Chapter Synopsis: Harry takes Lord Stark down into the crypts to show him the secrets hidden within. Secrets of both their families. Meanwhile, Dobby goes on his own treasure hunt, leaving behind some rather flummoxed locals.
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Last Time: ... "Dobby was happy to have helped Harry uncover more hidden magics, it always filled Harry with such joy. Particularly when Harry found books to steal.
Though really, there wasn't much of interest in those damp underground rooms to interest Dobby.
Not that it mattered all that much. Dobby had already found a rich treasure room for himself on the first day of his searching. A room filled to the brim with socks of all different shapes and sizes. Now that he'd finished helping Harry, he might as well make a quick visit."
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Chapter 13: Family Secrets
Nella had always seen more than others, she was a dedicated follower of the old gods, and she felt they had gifted her with deeper sight. Some would call it magic, others would call her insane, but she wasn't bothered either way. It never affected her duties as a Lady's maid for Lady Stark.
Nella was however, quite sure she was going dotty, she was certain of it. Naught but five days ago she saw a Child of the Forrest toddle through the main hall following Lord Edwyle and two strangers into his Solar like it was any other Sevenday. A child of the Forrest wearing far too many hats, and what looked like socks covering his coat.
Then just last night she'd watched the creature and the two strangers sneak through the main gate and into the crypts. Though sneaking was a generous definition of their activities, they'd walked through the gate in full sight of the guards, yet no one noticed the intruders, who seemed to shimmer in the torchlight spilling out from the guardhouse. The only concession to being clandestine seemed to be their slightly hunched figures and the middle one jumping clumsily from shadow to shadow like a child playing a poorly constructed game of hopscotch.
She watched the exit to the crypts all night, rocking on her chair and slowly darning her Lady's old socks. She was darning these socks because an unusual volume of odd pairs seemed to be coming out of the washer-woman's load each day. She did suspect the creature that toddled around with socks darned to his jackets, but she wasn't sure how to raise the subject, still unsure if she was the only one seeing these hallucinations.
She finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning still rocking in her chair and wondering if maybe she should ask for a temporary leave-of-service to visit her sister in White Harbour. Nothing strange ever happened in White Harbour.
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Dobby walked through the corridors of Winterfell carrying a small sack over his shoulder and whistling happily. He'd just made another visit to the basement sock repository he'd found the other day, and filled his bag with a sample selection, one of each type. Leaving a gold galleon as payment just as each time previously.
It was a guilty pleasure but what was the harm in expanding his collection. It was a little strange that no-one was there to take payment, but he was a good upstanding house elf and would never skimp on payment.
On his way out, he spotted an older Lady's Maid dozing off in a rocking chair. He first noticed that the woman seemed to have an active squib magical core. The level of activity that could allow a squib to easily spot wizarding wards, and illusions of all kinds, even enough magic to brew advanced potions with the right ingredients. He'd have to take note of the more powerful squibs he found; he was sure Harry would want to know.
Just as he was about to pass by, he noticed another pair of socks strewn on the floor, these ones a stunning shade of green. Falling to temptation he carefully deposited one of them into his sack, and replaced it with another gold galleon before Merrily continuing on his way.
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Just two days after their foray into the Crypts, Harry had found a suitable book in which he could slip a hint that would point Lord Edwyle in the right direction. That book being the journal of the last King of Winter. Likely the one who hid their treasures in the first place.
Harry tucked the journal in his shirt and made his way out of the library, leaving the Maester to his tasks. Harry was cautious of the Maester when it came to revealing magic. He'd been friendly and helpful so far, and more than willing to at least consider Harry's various suggestions for improvement of their lands and production, but Harry did note the conspicuous lack of any records even hinting at magic in his Library domain. Harry was sure a library of this age should have at least a few records tucked away on one shelf or another. Maybe a prior Maester of Wintefell was to blame.
With that in mind, Harry made his way to Lord Edwyle's Solar, asking a waiting servant to seek permission to see the lord at short notice.
In Lord Edwyle's solar, Harry sat down, ready to share his wondrous find with his Stark kin. After the usual greetings, Harry began, "This, is actually a bit of a sensitive matter" he said getting Edwyle's attention, "I felt I should bring your attention to this journal I found tucked behind some other books, hidden deep in the back of your Library. I feel that if you knew of it, the book wouldn't have been there to begin with"
"hmm.." Lord Edwyle mumbled, noncommittedly, not entirely sure what this would really be about, but figuring he'd let it play out. "The book?"
