Chapter 93: Act 2: Chapter 33

Seventh day, First Moon, 258 AC (+88 days)

We rode into the walled village, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how nice it was. It lay underneath an old-growth forest, hidden in the leaves from the weather, and was an idyllic place. Birds chirped, insects buzzed, the nearby creek burbled, and sheep and cattle could be heard in the distance.

The largest tree that lay near the wall had a small platform that protruded out from the trunk, high in the foliage, and served as a small watchtower. On the far side of the village, I could see where Lord Forrester's bannerman, Master Bjorn Trevind had his small keep.

Made out of wood and whitewashed, it still proved to be more than a simple keep. With another three levels above the main floor, in an almost pyramid-like fashion, it was an impressive sight. At the gables of each roof, lay some sort of ornamentation that stuck out from the keep like a statue from the bow of a ship.

Longhouses seemed to be the most common style of building, with many being half-buried into the ground to help insulate them. Smoke wafted lazily out of many of them, and I saw a few women carrying big wicker baskets in and out, with what looked like laundry. A few young kids could be seen watching our party make our way through the village from behind their mothers' skirts, but the men seemed to be out of the village working.

"A beautiful place you have here, Bjorn," I said, as we rode into his village accompanied by Lord Cedric Forrester as well as some of our men-at-arms – we had left the rest of our party back at Ironrath for the day.

"My thanks, Michael. It is not the largest in the area, but it is the dearest to me."

"I understand completely," I replied.

As we entered the keep, Bjorn had servants present Cedric and I with bread and salt. After we went through with the familiar ritual, we sat at the main table while a servant poured us beer and put out a platter of meats.

"it is good to be home again," commented Bjorn.

Cedric chuckled. "Aye, but Master Glover put on an excellent feast nonetheless."

"Agreed," I said. "And you did very well for yourself in the wrestling competition, Bjorn."

"My father taught me well before he passed. 'Tis a shame I wasn't able to win and get myself a Thanehood."

I nodded sympathetically. After Lord Stark had gotten permission to start the Thanes, he had been careful in restricting who got to be inducted into the order – by limiting supply, he ensured demand was very high. Only a few people who had previously done great deeds were granted Thanehood, and while the rules were very similar to Knighthood, Lord Stark had clearly asked those he knighted – thaned? – to restrict who they thaned themselves. Some, like Master Glover, would do so to those who won competitions and the like – provided they were otherwise admissible.

I wasn't, but I also didn't really care. I'd just as rather never pick up a sword again.

"What happened to your father – if you don't mind me asking?" I asked.

"The winter of two-thirty took a hard toll on us here," he replied.

Cedric grunted. "On us all."

"My mother died nearer to the end, and my father had an accident. As the winter went on and on, we had to keep going further and further to find new game to hunt. One day, on a hunt, my father's party was overcome by a blizzard and ended up breaking his leg in the storm. The storm lasted a few days, and by the time he and his much smaller party returned, infection set in. Some of the elders here treated it, and he managed to keep his leg, but he was never the same again. He was constantly sick, and by the time the next winter rolled around, he worsened until he died."

I grimaced. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"That's life."

"That was a bloody winter," said Cedric. "A bloody, bloody winter. Smallfolk were hit the hardest, but even the nobility wasn't spared – I lost three cousins, an uncle, and all of my grandparents – though the last all went on a walk to help us."

We all raised our mugs in the memory of those who sacrificed themselves so that the rest of their family might have enough food.

"Not so much for myself," continued Cedric, "But I know some of the major lords were hit hard when it came to skilled smallfolk – blacksmiths, tanners, and the like."

Bjorn shook his head. "I still can't believe some were so foolish to disregard such established wisdom and let them die."

Cedric shrugged. "Preferred to keep themselves fed – times were uncertain."

"I'm sure it is hard to give out food to only a few people specifically when everyone is hungry," I said.

"True," conceded Cedric. "It wasn't too hard in smaller places – even Ironrath – but even Deepwood Motte had that problem."

"Hopefully, it won't be a problem much longer," said Bjorn, looking at me meaningfully.

"Aye; have you given the demonstration much thought, Bjorn?" I asked.

"When have I not, is the question," he replied, chuckling.

"I am the same," said Cedric. "The demonstration at Master Glover, with the select few noble families invited, was eye-opening. But I must admit I am worried; will such things work here underneath these trees?"

I nodded. "They will; some land will have to be cleared for farming – more, I imagine, than what you currently have. Good pasture can grow underneath trees; the trees just have to be managed so that they do not cast to thick a shadow."

"I worry that clearing too much land will hurt the forest – and thus our ability to purchase food," replied Cedric.

"I won't tell you how to go about your business, but is food or coin better in the winter?"

Cedric chuckled. "Aye, food is better. Still, the forest must be carefully managed and cutting it down in a rush serves no one."

I nodded. "Hopefully the men that I brought with me can help share knowledge of growing trees with each other and that we might both learn something."

