12

284 AC

284 AC

Time flies if you're busy and I noticed just that more often these days, mostly as the world around me changed at a breakneck pace...and because my children shot up like weeds. While they had been sick a few times – as small children are prone to in any world – they thankfully had pulled through without problems, their constitution as hardy as the clan side of their heritage. I had also remained healthy and was very grateful for it indeed, considering the current state of medical advances.

I had implemented some easy to do changes years ago like boiling water before consumption and the use of the crude soap I had available as often as possible. Not mandatory bathing though. While it would have been preferable to my 'modern' sensibilities, doing so during winter while most had no access to heated water in the necessary amount was just asking for the person going through with it to get sick. No, cat bathing would be the way to go for a while. These – let's call them inventions – had the most effect on the birthing bed next to sickness in general, the rate of death during the process going down considerably for mothers as well as for the children themselves. This had earned me a lot of goodwill from my smallfolk, who were quick to notice that their loved ones had a better chance of survival if my orders were observed. I had to actually save a stubbornly traditional midwife that did not follow the rules from an angry mob after the woman in her care had died from birthing fever. While I had saved her life I had nonetheless banished her from my lands, having no use for people that did not do as I commanded them to due to old prejudices.

Another thing that had finally started to bear fruit now that the snow had all but vanished with the arrival of spring was the crop rotation. As I pointed Wyndal in the right direction years ago and told him to try different combinations of crops and leaving the soil to rest or graze animals upon them. As I had known that it would take a while to get it right. Since I had known of the rotation in my old life I nonetheless had been sparse on details and time, leaving others to figure out the particulars. We had only brought in the first harvest but already the yield difference between my experimental and the classical fields had been noticed. I would wait for another harvest or two to be sure that we got it right and then implement it all over my lands, hopefully boosting my food production and making me less dependent on imports. Even after implementing the new method I would retain my experimental fields, trying out different methods or changes that might further optimize my farming. Who knew, at some point I might be completely independent from outside sources, which – of course – was my end goal anyway.

The most important thing on my to-do list for this year, not considering the continuing 'naval tag' I was playing with the ironborn, would be my expedition to the lands north of the wall. I had promised Ragnar and the other Thenns that I would be there and I intended to keep my word, my men already hard at work making the necessary preparations. And there were a lot of them as we would be gone for two month at least, which required a lot of supplies of all sorts. More so as we would also need to take along enough supplies to build a small trading outpost and supply it long enough for hunters and fishers to take over the daily needs of the proto-settlement. I would take half a dozen ships with me stuffed to the gills of everything I could think of and then some, hopefully not missing anything once we arrived. I just knew that something important would be left behind, only to be noticed after arriving or as turning around was no longer feasible at the very earliest. Never I had been so grateful for Wyndal and his small flock of assistants, all which had been of great help and eased a lot of the burden I might have otherwise shouldered alone.

In a few weeks my preparations would be complete and I would head north, the curiosity of what I would find there driving me to push everybody involved nearly to the breaking point until Harren pointed it out to me. I eased up on my people after that, much to their relief. The date could not be moved up anyway as the grandfather of my children, Clan Chief Theo Wull, would be arriving for a visit in a few days. While I would be happy to host him I nonetheless asked myself just why he was heading my way nearly as soon as the weather permitted him to do so. I really tried not to see a plot or coming catastrophe at every corner but the last few years had jaded me some – a lot – and left me in a position where I really couldn't help myself sometimes.

The latest bad news that had come with literally no surprise at all had been the hit my reputation had taken because I attended Brandon Bole's wedding to the wildling Brigitte. It seems there was a quiet understanding between nobles that scandalous marriages would not be attended and opposed by snubbing the noble involved, potentially creating enough peer pressure to avoid such matches in the first place. That I had ignored the unwritten rule I didn't know about – and still would have done so if I did – had not earned me any favors, considering that my reputation had been shaky in the first place. Added that news of my intended expedition north was already spreading I did not estimate to be held in high esteem any time soon.

For me this meant that trade with other northern lords had gone down some, which I easily balanced with the increase in trade my port attracted from outside sources. Nonetheless I would have to avoid any more pitfalls for a while if I did not want to go up even further on the nobles shitlist… and look for a wife even sooner than I wanted to. There was still some time to the limit Lord Stark had laid down for me to marry again but considering the way the political situation was developing I would have to start looking, really looking, once I returned from my northern adventure. I still felt less than enthusiastic about it but the needs must and I could not delay any longer even without Lord Stark breathing down my neck...yet.

Wyndal – the poor man having earned yet another task – was already looking at the current rooster of northern nobility and any potential matches that could be found. I had outright told him not to discount any Snows, the base born children of northern lords being much more likely to accept a marriage offer than the 'real' nobility would be inclined to, at least until my reputation recovered some if it ever would.

By the rate my lands were growing in population and power that might actually not matter all that much in the long run, allying themselves to me becoming more attractive from a power standpoint alone as time went on. While Lord Stark had all but forced me to focus a lot of my resources on the open water this still left me with more than enough to invest into my settlements, military and any advances and projects that took my fancy. Already I could easily equal the forces of house Forrester, the other 'big' vassal of house Glover, and would be soon passing them by entirely as immigrants continued to stream into my lands from all directions.

