A secret agreement and a clan attack

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Crystal's Scar, study

The lingering light of the evening sun shone with a strange orange-red glow, looking utterly enchanting. The streaks of sunset light always drew people in before they realized it.

At that moment, in a study near Eddard's laboratory, Alan "the Sea Lion" Farwynd stood respectfully before Eddard's desk. Eddard sat in the chair behind it, holding something Alan had brought especially from Sealskin Point.

Sealskin Point lay northwest of Old Wyk in the Iron Islands. It was the westernmost part of Westeros, and of the known human world. Though many people said there was another continent farther west, no one had ever actually set foot there. Every year, many sailors from the Seven Kingdoms died along that unknown route in search of the continent in the far west.

"This is the god those ancient clans worship? A half-human, half-fish monster?"

After setting down the strange statue in his hands, Eddard suddenly asked the question.

Before Eddard stood a strange statue. Its material was somewhat similar to dragonglass, but it lacked that peculiar luster. Moreover, the statue seemed to carry a repulsive aura.

The half-human, half-fish monster depicted by the statue somewhat resembled the Dragonglass Merfolk under Eddard's command. Its huge, bulging eyes, boneless nostrils, and mouthful of fangs all made it clear that the word vegetarian had nothing to do with this creature.

This strange monster statue represented the god worshipped by the indigenous clans on the islands around Sealskin Point. These clans still maintained savage sacrificial rites. They drained their offerings of blood and burned their bodies in blazing flames, then smeared the offerings' blood all over themselves and performed ancient, evil dances around the statue.

"These people are nothing but uncivilized natives. To my mind, the Wildlings Beyond the Wall are evil enough, but these people are hundreds or thousands of times worse. These things were left behind by a clan after they attacked one of our longships and were killed by our warriors in return. Because of that, we mustered troops and wiped out the clan on that island. These are the things they left behind."

Alan "the Sea Lion" Farwynd looked extremely grim as he spoke. Traces of fear and disgust showed in his eyes. Clearly, that experience had been deeply distressing for him, or rather, had left a profound impression.

"Lord Tristone Farwynd finds these clans a real headache as well. He ordered us to keep these things in the hope that we could find a way to deal with them. They outnumber us. Sometimes we can only leave them alone or provoke them into killing one another to reduce their numbers."

Among this jumble of objects was something resembling an egg, though now it looked more like a lump of black fossil. After using the Golden Eye to look back through time, Eddard discovered that it actually came from some strange creatures beneath the sea.

The Ironborn's faith came from the Drowned God and had existed since the Dawn Age. The Children of the Forest had designated this region as forbidden ground, and at the time, they had lacked the ability to reach the Iron Islands. In some of the vague memories Eddard had acquired, the Iron Islands had once been home to a magical race like the Children of the Forest.

For some unknown reason, however, many of the Children of the Forest's memories contained no information about these strange creatures. Now it seemed that the ancient civilization that had once existed on the Iron Islands was probably connected to these statues, or to the worship of the Drowned God.

Unlike the Seven, the Drowned God had no fixed appearance. In a sense, it was the sea itself, while its mortal enemy, the Storm God, was the sky-or the Old Gods, since in certain ancient legends, ravens were the Storm God's messengers.

Even now, many devout worshippers of the Drowned God still disliked maesters and ravens. Eddard sensed an entirely different power within this statue, the egg, and the assorted strange ornaments. This power seemed as ancient as the Lord of Light, and similarly brimming with vitality, yet the slaughter and chaos it contained involuntarily reminded Eddard of the so-called "Cold God."

The gods of this world were completely different from those in the demons' memories. To be honest, Eddard still had very few clues. The Lord of Light seemed to recognize only the Cold God as its enemy and had never mentioned these other gods. Or perhaps, in its understanding, these gods did not exist.

Although Eddard did not particularly want to provoke this uncanny Drowned God, if the problem of the Iron Islands was not resolved soon, the Ironborn would affect his development later on.

"All right, I like these things you've brought me very much. Now, I think we can continue discussing what comes next."

As Eddard finished speaking, a document appeared in his hand. After handing it over, he said directly:

"House Farwynd is relatively far from the Iron Islands, and the major houses there have monopolized resources of every kind. My requirements are fairly simple: establish a partnership with me. I'll give you support. Ships, weapons, even warriors-I can provide them all. What you must do is protect my merchant ships along their routes and keep your kinsmen from interfering with them."

"Lord Eddard, rest assured. We already understand your strength very well. Believe me, House Farwynd will certainly satisfy you."

After hearing Eddard's words, Alan "the Sea Lion" Farwynd immediately replied. Alan found nothing strange about Eddard's support, because if their house wanted to change its circumstances, it had to seek an outside power to alter the balance in the Iron Islands.

Eddard's strength and wealth had already demonstrated the power of Crystal's Scar. With its trade routes to rely on, House Farwynd would only grow stronger. Alan knew very well that Masse T, that slave trader, would never seek someone out to cooperate with him for no reason. There was definitely something Eddard had yet to reveal.

Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Western Mountains, Pasture Town, Hot Spring Village

This was a small village relatively close to the mining site. It had earned the name Hot Spring Village because there was a hot spring in the nearby mountains. It was an outlying settlement of Pasture Town, and its villagers made their living growing wheat and raising livestock.

The weather was excellent that day. After finishing their farmwork, most of the villagers gathered in the fields to eat. Their lunch was simple: a few slices of black bread, smoked meat, smoked fish, and some heated meat broth were all they had to eat that noon.

