Chapter 68: Act 2: Chapter 15

Seventeenth day, Fourth Moon, 253 AC (+14 days)

The view from where we stood was quite breathtaking; it reminded me of my home, back on Earth. We stood atop a hill that overlooked the plains that were spread out before us. There was a wide river to our backs, and the shoreline had a few young trees dotted along it.

This was the spot that we had decided would be the location of Koryn's castle and accompanying town, Osend. It was inland from the ocean a bit and located on the apex of one of the bends of the river. It was an excellent location for a castle, as it not only overlooked the surrounding area, which looked to have good farmland, but it also would serve as protection from the interior of my land. The river was called the Twin Lakes River, and it was a massive waterway, probably on par with the Mississippi River, and stretched from the ocean all the way to the Twin Lakes themselves and petered out into the Wolfswood. The castle would stand where the river was narrowest, for ease of defense.

The river would serve as the highway into the heartland of my new domain, and this castle would protect it. We still had exploring to do, in the sense of what the landscape was like further north of where we were, but the information we had suggested that there would be a few good navigable rivers that drained into the Twin Lakes River from Rillplainshire. That meant a lot of goods would be moved along this river, so it needed a strong defense to ensure its success.

I was already planning on how to see how successful it would be, by organizing a caravan to travel from Redbridge to the Twin Lakes, and then travel by boat down to Osend. It would be interesting to see at what point boating could be done; would the boat have to be taken at the Twin Lakes, or could it be done sooner?

"Well, Koryn? How does it feel to see the site where your castle will be built?" I asked.

"Breathtaking," he replied. "Breathtaking and moving."

"Mm," I agreed, "I can picture it now."

"I can even picture the town spread out below."

I turned around to look at the river. "And I can just see all the boats travelling along the river. Boats of all sizes carrying goods to and fro."

"A lot of boats could fill that river, that's for sure. Way bigger than the river back by the farm."

"Yeah, it is. No idea how we're going to bridge that though."

Koryn grimaced. "That does sound like an enormous job. Would Jon know how to do such a thing?"

I shrugged. "No idea. There's probably a bridge that goes over the White Knife, so he might. I've heard that House Frey has a bridge that goes over a similar river, so it's probably not impossible."

Koryn chuckled. "Aren't they the house that is known for their bridge? If so, it probably means it's unique and a bitch to build."

I laughed along with him. "Probably. To be honest, we don't even need it at this point. The Ryswells own the other side of the river, and I don't even know how close the nearest settlement is, so it's not exactly a priority. We'll have to make do with ferries to start."

"Aye, that'll do." He let out a low whistle. "That'd be a massive bridge, especially if we have it tall enough to let boats pass under it. Though, it would make defending the river easier."

"I suppose it would. We could have archers at the top to rain down on the boats below."

"Aye, we could even put a chain or something up between the arches to physically stop the boats."

I let out a thoughtful hum. "That'd be pretty hard; I don't really know though. We've got lots of possibilities regardless."

Koryn shrugged. "Maybe, but I can picture it now. The bridge would provide a good seawall for the ships and let us shelter some of our fleet there behind it. They could sally out at will and fall behind the bridge if needed! Archers and ballista to support them, with the castle itself on the flanks, the enemy would be destroyed."

I could see it in my mind as he described it. It was a powerful vision. "We will have to keep it in mind when we draw up the plans for the castle."

"How are we going to get everything built? I know you hope to get some work started at Stonefisk next summer, but what about Osend?"

I frowned lightly. "It's a bit tricky, but I'm hoping the summer after, as I will need to juggle people around a lot to get everything done. Once Jon and Tylan evaluate and get Stonefisk started, they will, I hope, be able to split their time between Stonefisk and Osend. That is if Jon is still able to continue to work with us. He has been away from his home in Winterfell for quite a few years, even if he does go back for the winter."

Koryn nodded. "Aye, he has been away a while. Would Tylan be able to do it by himself?"

I shrugged. "No idea. I hope that Jon won't leave until at least Tylan is ready. Even then, that still doesn't address the issue of labor. Stonefisk has some locals that could work, but I would still need to send some experienced workers there to help make things go smoothly. Here though?" I waved my hands through the empty land. "We have no one to work with. We might be able to attract some families from the countryside to move here and work, but a larger share will have to come from Redbridge. Not only workers but farmers and tradesmen as well. That will be a challenge unless we get more people moving to Redbridge."

"What about existing families and making sure they survive? Surely that will increase the number of people we can work with?"

"It will – to a point. I think that in fifteen years or so, we will see a large population boom, as people have more children and those children survive. But that doesn't really help us with this problem over the next two to six years."

Koryn frowned. "No, I suppose not. And we still haven't touched the topic of the navy."

"No, no we haven't. I'm still not sure where it will mainly be based out of, but I am leaning towards Redbridge. We will probably only have enough to defend the river – at least for the next ten or twenty years."

"How large would a fleet to defend the river be?"

I snorted. "No idea. Probably be based more on longships rather than large warships, but other than that?" I shrugged.

"Would that be something those boys you sent off to be apprentices would know?"

I shook my head. "No, not them." I tilted my head to crack my neck, and continued, "No, but Lord Stark would. I'm planning to go with Ryden to meet his betrothed after we get back, so I'll be stopping at Winterfell, and I will talk to Lord Stark about it. Maybe get his blessing and coin for a real fleet as well."

Koryn blinked in surprise. "Would he actually support that?"

"Maybe. Historically they haven't, not since they lost their fleet so long ago, but Lord Stark might be willing to do differently now."

