He watched the man just wave a hand, and soon enough, a sailor brought two wooden cups with ice cream. He simply couldn't reject it; the thing was an addiction. And thankfully, the captain took him to the side to some wooden crates that he could use as a table.
"I'm a blacksmith."
Quickly, Donal felt the Captain's gaze on his missing arm.
"Lost it in the Rebellion at the siege of Storm's End." He made it clear, naming the battle so he couldn't be mistaken for a Targaryen sympathiser. He had no love for them.
"Ah, a Stormlander, eh? Aye, the Rebellion took plenty from us all. Lost my brother at the Battle of the Bells. My lord pulled me from death's grasp, else I'd be with the gods now. So, what's my one-armed friend doing in King's Landing?"
"Headed for the Night's Watch. Could make use of myself there."
"Not Ramsgate? My lord could use a master smith. It's the knowing that matters, not strong arms. Come, I'll show you inside my ship, how we carry ice. My lord's blessed by the gods, I tell you."
Donal hesitated a little. He'd never said he was a master blacksmith, so he wondered if the man had recognised him. But the chances were slim; he'd been out of work for years now. And he felt things were moving too fast; he answered the man far too easily. It felt like a trap.
"I would like that."
He ended up following him.
And that was how he ended up sailing the very same ship and seeing the walls of Ramsgate in the distance while the ship approached the harbor. He saw endless walls, a castle rising high, and sprawling docks that were still being worked. But the most shocking was the number of ships.
This… This is truly a city.
His initial excuse to himself was that traveling through that ship would help him reach the North quicker, and then reach the Wall. But as the harbor grew close, he couldn't hide his awe. The ships were being loaded and unloaded using strange hoists with wheels attached. There were others on the dock itself that used a long arm to move goods right from the ship onto the docks, and vice versa.
And somehow, the place was still cleaner than any harbor he had seen.
Moments later, he found himself disembarking the ship in a line. In front of him were smallfolk who hoped to live in Ramsgate. Soon, it was his turn to face the two men seated at a table, each writing in a thick ledger.
"Name?"
"Donal Noye."
"Age?"
"Five and Forty."
He saw it, the men writing everything in a table on the pages. One man was dressed in light armor like a soldier; the other was dressed like a bailiff.
"Master blacksmith."
As soon as he said that, the two men looked up at his face, as if doubting him. He noticed them staring at his missing arm. He usually ignored it, but he felt the need to speak about his achievements to them now. This city, its brazen desire to be grand, made him ambitious for an unknown reason.
"I was the smith and armorer for House Baratheon of Storm's End. Served them since Lord Steffon Baratheon. Made the very warhammer that King Robert takes into battle."
The two men stood up at his declaration and turned to speak with a man who seemed to be in a Maester's attire. Moments later, they looked back at him and spoke at the same time.
"Lord Kaiser will see you at the castle… Master Blacksmith."
"..."
The Lord himself?
####
Ramsgate Castle,
With preparations for his long journey to the south nearing the end, Wylis found himself with more free time than expected. He abused himself in the training field whenever he could. He trained with his men and trained them as well. He focused more on Chett and Dacey as they were his squires.
The metalworks sub-district in the Industrial district of the city was nearing completion. Enormous warehouses had been built, and blast furnaces and Bessemer converters were being erected all across. The waterwheels were being connected with gears and belts made of tightly woven cloth. A true steel boom was about to arrive.
The new port was still being worked on, with docks being constructed and added. The city's town hall had finished laying the foundation, same for the largest amphitheater in the city, and the colosseum-style arena right in the middle part of the city. A few large mansions were planned around it, as it would be the most expensive and luxurious part of the city.
But that didn't mean the rest of it was going to be substandard.
Wylis had already finished plotting the sewers, future city-wide plumbing, and, of course, all plans involved ensuring the city maintained greenery. The already finished housing sub-district had turned out clean and beautiful.