While the immigration bounty had run its course the movement of people to my lands had developed some sort of independent dynamic and continued even without the incentive on a relatively high level. A hundred and fifty men, women and children arrived each month on average, straining my ability to house and feed them all to the limit. Most of those arriving did not have any specific or high level skills, being down on their luck smallfolk which brought little more than muscle power and determination to the table. Still, I was hardly one to complain despite the desperate struggle to keep everything on course this development sometimes brought with it.

With numbers came options, which I gleefully used. Taken together with the money my silver mine and the steadily expanding trade activity was earning me I had kicked off a lot of things that had been pushed back due financial concerns. I no longer had those, my coffers being comfortably in the black for the first time in years. Even so my vault never contained more than a thousand dragons, the money being invested nearly as soon as it crossed my threshold.

Despite it being cliché I had invested a lot of money into infrastructure, for now focusing on my lands and not beyond. With the mountains in my territory gravel was easy to come by and I had the roads improved by a score of working parties counting dozens of men each, some of my guards being always close by as bandit attacks were still a problem all over the north. While the other kingdoms suffered more from them the relatively empty north had not been spared even though my side of the continental north had seen even less of them after I all but curb-stomped the last group heading in my direction. News of that particular incident had spread faster than I would have thought possible, buying me some respite as brigands of all sorts sought greener pastures elsewhere. That I had one of the few nearly untouched military forces in the north also impacted their decision some, I figured.

My first gravel road leading from Rytherport to my castle and to the silvermine with the adjacent village would be finished within the year. After that half of the men I had working on it would be withdrawn to Rytherport and start on a stonewall as I intended to fortify the growing settlement a lot more than with the current palisade. The remaining half would continue road building but nothing beyond my borders for now, that would come later once or if I managed to acquire enough political capital to win over the other lords enough to expand the network even further.

My docks had also reached an expansion level by now. I could no longer just call them "docks", instead referring to it as "port" or simply "the harbor" by now. My wooden constructions were slowly replaced by the hardier stone ones used in bigger ports, having expanded the volume my people could handle in trade by a lot. And boy, did they need it. I had the only real port on the western coast of the north if you did not count the small ones in Barrowtown and Thorren's Square, both which were only reachable by going up river against a strong current. The next harbor directly accessible from the sea would be more than seven hundred miles away as the crow flies. The Mormonts of course had a dock… somewhere… but they had neither the trade connections nor the money to make anything of it, leaving me factually in complete control of the bay of ice.

We had actually also seen some traffic heading for Winterfell and the settlements around it, the travelers in question preferring to depart at Rytherpart and move through the wolfswood as it was less dangerous than taking the kingsroad at this time. King Robert and every noble you cared to name had been trying hard to come down on the bandits plaguing the kingdoms like a ton of bricks but they had only middling success. Most of the time the brigands knew the area better than the forces hunting them and melted into the woods before anyone could catch up to them. Even so they did get caught sometimes and the overall number of groups preying on smallfolk and nobles alike trickled down some but it would still take years at the current rate before the situation could be called sustainable.

For me this had actually not been a bad development even though a lot of people suffered through it. The constant low level skirmishing all over the kingdoms had driven even more people in the direction of my 'safe' harbor – pun intended – and also infused the Night's Watch with a steady supply of recruits. Both would be a great help, one short term and the other one in some decades. While shoring up the numbers of the black brothers now did not necessarily mean that the order would also be more numerous than in the books by the time the walkers knocked on the door it made it more probable. As such I would continue to send every criminal I could north and encourage others to do the same as I was able. Not currently though. My bubble of influence was very small yet and due to the hits my reputation had taken recently and would take soon I suspected that some might actually do the opposite out of spite alone.

Of course I was not completely isolated and had at least some allies, which I had already prodded in the right direction – as I saw it – regarding the Night's Watch and their lack of numbers. Already I had ferried a few dozen shady people that had been 'volunteered' by house Mallister to the black brothers, a few men forwarded by Brynden Bole and Lord Glover joining them on their journey. By the time they arrived at Castle Black they had picked up some more men at Winterfell, Last Hearth and Queenscrown , which added up to nearly a hundred new recruits for the watch. This had actually had the added benefit of house Umber becoming grudgingly friendly or at least positively neutral to me. I had done a lot to strengthen the Watch over my years in this world and indirectly reduced the wildling raids on Umber lands by at least half as less and less raiding parties made it past the wall without getting spotted and repelled by the swelling numbers of the watch. Building upon the numbers I and others had sent north, the black brothers were actually considering rebuilding one of the many ruined castles along the wall, which I considered to be a great success on its own.

I stand on another wall – my own – as my children's grandfather arrives with a small escort in tow. Lord Theo Wull or as he liked to be called Chief Wull had taken a dozen riders with him, all seated on the hardy northern ponies the mountain clans were famous for. They were next to useless in a cavalry charge because of their size alone but to travel from one point to another in bad or cold weather there were little better options available. Armored in thick leather and fur and carrying mostly axes and small short bows they looked ready to fight a war in some ancient times. Taken together with the shaggy beards they sprouted without exception they looked like I had always imagined a northerner in my old world.

