Dennis swallowed, his throat feeling dry, and said nervously, "Your Majesty, I'll send someone to deliver the message right away."
He turned and summoned a young Ranger of the Night's Watch, a lad named Bott who rode well and had a quick tongue.
He had once been an ordinary man scraping out a living in Flea Bottom in King's Landing, but he had been arrested after offending a noble. He had been given only two choices: lose a hand or come to the Wall and join the Night's Watch. He had chosen the latter.
Dennis patted his shoulder and instructed him quietly, "Go to the Gorge and negotiate with the Wildling leaders. Tell them His Majesty Viserys is willing to give them one last chance to come south, provided they agree to bend the knee to the king in the south. Remember, be firm, but don't provoke them. Keep yourself safe."
The young man nodded, a trace of nervous excitement on his face. This was his first time carrying out such an important task.
He mounted his horse and rode toward the Gorge through the exit beneath Shadow Tower, carrying a black flag of the Night's Watch. His horse's hooves scattered broken ice and snow, and his figure gradually vanished into the endless white snowfall.
At this point, the original plot had only just begun to take shape, and the two passages through the Wall besides the one at Castle Black had not yet been sealed.
Some of the men of the Night's Watch at Shadow Tower stood by the exit, watching Bott depart, each occupied with his own thoughts. Some worried about the threat from the Wildlings, but more were awed by Viserys's dragon. A solemn mood settled over all of Shadow Tower.
Yet only an hour later, Bott