Eddard, along with his financial advisor Clare, and escorted by Jory Cassel, the captain of Winterfell's guards, and a squad of soldiers, arrived at the market outside Winterfell.
Bran was clinging to Catelyn's leg, whining, "Mom, buy the knight!"
Sister Modane was holding Rickon, standing behind Catelyn, who scolded, "Bran, you're a big brother now, and you still want to buy toys? Let's go!"
Eddard saw the toy Bran wanted, a pair of wooden knight puppets in the toymaker's hands. The toymaker was about forty years old, with graying brown hair, and wearing a blue-gray robe.
The toymaker, clearly not wanting to miss a chance to make money, manipulated the toy knights, and they began to fight, shields and lances clashing. Bran watched intently.
"Young master, look how fun these toy knights are! Let me tell you, south of the Neck, every young lord living in a castle has toys like these!"
Bran pleaded with Catelyn, "Mom, look how fun these knights are! I can play with Rickon with them, and Robb and Jon can play too."
Hearing Jon's name, Catelyn only felt angry. She said, "We don't have any money."
Eddard and Clare walked over, and Bran immediately rushed towards Eddard. "Father, look at this toy knight! Isn't it like one of the Kingsguard, a White Knight?"
The toy merchant's gaze lingered on the direwolf sigil on Eddard's chest.
"You must be the renowned Duke Eddard. Duke Eddard, please buy this toy knight! The young master seems to like it so much."
Clare, standing nearby, asked, "How much is this toy knight?"
The toy merchant smiled. "It's handmade by me, a pure wooden toy, two silver stags for a pair of knights."
Eddard began to understand why the toy merchant had set up his stall at the gates of Winterfell. The children of commoners simply couldn't afford such an expensive toy.
Clare flashed a flattering smile towards Catelyn. "Lady Catelyn, why make Bran sad? I'll pay for it."
Ever since Clare had arrived at Winterfell as a financial advisor, Catelyn had deliberately kept her distance from him, and had repeatedly suggested to Eddard that he send Clare away. Now, faced with Bran wanting to buy a toy, Clare immediately offered to pay, hoping to please the Duchess of Winterfell through this gesture.
Catelyn said coldly, "How generous of you." She took the baby Rickon from Sister Modane and turned towards the gates of Winterfell.
After Clare paid, Bran took the wooden knight from the toy merchant and began to play with it excitedly.
Eddard saw that the toy stall had all sorts of toys, all made of wood. There were warships carved from pine, great bears made of elm, monkeys made of holly, wooden dogs, and wooden fish. The most numerous were knight dolls.
"Did you make all these wooden toys yourself?" Eddard picked up a knight doll, a handsome knight with silver hair, charging with a longsword.
The toy merchant nodded. "Lord Eddard, my name is Douglas. My family has been carpenters for generations. My grandfather made coffins, but my father started making toys. When I was a child, my father took me everywhere to sell wooden toys. We've been to King's Landing, Oldtown, and Lannisport."
"My father went to many places back then. He would set up a stall or toy shop near a castle, but the farmers' children couldn't afford our toys. Many famous knights played with my father's toys when they were children, like Prince Rhaegar, Renly Baratheon, and Ser Jaime. He wasn't the 'Kingslayer' when he played with toys. Oh, and 'The Mountain,' Gregor Clegane."
Eddard looked at the puppet knight in Bran's hand and frowned. "The Mountain, Gregor Clegane? I heard that when The Mountain was a child, he shoved his brother, 'The Hound' Sandor Clegane, into a brazier for a toy knight, and half his face was burned off. Could it be…"
Douglas nodded. "Yes, my father sold the toy to The Mountain back then. The Mountain was still a teenager, and Sandor was probably only seven years old. Who knew he would do such a terrible thing for a toy? At the time, our toy shop was near Clegane's Keep. As soon as we heard what happened, my father took the family and fled overnight."
Eddard held the toy knight in his hands, full of thought. For a toy, "The Hound" Sandor suffered the burn of the fire. Toys were indeed attractive to children.
Eddard looked at the toy merchant Douglas. He was dressed in a black velvet coat and wore a jade bracelet on his wrist. Among the vendors, he was clearly a man of means.
A plan formed in Eddard's mind. "Douglas, how long do you plan to stay in Winterfell?"
Douglas sighed. "Not too long, Lord Eddard. You northerners have so few knights. The children don't seem to care for them. My knight toys aren't selling well north of the Neck. Even if I set up my stall in front of a lord, he might not buy anything."
"When I set out from the Riverlands along the King's Road to the North, I originally considered Barrowton as my first target customer. But when I got to Barrowton, I found out that Lady Barbrey was a childless widow. So, I had to continue north. I didn't sell many toys in Torrhen's Square or Seaworth either."
"I plan to go to White Harbor. I heard the Manderly family there are devout followers of the Seven and have more than a hundred landed knights. Maybe I'll have good business there."
Eddard said, "Douglas, if I pay you to make toys for me, would you be willing?"
Douglas's eyes lit up. "Of course, I would. What kind of toys does Lord Eddard want to commission? Surely, it's the famous direwolves, or perhaps a King in the North? Or maybe the wildlings from Beyond the Wall?"
Eddard shook his head. "You misunderstand. It's not a custom order. We have plenty of timber in the North. I plan to set up a toy workshop, but I haven't found a suitable person to be in charge. I think you are perfectly capable. How about it? Are you interested in working together?"
Douglas was a bit dazed. "Lord Eddard, I need to think about this. It's a big decision. I need to at least discuss it with my children."
Eddard met Douglas's three sons. The oldest was seventeen, the youngest fourteen. Douglas had spent years traveling the Seven Kingdoms with his three sons, selling toys from a cart. The wooden toys were all made by him and his sons; they were all apprentice carpenters.
Douglas introduced his children to Eddard one by one. Eddard said, "Fine young lads. What about their mother?"
Mentioning his wife, Douglas became a bit sad.
"When my youngest son was born, we were in King's Landing. My wife wanted me to buy a house there, but I didn't agree. She was unhappy; she was tired of moving around. I told her that after a few years of saving, we'd buy a house in Oldtown so the children could study with the Maesters at the Citadel. Maybe they could even become Maesters themselves."
"After we left King's Landing, we traveled north and set up a stall under Harrenhal. The Lady of Harrenhal didn't have any children, but many of the landed knights under her command frequented my stall. I made some money, but then one night, my wife ran off with a sellsword from Harrenhal."
Eddard said, "Traveling the roads isn't a long-term plan. It's better to stay in my castle. In Winterfell, Maester Luwin can teach your children to read. My children can teach them too. They may not become Maesters, but at least they won't be illiterate. If you're willing to make toys for me, you won't be short on money. You can easily buy houses for your children in Wintertown. Of course, if you'd prefer to live in Winterfell, my castle also has a place for you."
Douglas looked at his three sons and pondered for a long while. "Alright, Lord Eddard, I'm willing to serve you. Who could refuse an invitation from Lord Eddard?"
Bran was thrilled. "Father, Douglas is staying in Winterfell, can I play with all these toys?"
Douglas chuckled, "You can play as long as you like, little lord."
Bran got a mountain of toys, and Eddard got a skilled toy maker. In the future, they could use wood from the Wolfswood to make toys, and Winterfell would gain another source of income.
.....
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