"Well done!"
Walda's victory drew cheers from everyone in House Umber. Even Andarley, his face bruised and swollen and his steps hobbled by a limp, looked proud to share in her glory. He was so excited that his red hair almost seemed to stand on end.
"I never thought that pack of weasels in House Frey could produce such a fine woman! Is she really one of their own?!"
Earl Andrey seemed long accustomed to watching his son take a beating. He appeared not to care in the slightest, and instead showed tremendous appreciation for Walda.
The bout also made the atmosphere livelier. The women of House Umber all gathered around Walda, chatting warmly with her. Their friendliness left her a little embarrassed, and she could not help regretting that she might have hit a bit too hard.
"Earl Andrey, on my way here, I noticed a great deal of quality timber around Last Hearth. Roughly how much do you fell each year?"
As the northernmost lords in the Seven Kingdoms, House Umber's main products were pine, oak, and other hardwoods from their lands. These were all excellent timbers for building oceangoing ships.
Earl Andrey held nothing back in response to Danyla's question and answered plainly,
"The North has poor soil. All Last Hearth really has to offer is timber and some beast fur. We can fell a dozen or so shiploads each year. To save on transport costs, we float the timber straight down the Last River to its mouth and sell it to timber merchants from Braavos."
"The shipyards there need vast quantities of quality timber every year, so demand always outstrips supply. And it isn't just House Umber. Almost every house in the North with abundant timber does the same."
"Braavos?"
Geographically speaking, buying timber from the