The sounds of hammers striking chisels and of chisels striking stone filled the air around Queenscrown. Work on the tower had begun at long last. Jon could hear the men laughing and singing as they went about their tasks. It made him proud of them, these people that had placed their faith in him to give them a better life than they could have otherwise expected. He smiled to himself while listening to them with one ear. The other was paying attention to the conversations taking place around his table.

Just as his father would do, Jon had invited several of his key servants to take their midday meal with him. He wanted to get their perspectives on how the work was progressing and what yet remained to be done. Now that most of the meal was finished, he decided to join in the conversations that were taking place. Leaning forward, Jon said, "Torrhen, what can you tell me about the progress that's being made in the construction of the town and the repairs to the tower?"

Torrhen, ever prepared for anything, pulled a few papers out of a satchel and laid them out on the table. When placed together, they formed a map of the village. Torrhen said, "M'lord, the wall around the village, that is the wooden inner and outer walls along with the gatehouse and the towers along the wall, has been completed. Roughly half of the wall has been filled with the rocks and dirt produced from digging the moat that will surround the walls. A few more weeks and the wall should be completely filled, while the moat shall be completely dug. As the sections of the wall are being filled, the battlements are being laid atop the fresh packed dirt to finish the work. At their current state, I'd say we're more than capable of fending off nearly any wildling attack and perhaps even a small scale attack from anyone else. Once they are completely finished, your holding will be nearly invulnerable to any wildlings that are fool enough to attack."

Jon replied, "Good. And do you have the plaster to coat the walls in once they're finished?"

"I do, M'lord. Before we left Winterfell, I made sure to have more than enough to coat the walls. Because of that, I've taken the liberty of ordering the insides of the wall to be coated in a thin layer of the plaster as well. This will ensure that the logs won't rot out from the inside once the gap is full of dirt. The wall may not be stone, but it'll be a damn sight stronger than most other wooden walls."

"Excellent. Now, what about the village? How is the construction proceeding in the village?"

"It's progressing." Torrhen pointed to the map he had made up that showed where the streets would run and what would be built where. "When we first arrived, we had planned to have the main street run in a straight line to the landing where the causeway to the tower begins. Essentially we were just going to follow the path that was already here. But as we discussed last week, we've changed it so that the street has a few twists and turns in it, like this," he said while gesturing at the path he had marked on the papers, "before it reaches the causeway gatehouse. Now, should the gates or walls ever be breached, the attackers will not have a straight run at the causeway."

Alyn, who was sitting to Jon's left now spoke up and said, "M'lord, once the work is finished we can put archers in the buildings that line the street, small groups of guardsmen as well. If we do that, we can turn any attack into the village into a bloodbath. By the time any enemy reached the causeway gatehouse, he'd have been so thoroughly blooded that he'd have little to no stomach left for a further fight."

Jon nodded along as his Lord Father's Chief Builder and his Captain of the Guards went over the plans and reasoning behind some of the changes that had been made. They made sense. Especially once he had realized that there was not a single straight path from any of the gates to the Great Keep at Winterfell. It was something he had grown up with, and until now he had never questioned why it was so. It just was. Now he was learning why. He asked, "What about the causeway gatehouse? How far along are we in its construction?"

Torrhen replied, "All but completed, M'lord. The two towers have both been finished. I designed them similarly to the walls, in that the towers all have inner and outer wooden walls with dirt packed in between them. They'll not only be strong enough to hold off any attacks on the tower itself, the thickness of the walls will help keep them quite a bit warmer for the men inside them."

Ser Alyn spoke again and asked, "Lord Wolff, have you decided on whether or not to quarter the men in the towers? You had mentioned that you were considering it."

Jon nodded his head and replied, "Yes, I think that's what we'll do. At least for some of them. We have what, forty-five men in the garrison?"

Alyn nodded his head and said, "Aye, M'lord."

