The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 20: The meeting at the lumber mill

Samwell Tarly pulled his fur coat tighter around his body as he stepped off the ship that had brought him from King's Landing to Hardhome. He asked the first member of the Free Folk he met about Jon Snow. He was shown the way to the house of Tormund Giantsbane, the mayor.

A tall, red-bearded man answered Sam's knock. "Who are you?", he growled.

"Do you not recognize me, Tormund?", replied the Grand Maester.

The giant's face lit up. "Jon's friend, the fat crow! What are you doing here?"

"I'm not a crow anymore", Sam replied. "I need to talk to Jon."

"Then follow me", said Tormund. "He is currently inspecting the new lumber mill."

The mill was doing its job on a fast flowing stream. The large water wheel drove several mechanical saws, which workers used to cut tree trunks. The construction was state-of-the-art and was comparable to the lumber mills in the south.

There was a loud bark and before Sam knew it, he was almost knocked over by Ghost, who jumped at him with joy.

"Get back, Ghost!", came Jon's voice. The white, one-eared direwolf obeyed and Sam saw his old friend trudging through the snow towards him.

"Sam!", uttered the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch in amazement. "What brings you here?" He hugged his former comrade.

"Your brother, the king", said Samwell seriously. "There is news from Essos. Somebody used a manticore to attack Daenerys and the children. The Empress died, but was brought back from the dead by the high priestess of the Red God."

"Gods!", gasped Jon. "I should be with them and protect them."

Sam grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "That's exactly what Bran foresaw!", he said angrily. "Now listen to me: Daenerys has thousands of soldiers who take care of her and her sons. Besides that, you killed her, remember?"

"As if I could ever forget", sighed Jon.

Sam released him. "You can't go to them", he said urgently. "Daenerys had the assassin burned alive by her dragon in front of a howling mob. Just like she did with my father and brother. The same thing would happen to you. You would die without ever seeing your sons."

Jon looked dejected. "So I'll never get to know my offspring."

Sam took a deep breath. "Bran lets you direct that you will have your opportunity. But the time has not come yet." The Grand Maester had no idea how this "opportunity" was to come about, but he knew that Bran would not lie to his brother. He could only guess that the king, through his clairvoyant abilities as a Three-Eyed Raven, had seen something in the future.

"Then I'll have to be content with that", said Jon.

"Impressive, this lumber mill", said Sam, to get on another topic. "I suppose it is not only intended for the personal use of the Free Folk?"

"That's right", Jon said, and his face brightened. "If there's anything in abundance on this side of the Wall, it's wood. Braavos, for example, is dependent on timber imports for its shipyards. And even the New Valyrian Empire shows interest."

Sam made a face. And then they came back to Daenerys. "You know that the Empress is currently massively expanding her navy?", he asked. "Is it really a good idea to support her in this?"

"We have nothing to do with that", Tormund clarified. "The Empire offers us grain in exchange for wood. Can the South offer the Free Folk the same deal?"

"No", said Sam. "I don't want to tell you who to trade with, Tormund. Just keep in mind that the ships built from your wood could one day bring an invading army to Westeros."

"Jon's girl has a dragon, boy", replied the redbeard. "What are a couple of ships compared to that?"

"She's not my girl, she's my aunt", said Jon.

Tormund winked. "So what, little crow? Would that stop you from fucking her again if she let you?"