Chapter 6: Chapter Six: Ronal

It is not warm in Winterfell even in summer, and the chill of morning and evening is often bone-deep, which is very unfriendly to someone like him who has been mixing in the Free Cities for many years. But fortunately, Winterfell and its jurisdiction are large enough. After Robb went south with his vassal army, this group of foreigners was even freer. According to authorization and winning the tournament, they could hunt in the surroundings and go deep into the forest. This gave him infinite pleasure. Braavos didn't have any forests, and trees couldn't be seen. Any wood there was precious, and burning wood for fire was unthinkable. He didn't miss it at all; life was truly too hard.

According to the requirements of the beautiful commander, for their hunting gains in the forest, they only need to hand over the fattest part of each to the Lord of Winterfell, the slow-walking boy Brandon. But in fact, most of them have to be handed over to the big-nosed steward of Winterfell, let him transfer them to the households around Winterfell in the name of the slow-walking boy, as compensation for foreigners disturbing their lives. A small part is left to be pickled or as a side dish for the officers.

Ronal felt the Northerners in the town loved them. Alas, how could they not love them? He had already spent a lot of gold he had painstakingly scavenged from all over the world here. If he stayed here and lived such a carefree life, it wouldn't be long before he had to rely on the Wolf Girl's salary to live and live a simple life. Thinking of this, he felt suffocated.

He originally thought there was no chance to spend money in this broken town, and worried about it for a while, but he was very wrong. These Northerners who looked wild and rude brought everything this group of battle-hardened warriors wanted from the surroundings—women, women, women.

Maybe only the boys who had ideas about the beautiful commander had bulging pockets.

Aside from those, he felt he loved hunting even more. The forest here is vast, the wilderness is wide, and there are prey and beasts he had never seen before. It is truly a hunter's paradise. It would be even better if Winterfell didn't limit the maximum number of prey they could hunt each time. A deer, a roe deer, three wolves, one-third of a bear, ten pheasants, ten wild ducks, five squirrels, and an unlimited number of wild boars. This is the limit Winterfell set for their hunting, or rather, this is the limit the beautiful commander set for them.

They always took wild boars as the hunting target, but used bears or deer to decide who was the best hunter. He only won three times, one of which was won by hunting a black bear with his team. But that time he lost miserably, forgetting that the bear's hunting quota had been used up, and finally had to pay three times the market price to pay the fine. What was even more uncomfortable was that in order to kill that bear, he also lost a servant and lost three hunting dogs. To settle these, he paid quite a lot of gold, which made his heart ache when he thought about it. Because of this recklessness, all the hunters later refused to rent hunting dogs to him. He could only pay a higher price and find hunters further away. To solve the problem of hunting dogs, he rented a farmhouse outside the city and hired servants to train them for him. However, the dogs were still puppies now, and at least half of them had to wait for training to be used.

Their hunting duration was usually three days, starting early on the first day and returning on the afternoon of the third day. Sleeping in the open during this period gave him quite a feeling of being on the battlefield, but this tension was false. They were in the North, carrying the hunting flag of the direwolf, and there was no danger at all except for wild beasts. During this period, chasing prey, issuing orders, and exploring the vast wilderness that had not been developed since ancient times made him feel the greatest pleasure in life. During the hunt, most small prey would directly become military rations and dog food, and a small part would be thrown to the hunters and farm owners along the way, or directly discarded to the common people here in exchange for other necessary supplies. He was already familiar with most of the residents around.

Besides hunting itself, he also loved the food, especially the food made from what he had obtained himself. He and his brothers had already developed various processing methods under the guidance of the eldest lady: roasting, pickling, stewing, boiling, braising, simmering, stir-frying. He swore that these eating methods would never make him tired.

The prey they couldn't handle would also be handed over to Winterfell. Part of it would be pickled to make stored food, and the rest would be processed directly. On the training ground, several barbecue racks were set up, the bonfire underneath was kept burning by maids, and the cleaned prey rolled on iron skewers, brushed with sauce over and over again... The internal organs were stir-fried, stewed, and boiled, placed in huge iron basins. They were constantly training and working in such a tempting environment. Although the people in Winterfell were decreasing, the heat of the firewood accompanied by the smell of meat was enough to drive away loneliness and boredom for everyone.

He knew that some brothers were already tired of the cold days here and the daily training, even though the treatment given by the eldest lady was not bad, and there were barbecues, bread, and buckwheat cakes that could be eaten to the full at any time. Cole Ruston was very tired of this, "How can this stable life be as exciting as drifting on the sea?" He left Winterfell a few days ago and returned to White Harbor.