"Between those men and the twenty that Lord Manderly has promised to send with his granddaughter, not all the men will fit in the gatehouse. My thought was to quarter roughly fifteen men in the causeway gatehouse, fifteen more in the main gatehouse, and the remaining thirty spread across the other six towers on the wall. I'll leave it up to you to decide who gets quartered where." Alyn nodded his understanding and Jon turned to look at Torrhen and asked, "All the towers and gatehouses have been provided with hearths and chimneys, correct?"

"They have, M'lord."

"Good. Now, let us continue to hear your report on the rebuilding of the village."

"As you command, Lord Wolff. The clay pit we found has provided a great deal of very high quality clay to mix the daub for the people's homes and businesses. The walls of their homes and shops will be of very high quality, and will serve well to keep them warm in winter without using an excess of wood. Even if they are only daub and wattle." Pointing at the various outlines on the map to show him where each of the buildings had been built as he mentioned them, Torrhen continued, "Here the brewer has built an alehouse. It is my understanding that he intends to brew ale, mead and cider there. Beside it, the miller has begun building a small flourmill that can be turned by hand or with a donkey. He has already built several ovens as well so that the people can bake their bread there."

Jon nodded along as Torrhen spoke. The mill already being built was going to force him into making a decision that he had been deliberately putting off, namely, how much to charge the smallfolk to use it and the ovens behind it. As their Lord, it was his right to demand that the smallfolk use his mill to grind their grain and his ovens to bake their bread. Further, since he owned both mill and ovens, he could rightly collect a fee for their use. Jon saw nothing wrong with that. Afterall, it was how every Lord in Westeros kept their coffers full and allowed them to pay the tax owed to their own Overlords and to the Crown. He simply wasn't sure how much he should charge for it. Though he would have to make that determination shortly.

While Jon was thinking of that, Torrhen continued, "Additionally, the miller has found a suitable spot not far away where he can build a larger windmill to be able to grind more grain, faster. There's a small clearing with a slight hill in the center of it, ideal to catch the wind to turn the grindstones."

"Tell him he has my permission to begin building the windmill once the smaller handmill is completed. I want to ensure that we can still grind grain inside the walls should we ever come under attack."

Torrhen bobbed his head and said, "I'll make a note of it M'lord. Speaking of mills, Shadd came to me the evening before last. He found a section of the river where it leaves the lake that he believes a sawmill can be built, using a waterwheel to turn the blade. Shall I approve that as well?"

Jon thought for a moment and then reached a decision. "Torrhen, I know naught of the building of sawmills or waterwheels. I leave it to you to determine if the location is suitable for it. If it is, by all means, build away. If not, find one more suited. I need that sawmill. Once we reached the Gift, and I saw how thickly forested it is, not just with pines, but with oaks and ironwoods as well, I realized just how much value was in these forests. If we can fell lumber, and mill it, we can sell it in White Harbor for a substantial sum. With winter coming, I'll need every coin I can get to see my people through it."

"Very well, M'lord. I'll inspect the site this day and if it is suitable, we shall begin construction."

"Excellent." Gesturing back at the map, Jon asked, "What of these other buildings that you have sketched in here?"

"Here, beside the lake shore, is where the inn will be built. We haven't begun that yet, it's only here to show where it will go and so no one else will build there. This building will be for the weavers. It has been largely completed, and will incidentally be one of the taller buildings in the village at three stories tall. Beside it, a ropewalk has been laid out. Once the weaver's cottage is finished, the ropewalk will be built next.

"Across from the ropewalk is the candlemaker's." Looking up from the map, Torrhen gave a grin and said, "Do mind your step near there, M'lord. Kyle has begun placing a few beehives behind his home in order to have his own supply of wax for them. Two of the buggers have already stung me."

Jon chuckled along with Alyn at Torrhen's remark. "I'll keep that in mind. Continue."

