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Chapter 5: Oldcastle & Family Drama

Created: 12.21.20 - 12.22.20, edited: 3.7.22

Circa 289-290 AC

Onython Locke, oldest son and heir to Lord Ondrew Locke of Oldcastle felt every one of his fifty-four years as made his way to the courtyard of Oldcastle after getting word from one of the household guards, that his own son, Donnel was just seen at the port, and was making his way up to their House's Seat. Thankfully, his solar had been relocated to the ground level after the horrible injury he sustained years previously during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, when a mace badly broke his femur and made him little better than a cripple, as he now was forced to limp around with the aid of a cane. Moving his solar to the ground floor made it so he wouldn't have to worry about too many stairs as he made his way to the courtyard to see his eldest son.

It wasn't too hard for the intelligent administrator of his family to accept his lot in life, as he was truly comfortable and capable of running his Family's limited port town and keep, as his aging father, Lord Ondrew Locke was now almost completely bedridden as he entered his 75th year of life. The steady decline of his father was one of the truly hard things he had dealt with over the last five years as his strength, and now even his mind started to leave him as time progressed. The other, was sending away his oldest son and heir to White Harbor with the hope of increasing his Family's standing in the eyes of the Manderly Lord, and possibly finding him a good match that would tie their Families together and strengthen their position, which had been waning since the end of the last war and the declining health of his father, and his own infirmary.

He had not held much hope however, after the last visit from Donnel a few years previously, as after extensive questioning, he discovered that Donnel wasn't growing into the position of leadership he had hoped for when sending him to White Harbor. He was a good lad for sure; loyal and hard working, and wasn't stupid, but never really shined or did any of the little things that would increase his station or power, or grow their influence and standing in the eyes of the Manderlys. Until he got the call from Lord Wyman himself to send their unfortunately small force to White Harbor, as their Liege Lord Eddard Stark had called for the banners of the North to fight off a Greyjoy Rebellion and he realized what this could mean.

He now had two very young sons, one of which wasn't even born the last time Donnel was in Oldcastle, and the other just a babe, so at least he wasn't too worried about the destruction or end of his House and line, but nevertheless was worried for his oldest son as he left for war. He knew from their last meeting that Donnel hadn't really taken to fighting either with swords or the joust much like he himself had been, but was a decent shot with a bow, and hoped it would serve him well and allow him to survive the war and return home whole. He wasn't sure if his family could take another weak lord, as their slowly diminishing role and influence weren't being helped by his own lack of mobility, and wanted better for his son.

He was pleased though to learn that Donnel had handled himself very well in the Rebellion, as his longtime friend and Castillian Gray Lonthor had many positive things to say about the man his son was becoming. He was a little concerned that he wasn't taking a large leadership role of the Locke levies they sent, and allowed Lonthor to continue leading them, but was quite happy to learn of his heroics, and defense of Ser Wylis Manderly, the Heir of White Harbor. That he was apparently gathering a small following of like aged young men around him was also comforting and a good sign of showing some level of leadership, but the plans he heard of them wanting to travel to Essos was problematic and worrying.

Lonthor was adamant that Donnel had already received permission from Lord Stark himself, and was even given men and supplies from Stark as well as from Lord Jason Mallister to accompany him and make sure the men of the North going with him all returned safely to their homeland. He was proud to have learned about that, and wondered if maybe the war had helped his son find his place and his voice and that he was truly growing into his future role as the Lord of Oldcastle. His thoughts were interrupted though as he hobbled along the keep, making his way into the courtyard to greet his son, when he saw his sweet wife leading their youngest Ondry who was almost three in the same direction.

He smiled as she fussed with the spirited youngster, and rushed him along to the courtyard to meet his oldest sibling and brother, and he smiled at the scene and tried to catch up as best as his gimpy leg would allow him. Drendylia must have heard his tapping cane, as she turned just before reaching the large entrance way into the castle that led to the receiving courtyard, and gave him a kind smile despite the tear tracks he could see on her face no doubt from getting overly emotional about her eldest's return. She truly was a great mother to their five children, well the four she got to keep around her anyway, as Donnel had been gone since before the age of nine and he smiled in return as he neared her and took her arm exiting the castle together in preparation for welcoming home their son.

Drendylia Locke, formerly of House Hornwood, was a cousin of their current Lord Halys Hornwood, and at 38 years old was much younger than her husband of twenty years and a wonderful Lady of the House. They had a pretty decent relationship after the somewhat rocky beginning, after Onython's first wife and Drendylia's older sister died along with their first child in childbirth. The younger sister was asked to step in and take her dead sister's place, despite already being promised to one of the Hornwood's household knights, as they didn't want to lose the growing relationship with House Locke.

