Then came his twins with Anna, the sweet, smallfolk woman who Lyanna adored for some reason. Alric and Alden were both strong already, so he gave it to their Vitality. Moreover, Anna was pregnant, and he felt a bit saddened that he wouldn't be there for her.
But he had made medicines and tools for it, however. For the worst-case scenarios.
Finally, it was time for Lady Clara Roote of Harroway's Town. He assigned 2 points to Vitality there, as he hadn't assigned the previous year's either. Then there was his son with Lysa, Robin. Once again, there were 2 points, one from the previous year. He added both in Vitality. He did the same for his son with Ros, and for his son with Lady Diana Mooton of Maidenpool.
Ah, missed this one.
His gaze fell on Lady Leona Woolfield, wife of Wylis Manderly. The woman had just given birth, and all 10 points were left unallocated. So, he quickly worked on it.
[Strength - 3/10
Dexterity - 1/10
Intelligence - 1/10
Charisma - 3/10
Vitality - 5/10]
Vitality is already five? Gods, Manderly's got giants' blood too, I guess.
Not just that, others were also better than most. But he liked this; it meant Lady Woolfield would feel less regretful of what happened, and more blessed that it did happen.
[Strength - 3+1/10
Dexterity - 1+1/10
Intelligence - 1+1/10
Charisma - 3+3/10
Vitality - 5+4/10]
Wyman must be throwing a grand feast in celebration. The lad's strong in every way imaginable.
Finally, he allotted a point to Vitality for all the children he had during the orgy in Stoney Sept.
[Remaining Lifespan - 57+8 Years]
Bountiful harvest, I suppose. Eight years earned. But not enough.
Ting!
Right as he finished, he heard a notification. And this time, his heart beat in excitement.
[Quest Updated - A Tyrant's Lair]
[New Chain Quest (1/5) - A Tyrant's Lair
Description - A Tyrant's throne is heavy, and the more hands there are to carry it, the higher the throne shall rise. Raise Tyrant's Fief's population to 25,000.
Reward - Talent Hunter: There could be hidden ship captains, blacksmiths, economists, and healers amongst the poor by fate. Find them with ease.]
"At last!" He exclaimed aloud alone and quickly opened the Fief Map. As usual, all the people were marked; the residents of his fief were all green, visitors were grey, and allies were blue. He noticed a few red ones as well and quickly wrote them down.
But what excited him most was when he touched a random smallfolk in green, and a pop-up appeared.
[Name - Keat
Gender - Male
Age - 26
Status - Smallfolk
Allegiance - House Kaiser
Occupation - Gold Extraction
Talent - Carpenter major, wood sculpting minor.]
The point was that most people don't even know they have a talent for something. It was rare for a man to be talented and realise that he's talented in that particular thing.
Again, he randomly tapped on another green one.
[Name - Alsa
Gender - Female
Age - 37
Status - Smallfolk
Allegiance - House Kaiser
Occupation - Gold Extraction
Talent - Dessert Making major, General Cooking minor.]
Oh? I can use a talented cook in the castle.
Then, he tried to do the same with those in grey who were visitors, blue who were allies, and red. However, there was no talent category in their details.
Only works for residents of my fief then? Maybe the next level will unlock it?
Fully satisfied, he relaxed in his chair. But as he was closing the map, he saw a green dot coming towards his solar. He reckoned it was either Chett or one of the women, but they were alone.
Hm, it's Chett. The man has major talent in combat, as expected, and surprisingly, minor talent in writing.
But then he clicked the second green dot and realised there were levels to this entire thing.
[Name - Donal Noye
Gender - Male
Age - 45
Status - Smallfolk
Allegiance - House Kaiser, House Baratheon
Occupation - Traveler
Talent - Blacksmithing extreme, Swordmanship major, Masonry minor.]
"..."
Knock! Knock!
Right then, a knock came on the door. He was on the ground floor solar.
Donal Noye and House Baratheon. Hm, the one who made the hammer?
"Enter," he responded, remaining in his seat.
As the door creaked open, Chett entered first and saluted with a bow of the head.
"My lord, a man claiming to be a blacksmith of House Baratheon has arrived. Says he forged the King's warhammer."
"Is he one-armed?" Wylis asked.
"Aye, my lord."
"Then the man's likely telling the truth. Send him in, and tell a maid to fetch us something to drink," Wylis ordered. He saw no need to mention ice. In Ramsgate, it was always served so.
Soon, the door opened again, and a large man walked in, dressed humbly, with a big gut and chest flat, a big nose, and a stubble beard. As expected, his right arm was missing from the elbow, where the tunic was pinned, folded up against his shoulder.
"It is an honor to meet you, my lord."
At least he knows how to behave.
"Likewise. For the man who forged Robert's warhammer, I can always find a moment. Come nearer and sit. Refreshments should be here shortly. But satisfy my curiosity, what is the smith and armorer of Storm's End doing so far North? Don't tell me my humble Ramsgate drew you all this way." Wylis kept a friendly demeanor with the man, who was likely used to meeting nobles by now.
"I'd have called such a thing folly, had I not seen this ambitious city rising with mine own eyes, my lord. Ramsgate struck me like a hammer upon an anvil. Truth be told, I'd first meant to take the Black. But Captain Roland's a damned convincing man."
"Hah, that he is. One of the few captains who knows stern from arse. He's due for elevation soon," Wylis replied, gesturing to the maids as they entered. "But why the Night's Watch? It is not the noble calling it once was. These days it's filled with murderers, rapists, and every sort of wretch."
Donal shifted his half limb gently. "To make use of me, my lord. One arm may not suffice to forge for a lord again, but for those cravens at the Wall, I'd say one arm's plenty."
An extreme talent sent to the Wall? As if I'd let you.
Quickly, Wylis grabbed a few sheets of paper and started drawing on them while speaking. "Who says a man needs two arms to forge? Ramsgate has entered a new age of smithing. New furnaces, new methods of my own making. Planning something for your missing arm is no great challenge. You've only lost it from the elbow. With straps, we can make a leather sleeve with a socket at the end.
"Then we make different arms, each with a hand suited to its task. One to grip, one to press, one to turn. An arm for every need. A simple spring mechanism, and you need only snap it into place. Easy enough with sheet metal and pipes, and light besides."
Wylis quickly drew the straps Donal could wear on his chest, and the arm sleeve with a metal socket at its lower end where the arm was missing. There, different types of forearms could be snapped into place for use.
"Take a look." He slid the parchments across the table. "A gift such as yours ought not be left idle. Ramsgate needs master blacksmiths for what I have in mind."
Donal stared at the parchments at first, sprawled in front of him on the table. A few times he frowned, then at times he seemed surprised, as if understanding the meaning.
"My lord, to make a sheet of metal this thin—"
"I have built trip hammers driven by waterwheels. We've metal sheets enough already, so spare yourself the worry. Come, I'd like to show you the street I've set aside for the smiths."
Wylis planned to awe this man the same way he had recruited Qyburn. By overwhelming him with knowledge and new techniques. All that mattered was that Ramsgate needed a master blacksmith.
He didn't wait and got up, moving to the door. He knew Donal was likely hesitant, perhaps even depressed since losing an arm, ending his career as a blacksmith. It was the same as a knight losing his sword hand.
But soon enough, he heard footsteps behind him.
Welcome to Ramsgate, my friend.
Wylis already knew he had him now.
####
______________________
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
Old Free Art on Discord: https://discord.gg/W5FdB6WXaP