"Yes, M'lord. These buildings here, near the towers on the wall, will be granaries and woodsheds. This large building will be for the blacksmith. As you know, he has already rebuilt the forge and has been making the tools we need for these building projects. But so far, he only has the forge with naught but a lean-to to provide him shelter while he works. I offered to have his shop built earlier, but he declined. Said that he enjoys working out of doors, and until winter comes, there's others need shelter more than him."

Alyn snorted. "Don't you believe that crock o'shite for a moment, Lord Jon. I've known that man half my life. Danny may say that he likes working in the sun, but he's a sly bastard and he's likely only saying that to try and curry favor. Either with you or with the people in the village. Don't get me wrong, he's a good man. But he's always on the lookout for a way to ingratiate himself with the people around him. He's worked hard to get what he's got, being the smith for a Lord in his own castle is proper honor for him. But if he can find a way to raise himself even higher, best believe he'll do it. Even if it's just in the way people look at him."

Jon laughed and said, "I'll remember." Turning back to the map, Jon asked, "What about this long building here, Torrhen? You've not mentioned that as yet."

"That will be the stables, M'lord. I've waited on constructing them until most of the other buildings are finished. The horses and milk cows are doing fine where they are in the edge of the wood for now and I thought it best to get the people shelter first. Never you fear though, I'll have them up long before I head back to your Lord Father's castle. And I'll make sure that the walls of the stables are extra thick to keep the livestock warm in the winter."

Jon was impressed. He could see why his father had raised Torrhen to his position. The man understood what was needed to survive in the North. Things Jon had never even thought about before, like how thick a building's walls should be to help hold the heat in, were second nature to Torrhen. He owed his father a debt of gratitude for sending Torrhen with him. Jon wasn't sure if he would ever be able to repay him.

"The open areas on the map. Are those spaces reserved for houses to be built for the people?"

Torrhen nodded and said, "Most of them, aye M'lord." Pointing to one area he continued, "This area has been set aside to serve as a market place. It will do no good for the people to grow their crops, raise their animals, or make their wares if they have nowhere to sell them."

Jon gave a half snort and said, "Good man. I had not thought of that. Based on this map that you've drawn, am I correct in believing that there will be room enough for everyone this winter? The smallfolk who are tending their farms will need places to go before the snows fall and trap them far from where the stocks of food will be kept."

"Yes, M'lord. At least until the village reaches roughly double the size it is now."

"Good. Now that we've gone over the village, lets talk about my tower. How goes the work on it?"

"It goes well. The grate for the murder hole on the second floor has been replaced." Jon and Alyn both grinned at the memory of the look of indignation that graced Torrhen's face when the grate had failed and fell into the room below during their inspection of the tower. "Fresh mortar is being used where it is needed. And I will have the new door on the tower by the time night falls."

Ser Alyn spoke up and asked, "What about the merlons on the top of the tower? When Lord Wolff and I were up there, I found that several of them were beginning to crumble. And they were short! I don't know who built them, but my whole bloody head was sticking above them when I tried to stand behind one. That won't do should we ever need to shelter behind them for real."

"Lord Wolff pointed that out to me already, Ser. I have several stonemasons already at work repairing them and increasing how tall they are. We are also redesigning the tops of them to be both more pleasing to the eye, and to help shed the snow better. At the moment, the merlons are flat on the tops. When we finish, they will have a pyramid shaped top on them. Satisfied, Ser Alyn?"

Alyn grunted and nodded his head. Jon smirked at how his Guard Captain had been solidly put in his place by the older Torrhen. "And the interior of the tower? Where do we stand on the interior repairs?"

"Progressing, M'lord. We did encounter one set back. After we had swept all the chimneys to ensure they were clear, and let us all thank the Gods we did, for the amount of refuse and the number of bird's nests we knocked out of them is truly impressive, we kindled small fires made of green wood in all the hearths in the castle. Mainly in the hope of finding any cracks in the flues. M'lord, the amount of smoke that escaped from the chimneys was, well, let us just say that more smoke stayed in the tower than made it outside. I have men repairing them now.

