NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: Bumping into a friend!
Hey guys, here's the sixth chapter. Chapters upto 12 are already posted on my Patre_n page if you want to have early access. https://www.patre_n.com/Axelwheel.
Check it out.
The next Chapter will be out by 27 April, 18.00 pm IST. Enjoy!
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When Merry Go arrived at the outer harbour, Damian felt like he had come home. He considered this city his home becasue he had spent the best part of his life in this place.
White Harbor is a harbour city in the north which contains the New Castle, the seat of House Manderly. It is located southeast of Winterfell and is the largest settlement north of the Neck, but the smallest among the five major cities of Westeros. This city is North's primary trade port. Its location on the mouth of the White Knife provides opportunities for trade further north.
Due to its location, White Harbor has more contact with the South and there are more knights and followers of the Faith of the Seven in White Harbor than anywhere else in the North. There are some followers of the old gods, but most follow the Faith. The city has access to good fishing grounds and is also the home of many silversmiths.
White Habour is located on the eastern shore of the river, White Knife. The city is clean and well-ordered, with wide straight cobbled streets that make it easy to walk around. The houses are built of whitewashed stone, with steeply-pitched roofs of dark grey slate.
Damian spotted the Seal Rock. It was a massive stone dominating the approaches to the Outer Harbor. It is crowned with a ringfort of weathered stones of the First Men that stood desolate and abandoned for centuries. However, the Manderlys fortify it with crossbowmen, scorpions, and spitfires. The stone looms fifty feet above the waters, grey-green in colour. Seals often rest on it.
The harbour is divided into inner and outer harbours. The outer harbour is larger, but the inner harbour offers better anchorage and shelter by the city wall on one side and the looming mass of the Wolf's Den on another. A mile-long, thirty-foot wall, with towers every hundred yards, is located on the jetty that separates the two harbours.
The Wolf's Den is an ancient fortress that now serves as a prison. It is located by the water and adjoins the city walls. Houses cling like barnacles to the walls of the Wolf's Den; one is a brewhouse which makes a well-regarded black beer but Damian isn't a fan of this drink. Now he can think of why he didn't like it. It was because the beer was too sour for his liking and it was nothing like the smooth beer he had been drinking in his previous life.
A fish market is located between the outer harbour and the Seal Gate. The seafood that is available at White Harbor includes whitefish, winkles, crabs, mussels, clams, herring, cod, salmon, lobster, and lampreys.
Damian had made sure he didn't bring any fish that were already available in White Harbour's market. He only bought local fish that are found in the waters near Bravos and Lorath like oysters, eels, crawfish, rays, and many sorts of fish not seen in these waters.
On his journey, Damian also came across a dead body of a grey whale floating in the narrow sea. Possibly, it was attacked by a pack of Orcas. In this world, they are known as savage spotted whales and many call them the wolves of the wild sea. They are known to attack these giant creatures just to eat their brains. They leave the rest of the body as it is to decompose or for sharks to eat.
The Grey Whale was as big as his ship, which means it wasn't an adult but it could still fetch some fifty gold Dragons for him.
"Ah, it feels good to be back," Damian said as he came down from the ramp and stepped on the solid ground of the harbour.
"Damian?!"
"Jory? What are you doing here?" Damian responded in surprise, seeing his friend in White Harbour. Last he heard, Jory was training under Sir Rodrick, his uncle and master-at-arms of Winterfell. He also had some men following behind him in the livery of Stark colours and Manderly colours.
'Oh boy' Damian thought in his head. He had somewhat guessed their reason for being here at White Harbour.
"Why do you think? It's because of you, Damian. What made you think running away to Bravos was a sane decision without even first talking to Lord Stark? Do you know how angry he was at you after reading your letter?" Jory said. Clearly looking disappointed with his decision to go to Bravos in such a manner.
"Sorry, my friend, I made a mistake. I should have let Lord Stark know my future aspirations. I know I could've done it in a better manner. Still, I don't regret going to Bravos. I will settle my issue with my brother this time so don't worry." Damian said.
Jory seemed to know he couldn't do anything to change Damian's mind once it is set. He also knew somewhat about Damian's fascination with travelling the world on a ship as they were child mates and had trained together in Winterfell for a time.
Jory then went on to explain what he was doing at the White Harbour. Apparently, Lord Stark had ordered Jory to bring him back from Bravos. If he can't then he needs to stay with Damian to watch over him and see to it that he doesn't do anything stupid. Lord Manderly had also added some of his men to go with Jory because Damian had fostered at his house so he was also somewhat responsible even if Damian's fostering had been completed.
Jory was trying to book a passage on a ship whose destination was Bravos but couldn't find any that seemed to go there in the next two or three days. Lord Manderly could have helped but his own ships had left to trade with the South and would not be back for at least another day or two. After seeing Merry Go with two other ships entering the port, Jory came to try his luck.
"What happened? Why are you back so early?" Jory asked, looking confused.