Descending the wall I enter the courtyard just in the moment my father in law passes the gates, the man making a beeline for me while his escort peeled off in the direction of the barracks.

"Darren", he greets with a small nod, "we need to talk."

Always one to avoid wasting time on pleasantries I note while handing him the customary bread and salt, which he gobbles down in an eyeblink. His gaze never strays from my eyes even as he eats, as if he was suspecting I would flee the moment his attention wandered. I had a really really bad feeling about this…

"Yes", I simply state and turn around, the chieftain following after me like a dark cloud. We arrive in my solar quickly and I hand him a tankard of beer as I take one of my own before sitting down. I glanced at one of my shelves where I had hidden something stronger, feeling the itch to skip the beer and go straight for the hard stuff.

"Well then", I start and take a sip of my beverage, "where is the fire that needs to be stamped out."

"You are planning to go north of the Wall and trade with the wildlings", he states flatly with no expression filtering across his face.

I pause for a moment and just look at the man, sadly being unable to spot if he was angry or pleased at the prospect. Not knowing the reaction he would have I decided to be straight out truthful as there was nothing to be gained by evasion or misdirection, not to speak of outright lying.

"Aye, I am."

"Why? Jasana told me that you had intended to do so once before but that she managed to convince you to leave it be."

"She convinced me to delay, not to abort.", I pointed out calmly before taking a breath and going into some more detail.

"The lands north of the wall and the people living there can be a great danger or a great boon to the north. Currently they are a threat and have been for centuries, I intend to change that… at least in some little way."

"You are taking too great a risk. Not only the men you send will be in great danger, so will you and all those associated with you… like my grandchildren. Your enemies will jump on this like flies on shit and nail you to the wall for the attempt alone.", he interrupts me, still calmly and still not showing where he stood in the matter.

I stare at the man and narrow my eyes, carefully setting down the tankard. So that was the heart of the matter, he was concerned for his grandchildren should I go through with what might be called a fool's errand by a lot of people. I almost smiled at his motivations and the care he showed for his family.

"They will certainly try and I am reasonably sure that they even might succeed… for a time."

"For a time?"

"Yes. Success alone will soon shut them up as I grow fat upon my trade north while they continue to stagnate and fear those I will be able to walk among freely."

Theo Wull leans back in his chair. "What makes you so sure that the trading party will not be massacred up north, leaving you short of a lot of men and material… making you weaker to fend off those that consider you an upstart house with too many southern leanings."

"I have a prior….arrangement... with the Thenn", I dropped the bombshell.

My father in law shows emotion for the first time, eyes widening comically before a thunderous expression comes across his face. I continued to speak before he could blow up on me, knowing that I had kept my deal with the Thenn secret for good reason if this was the reaction I could expect from a member of my extended family. It really was a marvel that word had not gotten out by now as a lot of people had seen my interaction with the wildlings and knew about the fact that I had let them go after the battle next to the ancestral seat of house Frost.

"During my first… second… battle with the Ironborn I stumbled over some wildling survivors that had escaped from my earlier fight against them. They surrendered as soon as they recognized their opponents and would have put them all to the sword had I not needed their cooperation."

Theo Wull glares at me darkly but holds his silence, leaving me to continue my story.

"I made a deal with them for their help drawing the ironborn on land as I lacked the ships to face them on the sea, their reward being their freedom. They stayed true to their end of the bargain, I kept my word as well. Before they departed I spoke at length to their chieftain, a young man that had succeeded an older leader that had gotten killed in the earlier battle."

Taking a deep breath I pause a moment, wetting my throat from the tankard.

"Interestingly enough the Thenn and other free folk, as they call themselves, would be content to stay on their side of the wall...but they are being pushed south."

"Pushed? Pushed how?", my father in law interjects at once.

"The valley of Thenn is one of the few places where hot water seeps out of the ground, making the area fertile and warmer than any other place in the far north. The tribe has grown to dominate the area because of it, their valley allowing for farming and a stable supply of food… and the greater numbers this can sustain beyond the foraging the other clans are forced to rely on. There is a reason the Thenn are the only tribe noted on any maps of the lands beyond the wall you care to name.", I continue my story as if I had not heard him.

"Recently the very warmth seems to leak out of the springs and out of the area as a whole making farming harder, hunting parties vanishing without a trace and rumors of… dead things… in the night being whispered fearfully close to the fires. According to the Thenn the old enemy of mankind is stirring again with ice, snow and a great freezing cold coming to announce it. The walkers come."

Clan chief Theo Wull stares at me in silence for a long moment, the anger on his face turning to a look that was half incredulous, half thoughtful. "Even if I believed you… how would the expedition up north lessen the danger and not increase it?"

"I will trade them dragonglass weapons if I am able to procure them. They are said to be effective enough against the undead while being next to useless against the castle forged steel of the Night's Watch, should they choose to turn them against the living. I will support their efforts against the walkers and their wights by trading them food and stone for gold, ivory, gems, furs and other things that make me prosper."

"You profit double by getting precious goods and by having them fight an enemy that keeps their attention away from the north.", he states with a nod before pausing, "not that I believe your claims of undead just yet."