"Other than that, I am well pleased at the progress of the work on the tower. All the detritus of the ages that had collected in it has been removed and some of your goods have begun to be placed inside. I've ordered the blacksmith to make new hooks to hang your tapestries on as well. The ones that are in the walls now have rusted away too badly to be used, I'm afraid. Finally, I have several men working on building some new furniture for you as well, M'lord."

"Thank you, Torrhen. I do have one additional question for you. Once the repairs are finished, do you suggest painting the tower white to match the walls, or should it be left as it is now?"

"I would recommend painting it, M'lord. Not only will it make the tower comelier, but it will help ensure that there are no drafts of wind entering it to sap away the warmth of the hearths. The white-wash will help to seal up any small cracks that may be missed during the course of our repair work."

"Very well. Once the exterior repairs are finished, paint the tower." Jon paused and looked at the fourth man at the table, and the only one who had yet to join in their conversations. Jon said, "Gage, what can you tell us about the farms that we've started and the crops that have been planted?"

Gage, who looked extremally uncomfortable at being asked to dine among what he would consider his betters, swallowed nervously, cleared his throat and said, "They go well, M'lord. In the fields around the village itself, wheat, rye, oats, barley, and corn are all growing strong and tall. We've found several large apple and pear groves within a short distance of the castle, and we've begun clearing them of underbrush and tending to them to increase their yields. We've also found vines of wild grapes in a few areas. They may not be much to look at now, and I doubt if they could make even a drinkable wine, but they'll add a nice variety to our fare over the winter once we turn them into jam.

"Many of the smallfolk have planted small plots of vegetables in whatever open areas they can find. In your own fields, I oversaw the planting of onions, leeks, peppers, garlic, cabbage, beets, beans, peas, pumpkins, turnips, squash, strawberries, red and black berries, and several other fruits and vegetables. With the gods blessings we'll have a bountiful harvest this year and time to plant at least two more crops to help see us through the winter."

Jon replied, "Excellent work, Gage. What of the livestock that we brought with us from Winterfell? How does it fare?"

Gage shifted uncomfortably again before he answered, "As well as might be expected, M'lord. A number of the sows have farrowed in the last turn of the moon, and we have a number of healthy litters of piglets being raised. We've plenty of time before winter comes to fatten them up. They'll aid our food situation greatly. We've just shorn the sheep for the first time. Sounds like it was just in time for the weavers to begin spinning the wool into yarn as well. Come winter, we'll need to cull the herd a bit though. Too much mutton left alive when the snows are twenty feet thick will eat through our stocks of hay and grain at a prodigious rate.

"Your Lordship currently has six cows giving milk, with another three heifers due to calf and start producing as well. Of the calves that were born, four were bulls. We've gelded them and are raising them for meat. When winter comes, it might be worth it to consider slaughtering a few of the older milk cows as well. The milk they gives is useful, aye. But the feed they'll eat and the meat they'll provide is worth more to us in our bellies than it is in theirs.

"You've a goodly number of chickens and capons. All the chickens have been productive egg layers. I keep a running tally of which ones is laying and which ones isn't. The ones that stop laying I've had butchered for Your Lordship's table. The capons have all been getting fat and will provide a good meal for you should you wish it."

Seeing that the man was still slightly uncomfortable Jon decided to try and put the man at ease. He said, "Thank you, Gage. You don't need to be so uncomfortable at my table. I know that you're not used to dining with your Lord, but you've a place in my household now, and with that place comes certain privileges. One of which is the occasional meal at my table so we may discuss how my lands and people are faring." Jon paused a moment and then asked, "Do you know why I elevated to being a yeoman, Gage?"

Gage shook his head and replied, "Not entirely, M'lord. You told me why you wanted me to be a yeoman when you elevated me, but I don't truly know why you chose me and not someone else."

"I chose you because you are a natural leader. I saw how you took charge of the smallfolk on the march up here from Winterfell, and again when I allocated them plots of land to farm, the way you advised them on what would grow best on their specific piece of land. The people look up to you. And they view you as someone they should listen to when it comes to getting the most out of their lands. You've a gift for growing things, whether that be grain, vegetables or rearing animals. But more than that, when you speak, the people listen to you. And more importantly, you listen to them.

