Trade agreement

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Crystal's Scar, castle Council Hall.

"Rrrow..."

With a shadowcat's distinctive growl, Edd appeared at the rear side door of the Council Hall, with Maester Albert beside him. By the time they approached the seat of honor, Rogers Ryswell and his party were already sitting on the benches before it.

At the sight of the shadowcat, they all instinctively shrank back. They felt that this great cat with its beautiful silver markings always sent a chill down one's spine, as though it might suddenly spring up and attack at any moment.

Shadowcats were apex predators of Westeros, fierce beasts somewhere between tigers and lions. Unless extremely hungry, they would not appear during the day, nor would they attack people unprovoked. The clans of the First Men called them "Night's Shadows," while the Wildlings Beyond the Wall called them "Ghost Cats."

Watching the enormous shadowcat constantly rub its head against Edd's trouser leg, Rogers and his party felt as though they were witnessing something out of a fantastic tale. Soon, however, Beris, the reception officer, broke the silence. He rose and introduced Rogers and his companions to Edd.

"Lord Eddard, I have left House Dustin and will have no further dealings with them. I hope you will accept my allegiance. I will swear my oath to you beneath the Heart Tree!"

After Beris introduced the party, Rogers was the first to stand. He told Edd the true purpose of his visit and offered to swear his oath beneath the Heart Tree.

A Heart Tree Oath was sacred and solemn. To all followers of the Old Gods, it was a deeply holy ceremony, for they believed that anyone who broke such an oath would suffer a terrible curse, meet a miserable end, and be devoured by wolves after death.

"I accept your allegiance and will honor your request to swear a Heart Tree Oath. For now, you will be assigned to my newly established Municipal Center. Maester Albert will arrange work suited to your circumstances!"

"Yes, Lord Eddard!"

At Edd's words, Rogers bowed to him excitedly, then made his way over to where Beris and the others stood without needing to be told.

"Lord Eddard, this is Master Masse T, from the city-state of Lys in Essos. He has come specifically to visit you and also hopes to establish a long-term trading relationship with you. And this is Lady Sinvara, a Red Priestess of the Lord of Light from Volantis."

"Sinvara?"

Hearing the name, Edd felt a flicker of familiarity. But too much time had passed, and he had forgotten such a person, remembering only the Red Priestess Melisandre's face and beautiful body.

"Welcome, both of you, and thank you very much. For now, let us do this: we can discuss trade between Masse T and Crystal's Scar after lunch. But I do not quite understand why Lady Sinvara has come here. We do not know each other, do we? Besides, I worship the Old Gods, which should have nothing to do with your Lord of Light, should it? And I have no intention of spreading the worship of other gods in my domain."

Edd first welcomed Masse T and made arrangements for him. Once that was done, he put his questions to the beautiful Red Priestess Sinvara.

"My dear Lord Eddard, I came here because I received divine guidance, and until I receive further guidance, I will remain here. The Lord of Light is the god of all things and the only true god. It has told me many things. I feel that some things would be best kept from outsiders. All I ask is a single conversation. I hope you will grant me that opportunity!"

Sinvara spoke with great sincerity,

and from her expression, she seemed to know certain things. These priests of the Lord of Light, with all their mystical talk, were indeed among the few wielders of supernatural power in this world capable of displaying miracles. Although Edd had considered from the beginning that he might clash with them later, he had never imagined they would come straight to his door. Still, she seemed to bear no ill will at present. Otherwise, given the habits of religious fanatics like them, she would already have been clamoring to burn him alive.

"Very well! I will come to see you after the evening feast. You may go anywhere except the third floor of the castle and above!"

After considering it for a moment, Edd gave his instructions. She removed her veil and smiled at him, and a series of audible gulps rose through the hall.

"Thank you for your support and understanding, Lord Eddard! But I would prefer to follow you. This place of yours truly is fascinating!"

Edd then invited Sinvara and Masse T to rest there while he took Rogers Ryswell to swear his oath before the Heart Tree.

In the faith of the First Men, the Heart Tree Oath was an extremely important ceremony. Since Rogers had solemnly declared that he would swear allegiance to Edd beneath the Heart Tree, Edd could hardly refuse him. Although Edd did not believe in the binding power of oaths, he had to follow local customs now that he was here. Acting too strangely could very well threaten his rule.

In China, gods were merely tools and sources of spiritual comfort. But in this world resembling the Middle Ages, dominated by Western culture, gods represented everything. Beautiful women like Melisandre, in particular, could play "games" with many men without any qualms for the sake of their god. To Edd, this was nothing short of fanaticism.

Although Masse T and Sinvara both worshipped the Lord of Light, they were very interested in Rogers's oath-taking ceremony. With Edd's permission, they went directly to the Heart Tree as well.

This Heart Tree was now one of the White Holy Tree's nodes in this world. In a certain sense, the White Holy Tree was the Old God of Flint's Finger. The oath-taking was really no more than having the White Holy Tree witness his pledge of allegiance.

House Flint's White Holy Tree was only around five hundred years old. Rumor had it that this weirwood had been planted after the castle was built, and that the Flint clan's previous Heart Tree had stood in the Western Mountains. Of course, there were also rumors that House Flint had not originally worshipped the Old Gods, only beginning to do so after being defeated by House Stark.

Whether these accounts were true or false could no longer be verified. Although this information might well have been connected to the source of Edd's power, he had little time to investigate it in depth. After all, he still had many things to do.

House Flint's Godswood was not very large. Apart from the Heart Tree, there were only some lilacs and smoke-plum vines. The enormous Heart Tree's branches swayed gently in the breeze, as though welcoming them, while its newly sprouted leaves looked like translucent, glittering rubies.