From that somewhat difficult beginning for both Drendylia and Onython, the pair actually grew to care very much for one another by the time that their first child was born a few years later. Donnel was then followed three years later with a sister Sybelle, and then another three years followed by a sister Haylia, and when Donnel was seven, they had a third sister named Marna that didn't survive childbirth and really changed the mood of his family. It was shortly after that, when he was sent to White Harbor to squire under Ser Wylis, after Lord Stark, Lord Manderly, and Lord Hornwood all turned down a fostering leaving him somewhat depressed and angry at the supposed snub.

It was over five years later that Onython and Drendylia had another child, a boy they named Dobett, followed two years later by Ondry who had been a very difficult pregnancy for Drendylia, and subsequently was her last. She had successfully recovered from that, but was likewise still weak and often overly emotional with her children, except for Donnel who she had only seen once in the last eight years. She was truly happy that her oldest was finally coming home, safe after going to war, and now a man grown, but still emotional over the lost time and lack of contact she had with her first child and determined to make it up to him.

When the older couple reached the courtyard, they found their two daughters Sybelle (14) and Haylia (11) excitedly whispering together as they stood waiting in their nice, but plain purple dresses they both favored as it matched the color of their House. Nearby playing with the stable master's son, was Dobett (5), oblivious to others until he was called by his mother and told to come and stand with the family as they were receiving a very special person. They didn't have to wait long, as only moments later, five men on horseback came riding into the courtyard, with a Locke banner being held by the man right next to the young heir of Oldcastle himself, who they all were staring at in shock.

Gone was the young boy they sent to White Harbor, or even the scrawny teenager that returned for the week of his fourteenth nameday, and in its place was a grown man who looked much older than his 17, almost 18 years of age. He quickly dismounted his horse, along with his four companions, and handed off their reins to the Stable Master and his son to turn and greet the welcoming party. Then he called back for his horse, and pulled off a pair of saddle bags he casually tossed over his shoulder and approached the family he had seen so little of over the years.

-Locke's Legion-

Riding through the town up to the castle brought back a lot of old memories of my days as a child, but mostly I was looking around calculatingly, wondering if I would be able to utilize some of the things I was planning, and how reasonable those changes would seem to the common person. Crossing over the bisecting Merchant street, I saw the Forge and tailor's shop I remembered, before continuing up High street and into the courtyard of my home. I instantly saw my Father, Mother, and siblings, amazed that it had been so long and how much they had all grown and aged before dismounting my horse and handing off the reins to the Stable Master.

"Hold on, let me get my bag," I called out after remembering how important some of the things in those saddle bags were, and quickly pulled it off my horse and slung it over my shoulder before approaching my Father and the rest of my family.

"Father ...Mother," I greeted with a large grin as I approached them both and gave them both strong hugs, ignoring any protocol in the moment, and just glad to see them again.

"Donnel," cried Mother happily as she clung to me, and I realized how thin and weak she had gotten since I last saw her, while my Father looked on happily before looking over at my traveling companions in curiosity, awaiting an introduction.

"Sorry," I responded, "...these are Sydel and Juden Graymander, the fifth son of Lord Graymander and his cousin, as well as Tristifer Greenhands my sworn shield and Rickard Snow my squire. My parents, Heir of Oldcastle, Onython Locke and his wife Drendylia ...my sisters, Sybelle and Haylia ...and brothers, Dobett and …"

"Ondry," replied Mother after she realized I had never met or even been told the name of my youngest brother, making me smile at the name and at the young boy looking up at me with wide gray eyes that matched my own.

"Ondry," I spoke with a smile.

"Welcome gentlemen," greeted my Father, "have some bread and salt, and be welcome."

"Thank you my Lord," responded Sydel as the others just nodded their heads in appreciation, as they all took a small piece of bread and salt to observe guest rights, before my Father turned to me.

"You should come see your Grandfather," he spoke honestly before turning to Mother, "can you show our guests to their quarters? We will have supper in about an hour, we would be honored to have you all there as guests."

"Of course dear," responded Drendylia with a longing look at me before turning to my friends and leading them to the rarely used guest wing of the castle.

"Thank you my Lord," replied Sydel, the acting spokesperson, and the only other true noble of the group, who knew all the customs even better than his cousin.