"You do not have to.", I shrug before smiling slyly at him. "All that matters is that the wildlings believe it. If they are right we will have profited quadruple from it even. Profit due the trade. Peace in the north from their raiders. Slowing down an assault that would likely hit the wall anyway...and to keep their casualties lower than they would have been otherwise."

"Why is the last one a profit?", the man growls. "The only good wildling is a dead one."

"Dead is fine", I concur blandly even though I really did not share that opinion in most cases outside of the cannibal tribes. "Undead is not. If the Thenn have the right of it then any slain warrior would rise again an enemy a day later, bolstering the ranks of the enemy and making them all the harder to counter. Quantity has a quality on its own, after all. Now...consider this. There are a hundred thousand wildlings on the other side of the wall, easily. If we do nothing those will be a hundred thousand and then some wights that only fire and dragonglass can put down assaulting the wall at the orders of their masters within our lifetime – if the Thenn are correct."

"You are not willing to take the risk, unlikely as it all might seem."

"No, I am not.", I agree at once, silence filling the room after my statement.

He sighs and leans back into his chair again, having leant forwards aggressively at my reveal of the Thenn deal. "At least there is some reason behind your madness."

"...Thank you?", I offered hesitantly, only for him to snort.

"Oh, don't be like that. You have to agree that it sounds very unlikely… and it will rely on your success most of all. The other reasons will not be sufficient for everyone not family."

"I know", I agree glumly. "I will still take the risk, even knowing that."

"I see another problem with your attempt.", he interjects, having calmed down completely again. "You have no Dragonglass."

I grimace, knowing it to be true. "Aye, that is correct. I sent a Raven to Dragonstone asking to buy some but I never received a reply."

"...likely I am too unimportant to bother with.", I continue to grumble with some annoyance, the resulting chuckle of my father in law doing little to lighten my mood.

"The clans are first men", Theo Wull states and takes another deep gulp of his tankard as I mentally try to puzzle out the reason beyond the sudden statement. "We live in the mountains and are mostly left alone. As such we have retained a lot of history others may have forgotten. Stories about the Others...even some written accounts using the runes of the first men are chiseled into certain caves… caves driven into the sides of an extinct volcano...caves surrounded by the very mineral you are seeking."

I am totally stumped for a moment before the urge to hit myself in the face becomes almost overwhelming. Of course there would be other places to get obsidian from! Mountains had to come from somewhere and the chance of finding a volcano in an area as mountainous as the clan holdings in the north should be far greater than the average.

"I feel very dumb right now", I admit to the amused laughter of chief Wull.

Having passed the difficult stages of the discussion we soon start to hammer out a trade deal for obsidian we both would benefit greatly from. I got a ready source of the material and even managed to waggle out a smith knowing how to forge it from the man sitting on the other end of the table. The specialist in question was mostly a normal blacksmith but one with an almost fanatical interest in history and the resulting hobby of breathing new life into forgotten weapons and materials. Amongst the clans he had gained the dubious reputation of being somewhat touched in the head but nobody could fault the quality of his works. For me the man would be a godsend and just straight out make the next problem after procuring raw dragonglass disappear.

Clan Wull would of course also profit greatly from the trade, selling what they had thought to be useless stone while also creating a lot of work for an area often lacking professions beyond farming and sheep herding. The additional benefit of binding house Wull and through it the other clans closer to my family remained unmentioned but certainly not unnoticed. The candles in my solar had been lit and nearly burned down again before we finished, tired but content.

Theo Wull stops at the door after leaving the chair he had spent some hours in, hesitating. "Once your oldest is old enough to travel I would have you visit me. There is something I need to show you."

He leaves before I can question him further and even as he enjoys the company of his grandchildren over the next few days he refuses to speak more of it, often stating that some things have to be seen instead of talked about. This of course made me greatly curious and I would travel to clan lands as soon as Nathan reached an age where travel would actually become feasible. Because of the agreed upon fostering with house Stark I had a clear time window where this visit would happen and told chief Wull just that, the man nodding in acceptance but doing little else.

His interaction with the children was also a blessing to see, the man having a great talent with children and obviously loved them all greatly. To me it became immediately obvious why he had taken an interest in Jasana and secured her a good match despite her having been base born. The children also enjoyed his company at least as much, leaving me content to sit back and watch their interaction whenever I found the time. A week later clan chief Theo Wull and his escort left again and headed home after reaffirming my promise that I would visit at some point.

A few weeks later I found myself shivering on top of my flagship as we moved through the bay of ice, passing bear island on our way north. Next to the galley it had taken two longships and my two cogs along, the small fleet having more than enough storage space to bring everything along that my men and I thought important. Most likely we had forgotten something, that always happened, but I also suspected that we would be able to work around it in some way before the next regular ship arrived in two month.

At that point I hoped to have established the trade outpost and intended to leave again south, hopefully leaving a prospering and well defended settlement behind. For now though I was mostly trying not to throw up. The last time I had stepped onto a ship it had taken over a week of travel for me to find my sea legs, this time it looked to take even longer – I was just not made for the sea.