"I, Rogers Ryswell, swear allegiance to Lord Edd Flint with the Heart Tree as my witness. My sword will be wielded for House Flint, and my blood will be shed for House Flint. House Flint, 'As Strong as Stone!'"

As Rogers spoke his oath, he drew the longsword at his waist at the appropriate moment and knelt on one knee facing Edd. His sword was planted directly before him, and his hands covered its hilt as though in prayer.

At that moment, Rogers resembled a septon praying devoutly to the Seven. After he spoke House Flint's words, Edd stepped forward to stand before him.

"I, Edd Flint, lord of House Flint, accept your allegiance with the Old Gods as witnesses. May the Old Gods protect you, and may their blessings always be with you!"

"Whooo!"...

Hearing Edd's words, the members of House Flint around them cheered excitedly. Then they came forward one after another to embrace Rogers, showing their acceptance of him.

Masse T and his men also offered their congratulations to Edd's people, while the Red Priestess Sinvara gazed with interest at the enormous Heart Tree, seemingly quite intrigued by it.

Meanwhile, the White Holy Tree in the Dream World sent Edd a warning. She seemed to have sensed some unknown being spying on them, though the influence of that power was faint enough that she might not have noticed it without paying particular attention.

After the Heart Tree Oath, Edd invited Masse T to the Council Hall. Maester Albert had already placed some goods from the Alchemy Workshop there for Edd to display and introduce.

The long table in the Council Hall was a little over three meters long. It was now covered with all kinds of black glassware and steel. Most remarkable of all was a longsword with strange patterns on its blade. It was the first thing Masse T noticed when he entered.

There was also a strange, shimmering fabric resting on a tray. It was Masse T's first time seeing this silk-like cloth. His first instinct as a merchant told him one thing: he might have discovered a "gold mine," and one that could be mined immediately at that.

"Slurp..."

Lost in his fantasies, Masse T sucked back the drool spilling from the corner of his mouth, making Edd roll his eyes beside him. Still, this was precisely what Edd had wanted. Steel and glass were merely appetizers, and ice silk was only the main course. He had not even brought out the truly substantial dishes yet.

Once Masse T sat down, he eagerly asked about the origins of the ice silk and the longsword, particularly the ice silk. It was cool to the touch, and he had not let go of it since he began handling it. Even now, it remained just as cold.

According to Edd's tests, ice silk could retain this cool sensation at normal human body temperature for nearly a day. Once the trace of Ice Dragonglass energy inside it was exhausted, it had to be recharged with Ice Dragonglass. Edd possessed three grades of Ice Dragonglass-low, medium, and high-and each required a different amount of time to recharge it.

If brought to the shores of the Summer Sea, this material could probably fetch an astronomical price. Moreover, the ice silk was no worse than silk from Yi Ti. Masse T reckoned that it could certainly make Edd's Crystal's Scar the most popular port city in the North.

"Honored Lord Eddard, I... I would like to know how much you intend to charge for this ice... ice silk. I... I mean the price of the fabric. As long as it is not too outrageous, I... I can guarantee that I will buy it all!"

Edd found Masse T's behavior rather amusing. All this ice silk was a by-product of the Dragonglass Spider Mother and the Crystal Demon Spiders "producing" dragonglass. As they consumed rock and substandard ore, the silk originally inside their bodies would accumulate, then be expelled along with the dragonglass.

It looked rather like an egg, except that these "eggs" contained only a "shell" and a "core." The workers merely had to find a weaving shuttle and wind the ice silk out. Edd reckoned that ice silk was some special kind of fiber, a wondrous product made possible by the power of Ice Dragonglass and the ice crystal demon spiders' unusual physiology.

Looking into the merchant's eyes, Edd slowly held up two fingers. At the gesture, a somewhat pained expression appeared on Masse T's face. Then, as though making up his mind about something, he said to Edd:

"Very well! Twenty gold dragons per bolt. But you must promise that from now on, you will sell only to me. And another thing! You must sign an agreement. If you break it, I will seek help from House Stark in Winterfell."

"Buzz..."

At the mention of twenty gold dragons, Edd's heart gave a violent jolt. He had originally intended to ask for two gold dragons per bolt. In this world, a bolt of cloth was roughly thirty meters long. He had previously asked around: a bolt of Yi Ti silk cost around twenty gold dragons, while a bolt of Summer Isles silk cost about fifteen.

Edd had never imagined that his ice silk could sell for so much. This was already the price of Yi Ti silk. He had to admit that these merchants from Essos truly were wealthy. No wonder Masse T could afford Unsullied and had the nerve to lead a fleet through the Iron Islands to trade with the people of the North.

Poverty really has limited my imagination! Still, these fellows who practice slavery probably have more money than they could ever spend! It looks as though only novel, entertaining, or precious things can interest them!

Watching the dark-skinned merchant lavish endless praise on the ice silk, Edd had long since cast his faint trace of guilt to the winds. Since the man was so wealthy, failing to fleece him a little more would almost feel like doing a disservice to the price he had offered.

Edd then briefly explained some of the issues with ice silk to Masse T. What he had not expected was that the merchant grew even more excited upon learning of the accompanying Ice Dragonglass. He agreed without a second thought to Edd's asking price of one hundred gold dragons per piece.

Once they had finished discussing everything concerning the ice silk, Masse T suddenly spoke:

"Lord Eddard, I hear that you have a machine here that can turn on its own without wind power. Is that true? Forgive my presumption, but would you sell such a machine?"