Lord Commander Mormont and Ser Jaremy have arrived to examine the corpses Ghost discovered. Jon is there as well, and so are Chett, Sam, who represents Maester Aemon, and a dozen rangers including Dywen, Hake, and Ketter. Earlier, Bass, the kennelmaster, tried to get the dogs to take a scent from the hand Ghost brought back, but they refused to do so. Chett is handling the dogs now, and they are fighting him and refusing to go near the corpses. Ser Jaremy recoginzes the dead men as Othor and Jafer Flowers, both of whom were part of Ben Stark's missing ranging. Ser Jaremy thinks they must have been dead only a day, but Sam points out that the blood has dryed up and they must have been dead longer. It is strange though, because there is no sign of rotting, or maggots, and no animals other than Ghost will get close. Both corpses also have bright blue eyes, though neither one's eyes were ever blue. Lord Commander Mormont orders the corpses returned to Castle Black so Maester Aemon can examine them and orders Ser Jaremy to scour the surrounding woods.

Bowen meets the group as they return to the Wall and tells Lord Commander Mormont that a raven has come. As Jon returns to his quarters, everyone from Ser Alliser to Donal Noye stares at him. He finds Pyp, Grenn, and Todder and learns that Robert is dead. He returns to Lord Commander Mormont's quarters, and the lord commander tells him about Eddard being arrested and charged with treason. He is in a daze for the rest of the day. Everyone knows what happened. He gets piteous looks, and Hobb gives him an extra helping at dinner. Matthar, Pyp, Grenn, Todder, and Sam try to comfort him. He hears Ser Alliser slandering Eddard and attacks, leading to his being subdued and imprisoned.

After some time, Jon dozes off in his cell, and when he wakes up, it has gotten very cold and Ghost is scrabbling at the door. He opens the door and sees his guard dead with his head twisted around. He goes up to the Lord Commanders chambers and sees a dark shape going in. When he follows, he discovers it is the supposedly dead Othor.¹ He hacks Othor's arm off as well as half of his face, but Othor keeps coming and so does the severed arm. Othor starts to strangle Jon, but Ghost saves him. Lord Commander Mormont stumbles out with an oil lamp, and Jon grabs it, torches the drapes, and throws the burning mass at Othor.