Hoster Rivers on the other hand suffered the same condition whenever he stepped on dry land, leaving him to live nearly all his time on board one of the fleet's ships. He was completely in his element on the sea and it showed as he expertly navigated us around drifting mountains of ice and other dangers while never losing sight of our goal. I was really glad to have him as I would likely have hit the first iceberg encountered and made like the titanic in consequence, dooming all my efforts and ambitions. Even as it was I didn't really have to accompany the expedition, my men being more than competent enough to see it through themselves. I simply had not been able to help myself and had defended my presence beyond all reason. Sure, the Thenn knew me a little and would talk to me before starting to kill anyone in sight… maybe. Yes, I know. Flimsy reasoning.

By the time we arrived another week later I had suffered enough due seasickness that even Wyndal – who had been the most outspoken of those wishing me to stay home – would have considered me properly chastised. We made landfall close to the Skirling pass on a small cliff located on an outcropping that was surrounded by water on three sides, making it excellent defensive terrain. Close by we also discovered a forested area that would supply us with all the wood needed for the outpost. We did not have a lake or other freshwater sources nearby...other than snow. More snow than we could ever hope to turn into water and drink. Suffice to say I did not expect anyone to ever go thirsty while being posted in the far north.

While being on our guard we made no attempt to hide our presence, leaving the free folk scouts we had noticed on our third day in peace as long as they did the same to us. Once my men had even waved in greeting, scaring the poor clansmen into an outright sprint away from my people. I had my men place wooden signs with the first men rune for "trade" pointing at my outpost at the very edge of every patrol, hoping that at least some of the free folk would be able to interpret it.

I supposed that it would take some time before the free folk made contact and was proven right, word of mouth traveling even slower in the conditions prevalent in the 'true north' than it did in the territories administered by Lord Stark. Already having put this into account I instead focussed on getting the settlement up and running while the fifty men strong garrison I intended to leave behind got used to their new home. We quickly chopped down enough trees to build a makeshift palisade fortifying the land bound side of the outpost including a small ramshackle gate. Neither would stand up to a real assault but it might buy us some time and keep out animals at the very least. The common variants of wolves and bears for example were bad enough but I cannot imagine the bloodbath if one of their larger cousins like Direwolves – which I am pretty sure were magical mutations of some sort – managed to get into the camp.

Rudimentary protection in place we started to put together a large wooden tower in the center of the settlement as a lookout and last refuge should the inhabitants be attacked. The lower levels would also double as a warehouse for the more precious goods being traded either way. In time I intended to put a strong palisade completely around the settlement, encircling sides facing the sea as well and making an assault by boat more unlikely.

A dock would also be constructed as time permitted. Ferrying wares over from my ships by boat was doable but added a layer of effort and difficulty to the whole process I would rather do without. Hard at work I barely noted time passing, five weeks having gone by as one of my guards brought a very nervous clansmen before me that had approached a patrol a few miles away from the all but virgin settlement. Taking a look at the man with the salt and pepper hair and sickly pallor I can already guess why he had been chosen to approach us. He looked about ready to keel over and likely would not be missed all that much by his tribe, should we prove hostile. His expression told me that he knew this as well but was completely fine with it, reminding me of the northern custom for old men and women to 'go hunting' if a winter dragged on and food grew scarce.

He starts to speak, using the old tongue and I blink, only getting every third word if that. While I was hard at work learning the language I was still far away from mastering it, more so as I never had any real talent for linguistics. Hell, learning english had taken me roughly double the time and effort it had demanded of every other person in my old self's inner circle. Of course I had "out-stubborned" the language in the end and would do so with the old tongue as well… but it would take a lot of time I had yet to invest. Thankfully I had brought Shale along and he spoke the language fluently, translating the conversation and hopefully keeping any misunderstandings to a minimum.

"Who are you and what do you want?", were the first words related to me and I twitch slightly, having a slight Babylon 5 moment, before getting myself under control again.

"I am Darren Ryther and these are my men. We seek trade and nothing else. We will stay in this settlement and the nearby area, not venturing further without the permission of the free folk."

The man seems to mull over my reply for a moment before speaking again, this time directly to Shale who translates dutifully.

"Why should we trust your words? Kneelers like you are known to break agreements and hunt down those of us showing weakness. The crows prey upon us most of all."

I frown slightly, not liking having my integrity being put in question. "Words are wind but deeds will prove my words to be true. We will not move more than five miles from the settlement without permission but trade with anyone approaching us in good faith. We offer tools, food and a few moons from now obsidian weapons, should you be interested in them. I am sure if you tell us of your needs we will also find other items of interest to trade."

The man looks up at the mention of weapons. "Steel?"

"No", I state at once, "Obsidian. We will not trade steel beyond simple tools, no weapons. Trading with you does not earn me any friends with my kinsmen, trading you weapons that can be aimed at them will go beyond that and earn me enemies. That I cannot do."

He grunts, obviously not pleased but accepting the restriction as given for the moment. "What do you want in exchange?"

"Precious stones, ivory, gold, silver and other valuable metals. Fur, oil and ancient artifacts if you are willing to part with them.", I list at once, the last one being added at a whim. Maybe I would get lucky and get my hands on the horn of winter this way? "I am sure that you can think of a lot of other things that would be worth trading. Present what you offer here and we will tell you if we can use it and make a fair price for it."

