Legacies True and False
Third Day of the Seventh Month 293 AC
You seek out Ser Alliser and somberly show him the letter. As you had expected the knight takes it about as poorly as could be imagined outside of drawing his sword against the Lannisters then and there, not that he does not reach for it. Still you offer him steadying words, for now is not the hour for the Butcher of Casterly Rock to fall, nor his the hand that will do the deed.
In secret and in silence the two of your travel north, to a place arranged in advance where a stone is buried with your mark, under the guarding limbs of sentinel pines and the eyes of ravens true and false. There you wait, speaking little, each grappling with your thoughts until the sound of hoofbeats marks the arrival of the Lord Commander, his face like a thundercloud. There is anger there, but worse still there is shame, shame that he would have to speak of aid to the Watch like a thief in the night.
"It pains me to meet under such circumstances after all you have done," the old warrior says plainly. Some men use tradition as a shield against all the evils they would work, as a curtain for their weaknesses, but for Jeor Mormont it is the soil in which he plants his feet that he cannot be moved by any power, nor swayed from his path.
Thus your answer is threefold, though forged with knowledge and forethought. You offer to step back for the good of the Night's Watch that their vigil not be plagued with the quarrels of the south. "Even so I would like to deliver one last shipment and then..." you offer a smile. "Good fortune often smiles on the virtuous. Who is to say by what manner you might find a map during a ranging?" More seriously you add, "It pains me to ask this, Ser Alliser, but in such a case you and those with you would likely be safer if you were proclaimed deserters for a time..."
The Crownlander knight turns white as a sheet, but still nods jerkily. "Honor is the oath you keep in your heart, not what fools might think of..."
"No!" Mormont half-shouts. "That I will not accept. The Watch is an honorable place and I will not see men sully
their honor for the sake of Westerlander gold. If Tywin bloody Lannister asks for the heads of my brothers, then by the gods we will defend ourselves as every man has a right to."
"I will of course return if asked," Ser Alliser hasten to interject.
The Lord Commander waves the words away. "Of course you will, I never doubted it, but whatever the damn southerners think lordship binds both ways." He looks at you almost sheepishly. "Not to say you meant anything ill by the offer, but that is a road I cannot lead the Watch on."
You nod in turn in understanding, for in truth you had guessed the answer if not the full vehemence before you had even started speaking. "The second option open to us is also rooted in a measure of deception, though perhaps a more palatable one. We feign some manner of quarrel, perhaps theft of lore to use against the 'wicked dragon'."
The Lord Commander is obviously about to give another denial no less explosive than the last, but to both your surprise Ser Alliser laughs: "Your Grace, you give me and my bothers far too much credit, not only to supposedly steal those books, but then to somehow steal away from not one dragon but two on
wooden ships. Though we may have learned magic we are not yet workers of miracles."
"The Lannisters would have no choice but to..." you begin.
However, the Old Bear interrupts one last time, a growl worthy of the name. "The Lannisters can shut the fuck up, and if they feel like arguing they can talk to Lord Stark."
"That was the third option I was going to propose," you say. "I hereby offer my solemn pledge that I have no intention of using the Night's Watch for a war against the Seven Kingdoms. Further, I do not plan to station troops in your holdings to launch an attack on Westeros, I do not plan to infiltrate your ranks for my own ends, nor do I do anything else that would violate their neutrality in political affairs of Westeros. This I will say again before a heart tree in the presence of Lord Stark if need be."
"From the letter I got back from him I don't think there will be any need." He hesitates a long moment. "I don't think Lord Stark is at ease in your presence, however much he might appreciate your commitment to protect the Seven Kingdoms."
You have to struggle a moment not to look as vindicated as Ser Alliser at the words. Instead you continue in the same soft but firm manner: "There is one exception to that oath, obvious perhaps but I will say it aloud here in the light of day. If an army crosses the New Gift to make war upon the Watch, then I will oppose it with all the power I possess."
"He wouldn't..." the Lord Commander says, aghast.
"Just as no man would order the rape of a princess of the blood and the murder of her children, and brazenly protect their murderers," you answer bitterly. "I dearly hope that you are right, but I refuse to count upon the honor of the Butcher of Casterly Rock in any matter, much less one as grave as this."
After that there is little else to say, you explain that you would be sending not only more supplies but spirit wolves blessed by the Old Gods to help in the protection of the Wall, and then you wish the Old Bear good luck in his vigil.
It is only when the last of the hoofbeats fade into the distance that Ser Alliser speaks again and for good reason. "After all you've done for the Watch you could lead the brothers to siege King's Landing and not one man in ten would refuse you."
You smile wearily, taking the compliment in the spirit it was given. "Perhaps, but I have no desire to break great and precious things for my own ends. There are enough unworthy ones out there that need breaking."
Like the Citadel, the thought is unbidden, but timely just the same.
***
News from Crackclaw Point is good with Kira having stoked the flames of rebellion in the hearts of Pointsmen as high as she dared without risking a spontaneous uprising, which the golden-haired incarnate admits was closer than she might have liked at some points. "People are a lot more excitable thereabouts than you would think to look at their long faces and grim brows. I even had to convince one girl not to try and seduce one of Lord Brune's sons for the sake of 'placing the true king on the throne'." She pauses a moment in amused contemplation. "I think she might have wanted to get out of gutting fish for the rest of her life, too."
"A ringing endorsement if ever I heard one," you snort. "What of the old lord himself and his treacherous maester? Has there been any word of the conspirators?"
"Nothing overt so far, though from what the traitor said his 'friends' might be growing suspicious over the lord's continued good health. Truth be told I would not trust the man to lie well even if he weren't acting against his own will. It might be time to see an end to him. Maybe as some sort of 'divine retribution' from the Seven, something bright and obvious like a burning brand coming down from on high..."
"You really don't like them, do you?" You ask, a touch surprised. Of course there would be no reason for Kira to think
kindly of the Seven, but hers sounds like a personal animosity now.
"They are responsible for a holy text that promotes obedience even to tyrants in the hope of future salvation. They stood by while fools and scoundrels were knighted in their name, and then when all the world shakes with the return of sorcery their solution is seemingly to kidnap children to indoctrinate them into obedient self-loathing. Fuck the Seven, at least R'hllor is honest about wanting slaves."
What do you do next?
[] Deal with the situation in Dire Den
-[] Write in
[] Cover remaining minor actions
-[] Write in
[] Write in
OOC: There was a small chance Mormont would take some of your more underhanded offers badly, but you rolled more than well enough to avoid that so he took everything in the spirit it was intended. 
