The Winter of Ice and Fire Is Coming

A ship approached Saltspear Beach in the cold wind.

This is an ordinary-looking ship.

On the Salt Spear Beach, there are outposts, one on each side. Below the outposts are several stone houses surrounded by a fence.

It was freezing cold and there were no soldiers on duty upstairs.

These soldiers must have gone into the stone house to warm up.

The ship docked, and there was a patrol boat and several fishing boats in the port.

There was thin white snow on the patrol boats and fishing boats, and there were no human footprints on the bow.

The fishermen and soldiers on the boat also went ashore.

When the boat came to shore, the hull shook slightly. The boatman inserted a long wooden pole with an iron spike at one end through the round hole in the middle of the bow, plunged it deeply into the sand and anchored the boat.

"My lord, here it is," the boatman said in the cabin.

Four burly men in white capes came out of the cabin, jumped ashore, and stood on both sides. After a while, another person emerged from the cabin, a woman: Arya Stark. Arya followed Will. After the two went ashore, James Lannister came out of the warm cabin slowly.

The boatman and helmsman finally went ashore. The boatman was holding a thick rope, one end of which was tied to the iron ring on the bow, and the other end to the stone pier on the shore.

Afterwards, Arya took Will, surrounded by four guards, and walked towards the stone house not far away.

Saltspear Beach is the territory of the Dustin family. Opposite the Saltspear Beach is the Neckze. To the west of Salt Spear Beach is a stream land. To the west of the stream is the rocky coast.

Entering the salt spear beach is equivalent to entering the deserted graves of the ancestors. It's just on the edge of the ancestor's deserted mound, facing the bay.

Saltspear Beach is the boundary between the ancestors' deserted cemetery and Huishuiwang's Li De family territory. There used to be iron people who wanted to attack the deserted graves of the ancestors, or wanted to enter the northern territory for looting, and they all liked to choose to land on the hidden salt spear flats with slow winds.

Because of this, the Salt Spear Beach has set up an outpost and arranged a patrol boat. Usually there is a small group of soldiers to guard it.

The ancestors’ deserted burial mounds and Saltspear Beach are the domains of the Dustin family. The Dustin family's castle is called Huangzhongtun, or Huangzhong Town. Huangzhong Town is more than a hundred miles away from Salt Spear Beach.

After Will and Arya landed from Saltspear Beach, their first destination was to the desert town of the Dustin family.

In the winter, the entire northern border was cold and frozen.

Although Salt Spear Beach is the most fringe area in the North, it is no exception.

In this icy and snowy field? Will and his party need a foothold, and the desert town of the ancestors is the best choice.

A guard pushed open the door of the stone house, and suddenly a cold wind blew in. It is warm in the stone house? The fireplace is burning? In the house? There is also a bright brazier burning. Several soldiers in single clothes were drinking around the brazier.

When the door opened, several soldiers suddenly turned their heads.

Then? They saw Will and Arya. Four knights staring at death.

"Who are you?" Several soldiers stood up quickly? Three of them had already grabbed the wall and reached out to fetch the sword.

They didn't know the Prime Minister of the Seven Nations, nor Arya Stark.

The soldiers stationed in this most remote place near the sea lived a life almost isolated from the world. They open the door? There is a small bay in front of them. And a few miles away on the right? It's an uninhabited swamp for hundreds of miles: Neck Ze.

"I am Arya Stark." Arya said.

The North? Any place? is the territory of the Stark family. The Dustin family? Is the vassal of the Stark family.

The soldiers looked at each other with suspicion.

Will and Arya walked in, Arya took off her cloak, and the soldiers saw the crest on her breast: Ice Wolf.

"Miss Stark." The leading soldier stammered, "Please sit down."

"Where is your captain?"

"In the next room."

"Go and call him over."

"Yes? Miss."

Soon? A strong man was called in? He was full of alcohol? He looked terrified: "Miss Stark, can I do something for you?"

"We're going to Desert Town, can you find some horses for us?" Arya was sitting by the brazier? He took out a purse and shook it. The coins collided, making a nice sound.

"Miss, we have some thin horses here."

"There are seven of us."

"There are cows and mules in the fishing village."

"Can you find a bullock cart?"

"Yes. Every once in a while, we will go back to Huangzhong Town to buy some wine, vegetables, rice oil, and fishermen to sell fish in Huangzhong Town."

"We want an ox cart and five horses. When we arrive in Huangzhong Town, the ox cart and horses will be returned to you, and the money in this purse will belong to you. You can buy more wine and The meat comes back."

"Thank you, Miss." The captain was full of joy. The four tense soldiers in the room smiled.

*

Early the next morning, except for the cold wind, the sky was clear. A white sun is like nothing behind the fog.

The captain and a soldier drove the bullock cart personally, and Will and Arya sat in the cart. The bullock cart is blocked from the wind with wooden boards on all sides, and the inside is nailed to the boards with cloth curtains to better resist the intrusion of the cold wind.

The four guards and James Lannister rode on thin horses, and the group set off toward the town of deserted town.

A day and a half later, Huangzhong Town appeared in front of everyone.

The ground, snow and ice have been crushed by more horse and ox carts.

Pedestrians, cavalry, horse-drawn carriages and bullock carts all increased on the road.

A big flag was planted at the head of the city.

The pattern on the flag is two long axes with black handles with a black crown in the middle.

Although it was the first time for Will to see Abandoned Mound Town, he knew very well about the Lord Dustin's family and knew the current situation very well.

The black-handled long axe is a weapon used by the Dustin family, and the black crown shows the glory of this family. In the era of the rise of the Stark family, the Dustin family also once ruled the king. They were powerful and did not lose to any powerful family in the North. Later, the Dustin family became weaker year after year, and finally had to surrender to the Stark family.

Today, the patriarch of the Dustin family is the Countess of Ballet Leswell.

Her husband is William Dustin.

Earl William Dustin was one of Ed Stark’s friends. In the War of the Usurpers, Ed and William went south to find his sister, Leona Stark, in the Tower of Bliss in Dorn. They encountered the Dawn Excalibur and three others, and William Dustin died in battle.

When Ed returned to the north, he only brought back Earl William's horse and long sword.

This made William's wife, Barballet Leswell, resented Ed Stark. She thought Ed should bring back William's bones instead of the horse and sword.

William was from the north, and he couldn't leave his bones in Dorne in the south. He needs Ye Luo to return to his roots and return to his family's tomb to rest in peace.

But Ed Stark did not bring back William's bones.

This created a deep rift between the Dustin family and the Stark family. It also made Mrs. Ballet Leswell change from an elegant, noble, intellectual and well-meaning person to a bitter woman full of resentment towards the Stark family over the long years.

Will and Arya come to Desolate Town. If you want some help from the Countess of Ballet Leswell, you basically don't expect them. Mrs. Ballet Leswell was out of courtesy and vassal status, but she would not explicitly refuse.

Will is mentally prepared for this.

As for Arya, most of them don't know the grudges of the older generations. Ed Stark’s character does not tell his children these things.

When Mrs. Barballet Leswell was young and beautiful, she had a grudge with the two brothers of the Stark family.