Chapter 89: The Myrish Glassmaker

A few days later, the price of salt in Winter Town returned to a normal level. Winterfell brought out the salt from its storehouses, allowing the residents of Winter Town and the nearby villages to all eat affordable salt. The common folk all spoke highly of Duke Eddard's Salt Ban.

The Winterfell guards were able to catch salt smugglers, black-market merchants, and money changers almost every day. These smugglers relied on hoarded salt to drive up prices, passing it off as salt from the salt depots and selling it to Winterfell at market prices. Every day, Winterfell could seize tens of thousands of copper coins, large quantities of silver stags, and even piles of copper pennies from the smugglers.

Cerwyn, the closest town to Winterfell, also caught salt smugglers. Cerwyn was only a day's ride from Winterfell. When Eddard announced the strict prohibition on private production and sale of salt, and ordered his vassals to arrest the smugglers who were hoarding goods and driving up prices, the news reached Cerwyn. Lord Medger Cerwyn immediately took action, arrested several smugglers, and personally escorted them to Winterfell.

"Lord Eddard, Cerwyn supports your Salt Ban. It was high time to take action against these disgusting smugglers," Lord Medger Cerwyn told Eddard when handing over the smugglers.

Cerwyn was located within a day's ride of Winterfell. House Cerwyn and House Stark had always enjoyed a close relationship, and Cerwyn always actively supported the orders of their liege lord, the Starks. This was because Cerwyn was too close to Winterfell; it would be most unwise to defy the liege lord's orders.

The Salt Ban also had little impact on Cerwyn itself, as the territory of Cerwyn was in the interior, and there were no salt mines, salt pans, or salt depots within its borders. When Eddard issued the Salt Ban, he promised that the Starks would forever provide salt for consumption to their vassals for free. The vassals could receive a share of the profits from the salt depots without having to bear the maintenance costs, which was even somewhat beneficial for Cerwyn, which did not produce salt.

Maester Luwin held two letters in his hands, "Lord Eddard, ravens from the Dreadfort and White Harbor arrived almost simultaneously, bringing letters from Lord Wyman and Lord Roose Bolton."

Eddard frowned, "What do the letters say?"

"Lord Wyman claims in his letter that he has found key evidence of the Dreadfort mixing private salt into the salt depots. The letter from the Dreadfort states that Roose Bolton has found smugglers from the Three Sisters who can prove that Lord Wyman colluded with customs officials to let salt from the Three Sisters and even the Vale flow into White Harbor, mixing it into the salt depots to defraud Winterfell of its wealth."

Lord Cerwyn, standing to the side, looked shocked, "Roose Bolton and Lord Manderly are still arguing over the salt depots? Do they not yet know about the Salt Ban?"

Eddard smiled, "Their fiefs are far from Winterfell; presumably, the ravens have not yet delivered the news." The escalation of the war of words between the Dreadfort and White Harbor was beneficial for the implementation of Eddard's Salt Ban.

The financial advisor, Klar, led a man over, "Lord Eddard, this is the glassmaker Ortega. He was born a slave in Myr. He relied on his exquisite glass craftsmanship to help his employer earn a vast fortune, and after saving enough money to buy his freedom, he operated a glass workshop in Braavos."

Ortega was short in stature, with gray hair and a goatee. He wore an exquisite black velvet coat, a purple mole-fur cloak, and a gilded belt around his waist, looking incredibly magnificent.

"You've had a hard journey!" Eddard brought Ortega into the study.

In the study, a servant brought ale for Ortega. Eddard sat opposite Ortega, and the financial advisor, Klar, sat beside Ortega.

Ortega downed the ale in one gulp, "Klar invited me to Winterfell to serve Lord Stark. I was hesitant at first because, in my impression, the North has always been frozen. You must know, I lived in Myr for half my life and moved to Braavos; I could endure the climate there, but Winterfell is even further north than Braavos."

"However, Winterfell is not as cold as I imagined. I always thought that Winterfell was frozen even in summer!"

"It is not that exaggerated!" Eddard took out a flagon and filled Ortega's cup, "Only north of the Wall is like that. The glassmakers of Myr are peerless in the world. Our Glass Garden in Winterfell uses the craftsmanship of Myrish glassmakers, allowing us to bring in vegetables every winter. If not for the glass from Myr, our winter in Winterfell would be even harder to endure."

Ortega stroked a ruby ring on his finger, "If Lord Eddard wishes to purchase glass, my shop in Braavos has some stock. If you want to expand the glass farm, I can supply it now. Of course, Lord Eddard, if you need glass panes, I can also craft the most perfect glass panes for you."

"In the palace of the Sealord of Braavos, there is a glass pane depicting the Doom of Valyria, which is my work. Lord Eddard, a glass pane is equivalent to painting on glass! This requires formidable craftsmanship, and the price is naturally not cheap. The normal price for a glass pane is its weight in gold, but since Lord Eddard is my friend, I can give you a discount."

Ortega tried hard to promote his glass panes. Eddard interlaced his fingers and placed them on his chest, "I believe in your craftsmanship. I need ordinary glass, and I also need glass panes. However, I am not looking to purchase them from you, but rather to have you make glass for Winterfell."

Klar smiled at Ortega, "Ortega, I may not have written it clearly in the letter. We need glass, but we need glassmakers even more. Lord Eddard will invest in you to build a glass workshop in Winterfell. Making glass for House Stark will definitely earn you more than you make in Braavos."

Ortega laughed exaggeratedly, "I was once a slave in Myr. After buying my freedom, I gained my liberty. I have my own glass workshop in Braavos, and my children are all skilled glassmakers. Why should I work for Winterfell? No, Lord Eddard, my business in Braavos is doing very well."

Eddard smiled, "My financial advisor Klar and my guard Syrio are both from Braavos, and I often read books about Braavos. I have heard that in the Guild of Artisans in Braavos, the most skilled craftsmen are prone to being squeezed out by their peers. Ortega, have you encountered this?"

Ortega sighed, "Those bastards are all jealous of me! In Myr, when I was a slave, my glass panes and Myrish lenses could sell for a high price because my status was that of a Myrish slave, and Myrish glass products are peerless in the world."

"When I finally bought my freedom and arrived in Braavos with my whole family, I lost the status of a Myrish slave, and my glass products dropped in price because of it. I joined the Glassmakers Guild, and the peers there would not allow me to advertise myself as a glassmaker from Myr, nor would they allow my glass to be priced higher than theirs. What kind of logic is that? They actually claim Braavos is a city of free men!"

Eddard leaned forward, "Ortega, stay and serve me. I will bestow upon you several manors near Winterfell, allowing you and your children to become lords. You can become a lord and take root in Winterfell."

Ortega's eyes widened, "A lord?"

For Ortega, who was born a slave, nothing was more attractive to him than a lordship. Ortega took a deep breath, "Lord Eddard, I will write to my family in Braavos right now and have them come to Winterfell."

(End of chapter)