Chapter 164

The Duke and his heir were walking side by side on the small road to the Dreadfort, when the guards occasionally stepped forward to report the speed of the troops behind, hinting that the Duke should speed up or slow down.

Laimude had been promoted by him to captain of the guard, but after he set foot on the northern lands, he forgot his own status and considered himself a petty follower of the heir's guard deputy captain, Leo; this led the Duke to conclude that he was an incompetent wretch unfit for the captain's position.

He was the sole boring presence on the journey.

They set foot on this cobblestone-paved road thirty li from the port; some of the stones had been laid there over a thousand years ago. Floods had washed away this ancient road, but the Boltons never abandoned the Dreadfort's road to the port; after each flood they always repaired the damaged sections, thanks to the raised banks and dredged channels, and in recent years the floods have gradually vanished from the north bank, so the Weepingwater has at least stopped making the northern lords and peasants weep.

The warhorses trod leisurely on the ancient, hard cobblestone surface; if the Duke remembered correctly, he had heard since childhood that this road also had a foundation, whose construction far exceeded his understanding: people repeatedly compacted the earth, set up stone edges and drainage ditches at the sides of the road, then continued to compact layers of earth, gravel, and cobblestones. If he heard correctly, there were even some practices that astonished the Duke, namely that every bit of earth beneath the surface had to be steamed before it could be used.

To this day the Duke cannot fathom why the earth must be steamed, for no one has ever told him.

When the road was finished, its surface was paved with huge grey bricks, from the Dreadfort all the way to the seaside port, and the carriageway was much wider than it is now—so wide, it was said, that two carriages could travel side by side.

Now, no matter how it is measured, no width sufficient to accommodate two carriages side by side can be found.

The road's edges have been overgrown by plants; in places one can see the forest slowly devouring the verges of the ancient track. The legendary huge grey bricks have long vanished, leaving only neat rows of upright cobblestones. In the gaps between the cobblestones grow green moss and tiny grasses, keeping a damp, dark hue.

Because of them, the hoofbeats are not as loud.

"The Starks forbid us to conduct foreign trade through Bolton Port, although they have already completely destroyed Bolton Port," the Duke felt that at this moment he had returned to the embrace of the old gods, and he spoke in a cold tone to the young man who would inherit the Bolton family, recounting what had happened on this land beneath his feet—this is something the former house head owes to the future house head; as long as he remains the head of the Bolton family, he bears this obligation, although many heirs forget their obligations: "Rebuilding the port is prohibited, but they did not forbid us to maintain the roads, so we persist in investing in the east, retaining an outward passage." For the time being the passage seems useless. "Do you know why we invest? Maintaining the roads is never easy."

We need eastern trade.

That is an ordinary answer.

"You're right, the life and hope of the Boltons lie in the east," the Boltons have no trade in the east, "the whole world lies to our east; without the east we can only become ordinary vassals of the Starks."

"I understand, my lord. I hope to see the day when Bolton Port is reopened," the heir said firmly.

Those words gave a little comfort, but the Duke still had to remind him, "A Bolton without Bolton Port is not a great Bolton, and a Bolton without Bolton Port cannot become a true Red King, nor a true King of the North." What more, a King of the Seven Kingdoms?

"Yes, my lord, I think I've understood a little," he smiled at the corner of his mouth, not knowing whether it was mockery or confidence, but since he is his own heir, the Duke need not doubt his motives, whatever they are. "But now I would rather first defeat the she-wolf, completely settle the western Starks, heh, and also their terrible, stubborn allies."

"As for military affairs, we'll discuss them when we return to the castle." When he returns to the castle, perhaps Tybert Lannister from the north will also return with his spoils. Tybert Lannister will never allow himself to be sidelined from the council.

Hmph, even the core strategy will not unfold in the open council.

After passing through the jungle-blocked ancient road, traversing continuous hills and winding stone causeways, the world began to feel within reach. The Duke felt everything was refreshing and invigorating.

The rushing, crashing sound of the Weepingwater's waters passed over the thickets and cheerfully reached the Duke's ears.

The surging waves battered the cliffs.

This passage was hewn out of the solid rock; the chisel marks of that time still remain on both cliff walls, like shafts dug downward. The Duke could not say whether the credit for the passage belonged to the Boltons or to the earlier Children of the Forest.

If it were the Children of the Forest, that would contradict the records, for they only had stone tools and could not quarry rock; if they used magic, they would not deliberately leave obvious chisel marks on the cliff walls. But if it were not the work of the Children of the Forest, the cliff walls would not need to retain characters that no one can read.

Did the ancients need to learn how the Children of the Forest carved indecipherable pictures or letters onto stone cliffs? The Duke did not know.

At least part of the quarried rubble was used to level the road leading to the Dreadfort.

A base entirely built from huge stones forms the main body of the passage, bearing the impact of the Weepingwater River; if the Weepingwater River's water level were higher by several tens of feet, it could flood the passage, but the clear water marks left on the rock wall make it easy to see where the Weepingwater River's maximum capacity lies, and he need not worry that the Weepingwater River will flood this crucial passage.

Scattered solitary peaks surround the rivers that converge here.

The cliffs tower high, and the cypress pines are lush and green.

Only by moving away from here can one truly see the magnificence and grandeur of this place.

