Chapter 12: Onwards to Winterfell
Created: 1.7.21 - 1.13.21; edited: 5.14.22 & 6.2.22
Circa 294 AC
The little over a week I spent in Hornwood was very pleasant, as I got along well with the ruling Family and their retainers, spent a lot of time in the training yard, whipping their heir and soldiers into shape, and generally having a great time. When my army finally arrived, I asked the building team to put up the glass greenhouse in the place Lady Donella set aside, and spent even more time showing off my soldiers, and training the men both under me and House Hornwood to much praise. They were terrific hosts, and I spent many an evening chatting with Lord Halys, Trent Morelock, and Maester Medrick swapping stories and getting to know one another even better.
Lord Halys and Maester Medrick would often talk to me about the goods we were producing in Oldcastle, most notably to the two of them, the soaps and perfumes, for both medical reasons and to please his Lady Wife. I gave them the statistics I had Rickard put together on the pregnancy rates, birth and death rates in relation to the Legion since the introduction of soap and clean operating areas, and encouraged them to use and promote the practice as it had definitely saved countless lives of soldiers, infants, and mothers. The Maester especially understood the significance and immense resource the soap and traveling hospitals I described would be to both an army on march, but also to the common every day small folk in a large city like theirs where he was the only really learned man to help.
Trent Morelock however, was in awe of how well I fought with dual swords, as he and his best guard even tried to team up against me, but still couldn't defeat me after several tries. When he saw me fighting against Tristifer and his number two, Senbal simultaneously, he realized why I so easily took care of him and his guards, as I was fighting on a level well above anyone in Hornwood, as were the very best of my army. The day after that, every single guard and member of House Hornwood was in the training ring to learn as much as they could from me and my best fighters, happy to help our fellow Northerners and establish continued goodwill between me, my army, the other noble families, and the men that would be fighting for them in the future.
"I wouldn't recommend blocking against him for long," I yelled out to Harion Cleaver, a Hornwood veteran of the Greyjoy Rebellion known for the large cleaver sword he carried, as he tried to best Tristifer in single combat and was struggling to even keep up after two minutes. "You need to start dodging, or I am sending in two more fighters to help you."
"No," yelled the large man in his forties, as he pushed back with his large shield against Tristifer's latest attack, and quickly tried to lash out and turn the tables on the completely one sided fight so far, "a-hah!"
"Next two, you're up," I called out, and two more of Hornwood's best men charged in to try and save Harion, who had only managed a single wide swipe of his cleaver before Tristifer had his shield broken in two retaliation swings, and was just about to knock him out of the ring.
"Hah," yelled out Tristifer in glee as his swing to drop Harion was about to connect, but was blocked at the last moment by another shield that instead paid the ultimate price, but protected Harion. "Hnn," grunted Tristifer as he wasn't able to take out Harion, and saw the now three attackers hoping to surround my best friend to finally try and take him down.
"Help to the rescue," I called out with a smirk to a growling Tristifer, who had been fighting in the ring for almost an hour now, and probably was ready for a break, but I was a bit of an ass like that sometimes, "five more reinforcements from Hornwood are arriving soon Tris, you better hurry up."
"Fucking ass," he growled over at me, while I just smirked at my friend and the few people around me looked at me like I was stupid for pissing off someone so large and skilled, but they all had seen me fight too, so weren't too worried.
"Ahhh," yelled Harion a few seconds later as his single slash was avoided with ease, despite Tristifer having his back towards him a moment earlier delivering a blow that already took out the first backup helper without his shield, and then he saw a large hammer heading his way before everything went dark.
"It looks like Hornwood's reinforcements arrived early," I yelled to the five last men that had yet to fight from this group of guards, sending them in to try and have any chance against Tristifer as he delivered the last few swipes to take out the final of the three men before them.
"You've got a great man there," spoke Lord Halys from my other side as he watched for the last hour as every one of his guards pretty much fell before Trisitfer's newly commissioned War Hammer, as my best friend finished off the last five with a skill that many around the ring had really grown to envy, "Not since King Robert Baratheon himself, have I seen a man wield a hammer so well."
"Thank you Halys," I spoke to the older man who had really welcomed and accepted me and my men in his home, "and again, pass on my compliments and thanks to your Blacksmith, Darlen is a master of his craft, the Hammer is everything I asked for."
"You are most welcome, Donnell," said the Lord of Hornwood with a grateful smile, knowing that the young man in front of him had already done more for him, his Family, his city, and the North than those twice his age. "I am sure he is very happy with the gifts and apprentices you gave him, the mobile forges are apparently better than any forge he's ever worked with."
"I'm glad to have been able to compensate him and you, both," I replied with a grin.
"You've more than compensated us fairly, Donnell," spoke the Lord of Hornwood honestly, and getting me to smile at the friendship I had made with the slightly older man who, was going to continue to sell me timber and limestone at reduced rates to appease the needs of my growing businesses in thanks for all the help and life I injected into his Family and city.
One of my soldiers during the last day in Hornwood, had come to me and asked to be let out of the army, as he met a bargirl in the small town inside the walls of Hornwood, and was hoping to marry her and settle down. I accepted happily, and then did one better by bringing him before Lord Halys and Trent Morelock and asking if they would accept my man into their House's service, as he was a solid infantryman with above average skills that could continue to help train and teach their men everything he's learned in his three years in the Legion. Both men instantly agreed, and named Bindi, Trent's new second in command, put him in charge of training others, and offered him a nice pay rate to help start the family he wanted after I married him and his new wife in front of the Hornwood's Heart Tree.
I again made sure to steer clear of the heart tree itself, and despite thinking I should be trying to understand what had happened the one time I did connect to the heart tree of Oldcastle, I was too nervous and had too many other things going on to mess around with something I didn't understand. It made me incredibly nervous to have something so unknown in my life, thinking about the connection I once shared with the unusual trees which remained the biggest symbols of the Old Gods power in the North, and also remembered the Three Eyed Raven from the TV show that lived among it's roots in the Far North, and used those trees to watch Westeros and meddle in its' affairs, and wanted to stay as far from that as I could.
