Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Act 1: Chapter 19
Sixteenth day, Third Moon, 237 AC
It was a cold day today, with intermittent snows coming down throughout the day. It was not below freezing, but it was still a cold day and the lack of sun only emphasized the issue. It was still summer, but the infamous northern summer snows drove everyone inside for the day if they were able.
To Violet's dismay, this meant lessons as we hadn't done as much as I would have liked so far this summer. It made me wonder what an education system would look like. How would school be affected by year long seasons? Would it go on all winter, with a break in the summer? It seemed to me that a year or two break from school would be a really bad idea. Obviously, it would have to revolve around harvest time but with the variable seasons it would definitely be hard to plan.
Regardless, Nyra and I had been doing smaller lessons with Violet at night to keep her going and her mind used to lessons. We taught her all about reading and writing, math and basic science (as I could remember it). I did my best to teach her to think for herself, especially once I realized that a lot of things I know might not apply here. I mean, looking around I can tell that the law of gravity is clearly a thing. But, is gravity still that 9.8m/s or whatever it was supposed to be? I had no idea how anyone could check that, so I tried to work around it.
Today, Violet and I were going over some math. We were nearing the end of the lesson, so I decided to add a more complex question for her to see if she could apply the concepts she had learned so far.
"Okay Violet, let's try a harder question. What is 228 plus 313?"
She looked uncertain with the three-digit numbers.
I spoke to her calmly, "Think it out like a normal question. Forget the big numbers. What's the first step?"
Violet nodded to herself and grabbed her clay tablet and writing tool. She answered me, "First I write them down on top of each other." She wrote out the numbers and then continued, "Then I add the last numbers." She started thinking about the adding before saying, "8 plus 3 is 11. So, I write 1?"
I replied, "Close. You've got to write out the eleven."
She wrote down the eleven. "Now I add the next numbers?" At my nod she continued, "2 plus 1 is 3. So now I have 3-1-1?"
I shook my head, "Close honey. You want to put that below the eleven, because you need to add that later."
She frowned in thought and said, "Okayyy." It didn't seem like she really understand the process. Maybe I chose too hard a question? She continued, "Next part? I, uh, add 2 plus 3. That's 5. And I, uh, put that below the 3?"
"Yep! Keep it in the same column though." I pointed out what I meant by column by drawing lines down each unit. I continued, "Now, you can add up each column for your answer. And your answer is 541. Do you see what I did?"
She still looked a bit lost, so I explained, "You want to add up each column, but when the number gets bigger than a 9, you have to put the number in the next column." I pointed out what we did for the 11. She nodded a bit more confidently. "Now, this is a really hard question, so you did a great job!"
I gave her a big smile, which she returned. "These types of questions you will see more of later, and I will explain a little bit more about them and the columns," I said.
I began to clean up from our lesson and said to her, "Now, why don't you go get dressed and see if your mother needs any help in the barn? Your lessons are all done for the day."
She beamed at me and gave me a hug while saying, "Thank you papa!" She raced off to go get dressed while I continued to pack away my teaching supplies.
Violet yelled out a quick "Bye papa!" as she raced out the door.
Cold air swept into the house as the door opened and closed. I decided to have another tea before going outside and dealing with the cold. I moved closer to the stove before pouring myself another drink. I let the heat of the cup warm my hands, as the heat from the stove warmed the rest of me. It's a pity that chocolate wasn't available, as today was a perfect hot chocolate day. Growing up back on Earth, hot chocolate was perfect for lazy days or as a kid after a long day of sledding.
As I enjoyed the warmth, I cast my eyes around the house. My workmanship had held up over the years, and everything remained solid. The years had added wear, but it made everything more comfortable. Made it more of a home than a house. It had served us well and would still serve us well for many years. Though, with our next few children would likely need me to expand the house.
Maybe next summer I could start an expansion? Our next child should be born in another month or so, but we wouldn't need any expansion for that. But the child after would require another room.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "Michael are you in there? It's Rodrick. Your wife said I would find you here."
I went over to the door and opened it. I greeted him, "Rodrick! It's good to see you! Come on in."
