Chapter 107: Dragonbone Weapons

Maester Doster, Maester Norman, and Maester Farmer lived together in the courtyard below the Maester's Tower. Maester Luwin joked that he had never had so many assistants.

The assistant maesters and apprentices lived in the courtyard adjacent to the twenty-some wards of Winterfell. They studied together with the wards of Winterfell, and some apprentices willing to practice martial arts could even go to the training yard to receive instruction from the Winterfell master-at-arms, Ser Rodrik Cassel, training alongside Robb, Jon, Theon, Domeric, and Helen.

Some apprentices showed talent in the training yard; Lareza, a dark-skinned girl from Dorne, soon demonstrated the ability to hit a target from a hundred paces. Maester Rodrik Cassel believed that Lareza's archery was no match for Theon's, and one day she might even reach the heights of the marksman Fellan.

Ravens flew back and forth, and more and more lords sent letters announcing their support for Winterfell's Salt Ban.

Since White Harbor, the Dreadfort, Barrowton, and the Rills accepted Eddard's Salt Ban, the implementation of the Salt Ban across the North was already without any suspense.

On this day, Eddard came to the smithy.

At the Winterfell smithy, the smiths Wote and Mikken proudly showed Eddard the Dragonbone Bows and Dragonbone Daggers they had crafted.

Smith Wote stroked a Dragonbone Dagger, "Lord Eddard, look at this dagger, a dragon bone hilt, a fine steel blade, sharp beyond compare! This kind of Dragonbone Dagger would surely be a hot commodity back in my homeland, the Iron Islands."

"And the Dragonbone Bow." Mikken took out a Dragonbone Bow, "The range of the Dragonbone Bow is the longest of all bows in the world; even the famous Goldenheart Longbow of the Summer Islanders cannot compare to the Dragonbone Bow in range."

There were only three Dragonbone Bows and ten Dragonbone Daggers, because the Dragonbone Daggers only used dragon bone for the hilt, while crafting a Dragonbone Bow consumed much more dragon bone than a Dragonbone Dagger.

Dawson, a guard by Eddard's side, took these Dragonbone Bows and Dragonbone Daggers.

"You have worked hard." Eddard took out an awl, "I have some odd jobs for you, craft this kind of awl."

When Mikken and Wote saw the iron awl, they both frowned. Mikken said, "Lord Eddard, any blacksmith's apprentice can craft this thing; what is the use of this awl?"

Eddard smiled, "This kind of awl can be stabbed into a tree, and then we can hang a wooden bucket to collect tree sap."

"Tree sap?" Wote smirked, "Lord Eddard, could it be that with Winter is Coming, we are going to rely on tree sap to survive?"

Eddard patted Wote on the shoulder, "Believe me, once this tree sap is collected, it is even more delicious than honey."

After accidentally discovering sugar maple trees in the Wolfswood, Eddard found that the sap of the sugar maple could be refined into maple syrup, and Eddard was determined to collect it on a large scale. As long as there were enough awls, he could use them to hammer into the sugar maples and hang wooden buckets to collect it slowly.

The Winterfell forge was bustling every day. After the Ironborn smiths under "Iron Bitch" Helen Pyke joined the forge, the forge had more skilled blacksmiths. The apprentices trained by Mikken, Karon, and Wote became increasingly proficient. Every day, the forge could produce a batch of weapons such as swords, spearheads, arrowheads, maces, and warhammers, and the reserves of plate armor, chainmail, and helmets grew ever larger.

In addition, the forge also produced iron pots, horseshoes, saddles, and more.

The forge even began to produce crossbows. The advantage of the crossbow was that it relied on operating a mechanism to fire, not requiring the arm strength needed by archers; children and the disabled could use crossbows. Crossbows were far superior to bows and arrows in close-range shooting. However, the production process for crossbows was more cumbersome and the cost higher.

Some old armor and new armor would be shipped along the White Knife to White Harbor along with goods like Winterfell wooden toys, honey candles, and mead, where they would be sold to places like Gulltown, Duskendale, Maidenpool, and King's Landing.

The quality of armor crafted by the castle smiths was far superior to that of town smiths; a full set of armor, including helmet, gorget, gauntlets, and greaves, had a market price as high as three Gold Dragons.

Helen Pyke's Ironborn smiths brought the iron-casting craftsmanship of King's Port in the Iron Islands, which raised the iron-smelting technology of Winterfell significantly. Eddard believed that the armor and weapons produced by the forge in the future could continuously bring wealth to Winterfell.

Of course, nine-tenths of the armor and weapons were stored in the Winterfell armory. Once war arrived, Eddard could provide the soldiers of the North with better equipment; these soldiers would no longer go to the battlefield holding sickles and hammers while wearing tattered leather armor. With superior equipment, the combat effectiveness of the Northern soldiers would undoubtedly rise to a new level.

Eddard distributed the Dragonbone Daggers to his children; Robb, Jon, Theon, Domeric, Sansa, and Arya each received one. Bran was too young, so Eddard did not give him a Dragonbone Dagger.

"Iron Bitch" Helen Pyke received a Dragonbone Dagger and was overjoyed, "Now that I have a Dragonbone Dagger, I can pretend to be the Dragon Queen."

There were only three Dragonbone Bows, which were extremely precious. Eddard decided to make good use of them. In his study, he bestowed the first Dragonbone Bow upon the marksman Fellan.

Facing such a precious gift, Fellan was so frightened that he hurriedly refused, "Lord Eddard, you have rewarded me with a manor, rewarded me with wealth and honor; I am already flattered, how can you bestow a Dragonbone Bow upon me? Even your own son does not have one."

"Accept it! You performed heroically in the Rock-born War; you are a warrior of the North." Eddard told him.

Fellan took the Dragonbone Bow, hesitating, "Lord Eddard, if I accept this gift, I will be laughed at by others. I come from a background of horse thieves and poachers. I once stole the warhorse of Roderick Dustin in the Rills and poached in the Wolfswood. I am of low birth; holding a Dragonbone Bow will only make the nobles and commoners laugh at me."

Eddard patted Fellan on the shoulder, "You were once a horse thief and a poacher, but you have earned fame and fortune by serving Winterfell and the Starks. That is exactly what I want them to see. Anyone, as long as they serve the Starks loyally, can obtain money and honor."

"Syrio Forel, the guard Dawson, and you are all heroes of the Rock-born War. To tell you the truth, I intend to formally knight you as barons. The knighting ceremony will be held in Winter Town, in the busy market area, under the gaze of the crowd. Therefore, you must accept the Dragonbone Bow as a gift."

Fellan was surprised, "A baron?"

Eddard nodded, "You will have a noble surname. You are skilled at archery; you can choose a surname for yourself. From now on, you are a baron of the North, a vassal of Winterfell; you are a noble. Hurry and let Lady Barbrey help you choose a fine set of clothes, and show off in front of the people of the North!"

(End of chapter)