Chapter Eight

Thirteenth day, Ninth Moon, 229 AC

The door slammed open as I entered the tavern. It looked much the same as last time, with its worn tables but clean floors. It was empty since it was midday, but a head poked out from the kitchens and hollered out, "With 'ya in a moment!"

I went to sit down at a table off in the corner near the kitchens and waited. Nyra was outside watching over the wagons, she was a bit nauseous from the trip, but otherwise fine. We encountered no trouble on the trip, but we took our time and Nyra enjoyed the new sights. Her face was quite the sight to behold as we entered the Wolfswood proper, with its large trees densely packed, and its thick canopy.

It wasn't long before a maid came out and asked what I wanted to drink. I told her that I was here to talk with the owner, and she went back into the kitchens to get him for me. Once he came out and saw me his face lit up in recognition, "Michael! Good to see you again!"

I nodded in return and said, "You too Arlan. How's business?"

He smiled, "Good, good. So, you got more vodka for me?"

I laughed, he wasn't so good at hiding his eagerness. "Sure do, I've got two more barrels for you. And a new drink!"

He looked interested, but said, "Only two barrels? The two from before sold mighty well! Was hopin' to get more 'o that!"

"I hoped to as well, but with the short winter I've been cautious. Too many signs, if you know what I mean."

He nodded viciously, "Aye, I hear ya'. Lot of wolves lately, something's getting them all riled up."

I replied, "Yes, so I've got more I might be able to make but I'll have to see how many more harvests I can get. If I can get another two I can come back with maybe three more barrels."

He looked thoughtful, "Aye, that sounds better. So maybe six or seven moons you come back? That'll work."

"Good. How'd the people like it?"

Arlan laughed, "Mighty fine! Guards liked it, like you said. Good for a cold night, or if'n someone's in a rush."

I smiled at that, "So price then for the next two barrels. I'm thinking four stags a barrel?"

He coughed at that, "You tryna' rob me blind? That's bloody double the price!"

"Oh, come now, you told me how well it sold. You made a lot more than you bought it for, a lot more!"

Arlan smiled, "Jus' trying to be polite-like! But I'll make you a deal, how's three stags?"

Oh haggling, how I missed you. "Let's say 3 stags each, and four barrels of wine?"

Arlan reached out his hand, "Aye, I can live with that." We clasped hands. "Now, what's this other drink you got for me?"

I indicated for him to wait a moment and I went outside to bring back the barrel of brandy.

When I returned I asked him to get two small cups. "Best if they're small, something similar to a wine cup."

When her returned I poured us each a drink and told him to drink slow and really taste it. I watched as he took a sip and his face scrunched up in thought. He took another sip before smiling and he said, "Hmm, grows on you it does. Guess people'll choose this or beer?"

I nodded, "Yes, it's more of a drink to enjoy. Could go with a fancy meal too. I'll warn you though, its expensive. Took a long time to make, with a lot of costly goods. The barrel's only quarter full, so let's say 10 stags for this first batch?"

He looked at me in shock, "10 stags?! Only Master Glover could afford that! Maybe some of the other lords!"

"Come now, it's not so bad as that! It's a treat to be sure, not something everyone will drink every night. But say a man's getting married, he gets a glass to celebrate. The Castellan up at the castle might like it once a week. Things like this are special."

Arlan didn't look overly convinced.

I said, "Look, I was right about the vodka, right? The brandy will sell just fine. Let's say 10 stags, but if you don't sell it all by the time I come back with more vodka, I'll give you a barrel of vodka free."

He looked a little bit more warmed to the idea, but not yet sold. "That'll still put me out a lot of stags."

"Not that much, and you will sell enough to cover the costs easy! Come on, trust me."

He nodded, "Aye, I can do that."

We shook on the deal and began offloading the barrels and loading up my wine. We said our goodbyes, and Nyra and myself began to walk down the street. As we walked down the street we took turns watching over the wagon while the other went to make purchases. We made some additional purchases with the money from the brandy, like dyes and high-quality linens. I also convinced the blacksmith to make me the shears I wanted by sweetening the deal and getting a few pick-axes. I wanted to start work on the sawmill, and I needed more concrete. I was planning to hire some local boys to help me mine some more materials to make the concrete necessary.

We also picked up another cat from the same man I purchased from before, though it was from a different litter. Nyra found a person selling dogs as well, and we ended up getting two herding dog that looked like corgi's. She thought it would help as we started to have more and more animals. I was excited for a dog that might be a good pet, as our current dogs looked like a husky but were very aggressive.

We made all our purchases, but still had daylight to burn so we dropped off our wagon at the inn's stable and walked around the travelling market for a while looking at some of the different wares. Nothing really caught our attention, until we came upon a food vendor. The man was selling various types of food, some basic like wheat, others like beets, but what caught my eye was a certain leafy green vegetable. Bok choy.

I tried to contain my excitement and asked the man, "What's that there? I don't recognize it."

He replied, "Oh, that there is mountain cabbage. Comes from parts in the Vale."

The Vale? How did I miss that? I responded to him, "Oh? Where abouts in the Vale?"

He scratched his head, "I think round the interior. Not very popular though, not so good at storing through the winter."

Huh, it freezes somewhat alright if kept sealed from air. Maybe I could rig something up with the uhrplant? Bok choi was pretty healthy and grew really well with short harvest times. I had never grown any before, but I was pretty sure that the climate around here was suitable. It was supposed to be a cool-weather crop after all.

I asked him, "How much for it? Mind, I want the seeds as well."

He hemmed and hawed, "Did come a long way, so a lot of work to get it here, and quickly too! It was hard to keep alive on the road. 20 coppers for the plant and seeds?"

He had the thing planted in a wooden pot, so I'll admit that it was pretty impressive he managed it. "15 coppers and you got a deal." We shook hands on it.

As Nyra and I walked away, she asked why I was so interested in the plant. While we walked back to the inn, I told her about the quick harvests and how it was good for you. Westerosi concepts of health were is the 'miasma' stages, and while Maester's seemed fairly knowledgeable all things considered, the general people had no real concepts of healthy foods. Probably to busy with survival. I ended up talking about how people who ate more variety of different things were healthier and stronger. Hopefully eating some of this would help with her pregnancy a bit. She was a little wary of spending so much on one plant, especially after the trouble I had with our fruit trees. I had originally planted three quinces and three apple trees but one of the quince and all three apple trees died. We agreed to try our best and see what would happen; we weren't short on money, so it was a risk but not a large one.

We enjoyed the rest of our time in Deepwood, and soon departed back home the next morning.