Chapter 4: Gathering of Vassals

Tents in the Winter Town surrounded Winterfell.

More and more people flooded into the Winter Town; after the houses in the Winter Town were sold out, Eddard ordered the use of tents to accommodate these people, but this was only a temporary measure, and the Winter Town had to be expanded.

Eddard walked among the crowd in the Winter Town; herdsmen leading cattle and sheep, swineherds driving herds of pigs, and farmers driving carts full of grain all knelt and saluted Eddard one after another. Among the crowd, the phrase Eddard heard most was, "Lord Eddard, please, you must take us in."

When winter comes, the Winter Town is the hope for these people to survive the cold winter.

"Rest assured," Eddard said, clenching his right fist, "I swear on my honor that I will lead you to a good life."

Residents who bought houses began to take charge of repairing them, and some residents began to clear the land they had purchased, planting seeds and planting hope.

The Winter Town was almost entirely made of uniform wooden houses, close to the Wolfswood, where wood could be sourced locally, while the price of stone was much higher.

Duke Eddard recruited one thousand men to enter the Wolfswood to fell timber; at the same time, Eddard brought out the timber stored in Winterfell, and the first batch of houses broke ground. Among the workers building the houses, only a very small number were carpenters and stonemasons by trade, but fortunately, building civilian houses did not require many skilled workers.

However, in Eddard's plan, the future Winter Town was to be developed into a city; Eddard planned to build stables to train warhorses, build forges to construct armor and weapons, and build barracks to drill troops.

These important military industrial sites could not be wooden houses; the fireproofing of wooden houses was too poor, and stone buildings were much safer and more durable than wooden houses. To complete these plans, Winterfell needed to recruit more skilled craftsmen.

To celebrate the birth of Rickon, the youngest son of Eddard, Duke of the North, the birthday banquet was held in Winterfell as scheduled, and lords from all over the North arrived one after another.

The first to arrive was Lord Medger Cerwyn of Cerwyn, as Cerwyn was only a half-day's ride from Winterfell. Lord Cerwyn brought a troop of cavalry and a train of wagons, which were stuffed with corn, grain, and a cart of battle-axes as gifts for the Duke of the North. Lord Medger Cerwyn stared at the flow of people in the Winter Town, his eyes wide with shock.

"Lord Eddard, have we already entered the dead of winter? Even in winter, I have never seen the Winter Town so bustling."

Subsequently, Lord Galbart Glover of Deepwood Motte and his brother Robett Glover arrived with cavalry and a wagon train; the steel gauntlet banner of Deepwood Motte fluttered in the wind. In the Deepwood Motte party were the leaders of the Wolfswood Clans, such as the Forest Clan, the Wood Clan, the Branch Clan, and others; these Wolfswood clans were all vassals of the Glover family.

The gifts offered to Winterfell by the Glover family included two wagons of salmon and abalone, one wagon of boar meat, and a chest of animal skins. Most of the Glover family's fief was woodland and coastal, with relatively little arable land, so their gifts were mostly game from the forest and seafood.

The soft-spoken Lord Roose Bolton arrived with the cavalry and wagon train from the Dreadfort, the terrifying Flayed Man banner fluttering behind him in the wind. The gifts offered by Lord Bolton were fox skins, mole skins, deerskins, and some processed fur coats.

Theon Greyjoy chuckled, "Lord Bolton, these furs are undoubtedly the masterpieces of the Flayed Man's blade; may I ask if you did these yourself?"

Roose Bolton stared at Theon with those dirty, ice-like eyes, sneering without committing to an answer.

Wyman Manderly of White Harbor arrived at Winterfell with a massive party; six hundred cavalrymen in fine steel armor made the residents of the Winter Town crowd over to watch.

The hot-tempered Greatjon Umber arrived with the Umber party, flying the Broken Chain Giant banner of House Umber. Greatjon was nearly 2.1 meters tall, almost as tall as Hodor, the simple-minded stable boy of Winterfell, and although his son was called Smalljon, he was a head taller than his father. The attendants of the Umber family were almost all tall men over 1.9 meters; no wonder people rumored that the Umber family had giant blood.

The gifts offered to Winterfell by the Umber family included beef, as well as sealskins and ten wagons of grain. Lord Hornwood's gifts were venison, deer antlers, and deerskins, while Lord Locke from Oldcastle brought seafood from the Bite.

Maege Mormont of Bear Island brought her daughter Dacey Mormont; Maege was a gray-haired, short woman, and like her daughter, she was in full armor. The gifts brought by Bear Island were the catch from the Bay of Ice and bear skins.

The gifts from Lord Rickard Karstark of Karhold were boar meat, mead, and grain; the Karstark family was a cadet branch of Winterfell.

Lord Wyman Manderly was as fat as a mountain, every finger as plump as a sausage, and his belly was so large it seemed to contain all of White Harbor; he was a jovial fat man nicknamed "Lord Eel," and because of his excessive weight, Lord Wyman could only travel by sedan chair, which also confirmed his other nickname, "Lord Fat-Enough-to-Crush-a-Horse."