"I'll find you guys before dinner and bring you there," I replied to the disappearing backs of my fellow companions as they were led into the castle and to the right, while I followed my Father to the left and the Family wing.

"You look good Donnel," he spoke quietly as we were heading towards my Grandfather's suite of rooms, "I almost didn't recognize you."

"Finally hit that growth spurt," I replied with a small laugh, "and filled out some during the war."

"I am just glad you returned home to us safe and healthy," he responded in kind, as we reached the doors to Grandfather's suite and nodded to the guard that knocked twice before pushing open the door and letting us inside.

My Grandfather was an old frail man, who as a child I was somewhat terrified of as we only ever really talked about the Family with a capital "F" as he regaled me with stories of House Locke's history and impressed upon me the importance of continuing that history, which made little sense to me as nothing more than a toddler. Now looking at him lying in his bed, the old Maester Javven at his side, and a young maid picking up around the room, I was reminded of how fragile life was in this world. Without the advancements of medicine and treatment in the modern world, my Grandfather didn't appear to have much time left to live and it filled me with sadness that I never really got to know him, and promised I would spend some time over the next few weeks doing just that.

"Father," spoke Onython kindly and softly, so as not to disturb the aged man too much, and caused both Lord and Maester of Oldcastle to turn towards him and then instantly focus on me just off to the side.

"Grandfather," I added with a bow of my head.

"Donnel," he rasped out barely audible, but without anyone else making noise, it was easy enough to hear, "you have returned."

"Yes my Lord," I replied easily, and smiled at the look of disgust that crossed his face at my use of his title, glad that he wasn't going to act like some pretentious Lord with his immediate family, as I had little in the way of remembered interactions with him from my youth.

"Please, don't call me that," he continued to rasp out, after watching my smile and probably thinking I found it funny and would continue to use it.

"Of course Grandfather," I responded softly, and nodded my head towards him before glancing over at the Maester and greeting him as well, "Maester Javven."

"Hello young lord," greeted the aged Maester from the Riverlands, who had been in the castle almost as long as my father, and who was a gentle and kind man.

"So, tell us of the war?" came the raspy question from the aged Lord of Oldcastle.

I glanced around the room, and at seeing the maid still cleaning, I asked if she could give us some privacy for a short while and waited for her to leave before turning to the audience of three, who were all looking at me in varying levels of curiosity. For the next half an hour, I spoke of the gathering levies at White Harbor, how I was released from Ser Wylis's immediate service in lieu of younger squires, while I took up a post among the soldiers. I talked briefly of our march towards Moat Cailin and meeting up with Lord Stark and the remaining Northern levies and our march through the Neck and then into the Riverlands and the Tully levies, until we continued on to the Westernlands and the Lannister levies.

I mentioned people of distinction I encountered and sometimes met, and spoke a bit about the composition of each of the levies and armies of the various houses that we joined with, including my own bunkmates briefly. I spoke of the several battles throughout the Iron Islands, getting injured under a fallen wall and then the final push at Pyke and the end of the hostilities, including Jorah Mormont and Thoros of Myr and the individual Kingsguard members I saw fight as well as the King and Lord Stark. Then I spent some time mentioning the Lannisport Tournament and the long march home, mentioning the King's reluctance to return to the capital, and Lord Starks' opposing desire to return home quickly.

I also talked about the revelations I had regarding my own lack of martial skill, and the desire to improve after all the close calls and fighting I participated in, which led into my decision to travel to Essos for a bit to continue improving and learning how to both lead men and fight better. This made way into the rather large group of companions I had started picking up on the road home, my meeting with Lord Jason Mallister and Lord Eddard Stark and the help and direction they provided in getting my idea off the ground. Then I talked quickly about the 45 men I had ready to travel to Essos with me, and how the majority of them were camping outside of the town for now and my plans to travel within a few weeks after spending some time at home, and setting up some things I had to do.

To say that they were shocked was putting it mildly, and all three of the older men were looking at me by the end of my tale as if I was a completely different person from the one they knew. Finally it was Grandfather that summed it up with his weak raspy voice when he said, "to be young again." That opened up the conversation, and soon the Maester and my Father as well were both expressing their amazement, and asking questions about my other plans I briefly mentioned as well as countless other things I touched on, and I promised to give them all time to get those answers, but first needed to gather my friends and eat supper with my family.