"More than just being someone I can count on to increase my harvests, which is important in its own right, I want you to serve as a reliable bridge between me and my people. I've learned that not everyone will feel comfortable coming to me with a problem because of the gaps in our stations. For those people, I want them to feel like they have someone in you who they can talk to, and who has the ear of their Lord. I want to be able to solve any problems that arise before they turn into a crises."

Gage bobbed his head and said, "As you wish, M'lord. I'll certainly do my best to show the people that I'm here to listen to them if they need me to."

"Good man. Now, let me ask you. How did the people take it when I declared that all the crops that are being grown will be gathered together and stored within the village or in the undervault of Queenscrown?"

Despite his prior words that were meant to put the man at ease, Gage nearly instantly began to look uncomfortable at the question. That alone was practically enough to give Jon his answer. Jon asked him, "They didn't like it, did they? I don't blame them for that. It is not the usual custom of things to be told to surrender almost their entire harvests to their Lord."

Gulping, as if he was terrified that Jon would strike him down here and now for daring to deliver bad news, Gage responded, "No, M'lord. They did not like being told that. I told them that it was only meant to be temporary, just to see us through this first winter, because of how close it is. But some of the smallfolk don't believe it. There are too many stories that get told around a fire of Knights and Lords taking all the fruits of a man's labor for himself and leaving his people to starve to death come winter. Mayhaps...mayhaps if you went to them and told them personally why you want to store all the grain within the village that would help ease their minds over it?"

Jon grinned. "This is why I made you a yeoman, Gage. To tell me things such as this. If you believe it will help ease the people's minds, then I will gladly explain my reasons for it to them. And if any ask you before I can speak with them, make sure they know, I am only storing the grain to ensure we all have enough to eat this winter. We don't have the time to put away small parts of the harvest the way the people were accustomed to in Winterfell. We need to preserve as much as possible now while we can. This way we can all eat this winter.

"During the winter, I plan to place you and my Steward, once I name one, over the distribution of grain to the people. It will be your responsibility to ensure that everyone receives enough to eat. I don't want one family to starve while another gets fat. Do you understand?"

Gage nodded his head and said, "As you wish, M'lord."

Jon smiled and said, "Is there anything else we should discuss before we go about our days?"

The other three men at the table shook their heads no and soon after all of them stood to be about the tasks that remained before them. As his servants left his tent, Jon called in Will and told him to find the First Ranger and Lord Tyrion and ask them to join him in his tent. There were a few other things he wanted to discuss with them before he had to start planning his trip to Castle Black.

It took awhile, but both men arrived at his tent. Lord Tyrion looked as if he had been roused from a nap, while his uncle was dressed in boiled leather and ringmail, and had the smells of the forest still clinging to him. Jon raised an eyebrow at his uncle and the First Ranger merely shrugged a shoulder and told him, "No reason to waste time, Jon. I had some of the recruits for the Watch out in the forest teaching them how to track wildlings. And having an actual wildling to teach them was more useful than a dozen of Ser Alliser's lessons would be at Castle Black."

"You had Osha teaching them? Isn't that a bit dangerous? I thought two of those men were rapers who chose the Wall over being gelded?"

"Oh, the lass is more than capable of taking care of herself, Jon. She's more a fighter than any of the gutter rats that Yoren was bringing north. But never you fear Jon, I know you promised the girl she'd not be mistreated as long as she told all of what she knew of conditions beyond the Wall. I was with the lads to make sure no one took any liberties with her. Not that they would have had much of a chance if I wasn't. If she'd had a mind to, she could have gutted all six of them without giving it a second thought. That one was born with a spear in her hand."

