Chapter Ten
For the Guest Reviewer: Thank you for the one who suggested Coffee beans. That is brilliant! I had no idea however where in the world does vanilla raw material came from though. And how are dyes made?
…..
"Are you meaning to tell me that you're using this as a what? A wake-up fruit?" Delianah's voice is literally dripping with sarcasm. The farmer however in front of her either is extremely dull or is simply ignoring her attitude as he beams like a small puppy nodding his head vigorously.
"Yes your ladyship, each homestead here have been growing it in abundance in our personal gardens. Quite handy mind you my lady for keeping us awake. The bitter taste is enough to wake up a fully grown man for an entire day's of work at the field,"
"I….I see, that's…good, I guess," replie the Lady of Harrenhal eyebrow twitching in no small amount of annoyance.
Here she is doing her best, introducing new crops and ways to serve as a foundation of her ruling when all the while, there is an entire fortune simply sitting here at her backyard undiscovered. A gold mine that the morons have been unable to exploit due to lack of knowledge.
Delianah by accident have stumbled upon coffee beans when visiting one of the homesteads here at the former lands of Darry.
"We grow them in Essos by the dozen my lady. The Good Masters forces us to swallow them when we work to prevent us from slacking or falling asleep. We have brought a lot of them here and followed the practice my lady. It would not do after all if we repay your kindness with not putting our best effort on these lands you have freely given us,"
"Of course, of course," Delianah waves off to the farmer. "And might I ask, do every homestead have these? And how many are there that you have harvested already?"
"Hmm, lemme see. I guess every homestead have this my lady in large amounts. We have shared the practice after all to our Westerosi counterparts and they also love the practice as it helps them on their work. As for many there are; last I checked we have dozens of sacks of these beans my lady at our homestead alone,"
"That's an interesting concept sir….?"
"Brine my lady," the man finishes. "And no ser for that. I am no lauded knight after all but a free man loyal to you and to my homestead,"
"Very well mister Brine. I will tell you that I am pleased of your concept of work and your produce. In fact mister Brine I would encourage you to plant more of these beans that you have shown me,"
"My lady?" the farmer asks quite confused at the pleased smirk adorning Delianah's face.
"Also I would like to buy from you some of the sacks of these beans that you have in store," says Silvanna already waving to one of her guards to step forward carrying her "Purse" a very large sack filled with coins.
"H-how many would you like to buy my lady?" the farmer asks nervously as Delianah opens the sack fishing out a handful of gold dragons
A predatory smile appears on the beautiful young face of the lady of Harrenhal. "All of it!"
….
Floki would like to believe himself a simple man. He loved ships, loved building them especially. Born unto slavery, Floki learned quickly that the best way to not have a dragon carved into the side of your skull was to do your best at the least amount of time. Owned by one of the Volantene Masters, he had been trained as a craftsman and a shipwright ever since he learned how to walk. Floki realized then that he had a talent for designing and making ships.
His master however did not appreciate his "new designs" when he presented them to him. He preferred the trusty and reliable ship designs of the current age. Thus he carved a dragon on the side of Floki's skull as punishment for wasting his time. The opposite side of Floki's head was carved bloody when his master did not like him brooding.
"Smile a lot Floki! Laugh a lot Floki before I open your mouth ear to ear," he once said. Ever since then Flok giggled and laughed, a defense mechanism to avoid having more parts of him torn apart by the carving knife.
For years he slaved under his master with the other shipwrights and even got into his life, Helga, one of the maids as his lover. Helga was kind and compassionate, and was not afraid of Floki's eccentric behavior. She loved him and Floki loved her in return.
He was one of those sold at Volantese to Lord Viktor, Castellan of Harrenhal. Here he, along with the rest of the slaves got into their new life in freedom. For the first time in his life, Floki was free. No more the fear of the carving knife biting into his skull and ripping apart skin, flesh and bone. No more nasty masters shouting at him, throwing shit at him or asking him to bark like an animal. Instead as he lived his new life as a shipwright here at the shores of the former lands of Darry, what he got instead was polite people and small folk asking him to repair their small boats that they were using on their day to day lives. It is a good life, a boring life, a life of peace and plenty that Floki would not change for anything in the world.