After lunch, the village women began gathering up the meal cloths, while the children caught grasshoppers in the fields. Although people in this world did not customarily eat grasshoppers, parents generally encouraged their children to catch these irritating little creatures to play with, or gather them together to feed to the chickens.

"Hey, Uncle Mys! Have you heard? Our maester lord renamed his castle 'Crystal's Scar'! What does that mean? Is his castle made entirely of crystal?"

Straw of Hot Spring Village asked the village head, Mys. Straw was an orphan from the village and was already fifteen that year. His father had died fighting Clan Warriors, while his mother had been carried off into the mountains. The Clan Warriors in the Western Mountains were much like the Wildlings Beyond the Wall: they would come to steal anything.

Hot Spring Village's head was a middle-aged man in his forties. The village had only around a hundred people, merged in from a former outlying settlement. Although Eddard had long since issued a notice instructing his subjects to gather and live in Pasture Town, Mys could not bear to abandon this reclaimed farmland.

In truth, Mys's reasoning was simple. Hot Spring Village was only a day's journey from Pasture Town, and their village had a relatively large number of able-bodied young adults. They had also made preparations well in advance, allowing them to defend against invasions by these savage clans.

Most importantly, Mys had also placed observation posts on the nearest little hill and in the nearby grove. If danger arose, the sentries at the observation posts would fell the signal tree.

"Hahaha..."

Hearing Straw's question, Mys stroked his beard and laughed, his voice full of pride. Then he answered:

"When I went to Pasture Town a while ago, Mayor Pasture told me that Lord Eddard was planning to build a road out here. The kind made with cement. I heard roads built with that stuff are just like those on the Kingsroad. There are even rumors that they're much better than the Kingsroad's gravel roads."

"Really?"

"Is that cement the magical stuff that turns into stone when you add water?"

"Our lord is truly amazing!"

After hearing Mys boast, the surrounding villagers all began asking questions at once. Mys shared all the news he had gathered, and for a while, everyone could not help marveling at Eddard's wonders.

Clang, clang, clang...

Just as Mys was about to say more, peals of a bell rang out in the distance. Everyone scrambled up from the ground at the sound, and soon the village women came over and scooped up all the children.

Hot Spring Village was built on a small hill and was also an entrance closest to the mountains of the Western Mountains. The terrain rose to the west and fell to the east. The area where Mys and the others stood happened to be at the foot of the slope, not very far from the village.

Just over ten minutes later, the villagers entered the wooden palisade they had previously built, led by Mys. By then, the villagers who had stayed behind had already brought out their weapons. Once the two groups joined up, Mys hurriedly asked one of those who had stayed:

"Lemon, what's happening? Why did you ring the bell? Are enemies coming?"

Hearing Mys's questions, the villager named Lemon pointed toward a bare hill to the northwest. When Mys saw that the signal tree had fallen, his heart began pounding wildly.

A large group of Clan Warriors had already gathered on the hill where the signal tree stood. Though they were still some distance away, Mys could make out their ferocious faces.

The Clan Warriors shouted and let out strange cries. Combined with the peculiar paint on their bodies, they looked terrifying. At that moment, the two villagers Mys had stationed outside as lookouts also ran back to the village gate.

"Village Head Mys, there are a lot of enemies. Shouldn't we consider sending for reinforcements? These people are different from the ones before. Every one of them looks like a monster. There are some in the grove too. They don't seem to be from those three clans. They look more like the Cave Dwellers from the legends."

"Cave Dwellers?"

"Aren't those the man-eating monsters from the legends?"

The villagers discussed the matter all at once, while Straw spoke up directly:

"Uncle Mys! If we can't manage, let's hurry out and get help! We won't go to Pasture Town. We'll go to Mine. I heard people in town say Lord Eddard has troops stationed there!"

"W-will that work? Will Lord Eddard's troops really come to help us?"

Mys answered instinctively after hearing Straw's suggestion. Only then did he realize that he seemed to have forgotten something: sending a messenger ahead to ask for help.

"Look! There are clan bastards on the road to Pasture Town too! Oh, gods! Those people are hideous. Are they monsters?"

Just as Mys hesitated over whether to seek help at Mine, a villager shouted loudly. When everyone looked in the direction he pointed, they saw that a large group of ugly Clan Warriors had already blocked the gravel road from Hot Spring Village to Pasture Town.

"We have no choice! It looks like this is our only option. Straw, hurry and find a few people to go with you to Mine for help. We'll hold out here for a while. The pits outside these wooden palisades should stop them for some time. The rest is up to you. If we really can't hold out, we'll hide in the bunker."

Once Mys finished giving all his instructions, the villagers brought horses for the four young men who were setting out. The North had excellent breeds of horses, and these four were among the better ones in Hot Spring Village. Although they had not been fed fodder beforehand, the journey to Mine was not particularly long. They only needed to make it to their destination.

Wooo, wooo, wooo...

Just as the four young men were preparing to leave, strange howls rang out in the distance. Immediately afterward, everyone saw Clan Warriors pouring out from every direction. It seemed they could no longer wait to attack Hot Spring Village.

"Go, hurry! Those bastards probably don't know about the situation at Mine. Ride into the dry riverbed to the northeast. Go!"

At Mys's instructions, the wooden gate was opened ahead of them. Amid the horses' neighing, the four young men rode northeast without looking back. They had to reach Mine as soon as possible. Otherwise, their little mountain village would not last more than a few days-or perhaps not even one.