Getting my Grandfather and Father to both give me appreciative nods of the head, and warm smiles as I stood up to depart and gather my guests, filled me with a strong sense of pride and accomplishment, and I was glad to have opened up to them to such a degree. Having Maester Javven too looking at me with something like wonder was also a pretty big boost to my confidence that I could make and implement the changes and creations I had been thinking about and planning, and looked forward to increasing the finances and standing of House Locke. That reminded me as I neared the door to leave my Grandfather's rooms, and I turned back to the three most powerful men in Oldcastle with a large grin on my face.

"Oh, I almost forgot ...I was also given 3,000 gold dragons from Lord Stark to be put towards the betterment of House Locke," I grinned at their wide eyed faces as I reached down next to the door where I dropped my saddle bags, and pulled out a large heavy sack of gold and walked it back to them, placing it in my father's stunned hands, "see ya at dinner!"

As I left the room, I could have sworn that I heard my Grandfather laughing loudly, which quickly turned into a small coughing fit before it passed, and I continued on my way to the guest wing to gather my friends for supper with my family. Both Tristifer and Rickard were beyond grateful for the rooms they were given, and were excited to learn and ask a little about Oldcastle, while Sydel and Juden were more familiar with similar quarters and took everything in stride. The five of us quickly made our way to the main hall where the family would eat together, and we saw all but the three men I left behind in my Grandfather's suite already gathered and waiting to dine together.

I was able to give my two sisters' hugs and well wishes, it having been much too long since I had really seen or spent any time with either of them, but they both seemed to have really grown up into attractive young were quick to ask me about some of the more famous knights of the south, including Ser Barristan and Ser Jamie Lannister, who they both thought were beautiful like most young maids in naivety, and didn't really understand the realities of war and the barbaric nature of man. But, I was quick to assure them they were incredible warriors, with few equals, and also mentioned some of the others I met and saw and got my friends to add to that as well.

By the time my Grandfather, Father, and the Maester arrived everyone was conversing in good spirits, and was happy to see their Lord dining with the family for this special occasion, and all waited until he was settled before conversations picked back up. Throughout most of the meal we told stories, carefully omitting some of the gory or inappropriate parts for the younger listeners, and caught everyone up on the goings on of war, and the conclusion and march home. I also brought up my group of companions, of which the four with me were my most trusted among them, and talked about our plans to head to Essos to continue growing and learning about fighting and swordplay.

I could tell my mother wasn't completely happy with that decision, but at least wasn't going to call me out in front of everyone else, even if I could tell she didn't want me leaving again so soon. By the end of the meal, everyone seemed to be happy and I was asked to visit my father in his solar to discuss the next steps of my plan, and to work out the living arrangements of the rest of my traveling companions. Our discussion took several hours and lasted long into the night, but by the time I went back to my old room to get some sleep, I was given an old empty warehouse near the docks to bring my companions to for the duration of their stay in Oldcastle, and given his permission to do what I wanted in order to get everyone ready.

The next day, I went with my core group back to the tents my companions set up outside of town, and had them pack everything up and bring them into Oldcastle itself to get them all setup in the abandoned old warehouse, which worked perfectly for our purposes. I brought Vayon and Hubbard to meet with the town Blacksmith, and got them both a place at the forges to continue learning their craft and preparing a few extra weapons and armaments for our group, while also bringing Tymet and Davyd to the local tailor and introducing them to one another and getting them the same deal to help out in his shop until we left. The rest I brought to Gray Lonthor to train them all along with the soldiers of our household guard, so they could at least protect themselves even if they weren't all fighters.

In order for Lonthor to agree however, I had to train with them as well, which suited me just fine as I too needed all the practice I could get, and Lonthor was a skilled Master at Arms. He was quite surprised however, when our first lesson later that day had me relatively easily keeping up with him, and despite him having more strength, experience, and skill, my speed made up for quite a lot, and kept me even with him for a solid ten minutes. By the end of that first lesson, I was good and sore, and my companions were all looking somewhat worried as they fared much poorer against the older veteran soldier but knew to stick with it if they wanted to improve and stay alive.

Near the end of my day I met with a pair of brothers that were lumberjacks, and commissioned them to start working on the Hillside Holdfast, showing them the map I made of the area and what I wanted done, and introducing them to Grenn Snow who would be overseeing the project and living on site. They knew of a stone mason that had several sons and was looking for work, and promised me an introduction the following day to try and get them on board with the project as well. They also had a list of equipment they would want in addition to their usual stuff in order to clear the large amount of forested land and repurpose the wood for the holdfast, and I promised to have it by the end of the week from the blacksmith, for Grenn to take back with him when he went back there to settle.

