"You will travel with the caravan to Winterfell. Upon arrival, deliver this letter to Ser Rodrik Cassel. He will arrange your positions in the camp, but do not swear allegiance to House Stark. You will become my subordinates."
Caygan asked, puzzled.
"Aren't you working for the Stark too?"
"Not entirely. In time, I will leave Winterfell. I will not remain a knight; I will become a nobleman. Of course, as for whom I serve, that is up to you."
"We want to pledge our loyalty to you."
"Very well, when Ser Rodrik sees your talent, he will try every means to take you away, but as I explained in the letter, you are my subordinates."
After seeing the twins off, I left Barrowton.
I've been away from Barrowton for three months now, and I spent a month near Torrhen's Square. These places are truly beautiful, regions rich in natural elements. There's a large lake here, so it has not only natural elements but also abundant water elements. Thanks to these elements, I've learned two new spells.
Ronvaiēdar ( Water Walking ), as the name suggests, allows the caster to Water Walking for half an hour. Because casting the spell is strenuous, it consumes 15 mana points and has a 1-hour cooldown. Currently, I cannot cast it on other people, but perhaps I will in the future.
Another spell is called Melada tegon (merge with earth). With this spell, like Im, I can burrow into the soil, but not into rock, and only to a depth of 1 meter. Because I cannot breathe underground, I can only move underground while holding my breath, and my movement speed is halved underground. This is very advantageous for ambushes and retreats.
It would be so cool if I had this while dodging Bolton soldiers. If I had it, my movement speed underground would be 4.5, almost as fast as a normal person's running speed. It consumes two mana points every five seconds underground.
After strolling on Torrhen's Lake for a while, and causing some fishermen to have heart attacks as Emre the Druid, I went to the fishing boats and waved to them. Some waved back with their mouths agape, while others prayed to the Old Gods.
Having arrived here, I decided to first go to the Rills, then the Rills to reach Blazewater Bay. After that, I will head north to Stony Shore, and finally reach Deepwood Motte. With that, my journey the North will come to an end.
The Rills, as the name suggests, has many streams and creeks, but it is also a mountainous region. There is some arable land at the southern end of the Rills, but the cold sea winds negatively affect yields. I stayed in this region for three months. After healing some people as Emre and destroying some bandit strongholds as Aermir, I left the Rills.
After crossing the Rills, I arrived at Blazewater Bay. For the past month, I've been doing the same thing: healing and killing.
As I walked along the path parallel to Blazewater Bay toward Stony Shore, I noticed that many trees along the coastline had been cut down.
From the Rills to Wolfswood, this region was known for its durable timber, such as pine and ironwood. Much of the forest here has been felled.
I continued walking along the coastline, and when Bo announced that about 100 people were cutting down trees 3-4 kilometers away, I looked around with familiar eyes to see what was happening.
People bustled about like bees, loading felled trees onto boats on the beach, but the badges on the sails were completely unfamiliar. They certainly weren't the House Ryswell's, because I'd seen their badges a month ago—a black horse's head with red eyes and mane, made of bronze with a black engraved border, but this badge had a bone hand on it, with white lettering on a red background.
" Verification the Sail"
Information began to flood my mind. The House Drumm of Old Wyk was a noble family of the Iron Islands. The Iron Islands! What were those sea rats doing here? Were they here to steal, or had the House Ryswell made a trade deal with them? I was ninety percent sure they were stealing, but trading with the Iron Islands wasn't illegal, just not permitted.
At this point, I decided to use the wave to survey the entire coastline, flying all the way to the Stony Shore. After flying about fifty or sixty kilometers, I saw another hundred or two people cutting down trees. Around the coastline, I also saw two Ironborn houses: the House Blacktyde of Blacktyde and the House Orkwood of Oak Island. Why were they stealing so much timber? What were those sea rats planning?
I've severed contact with Bo and ordered her back. What should I do? Should I go back to the House Ryswell and tell them what happened? I thought about it, and if these bastards are openly stealing, either the House Ryswell has betrayed the North, or more likely, there's a traitor among the House Ryswell's retainers.
There are always some rotten eggs in every basket. While I was at their house, I noticed that Rodrik Ryswell's loyalty to the House Stark was somewhat lacking, but the poison he mentioned when talking about the Ironborn was definitely real. I suspect Rodrik Ryswell would make a deal with the Ironborn.
What's happening here doesn't smell good at all; something's not right. So I've decided to end my journey the North and return to Winterfell. When Po returns, I'll start to come up with a plan.
"Bo and Erebus, to what extent can you expand the size of your current Crow retinue?"
"Dad, I can zoom in to about 60."
"And you?"
"If Bo can do it, so can I."
After listening, Bo said.
"Can you count to 60?"
"Shut up! I can do just as much as you!"
"Alright, then I'll leave you here. Expand as much as possible, then start patrolling the sea. Take turns sending out your Crow to create a warning line on the surface. If you see any ships coming, notify me immediately."
All my land-based familiars have grown to be about the size of tigers. Their hides have also become incredibly thick, impervious to arrows. When we train in the Training Space, they've become killing machines.
Arrows cannot harm them unless they hit the eyes, and most swords cannot penetrate deeply into areas of thick muscle.
Because I killed so many bandits, the training ground became 100x100 meters in size, and there were more than 250 dummies.
" Lika and Berus, you should go now. Once you reach the Wolfswood, go find your familiar contracts. Berus, you won't find many dogs as strong as we need, so go with Lika."
I turned to Sith, which was swishing its thick, furry tail, waiting for my command.
"You should come with me. We should try our luck in the North mountains. I've heard there are many Shadow Lynx in the Vale, but that's too far. There must be some in the North too."