"There are more and more refugees fleeing from High Hermitage."
"Ledger" Pate stood atop the watchtower of the hillside manor, gazing north.
From the direction of High Hermitage, many refugees dragging their families and belongings were streaming south along the Torrentine.
These were the smallfolk fleeing the west bank after the strategy of "fortifying the walls and clearing the fields" around Vulture's Roost was implemented.
A few days ago, the numbers were limited, but recently, they had been swelling.
Among the throng of refugees, Pate saw river patrol soldiers armed with spears maintaining order. They were commanded by armored knights on horseback, flanked by squires bearing the banner of Starfall.
These river patrol soldiers were peasant levies mustered from various lands in response to the Lord's call, trained and commanded by the old Master-at-Arms of Starfall, Ser Clegg.
After simple training and being issued cheap spears, these peasant levies became the most cost-effective unit: spearmen.
Ser Clegg's training camp for these levies was situated in a clearing north of the hillside manor, roughly halfway between High Hermitage and Starfall.
This position allowed them to support either location should fighting break out.
Besides the soldiers patrolling the riverbanks, Pate often saw galleys flying the purple banner of the sword and falling star plying the waters of the Torrentine. They were mainly transporting supplies.
In addition to sailors and oarsmen, the ships were equipped with archers, providing a degree of river patrol.
However, Pate felt that the primary function of these ships and their banners was not logistics or defense, but morale.
Whether it was refugees fleeing from the west bank or farmers and manor lords on the east bank, seeing these ships gave them a sense of protection.
It offered significant comfort, reducing the panic caused by the name of the Vulture King and the threat of wildling raids.
Creeeeak. Pate heard the door behind him open.
"Pate! Finally found you." Fat Karen, the Steward of Starfall, walked in wiping sweat from his forehead.
Following him was Eight-Finger Jerry, who had guided him up.
Jerry had passed Pate's test with flying colors—a test Pate himself had failed in his youth. Consequently, Pate had taken in Jerry and his band of stray companions.
These days, Pate and the three subordinates he brought who knew the Common Tongue and Braavosi taught the children various skills regularly.
Eight-Finger Jerry learned the fastest and was the most diligent. Seeing a shadow of his younger self in the boy, Pate made him his assistant.
Fat Karen spoke first. "Does that watchtower really need so much stone? It's almost enough to build a small holdfast."
Pate replied, "Besides the watchtower, road maintenance and future bridge repairs will require stone. With so many levies and refugees gathered here now, it's the perfect time to put them to work."
Fat Karen was taken aback. "What did you say? Road maintenance I understand, but bridge repairs? Which bridge?"
He shook his head repeatedly. "Starfall doesn't have that kind of money left. Buying and stockpiling food costs coin. Refurbishing camps and watchtowers costs coin. Everything costs coin. We have no spare coin to prepare stone for your imaginary bridge."
Pate: "We will bear the labor costs for quarrying and transporting the stone. We will also cover the cost of building the bridge later. Is that acceptable?"
Pate had already contributed to the construction of Ser Clegg's levy camp and the watchtowers being built along the Torrentine.
The master mason from Braavos provided the construction plans and led the building efforts.
Aside from the masons, many master smiths and their apprentices had answered the call to go to Starfall, helping repair the castle's stock of old weapons and armor, forging horseshoes, and stockpiling arms.
Other smiths stayed in Ser Clegg's camp, serving as camp smiths for simple repairs and shoeing horses.
Pate: "I will have Nick coordinate with you. I'll give you the money for the transport and quarrying costs upfront."
Seeing Pate so forthright, Fat Karen nodded. "Since you put it that way, and it's all for the good of Starfall, what can I say?"
He had a mandate to settle and aid the refugees anyway. cooperating with Pate to employ them in quarrying stone would provide them a livelihood and settle them without costing the castle too much.
After Fat Karen left, Eight-Finger Jerry put away his notebook and asked, "Is the bridge we're building going to span the Torrentine to the west bank? But why do we need to do that?"
"I told you before, we plan to establish a smithy district in Violet Canyon." Pate pointed to the Torrentine nearby.
"Look at the river and the terrain. The water is low, the banks are high, and the current is swift. Loading and unloading cargo from ships here is extremely difficult."
"Later, if we truly build the smithy district in Violet Canyon, we'll need to transport the weapons, armor, and tools we manufacture to sell them." Pate gestured at the river as he explained.
"Without a bridge, we'd have to cart everything upstream to near High Hermitage, where the banks are level with the water and the current is slower. There, we'd load onto small boats, transport to Starfall Port, transfer to big ships, and then sail to market."
Jerry nodded slowly. "That sounds... really troublesome."
Pate corrected him. "It's not just troublesome. The transport costs, time costs, and safety risks are too high. It leaves too little room for profit."
"With a bridge, we can cart goods directly to Starfall Port to load onto ships. It saves all that trouble."
"And if wildlings raid, Violet Canyon can receive support from the east bank much faster."
"That really does solve a lot of problems," Jerry agreed, nodding. Then he thought for a moment and asked, "But... isn't Violet Canyon still in the hands of those savages? And the Vulture King?"
Pate: "Some things need to be prepared in advance. Even if you prepare and don't use it, it's better than needing it and not having it prepared."
Pate then sent Jerry to prepare his lunch and left the tower, passing through the manor courtyard to return to his quarters.
In the courtyard, besides the orphans from Starfall Port learning basic reading and writing from teachers Pate hired, many refugee children were also studying alongside them.
This was in response to Starfall's call to settle the refugees.
Pate had recruited many people from the refugees. Most were ordinary farmers or orchard tenders, but there were also those with special skills.
Beekeepers, hunters who knew how to train hounds, tanners.
Innkeepers skilled in brewing, butchers who knew how to slaughter and dress meat, cooks who could make delicious Dornish dishes, and so on.
Pate registered them by category and settled them all in temporary wooden houses built on the outskirts of the manor.
After spending the entire noon checking expenses and verifying accounts, Pate finally found time to taste the lunch Jerry brought him.
Cold lemon-egg soup and fruit syrup.
Just then, a Black Mamba swordsman entered. "My Lord, news from Starfall. Lord Arthur led troops to capture the castle of a vassal who refused the summons. He personally beheaded the Lord of Beacon Tower."
"What?" Pate put down his soup, baffled. "When did this happen? Why am I only hearing about it now?"
Swordsman: "It happened yesterday. They say Lord Arthur set out from Starfall at midnight, attacked at dawn, and should already be back in Starfall by now."
"Taking a castle in a single day... thunderous tactics indeed." Pate clicked his tongue.
"My Lord has not only beaten the ambitious lords into line but also established Starfall's authority and boosted everyone's confidence against the Vulture King."
Swordsman: "You are right. Word is spreading everywhere, especially among the refugees from the west bank. While they spit on the name of the Beacon Tower lord for refusing the call, they are now waiting for Starfall's warriors to drive off the Vulture King so they can go home."
Eight-Finger Jerry looked at his right hand, missing two knuckles. "Home. Who doesn't want to go home?"
Swordsman: "There is also news from High Hermitage. Large numbers of wildlings have been spotted gathering in the forests near Vulture's Roost. Most villages west of the Torrentine have already been sacked."