iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 398 Obsidian

Stone Drum Tower, Picture Table Hall.

Green rested his hands on the table with a detailed map of Westeros, and his eyes slowly swept over every inch of the "land" on it.

Lord Davos glanced at Green and said respectfully, "Duke Green, according to the deal between you and His Majesty Stannis, this place belongs to you from now on. My mission is accomplished."

Green looked up from the map, stared at Davos for a while, nodded his chin lightly, and said, "Thank you."

He waved his hand and said calmly, "Please come here, Lord Davos."

A slight puzzlement appeared on Lord Davos' face. He glanced at Green and then walked towards the map table.

Green also moved a few steps. He patted Davos' arm and turned his gaze to the map table again. He said, "You helped me take over Dragonstone smoothly. I should reward you."

Hearing this, Davos nodded quickly and said, "My Lord Duke, I am only fulfilling my duty. This really does not deserve a reward. In addition, it is a great honor for the Seaworth family that you personally knighted my eldest son. I will definitely remember your kindness."

Green smiled and said, "Dale Seaworth was knighted because he is outstanding enough and because I firmly believe that he will not disgrace the title of knight."

He raised his hand to stop Davos from speaking, and continued, "What I want to reward you is some information about the Red Keep, and the Red Keep has never had any secrets. Just consider it as a small thank you for your dedication and diligence."

Green walked a few steps and stopped. His hand swept across the Stormlands on the map and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, after the funeral of Lord Tywin, Lord Mace will lead the army of the Reach southward into the Stormlands."

Hearing this, Davos' eyes trembled slightly. His Majesty Stannis had already obtained relevant intelligence (Chapter 372), as well as the intelligence that Crabbe would attack Dragonstone. At that time... he had suspected that someone had deliberately leaked it to them, and it was easy to guess the purpose... It was nothing more than hoping that both sides would suffer losses.

Seeing Davos's reaction, Green's eyes moved slightly and said, "It seems that you already know something..."

Davos remained silent. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke: "I'm sorry, sir. There are many merchants selling intelligence at the Dragonstone docks."

After a pause, he added: "The Red Keep has a lot of intelligence, and the price is very cheap, but most of it is hard to tell whether it is true or false."

"You seem to have received reliable intelligence. Perhaps you also know that the Royal Council ordered me to attack Dragonstone."

Green sighed and said, "Their behavior is just as despicable as ever... Never mind, I'll continue with the previous topic."

He looked straight at Davos: "Do you know Tyrell's true purpose?"

Davos met Green's gaze, paused for a moment, and replied, "As far as I know, it is... Storm's End."

"Yes, Storm's End."

Green nodded. He looked at the map and said, "To be precise, what they really want is Tyrell's rule over the Stormlands."

He pointed to the location of Storm's End Castle and said, "As long as this castle is not breached, the turmoil in the Stormlands will not end. The Duke of Mace is a kind lord, but kindness cannot restrain the lords and soldiers below for long."

He moved his finger to Dorne. "Prince Oberyn was tragically killed in the women's house in King's Landing, and the Lannisters openly protected the family members suspected of being the murderer...Under such circumstances, Prince Doran was still able to maintain his sanity. In fact, the main reason was that Lord Tywin was still alive. Now that the lion is dead... Dorne may invade the Stormlands in the name of revenge."

His finger moved and pointed at the location of Cape Wrath. "With the Tyrell army and the Martell army, the Stormlands are destined to become the next Riverlands, which is littered with corpses. Lord Davos, you know very well that in front of out-of-control soldiers, there is no distinction between civilians and nobles."

Lord Davos' pupils shrank. Cape Wrath... the rainforest... this was the land bestowed upon him by His Majesty Stannis. His wife and two young sons (the sixth and seventh) were still there.

He tried his best to hide the panic on his face, bowed and said, "Thank you sincerely for your reminder. I swear, I will always remember your kindness."

Davos looked up at Green who was staring at the storm, paused, and said, "My Lord Duke, if you have no other instructions, please allow me to take my leave."