The gifts Lord Wyman offered to Winterfell could be described as dazzling, including fruits from the Reach, honey and watermelons from the Reach, golden wine from the Arbor, firewine from Myr, Pentos perfume for the Lady and the Duke's daughters, lobsters, crabs, whale oil, and more, as well as an exquisite baby carriage and a pile of wooden toys.

The gifts from the Northern Mountain Clans were also very generous; leaders such as Wull, Liddle, and Flint offered herds of goats, goat milk, venison, pheasant, fur coats, and amber products.

Lord Roderick Ryswell of the Rills generously offered fifty warhorses and three wagons of freshwater fish and five wagons of grain to Winterfell; the Ryswell lord's brothers and sons had all arrived.

Arriving with Lord Ryswell was his daughter, Lady Barbrey Dustin, the Lady of Barrowton.

Every time there was a harvest banquet at Winterfell, Lady Barbrey Dustin would always "fall ill" and deliberately stay away; Winterfell had long been accustomed to this, and this widow who ruled Barrowton had come to Winterfell to pledge her loyalty only a handful of times.

Now, to come to Winterfell to attend the birthday banquet for the North Duke's youngest son, Lady Barbrey Dustin had actually come; Eddard had invited her symbolically, not expecting her to come, but she had come nonetheless.

Lady Barbrey chose a black dress; in the Southern faith of the Seven, this was the color of mourning. Her skin was pale, and her expression was cold, as if wrapped in a shroud. Lady Barbrey's gifts were also just a wagon of green vegetables, a wagon of radishes, and a wagon of turnips; many of the green vegetables were actually somewhat yellow and withered, as shabby as could be.

Eddard could not help but notice the attendant beside Barbrey, Domeric Bolton; he was a young man of medium build and lean, with long brown hair, refined and courteous; he was the son of Roose Bolton and the heir to the Dreadfort.

Lady Barbrey's gifts made the lords nearby click their tongues in wonder; Greatjon chuckled maliciously, "Barbrey, aren't you being too stingy? Duke Eddard has been blessed with a son, and your gifts are just these?"

Lord Wyman echoed, "Indeed, it is harvest time, and to send green vegetables as a gift, Lady Barbrey, you are going too far."

Lady Barbrey's smile seemed capable of freezing those around her, "I am very sorry, my fief suffered an attack by the Ironborn, and some granaries were burned. I also have to prepare for the sacrifices in Barrowton; sacrificing to our First King and the ancestors of the First Men costs quite a bit of money. Lord Wyman, you clearly do not understand, you Southerner who believes in the Seven."

Wyman Manderly could only shut his mouth; the Manderly family was wealthy and powerful, which inevitably aroused the jealousy of other Northern nobles. Their family had fled from the Reach to the North and believed in the Seven, which made the Manderly family inevitably excluded and alienated politically by the Northern nobles who believed in the Old Gods.

Lord Cerwyn said, "Lady Barbrey, you have frightened our Lord Wyman. Besides, at a birthday party, talking about sacrificing to the dead is inauspicious."

Barbrey said disdainfully, "We people of Barrowton live under the tomb of the First King and never dare to forget those who have passed; without death, how can there be new life? Lord Cerwyn, perhaps you have long forgotten the great ancestors of the First Men, but I have not."

Lord Wull, who was nearby, could not stand it anymore; he came from the Mountain Clans, and the Mountain Clans were known for their hospitality and were loyal to Winterfell. Lord Wull, nicknamed "Big Bucket," with a fiery red beard hanging down to his beer belly, shouted angrily, "What is wrong with you woman? Today we are celebrating the birthday of Lord Eddard's son, yet you are here clamoring about sacrificing to the dead. Good fellow, it seems only you are the most filial, is that it?"

The Wull clan was the most powerful branch of the Mountain Clans. Once Lord Wull spoke, the leaders of the Liddle, Flint, and Norrey clans came up to surround and attack Lady Barbrey. Lady Maege also scolded her, but Lady Barbrey sneered and said nothing, as if she were enjoying the crowd's siege.

Lord Ryswell hurried forward to smooth things over for Lady Barbrey, and Roose Bolton spoke softly to mediate.

Catelyn held the infant Rickon, with Duke Eddard standing behind her; the two watched the quarrel sparked by Barbrey from afar. Catelyn complained, "Barbrey is truly hateful; this widow shouldn't have come at all, actually talking about sacrificing to the undead at Rickon's birthday banquet. And that outfit she's wearing, all in black, that color of mourning."

For Northerners, black might more easily remind one of the Night's Watch, but in the eyes of Southerners, black clothing more often represented the Stranger, the Silent Sisters, and death. Catelyn was born into the Tully family of the Riverlands and was a devout believer in the Seven, so she naturally saw Lady Barbrey's black dress as a provocation.

Eddard murmured, "She is a troublesome widow."

(End of chapter)