That first week back home was really busy as I was constantly going from one meeting or training to another, and was so grateful for Rickard's help in keeping my schedule and finances in order, so I could fund and supply all the projects I had going without missing anything. I made time every day to talk with my family, and even went to see my Grandfather a few times to just sit and talk with him as well, which was a nice change as he treated me like a grown man and offered good advice and contacts for some of the things I wanted to accomplish. When that first week was finished, I took the stonemasons, lumberjacks, and Grenn along with a large supply of food, tools, and materials to the Hillside Holdfast and got them set up and started on my project, promising them that they had a good two years to try and get the land livable and workable for what I wanted, and at least three years until I returned.

I even found a farmer who I introduced to Grenn, for when the time came to start tilling the fields and preparing them for the crops I wanted to start growing, and gave him instructions on how to get everything done and paid for with money I left for him with the Maester. I ended up spending a good deal of time talking with Maester Javven, filling him in on my plans for the Hillside Holdfast and putting him in charge of my local treasury, in order to keep payments flowing and work being done without bothering my Father or Grandfather. I also brought up the need for warehouse space up the coast towards White Harbor, and asked him to make inquiries on any places available that looked like good building sights somewhat nearby, but also completely within the boundaries of my Family's land and showed him the maps I received from the Maester at White Harbor where we carefully delineated how much of the coast was under our control.

I also showed him and my Father and Grandfather a few of my easier ideas to implement along with small sketches and/or working models on a much smaller scale, including the seed drill, paddle wheels, wind mills, and mounted scorpions for ship defenses (or dragons if they were called for) though I didn't mention that part. I showed them my custom designs for the printing press, using block letter printing from small brass pieces or larger plates pre prepared that had the Maester practically salivating at the mouth and my family shocked speechless. I showed them how to use wood pulp to make our own paper, and explained how squids in the Bite would provide ink we could manufacture ourselves, and put my father in charge of those projects to be added to Oldcastle's exports.

"Where did all these ideas and knowledge come from?" came an almost exasperated plea from Maester Lavven, "some of the things you've explained and shown us seem fantastical."

"Your not that far off," I replied with a grin to the older man, "I saw a lot of these things in dreams, or parts at least …and then it just came down to learning and figuring out how to make them work for us."

"You've been blessed by the Old Gods," came the response from my Grandfather, giving me a searching look, almost as if seeing me as I truly was for the first time, but his words were glossed over and dismissed seconds later by another question of the Maester, and I never asked him what he meant by it.

I did have to convince Maester Javven however, that these ideas weren't immediately sent to the Citadel, as I wanted them to benefit my Family first before introducing them to the world at large, which he was reluctant to do. He eventually agreed due to the long standing relationship he had with my family over the last four decades he was in residence, and with the promise that he could experiment and use them in Oldcastle and would be put in charge of a few of them while I was gone. My grandfather especially was quite giddy at all the ideas, always gave me soft smiles and seemingly knowing looks, and spoke of how grateful he was for my return, and hopefully the return of the Locke Family to a more prominent role within the North, a sentiment my father too approved of.

With my Grandfather and Father on board and in the know on everything, they were able to bypass a lot of the problems I may have encountered, and promised to start implementing as many of my ideas as possible. It took some smooth talking, and a few mentions of old tomes and prophetic dreams where I saw these devices working as they could, and then spending my free time over the last few months gathering notes and planning out the parts needed and getting them commissioned from various places. That I had made smaller working models of both the water paddle wheel and windmill and demonstrated how they could run a spin wheel and incorporate gears to power forges or turn winches went a long way to proving my ideas were at least worth merit and consideration, and my family deciding to back me meant a whole lot.

With their backing, the next few weeks seemed to really start taking off as my Father had taken over the planning of building large scorpions on new harbor protections we were using the money from the war to pay for. A large upgrade to our harbor that would increase the size and protections ten fold, and put it on par with White Harbor in order to provide for the other growth I was promising them. That promise was in the creation of glass, which I convinced them I read about in a dusty tome in White Harbor, and took them to the forge and had Vayon and Hubbard show them how to heat sand into a malleable liquid that could be poured in molds or actually blown into unique shapes.