Then she came, their liberator, looking extremely young and small compared to the large men-at-arms and personal bodyguards of Lord Viktor. Before, Floki simply admired her from afar, an unknown person with a name and without a face. He would forever be grateful though and loyal, that was something that would never change. When she came though asking him if he would build her a boat, he opened the gates of his heart. His long time desire given free rein as long as it served her needs. He was given men to command, him a former slave who had nothing on his name in order to fully utilize his talent in the highest order. Floki would do as she says. She gave him a month to finish her demands. Floki will do it in three days. Despite the now lacking presence of the carving knife, the urgency it pronounced on its bones to work as fast as possible can never be erased.
Still one thing remained true for Floki though as he finished setting up the last of the sails of the six boats he finished for his goddess. Floki loved his liege and he would never fail her in any way.
….
Bay of Seals- South of the Vale
If somebody would tell Delianah that one day she would be sailing on an actual Longship, she might have jinxed them. As it is though, she does her best not to hurl her guts out at the side of the boat once more. Put her in the air zipping at a hundred miles per hour and she would not flinch. Make her look down from the top of the highest tower of Harrenhal, she would not balk.
Put her on a ship though and let's just say the former esteemed Man-who-Conquered does not fair well. Her experience with ships as Harry the Great on sailing vessels before was almost non-existent. Why bother using ships after all when you can simply fly over oceans with brooms or a flying carpet? Or better yet, apparate or floo for instantaneous travel.
Right now however none of the three is an option as the Longship breezes through the harsh waves freely.
Suffice it to say, Floki's work result is exceptional. Delianah after all asked from him a hard requirement to meet. The boats must be small enough after all to be able to sail the narrow routes of the Riverlands but also must be wide and large enough that they would be able to carry large amounts of cargo while braving the sea. It must also be flexible enough to escape pirates. Once after all a trade route is established, it tends to attract thieves like flies on meat.
The result of her demands from Floki is the Longship. Small enough to sail the rivers of the Riverlands unopposed but also able to sail the seas with incredibly high speed.
"Are you alright my lady?" asks a concerned Amelia, handing Delianah a handkerchief which she immediately takes wiping off the drool that is still sticking on her lips.
"I will be," groans the Lady of Harrenhal unhappily trying to pull herself together despite the rocky motion of the Longboat. Apparently she neglected to include the comfort part from her list of demands at Floki and is now paying the price for it.
"Come here my lady and lean on me," Amelia gently urges her which Delianah acquiesces without much protest as she leans on the rather firm but soft bosom of Amelia.
Amelia suffice to say the least is the cousin of Lord Viktor and one of the Green Men population. Suffice it to say that the Lord Castellan of Harrenhal isn't happy with her decision to personally sail to the North alongside with the first of the Harvest. That is why he's sending Amelia, since he has to remain at Harrenhal to make sure that everything continues to be up and running while she goes to the North. Delianah is certainly not complaining.
"Where in the world is she all this time?" is Delianah's first thought when she was introduced to the pale beauty. Amelia back on earth might have been labeled a natural Russian beauty. Pale skin, hair tied to a bun at the back of her head, flexible and well-endowed (Zita Gorog from Underworld Inspiration). She is fifteen years old, closer to Delianah's age and prefers to wear the familiar green leather of the Green Men with a sabre at her side. Unlike the others though, hers is rather form hugging, a kind of trend that many of the more "rebellious" women back at Harrenhal is wearing, inspired fully by her outfit from the Riverrun Harvest Feast.
Delianah's preference after all remained the same even though she is born in this new body. She is after all still Harry Potter and Harry Potter prefers women. In fact one of Delianah's major frustrations in this new life of hers is the rather large absence of sex life. Harry Potter after all loves visiting Veela Enclaves for good reason back then. In her babyfied age though, she can't do any of her usual activities without being labeled (even by himself) as messed up in the head. Thus the long stretch of Celibacy until she's got her first moon blood at least (something which she is not looking forward at).
