Chapter 73: Heading to Castle Black

The ship Eddard was traveling on docked at the lands of House Umber on the east coast of the North; Eddard's next stop would be to head to Castle Black to visit the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the Old Bear Mormont, and his brother, Benjen Stark.

In the lands of House Umber, Eddard was pleasantly surprised to find that the coastal fishing villages once destroyed by pirates had regained their vitality, and some saltpans had also resumed production. Now, the Rockborn clans on Skagos were subjects of Winterfell, and the "Iron Bitch" Helen Pyke had also become one of Eddard's subordinates; the fishing villages and saltpans here were safe.

The vassals of the North returned home one after another with their own warriors, and Eddard handed the Winterfell warriors over to the Captain of the Guard of Winterfell, Jory Cassel, letting Jory lead the army back to Winterfell. The shipwright Mogul, the smith Wote, and other ironborn craftsmen also followed Jory Cassel toward Winterfell.

Eddard instructed Jory, "When you return to Winterfell, tell the financial advisor Klar to have him build a shipyard for the shipwright Mogul on the upper reaches of the White Knife. As for the ironborn smiths, hand them all over to Mikken and let them work in the forge. Have the steward Vayon Poole properly welcome these craftsmen, treat them well in Winterfell and the Winter Town, and ensure they have no worries about food or clothing."

"By the way, tell Klar to find a way to hire a few glassblowers in Myr or Braavos."

Jory Cassel said, "Lord Eddard, you are going to Castle Black, and taking only twenty guards is too few, isn't it? For the sake of safety, I suggest increasing the number of guards to fifty."

Eddard smiled, "I am surrounded by experts; twenty soldiers are enough." Among Eddard's guards were the Water Dancer Syrio Forel, the guard Dawson, the master archer Fellan, the "Iron Bitch" Helen Pyke, his ward Domeric Bolton, Theon Greyjoy, and the bastard Jon Snow, plus twenty Winterfell personal guards.

Eddard led his entourage and galloped toward the Kingsroad, setting up camp after night fell.

Theon and Jon Snow lit a night fire, as did Eddard and Helen Pyke.

Domeric sat around the fire with them. Domeric said excitedly, "I have never been to Castle Black; I hear the Wall is seven hundred feet high! The most magnificent wall in the world."

Theon said disdainfully, "The most useless wall; what use is the Wall?"

Helen Pyke said, "When I was a pirate on Skagos, I once went to Eastwatch to smuggle, and the Wall shocked me too much. It is so far north, yet it is still an ice-free port; I have always dreamed of obtaining such a port."

Jon Snow frowned, "Eastwatch is an ice-free port? I thought the Wall was made of ice."

Helen Pyke shrugged, "The Wall certainly looks like ice from the outside, but it must be stone on the inside! Eastwatch is an ice-free port, there is no mistake about that. I have talked to the wildlings beyond the Wall and the Black Brothers of Eastwatch, and they all say that Eastwatch does not freeze even in winter, even when hit by blizzards."

Domeric said, "If Eastwatch freezes, wouldn't the wildlings be able to walk across the Seal Bay right along the ice during the long winter? But it is quite strange; the Wall is covered in ice all year round, yet Eastwatch, as the easternmost point of the Wall, is actually an ice-free port."

The Water Dancer Syrio spoke up, "I believe this is because there is magic inside the Wall."

Theon showed a skeptical smile, "Magic? Syrio, have you listened to too many of Old Nan's stories? Where is there magic in this world?"

Domeric said, "Magic is something you cannot prove exists, nor can you prove it does not exist. I believe there is magic in the Wall."

Helen Pyke said, "We ironborn are a seafaring people and know the ocean very well. I once heard some pirates in the Stepstones mention that Eastwatch is an ice-free port because it is influenced by ocean currents. There, the warm current of the Seal Bay and the cold current from beyond the Wall converge."

The Water Dancer Syrio agreed, "Places where cold and warm currents converge are the best fishing grounds. Our Braavos is the meeting place of the Shivering Sea and the Narrow Sea; the fish there are very numerous, and eels, rays, clams, lobsters, and all kinds of fish sustain Braavos."

Eddard sighed, "The fish in the Seal Bay are no worse than those in your Braavos; it is a pity that the fishing industry in the North has never developed."

"Lord Eddard, with ironborn shipwrights building ships for you in the future, the North will soon be able to go out to sea for large-scale fishing. Both the Bay of Ice and the Seal Bay are very fertile fishing grounds," Helen Pyke assured Eddard.

The Bay of Ice is the sea area near Bear Island, and the Milkwater from beyond the Wall flows into the Bay of Ice. However, because ironborn pirates frequently raid, the fishermen of Bear Island cannot fish with peace of mind. Although Bear Island and the mountain clans of the west coast of the North rely on the sea, they cannot rely on seafood to make money, and their lives are very impoverished.

The shipwright Malin is building ships for Eddard in White Harbor, and by now, a few should have been built. These are large ships of the Braavosi purple-sailed ship specification. In the future, with the ironborn shipwrights under Helen Pyke, the North will have the ability to build high-quality longships.

After solving the pirate problem, the fish in the ocean will enrich the North's food basket and earn money for Winterfell. Once winter descends, the North sometimes needs to face long winters lasting several years; at that time, fish can provide food for the North to survive the winter.

After eating some dried meat and bread by the fire, the group left one after another, leaving only Helen Pyke and Eddard by the fire. Under the firelight, Helen Pyke was still beautiful; she had changed into a sea-green wool coat and black breeches, with chainmail worn over them, and a dagger, axe, and longsword hanging at her waist.

"Lord Eddard, your ambition in building a fleet surely isn't just for fishing, is it?" Helen Pyke added wood to the fire.

Eddard looked at the flames, "Ambition? My ambition is to let the people of Winterfell and the North have short winters and lasting summers, and to make the North wealthy and strong."

"Wealth and strength cannot be separated from money." Helen Pyke's sea-blue eyes flashed with mischief, "Lord Eddard, if you are willing to fund me, as long as I have a hundred longships in my hands, I can bring you the gold of the Westerlands, the wealth of the Reach, the Vale of Arryn, King's Landing... there is plenty of gold and treasure in the south."

Whenever Eddard was alone with Helen Pyke, she revealed her true nature as a pirate: greedy and bloodthirsty.

"Helen, I am the Warden of the North; if you openly propose raiding other regions, do you not want to live?" Eddard reprimanded.

Helen Pyke said solemnly, "We can pretend to be ironborn pirates from the Iron Islands, go raid, and run away after grabbing the goods; how would they know? Relying on fishing and farming, when will we ever have the wealth of Casterly Rock, Oldtown, Highgarden, and King's Landing?"

"What is the motto of House Greyjoy again? We do not sow!"

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(End of this chapter)