After that demonstration, my Father realized why I pushed for stronger defenses and an expanded port, as the Volantine Glass Makers were very secretive and possessive of their glass monopoly, though it had incredible financial potential. We realized and decided that we would need a separate forge and trained glass makers to really get a glass making business up and running, and made arrangements to inquire about blacksmith apprentices looking for work or any other somewhat skilled laborers among our small number of small folk. This was where my earlier inquiries into available land on the nearby northern coast made the most sense, and we spent a day finding out and scouting the future location of Locke Glass, and making sure we went as far as the maps said we could into land under our control.

The plan soon grew into creating a small holdfast near our coastal border with Manderly lands up the Bite inlet leading into the White Knife river and White Harbor, to help expand our lands and create a protection from that side for our newly planned Locke Glass factory. I argued that the best use of our glass making at first was going to be the creation of panes and panels used for greenhouses, as it would really help our ability to grow crops in the tough climate of the North. We could sell greenhouses to the other Northern houses at slightly reduced rates, or get favorable trading deals in place so we could grow into other opportunities like shipbuilding, livestock, and eventually mining before we took our glass business public to the rest of Westeros or Essos.

I demonstrated the double sided grooved metal frames that were relatively easy for our lone blacksmith to create with scrap metal, and would hold glass panels and allow for the building of glass green houses relatively easily. They were all amazed that it could be done so well and cheaply, even if it would be a while until we were producing quality glass. We made plans to start slowly, and make sure to insist that we had good and loyal people, who we treated well so they wouldn't ever sell our recipes to the highest bidder.

We also made plans to convert the current warehouse my companions were staying in, into a paper processing plant after we left for Essos, a project that Maester Javven was most interested in along with the printing press. Wood pulp was a cheap and readily available resource, and with the growing building projects and all the timber processing in our future, we would be stocked with wood pulp for years to come. We knew the printing press was a little too advanced for our current population of mostly uneducated and illiterate workers and laborers, but I argued it would be a benefit as we progressed and grew, and was backed up by Maester Javven who thought the entire process was ingenious.

Another small group of laborers were shown how to make soaps and perfumes, using lavender and lemongrass which both grew wild near Oldcastle and were in abundance, but underutilized. Promising them that soap and hygiene were very important for keeping clean and free of germs and sickness, encouraging them to use and promote its use among the smallfolk as well. Maester Javven was a big help in this regard, as he unearthed some writings from past Maesters that mentioned germs and contaminants that were responsible for many of the common sicknesses and diseases in Westeros, and promised to get involved in that project as well.

We ended up having to stay in Oldcastle for an additional month after we recruited the first wave of several dozen young laborers and got them started on the the many new business ideas and the very basics of glass making, and asked them to experiment to try and produce various colors and build up their skills before they started making anything that would be sellable. This way, by the time the Locke Glass Factory was up and running, we would have a large group of skilled glass makers to run it and possibly even expand. One of the molds I also asked them to make and work on, was a large glass bottle that would eventually be used for the alcohol business that was still in its infancy, but wanted to get them trying different things, hoping they would come up with some on their own and give them more to do until the factory was really up and running, as it would probably take a good year.

That was where we encountered one of our biggest obstacles, we simply didn't have a large enough or educated workforce as our town wasn't too big or populated, and we rarely got any new people moving in and settling in Oldcastle and the commoners were mostly illiterate. I knew from several fanfiction stories I had read in my previous life, that we could try and recruit among the slums of larger cities for their poorest citizens, but that would be difficult to do without alerting a lot of people in Westeros that something was going on. The other option I most read about was purchasing slaves, and freeing them and transporting them to Oldcastle to provide that new blood and the growing numbers we would need to start and grow these businesses, and eventually our little town into a thriving city.

Ethically, that was a much more gray area than most in the North would be comfortable with, but with our own port, we could ship them directly to Oldcastle without too many people learning about their origins and incorporate them into our growing city before anyone knew better. It was something I brought up with my Grandfather, as I wanted his opinion and blessing if that was the route we took, and was surprised when he simply smiled at me and said the idea definitely had merit. We brought in my Father too at that point and we discussed the pros and cons of liberating a slave force and inviting them to Oldcastle versus poaching the poor and destitute from larger cities like Kings Landing or White Harbor and bringing a lot of attention our way.

We eventually agreed, that if I could locate slaves in Essos that would be more easily able to integrate into the North, then they both agreed it was the safer option and not put us under the scrutiny of other houses in the North or the rest of Westeros before we were ready to defend ourselves and strengthen our position. I remembered something about Pentos that I mentioned to them both, that while slavery was technically illegal, they had indentured servants that were practically treated as slaves, and since they weren't slaves in name, if we purchased them we wouldn't be owning slaves. They both agreed that it was probably the best case, and we could argue that we never owned slaves if we were ever challenged on our suddenly growing population, causing my Grandfather to chuckle at my idea and compliment my thinking.