Jon got quiet for a moment while he pondered what his uncle had said. While he had gleaned as much information from Osha as he could about the wildlings and how they preferred to come over the Wall and conduct their raids, he hadn't considered how else she might be useful. The information she had given him was valuable, and he had in turn given it to his guardsmen. And word of that had spread to the smallfolk, quieting what little grumbling there had been about his choice not to kill Osha. But that he could glean even more from her? Jon shook his head slightly and realized that he still had much and more to learn.

"I never thought to use her like that. She could prove invaluable to my men, showing them how a wildling would conduct an ambush, and how they would track war parties. I had thought to ask her if she would like to ride with us to Castle Black in order to return to her own lands. But I believe she could be of further use to me here."

"A wise choice, Lord Wolff," Tyrion responded. "I may not be the military man that my brother or father are, but even one such as I can see the value of learning from your enemies. And this far north, you and your House will likely have to fight wildlings more than any other."

"He's right, Jon. You and your men need to learn all they can about the wildlings. I've tried to teach you as much as I can in the time we've spent here, but there's so much more that she could teach you simply because she is one and will do things without even thinking about it because that is her nature. You could learn much from her. If you have the wisdom to listen."

"Aye, I could. I've already learned much from her just from questioning her. Very well, I'll keep her here to teach the men what she can."

"Why did you want us here, My Lord," asked Lord Tyrion?

"We need to begin planning our journey to Castle Black, and additionally, I wanted to discuss a few of the plans that I wished to implement before we left. For instance, I want to establish a guard post to the north of us, near the valley where we captured Osha. I wanted your opinion on that Uncle. And Lord Tyrion, I had hoped that you and I could discuss the possibility of a trade agreement with the Westerlands."

His uncle merely cocked his head to the side, and thought for a long moment. When he replied he said, "I doubt a guard post would be very useful. Not on its own. Not yet, anyway. There's too much land that isn't properly guarded yet. Placing a guard tower in one spot simply means that the wildlings will go to another. You would be better served, at least for now, by making regular patrols through areas with known wildling activity. Vary the timing and route so that no one can plan on when and where your men will be for the more distant patrols. And mount a shorter patrol around your holdings to keep a constant vigil for wildlings. It will do you no good to have the families of your smallfolk killed and their farms burned because no one was watching for wildlings.

"Eventually, building guard towers and small keeps to base the patrols out of would be wise. They can also be used for shelter for the people to flee into should an attack take place. But that is a task for the spring, Jon. Not one for the late summer. For now, I would build one or two huts to provide temporary shelter for any of your patrols that get caught out in a storm."

"That's solid advice, Uncle. Thank you. I'll speak to Ser Alyn on it. I had thought to build a few small towers to provide a safe haven for the smallfolk to flee to in the advent of an attack, but I can see how not having the men to properly patrol my land and defend the towers would be, well, counterproductive."

"You're welcome, Jon. If that's all, I'll be on my way back to training the recruits. There's one or two there who would make good rangers, and a few more that could make passable stewards. I'll leave you and Lord Tyrion to discuss your trade proposal."

As his uncle left the tent, Tyrion shot him an appraising eye over the rim of the wine glass that he was sipping from. He said, "What sort of trade agreement would you wish to seek with my Lord Father's domains, Lord Wolff?"

Jon gave Tyrion a small smile and said, "One that could prove beneficial to us both. My lands are heavily forested. And yes, before you say anything, I know that the Westerlands are as well. However, unless I'm far mistaken, you don't have the Ironwoods that we do. You don't have the Weirwoods that we do. And I don't have all the skilled manpower I need."

"What sort of trade would you make for manpower with wood?"

Jon reached into a satchel that had been sitting my his chair and pulled out a lump of rock. With an almost casual gesture, he tossed to rock to Tyrion and said, "I need skilled men for that. One of my men found that while on a patrol a few days ago."

Tyrion had caught the rock and was looking it over very carefully before gently setting it back down and looking at Jon with a far more cunning look in his eyes. This time when he answered the young Lord, all the traces of friendship that normally colored his speech were missing, and the voice of a Lannister that was looking to advance his House was all that came from him. He said, "I assume you're aware of what it is you have here, My Lord?"