Ronal sneered at this statement. This was a child's idea. When people were used to the wind, waves, danger, and boredom on the sea, anyone would want a more stable life. Of course, it would be even better if they could have fun things like hunting. He believed that as long as he followed this eldest lady, he would soon be able to obtain his own territory in this strange continent and hunt every day. Originally, he thought the Lord of Winterfell, Robb Stark, would take his sister south, and they would also get the opportunity to make contributions and be enfeoffed, but only seven people in their group got this opportunity, including his brother Roir. He would represent the eldest lady and contribute strength to the Young Wolf, which could be considered a token of his heart.

Roir's seven-man team performed only moderately among their many teams. They were prominent in mounted archery and running, but almost at the bottom in longswords and lances. When Roir just left, he congratulated him on his luck, but now he was worried. This was the only brother he had left.

The three brothers had been struggling on the streets of Pentos, training on the streets, beating people or being beaten on the streets. When they finally showed the courage to fear no death, they were hired and trained by warrior groups and began to serve various shameless fools, misers, and madmen. After the eldest lady recruited people in Braavos, the three of them boarded the ship as they wished. Along the way, they encountered various challenges, saw various sceneries along the way, completed various tasks, achieved various successes. When they thought they could continue to enjoy the scenery and achieve the next success, Rogar could only lie in Meereen forever, the place where slaves were produced. The three brothers also became two brothers. That was the team's big crisis. The Great Masters of Meereen were ready to turn them into property that could be exchanged for gold at any time, but under the sword of the eldest lady, the Great Masters could only submit. They not only took back Rogar's head but also won the golden head of the Harpy they were proud of. If he guessed correctly, this golden head was still hidden in the merchant's house in Qarth.

Treasuring other people's gods as toys is the highest level of enjoyment second only to hunting. He envied it extremely.

Now, he could only hope that Roir was safe and sound, and hope that the eldest lady's brother could also be as wise and brave as the eldest lady. But the Young Wolf left the eldest lady in Winterfell, which was almost stupid. Winterfell has two city walls, and between the two city walls is living water from the river. The defense is so strong that it is daunting. He didn't know how many times the power and how many people had to die to successfully capture this castle. Fortunately, they, as Mei's private army, didn't need to guard the city walls, otherwise these Northerners would have found frozen corpses guarding the city for them early in the morning.

Even if they didn't need to guard the city, other things were unavoidable. Now, the eldest lady is discussing with the maester to build a giant kiln for firing porcelain outside the city. Most of their time is to watch and organize the laborers. This is no longer a temporary decision. She had already found the mineral used to make porcelain on a small hill near Winterfell. According to her, "Those stones that cannot find gold, after fire and heat, they will transform, transform into precious porcelain."

Perhaps this is the source of the family motto "Fire and Heat" she designed.

In Ronal's impression, she would not let herself fall into leisure, nor would she easily let her attendant warriors be idle. She either guides her followers in swordsmanship, guides the laborers on how to build the furnace, assists the lord in handling territorial affairs, or treats the slow-walking boy, without stopping. Compared with this eldest lady, Ronal is more relaxed, but only a little. He has to complete daily training and daily learning tasks for his subordinates. Of course, if he is lucky enough to win in the weekly training ground, he has the right to hunt in the Stark hunting ground. The prey will be processed and placed on the barbecue rack, and the women left in Winterfell are happy to take care of these foods for them. The food that cannot be eaten will also be cut and added to the meals for long-term workers, clerks, and everyone around. Even the hunting dogs in Winterfell have the opportunity to enjoy it. He sometimes envies those long-term workers. According to his understanding, as the city defense commander and the chief of the lord, the eldest lady can completely conscript them without pay, but she still insists on providing bread meals and paying salaries. Sometimes salaries are even replaced by farm tools. Those are all good tools and should not be used by these loose farmers at all.

Although the eldest lady didn't look for women like warriors, undoubtedly, the speed at which she spent money was much faster than anyone else. Sometimes, Ronal felt that she would invest everything she earned from sailing into Winterfell. He didn't like this approach. Winterfell didn't belong to her from any angle. Why invest things that wouldn't belong to her in the end in this castle? His mouth was tight, and these would only be thought in his heart.

Although he was like this, some people might not be.

