Dragonglass Lesser Demons

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, House Flint Castle.

About two weeks had passed since Eddard began renovating the Alchemy Workshop. During that time, "Eel" Ralf and his men had worked out the complete cement production process and the firing conditions it required.

More than twenty people now worked in the Alchemy Workshop, and most of the able-bodied young men among them were former miners. Although Eddard had offered double wages, some miners still refused to return to that terrifying place.

Those people from the Bloodheart Clan had been truly terrifying. Had the miners not known that their bodies had all been burned, even more of them would probably have refused to go to the mines. However, Eddard did not need many people to reopen the mines this time. After all, their only job now was to watch over the prisoners and the Dragonglass Lesser Demons.

Strenuous work such as hauling ore could now simply be left to Arcane Power Two. Once Eddard reached the mines, the mine carts would also be completely modified so they could be pulled straight up from the bottom of the shafts. Cableways or rails might be added later, but all of that depended on high iron and steel output. With the territory's current output, none of it was possible.

Flint's Finger was particularly lively today, because Eddard had publicly announced that he would soon reopen the mines. This exciting news was a very important matter to the people of Flint's Finger.

Over this period, Eddard's plan to renovate the outer town had begun to show results, starting with the establishment of the Alchemy Workshop. Although wooden fences still enclosed its perimeter, the main buildings inside, constructed from cement and rubble stone, made many of the townspeople deeply envious.

Without an increase in iron and steel output, building houses with steel-reinforced concrete was something Eddard did not even dare contemplate. He had nearly exhausted the territory's entire stock of iron ingots to manufacture the Stirling engine. Maester Albert had nagged him about that alone for a long time, though things would improve considerably once the mining operation was established.

Meanwhile, in the castle's Council Hall, Eddard was counting the Dragonglass Lesser Demons. After fifteen days of summoning and modification, he had created another forty-five.

Although these creatures looked terrifying, their intelligence was truly abysmal. For instance, if Eddard told them to lift something, they would keep holding it unless he ordered them to put it down. They would never let go on their own.

Once Eddard reached the mine, he would have to retrain these Dragonglass Lesser Demons properly. Otherwise, they might well keep digging in the same place. Without an order to stop, they would simply end up buried beneath collapsing ore.

Whenever he thought of this, Eddard felt a headache coming on, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He alone could train the Dragonglass Lesser Demons, because as their numbers increased, they had begun to display a degree of organization. Apart from orders from Eddard, their creator, weaker beings could not command them at all.

Knock, knock, knock...

As Eddard considered his subsequent plans, a soft knocking suddenly reached his ears, so he waved the Dragonglass Lesser Demons into a corner to hide.

"Come in!"

Creak...

As the door opened, Maester Albert's aged figure appeared before Eddard. After bowing to him, Maester Albert spoke directly.

"Lord Eddard! I need to tell you that your supplies and gold dragons are nearly exhausted. If you intend to continue certain plans of yours, I will have no choice but to draw on your private treasury. The next taxes will not be collected for another month.

"If it doesn't snow, things will be a little better. If it does, our production may grind to a halt, and then we'll have nothing left!" The farther north one went in the North, the colder the climate became. Although this world had no clearly defined four seasons, snow still fell around the end of the year at Flint's Finger. When that happened, the wheat harvest might decline, and the clanspeople in the Western Mountains would also venture out to raid.

"Then do we have enough food stored?"

"Food is not a problem. We could even use all the surplus grain to brew alcohol. It is just that we may not have enough money to pay the wages for the various construction projects."

That was Maester Albert's answer to Eddard's question. This problem could be minor or serious. Although they could owe the commoners their wages for now and pay them after the taxes were collected, such conduct would damage their lord's credibility to some extent and might also affect subsequent work.

"I've already found a solution to that problem. Once that Rogers Ryswell returns to Barrowton, some merchants there will come here to buy our cement. And by the time they arrive, our new steel should also be able to bring us some income."

Eddard's answer eased Maester Albert's expression somewhat. Then he turned his gaze toward a corner behind Eddard.

Whenever Maester Albert looked at those Dragonglass Lesser Demons, he felt a sense of unreality, as though he were inside an illusory dream.

Yet whenever Maester Albert touched the Dragonglass Lesser Demons and studied the Parasite Demons, the sensation of contact felt utterly real.

"Will these terrifying monsters really help us mine? They won't kill all those miners, will they?"

"My dear Maester Albert, you should have seen these wretched things' weaknesses yourself. They have no resistance whatsoever to fire or bright light, so I intend to make some glass Dragonglass lamps for our miners. That way, when they're in the mines, there will be no danger of an explosion, and they can use the lamplight to guide these ugly creatures."

After hearing Eddard's answer, Maester Albert nodded in satisfaction. Eddard had already promised him that after returning from the mines, he would perform an "awakening" ritual for Maester Albert. At the thought, Maester Albert grew excited as well.

Eddard's control over the Dream World was growing stronger and stronger. However, to strengthen the Dream World and continue increasing the White Holy Tree's power, he needed to transform a Weirwood in the mining area into a Heart Tree.

Creating a Heart Tree was not as simple as carving a face into a Weirwood, especially when it came to this special kind of Heart Tree belonging to Eddard. He needed to infuse it with a soul of the Children of the Forest transformed by the White Holy Tree, then have the White Holy Tree assimilate it. Only then would a Dream World Heart Tree belonging entirely to Eddard come into being.