I hesitate for a moment before continuing. "Also… if you could get word to the Thenn of my presence, especially a young chieftain called Ragnar, I would greatly appreciate it. We have a prior… agreement I intend to honor."

The man gapes at me for a moment after my request has been translated before nodding decisively and turning around, walking away without so much as a goodbye. Time would tell if something would come of this meeting. In any case the first cog had been set in motion, now it would just be a matter of waiting however long it took for more of the free folk to approach.

As he vanished into the lightly falling snow I groaned and slapped my face with my open hand. Of course he had been skittish in the extreme, I had completely forgotten the bread and salt offering! Man, I was bad at this diplomacy shit… Taking a deep breath I turn to my men and instruct them to offer bread and salt first thing the next time a member of the free folk approached the outpost. We really could not afford blunders like these even though I was pretty happy how it turned out in the end with both sides living through the meeting without a hair out of place. I knew this could have turned out very differently and sent a small prayer of thanks to whoever was listening.

It took another two weeks before a small group of free folk approached the settlement again, the older man they had sent first amongst their number. Bread and salt was not forgotten this time around and the six visitors relaxed considerably immediately after. Shale again translated and I already knew that I would have to leave him behind once I left again as I simply had no other native speaker I could trust. Making a mental note to approach his father once I reached my lands again so that I could regain my bodyguard I instead turned my attention to the talks in progress.

In the end it turned out that they were indeed here to trade, the braver and more opportunistic members of the Ravine tribe braving our presence as what I would call a trial run. They had some ivory and a lot of seal fur gathered they intended to exchange against food and small knives. The later ones I did not count as weapons but instead as tools, hence they could get their hands on good quality steel this way. Not that I feared the metal to be reworked into `proper´ weapons. The free folk had neither the knowledge, nor the required infrastructure to do anything else but use the steel in whatever form they found it.

The exchange finishes peacefully with both sides happier for it. The tribesmen got a dozen knives and enough preserved – mostly salted – food to last them a few weeks while I gained enough fur and ivory to buy what they received ten times over. I still considered it a fair deal considering the logistics involved, profit or no. I might even have negotiated for greater concessions but there was a limit for everything before the whole thing turned sour. The men that would remain behind had also been instructed to be fair in their dealings with the free folk while not being used like a doormat. While the free folk respected strength they were also likely to distrust my efforts should I become known as dishonest in any way.

After the first successful trade we saw traffic picking up slowly – very slowly – with small free folk parties approaching every two weeks or so. They brought along a lot of things to trade and were given a fair deal in every case. This of course also meant bluntly pointing out things I could not use and would not buy, leaving one group in particular unhappy as I refused to buy some carved wooden… artwork… as I simply did not see a market for it south of the wall beyond some collectors that might or might not exist.

Roughly a week before I was set to leave again the Thenn finally showed up, a party of roughly forty men strong appearing out of the light snowfall much to the surprise of my men. They instantly scrambled for their weapons, having been surprised by the sudden mass of armed clansmen at our doorstep. Walking to the gate I gaze at the approaching group and can understand the reaction of my men, the party obviously not being here to trade as they all carried weapons and I saw little in the way of bags or other devices that might be used to store trade goods like the sleds often used north of the wall.

While my warriors were noticeably nervous I felt pretty calm due to logic alone. Had the Thenn wanted a fight they would not have approached as openly as they did, nor would we have known of their presence until the first arrow hit something vital. No, this was a show of strength and an invitation at once. Also, I recognized the man leading the party and simply walked out of my fortification as soon as I spotted him, taking bread and salt along. My men nearly had a fit at my actions but I waved them down again, only Shale and one other guard escorting me to the Thenn which had stopped just out of bow range.

"Ragnar", I greet the Thenn, offering bread and salt. "It has been some time."

The man smiles wryly, the motion highlighting a vivid scar on the right side of his face that had not been there the last time I saw him. It looked quite fresh, now that I concentrated on it for a moment, deep too. Someone had crudely sewed the flesh back together and I could still see the places where the needle had gone in even after whatever had been used as string had been removed.

"Magnar Ryther", he replies and takes the peace offering I was holding up, slowly chewing on the salted bread as the clansmen behind him relaxed just as my guards and men observing the ritual did. It was really a marvel how such a small thing could have such far reaching effects. Two historically fighting groups could sit together peacefully where they might have come to blows otherwise. Before I could muse more about social customs and their impact he continues while gazing at the fresh settlement at my back.

"You have done as you said you would."

"Aye, I have.", I verified at once. "I honor my word and I am here to trade as I said the last time we saw each other."

"So you are.", he muses and nods to himself, glancing back. "There were some… a lot … of my clan that did not believe me as I told them what happened south of the wall even with those that survived verifying my tale. Your presence here will put those concerns to rest."

"I am happy to hear it… might I invite you and yours into the settlement? We cannot offer much yet but a fire to sit around and a good meal would be easily done."

He chuckles but shakes his head. "We are not here for simple pleasures, magnar."

I frown slightly but nod slowly. "Care to elaborate?"