When it came time to leave, after the greenhouse was built, and all of House Hornwood was singing our praises, Lord Halys announced that he was sending me off with almost 100 young men from their town that expressed interest in joining my forces, while also taking up my suggestion to increase his own guard force as well. After goodbyes were said and promises to keep in touch were made, I waved one last time to the Hornwood's and left the keep to meet back up with my camping army, and introduce the 97 newest recruits we had gained among our Northern brothers. We stayed one more day outside of Hornwood, to ensure that all the newest recruits had the basics for marching and living on the road, and were as prepared as they could be for what was in front of them.
When we left at first light the next morning, we headed almost directly west down a fairly wide, but unkempt dirt path that was the fastest route to Winterfell, though it was pretty slow going with all the wagons on the horribly rocky and uneven path. The roads in the North were a joke, consisting of mostly these single lane dirt paths that were filled with holes and unbalanced, and not for the first time I pondered my new cement and how best to use it to improve the roads. As it was, travel between towns was treacherous at best, and if I really wanted to increase the prosperity of the North, trade and commerce was going to have to be the leading force, and that required easier and safer travel on land as well as sea.
When we stopped that night, I asked the men to clear me off one of the lesser used wagons, as I realized I had an idea for how to turn my cement into a mobile industry and had my men be on the lookout for more limestone and gravel we could use once I was up and running. I remember the plans I had to make concrete, which I had obviously never bothered with while in Essos, but had set aside factory space at Oldcastle, and promised space at both of the new settlements to help provide the materials we would need to build those settlements and cities bigger. But, I seemingly forgot to make the mobile version a bigger priority after getting home, and not planning for a mobile version before this trip and really learning about the sorry state of all the roads.
The warehouse I had started in Oldcastle to work on the process of burning limestone to make cement mix had no issues when I left, but then I hadn't really gotten much further than needing the cement mix in larger quantities for what I had planned. Now I would need to actually work on the correct ratios mixed with sand and gravel, before adding water to make a usable concrete. I hadn't thought to make a mobile version before leaving that I could take with me and show off to Lord Stark, and was now scrambling to catch up.
Luckily, the North was a very rocky place, so piles of gravel were easily collected and bagged, and limestone too was plentiful, especially in the hills around Hornwood and was quickly gathered in a decent quantity. I made sure to count the size and quantity of limestone and record it, so I could ensure I properly paid Lord Hornwood back. It was one of the harder aspects for the Legion to get accustomed to, as we couldn't just take from the surrounding lands, as these lands were owned and controlled by other Northern Lords, and they needed to be compensated for anything taken or have permission from the lord of the land.
I had to first make a small forge on my newest clear wagon to burn and break down the limestone into the sandy ash-like substance that was the secret of the cement mix, and had them collect sand and gravel to add to the mixture when it was ready. It ended up taking two days to burn down enough limestone until I got something sandy and figured out the correct ratios, and in that time I borrowed an empty rum barrel and built a tilted stand for it to sit in, with a mounted handle near the opening to turn it. I then experimented with small amounts of my limestone sand and gravel, mixing them together and adding water slowly until the consistency seemed to work.
I remembered as a young teenager in my first life, having to break apart and re-concrete our sidewalk one summer all by myself, and had a pretty good idea of what concrete would feel and act like in this state, and kept at it until I found the right balance. By the end of the first week of marching west, I could produce a nice usable concrete that I knew could be further refined and would revolutionize building and roads in the North after testing it, and thought about which of the new settlements would be the best place to create a really large factory to churn out more cement for roads and later exporting. I was pretty sure the newest settlement we were planning near Ramsgate on the horseshoe shaped coastal cliffs where I had left Sydel, Juden, and Rickard in charge, had an abundance of limestone and sands to be gathered from the nearby coast, and figured it would really help support their growing town if an even larger factory was built there in order to supply the whole of the world.
With the whole process now figured out, I had two more wagons commandeered to build limestone forges, knowing that making the cement mix was going to be the hardest and longest part of creation, and wanting to get a head start on starting to build up our supply and experienced workers. I used the first wagon to build several more turn barrels to mix the cement, and had dozens of helpers get started on learning the individual processes to create the beginnings of a traveling paving industry that could provide work for years to come. With this, I really had something incredible now to offer Lord Stark beyond just cheaper greenhouses, alcohol, soaps, books and paper, as I could slowly start paving roads throughout the North which would help us all. It would make travel easier and faster between towns and ports, could be used for stronger, quicker, and cheaper built homes and buildings in our towns, and make my family a ton of money too.
After spending most of that first week of travel messing with my concrete project and making sure I had good loyal people in charge so the secrets weren't just given out, the second week was overseeing the production of more cement mix, and a return to the heavy training of myself and troops. The newest recruits were slowly starting to get the hang of daily marching, and still trying to conserve some energy for evening training in the basics, but it would take them some time until they were even considered soldiers. At the end of the second week, we had reached the White Knife River, and knew we were only a day's march from Winterfell itself, and I asked two scouts to head to Winterfell and let Lord Stark know I was coming to seek an audience as we set up camp for the night.
It was one thing to show up unannounced at a neighbor's keep, but a completely different thing to show up at your Liege Lord's castle and expect to be instantly let in or welcomed, especially when you had over one thousand soldiers with you and mobile siege engines. I was grateful however, that he at least knew me personally after speaking a few times during and after the Greyjoy Rebellion, and he was aware and accepting that I had traveled to Essos. Hopefully, he just thought I had returned to the North and wanted to visit for some reason or another, and wouldn't take offense to the amount of soldiers I had with me even if they were well behaved, remarkably self-sufficient, and would stay camped outside of Winterfell and Winter town.
