The dagger in Linn's hand gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the grayish-white sky.
Everyone's gaze followed Linn's line of sight, landing on the recruits, Grenn and Pyp.
The faces of those young men instantly turned as white as snow.
Their bodies were trembling uncontrollably.
"Grenn."
Linn's voice was calm, yet carried an irresistible authority.
The burly boy who had once tried to teach Jon a lesson with his fists shuddered violently.
He raised his head, meeting Linn's bottomless eyes.
"Do you recognize this dagger?"
Grenn's lips trembled.
He wanted to shake his head, to say he didn't recognize it.
But Linn's gaze, like two sharp knives, pierced through all his lies.
He knew that if he uttered a single "no."
The next second, the valyrian steel sword named longclaw would mercilessly sever his head.
In the face of absolute strength and power, any hope of luck was ridiculous.
"I... I..."
Grenn couldn't speak a complete word.
"Pyp."
Linn turned to the other tall, thin boy.
Pyp was even worse off than Grenn.
His legs gave way, and he dropped straight to his knees with a thud.
"My Lord! Lord Linn! It wasn't my doing!"
He cried out, tears streaming down his face.
"It was... it was Ser Thorne! He forced us recruits to do it!"
This statement created a huge uproar!
The entire courtyard instantly erupted in an uproar!
"You lie!"
Alliser Thorne's eyes instantly turned red.
Like a mad beast, he charged toward Pyp, raising his foot to kick him.
"You lowly bastard! How dare you slander me!"
However, before he could get close.
Two burly figures had already blocked his path.
It was Toren and Jason.
They stood like two iron towers, guarding Pyp on the left and right.
The longswords in their hands were already drawn, the cold blades pointed directly at Thorne.
"Ser Thorne!"
Toren's voice was as cold as the Northern wind.
"Please show some respect!"
"This is Lord Linn conducting an interrogation right now!"
Thorne's footsteps halted abruptly.
He looked at the two longswords pointed at him, and at the undisguised killing intent in Toren and Jason's eyes.
A chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
Only then did he realize in horror.
Without him noticing, this deserter, whom he had always looked down upon, already possessed the power to easily crush him.
No!
He probably could have killed me long ago!
It was all his fault for constantly provoking Linn... The hundred Northern Guardsmen under Linn obeyed him implicitly.
Even those unruly Nights Watch Rangers had been subdued by his sword.
Even the lord commander had become his most staunch supporter!
And himself?
All he had left were a few equally unwelcome pieces of trash who could only cheer him on.
The tide has turned.
Only these four words remained in Thorne's heart.
Perhaps... he had never gained the momentum in the first place... "Pyp, continue."
Linn ignored Thorne's outburst; his voice remained calm.
Pyp knelt on the ground, shaking violently.
He glanced at the ashen-faced Thorne, then at the composed Linn, and finally mustered all his courage.
"It was... it was Ser Thorne."
"Ser Thorne is very harsh. He always humiliated us newcomers on the training grounds, and even hit people."
"That night, Ser Thorne called us recruits over."
Pyp's voice was tearful as he recounted the story intermittently.
"He said... he said you were a dangerous person, a restless deserter, and that keeping you at Castle Black would eventually lead to trouble."
"He told us to go... go to your room at night..."
"He said that if any one of us could kill you, he would make us official Nights Watch brothers, and even recommend us to become Rangers!"
"The one who died... we didn't know him, but he was tempted at the time, and he... he agreed..."
"Thorne gave him silver stags right in front of us!"
Grenn also knelt down, loudly defending himself.
"It was Thorne! He forced us to do it!"
"He also said that after it was done, he would throw your corpse off the Wall, let the beasts of the ice wastes eat your body, and then blame everything on the wildlings!"
"He said he had already made arrangements, and it would be absolutely foolproof!"
"We originally wanted to tell the Lord Commander about this."
"But since Thorne only told us verbally, without concrete evidence, he would just turn around and accuse us."
"Plus, he is the chief master-at-arms for the recruits. If the accusation failed, he would surely retaliate against us tenfold..."
Mormont stood in the crowd; upon hearing this, his face turned livid.
This Thorne was simply an animal!
To dare to assassinate a comrade right under his nose.
This was utter lawlessness!
The truth was revealed to the world.
All the Nights Watch men looked at Alliser Thorne with contempt and anger.
Inciting internal conflict among recruits.
Hiring assassins to murder a brother.
Framing the innocent.
Every single one of these acts violated the Nights Watch's strictest iron laws!
Was this the conduct expected of a Nights Watch master-at-arms, a supposed "Ser"?
This was even baser than the criminals they despised!
"Thorne!"
Jeor Mormont's roar echoed throughout the courtyard.
The Old Bear's body was trembling violently with rage.
He strode quickly up to Thorne.
His sharp eyes were burning with fury intense enough to incinerate a man to ashes.
"What do you have left to say?"
"I... I didn't! They conspired together to slander me!"
Thorne was still making his final struggle.
"lord commander! You cannot believe the words of these bastards!"
"They are working with Linn!"
"Is that so?"
Linn sneered.
He pulled a small purse from his chest.
Then, he emptied the contents of the purse onto the snow.
A dozen or so glittering silver stags were particularly dazzling in the sunlight.
"These were found on the assassin who was killed on the spot by my Guard."
Linn's gaze turned toward Bowen Marsh in the crowd.
"Master Marsh, I recall that all financial expenditures at Castle Black must pass through your hands, correct?"
The plump steward paused, then nodded.
"Yes, Lord Linn."
"Then I would like to ask."
Linn pointed at the silver coins on the ground.
"Recently, has any Lord in the Castle drawn an extra expenditure like this from you?"
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Hey there, I know these past few days haven't had regular updates, but let's just say exam season has arrived and I haven't had as much time to bring chapters to you. I'll try to get back to a regular schedule starting today.
By the way, I've got some news, I just opened a Patreon where you'll be able to read advanced chapters of the book. (Yes, I've joined the Sith… the dark side of the Force.)
Over there, I'll also post polls about the future of the fanfics story, where all members will be able to help decide changes, even free members. So feel free to join even if you're not subscribing, it'll be worth it, especially because chapters will be posted there faster.
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening wherever you are. See ya!
Patreon link: patreon.com/ShadowNamelesz