The next morning, at dawn.
The disciplined Garon climbed out of bed as usual, ready to begin his daily training.
He got dressed and had barely stepped out of his bedroom when he spotted Jon and Lawrence waiting on the wooden walkway to his right.
With their backs to him, the two were gazing into the distance at the scenery below the hill.
The hill stood about a hundred meters high. From here, Jon could easily see the snow-capped mountains.
He recalled what Maester Luwin had told him: Deepwood Motte lay closer to the sea than Winterfell, only twenty or thirty kilometers from the coast.
Jon's gaze wandered, searching for a glimpse of the sea.
Unfortunately, layer upon layer of hills and trees blocked his view. He couldn't even smell the sea air.
Jon took a deep breath of the morning air. A faint scent of pine filled his lungs, instantly refreshing him.
"So, what do you think? Doesn't Deepwood Motte have a charm all its own?"
Garon had quietly approached Jon from behind and now asked with a smile.
Lawrence had grown up in Deepwood Motte and was long accustomed to its scenery. He didn't think there was anything special about it.
If anything, he found it a little desolate.
Jon, on the other hand, had only just arrived, so the impression was still fresh.
He turned around and looked at Garon excitedly.
"Yeah! We arrived so late yesterday, and it was too dark for me to see much. I didn't realize until I got up today just how huge Deepwood Motte is!"
Jon paused, looked north, then suddenly turned south. In disbelief, he exclaimed, "There are two castle yards here?!"
Following his gaze, Garon explained, "I had the North Keep Yard enlarged recently. It's still under construction. The South Keep Yard, meanwhile, has always been the family's."
He finished speaking, looked up at the sky, and saw that it was getting late. Then he added,
"Come on. We'll go to the North Keep Yard first, and I'll tell you about the place as we go."
Garon turned and descended the wooden stairs beside them. Jon and Lawrence followed behind.
As they made their way to the North Keep Yard, Garon introduced Jon to the details of Deepwood Motte.
Deepwood Motte was a typical wooden castle built around a hilltop keep and a castle yard.
In other words, it consisted of two parts—
the residential keep on the hill and the castle yard below.
At the entrances from the northern and southern yards to the hill, a pair of square wooden towers stood guard. Walkways along the walls connected each pair.
For added security, the hilltop keep also had north and south gates.
If an enemy broke through the yard and attacked the keep on the hill, House Glover could close the gates and repel them from the arrow towers above.
Deepwood Motte was centered on the hill, with the northern and southern yards as its wings and moss-covered wooden palisades as its outer walls.
A deep ditch had been dug around the outside, along with a sloping earthwork and a palisade of logs to serve as defensive lines.
The lands to the east and west of Deepwood Motte were open fields where oats and barley grew.
The crops were nearly ready for harvest.
"I had people start building the North Keep Yard half a year ago. On the one hand, the family's needs keep growing, and the old South Keep Yard alone just isn't enough."
"On the other hand, the Long Summer is almost over, and a long winter is coming."
As he descended the stairs, Garon said gravely, "The four clans of the Wolfswood are sworn to me. I plan to build some wooden houses so they'll have shelter here when the harsh winter comes."
Jon understood and smiled. "Like the Winter Town?"
Garon nodded. "Exactly."
After coming down the stairs, he continued along the wooden walkway toward the north gate.
The soldiers and attendants on guard along the way saw Garon and bowed, stepping aside.
Garon smiled and greeted them warmly.
As they crossed the courtyard, Jon noticed signs of rot on some of the wooden pillars and couldn't help asking,
"Lord Garon, why doesn't Deepwood Motte use stone for its castle? Wouldn't that make it sturdier?"
Garon shook his head slightly. "There's a reason for that!"
He recalled that castles like this had once existed in medieval Europe in his previous life. The Normans had conquered much of England and France with these "motte-and-bailey" castles.
Because they were cheap and easy to build, the Normans could fortify their lands by constructing castles at very little cost.
But wooden castles caught fire and rotted easily, and soon fell out of favor, eventually being replaced by stone castles.
The same was true in Westeros.
Deepwood Motte, in the Wolfswood, was probably the only castle that still retained this design.
At its heart—
the reason was Deepwood Motte's unique geography and history.
Deepwood Motte lay in the Wolfswood, where timber was plentiful.
For thousands of years, it had fought the Ironborn without respite. Deepwood Motte had repeatedly been attacked right at its doorstep and often suffered severe damage.
Stone fortresses were sturdy, but once damaged, they were extremely expensive to repair.
Harrenhal was the clearest example. One blast of dragonfire had left it impossible to repair for hundreds of years.
Wooden fortresses were different. They cost very little to repair; the timber simply had to be replaced regularly, and they could keep on standing.
That was why Deepwood Motte had always kept its wooden castle through its wars with the Ironborn.
As they walked, Garon explained the reasons to Jon.
Jon immediately imagined the Glovers fighting the Ironborn in Deepwood Motte, locked in bloody combat.
"The Ironborn all deserve to die!"
Thinking of Theon plotting against Bran, he cursed them furiously.
Lawrence heard him and felt a little more fond of Jon.
Galbart had taken him in as a foster son when he was young, and he had been assimilated into House Glover. He hated the Ironborn just as much.
Garon heard the curse but kept walking, thinking to himself,
"There isn't much time before we raise our banners. I need to instill House Glover's values in him as soon as possible."
"Only if he identifies with House Glover can I entrust him with an important responsibility."
He led the two through the north gate of the inner keep and down the slope. "I need to find a way to help him fit in as soon as possible!"
As they walked, Jon looked down over the yard.
A row of wooden houses had been built on the western side of the North Keep Yard, while a pile of logs was stacked on the eastern side.
South of the logs stood a larger wooden house. Its doors were shut, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.
Just then, a scattered group of people emerged from the houses on the western side and gathered in the middle of the yard.
"Huh? What are they doing?"
Jon was curious, but Garon's eyes flickered as he realized how he could help Jon fit into Deepwood Motte faster.
He didn't answer Jon's question. Instead, he stopped and stood silently on the slope, watching the sluggish crowd below.
The youths, all about Garon's age, yawned and gathered lazily.
Jon still hadn't caught on, but Lawrence was already getting nervous.
He glanced uneasily at Garon and cursed inwardly. "I clearly told Ron last night that Garon was coming back. How could they still show up late?"
"Damn it. Now I'm going to be punished along with them!"
The three stood on the slope for another five minutes, until a black-haired young man rushed out of a wooden house on the right.
He waved his arms and shouted to everyone, "Lord Garon came back last night! Hurry, line up!"
The lazy crowd instantly grew anxious and alarmed.
They quickly formed ranks, took their places, and silently waited for Garon to arrive.
Garon glanced at Lawrence, his voice calm. "How many days have they been slacking off?"
Lawrence's lips moved. He answered fearfully, "Th-three days..."
Garon's eyes narrowed. An invisible pressure suddenly filled the air, and Lawrence's face turned deathly pale.
"Come on. Let's go over there!"
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