"Want to spar while we wait?" asked Tristifer, just after I sent out the scouts to Winterfell, wearing a large and sharp grin that had me looking very closely at my best friend and number two.
"You've got something you want to show me?" I responded with a grin of my own, seeing his eagerness.
"Maybe, I just want a real test of my new Hammer" he grinned further, and my eyes lit up in excitement, as our fights were really starting to pick up as my friend continued to improve and grow stronger, and was the only single fighter in the Legion I could really test myself against anymore.
"Want to go 'no holes barred'?" I asked with a bloodthirsty grin of my own, taking over my face in my excitement.
"Probably not the day before meeting our Liege Lord," he answered, though he didn't flinch as much as he did after we first started training together again, after I finally reached the North.
"Probably a good idea," I replied remembering the broken nose and black eye I got last time, not to mention the weeks it took Tristifer to recover enough from his broken ribs and countless other injuries, "but, this should definitely be a learning experience for our soldiers, we wouldn't want to deprive them."
"You mean terrify them," he laughed back to my matching grin.
Our fight that night was brutal, as Tristifer introduced the war hammer into his arsenal, instead of the large sword and shield, and had obviously been practicing it quite often if his skill was anything to go by. Luckily, neither of us was injured so badly that it would be too visible the next day, though it was a close thing, as we fought for a good thirty minutes of insane combat that nobody in the Legion had any hope of matching soon. By the end of the fight, very few members of the Legion wanted to be on the opposing side of Tristifer's war hammer, and even more ran in terror from training with me after my two hard fought victories over my best friend.
The next morning, we continued our march, crossing the small single lane wooden bridge that merchants used to cross the White Knife River, and continued on our way towards Winterfell. Within an hour, we were met by the two scouts I sent out the previous evening, who said they announced our coming to Lord Stark, where they were given beds in the barracks, and told us that we were welcome as long as the army stayed camped outside of Wintertown. When they asked for the reason for my visit, they told the Stark lord that I was bringing gifts from my Family and travels, and was also planning to visit my sister in Deepwood Motte.
Glad that I was squared away and at least expected, the army continued to move at a good pace, all of us wanting to get to Winterfell before dark so we could find a good spot to set up our camp. I was estimating staying a week if Lord Stark allowed it, to go over some of the plans and requests I had, and to meet and get to know his Family, as they all played major roles in the story I found myself living in. I was also planning to provide examples of the mobile industries and siege weapons I had created, wanting to give my Liege Lord the plans and schematics as well as the items themselves, so they could be built by anyone he approved of as a show of good will.
"I know I don't have to tell you Tris," I started as the day wore on and we neared Winterfell and I was getting a nervous feeling about meeting one of the few people in this world who had real power over me, "but we need everyone to be on their absolute best behavior while we are near Winterfell. I don't want a single problem Lord Stark can get on us for, and I'd rather only bring in those of the Legion that can more easily pass as Northerners at first, just in case he sees all our diversity and overreacts negatively. At least until we have proven our worth and value, and then I do want to bring in some of our diversity to slowly introduce them and allow them to be accepted quicker."
"You think the Starks will accept all of our former slaves and Essosi as Northerners?" asked Tristifer with a doubtful expression.
"Not at first, no," I replied evenly. "But, we need to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later, so our newer more diverse population doesn't come as too big a shock when it is finally revealed. We can go slow, but like Bindi, a former slave from Myr joining House Hornwood, little bits of diversity carefully introduced in small doses can do us a lot of good down the road."
"Are you worried about Lord Stark disbanding the Legion?" asked Tristifer with wide eyes, having never even considered the possibility, but I had, and it was paramount that I control the narrative and integration of my forces and people into the North.
"Not if we do this right," I answered with a somewhat sly grin to my best friend, as I leaned in to whisper the next part to ensure nobody could hear us. "All these new Northern recruits along with some of our 'Westerosi looking' trainers, hopefully Lord Stark sees the other 'visibly different' as a small minority with little significance in our numbers until we have a stronger foothold in the region. If we can get him on board with our road project or get him financially hooked through our goods, it will go a long way to smoothing any problems we encounter down the road"
"You expect problems down the road?" he asked wearily, this whole conversation bothering him greatly, as I could tell he hadn't thought this far ahead.
"This is Westeros," I laughed without any real humor, "there will always be problems."
Tristifer gave me an unusual look after that, and retreated inside his own head to think for a bit, as I did the same, wondering if this feeling of nervousness would pass after meeting Lord Stark and getting an idea on his attitude towards the Legion and the Locke Family. I wasn't proud of the fact that I was basically going to try and deceive my Liege Lord through omission, but a lie is still a lie, and in the North, that is something that could come back to bite you in the ass real bad. But, I had a first priority to the people who followed me and depended on me, and I wasn't about to let them all down simply because I wanted to throw my power in everyone's face.
When Winterfell came into view, I was amazed at its size and grandeur, as were most of the soldiers and camp helpers that were traveling with me, and also glad it was still light out as the evening was nearing and the cold was settling in. After surveying the land a bit, I gave them orders on where to set up our new camp, but had a large group continue onwards with the majority of the remaining wagons, as they contained the gifts for House Stark. Wintertown was equally impressive and almost picturesque with its few scattered stone buildings, wooden and thatched roof houses, it looked every bit the medieval town it was, and was maybe only twice as large as Oldcastle's town was when I first arrived though it covered a lot more green space.
We drew quite a few curious and even some scared looks, after probably seeing the size of the army setting up camp just outside their little city, but most left us alone as the Family Sigils we flew were a sure sign of nobility. We made our way through Wintertown, and up towards the largest of the Northern castles, presumably built by Bran the Builder himself, the same man who created the Wall further up in the far North. Entering the large and open courtyard with several dozen Stark guards all watching us carefully, I got my first glimpse of the rest of the Stark Family as they were all lined up waiting to greet me.