"Our good lady is taking care of her brother. It looks like she is not a sister, but a real mother. We, who believe in her, follow her, and are willing to travel north and south with her, now have to be servants for this little boy!" Tollemy held the training sword and slashed hard at the straw man, not turning his head to vent loudly to Ronal, "We find medicine for him, pick medicine, dry medicine. After a while, I think we have to wipe his ass." Ronal wanted to laugh a bit. When did he wipe someone's ass? It was always others wiping for him. The medicine matter had long been handed over to others, which was simply deliberately looking for trouble, "Look at his willfulness, don't know what trouble he will add to us! In my opinion, instead of wasting time here, it is better to break up in Braavos, buy a yard with a bag of gold? Damn it, I was really stupid to follow her to this shitty North." He turned to look at Ronal, feeling he was listening carefully, so he continued, "Even staying at the port, listening to the wind and rain and watching the performance, is better than this bird-not-shitting place!" He shouted, "Damn dog barking, ah, damn wolf!"

Ronal knew that not everyone liked it here, and not everyone could develop new hobbies here.

"You are really fierce, the straw man is almost scared away by you!" Ronal didn't care about his complaints at all, "If you want, you can leave now, a bag of gold is indispensable to you, not to mention, what you grabbed over the years is not small... You won't spend all the money on women, right?"

"Humph!" This was his reply.

"These money are almost enough to buy a few fast ships in White Harbor! You know, after you run a trip from Asshai, maybe you can also be like the eldest lady, get gold, ships, reputation, and even be a governor in the east. Damn, the red comet in the sky is sighing for you."

"Flatterer, you say it simply, why don't you go?" He looked up at the sky, "The red comet represents dragons! The old Nan in Winterfell and the wildling girl are actually of the same view as the eldest lady. Women's wild fantasies are all the same!" Tollemy was shirtless, staring at the straw man, sweat shining on his tight bronze skin.

"Wildling girl? You got this one too?"

"Is it difficult?" He smiled contemptuously.

"You didn't get the old Nan, right?"

"I even got the eldest lady! You stupid pig. It was kitchen Ali who said it."

The eldest lady will castrate you sooner or later. "Why did he tell you this?"

"Ronal, did you lose your brain from hunting?" He pulled the towel, wiped the sweat on his face hard, and threw it back, "Okay, we hugged, I told her, don't praise how majestic my chest hair is and how masculine it is, so she told me about the old Nan's view of the red comet. Are you satisfied?"

"Ah, I thought it was the gods pitying my brother, so they suddenly remembered after hundreds of days after his death to make up for the mourning and commemoration!"

"The one who died is the most reliable and handsome, but the one who survived is the worst, ugliest, and most unambitious. The gods are truly blind!" Tollemy slashed at the straw man left and right, very fast, "Rogar is an excellent warrior, but the red comet will not come for him."

"Because of dragons?"

"Because of the birth of dragons."

"I don't believe it."

"No one asked you to believe."

"Speaking of dragons, I remember on which ship we got a dragon egg?"

"That ship was named Summer Sea. You still remember the red priest on that ship," he wiped his sweat with the back of his hand, "It's truly moving. I have never seen such a beautiful woman. This doesn't count the chest. Anyway, the eldest lady is far behind. That thing is as big as this head!" The wooden sword pierced the straw man's head, the sword was steady and accurate. It was worthy of being the best swordsman. Ronal thought he couldn't do it, "The eldest lady said that after seeing the comet, she dreamed of dragons. As for the old Nan, listening to her stories, I was so scared that I couldn't sleep at night, just wanted to escape back to Pentos, close the door, and hide in bed for a lifetime."

"When did you listen to Northern stories?"

"Every time after finishing with Northern women."

No wonder scared. "What dream did the eldest lady say she had? Damn, can dreams be accurate?"

"What do you think?"

"In my opinion, it depends on who had the dream. If it was the three-eyed crow dreamed by a little boy, it naturally cannot be accurate. But if it is the eldest lady's dream, it is naturally different." Ronal looked at the blood-red red comet and its long tail, saying it was a dragon was also possible.

"I knew it, you are a flatterer. Flatterer Ronal, this nickname is really suitable. However, you are right. Some people's dreams really cannot be taken lightly. My mother told me since I was a child, stories of queens and witches, strange powers always like to manipulate big figures through dreams, so it is half true and half false, it depends on how you explain it."

"Then you also believe the red comet represents the birth of dragons?"

"I only believe that many self-righteous people will think the red comet is related to them. Rather than being complacent, I would rather believe it is cheering for dragons."