He had no doubt about the danger Green told him, because he could tell that it was all true, and the actual situation would probably be even worse. Therefore, he had to set sail immediately, race against time to pick up his family who were left in the rain forest before the war broke out, and then... he could think about the future carefully after ensuring the safety of his family, and the safety of his wife and children was always the most important...

"and then?"

Green's voice abruptly interrupted Davos's thoughts, and he looked over in a daze.

Green continued, "Where are you going to take your family? You can certainly keep your family away from the smoke of war, but... then what? As the former right hand of Lord Stannis, I don't think there is a place for you in the Seven Kingdoms. Are you going to go across the Strait? Let your sons inherit the old skills of the Seaworth family and become smugglers who like to go out in cloudy days? Or do you become free... pirates with your friends?"

Lord Davos was stunned again. He suddenly thought of his sons who were just excited at the gate of Dragonstone. They... especially his eldest son, Dale. He would definitely be so excited that he couldn't sleep all night, because he was also unable to sleep all night when he was knighted by His Majesty Stannis, although... the pain from his cut knuckles also accounted for part of the reason.

His sons could have had a better life...

Davos's face turned bitter in an instant: "My Lord Duke, it is my incompetence as a father. With my ability, the best I can do is to keep them from falling into danger. This is the grace you have bestowed upon me by your kindness. I really have no choice..."

"No, you still have a choice."

Green turned to face Davos and continued, "Sixteen years ago, you drove a small boat carrying onions to break through the blockade of the Redwyne fleet and deliver supplies to Storm's End. From then on, you became Lord Stannis's Onion Knight."

He reached out and grasped Davos's arm. "Sixteen years later, Lord Stannis has banished you, the free knight, Davos Seaworth... I want you to give me your loyalty, to fight for me, to advise me, and in return, I will protect the Seaworth family."

More than a year ago, Duke Green personally invited one of his sons to serve in Kleber's fleet (Chapter 176). The situation was very complicated at that time... Although I was honored, I had to politely decline.

Today, Crabbe's invitation came again, and it was to him... Davos could deeply feel the sincerity of Duke Green. As a top noble, the lord in front of him could do this for a wandering knight who was born as a smuggler. It was an incomparable gift, but...

"Lord Green, I have nothing to repay you, but I cannot become an enemy of His Majesty Stannis. I beg for your mercy." Davos could not help but lower his head, full of guilt. He felt that he was very selfish and chose to sacrifice his sons' future for his so-called personal honor.

He had also let down the trust and respect of Duke Green, and he was thinking... whether he should cut off the knuckles of his other hand to express his sincere apology, and at the same time... it would save him the trouble of trimming his nails.

At this time, Green's voice sounded: "Perhaps one day, Lord Stannis and I will meet on the battlefield..." He patted Davos lightly and said, "If that day really comes, I can promise you that I will allow you to stay away from that battlefield."

Green's words weighed on Davos' heart like a mountain. He was extremely worried that he would fail to live up to the trust.

His trembling lips opened slightly, wanting to say some words of gratitude, but his throat seemed to be tightly strangled by an invisible force.

After a pause, since he couldn't speak for the time being... he chose to kneel down first, as he was worried that Duke Green would misunderstand.

…………

At noon that day, ravens carrying Green's handwritten letter flew to Mermaid Harbor and Seagulltown respectively. Under his order, the Mermaid Harbor Fleet and Seagulltown Fleet would dispatch warships and assemble at the port of Dragonstone to form Crabbe's new fleet, the Dragonstone Fleet, with Lord Davos Seaworth, appointed by Green as the acting governor of Dragonstone, as the fleet commander.

…………

The burning torches illuminated the deep and ancient tunnels at the bottom of the Dragonstone volcano.

Davos picked up a black stone and handed it to Green, saying, "Lord Green, is this the stone you are looking for?"

Green's eyes fell on the slightly oily black stone in his hand and looked at it for a while... He didn't recognize it.