The Weepingwater River flows deep into the eastern continent of the Northern Lands, here absorbing several streams that flow down from the Lonely Mountain; the rushing water scours and mingles against the cliffs, and at the base of the mountain rock it impacts, creating a huge dark cavity that, under the tumult of the water flow, emits a savage "boo-hoo-hoo" sound, like a giant sitting and lying here, weeping.

The unique sound gives this river its exclusive name, the Weepingwater River (weepingwater).

When the duke was young, he thought that within a few years the current would cleave the mountains before him, but decades have passed and the mountain still sits firmly there, possibly unchanged for thousands of years.

"I have heard many people say that giants hide in the cave." Li Kebodun, after looking at the magnificent sight before him, spoke, "I originally did not believe it, but who could prove that there is nothing inside? The water flow there is too fierce, and no boat dares to approach."

The speaker is his own heir; the duke need not respond with coldness, nor need he refute the mockery, and besides, what he said makes some sense, for he too had heard the same rumor when he was young.

There are no giants inside.

"I have heard other rumors," the duke stood still, gazing at the surging floodwaters rushing and colliding between several solitary peaks, "That dark maw is actually a demigod monster that feeds on human fear; legend says it roamed the lands of the Northern Lands, its footsteps covering the entire Northern Lands, and one day it finally halted its steps, choosing to remain here forever." The duke turned his gaze toward his own heir, "What do you think makes the monster choose to stay here?"

Li Kebodun looked at the duke and shook his head doubtfully.

"Rumor has it that only the Terror Fortress continually produces fear," the duke introduced this to him, it is quite normal that the heir does not know, he had previously introduced this to Duo Mikeli, he is confident he will not have the patience to say it a third time, for that would be too hurtful, "This is the saying of the Red Kings. Hehe, some Red Kings always feel that unfamiliar spirits are more useful, so when they learn of this news they tentatively offer sacrifices to it, believing that as long as they provide fear to this fear‑loving evil god, it will repay them."

"Is the repayment useful?" Li Kebodun asked.

"What do you think?"

"Probably not useful, otherwise……"

"Not bad; otherwise, Bo Dun would throw all the people of the Northern Lands into its mouth." The duke gazed blandly at the river, a thin layer of mist shrouded the mountains, "It is not a complete casting in, but rather leaving their skins before casting them in."

"It seems these Red Kings are still too stingy, actually using what they don't want as tribute."

The joke successfully made the duke laugh. Everyone may fear him, but his own heir need not.

"I guess there are also many people surnamed Stark thrown in; I'm not sure whether any skins were left." The winter water volume is not as great as summer's, but the grandeur has not diminished; however, we should also thank the reduced water volume, otherwise the black mouth of the cave might be hard to see in full, "In the most frigid times, the Weepingwater River also freezes," all the rivers of the Northern Lands freeze, harder than the hardest rock, "At that time, one can approach the cave mouth; you certainly have not gone in," Better not have, "I can tell you my discoveries inside."

The heir showed a look of shock.

"Everyone has curiosity, I am no exception, especially when young." Duo Mikeli also does not know this story, because at that time he had no interest in this, and he disliked his father's long-windedness, "I led people through the ice and snow, stepped onto the frozen river surface, slowly approached the cave mouth; do you know what I discovered?"

"Treasure, or skeletons?"

The duke laughed.

"The bottom of the cave mouth is filled with river water, already frozen, so we can tread carefully on the ice blocks into it." "The cave is dark, almost impossible to see the bottom; we carried torches and candles, feeling our way forward," "I felt that years had passed when I reached this point, but that is surely an illusion; likely my tension caused a mistaken perception, in reality it is at most the distance from the front gate to the back gate of the Terror Fortress." "We saw a staircase; who would build a staircase there?" "At the time we did not even think about this question, only feeling that we had discovered a miracle——it is unnecessary to say anything about this process, we truly discovered a miracle——" "We followed the staircase, pushed open the tightly shut palace gate; the palace gate was made of fish‑beam wood, a pallid white, and even in candlelight it remained pallid——" "We entered a larger space; there it was not cold, but rather warm, like the hot springs hall of the Terror Fortress."

Li Kebodun was already enthralled by the story.

"Now let me answer your question." The duke lowered his storytelling tone, pulling Li Kebodun out of the cave, "Inside lie only small skeletons, of course there are skulls, and many; the skulls crumble at a touch, we determined that this is the nest of the Children of the Forest, a true historical relic; we found in it bone flutes, their weapons, dragon crystal, their stone weapons, which clearly came from nearby volcanic rock; besides, we also found some incomprehensible earthenware objects, and if you regard these as treasures, then they are treasures." The duke fixed his gaze on the heir's eyes, "Things are often like this: when you expect nothing, a little thing can delight you immensely; but in the end, if you expect too much, disappointment grows greater, and I hope this story has not disappointed you."

"This winter is coming soon; perhaps I can also go in to have a look." Li Kebodun said with a smile.

"Since I have entered the cave mouth, I have begun to believe it is a monster. It did not come here on its own; it is being suppressed here by the Children of the Forest."

"Sir, you are not joking, are you?"

The duke showed a smile, nodded, then turned the horse's head, indicating to continue the journey.

After passing through the rumbling 'weeping' narrow valley, they could see the Terror Fortress towering above the hills, and the Terror Fortress itself was another sight.