"Sometimes, I think the gods blessed you too well," he laughed one night after several very clever ideas of mine were decided in my favor, and I could only smile back at the man and wink, starting another laughing / coughing fit that was becoming more common in the old man.

"They blessed me with a good family too," I replied with a smile at my father as well.

My original plan on traveling to Essos was to go to the disputed lands, as that was where most of the Sellsword companies resided or were based out of, but with our population problem now a more important item, I agreed to start in Pentos and see how many indentured servants we could liberate and relocate. As a port city, it would be relatively easy to transport them directly from Pentos to Oldcastle and it brought up the need for us to start building a small fleet of ships beyond our very small group of merchant ships we currently had. I offered to go to Braavos first, and purchase a war galley with my own money, that would be better able to defend itself from pirates or slavers, and could then make runs between Oldcastle and Pentos picking up our newly freed people and eventually act as my own personal ship.

My Grandfather liked the idea, especially after I told him I still had almost 2,000 gold dragons myself from war reparations, gifts from Lord Mallister, Lord Stark, and Ser Wylis, and what I collected and traded for during the war itself. It was funding my expedition and my large group of companions, but we were hoping to make more, and a war galley would be a solid investment in our House's future, and promised to write the Sealord. We would however need a loyal crew, which I agreed to scout out and bring with me on our first trip and then get them set up running the war galley and making the return trips to Pentos. Grandfather actually called in a favor he had with one of the regular merchant ship captains that often stayed at our port, and set up a meeting with him where we discussed any available crew looking for work.

He in turn brought me to meet one of his best crew members, that had recently started a family and was looking for more work than he could give him right now, and after a long discussion, Derik and his pregnant wife Melyndia were offered the position of captain and head cook on my future war galley. He knew a few men to approach over the next few days to round out his crew, and we would probably need to pick up a few more in Braavos if the ship was as large as I wanted it to be, but we were at least on our way. With our send off now only a few days away, everything seemed to be coming together, and of course that was when the other shoe dropped and risked ruining everything I had planned.

Maester Javven approached me as I was breaking my fast with my family, only two days before our scheduled departure with a raven from Hornwood with the Bullmoose of Lord Halys Hornwood on the wax seal. It was actually addressed to my Grandfather as Lord of Oldcastle and mentioned my Essosi expedition, inquiring if we had left Oldcastle yet as he had a small group he was hoping to send. He returned home from the war to discover several cousins trying to gain influence within his House and Castle, and was exiling them. He wanted to send them to me in order for them to be brought to Essos and never return, and in compensation would provide either gold dragons or a herd of bullmoose pack animals.

We quickly called my father and all met with my Grandfather in his rooms to discuss it, and quickly agreed that it was to our advantage to accommodate Lord Hornwood, and that we should request the herd as they would be beneficial if we could domesticate and train them into beasts of burden for plowing and tilling fields. We also requested a small financial contribution of 5 gold dragons per person being exiled to cover any costs in their transport and told him we were delaying our voyage by over a week to make this accommodation, and needed expediency. Luckily, Hornwood was family, my mother's older brother, and lived relatively nearby in the grand scheme of things, but it would definitely take any expedition at least a week to ten days to reach us, but was an acceptable delay.

Maester Javven quickly wrote back and they applied Grandfather's wax seal before sending the raven off, and telling his family that their trip was delayed another ten days, to their obvious enjoyment. My companions were less enthused about the delay, but understood the implications of catering to another Lord and saw the value in the trade of goods and services that would benefit my Family. It also helped us a little, as we had added four newcomers to our trip from among the guards of Oldcastle that wanted a little more adventure, and had become friendly with some of the boys during our daily training with Gray Lonthor.

It would also mean though, that we would need to really increase our guards and levies soon, both to fill the small gaps being left, but also to prepare for the growth we were expecting. To this end, Gray Lonthor selected twelve veteran men to search some of the nearby coastal settlements between here, White Harbor, and Ramsgate to recruit a new group of potential soldiers and guards with promises of training, equipment, pay, room, and board. I suggested recruiting kids as young as ten to train them up properly, as after the recent war, there probably weren't too many adult men available, and this way they could really train a younger group the right way from the start and increase our numbers faster.