Still the presence of Amelia is greatly appreciated in this stretch of her journey. Nothing can stave off a dreary journey than the presence of a beautiful young woman at your presence. Besides, it seems that the cousin of Lord Viktor rather likes her presence judging from the slender arms around her smaller frame pulling Delianah to herself.
If she is a Lord Paramount, her presence would not be needed, however as simply one of Lord Tully's Bannermen, it is expected of her to show up if she plans to establish a trade agreement here. She would be dealing after all with the Starks of Winterfell, the Lord Paramounts of the North. Despite being a Tully herself, she had never interacted with Catelyn, the wife of Lord Eddard Stark. Thus she would find no preferential treatment in the North, thus her presence here on this vessel of nightmares that bucks heavily against the rather large waves. She has to give it to Floki though, no matter the size of the the waves, the longboat cuts through it like fishes on water, never wavering on its fast speed.
Still though,…
"How long till we reach White Harbor?" Delianah glumly asks as she leans more on the warmth that Amelia provides.
"Two days my lady if the weather holds," answers the young woman. "Look my lady, far ahead is Gullstone and belongs to the…..,"
Delianah tunes her out of her effort on distracting her of the sea sickness she is feeling. She just hopes that the Raven that Lord Viktor arrives before she does at White Harbor. No one at White Harbor after all expects five longboats to come sailing into their ports unannounced.
…..
Pieck, his name is just Pieck before when he is a simple administrator at Lys as a slave. His former masters at Lys taught him his numbers in order for him to be well-suited for his job. They of course cut off a little bit of his fingers every time he fails his tests. Now all, but two of his fingers at his left hand are gone before he became good at his job.
Now his name is Pieck Harbormaster here in this fast growing homestead at Rice Point as the other folk call it. Once it had been the home of Ship Master Builder Floki. However once the orders from the Lady of Harrenhal came about the building of the newly designed ships, men flocked here at the call of Floki. Where men flocked, business also followed and everything else that might be needed to accommodate the pleasures of life.
In the end, the once isolated area became a large town as the standing order of Delianah about the building of more longships increased. Now instead of the rickety walkway to the waters; harbors made of wood and planks filled the river edge where dozens of Longships were moored and constrained. At the shoreline, skeletons of more of the ships were laid out as Floki supervised the shipwrights and their aides . The town behind him were booming with the large number of people. Rice's Point would be the center of Rice Trade of Harrenhal to the North once the green light from their lady comes. Already large warehouses were being constructed to house the rather large shipments of rice from the former lands of Darry, Roote and Wode. Houses were also slotted to be constructed to house the hundreds of workers that would be essential to the continuing of the business on the new large homestead.
Being a large soon to be ready homestead, it was slotted to Pieck Harbormaster as its new head thanks to his administration skills that was needed in order to organize the homestead to the criteria set by Lord Viktor. It was quite overwhelming in fact for the once slave of Lys. From nothing, he now commanded respect and obedience from other people who would follow his orders without question. Her Lady wherever she was right now was truly worthy of adoration and respect. Pieck just hoped that his best on maintaining the rice trade to the North once it started be good enough to that he will not in any way disappoint her.
…..
White Harbor, The North
Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North inhales the familiar sea breeze as he stands at the edge of the pier overlooking the wide seas that lead Westward. Such smell brings nostalgic memories of his time in the Vale when he and Robert would sneak out from under Lord Arryn's nose and sail on the seas with a "Borrowed" boat. You have to give it to Robert, the man was a fine sailor as he was a warrior. No surprises there, he was raised in Storm's End after all.
The sound of laughter behind him made Ned Stark smile as he observes his eldest son Robb poring over some ledgers with Lord Wyman Wanderly tutoring him. The boy is growing fast and dutiful. He would make a fine Warden of the North one day. The sound of shouting behind him however made Ned Stark wince as he espies Jon, his "Bastard" and nephew in secret helping the other workers carry the crates from one of the docking ships to the harbor with that familiar grim countenance that all Starks are known for. Normally he might had been poring over the ledgers and learning with Robb if not for his status. As it is, the lad wanted to be useful instead of sitting down and doing nothing, thus the labor.
