage of stableboys," Lord Morrumbled "That seems to be all they send us these days Stableboys and sneak thieves and rapers Ser Alliser is an anointed knight, one of the few to take the black since I have been Lord Co"

"On the wrong side," Ser Jareht to knoas there on the battleave us a splendid choice Take the black, or see our heads on spikes before evenfall No offense intended, Tyrion"

"None taken, Ser Jaremy My father is very fond of spiked heads, especially those of people who have annoyed him in some fashion And a face as noble as yours, well, no doubt he saw you decorating the city wall above the King’s Gate I think you would have looked very striking up there"

"Thank you," Ser Jaremy replied with a sardonic smile

Lord Commander Mormont cleared his throat "Sometimes I fear Ser Alliser saw you true, Tyrion You do ged "We all need to be mocked from time to time, Lord Mormont, lest we start to take ourselves too seriously More wine, please" He held out his cup

As Rykker filled it for hireat thirst for a small man"

"Oh, I think that Lord Tyrion is quite a large man," Maester Aemon said froh officers of the Night’s Watch all fell quiet, the better to hear what the ancient had to say "I think he is a giant co us, here at the end of the world"

Tyrion answered gently, "I’ve been called iant is seldom one of them"

"Nonetheless," Maester Aemon said as his clouded, milk-white eyes moved to Tyrion’s face, "I think it is true"

For once, Tyrion Lannister found himself at a loss for words He could only bow his head politely and say, "You are too kind, Maester Ae, wrinkled and hairless, shrunken beneath the weight of a hundred years so hisloose about his throat "I have been called s, my lord," he said, "but kind is seldohter

Much later, when the serious business of eating was done and the others had left, Mormont offered Tyrion a chair beside the fire and a cup of ht tears to his eyes "The kingsroad can be perilous this far north," the Lord Commander told him as they drank

"I have Jyck and Morrec," Tyrion said, "and Yoren is riding south again"

"Yoren is only one man The Watch shall escort you as far as Winterfell," Morument "Three men should be sufficient"

"If you insist,Snow He would be glad for a chance to see his brothers"

Morrey beard "Snow? Oh, the Stark bastard I think not The young ones need to forget the lives they left behind them, the brothers and s best left alone I know these things My own blood kine rules BearIsland now, since my son’s dishonor I have nieces I have never seen" He took a s "Besides, Jon Snow is only a boy You shall have three strong swords, to keep you safe"

"I a drink was ht-headed, but not so drunk that he did not realize that the Old Bear wanted so from him "I hope I can repay your kindness"

"You can," Mor Your brother is a great knight, and your father the doms Speak to them for us Tell them of our need here You have seen for yourself, th is less than a thousand now Six hundred here, two hundred in the Shadoer, even fewer at Eastwatch, and a scant third of those fightingThink on that Should an attack come, I have three men to defend each mile of wall"

"Three and a third," Tyrion said with a yawn

Mormont scarcely seemed to hear him The old man warmed his hands before the fire "I sent Benjen Stark to search after Yohn Royce’s son, lost on his first ranging The Royce boy was green as surass, yet he insisted on the honor of his own coht I did not wish to offend his lord father, so I yielded I sent hiood as any in the Watch More fool I"

"Fool," the raven agreed Tyrion glanced up The bird peered down at his "Fool," it called again Doubtless old Mormont would take it amiss if he throttled the creature A pity

The Lord Co bird "Gared was near as old as I aer on the Wall," he went on, "yet it would seem he forswore himself and fled I should never have believed it, not of him, but Lord Eddard sent me his head from Winterfell Of Royce, there is no word One deserter and two hed deeply "Who a after him? In two years I will be seventy Too old and too weary for the burden I bear, yet if I set it doill pick it up? Alliser Thorne? Bowen Marsh? I would have to be as blind as Maester Aeht’s Watch has become an army of sullen boys and tired old ht, I have perhaps twenty who can read, and even feho can think, or plan, or lead Once the Watch spent its suher than he found it Now it is all we can do to stay alive"

He was in deadly earnest, Tyrion realized He felt faintly eood part of his life on the Wall, and he needed to believe if those years were to have anywill hear of your need," Tyrion said gravely, "and I will speak to my father and my brother Jaiood as his word He left the rest unsaid; that King Robert would ignore him, Lord Tyould ask if he had taken leave of his senses, and Jai man, Tyrion," Mormont said "How ht, nine I misremember"

"And all of them short"

"As you say, my lord" He had been born in the dead of winter, a terrible cruel one that the maesters said had lasted near three years, but Tyrion’s earliest

"When I was a boy, it was said that a long su winter to come This summer has lasted nine years, Tyrion, and a tenth will soon be upon us Think on that"

"When I was a boy," Tyrion replied, "ods would give the world a su Perhaps we’ve been better than we thought, and the Great Surinned

The Lord Coh to believe that, row shorter There can be no s in accord with his own The end of summer stares us in the face" Morhtly by the hand "You must make the There are wild things in the woods, direwolves and mammoths and snow bears the size of aurochs, and I have seen darker shapes in my drea how badly he needed another strong drink

More in his voice "The fisherfolk near Eastwatch have glimpsed white walkers on the shore"