The delay also allowed us to continue working with the newest glass workers after having set up a temporary glass forge next to the abandoned warehouse my companions had taken over and was being converted into the paper factory, and really got them all up and running. It required me to take a large group down the coast to look for the cleanest and various quality sands available, to bag and bring back with us to the warehouse for them to continue using for their experiments. I also used that time to mark off the foundations of both the northern coastal Holdfast at the border of our lands with the Manderlys, and for the Locke Glass Factory settlement between them, near the nicest of the sands we found and collected.

And had one of the more unusual experiences of my life, and that's saying something as a reincarnated spirit merged with a fictional character. I had visited the Family God's Wood late one night, exhausted and in need of sleep, but just had too many things on my mind to settle for the night, and stumbled in among the old weirwood trees for the first time since being a little boy. The Heart Tree had me wide eyed and frozen, as I recognized the carving of the face in the tree as my original self, and the face I remember seeing most in the mirror of Charles Green stared back at me.

I could hardly breathe at seeing that face so expertly carved into the Heart Tree that I recognized more than any other, crying tears of blood red sap and literally looking right through me. I eventually stumbled forward, and came crashing down to my knees painfully in front of the Heart Tree, but with no thought or care to my physical pain as I stared in frozen horror at my own former face, reaching out my hands to touch the bark and …

Images, faster than anything I had ever seen, even after watching Donnel's life as a movie after arriving in this world, they came too fast to understand and left me with a splitting agony filled headache. I don't remember how long I was connected to that tree, or how many things I saw, or what any of them mean, but I remember stumbling back away from the Heart Tree and falling on my ass. I have a vivid memory or vision of seeing the face carved on the tree actually smile sadly down at me before waking up in my bed the next morning with no clue of how I got there.

Ever since that day, my dreams were occasionally filled with weird visions and scenes playing out that seem like a distant movie of the past that I'm watching through a muted fog, but occasional glimpses of clarity or ideas or images would come through with such focus, that it usually frightens me awake at least momentarily. My sleep has slowly started to suffer for it, but I am finding myself making it through the days just fine, always more run down and fatigued by the day's end, but also accomplishing so much each day that I expect to be run down, and coming back for more each morning. The amount we ended up getting done with the extra days was well worth it indeed, and it gave everyone working a few days off to spend some coin and have some fun before their journey east really began.

We ended up having to wait nine days for the group from Hornwood to arrive, consisting of three "cousins" of the House, though two of them were bastards who seemed to have tricked the lone Hornwood among them to try and seize control of the Family while Lord Halys was off fighting the Ironborn. They were all pretty lucky to be left alive actually, and we were all glad it wasn't anyone my mother would miss from her family, as the six guards that escorted them were quick to point out, any time any of the three talked back or complained about their situation. Two of those guards were even required to accompany us to Braavos, to ensure the three were exiled completely before they would return to Hornwood, and increased our passenger list even further.

Luckily, they brought with them 40 gold dragons for our trouble, and the promise that a large herd of 50 of the famous Bullmoose were being prepared for transport when they departed, but knew they would take much longer to move and didn't want to delay us any further. I thanked the four guards that were heading back to Hornwood, had my Grandfather and the Maester prepare a nice letter to Lord Hornwood that included a letter from his sister, for them to take back. The two guards that were coming with us were both veterans from the recent war, and I remembered one of them having fought at his side during one of the early battles at Saltcliffe, making their inclusion much easier to tolerate.

That night, my Father and the rest of my Family threw a feast for the departing group, where all 53 of my now expanded traveling companions were invited to eat, drink, and have some fun before we set off the following morning. The Braavosi merchant ship we had hired to take all of us had been filled with all our gear, and would sail us directly to Braavos along with the additional crew that would be moving into the new war galley I had ordered. Having written to the Sealord of Braavos earlier in the month we settled on a price of 1,000 golden dragons as it was a bare bones model that better fit our Northern practicality. I also made one more visit late that night to the Heart Tree and while the carved face resembled my old one, it no longer looked exactly alike, nor did touching the tree affect me in any way, and shrugged it off as a weird one time thing.

The next morning my Family came to see me off, and I gave long hugs to each of my siblings, parents, and Grandfather getting well wishes and safe travels from each of them in return. My Grandfather and Father both reminded me to be careful, mentioned how proud they were of me, and promised to continue working towards our shared goals. I gave them both a grateful nod and smiled and waved to them all, before heading down to the docks to join the rest of my party in a hopefully adventure-filled trip to Essos, starting in the Free City of Braavos.