"Greetings Lord Stark," I called as I dismounted my horse, and handed the reins over to a stablehand, as Tristifer did the same but stayed back as I approached the ruling Family of the North, "Donnell Locke, Heir of Oldcastle ...come bearing gifts from my Family to yours."
"Greetings Heir Locke," welcomed Lord Eddard with a nod, a little too formal and stiff for my liking, but I didn't let it affect me as I approached and shook his forearm firmly, "my wife, Lady Catelyn with our newborn, Rickon in her arms ...our oldest son and heir, Robb ...our daughters, Sansa and Arya ...and my younger son, Brandon."
"It is nice to meet you all," I replied smoothly, kissing the lady's knuckles properly, and nodding to the infant Rickon, "you have been blessed with a beautiful family my lord."
I continued down the row shaking hands with Robb, kissing the hands of Sansa and Arya, much to the latter's disgust making me smile, and then shaking young Brandon's hand as well, before turning and introducing my second in command, and sworn shield, Tristifer Greenhands. It was very apparent though at this moment that I wasn't with the TV show actors, as despite being tall for her age and with the promise of future beauty as she did greatly resemble her Tully mother, Sansa was unfortunately not Sophie Turner to my dismay. At once, several of my dreams of possibly marrying into the Stark Family were gone, as this young Sansa was only eight at most and a small child at that, and I don't care what kind of society I am currently in, that just isn't right.
With the option of joining the Stark Family closed to me, I wasn't too upset as it would allow me a LOT more freedom not to be tied that closely to the ruling Family of the North, even if I was disappointed I wouldn't have the option of being married to Sophie Turner in the future. I would just have to advance my Family through commerce and smarts, and proving my value to my Liege Lord to be given enough power to continue to be ready for what I knew was coming. I also spotted Maester Luwin standing just behind the Starks along with several other guards and retainers, including the staring Stark steel grey eyes of who could only be, Jon Snow. I gave them all a happy smile, and then gestured to the wagons that were being brought into the courtyard by more of my men, who then started untying the straps and removing the coverings to many gasps.
"In my time in the Disputed Lands," I began, going a bit into story mode, as I wanted to show myself as friendly towards the children for doing this with them present, "we developed mobile scorpions, trebuchets, catapults, archery towers, and other siege engines that were a wonderful asset that I couldn't abandoned when I returned home. These are some of the duplicates we brought, or new one's we have made that I was hoping to give to you for your future levies, and ones I've given to Ramsgate, Widow's Watch, and Hornwood before coming here. I also gifted each of those castle's a twenty foot square glass greenhouse, of which I brought two for your family, as we rescued several former Myrish slaves that brought with them the secret of glass making that we have now taken up in Oldcastle."
That caused quite the reaction from the Starks, as Lady Catelyn gasped audibly, while Lord Eddard looked wide eyed at the two now uncovered wagons that had high stacks of glass sheets, knowing how valuable those were. Their current glass greenhouse was about the same size as one of these, and was a huge boon for Winterfell to be able to grow certain crops unattainable in the rest of the North, and I just tripled their ability to grow more. The kids were a little confused about what the fuss was, as it didn't look nearly as impressive or cool as the weapons I uncovered first.
"I have a team of builders that will be able to put these up in about two to three days based on the previous stops we've made, and my family are producing these ourselves, so I can always get you more," I continued into the shocked reactions of the Stark Lord and Lady, "I also have several barrels of a strong alcoholic drink we created in Essos, called rum that is now being produced at our newest Locke Distillery. There are two chests of fabrics, one from Myr and the other from Lys as gifts for your lovely wife and beautiful daughters, as well as a gift box of our soaps and perfumes we are making, and a Valyrian Steel Dagger that was recovered in a raid with another sellsword company."
"You must be joking?" came the disbelieving question from Lord Stark, that had me smiling in quiet laughter at his break in character.
"Not at all my lord," I answered happily, "my trip to Essos proved insanely profitable for my Family. We have tripled our population in Oldcastle, expanded our port and town, massively increased our economy, started six new lucrative industries in glass making, alcohol distilleries, paper manufacturing and book binding, shipbuilding, soaps and perfumes, and concrete production."
"T-tripled? Sh-shipbuilding? …and …C-c-concrete?" asked an almost stuttering and disbelieving Lord Stark, testing the unfamiliar word in his mouth.
My grin got even wider at this, and I went to the wagon and pulled out a concrete paver stone I had made for this very purpose, and brought it closer to Lord Stark to examine. I explained that we discovered a substance that, when mixed with sand or gravel and water at the right ratio, was malleable enough to form into almost any shape, and that hardened within a day to be as strong as stone. I mentioned how I hoped to discuss some applications of the concrete to him at a later time, and got his stunned nod before being prodded by his wife, and snapping him back to the present.
"I thank you Heir Locke," he spoke politely with a bow of his head, "please have bread and salt, and be welcome in Winterfell."
"Thank you my lord," I responded happily, having accomplished my goal of being invited to stay, and eating the salted bread invoking guest rights.
"Please join us for supper in an hour," spoke Lord Stark, "my Family would love to hear tales of your adventures. Robb here, will show you and your companion to your rooms."
"Lead the way Lord Robb," I spoke with a grin towards the young man, who was as in awe of us, as we were at the sheer size and scale of everything in Winterfell, easily four times the size of Oldcastle, and that was just the newer used parts of the old keep, while Robb led us to the guest wing of the castle and a pair of rooms right next to each other that were far nicer and larger than anything either Tristifer or I had stayed in.
"I hope these are comfortable for you both," spoke the young red haired boy, after we both peaked inside the large rooms.
"We've been pretty much living in tents with our army for the last five years," I laughed at the look of shock on Tristifer's face at the opulence of the room he was given, "so these rooms are more than enough, thank you."
"Our steward should be bringing up your squires and luggage shortly," he added with a smile as he realized we only had the clothes on our backs.