Harry held the journal out, for Lord Edwyle, who looked it over with curiosity and flicked though a few pages. "This.." Lord Edwyle began, but paused seemingly to double check, "This, is the journal of the last King of Winter, Torrhen Stark," Lord Edwyle was incredulous, and they both sat in silence for a moment, as he continue flicking through the pages, and absorbed the importance of this find.
Harry broke the silence. "Of course, it has great value to the Stark line, and is a great find in and of itself, but to get the most value out of it, I'd like you to open it to the page I've bookmarked."
"This," Harry said, pointing to the page, "is an account of how King Torrhen and his most trusted man, Lord Reed, hid the Stark treasury and royal artefacts in the crypts to keep their wealth away from the invading Targaryen's."
Lord Edwyle's eyes widened, and he leaned in to examine the journal more closely. After a moment, he looked up at Harry and nodded in agreement. "This is an incredible find. I know of no mentions of Stark Lords recovering such a treasury, and we certainly know the Winter Throne and Crown to be lost to time, though they're mentioned here in the journal" Lord Edwyle replied contemplatively.
Reviewing the passage again, he slowly stood, "we must be cautious in this" he said. "We cannot risk the wrong people learning of this if it truly exists." Walking to the door with purpose, gripping the journal tightly he continued, "Since you already know though, and were forthright enough to bring this to my attention, I would appreciate your help in searching for this hidden room. More hands make light work after all. Return this evening, just after sunset. We'll go down into the crypts to quietly investigate."
"Speak of this to no-one!" He instructed as they parted ways. Harry was pleased with that result. This was exactly the scenario he needed to both ingratiate himself with his kin, the Starks and to hopefully introduce magic with little interreference from others.
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Later that evening, Harry quietly met by the crypt entrance with Lord Edwyle, and Ser Cassel, the lord's most trusted sworn sword – to seek out the hidden chamber.
With flaming torches in hand, the trio ventured into the crypts. Harry made sure they stumbled around in their search, not wanting to reveal that he already knew the chamber's location. He subtly guided them towards the hidden wall, making sure they noticed that the smoke from their torches seemed to flow through cracks in the wall, hinting at a concealed space.
As they reviewed the wall in front of them Lord Edwyle searched for a lever or some handle, pressing against the wall and trying various methods to uncover an entrance. In the process, he fortuitously cut his hand on a sharp stone. His Stark blood spilled onto the wall, and a deep rumbling echoed through the crypt as the wall began to sink into the floor, revealing the hidden chamber behind.
As Lord Edwyle looked over the gathered hoard in front of him in astonishment, he couldn't help but feel that luck was on their side, and quietly gave thanks to the Old Gods for their grace. Glancing to the centre he stood in awe of the throne, sitting in silent watch over the treasury, a throne that, if not for the Dragons, he would sit upon as King. He sighed at that fruitless thought and turned to the bountiful plies of gold coins.
It was no Lannister gold hoard, in-fact he was sure it was fairly modest compared to many of the great houses. It was likely just a portion of the kingdom's treasury at the time they bent the knee. It would have been suspicious to the conquering Targaryen's if Torrhen Stark had hidden the entire treasury.
The piles were, however, a mite larger than the gold piles he would usually have gathered together in preparation for the start of winter. This was quite the boon.
With winter having just passed, the Stark treasury was largely depleted. He thought, with a smile, that this gold could drive a far stronger start to the usual frenzy of summer building activities. He'd be able to afford more seed for planting, with plenty of gold left-over to set aside for much needed infrastructure projects.
He suspected many of the suggestions from Harry and Maester Garrick could be funded with this gold. It was like a weight lifted off his shoulders, he felt lighter than he had all winter. He thanked the Old Gods for this trio of wandering foreign nobles masquerading as merchants. That they decided to visit Winterfell was a blessing; one he could never have seen coming, but was very grateful for nonetheless.
As they delved into the hidden chamber, Harry directed Lord Edwyle and Ser Cassel's attention towards the scrolls at the back. He picked up one of them, feigning interest while knowing that it contained instructions on Stark magics and a small map to the wardstone hidden deeper in the crypt.
While Harry pretended to examine the rest of the chamber's contents, Lord Edwyle studied the writings on the scroll. His eyebrows rose higher and higher as he read about the ancient magics mentioned within. Although sceptical, he couldn't help but feel curious. He hadn't mentioned it, but it hadn't passed his notice that the wall blocking their entrance to this chamber seemed to move as if by some magic, and it seemed to activate only when his blood came in contact. Never let it be said he was unobservant.
After considering his companions on this expedition, he chose to trust them, and showed Harry and Ser Cassel the map he'd found. They agreed that now was as good a time as any to investigate, and set off deeper into the maze of crypts, leaving the gold and artefacts to be moved later.