The rest of the construction, however, was going to happen without him there for nearly a year. He had developed detailed plans, designs, and drafts for everything. And while Benjen Stark was no engineer, he was a learned man, and Wylis had given him the duty of overseeing all the construction teams and the Maesters guiding them.
As for inventions, he had done what he wanted to. The cotton gin, spinning wheel, and power loom were slowly going to be manned and worked on to produce cloth. Clocks were going to be built in numbers. The printing press was already up and running, employing fifty-six printing machines to copy books to build a grand library for the city.
Medicines, Antitoxins, Penicillin, and blood group listing were also being worked on by the thirty wandering Maesters who now lived in Ramsgate Hall of Higher Education to learn under Qyburn. The Ramsgate Code of Law was being implemented, and five bailiffs were being trained by Brandon and Wenda.
And due to his recent reward of Factory Worker Management Skill from the An Empire Was Born side quest, he made sure to place the right workers in the right places in every factory or workshop currently operating. From carriage making to clocks.
Now the only thing he was waiting for was to finish Mine, Mine! Only Mine! Main Quest. Because it was about extracting gold, he needed to be in Ramsgate to keep an eye on the Fief Map and catch any thieves. He feared that failing could lead to quest failure.
Already, a little over five thousand men and women worked on extracting gold from the river.
A few more miles.
He finished marking the map of the river in his solar and sat back, summoning the Tyrant's Squire. There were Life Points to assign to the newborn and those who had their birthdays.
The first one was Magnus, his first trueborn son. The boy had turned four and had 2 Life Points sitting. So, Wylis wasted no time and added one to Vitality and one to Dexterity. Vitality was a must as he feared for their health. And since the boy was at a learning age, he boosted both Intelligence and Dexterity, which now sat at 5.
[Strength - 4/15
Dexterity - 4+1/15
Intelligence - 5/15
Charisma - 8/15
Vitality - 7+1/15]
Looking at the number, he nodded and moved on to the next, his second trueborn from Lyanna. Yet another boy.
[Son(Trueborn) - Lyanna Stark's
Life Points Available - 10]
[Strength - 3/15
Dexterity - 1/15
Intelligence - 2/15
Charisma - 3/15
Vitality - 4/15]
At a glance, the boy was born gifted. Most of his children were. But it wasn't as shocking as his son with Rhaella. Magnus himself, when he was born, had ordinary stats, with only Strength and Vitality reaching 1.
Now, all his children born had better stats from birth. Wylis reckoned it was due to his rising strength, fame, status, and being closer to what the Tyrant's Squire wanted.
[Strength - 3/15
Dexterity - 1+2/15
Intelligence - 2+2/15
Charisma - 3+2/15
Vitality - 4+4/15]
Strength meant little to a babe just days old. So, he put most points in Vitality, and then the rest.
Finally, he gave points to his son with Ashara. The boy wasn't as ethereally beautiful as Arthria. But, eventually, all his children were supposed to be that.
[Son(Bastard) - Ashara Dayne
Life Points Available - 10]
[Strength - 2/10
Dexterity - 0/10
Intelligence - 2/10
Charisma - 3/10
Vitality - 2/10]
The boy wasn't anything unique. But considering that '10' represented the peak of a human in that category, the fact that his children would reach that peak in each, was monstrous.
[Strength - 2/10
Dexterity - 0+1/10
Intelligence - 2+1/10
Charisma - 3+2/10
Vitality - 2+6/10]
Once again, Vitality mattered most, and then Charisma. After that, he assigned points to his other children. He assigned Simon, his son with Wenda, a point in Vitality. Then Byron, his second son with Wenda, the same. Both boys were born with Vitality in the negatives, so most of those initial 10 Life Points had gone into saving them.
Then came his son with Genna, Leonel Lannister. He didn't wait and allotted it to Vitality again. The boy was already decently strong, with Intelligence reaching 7 already. So what mattered was health.
Wait, she's due to birth the second one, isn't she?
______________________
Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 12 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 45-50 Webnovel chapters.
Check out Wylis X Elia & Wylis X Cersei NSFW art, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
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