"I must admit, your tale of what you are doing along the Stoney Shore – reforesting it – warms my heart. I hope to see it one day."

"Any time you wish to come to visit, know that you are most welcome."

"I also find it interesting," said Bjorn, "That you have men dedicated to something as specific as growing trees."

I chuckled as I popped a piece of sausage into my mouth. "I love learning, and I think that having more people under you know more can only be an asset to you."

"Do the Maesters not have that knowledge? I confess, my family has never been able to afford the services of one," said Bjorn apologetically.

"My family had one a few generations back, but I do not know," said Cedric.

"They don't – as far as I or my maester know. The Maesters seem to be incredibly knowledgeable on subjects like medicine, construction, and history, but they seem to place a lesser importance on other subjects," I said.

"I thought the maesters knew damn near everything?" asked Bjorn.

"Oh, I'm sure they have a lot of things down in their Citadel, but that doesn't much help us up here in the North when we need the information now – and the maesters here are hardly capable of remembering everything under the sun!"

Cedric laughed as he downed his mug of ale. "True!"

"So, my thought is that if we work together and teach each other, then we can damn well do everything ourselves!"

Bjorn let out a full-bellied laugh. "Aye, as much as I would love to have a maester, the thought of some southerner teaching me things about the North rubs me the wrong way."

"And paying a lot of coin to have them do it," muttered Cedric.

"I was lucky; my maester is a good lad from the Karstark lands."

Bjorn snorted. "Aye but taught by southerners. Still, it is better than it could have been."

"Exactly!" I said, not exactly agreeing, but the sentiment worked for my purposes. "We ought to work together and teach each other!"

"Teach what? Forestry?" asked Cedric.

"Aye, and other things the maesters don't teach, like cooking!"

"Cooking?" asked Bjorn puzzled.

"Did you like some of the different types of foods that Master Glover provided?" At his hesitant nod, I continued, "We could have someone teach things like that and we could have excellent food all the time! Different recipes with things we have currently, how to cook exotic foods, food preparation; there is plenty to learn!"

"And how would that work exactly?" asked Cedric dubiously.

"You can send some of your cooks' children to Redbridge to learn? Or maybe someone else that is interested? I haven't worked out any details, so I don't know the length of time needed, but they don't even have to be knowledgeable about cooking to start. I imagine later we might have a sort of accelerated course that would teach established cooks more, but again, that's for later."

"So, an apprenticeship?"

"Of sorts, but not the traditional one – as is the case in the more difficult subjects, like swordsmanship or other martial pursuits," I said, trying to butter them up. "There would be more students than teachers, but for something like this, I think it would work just fine."

Cedric shrugged, looking somewhat more interested. "I suppose that makes sense. But it still seems weird to me."

Bjorn smiled eagerly. "Count me in! If it gets me some of that good food, I'm all for it!"

I laughed. "I'm glad to hear it."

Cedric still looked uncertain. "And would there be a cost for this – as the maesters do?"

I shook my head. "Maybe in the future, but for you two? No – don't worry about it. Each of you can send someone over in a few moons time, and I'll get something set up."

Cedric nodded. "Aye, I can do that. Thank you, Michael."

"Aye, thanks, Michael," echoed Bjorn.

"You're welcome; it's important for those of us on the west coast to stick together," I replied.

"To good friends," toasted Bjorn.

"To good friends," Cedric and I echoed.

Xxxx

I pinched the bridge of my nose as Violet looked at me sheepishly.

"That doesn't even make sense," I complained, once Violet had finished telling me how we ended up in this situation.

"It was the will of the gods," Violet replied in a faux sagely tone.

"Uh, huh. And what are we supposed to do with two direwolves?"

Violet shrugged. "They're a breeding pair – give them to Zane, I'm sure he can breed some interesting animals."

I sighed. "And how is he supposed to handle direwolves? Fully-growndirewolves."

It was Violet's turn to sigh. "I guess I can stick around and help control them a bit."

"You'll need to – at the very least until we get them into some sort of fenced-off area. How bloody high can they jump? And can they climb like a bear?"

She shrugged. "We'll have to find out, I suppose."

"You'll have to find out. I'm washing my hands of this."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

I snorted. "You know after you have children, you're supposed to be more mature."

"I am!" she protested. "I just thought it would be an excellent opportunity – and I stopped them from attacking us or anything like that."

"Attacking us? Direwolves were thought to be extinct south of the Wall. That tells me they stay far away from humans and weren't going to attack us."

She shrugged. "Maybe they were hungry?"

I rolled me eyes. "Right – I'm sure. And what possible opportunity could they provide?"

"New breeds of dogs! It could be something great!"

The image of a dire-corgi popped into my head. Still low to the ground, but massive looking – weird, as it still had its short legs and long body; a cute, derpy face with a bloodthirsty snarl. Nope.

Nope.

Nope.

I spun around and stalked off, calling out to her over my shoulder. "Nope! Not my responsibility!"