Jon slowly nodded his head and said, "Aye, I'm aware. I've just tossed you a chunk of rock veined with silver. But none of the people I have with me are miners. I want your help, and your father's help, to begin mining it."

"Lord Wolff, while that is a very pretty rock, that is no guarantee that there is any substantial deposits on your lands. Why should I commit my House to sending skilled miners to dig for something that may not even be there?"

"Because you'll be paid for it. I don't want a full team of miners to come. As you say, that one rock is not proof of a lucrative mine. I want a few prospectors to come and see if there is a big enough deposit to mine. In return for the provision of the miners, I will exchange ironwood and weirwood to your Lord Father, or to such a House as he designates."

Tyrion chuckled slightly and told him, "My Lord, allow me to speak frankly. What you propose is not nearly enough to get my father to even consider sending you miners from the Westerlands. Perhaps you could find some from among the people that are already in the North?"

"Aye, I could. But there are no better miners than those that are found in your father's domain."

"You have a point there. But if want to convince my Lord Father to send some of his best men, and make no mistake, the kind of men that can determine if a mine is viable are some of the very best and brightest in my father's service, then we will need significantly more compensation for their services than just a supply of timber."

"Such as?"

Tyrion cocked his head to the side while he thought and then said, "The timber as payment to send the men to determine if there are any viable mines in your domain. And if they do find deposits that are worth mining, House Lannister will receive fifty percent of that mine's output. We shall provide enough skilled men to manage the mine while you provide the manpower to do the actual digging. A fifty-fifty split of the output seems more than fair."

"Ten percent. While I'll not argue that your men have the skill to find the deposits, if they are even there to be found, it's my men and my Lord Father's men that will be doing the work of actually getting it out of the ground."

"Ten percent? My Lord, without those men, you will be hard pressed to ever determine if one location shows more promise than another. You will waste far more gold and silver than the fifty percent that I am asking for blundering about trying to find the ore deposits on your own. However, we Lannisters are nothing if not reasonable."

Both Jon and Tyrion smiled and chuckled at the small jape before Tyrion continued. "Therefore, in light of our budding friendship, we will agree with only requiring forty percent. A far better deal than most men would be offered."

"Fifteen percent. You and I know that the digging of a mine is far and away the most dangerous part of the operation. My studies under Maester Luwin have taught me that much. How can I ask my people to take that risk and then refuse to pay them fairly for it because so much of the silver is heading to Casterly Rock?"

By now, both men knew how the game they were playing would develop. One would go up on the percentage he was willing to pay, while the other would reduce the amount he was willing to accept. It was often said that, in deal making, you only truly knew if the deal was fair when both sides were at least slightly upset at the results and thought the other man had gotten the better deal. And so it was this time as well. It took a futher hour, one that was filled with laments, complaints and accusations that the other man was trying to rob him, but in the end a deal was reached.

"Very well, Lord Wolff you have a deal. In exchange for two shiploads of Ironwood a year for three years, the Westerlands will send a team of prospectors and surveyors to Queenscrown. They will look for and evaluate any prospective mines for no less than three years. Any additional years they spend in the North will require an additional shipload of Ironwood as payment. If and when they find any deposits worth mining, House Lannister will receive twenty-five percent of the output of said mines for no less than ten years."

Jon nodded his head and said, "Agreed, Lord Tyrion. When we get to Castle Black I'll ask the Maester there to send a raven to Casterly Rock to secure Lord Lannister's approval of our agreement."

"And when will we be riding for the home of the Night's Watch?"

"In three days time."

"Very well. I look forward to seeing the Wall. It is one of the wonders of the world afterall."

"Aye. And to think, it was only a few moons ago that I was planning to live out my days there."

"Fate has plans for us all, Jon Wolff. And the plan for you apparently did not include exiling yourself at the edge of the world."