"Thank you Lord Robb," I replied with a small chuckle at the young boy, "I'm sure they will be by any moment, we'll see you for supper in an hour."
The evening meal was quite delicious, and while Lord Stark was quite formal and stiff, and his wife not too accepting of some of our war stories of the last several years, the young kids were hanging on our every word, and we definitely won some cool points from all of them. I noticed that the Starks weren't too big on formality within their household retainers, as many of them came, ate, and left while the Stark members ate and talked in a way that was pretty refreshing in our world. I did spot both Theon Greyjoy and Jon Snow at one point getting meals and quickly eating at one of the lower tables, while only Maester Luwin joined us at the head table that night.
I ended up having a small discussion with the old Maester of Winterfell, quickly going through several topics regarding my gifts, soaps and disease among the most important that first night, and the new industries being started in Oldcastle though not in too much detail right then. We made arrangements to meet midday tomorrow with Lord Stark as well, in order to go over some of the topics we talked about in greater detail, and for me to bring up the ideas and plans I had for the Starks and myself. Robb even asked if I would join them in the morning for sword training, after I told a story about using dual swords, and I could only agree with a wide smile that was shared by Tristifer.
My best friend and sworn shield was on his absolute best behaviour, as even he wasn't brazen enough to say or do anything stupid that might get him in trouble with his Liege Lord, though I could tell holding his tongue was difficult at times for the large man. The long meal though was quite pleasant, and lasted much later into the night than usual, as the younger kids were finally sent off to bed before we even left the table. We then returned to the rooms we were provided, and said goodnight before getting into the most expensive and comfortable beds either of us had ever slept in, or at least tried to sleep in.
The comfortable bed though wasn't enough to prevent either of us from being up at the crack of dawn, already dressed for our usual morning workouts that always seemed to slow down while we were on the march, but intensified when we stopped. There were only a very few scattered people up at the training area at this hour, but Tristifer and I started our stretches and limbering exercises to get ready while our squires prepared our armor and weapons, drawing the attention of the few who were up. By the time we were done warming up, and ready to start training more seriously and letting our squires now warm up and get ready for lessons, there were several more people moving around the area, including Winterfell's Man at Arms, Ser Rodrik Cassel.
Tristifer was a well above average swordsman to say the least as his size and strength made him a difficult opponent for many fighters, but with a war hammer was even better though he was still no match for me and my speed when I used dual swords, so we usually started our spars with only one sword each to balance things out, and today was no different. Within twenty minutes the pair of us were really going at it, and the courtyard was a hive of activity as morning chores were being done, and even more people were waking up and stopping to watch us. Then Trisitifer would toss me his training sword and grab his hammer and for the next twenty minutes went at it pretty hard. We were both sweating profusely and had several nicks and bruises from the many bouts we fought against each other, and suddenly stopped after I knocked Tristifer down and we heard clapping.
The young Robb Stark was there watching us with stars in his eyes, as were both Theon and Jon, who were all getting on their practice gear for their own lessons, and were quick to pepper us both with questions once they realized they had our attention. We simply smiled and told them to keep practicing, and allowed Ser Rodrik to take back over the training ring to begin the younger boys' lessons as we both went to a nearby bucket and splashed water over our faces and took long drinks. We watched the middle-aged knight take the three boys through their steps and then started having them spar against one another, pointing out mistakes and corrections along the way that really demonstrated the older man's skill.
I watched for a few minutes before pulling out my weighted training swords and started going through my own footwork drills and exercises to keep sharp and getting better, while also giving out instructions to my squire Jolle as he fought Tristifer's squire Kace. During a break for all the boys, Ser Rodrik asked if either of us was willing to fight him, and I instantly agreed as Tristifer knew I still had energy to burn and always liked testing myself against others. All the boys quickly got excited and into positions to watch as I entered the training ring with both training swords and faced the older knight and veteran of the last two wars with a great deal of excitement.
Ser Rodrik had skill and experience, and a great deal of strength, but wasn't much better than Tristifer, only more refined, and I quickly found myself dominating the fight and somewhat disappointed that it wasn't more of a challenge. When I easily won the first two rounds, and Ser Rodrik quickly saw that I was still holding back, he asked to take a break, and I offered to fight him and Tristifer together if they were up for it. This time, the fight was much more even, as the two well above average sword fighters kept me insanely busy for the next twenty minutes as we traded blows and wins, giving Tristifer some much needed confidence that he was getting closer, and had a great time in front of a very appreciative audience.
"That was so amazing," came the excited shout of Robb after the last bout, where I deflected Ser Rodrik's attack into Tristifers, getting them tangled up so I could take them each out one at a time in our little practice duel to claim the last victory.
"Thank you my lord," I smiled back at the young eleven year old, giving him a slight bow at his praise, and making him laugh happily, as the other two boys with him were both staring at me with wide eyes.
"Your skills are truly impressive, Donnell," came a familiar voice from the nearest balcony, where I quickly turned and saw Lord Stark himself watching us, having just complimented me.
"Thank you my lord, I've made it a priority over these last four years," I answered back with a grateful nod of my head.
"I can see that," he replied with a small nod of his own, "it's been a long time since I saw someone wield dual swords so well."
"I actually had to learn how to use my left arm, after getting my right arm broken during our march towards Lys while fighting the Golden Company," I responded to his unasked question, but felt I needed to explain how I came to using dual swords. "After it healed, I just preferred having a sword in my left hand instead of a shield."
"Impressive," he simply said, giving us all a look and nod of his head to continue on, as he left the balcony to head back into the castle.
I had to put up with many questions from Robb, and the two boys with him, finally getting introductions to the two who I felt I already knew from my time watching the TV show in my past life even if they didn't resemble the actors they played all that much. They were both exactly as I thought though in attitude, with Theon constantly boasting of his 'skill' and status as heir of the Iron Islands, and Jon Snow trying to disappear and shrink into the background so as not to draw too much attention to himself or who he was. It was kind of sad to see Jon Snow so little and ashamed of his birth status, when I knew he would become one of the main factors of this story if the Game of Thrones show was anything to go on.