The air grew colder as they ventured deeper into the labyrinthine passages, the torchlight casting eerie shadows on the dusty walls adorned with cobwebs. The atmosphere was heavy with the weight of the countless Stark ancestors buried within, their stone likenesses watching the trio with silent, solemn gazes.
Edwyle had never been this deep, even when he played in here as a child. He was momentarily nostalgic over that particular past-time. His mother had been most displeased with his activities, and the punishment certainly taught him to keep away. As a parent he understood that his mother had most likely just been concerned about the tunnels collapsing. In-fact, they were quite lucky that all the partial collapses they'd passed so far had enough space in them for a full-grown man to pass through.
Finally, they arrived at what was clearly the entrance to a second chamber. He didn't need the map anymore, he could immediately tell it was an entrance. It was hidden more by its deeper location in the crypt maze than by any other method.
Edwyle was distracted from his perusal of the archway and wall that likely hid the second chamber by a gesture from Harry. "Look… here, at the base of this statue" Harry said as he pointed to the ancient statue of a lady standing guard to the left of the door. "This is the symbol of my house, the Peverell crest".
Sure enough, Edwyle could make out the slightly worn symbol carved into the base of the statue, clearly matching the Peverell coat of arms. Stunned, Edwyle took a step back and took in the two statues bordering the archway.
"These have to be the first Starks" Edwyle said with a whispered reverence "Bran the Builder and his wife, Lady Iolanthe Peverell".
"I never thought I'd see their likeness, it is incredible to see tangible evidence of our link to the age of heroes. Of course, if we were to find it anywhere it would be here in the base of the crypts.
Turning towards the lady's statue on the Left, Stark figured it was as good a time as any to fill Harry in on what he knew of the Stark's connection to the Peverells. "I have to say, I was surprised when you came to Winterfell claiming the name of Peverell. It's not a well-known name outside the North, as it hasn't been heard of in Westeros since the age of heroes. As far as we knew, Iolanthe was the last Peverell, and married Bran to start the Stark line."
"I had heard of Iolanthe before, but didn't see the appropriate time to bring it up" Harry said in response "I believe we are linked through her father, Ignotus, who was a common ancestor to both of us. From the legends I had heard North of the wall, Ignotus was a key contributor to the war against the Others in the Long Night, and helped Bran build his wall."
"Certainly a powerful pair to start a powerful line" Harry concluded, turning to Edwyle.
Edwyle smiled brightly at the compliment to his family line, but raised an eyebrow at the mention of learning things North of the wall. It took but a moment for a few dots to connect in his mind, and he realised that Harry, Sirius and Doberic must, in-fact, have been the hapless merchants he'd been told about by the Night's Watch. The ones that had 'accidentally' ended up on the wrong side of the biggest, most obvious landmark in all of know history.
He filed that observation away. He'd definitely need to get that story from Harry at a later date. Though knowing Harry, he now suspected that their adventures might have been a bit more deliberate than they'd indicated to the prickly Night's Watch. Probably a bit of wanderlust; they were on a self-ordained exploration of the world after-all.
Breaking from his momentary distraction, Lord Edwyle gave Harry a friendly smile, "You may not hold the Stark name Harry, but as the founders of our ancient house, the Peverell name holds a special place in the hearts of the Starks. Know that you will always be welcome in Winterfell. Not least for all the good you've already done here" Edwyle offered his arm to Harry in a brotherly greeting.
"I won't say no to that" Harry agreed grabbing Edwyle's hand. "It seems both the Starks and Peverells have been whittled down to only a few members over the years, so I will not say no to more family, no matter how distant." This had gone a lot better than Harry had thought. He should show his distant relatives long hidden treasure troves more often. Not like he was overloaded with family to spoil after all.
Ser Cassel observed all this quetly, but also had a small smile for his friend, Lord Edwyle, finding new family.
"That being said, we should get back to the matter at hand" Harry said, gesturing back to the wall, breaking the trio from the distraction posed by the statues. "Try cutting your hand and placing it on the wall like you did with the other chamber."
"Yes, of course, let's get to it. I was just so shocked to see the founders of my house. But now I'm curious to know what they're guarding." Following Harry's instructions, with only slight hesitation, the wall was soon sinking into the floor with a rumble.
Harry's two companions on this adventure let out twin gasps at the sight that met them on the other side.
As Harry had observed on his first visit, the wardstone was entwined with weirwood roots, feeding off its magic. Occasionally a dim blue light ran down a root like some sort of mysterious magical pulse. The sight was both awe-inspiring and eerie, a testament to the ancient power that once thrived in the North.
