Castle Black appears as the intended overland destination for men condemned to take the black, linking the capital’s sentences to service at the Wall. The account records a planned route rather than describing the castle itself: the men were to sail from King’s Landing to White Harbor, then travel overland to Castle Black.

Route from the Capital

Ser Medrick Manderly was to carry the men north aboard his galley, North Star. White Harbor was the transfer point, from which the party would continue by land to Castle Black. The passage gives no further details about the journey or the castle’s buildings; its significance here is as the endpoint of this route.

A Departure Disrupted

On the morning North Star was due to sail, a count showed that one of the condemned men was missing. Grand Maester Orwyle had changed his mind about taking the black: after bribing a guard to release him, he put on beggar’s rags and disappeared into the city’s stews. His escape prevented the planned party from leaving intact.

The Sentence Carried Out

Unwilling to delay the voyage, Ser Medrick sentenced the guard who had freed Orwyle to take the fugitive’s place. North Star then put to sea with the guard among those bound for Castle Black. The episode presents the castle not as a setting for action but as the distant destination that gives this sentence its form: escape altered who would make the journey, but did not stop the group from departing.