Crystal's Scar

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Flint Strait

February, 296 AC

A rather chilly sea breeze blew across the less-than-calm waters of Flint Strait. Although the sky was somewhat overcast, there were no particularly large waves, barely allowing ships to pass.

There had been no widespread snowfall on Sea Dragon Point Peninsula at the end of the previous year, so apart from some coastal sections of the Western Mountains, temperatures elsewhere had not fallen much.

Due north on the boundless Flint Strait, three somewhat bulky three-masted sailing ships slowly made their way toward Flint's Finger. Aboard one of the lavishly decorated ships, Rogers Ryswell gazed toward Flint's Finger Castle with a complicated expression.

As their destination drew closer, the general outline of Flint's Finger Castle came fully into view. Rogers Ryswell was not in a particularly good state. Especially when he looked at the castle, his expression shifted again and again, showing excitement, confusion, resentment, and even a trace of hope.

"Hey! Rogers, what are you looking at?"

Just then, a hearty voice suddenly sounded behind Rogers, followed by a heavy slap on his left shoulder.

By the time Rogers reacted, the man had already appeared on his right. He was a burly, dark-skinned man about Rogers's height, though his build looked somewhat more portly.

The burly, dark-skinned man looked about forty. His round face was immaculately groomed, and together with his short-cropped black hair and dark eyes, it made him look very lively.

He wore an orange-yellow robe studded with gemstones of various colors, with a somewhat ostentatiously crafted belt of gold plates and gems around his waist. A gem-studded, gold-hilted dagger and a rapier hung at his side.

His leather trousers and boots were equally extravagant, covered in all manner of expensive ornaments: gemstones, agates, gold, coral, and various other costly adornments. He was dressed entirely like a nouveau riche.

Beside the burly, dark-skinned man stood two graceful black girls, though their skin did not look quite as dark as his. Around their necks were objects resembling collars.

Beside the two black girls stood four infantrymen equipped with light armor. Their black half-plate armor, distinctively shaped short swords, black shields, and unusual spiked helmets all proclaimed their identity: the Unsullied.

These specialized war slaves from Slaver's Bay in Essos were the finest guards and warriors who did not fear death. They were also among the favorite "goods" of many slave owners and slave traders, "goods" on the same level as bed slaves.

"Master Masse T! Do... do you really believe those things I told you?"

Upon seeing him, Rogers Ryswell quickly gathered his somewhat scattered thoughts and asked the question he had wanted to ask all along.

Several months earlier, after returning to Barrowton, Rogers had reported his experiences at Flint's Finger to Lady Barbrey, the actual ruler of House Dustin, along with Eddard's response regarding ownership of the western mines.

That proud "flower of the Rills" had been furious upon learning Eddard's answer. Although House Flint's strength did not match Barrowton's, Winterfell still stood above them both, and so Rogers Ryswell had become the target of Lady Barbrey's anger.

Before going to Flint's Finger, Rogers had been quite confident that he could complete his mission, and he had repeatedly sought out a great deal of information about House Flint.

That was why he had made such bold promises before Lady Barbrey. Yet this failure had given many Dustins and Ryswells who already disliked Rogers an opportunity to kick him while he was down. After countless instances of suppression and humiliation, Rogers finally resolved to leave Barrowton.

Rogers Ryswell was only twenty that year. With neither a fief nor family property, he had remained unmarried and unbetrothed. His main reason for entering House Dustin's service had been the hope of making a name for himself and becoming a noble.

But this experience had made Rogers lose all faith in his relatives and Lady Barbrey. As a younger son with nothing holding him back, he had simply boarded these three merchant ships making an unscheduled voyage to Flint's Finger.

Masse T was a Lysene merchant from Essos, with both Summer Islander and Lysene ancestry. He was a fur trader who frequently did business with Barrowton. Rumor had it that he also traded slaves in secret, escaping investigation only because of his connections to several influential figures in the First Men's Barrows.

During his time in Barrowton, Rogers had been one of the tax collectors responsible for collecting duties at the docks, so he knew Masse T fairly well. Masse T had been very surprised to learn that Rogers was leaving Barrowton. In particular, after discovering that his old friend was going to Flint's Finger, the fur merchant had immediately taken an interest in House Flint.

Although the wool from Flint's Finger was of very good quality, its output was unfortunately far too low. Ordinarily, Masse T would only send an assistant to buy it, while he remained in Barrowton to discuss the "hundred uses" of bed slaves with the powerful nobles of the western North.

At first, Rogers had not intended to reveal much, and he had always been a very restrained man. Perhaps it was sadness, or perhaps resentment, but after Masse T's slave girls plied him with a great deal of wine, Rogers told him everything he had seen and heard at Flint's Finger.

Upon learning that House Flint possessed marvelous iron machines, Masse T had become very interested in Edd Flint, the "maester lord." Moreover, before leaving, Rogers had specifically gone to observe "Magic Energy Number One" in operation. To Rogers, it was merely a somewhat wondrous device.

Masse T, however, was different. Having traveled far and wide for years, he had seen all manner of strange things, as well as quite a few mysterious powers. Merely hearing the description had brought many things to mind. If it truly was as marvelous as Rogers said, then "Magic Energy Number One" had enormous potential.

Thus, Masse T, who had initially intended only to send one ship to take Rogers to Flint's Finger, had made him stay at Barrowton's docks for several more months. Only after Masse T had everything ready did he personally lead his men here.

