He personally knew Lord Halys Hornwood. The man wasn't very old and had a very jovial and accommodating personality. Still, he was inclined to believe that if there was ever a border dispute, it would be with Hornwoods, as they were one of the large, Lordly Houses.
To his east was House Flint of Widow's Watch. To his south-west was House Locke, and right above that on the west was House Manderly. However, both House Flint and House Locke were under Manderly influence.
It was correct to say that everything east of White Knife's mouth was under House Manderly's influence. Well, that was until Wylis appeared and took Ramsgate, oathbound directly to the King.
"I know not who you are." Wylis moved a step nearer the bearded old man. "If you are truly of Hornwood, fetch Lord Hornwood at once. If you are a bandit skulking here, then pray you run faster than I draw steel."
Wylis raised his sword to strike.
"Mercy, m'lord, mercy! I'm but an old man from the village up north. No bandit, I ain't, I swear it."
And yet the audacity to shout at me.
"What were you doing here?" Wylis asked while eyeing the camp the men had set. It was very basic, tiny tents, only two of them. There was a quashed pit for fire with a pot hanging over it. There was also a wooden chest, and for some reason, large sacks full of dirt.
"N-Nowt, m'lord! Nowt, I swear by the Old Gods. Begging yer mercy, I won't be here again. I'll gather my things an—"
Wylis stretched the blade towards him, stopping him. "Nothing belongs to you this side of the river."
"A-Aye… I."
"I'll ask one last time. What were yo—"
Splash!
Instead of choosing to reply, the man turned and leaped right into the river, swimming away frantically.
"Aaaaargh!"
But right then, the escaping man let out a loud, pained groan. However, he kept swimming.
Wylis did nothing, having already broken one leg with Earthbending, and an unsuspecting rock that cracked a bit too hard at the man's knee.
"I'll catch him!"
Wylis grabbed Viserys by the collar just before the boy splashed into the water. "Leave it. Whatever he was doing, it's all in this camp. We only need to find it."
"Why didn't you punish them? They disrespected you?" Visery asked angrily.
"What's the point? Just because I can slay them, must I? I find it tiresome. Six bodies would fall to me to manage. To burn them, you must tramp about gathering wood. To bury them, you must dig six graves with your own hands. That's a full day's labor, son. Too much work, would you not say?"
Viserys shut his mouth when he realized he'd have had to do the hard labor. "What now?"
"It'll be night soon. Let's use this fine camp they gifted us. Go take your swings at that tree. I'll see to supper. Caliburn, here, lad."
At his command, the big horse merrily trotted over. Wylis took some meat out of the pouches and began setting up the fire, and then the pot and pan over it. He cracked some eggs, a lot of meat, and heated the bread a little. On the side, he stirred a bean soup. Too bad, there was no milk, and he never traveled with wine.
While the food cooked, he finally sat on his ass over a large flat rock and watched Viserys take swings at the tree. It was nearly dark, and the boy's head was still shiny bald. Young, not that strong, Viserys kept hitting the tree at full power.
Eventually, Wylis had enough and walked over to him. "Carry on if your aim is only to knock men about. Slide the steel when you strike. A careless swat won't cut deep."
Viserys quickly adjusted himself to the instruction. But it was still not good enough.
"Come with me," Wylis ordered and brought the kid to the fire. He sat down in his place and patted the nearby stone. "Sit and watch."
He waited for Viserys to settle down, meekly sitting as Wylis was indeed too massive from that close. Viserys looked more like a toddler in comparison, not a ten-year-old.
"Feel this bread. Tough?" Wylis offered the loaf of bread.
Viserys felt it. It was nice and rough.
Wylis then picked up the knife and smacked the blade flat on it. Just a simple downward chop. Of course, the bread didn't cut much. But then he did a less forceful chop, only this time he slid the blade as well, clearly cutting far more.
"It's bread. But not so different when it comes to cutting men," Wylis said, setting down the plate. He ladled the bean soup into two bowls and shared the eggs and meat between them equally. "When with me, you'll eat as much as I do. Look at yourself, all bones. I used to steal from Winterfell's kitchen to keep myself fed; that's what got me this big. Milk, meat, eggs, less grease the better."
Wylis handed the plate over. Since it belonged to him, it looked laughably big in Viserys' hands. But before Wylis took his own plate, he gave Caliburn a few apples and carrots. Yes, the horse was seated near them, close to the fire. It was great to have such an understanding horse.
"Now this… is a meal." Wylis chomped on the meat and then scooped some bean soup with a piece of bread. But he saw Viserys's plate untouched. "Eat quickly. It gets cold faster outside."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you teaching me? What if I defeat you?"
Oh? Went from kill to defeat now?