Koryn let out a depressed sigh. "Still wouldn't help with our people shortage."

"Probably not," I conceded. I patted him on the back and replied, "Don't look so glum! We are in new lands, exploring the site of your soon to be castle! Come, let's get started on seeing what resources are in the area!"

Koryn gave me a wry grin. "Aye, let's do that."

Xxxx

Koryn and I sat before a little makeshift table, with a map unrolled across it. Over the past week, we had explored the surrounding area for resources and were now compiling all our information.

"Nyra stumbled upon a nomadic trapping family who told her about the different kinds of animals in the area, as well as the types of fish. All of it was about what you would expect," I said.

"Most of the surrounding land would make for good farmland, though I am obviously unsure of the rainfall for the region."

I nodded. "I will send a letter to the Ryswells to see what they receive as it ought to be the same."

"There are few trees in the region, which will have to be fixed, but I have no idea why there aren't more."

"It is odd," I agreed. "I would expect a faster recovery rate, so maybe the people in the area are cutting them down too quickly? Maybe too much or too little animal activity?"

Koryn shrugged. "As time goes on, I realize that the more I learn, the less I know."

I snorted in agreement. "Too true. In good news, I found what I think to be a good-sized salt deposit." I pointed to a spot a bit inland and marked it on the map. "The locals seemed to have a sort of open pit mine that they use. According to Nyra's discussion with the one family, they use it for salting their meat, and it is where a lot of the nomadic hunters and trappers gather every so often."

"Interesting! A salt mine would be a huge boon for us."

"It certainly would, as it would boost our garum production nicely."

"I found some tin and copper as well," he said, pointing out the locations on the map. They are about a day's walk northwest."

"As you know, when we split to explore, my family ranged alongside the river following it north. We went for two days but found little of note – just more of the same as here."

"We ranged inland and found that the land quality definitely increased. There were good water sources and good soil. It was good horse country as well, but that's not overly surprising as the Ryswells are just on the other side of the river, and they are renowned for their horses."

"Any sources for iron?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not that I saw, but I also didn't see anyone to be able to confirm that."

"Well, barring the lack of iron, this stands to be a very productive area: good farmland, good horse country, good fishing, good water access, and good resources. With the Twin Lakes River, we also have a lot of water power ready for mills, blacksmiths, and the like. A good place for industry."

Koryn nodded. "Aye, hopefully, we can find an iron source."

"It would be nice, but we also have other options, such as bog iron from the west or iron from the mountains to the north. It'll be a pain to transport, but far from impossible. We'll also have to get Sig to start planting trees here as well, and probably import peat for fires."

"I think this will be a huge area for farming; inland is very flat and easily convertible to farmland."

"I hope so. This will be the farming heartland for the area, I think. Iowa is good, but much of it is rocky and quite hilly. This will also be our source for horses and cavalry. The Ryswells have managed to have incredible success, and I think we will as well."

"We will need to get more people who know what they are doing."

"True," I conceded, "But I think I can poach off some talent from the Ryswells."

Koryn scratched his chin as he looked over the map. "The map is filling out quite nicely. There is a lot more detail than before."

"Aye, I've tried to make sure everything is here." I pulled out another map below it and continued, "This map here even shows the different terrains, whether it be bog or forest. It's missing some information in the interior, but we'll get that eventually."

"Huh. You can probably color up to about here," he said, indicating with his finger on the map. "To show that this land here is similar to there. That's about as far as we ranged."

The map was a whole host of colors, mainly concentrated on the coast, but we were slowly filling it out. It was quite beautiful.

"Alright, that ought to do it for now. Come, let's go see what the rest of the family is up to."

We both stood up and made our way back to our families.

Xxxx

I stood with my head craned back, looking at the stars glittering above me. One thing I had always loved about this world was the lack of light pollution; the stars never seemed so bright back on Earth.

Slowly, I made my way back to the campfire. My family was gathered around one, and the guards and the caravan workers at another. It was well past dinner, which had consisted of a nice, if simple, stew, and but not so late that the younger children were starting to fall asleep.

As I approached the group, I heard Ryden talking to Koryn's son, Tobas. "Oh, and I got to swim across the river with Dad!"

"No fair!" replied Tobas. He turned to his dad and said, "Can I swim across tomorrow too, Dad?"

Koryn chuckled. "Maybe; it depends on how well you do with your training tomorrow. Don't think we haven't noticed you've been slacking off since we parted ways with Donovar."

Tobas pouted as I took my seat. "Nuh-uh," he replied, refuting the accusation.

Alessa rolled her eyes. "Just because the men that are training you aren't Donovar, does not make them blind."

"Fine!" He said, exasperated. "I'll work extra extra hard tomorrow. Can I swim then?"

Koryn looked to me. "Only if your Uncle goes with you. He's the strongest swimmer here."

I nodded my head. "Aye, I'll go with you, Tobas. Ryden can come as well, but none of the younger children."

Tobas launched into me with a hug. "Thank you, Uncle Michael!"

I patted him on the back. "No problem; it'll be fun."

Nyra clapped her hands together to gather everyone's attention. "Why doesn't someone sing a song, before we start putting some of the youngest to bed?"

Anari pouted. "I'm not tired! I wanna stay up!"

Nyra patted her on her head. "I'm sure you do, but it's almost bedtime."

Evelyn replied, "I'll sing. Jesryn, do you want to go grab the guitar?"

Jesryn went over to the wagons and located the guitar. When she returned, she asked, "Can I play?"

Evelyn nodded. "Sure, you ready?"

At Jesryn's nod, Evelyn started to sing. "Come up to meet you; Tell you I'm sorry."