"Now there have been no dragons for hundreds of years!" Ronal knew that only the Targaryen family had dragons, but they had lost dragons for a long, long time. Now even whether dragons really appeared was doubted. He had heard in some foreign place that the so-called Aegon the Conqueror did not come riding a dragon, but rode a red priestess, set fire to defeat enemies one by one, and this became the King of the Seven Kingdoms.

"Maybe there have always been, maybe it's been a hundred and fifty years. If dragons are really hatched, you can rest assured, we will soon know who the master of dragons is." Or who the victim of dragons is.

"Then we must let the eldest lady protect our dragon egg. If true dragons are born, dragon eggs can be sold at a higher price. Ha, the eldest lady has good eyes anyway, and she refuses to sell the dragon egg no matter what. In Qarth, someone offered a price that could buy two warships!"

"Ours? It is the eldest lady's, not ours, and that is a fossil dragon egg. Even if the gods come, they can't get dragons out. I think it's because the dragon egg is too beautiful and took away the little girl's eyes." He seemed tireless, continuing to wave his sword, "In my opinion, it is better to sell it at a high price. Decorations are not as real as gold. Dragon eggs are just big and rough gems. You know, gems are the configuration of vain people. Warriors just need to keep their swords."

"Long-tongued Tollemy! I think the eldest lady will cut off your tongue sooner or later."

"Roar, my age is more than three times that of the little girl. If I can't call her a little girl like this, then I would rather return to Pentos and wipe the ass of the Sea Lord."

"What you need to explain is 'vain'? When was the eldest lady vain?"

"Tollemy never explains, just say what he wants to say." Tollemy held the wooden sword, motionless, as if confronting the straw man.

Tollemy's swordsmanship is superb, Ronal has always admitted. He served as a swordsman for the Sea Lord in Pentos for many years, but his mouth is not pleasing. For decades, he has never been successful, and finally, he boarded the eldest lady's ship in a gray manner. What Ronal doesn't understand is that his temper is increasing with his age, not even as good as his brother Roir.

"You have to—" How long do you want to stare at the straw man? Before he finished speaking, Tollemy stabbed the straw man three times with the sword, respectively at the head, neck, and chest of the straw man.

"I want to find a way to defeat the eldest lady. I have never lost to a woman in my life." Ronal smiled, but Tollemy didn't seem to be joking.

"You can challenge her at any time."

"Not today. She is angry! In my opinion, this is a good thing." Tollemy put away the wooden sword, circled the straw man, and made a defensive posture, as if that was the eldest lady.

"What good thing made her angry, did her brother want to marry her off?" Ronal felt a bit ridiculous.

"No, flatterer, it's another thing. I remind you, if you want to flatter well, don't call her 'Princess' in front of her. Her brother has been crowned 'King in the North'. This is why she is angry."

Can people still be angry like this? "She was still a bastard a few years ago, and now she has become the legitimate sister of the King, the princess of the country. Although there are three kingdoms, she is undoubtedly the only free one."

"She opposes the division of the country. I think it is more because she is worried that her brother will lose allies after wearing the crown and increase enemies for no reason. Look, she has been busy for her brothers, not this one, then that one. Heh, she has four. If she is so worried about every brother, she will soon not be my opponent."

"Then you should be happy!"

"Then you should be a fool!" Tollemy suddenly slashed the straw man horizontally again, and then quickly jumped to the side. Ronal didn't know to what extent he fought with the imaginary enemy, "These two days, ravens have been flying in and out. She must have conveyed her opinion, but young people, how many are willing to take back their ideas, unless they are bruised and battered. You should worry about your other brother!"

Roir is probably more willing to serve a king than a lord.

"Let us look forward to the success of King Robb's cause!"

"If the gods are merciful and let King Robb's cause succeed, it should let us go to the battlefield early. Roar, as far as I am concerned, wait for the little king to finish the war, we can get nothing. He won't think we took good care of his brother and give us a castle, right? If so, it is better to return to the Disputed Lands. Maybe I can also find a crown to wear!"

"You really shouldn't have followed her back to Westeros." Ronal felt that such a person should throw away all his gold and concentrate on fighting for others until he died on some inexplicable land.

"Don't think I don't know what you are thinking..." The gathering horn of Winterfell interrupted his words.

"Men follow women, why?" Ronal was not afraid of him, "The horn is blowing to the battlefield, I think it is the eldest lady who wants to go south."

He guessed correctly.