I made it a point over the next few days to bring in some of my other 'Westerosi looking' members of the army, mostly a few of the bastards, so the young Jon could see there were other options for him besides the Night's Watch, but at the same time didn't want to affect the story too much. His joining of the Night's Watch and learning of the White Walkers and helping the Free Folk was one of the most important things for the safety of the realm, and I sure wasn't planning to take his place freezing my ass off on the Wall. But, I was hopeful that I could help get him past the shame he felt towards his station in life, and see that a bastard wasn't an inherently evil thing regardless of what the Seven and Lady Stark said.
I left Tristifer to train and work with the Stark guards, Ser Rodrik, and the boys and went in search of Lord Stark and Maester Luwin for our discussion, stopping off in the kitchens for a quick snack on the way. I found the Lord in his solar talking with his Maester, who both welcomed me when I arrived and invited me to sit with them to discuss some of the things I brought up at dinner the night before. I also brought with me the plans and schematics for several of my recent inventions, including the seed drill, paddlewheel, and windmill as well as the mobile siege weapons, scorpion, and tower as another gift and show of good faith.
"Why are you gifting us all of these things, Donnell?" came the curious question from Lord Stark after unloading several blueprints on each of the siege engines and items we already discussed, probably somewhat used to being buttered up by others, just because of the powerful position he held, "is there something you want in return?"
"Yes," I answered with a small grin, "there are a few things I want, but am willing to compensate you for those ...these are more, gifts to ensure our continued survival and hopefully to advance the North even further towards thriving."
"Explain," came the somewhat hard voice of Lord Stark, and I realized that I had my work cut out for me to convince this somewhat obstinate man to change and grow the North, and hoped at least that he didn't put obstacles in our way.
"The biggest problem in the North is our climate and inability to grow enough food to feed ourselves through the long winters," I started, and instantly had the attention of both men, as every Northerner knew this, but rarely spelled it out so blatantly especially to the Warden of the North himself. "The other big problems are the low populations, difficulty in traveling throughout the North, lack of trade both within the North and with others outside of it, and the lack of financial wealth and flexibility."
"I was hoping to combat some of these deficiencies with several of the new inventions and ideas we have come up with, and brought back from Essos," I continued to their wide eyed looks, thankfully not too angry or defensive at my blatant criticisms of our land, "and, if I can get you on board, it will make it that much easier."
"On board with what exactly?" came the measured responding question from Lord Stark as he eyed me carefully.
"The first is obvious," I continued easily, "we have started glass production, and focused almost exclusively on building glass greenhouses so that hopefully, every Northern Lord could have their own way to grow food. The seed drills will also help with that, making planting crops easier, as we simply don't have the population to support a larger farming industry. I also have plans on crop rotations that have so far proved very effective to increase our yields at Oldcastle. If we could continue to increase our internal food production, it would have a large effect towards keeping money in the North, instead of using it all to buy food from the South."
"That does make good sense," interjected Maester Luwin, getting a nod from Lord Stark that at least made me feel I was accomplishing something.
"There are even a few different and new food products we could try in different regions," I continued with a knowing smile, "we've started growing potatoes near Oldcastle, I have heard of hearty grains they grow in the northern plains of Essos ...and something called rice that grows in wetlands that might work in the neck and stores really well in the winter. All of these would help us claim our food independence from the South, and allow us all to feel more comfortable in planning for the long winters to come."
"And how would we go about obtaining these grains or rice?" asked Lord Stark, "I've never even heard of them."
"The citadel has some records of grains and foods grown in Essos," added Maester Luwin, "I could inquire from them about options."
"And I made several contacts in Essos that might be able to get us pointed in the right direction to get started," I continued with a nod to both men. "The initial investment will cost us some, but the possible advantages far outway some upfront costs, which my Family has agreed to help with, under the condition we can negotiate with our neighbors to buy up unused land between us."
"Really?" asked Lord Stark, eyeing me questioningly at that statement, probably wondering how much that would increase the standing of our House, and the size of our lands.
"Yes, more food options will benefit us all in the long run, and our coastal lands aren't always the best to increase our own farming capabilities" I answered easily, and left it at that for a moment before moving on to the next topics, trying to overwhelm him a bit so he didn't think too much on any one thing.
"I also have some ideas for increasing the population, but want to hold off on that for a moment," I continued, "and move on to travel and trade as I feel those can both be increased significantly with a well placed investment into improving our roads, ports, and internal commerce between our houses."
"What kind of investment?" asked Lord Stark, eyeing me somewhat doubtfully, wondering where exactly I was going with all this, and how this would benefit my Family, and what it would cost his.
"Roads," I answered back immediately, "we need to build better roads between the towns and Houses of the North ...and that is where I think my Family's concrete could really come in handy. I am proposing building even and wide concrete roads from every major House in the North, including the Kings Road to increase travel."
"That sounds expensive," responded the long faced Warden of the North.
"It will be," I answered, "but, I feel it would be offset by the increased trade it would make available, and ...it is a cost that I would take on personally."
"You?" asked Lord Stark in wide eyed shock, "how could you afford something that expensive without the resources of your Family?"
"The Disputed Lands were very profitable," I answered with a large grin, "that Valyrian Steel dagger I gifted you was one of a few we found, along with a pair of Valyrian Steel Greatswords."
"Truly?" asked a stunned Lord Stark.
"We have decided to keep one as the new Ancestral Sword of House Locke," I answered happily, "and I was planning to sell the other to the highest bidder ...and I think you know what Family that would be?"
"You'd sell it to Tywin Lannister?" asked Eddard almost disbelievingly.
"If it would fetch me the coin to implement my plans to strengthen and grow the North?" I responded with a question of my own, "then ...yes, I would sell it to the family that shits gold."