"I have spoken with the elders and they are willing to engage with you in trade now that your words have proven to hold some water. We care little for most of what you are offering but will exchange gold and gems for obsidian weapons like the dagger I got from you."

Nodding, I wave the guard accompanying me closer and have him move back to the settlement with a few words, the man appearing again a few minutes later with a clothed bundle. Unwrapping it I offer him the weapon I am holding to Ragnar, a murmur going through the assembled Thenn at the sight. In my hand I hold the only real obsidian weapon I had been able to procure before leaving north, a raven from Theo Wull to the smith that would come to my lands soon having seen one of his 'tests' being sent to me in a hurry. The double headed ax glitters darkly in the gloom of the day, sharp edges polished enough to nearly reflect the little light there was. The shaft of weirwood completed the appearance of a weapon meant for murder and murder alone. Not that it would do all that much against steel armor but against walkers and their undead thralls…

"A gift, a show of faith… and the proof that I can deliver what I promise."

Ragnar accepts the weapon with reverence and takes a few practiced swings before nodding, impressed. "A magnificent weapon, magnar. It will be put to good use."

"Of that I have no doubt.", I nod back. "More weapons will be with the next ship to arrive in two weeks...do you wish to share our hospitality until it shows up?"

He shakes his head. "No, we are needed...elsewhere. Some of my clansmen will return to trade in a few weeks, though."

I refrain from asking just what or where he was needed, the fresh and still red scar on his face clearly pointing to some sort of conflict being involved. Mentally I shrug, happy that it wasn't my problem.

"One warning before we depart again, magnar.", he starts and points roughly to the north west. "The river people of the frozen shore will have heard of your presence by now and they are one of those tribes still practicing cannibalism. Your settlement will be a tempting target, more so as the clans of the free folk will not retaliate if you are attacked at this point in time. Once you have proven your worth to the true north this may change, but for now any free folk that attacks you will not be harassed by the other clans. Be prepared to receive some unfriendly attention from them."

"We will be.", I sigh, having known that a completely peaceful relationship with all the tribes out there would have been a naive thing to believe in. "If they choose to attack it will be the last thing they do."

"It better be", I hear him mutter as he turns around and walks away, "Nobody will miss those savages… remember to burn the corpses."

I have to keep myself under iron control not to laugh at the first half of his words, the irony would likely have been lost on the Thenn. The second part smothers any amusement in the crib, though. Always having to think that even dead enemies posed a risk was still new and very much horrifying to me, even after all the years I had been present in Westeros. Another thing I do notice is that the direction Ragnar and his men left in would lead them straight through the territory of the cannibals, feeding my suspicion that the warning had been more than just 'imparting common sense' into the new kid on the block. It seems that the Thenn for all their relative strength if compared to the other tribes also had enemies beyond the undead menace threatening all of mankind.

Two weeks later one of my longships arrives with new trade goods and I depart, leaving Shale in command of the outpost. With him stayed fifty of my men at arms and another twenty archers in addition to two longships that would patrol the nearby sea and coast using 'Snowfort' as their base. The name had cropped up after my men had enhanced the palisade with tightly packed snow from the inside, soon making the fortification look like a children's fort made of snow only at a much larger scale. I had nothing against the name and it soon became widely used as such things had a habit of. After it spread I had no chance in hell to stop it anyway so I left the matter be. The Snowfort was only ever intended to be used as a temporary settlement anyway as I would withdraw every living person posted there once the position became untenable.

While I intended to help the Thenn and the other free folk against the walkers to the best of my ability I still greatly suspected that our combined efforts would do little but slow them down and thin the numbers of the dead some. In the end I still expected the free folk to be driven from the ancestral lands just as I estimated the wall to be assaulted anyway, hopefully without the undead dragon part. Still, there was always the chance of some clansman getting lucky and offing the Night King before he could roll over everything living north of the wall and assault the south of it.

In the end it was like that scheme with bandits targeted at my person. That one still annoyed me to this day, you see. If my actions in the far north made the second long night go poof, great. If it didn't then I would still be in a position to migrate at least part of the damage and weaken the blow that inevitably would fall some before it came to that stage. Either way I stood to gain something for very little effort if one looked at the greater picture. Likely there were other aspects I had not yet considered but I was just one man and could only do what I could when I could, which would have to be enough. Even if everything failed in the end and the world froze over despite my efforts I would be content in the fact that I had given it my best shot.

Shaking my head as the settlement vanished out of sight I retreated to my cabin, a glass of wine already waiting for me to drive off the thoughts of an uncertain future. I would simply continue as I was and just see where the currents of fate would drive me. Nonetheless I was very grateful that the currents we were currently sailing on drove us steadily further south and home where I could for the first time truly appreciate that pure warmth prevalent in this part of the north. I had always considered it to be pretty cool if not outright freezing but after having been on the other side of the wall it no longer seemed as extreme to me as it did before.

The rest of the year passes in a hurry if not as smoothly as I would have preferred. Three weeks after I had departed Snowfort the settlement had been attacked by the river cannibals during the night by boat as well as by land. My people had fought them off but lost half their number doing so. It would have been worse or my men might have outright lost the battle had not Ragnar and his people reappeared at the cannibals' back and come to the rescue. Nothing builds trust more than bleeding together against a common enemy I had found as trade had picked up considerably since then, nobody really liking the river people and nearly everybody having lost someone to their… carvings.