Eddard Stark has always makes it a point to tour the Houses of the North every now and then. It prevents the other Lords from slacking off with their work and responsibilities, plus it always affirm their loyalty to House Stark. Northeners after all love to brag (on the rare occasion when they are gathered), and what's more to brag than having your liege lord visit your keep?
This year however, Ned Stark had brought Robb and Jon with him, the former is because of his responsibility to lead the North one day. The second, is to get Jon away from Catelyn. The woman it seems was truly unable to get over the fact of his hatred towards his "bastard". It's quite surprising seeing how caring and loving she can be to her children and to the other children of their servants on Winterfell. When he found out that Jon had been forced to sleep alongside with the dogs, Ned had enough. He cannot fully demand his lady wife to stop but he can give Jon a break. Thus why he brought him on this trip.
The two after all can learn a lot here. White Harbor is the seat of House Manderly and one of the most important supply lines of the North. Here almost all of the trade by sea that goes North lands. Despite its rather Southern practices, it remains as one of the North's most loyal and Wyman Manderly had been Ned's friend for many years. It is also well-guarded thanks to having the largest population out of all the towns of the North, it can almost be called a small city.
"My lord, my lord!" the sudden appearance of a runner wearing the Manderly's coat of arms appeared heading to Wyman stopping the discussion between him and Robb as he hands over the letter. Curious Ned Start walks to him as Wyman Manderly opens it.
"Everything alright?" Ned Stark asks the moment he gets close.
"Yes my lord, yes. Just an unusual message my lord from the Maester,"
"Unusual?"
"Yes. We've got ships incoming to the dock. It is simply a heads up for my house in order to avoid complications," answers Wyman with a sigh.
"Interesting, and where are these ships from and who do they belong to?" asks Ned. His attention however is cut off as two horn blasts sound from the watchtower overlooking the harbor.
"UNKNOWN SHIPS SPOTTED ON THE HORIZON MY LORD!" the loud watchman specifically chosen for his voice shouted from above.
"They're here? How can they be so here so fast?" Wyman murmurs more to himself as he strides forward to the dock, his men-at-arms following him completely leaving Ned Stark's question unanswered.
"Father?" seven-year old Robb Stark looks at him questioningly with Jon Snow at his side.
"Stay behind me," Ned simply says before walking off to where Wyman Manderly is standing at the docks with his men.
As he looks at the horizon though, he can espy three boats, almost like small ships sailing fast through the waters, rows at their sides urging the ships along across the icy waters of the North. Eddard "Ned" Stark however has never in his entire life of experience seen ships of their design. It is not the build of the vessels however that catches his attention but rather the sigil painted on the square sails of each vessel. It is a sigil that he is familiar with, a silver trout on a field of green.
"What in the world is House Tully doing here with those ships?" he asks no one in particular as the first of the ships easily reach the edge of the harbor.
….
Harrenhal Castle, or what's left of it.
"Excuse me, you want us to create what?" Matthew blinks in confusion as one of the so-called Green Men who are "supervising" the designs of the "hill" with the weird archways and contraptions nods in affirmation.
"Yes, we would like you to build them on the required specifications as indicated on the plan here," he gives to Matthew a large roll of paper that the Master Builder deftly takes before opening. Immediately his eyebrows start twitching in annoyance.
"You want us to build ladders?" his voice can almost relate to the disbelief in his voice. The Green-Man however seems not to notice it or simply ignores it.
"Yes," he nods sagely. "There are certain parts of the hill that my companions need to reach in order to plant seeds. The ladders must be moveable so that we can use the archways as bases on the different sides. Okay?"
Matthew can say nothing but gurgles as his frustration is almost reaching boiling point. As it is, he just nods in defeat at the Green Man. Why bother protesting after all if his name is not the one that is going to be placed on this bloody contraption of a castle.
,…
Author's Note: Hope ya like this chapter, Enjoy.