He smiled, using the Targaryen Loyalty gauge he got from the Savior of Targaryens title. While Rhaella's didn't need to be looked at, Viserys' number showed a big change. Back then, when he'd only saved them, it sat at 3 percent. Now it reached 20.
[Viserys Targaryen - 20% Loyalty]
Wylis patted Viserys on the back. "Well, son. Should you ever manage to best me one day, you absolutely deserve that victory and the right to gloat."
Viserys stared at him in silence.
"But be sure it's not when I'm ninety, a sack of bones and bad temper. That wouldn't be a victory, would it? More elder abuse, instead."
"Pfft…" Viserys snorted and looked down, pursing his lips to not laugh. He shoved food in his mouth and chomped loudly.
Wylis laughed at that and continued eating. He was a fast eater and also a much larger man. But he paced himself so Viserys could eat at his own pace. Only Caliburn was shameless enough to eat all the apples and carrots and ask for more with those puppy eyes that shouldn't exist on a horse. The fucker was far too intelligent.
"My lord?" Viserys asked mid-chewing.
"Go on."
"Why did you save us?"
Wylis hummed and looked at the stars in the sky. Normally, it was because of honor and duty and whatnot. But he knew saving Rhaella was an extreme risk that he took. And it was certainly not just for honor.
"Love, I believe."
"You love me?"
"..."
"Ah, my mother? But… you barely knew her." Viserys corrected himself quickly, red-faced.
"I knew her well enough. I knew her tears and cries, her struggles and hopes, and I had seen her smile. It was more than enough to love her. I would have cut down any man who stood between her and me, by that essence, you as well. Aye, I might have died for it, but that is kinder than a long life spent with regret," Wylis explained, his own thoughts slightly muddled.
He loved Rhaella a lot; he cherished her. But he loved Lyanna more; she was everything he ever wanted. He felt guilty somewhere deep inside. Guilty of giving his love to another.
Ugh. Never expected it'd be him to mess up my thoughts like this.
"What of your wife? How can you love two women?" Viserys asked.
"Who do you love more? Your sister or your mother?"
"I… I love them both."
"So there's your answer. A heart can hold more than one person, kid. You only need to learn what each beat means for each soul. For some, your love runs wild. For others, it burns steady and passionate." Wylis sighed and patted the boy's head. "Enough brooding. You have a home, and you are safe in my halls. Eat well, train hard, and grow wise."
Viserys nodded and looked at him intently for a very long time and then…
Huh? Don't remember ever seeing him smile like that.
"I'll still defeat you one day. I swear by my blood."
Wylis shrugged, mouth full, busy eating. "Uh-huh."
"I'm not jesting!"
"Um-hmm."
"Speak, dammit!"
"Sure, kid. Keep dreaming."
"I'll have the last laugh soon, old man!"
"Old? I'm only twenty-three."
"Uh-huh."
"..."
This cheeky brat.
Wylis just laughed and finished eating his meal. After that, he trained Viserys a little on how to swing a blade properly. Once the boy was tired, he let him take one of the tents.
He waited a while and made sure Viserys was asleep. Then finally, he opened the wooden chest the trespassers had left behind. Inside, he found strange things. A finely made metal mesh, clearly not cheap. Then there was a metal saucer with thin gaps on one side.
It's… No, that can't be it.
He recognised what the saucer was. But the possibility of it being what it was, and what those men may have been seeking with it, was too great to be real.
He placed the saucer on the ground by the fire and grabbed one of the sacks that was filled with mud. He scooped a big handful and put it in the saucer. Then he poured in a little water and checked Viserys' tent one last time.
Finally, he used Earthbending to separate the dirt from the water while giving the saucer a few little shakes. It was easy for him with Earthbending, as he could only move the dirt. Everything else just remained in the water.
No! Those fuckers!
He gulped at the end result. Little, sand-like shining particles, golden, glittered in the firelight.
Bastards were goldmining in my damn land. My damn gold!
Ting!
[Tyrant's Fief Update!]
[Land - 32000 acres.
People - 4818
Garrison - 70 Men
GDP - ??? Golden Dragons
Industries Main - Timber and fish
Cities - 0Town - 1
Villages - 11
Ships - 20
Fleets - 0
Horses - 503
Cows - 854
Sheep - 7689
Goats - 1869]
"..."
The GDP part of the list completely turned into 'unknown'.
Ting!
[New Main Quest - Mine! Mine! Only Mine!
Description - Man didn't make it, but man did discover. For ages, wars have been fought, and kingdoms have risen and fallen. Nothing raises greed as gold does. But the Tyrant does not share.
Goal - Claim all the gold in the river.
Reward - Goldsmithing & North's Resource Map]
A Main quest? That means… battle?
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Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 12 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 45-50 Webnovel chapters.
Check out Wylis X Lyanna Stark NSFW Art & Solo Dacey Mormont Art, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
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