Another development coming out of it was the permanent posting of a dozen Thenn warriors to reinforce the weakened defenders. They stayed even after I sent reinforcements north and likely were set to stay, which the huts they had built for themselves within the walls clearly showed. I allowed it, having a vested interest in good relations as well as not wanting to decline help that was offered in good faith. Of course I also knew that the Thenn in particular had also a vested interest to make Snowfort a success, the steady supply of obsidian weapons I was funneling to the far north being of great importance to their continued survival and the only real chance for them to retain their ancestral lands.

The Thenn were only the first though, other splinters of the free folk showing up and settling down in the relative security of my mens aegis. Mostly they were those not associated with the bigger or even middle sized clans and down on their luck families or single persons on their last legs. In each and every case my settlement was their last chance before risking approaching rival groups, which might lead to their death or a price for admittance they would not be willing to pay. Surprisingly fast I and those under my command had become to be seen as something of a neutral party despite my clear connections to the Thenn. My men never left the five mile radius around my settlement I had agreed to, but protected those within these borders fiercely.

Within six month Snowfort had quadrupled in size, nearly two hundred souls calling the icy half island their home. This had also led to my trade volume all but exploding as with the new inhabitants came new connections as well as a steep rise in steadily demanded goods of the more common variety. Already the expedition had paid for itself ten times over and even if I had yet to offer passage south for those willing to brave it I suspected that it would only be a matter of months, years at the most, before the more curious souls would inquire into the possibility…

Already a second 'ring' of the palisade defending the small village was being constructed with the initial fortification being turned into a sort of miniature castle as the first palisade ring was completely closed around the freshly built tower. The expansion had been necessary as the settlement had quickly grown beyond the initial wall, leaving a lot of people outside of the fortifications while the river clans remained a persistent threat. Even after having lost a lot of people in the initial assault they continued to probe the settlements' defenses in irregular intervals. Mostly on land though, their seaborn assaults having run into the warships I left behind too often to risk it any more, their losses in men and material having been too steep even for them to suffer through any longer. It really paid for itself to post the longships in Snowfort, their superior design and the growing experience of my sailors easily defeating anything the cannibal tribes could bring to the table.

Thorre, the father of Brigitte and Shale, had taken over command of the outpost after a first few months and I finally got my second bodyguard back. I had missed him and while he had arrived short an ear – having lost it in the fighting against the cannibals – he nonetheless seemed far happier than I had ever seen him. I suspected that he had stolen himself a wife while up north but as no clansmen had yet to be transported south it was only that, a suspicion. Still, I could almost smell the blood in the water.

I smile contently as I sit in my solar, thoughts drifting. Once the first had made the journey and returned home with tales of my holdings there would be more coming, many to stay if they were received properly in an area where life was so much easier than up north. After that there would be no holding back the free folk even if I demanded them to swear upon the old gods that the laws of their new home would be observed. I could already hear the screaming of my fellow nobles but at that point there would be little they could do as my coffers would swell just as much as my available manpower, making me much more able to fight off any detractors that might go after me.

And there were quite a few of them after news of my expedition spread, making life somewhat difficult for me. Relations with most of the north, especially the northernmost houses, cooled noticeably in consequence of my actions but I had yet to see any overt actions against me. Already the story of all the money I was gaining in hilarious amounts because of trading where no one else dared to started to spread as well and while I had a monopoly on free folk trade on the western shore, I greatly suspected that house Manderly would try to replicate my success on their side of the continent before long. Maybe the Skagosi would beat them to the punch, being located far further north and being rumored to be in contact with the free folk anyway. If I was not very much mistaken then Hardhome would become inhabited again within five years, economics and sheer envy seeing to it.

Of course most of this would be due to my own actions as I had taken great care to subtly and not so subtly mention the profitable side of my relations up north whenever I could. While having a monopoly was fine and good I would never be able to bring enough ships to the table to evacuate every free folk south if… once the white walkers made their move. Having other houses with good relations to the wild north would only work in favor of my greater motivation to keep as many of the free folk from joining the white walkers army as I could. This might lessen my profit once alternatives to trade became available to the free folk, but I cared little for that, knowing that even the greatest profit would be of little use to me if the walkers broke through the wall and killed everyone that might be able to make any use of it.

Of course that was all in the future and for now I was taking some heavy flak from the more traditional houses clinging to their enmity with the free folk but I would survive. Taking another sip of my heated Glógg, I smile contently. All was well, comparatively speaking. The ironborn were still stealing wood whenever I was looking somewhere else but I had been able to curtail their efforts somewhat, likely leading to them either starting their rebellion with less ships than in canon or later than anticipated which would allow the kingdoms time to recover from the absolute bloodbath the fall of house Targaryen had turned into. Either way it would – hopefully – be easier to fight off.

Of course I knew better than to taunt Murphy in any obvious way, so I kept those thoughts to myself and did not voice them out loud. Some might see this as being superstitious but I had been screwed over by chance too many times to risk it.