"We received a request for help from Lady Alysanne of Torrhen's Square. This lady said in the letter that they were surrounded by a large-scale invasion of ironborn, and the castle was in danger. Now, it is our turn to fight for those who stay in the North!" The eldest lady was in light armor, located in the deputy seat of the hall, but she was the real master.

"The Torrhen's Square family sent a large army to follow King Robb. We must never allow the ironborn to harass the rear." The little boy lord was a clean, thin child. He added solemnly in the main seat. As a child, the performance was already perfect.

"Winterfell has been taken away by Robb for the vast majority of the military strength. If we conscript brave forces near the castle and request assistance from surrounding princes, we can gather an army of two thousand people." This should be the work of the city defense commander, but the one who spoke was the old maester.

"Maester Luwin, conscripting an army is too wasteful of time. Soldiers value speed. I conscript forty of my subordinates, and then hire forty mounted warriors on the way south. As long as the direwolf flag is raised, when we arrive under Torrhen's Square, the number of people will not be lower than two hundred. For me, this is enough to defeat the invading pirates." The hall was silent, and she pondered for a moment, then said, "Lord, after I leave, please appoint Mikken as the city defense commander. Take good care of Rickon."

The person who controls everything in Winterfell has made a decision, and no one speaks.

"In addition, Maester Luwin, please use messenger ravens to notify Lady Dustin of Barrowton, let her summon the family army, fully block all retreat routes from Torrhen's Square to the Stony Shore, and remind her, just say, the warriors of her family who went south with Robb are too few and too old and very useless, let her think about the rest!"

"Yes, Commander!" Maester Luwin bowed and promised.

They came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

Ronal followed the crowd out. He knew that real tactics would never be arranged in such a hall.

"Everyone, this time we go out, don't wear iron armor. Gather outside the south gate in an hour. Prepare bows, crossbows, swords, daggers, and two quivers of arrows. Those who are late or the latest will dig latrines for the whole army! By the way, Yudo, remind Big Beard Cort to prepare two days of dry food for every warrior."

Ronal returned to the room quickly. He changed into a cotton-padded inner lining on his upper body, added a light goatskin vest, then a long-sleeved leather jacket set, and then it should be an inner pad of iron armor. But since it was light armor, the inner pad was omitted. He added another layer of leather row buttons, and finally the outer leather jacket. The lower body was much simpler. Except for small clothes, it was just two thin rat-skin pants, thick cotton socks, and long boots, windproof and warm, truly reliable.

With the longsword hanging on the side of his waist and the dagger inserted behind his belt, he took down the bow and crossbow hanging on the wall. He hung the crossbow on the belt on the other side. He also had a longbow, but the string had been released at this time, and it was too long, so he had to carry it in one hand, and hold two quivers of arrows in the other, ready to leave the city. This was originally the work of the attendant, but he hadn't chosen a good one.

He strapped his longsword to his waist and tucked his dagger into his belt, then took the bow and crossbow hanging on the wall, hooking the crossbow onto the other side of his belt. He also had a longbow, but its string was slack, and it was simply too long, so he had to carry it in one hand while clutching two quivers of arrows in the other, ready to leave the city immediately. This was originally a task for a squire, but he had never managed to pick a suitable one.

They waited at the chaotic city gate. Green Beard was the last one to arrive at the hall among their group, but there were people later than him, which made him slightly relieved. Digging latrines for the whole army was not glorious.

"These are all good things to fight pirates!" Xia Er, who was already prepared, leaned to his side. This guy was smiling and full of confidence, similar to his dead brother. He should be a businessman in Pentos instead of coming to this cold place to fight.

"Heh, the real good things are only javelins. Of course, I heard that the madmen of the Iron Islands like to throw axes. The powerful ones can use flying axes to shave people! This time, I must grab an axe to practice." His relaxed tone made his subordinates laugh.

Tollemy also gathered together. "That is truly terrible. I remember the pirate leader of the Queen of Saltpans. He threw axes well, and javelins were also powerful. The little girl also praised it." He was a bachelor swordsman and didn't want to bring any subordinates.

The eldest lady was also in light leather armor, with a single-handed longsword hanging by her side, and a light gray cloak in her right hand. The noisy city gate quieted down after she appeared.

"Robers, you won the prize this time." She ignored a group of wailing, "After waiting for so long, finally there are pirates to fight. We have all been waiting anxiously, right?"

So they set off in laughter. ===== CHAPTER 7 =====

And so, amidst loud laughter, they set off.