Once the Heart Tree was complete, Eddard could strengthen his control over the mines. Later, he would even be able to create Dragonglass Lesser Demons directly at the mines by Skinchanging into "Housecat" Bran.

As the White Holy Tree grew stronger, Eddard's power would also continue to grow. The White Holy Tree had also told Eddard that once the mining operation was established, it could control the demon that Demon B'lack had incarnated as to create more varieties of demons.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Come in!"

After Eddard gave permission, the door was pushed open again. Then Arthur Stone, the Captain of the Guards, entered with several men, each carrying hooded cloaks made from black sackcloth.

After they placed the cloaks on the long table, Arthur Stone waved his men away, then turned to Eddard and said:

"Lord Eddard! Here are the hooded cloaks you requested, fifty in all. Please inspect them!"

After taking a cloak and examining it, Eddard called Arthur Stone and Maester Albert over to wrap the Dragonglass Lesser Demons in the corner in the cloaks. These wretched things looked far too shocking, and Eddard did not want to cause unnecessary panic.

Fortunately, Eddard would no longer need to create Dragonglass Lesser Demons here, because he would be creating Lesser Demons at the mines instead. That would spare him some unnecessary trouble. Humanoid creatures were the most likely to cause panic, especially beings like the Dragonglass Lesser Demons, which looked anything but harmless.

They looked just like the demons of legend. To get his people fully accustomed to such creatures, he would have to proceed gradually, letting them adjust little by little.

After more than half an hour, the short Dragonglass Lesser Demons had been wrapped up into strange figures in black robes. From a distance, there was nothing visibly unusual about them.

Once he had dealt with them, Eddard led them out of the Council Hall. The guards at the entrance saw nothing strange about these unusual creatures' attire. Most of them already knew about Eddard's miraculous powers, so they found nothing odd about such things.

At first, the people in the castle had been somewhat afraid, but as time passed and they discovered that the Lesser Demons were not frightening, the guards had gradually grown accustomed to these strange creatures.

Before long, a large crowd of prisoners and Dragonglass Lesser Demons had gathered in the castle square. All these prisoners had been infested by Parasite Demons. If they betrayed him or revolted, the Parasite Demons would kill their hosts under Eddard and Bran's control.

The Parasite Demon mother had now fully adapted to this world. Under Eddard's control, these Parasite Demons had completely taken over the Ironborn pirates and the female clan warriors. They had now become Eddard's servants entirely. Even if Eddard ordered them to kill themselves, they would go to their deaths without hesitation.

Eddard would keep the captured female clan warriors here because they had been possessed by Demon Seeds. These poor women carried Demon B'lack's bloodline within their bodies. Perhaps Demon B'lack had already discovered how to exist in this world, but none of that mattered anymore, because Eddard had already brought these demonic fetuses under his control.

These prisoners were also part of Eddard's modification plan. The Parasite Demons born from the Parasite Demon mother would make the prisoners stronger, and these Parasite Demons were also an important avenue for Eddard's future modification of his own soldiers.

Looking at the neatly arranged prisoners and Dragonglass Lesser Demons, Eddard nodded in satisfaction. Then he addressed the miners.

"My dear subjects, thank you for your trust. You will create House Flint's future. Your work from now on will be very simple. All you need to do is wait in the mining settlement's shanties for the ore to be brought up."

After hearing Eddard's words, the miners belonging to House Flint below began whispering excitedly among themselves. For a time, all the miners gathered there were excitedly discussing what Eddard had said.

"Lord Eddard! Do we really only need to sort the ore near the mine?"

"Yes. Your only task now is to sort and classify the ore, then deliver the sorted ore to the docks. Our transport ships will collect it for shipment once a week."

Eddard answered loudly after hearing the question from a plant he had arranged in the crowd beforehand. To publicize the new policy, Eddard had planted many people from the castle in advance. Now, the arrangement appeared to be working very well indeed. Through this exchange of questions and answers, the miners had learned what they would be doing.

"You can work without worry. These criminals will handle everything else. I can promise that you will never need to go down into the mines again. Your willingness to stay has already proven your loyalty to House Flint, and naturally, I will let you work in peace and safety."

"Long live Lord Eddard! Long live Lord Eddard!"

Led by the plants arranged beforehand, the crowd broke into continuous cheers. Looking at the excited miners, Eddard nodded in satisfaction.

Now, under the influence of this atmosphere, these men would serve House Flint earnestly, which was Eddard's main purpose in arranging the plants. Going down into the mines was fraught with all kinds of dangers, but now Eddard was paying them double wages merely to sort and process the ore. Work like this could not be found anywhere in the social system of the Seven Kingdoms.

"Good, my dear subjects. House Flint's future needs you. I believe you will do your very best!"

"Hurrah! Long live Lord Eddard!"

After Eddard delivered his final words of encouragement, all the miners shouted excitedly. The Dragonglass Lesser Demons and the prisoners did not shout or cheer. Eddard had arranged that, too, and it suited their current roles very well.

Then, after appointing "Housecat" Bran to oversee the mines, the large group began heading toward the docks in an orderly fashion. Two transport ships were already moored in the dockyard, and these miners belonging to House Flint would take them to the mines in the Western Mountains.