Game of Thrones: The Wolf of Deepwood Motte Chapter 63 CHAPTER 63

The next morning, Deepwood Motte was only just beginning to brighten beneath the pale dawn.

As disciplined as ever, Garon rose early and imdiately began his daily training routine.

After yesterday's selection process, the atmosphere across the training grounds had completely transford.

Every soldier in Deepwood Motte was now filled with determination and ambition.

Each man trained diligently, preparing himself for the war that was drawing ever closer.

The entirety of Deepwood Motte now resembled a powder keg waiting to explode, with a tense and oppressive sense of danger perating the air.

After completing his morning exercises and seeing the high morale among the soldiers, Garon felt deeply satisfied.

He slowly walked around the training grounds once before eventually arriving at the archery field, where Mihawk was training the archers with the newly crafted composite bows.

Garon quietly observed them for a while.

At that mont, Jon happened to pass by with his ten-man cavalry squad.

A thought imdiately surfaced in Garon's mind as he recalled the itinerary he had finalized earlier that morning.

He raised a hand and called out toward the two young n.

"Jon! Mihawk!"

Both Jon and Mihawk turned toward the sound of his voice.

Seeing Garon summoning them, neither dared delay.

After quickly giving instructions to their respective n, they hurried over.

"Lord Garon, did you need sothing?"

Mihawk respectfully asked, while Jon impatiently added,

"Yes, Garon, what is it? We're still in the middle of training."

Garon chuckled lightly before explaining,

"Don't worry about training for now. I need the two of you to accompany sowhere."

He paused briefly before continuing,

"Return and inform your squads to prepare their equipnt."

"After breakfast, we'll depart for Sea Dragon Point."

"Sea Dragon Point?"

Mihawk looked puzzled, but Jon imdiately understood.

Recalling the terrain around Sea Dragon Point, he quickly asked,

"Are you worried that Ironborn raiders might land there and launch a surprise attack on Deepwood Motte?"

Garon nodded calmly, confirming Jon's guess.

Only then did Mihawk suddenly understand as well.

Having spent many years within the Wolfswood and visited Sea Dragon Point several tis, he understood very clearly why Garon was concerned.

Historically, many Ironborn invasions of Deepwood Motte had begun precisely from landings at Sea Dragon Point before advancing through the Wolfswood.

Mihawk imdiately accepted the order before asking another question.

"Lord Garon, should we bring the new bows this ti?"

Garon considered it briefly before nodding.

"Yes. Bring the new bows as well."

"I also want to personally observe the results of your training."

Mihawk burst into laughter confidently.

"Haha! I definitely won't disappoint you, Lord Garon!"

After laughing for a mont, he asked again,

"How many n are we bringing?"

Previously, Mihawk's archers consisted of two hundred soldiers from Deepwood Motte.

Not long ago, however, he had returned to his clan and recruited another three hundred archers.

Now, the five hundred elite archers under Mihawk's command had beco one of Garon's most important trump cards.

However, Deepwood Motte did not possess enough warhorses for all five hundred n.

That was why Mihawk asked how many n would accompany them.

Fortunately, Garon had already considered the matter beforehand.

"One hundred archers from your corps."

"Along with Jon's ten-man squad."

"That will be enough."

"Understood."

"I'll have the n gather imdiately."

Mihawk promptly accepted the order, while Jon also nodded without objection.

Seeing that Garon had nothing further to add, the two quickly turned and left to relay his instructions to their squads.

While Mihawk selected the accompanying archers, Garon returned to the inner keep to inform Maester Beckman, Robert, and Chief Steward Mormont about his upcoming inspection of Sea Dragon Point.

A round trip between Deepwood Motte and Sea Dragon Point required several days of travel.

Before leaving, Garon needed to settle all important affairs for the coming days.

Ti was limited, so he discussed matters with the three n while sharing breakfast in the Hall of a Thousand Beasts.

Once breakfast concluded and Robert and the others raised no objections, Garon returned to his chambers, changed into a fresh set of leather armor, and headed back toward the training grounds.