"That would certainly alleviate most of the financial strain," continued Maester Luwin with a small grin, seemingly impressed with my plans and forethought, "although, I am unsure how the other Northern Lords would view the transaction?"
"Well," I continued after a moment of silence as that idea sunk in, "selling to the Lannisters may help improve relations with the Westerlands, and what really would my family need with another Greatsword? I couldn't just give it to anyone without offending someone else, and would have to make sure they can defend and support themselves and the sword. I like my dual sword style, and would never use a Greatsword myself, so it has little value to me."
"That makes sense," responded Lord Stark, "so, that covers your costs involved with the road plan, how would we increase trade otherwise?"
"Trade is going to start picking up," I answered knowingly, "with our new distillery, glass making, paper and concrete production, ship building, as well as the mobile siege equipment and inventions, we have already increased our trade at Oldcastle and are going to be amping up our own trade throughout the North and with Essos, hopefully bringing more ships and activity to our eastern coast and ports. This road project will also take me to every House and corner of the North to establish new trading routes and partners that will benefit us in the long run."
"And how does the rest of the North capitalize on that?" asked Lord Stark.
"By getting them to grow their own food, and trade more within the North, every Northern House will see an increase in coin," I replied, "they can then expand their ports and towns, grow their own businesses ...weather its Ironwood, hunting, farming, horses, mining, sheep, clothing ...the North is ripe for opportunities for pretty much every House and Lord that doesn't squander it."
"And what happens if a long winter comes?" asked the grey eyed Stark Lord.
"Then we hunker down in our strengthened castles and towns, eat the foods we've grown and stored, and wait it out like we always do," I replied easily, knowing there wasn't too much we were able to do when the weather really got bad, "plus with nicer roads, it might not limit our mobility in the winter as much as it has in the past."
Lord Stark sat back in his chair at that point, seriously thinking about my suggestions and proposals, hopefully willing to give them a try and increase our way of life and ability to be self-sufficient. I waited patiently for him to work through everything, knowing I still had a few more ideas, but willing to wait and hear how these ones were received first before tipping my hand any further. This was a real make or break moment for me, and Maester Luwin too seemed to be in deep thought, though the smile on his face at least let me have an idea on what he thought about my ideas, and that gave me a bit of confidence to sit and wait out my Liege Lord.
Eventually Lord Stark seemed to have come to some decision as he nodded to himself and sat forward, looking me squarely in the eye, his expression still not giving anything away. He agreed that we should look into other food sources, and accepted my help in contacting people in Essos to try and find a hearty grain that would grow in the Northern climate, and this rice I mentioned for a possibility in the Neck. He thanked me for my Family's obviously very generous offers of help in many different areas, granted us permission to talk to our neighbors to expand our lands, and the increase of trade I mentioned being a very good thing for the North.
He asked me to put together costs for glass greenhouses that the Locke Family would charge to the other Houses of the North after the gifted ones, so they could really increase food production if and when they could all afford to. He expressed a small worry about how the increase in trade and financial flexibility in the North would be seen by our Southern neighbors, and expressed his desire to keep out of Southern politics or influence. He then smiled slightly, and nodded to himself before going into explaining how he would accept my road proposal under one further condition, that I used my new concrete to rebuild Moat Cailin and became its Castellan, until one of his sons was old enough to take control.
I was speechless at the idea, and stared at him wide eyed, thinking he must be joking, but finding nothing but seriousness in his grey eyes that left me stunned beyond belief. I of course accepted as soon as my brain rebooted, and offered to rebuild the Moat to the best of my abilities to both keep the South out, and to ready the place for whoever he placed in charge. I asked if as the temporary Lord, I would have total control over the region, as one of my plans to increase trade to the western coast of the North, was to build a canal that stretched from the Fever River to the west of the Moat all the way to the eastern coast into the Bite.
He looked at me again in shock at the idea, and Maester Luwin had a large grin on his older face as he envisioned what I proposed, and I simply grinned through it all. I explained how I had thought to create a Coast Settlement at the east end of the canal to protect it from the harsh waters of the Bite, and that it would match the settlement that we were already building on the opposite coast across the Bite between Oldcastle and White Harbor. Lord Stark gave me full permission to increase trade and strengthen the North however I could, as long as it didn't cost him too much, and we tabled the discussion further until after we all ate a late lunch. (*Map Available)
That afternoon, Maester Luwin drew up a contract spelling out the terms that were agreed to regarding the road project, in taking control of Moat Cailin and rebuilding it, and adding the canal project to the list. It wasn't so much a contract, as an edict signed by the Warden of the North authorizing me as the Castellan of Moat Cailin, and the man responsible for the Northern Road Project. That evening, after penning a letter to my Family on the amazing progress and authorizations I got from Lord Stark, I found Tristifer to fill him in on the great news and start planning for the incredible amount of work that now needed to be done throughout the entire North.
I felt the most important thing to start on was creating several road building crews, as that project was most likely to take the longest and be the hardest to complete, though it would take me to every corner of the North, and be a great way to meet all the other Families and Houses and start trading. I also needed to get in touch with the Iron Bank, as I expected that I would need a loan at some point to help with the many projects I was soon going to have going on at once, and also to see if they could direct me to the grain and rice producers that I was looking for as well. Rebuilding Moat Cailin would probably be one of the last items on the list, as getting the canal in place first would greatly help bring building supplies and workers to the area in order to complete that monstrous structure.
Unfortunately, it also meant that I was going to have to delay my trip to Deepwood Motte, as there was simply too much that I now needed to get started on, and the Glover lands were too out of the way for a quick visit. I knew I would get another chance as we built roads from Winterfell to Deepwood Motte, and would make a point of stopping in and checking on my sister at that time. Instead I started making my plans for the creation of several road construction teams, and getting in the supplies I would need to continue making and producing cement on a much grander scale than the few mobile mixing stations I had since built.