"My dear Rogers, I have seen so very many strange things and objects. This world holds so very many secrets. As long as we can grasp even a small portion of them, we can reap endless profits."

As he spoke, Masse T's gaze unconsciously turned toward the outline of the castle, now visible to everyone, and his tone grew somewhat excited.

"Even if I don't get what I want, I'll simply consider this journey a long trip accompanying my friend! Besides, I also want to see just what sort of lord could earn the approval of 'Ser' Rogers Ryswell."

"Ah, fine! You wretched fellow. I hope you don't do anything rude. Lord Eddard isn't like the nobles in Barrowton. I should never have drunk with you. Hmph!"

Upon hearing Rogers's words, Masse T waved a somewhat unconcerned hand. Then he warmly put an arm around Rogers's shoulders and said:

"Don't worry, my friend. I've met all sorts of nobles: that arrogant Lannister in the Westerlands (Tywin Lannister, Warden of the West), that unweaned Tyrell in the Reach (Mace Tyrell, Warden of the Reach, nicknamed the 'Puffer Fish'). Could Edd Flint, whom you intend to serve, be harder to deal with than them?"

"Just wait! Once you see him, you'll understand. Lord Eddard truly is very different from other nobles!"

Rogers Ryswell answered with some displeasure. At the thought of soon meeting that young lord, several years younger than himself, Rogers grew inexplicably excited.

A little over thirty minutes later, Rogers Ryswell, Masse T, and their party finally reached the vicinity of Flint's Finger's docks. The once-dilapidated docks had undergone a complete transformation.

The former long, narrow reef mooring had changed from a single straight line into a central spine with piers branching off both sides. Huge black stone blocks had replaced the original enormous wooden pilings, and special wooden posts had been placed along the edges of these black blocks to keep ships' hulls from striking the stone.

When disembarking, Masse T made a point of inspecting these special fender posts. Seeing a certain white substance on them filled him with shock. This gummy substance was actually more effective than fish glue, and it did not seem to show any signs of corrosion from seawater.

At that thought, Masse T was filled with anticipation for this visit. After entering the Dock Market, Masse T and Rogers, who had prepared themselves to step into mud, involuntarily stopped. Looking at the gray, stone-like ground and drainage channels, they suddenly felt as though they were walking on the flagstone floor of a castle.

The original Dock Market had consisted of just one street and a few clusters of low buildings. Now, however, Rogers and the others saw neatly arranged houses and streets. Masse T was mostly curious, while Rogers stood rooted to the spot in shock.

Although many of these houses were still wooden structures, this place looked nothing like what he had seen before. Rogers also saw many unusual buildings made from black stone bricks. Some workers were mixing barrel after barrel of dark gray powder, stored in wine casks, into sand and gravel, then adding water to turn it into a kind of thick slurry.

After seeing this entirely new building material, everyone in Rogers's party involuntarily stopped. At Masse T's command, a middle-aged man beside him went over to speak with someone who looked like a foreman. After paying a few copper stars, Masse T's subordinate obtained the information he wanted.

"Great master, that foreman told me that the stuff in those wooden barrels is a new kind of blended lime powder from House Flint's Alchemy Workshop. The adhesive they used at the docks also comes from the Alchemy Workshop. Also, the lord here, Edd Flint, announced a while ago that this castle of House Flint would be renamed 'Crystal's Scar'!"

"Crystal's Scar!"...

Everyone silently repeated the name, filled with curiosity. They wondered why Edd Flint would give this emerging city such a peculiar name.

"A scar of crystal! Does this Lord Edd Flint have some strange obsession with crystals? Still, I must say his way of naming things is rather like that of certain romantic poets in Lys. You know, crystal means mystery and infinity in High Valyrian. It seems this lord truly is very interested in certain things! Now I want more and more to see this 'maester lord' for myself."

After discussing it where they stood for a while, they began heading toward the castle. Before they had taken more than a few steps, however, a group of soldiers wearing blue leather armor and black robes surrounded them.

Seeing that these soldiers appeared to be something like the City Guard, Masse T's subordinate naturally stepped forward, apparently preparing to negotiate. The City Guard soldier who seemed to be in charge, however, ignored the copper stars Masse T's subordinate offered him.

"Lord Eddard has issued orders that everyone coming ashore at the Dock Market must register. Since you did not register as required, we must ensure that you do so. Sorry, here is the bribe you just paid. We are returning it to you now!"

After saying this, the young leader had one of the City Guard soldiers accompanying him hand a bag of silver stags to Masse T's subordinate. As it turned out, just after they entered the docks, a clerk wearing House Flint's badge had approached them to register them. Masse T's subordinate, however, had found it troublesome and simply tossed him a bag of silver stags, leading to what happened afterward.

In the end, after the two sides spoke, Rogers and the others returned to the dock registration office. The clerk also explained that, unless instructions had been received from the castle, all outsiders entering Crystal's Scar had to register.

Once Rogers and the others had finished registering, the City Guard soldiers left. They also explained in a friendly manner that House Flint's officials accepted no bribes of any kind, and welcomed Rogers and his companions.

Rogers and the others also learned that a reception center had been established on Wine Street in the outer district. There, they could meet Beris, House Flint's official responsible for receiving outsiders, who had also formerly served as the family's tax collector.