Game of Thrones: Lord of Winter

"Finally we got off the ship."

The Mill Liberty sailed through the waves for a day and a night, and finally docked on the coast of Storm's End around noon today when the sun was at its highest point in the sky.

After dropping anchor, they used a tender to get to the coast.

Cole couldn't sleep well on the deck or in the cabin like the Onion Knight. Sometimes he was awakened by a shake, and sailing on the sea was still a risky job. If there was a storm, human power was helpless and they could only leave it to fate.

In the Battle of the Blackwater River, the Royal Fleet encountered a storm during the journey, and many ships were destroyed.

"Lord Cole." Camillo greeted him on the shore with dozens of knights.

Cole shook his cloak, and the flaming white bird with gray-black edges soaked a lot of sea water, and it splashed a few drops of water after shaking it twice.

"You look good, Sir Camillo." Cole patted his breastplate.

He chose a silver pomfret as his emblem, while José chose a sword.

Cole gave each of them a complete set of knight equipment, from the leather armor and chain mail inside to the outer shield. At this moment, Camillo was in front of him with full armor.

He grinned, "My lord, I took a bath to welcome you. I also used the perfume Gilbert gave me."

"Bathing is a good habit. Taking a bath frequently can make you less sick." Bathing is a rare thing for them. Even prostitutes who sell their beauty may not take a bath several times a year.

The servant brought Cole's horse. This was a good horse chosen by the groom for him. It has a gentle personality.

Camillo walked side by side with him, and the horse's hooves slowly walked towards the Storm's End. Cole asked, "Has anything happened in the castle these days?"

"The Cotoin and Leville families in the River Reach sent people to redeem their knights. Sir Farin received them in the hall, but we dare not make a decision without authorization before you return."

Cole calculated the price in his mind. "How much did they ask for?"

The River Reach occupied the fertile land in the south and was always rich. He could try to ask for a high price. In fact, it would be better for them to be killed. After being redeemed, they might become the living force to kill him on the battlefield in a blink of an eye.

"There are two knights of the Cotoin family captured by us. They are willing to pay 600 gold dragons to redeem them and 100 gold dragons to redeem their armor. The Leville family is only willing to pay 100 gold dragons for their knights."

"The knights of the Leville family are only worth 100 gold dragons. I think they are more valuable than the knights for holding a banquet."

The salty wind on the coast was whistling, and even Cole couldn't help feeling a little cold. "How is the tax collection going?" During the time he was away, the castle was collecting agricultural taxes from the attached land. "You didn't collect taxes from the tax-free villages?"

"These are all in the charge of Sir Farin. My lord, you also know that José and I can't recognize a single word, and we can't understand those numbers." His face was slightly bitter.

"In addition to honing your combat skills, you should also learn to read, my lord." Cole was quite helpless about the fact that the two most loyal knights under his command were illiterate.

The gatehouse of Storm's End was tightly closed, and the drawbridge was also retracted high. The mottled and ancient rock walls still had traces of war, some blood stains that had soaked into the stone solidified on it, and there were also charred shadows of fire.

Many damaged parts were repaired with stones by stonemasons. Cole also ordered people to widen the moat and dig a wooden thorn trench within the range of the gatehouse connecting the drawbridge.

The flags of the crowned stag and his flaming white bird fluttered above the battlements and towers of the castle.

According to the law, he already had the right to rule this castle. After marrying Shireen, they would jointly govern the territory and vassal of his subordinates.

At the same time, he also had the right to rule from Summerhall to Green Valley City. If Shireen died before him, he would hold the titles of Duke of Storm's End and Marquis of Summerhall concurrently.

Of course, this is only possible if Stannis can be crowned king in King's Landing. Now, except for Dragonstone and Storm's End, no one recognizes his title, or even his knighthood.

The War of Kings has come to an end. At this time, the Lannisters, Tyrells and Dorne have declared an alliance and jointly honor Joffrey as king.

The Riverlands were in chaos, the North was busy driving away the Ironborn, and the Vale closed the Bloody Gate and acted like an iron cuckold.

The war seemed to have stopped temporarily.

But this situation will definitely not last too long. This is just the calm before the storm.

José was stationed on the city wall with his long sword and flag placed next to the flaming white bird.

The drawbridge was slowly lowered, and José and Gilbert led dozens of spearmen to greet them.

"You are not busy wearing armor and not preparing food for me, right? I have been eating fish for two days on the boat. Now I urgently need some apple pie and bacon, and of course wine." He said to the two jokingly.

"Lord Cole, the castle has already prepared a banquet." Gilbert smiled brightly, "The birds have already sent the news, so we must dress up to welcome you."

"Let's go, don't stand there. I have to see what surprise you have prepared for me." He walked ahead.

The engagement banquet on Dragonstone was extremely simple. They lit a bonfire on the coast and announced the marriage contract under the witness of the Fire Lord R'hllor.

He got a little drunk in the hall of Storm's End. He returned to the room on the top floor and asked the servants to fetch some water to splash on his face to sober him up.

He sat quietly in front of a wooden table with some parchment scrolls scattered in front of the table. He almost always dealt with the letters sent by the birds here.

He picked up the stylus and dipped it in ink. He wrote a letter, lit a wax from the stove and dripped it on the seal of the envelope. He used his emblem to print the seal of the fire-breathing white bird.

He walked to the maester's tower. No one lived here. Usually only two servants who were responsible for feeding the birds would go up.

In the raven cage, more than a dozen birds were jumping up and down. Most of them flew to Dragonstone. Before the war, there were hundreds of ravens here, but now there are only a few left.

The servant named 'Hagen' had been responsible for taking care of the maester of Storm's End before. He recognized these birds.

Cole took over his meat barrel, picked up the minced meat with tongs and threw it into the cage. The ravens immediately fluttered over to grab it.

He fed for a while and returned the meat barrel to Hagen. "Are there any birds going to the Great Wall here?"

"Great Wall, Great Wall!" The crow followed and called. This kind of raven can imitate others.

"Yes, sir. There are two birds that know the way to the Great Wall." The servant pointed to two ravens.

To Cole, they all looked the same. Although he had taken care of the birds for a while, he was only responsible for feeding them.

Cole caught the birds, put them in separate cages, and took them back to his room.