His eyebrows raised slightly, "What's it called?"

Davos could not hide the puzzled look in his eyes. He replied respectfully: "The maester from Dragonstone told me that it is called 'obsidian'. This kind of stone..."

After a pause, he continued, "A lot of them, in large chunks, forming mineral layers. Most of them are black, but there are also green, red, and even purple ones."

Green handed the stone in his hand to Brienne behind him, nodded slightly, and said, "This should be it. Obsidian... is called 'frozen fire' in the ancient Valyrian language."

When they walked out of the cave and set out on the road to Dragonstone, Green glanced at the Onion Knight who was following him silently and said, "Lord Davos, according to the ancient legends passed down by our ancestors, in the Age of Heroes, the Children of the Forest gave the Night's Watch a hundred obsidian daggers every year."

Davos blinked, a thoughtful look on his face, and said, "Perhaps obsidian was a more valuable item a long time ago?"

Green smiled and said, "Maybe it was in the past, but the other legend about it is what I value."

He suddenly stopped and made a gesture. The guards behind him immediately understood and quickly dispersed their guard. Soon, only he and Davos were left there.

Green said: "Weapons made of obsidian are one of the few nemesis of the White Walkers. A White Walker cut by it will die on the spot."

Davos widened his eyes in surprise and asked, "White Walker?"

Green's expression became slightly solemn. "More than a month ago, I met with the Night's Watch's Master and the Ravens in King's Landing (Chapter 355). They brought shocking news. The wights that had disappeared for thousands of years reappeared at the Wall."

Davos blinked again. "Wight?"

Green nodded and said seriously, "According to the legends of the ancestors, wights are dead people or other dead animals resurrected by the White Walkers using dark magic. They will completely obey the orders of the White Walkers."

Davos opened his mouth, slowed down a little, and said, "Not long ago, I read the letter from the Night's Watch (Chapter 381). The letter was sent to Dragonstone about two months ago. The content of the letter... mentioned that the wildlings north of the Wall were moving south on a large scale."

After a pause, Green spoke slowly, "Plus, Lord Stannis suddenly decided to go north to the Wall... I believe that with his wisdom and determination, he would never trade Dragonstone with me unless he encountered something more important than the crown of the Seven Kingdoms."

Davos hesitated and said, "My lord, please forgive me for my offense, but the White Walkers and the Wights are just legends after all. Should we take this matter seriously?"

Hearing this, Green chuckled and said, "The night is long and dark, and everywhere is dangerous?"

He reached out and patted Davos, who looked a little embarrassed, and continued, "It was Lady Melisandre who facilitated the deal between me and Lord Stannis. She told me that Lord Stannis went north to fight against the dark forces, and the wildfire I supported was very attractive to them."

Davos scratched his thick beard and said, "I have had the honor of viewing the gift you sent me."

Green took a step forward and continued forward: "Let's go, my loyal Davos."

After walking a few steps, he turned to look at Davos and suddenly asked, "What is your impression of Lady Melisandre?"

Davos paused, shrugged, and said, "She is better at playing with fire."

Green smiled and said, "Very good answer."

Back in the drawing room, King Green began to issue orders one by one.

Dragonstone has a sparse population, and most of them are fishermen, but Green needs a large number of miners. He immediately thought of the refugees from the riverlands gathered in King's Landing, and he gave the task of hiring miners to Crabbe's Company.

If the daily workload is completed, four gold royals per year. After a slight hesitation, the merciful Lord Green waved the quill pen in his hand and added at the end... food and accommodation are provided.

The quill pen paused again. Mining not only requires miners, but also cooks, cleaners, and laundrymen. Soon, the generous Lord Green continued to wave the quill pen in his hand, and the miners' families were hired first.

After arranging the mining, the next step is the obsidian weapons captain.

It would take time to recruit enough weapon craftsmen, so Green planned to transfer half of the craftsmen from Whispering Castle first.

The main weapons made of obsidian are temporarily divided into three types: daggers, spearheads and arrowheads.

(End of this chapter)