By the ti he arrived, Mihawk and Jon had already assembled their n.

Laurence personally led over Garon's horse.

Garon accepted the reins before looking toward Jon and Mihawk.

"Are the provisions prepared?"

"Yes."

"We prepared enough food and water for five days."

"That should be sufficient."

Garon carefully inspected the supplies carried by the horses.

Each mount carried three bags of fresh water, two bags of ale, and large quantities of dried at hardened almost like frozen sticks.

If rationed carefully, the provisions would indeed last around five days.

However, in this era, wilderness regions were filled with ga and fresh water sources.

Garon was not overly worried about supplies.

"Mount up."

"We depart imdiately."

Garon swung himself onto his horse, cracked the reins sharply, and imdiately galloped out of Deepwood Motte.

Jon and Mihawk quickly followed with their n.

In the blink of an eye, the group of more than a hundred riders disappeared into the forest on their way toward Sea Dragon Point.

Thus, Garon and his party traveled continuously for two full days.

…

Sea Dragon Point lay northwest of Deepwood Motte, a long peninsula extending into the icy waters of the Bay of Ice.

Traveling there and back from Deepwood Motte required roughly four days.

The lands throughout the region were sparsely populated and largely consisted of marshes and rolling hills.

Aquatic creatures and seals were abundant nearby.

Hundreds of hidden caves dotted the area, while vast pine forests with towering trees stretched endlessly toward the coast, making them ideal for shipbuilding.

However, the region possessed no mineral resources, and because the soil was too damp, it was unsuitable for farming grain.

Long ago, the First n had constructed several ringforts among the hills there.

Now, those ancient structures had fallen into ruin, while atop the highest hill still stood a circle of weirwood trees left behind by the Children of the Forest.

Ned Stark had previously instructed Garon to strengthen reconnaissance around Sea Dragon Point precisely because of how vast the region was.

A re handful of scouts simply could not monitor the entire peninsula effectively.

This journey's purpose was for Garon to personally survey the entire region before establishing several permanent outposts in suitable locations.

If the Ironborn attempted to invade in the future, these outposts could warn one another and quickly relay news back to Deepwood Motte.

By the ti Garon's party finally reached Sea Dragon Point, it was already the afternoon of the second day since their departure.

The arrival of more than a hundred riders shattered the natural silence of the region and frightened nearby animals into fleeing.

Garon led his n onto the top of a hill and quietly surveyed the surrounding terrain.

To the left stretched rolling hills without end.

To the right stood endless prival pine forests extending all the way to the coastline.

Directly ahead lay a vast swamp whose true depth could not even be asured.

"My lord, where should we go next?"

Mihawk rode forward and asked respectfully.

Garon considered the matter briefly before pointing toward the right.

"It's still early."

"Let's pass through the pine forest first and inspect the coastline."

No one objected.

The group once again entered the dense forest.

Because of the thick trees and difficult terrain, Garon dared not allow the group to advance too quickly.

He dispatched several scouts ahead while leading the main group behind them at a slower pace.

After another two hours of travel, the sky gradually began to darken.

Just as Garon was beginning to consider where to establish camp for the night, the scouts sent ahead suddenly returned.

The leading scout looked visibly anxious.

The mont he reached Garon, he quickly reported,

"My lord, we discovered traces of human activity ahead."

The mont those words were spoken, everyone imdiately beca tense.

Jon looked toward the scout and asked,

"Who are they? Wildlings?"

The scout quickly shook his head.

"We were afraid of getting too close and exposing ourselves."

"We only observed from a distance and didn't dare approach further."

"So we still don't know who lit the fires."

Garon's expression imdiately turned serious.

After thinking for a mont, he calmly issued the order.

"We'll investigate first before making any decisions."

The instant the order was given, the hundred-man group swiftly arranged themselves into the S-shaped combat formation Garon had taught them earlier and followed behind the scout deeper into the forest.