Being put in charge of so many things at once made the next several days while staying with the Starks at Winterfell insanely busy and exhausting, but I was excited for the challenges that lay in front of me, and in a position to really help improve and strengthen the North. It took several days until replies came from my Family, the two settlements I left people in to begin building, and the Iron Bank, but they were all very positive, and I knew the next few years were going to be some of my busiest yet. I sent letters to the Glass Settlement under Geremy and Alston, and the Horseshoe Bay Settlement near Ramsgate under the Graymanders, about supplying me with several road construction teams that were interested in some travel and hard, but rewarding work.
I also filled all my friends in on my newest title as Castellan of Moat Cailin, as it would eventually serve as my final destination, and would be a great asset for our cause and a perfect place to stage our troops. I asked them to quickly start mining limestone everywhere for my many concrete projects, as I knew I would need a lot of it, and start looking into their immediate surroundings for other opportunities to explore, namely mining in general. With so much going on, my morning workouts became my only real opportunity to release my energy, and they had quickly started attracting a lot of attention in Winterfell from the numerous Stark guards, attendants, and the Stark children themselves that all liked to watch me spar against multiple opponents with my dual swords.
Every day Tristifer brought in about two dozen of our soldiers to train with the Stark guards, making sure to always have at least two different visible foreigners as a small introduction to my more diverse population. I made sure to pick those who knew how to behave or those who spoke the common tongue, as they were much easier to ingratiate with the other Northerners they encountered and trained with. It made sure that everyone knew that Locke's Legion didn't discriminate, and was more diverse than they were accustomed too, but completely under control and working as part of a larger Northern unit, and therefore welcome among them.
The first few days we even had an instance with one of the Stark guards questioning the dark skin of the man he was training against named Juul, but after learning he was a slave taken at the age of four and trained to be an unsullied until being rejected and sold back to the slave pens a few years later only to be among those I rescued from Myr, fewer questions were asked. Most Northerners hated slavery with a passion, something I completely agreed with, and therefore we got a lot of leeway in incorporating foreigners that we saved from slavery. That it wasn't the overwhelming majority of our forces, as far as they knew and saw, was probably another bonus in getting them to accept us, and I wasn't above playing things to my advantage.
I ended up spending two weeks at Winterfell, with the help of Maester Luwin, sending letters and responses back and forth between all my Family, friends, and contacts and lining up the teams I would need to start working on the many new and long lasting projects I was now in charge of. Everyone I contacted agreed to start collecting Limestone at the various settlements, and I promised to send the few men I had working on it with me to them, to teach others how to create the cement mix we would need in insanely large quantities going forward, and to build teams for their Road Construction crews. I also made plans to take a ship to Braavos to meet with the Iron Bank and their grain and rice contacts they were planning to set up for me as long as I agreed to meet them in person first, and thought of another good idea in the process.
I asked for people interested in settling for a few years in various cities in Essos, to help us continue recruiting and gathering former slaves to our cause that we could free and bring back to the North. I knew the current settlements I created were well populated, but we would probably benefit even greater with having another large influx of people to the North, that could be spread out throughout the other small towns and cities to help boost our population and available workforce. They could travel with me to Braavos and spread out from there, increasing our influence and trade to other parts of Essos, while providing a pipeline of sorts to bring talented people back to the less populated North.
The two weeks also really helped me get to know Lord Stark and his children, which would only benefit me down the road, and solidify the growing friendship between our houses. Robb, Theon, and Jon had all taken to me and my men around Winterfell extremely well, and often trained with us in the mornings along with my and Tristifer's squires. I even worked with Rodrik Cassel and swapped a few of my own soldiers who were willing to remain in Winterfell and join with the Stark guards, to help continue training them while I took on all his problem recruits he didn't want to deal with. This would both help bolster their forces and my reputation with them, but also let us continue with our integration of selected minorities into the North's capital to help promote our growing diversity, as Juul was among the first to volunteer.
My father was beyond happy and excited in his letters, saying Grandfather was beyond himself in pride despite his continued declining health, and promised to help with my plans as much as he could as well. Soon my two weeks in Winterfell had come to an end, and I gave all the Starks fond farewells as I left to get busy with the large amount of work I now had in front of me for the next few years. I promised to keep Lord Stark and Maester Luwin informed of my Road Construction plans, and they in turn promised to write to the other Houses of the North to spread the word about the newest project that would authorize me to improve the roads throughout each of their domains, starting with the road South from Winterfell.
I made Lord Stark promise me he would mention to each Lord and Family that I was only required to create the basic roads that all could use, and that any additions they wanted would need to be individually negotiated on. Lord Stark, despite getting along with each other just fine, I think was happy to see me leave, as I represented change to a man that just wanted a quiet peaceful life, and I brought more excitement to his daily life than he was accustomed or desired. Maester Luwin, on the other hand, was very sad to see Donnell Locke leave Winterfell, after the two got on so well and the excitement surrounding the young lord was simply contagious and made him feel energized like few things previously, but was still happy to be left with the designs and writings of one of the most fascinating young men in the North and the knowledge that true change was coming to the North, and he was going to help his Lord understand and welcome it.
Maester Luwin wondered if he shouldn't write to his elders in the Citadel about all the newest designs and ideas he was reading about, and the sharp mind that was Donnell Locke, but he was reluctant to turn over any of the writing and blueprints he received to verify his claims. Instead, he decided he would only send a letter after he made copies of everything to include, and started reading over Donnell's report and writings on the success of crop rotations and sanitation. Soon he forgot all about sharing the monumental discoveries as he became overworked simply implementing the ideas he found to great success around Winterfell. The increased glass greenhouses tripled their growable foods, and the concepts of cold lockers and separate storage containers for individual foods were going to rewrite the rules on keeping food in the North for generations to come and gave him more valuable and rewarding work than he had time in a day to complete it all …something that was becoming very familiar to the members of the Legion.