I led him over to the table and passed him some bread and salt, which he dutifully ate. After he was finished he looked at me and said, "Good to see you! Cold day today, eh?"
"It is, but that just means it's a good day for a hot drink! Would you like a tea?"
At his nod, I poured him a drink and watched as he cradled it in his hands.
After a moment he spoke, "Feels good to get warm again. The past few days have been miserable for travelling. So, have you talked to that blacksmith, Bronn, lately?" At my nod he continued, "I was talking to some o' my fellows down in Barrowton, and they said they can start doing a few trips up here. I don't deal much in iron and coal, so I don't know how much he needs but I figure that's enough to get him started."
I replied, "Hopefully that will be enough. He might be able to pay for labor to go and mine once he gets some coin. Was boat not an option?"
Rodrick shrugged, "It's not really my area, but there's not much trade on the ocean round here. Some small stuff from Bear Island to Deepwood Motte, and Flint's Finger to Barrowton. But the threat of the Ironborn means not much else, since you never know what those fuckers are going to do. Wasn't too long ago that the they raided us all the time, or even owned parts o' the coast. The North remembers."
"I know we still get the occasional 'raid', but I figure Lord Stark would try to have trade on the west coast too. Food from the Reach would be a lot easier to get if there was a port at Barrowton."
Rodrick replied, "Aye, mayhaps. I don't pretend to know the mind o' Lord Stark. But there's stories in Barrowton of ships that have tried to make a run down that way. Figure the good money is worth the risk. Sometimes they make it with no problems, but most are never heard from again. The stories say the Ironborn'll pick up those lone ships, for they are easy prey."
"Those fuckers," I said.
He nodded wisely, "Aye, too true. Well, I came here to pick up some more planks for The Fishing Village. But I was wondering, you always got some interesting stuff. You got anything I can sell?"
I scratched my cheek while I thought. I did have some extra vodka to sell, since the harvest was so good. I replied, "Aye, I can sell you some vodka if you like. Sell it down at a tavern in The Fishing Village. Or maybe Barrowton if you want to hold on to it long enough."
He lit up, "You finally going to sell me some of it?! I'll gladly take it off o' your hands!" He stood up and said, "Come on, let's go get it!"
I laughed at his eagerness. As we walked outside to go grab the vodka he said, "You know, this village will need a name soon. It's probably the second or third largest in the area. A real name would be a good thing."
I had thought about it before, I mean what kind of village doesn't have a name? But apparently in Westeros, these small little clusters of homes don't merit names. I replied, "Really? You think it's big enough now?"
He nodded, still eagerly walking towards the barn, and said, "Aye, if The Fishing Village can have such an awful name, I figure that this place ought to as well."
I snorted at that. The Fishing Village was an awful name. Near as I could tell, House Fisher used to rule there long ago and probably named it Fisher's Village or something. After time had done its work, Fishing Village was all that remained and people called it The Fishing Village to make sure you knew what they were talking about. Still an awful name, regardless of its history.
As we began to load up the wagon, Rodrick spoke up again, "Before I forget, that new bridge o' yours? That's a thing of beauty it is. Granted, I had to scrape of a few layers of mud and shit to actually see it, but when I did, oh boy. That's a beautiful color, and it fits together so nicely!"
My chest swelled with a bit of pride at that. I replied, "Ah, thanks Rodrick. That means a lot. I was just happy to help."
He gave me a sly look and said, "You wouldn't happen to want to sell any o' those bricks, would you?"
I laughed, "Not right now no. Takes a lot of work to make them, more than I can spare. And you would need more than a wagon or two to bring enough anywhere to make anything."
He sighed in disappointment but did not press the issue. After we finished loading up his wagon, he made his good-byes explaining that he needed to check in on his daughter and grand-daughter before he left, or she would kill him the next time he saw her. His grand-daughter, Tarla, had recovered from her illness after a month, but was still very weak and they were worried another illness may kill her easily.
After he left, I watched Violet and Nyra work and talk for a while before I went to go about my work for the day.
A cold day, but a good day.
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