As Lord Edwyle approached the wardstone, he couldn't help but feel a strange sensation – as if an invisible force was emanating from the stone, making the air around it hum with energy. He glanced at Harry and Ser Cassel, who seemed to feel it as well.
Harry, seized the opportunity to suggest that this was a live example of some of the magics he'd just read about in the scroll. He theorised further, suggesting that "This sensation is reminiscent of other obscure magics I've encountered during my travels. I probably have more experience with such magics than most, and would be happy to help you investigate and learn more. I can start with understanding the purpose of this wardstone and the power it holds; in secret of course." He took a breath, having made an effort to get the whole pitch out before either of his companions could get out any sort of sceptical response.
Harry needn't have worried, Lord Edwyle might previously have been sceptical, but he'd grown up on the old tales, and had more reason now than ever before to believe there was something to those myths. He supposed the recent reminder of their somewhat tenuous family connection might help with a bit of that trust as well.
Ser Cassel, ever loyal, followed his lord and friend's lead, showing far more curiosity than scepticism. Harry felt a sense of relief and satisfaction that he had successfully introduced the concept of real magic still existing to Lord Stark and his trusted man. That they seemed to be handling the news well was the best outcome he could ask for.
If he could build on this acceptance of magic, Harry might eventually be able to open up a few more possibilities for the Starks, and the impact it could have on the North were immense. If need be, he'd associate any unexplained happenings by blaming it on the magics of this wardstone. It was helpful that, to Lord Edwyle, the wardstone was a mysterious ancient tool of unknown purpose; he had no way of knowing its ultimate purpose of keeping the dead at bay.
Later that night, having agreed that the artefacts of this Treasury would remain hidden, while Ser Cassel would slowly siphon the gold into the main Stark Treasury over the next few moons, they made their way back to the surface.
As they moved through the crypts one last time, Harry made one more gambit at getting magic integrated into his uplift plans. "Lord Edwyle, before we part, I think I can offer a bit more help with our plans, though this will have to stay between us to maintain the secrecy of these magics." Lord Edwyle nodded for Harry to continue, focusing on the path ahead in the dim torchlight.
"I know of people on foreign lands who used to plant smaller runic wardstones, much like the one we saw tonight, to enrich the fertility of the lands they serve. I would theorise that we could do much the same to a far greater effect with the help of the weirwood trees, as we've just seen today.. I suspect they have some sort of a connection and possible boosting affect to the ward stone. I will need to investigate the weirwoods in more detail, but I'm confident that with a little trial and error I can translate these runes and prepare a few small ward stones to plant on your farmlands. We might even be able to moderate the weather slightly".
As Harry shared his thoughts Lord Edwyle slowly drew to a halt, pausing to listen more intently to a plan that, if offered before tonight, would have seen Harry thrown out as a lunatic. Now however, he trusted this could work. He was also shrewd enough to suspect that Harry was leading him along a path of discovery that he already had some insight into. He could respect that Harry was gently nudging him towards something that he never would have believed beforehand. Interestingly, he wasn't even remotely concerned or distrustful of Harry's motives, both his gut and his observations told him that Harry was an honest man.
Lord Edwyle agreed almost immediately, and declared that Harry would be paid for this research, even if it didn't pan-out.
Harry of course tried to refuse the money, but Lord Edwyle wouldn't hear of it, if they succeeded, this could be game changing for his crop yields, and maybe someday he could quietly deploy such measures throughout the North, reducing their dependence on the South. His eyes twinkled at that thought.
Between these fertility wardstones, and the notes he'd already seen from Maester Garrik on the benefits of Harry's crop rotation method, they might actually be approaching a solution to the North's greatest hurdle, that being feeding the population.
Feeling the evening to be both a great adventure, and an even greater success, they each parted ways to their beds, ruminating on the opportunities that would arise from these finds.
Harry was over the moon with his successes in secretly introducing the Starks to magic and the boons he could offer. Of course, he'd be leveraging his own home world's runes primarily, but Lord Stark didn't need to know that, and these people deserved the boons he could grant them, especially with such little effort.
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Chapter 14 Teaser:
…" The whole thing seemed to focus on a knot of people surrounding the central weirwood tree, upon which they had tied what looked from a distance to be a Child of the Forest wearing Master Padric's horrid hat and gold rings. They'd covered the creature from head to toe in the tree's red sap, and some were chanting an old-tongue lyric to ward away evil spirits.
Nella was speechless, what on earth was going on?"
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