The wind whipped through Tara's hair as she stood on the deck of the ship, her gaze fixed on the spectacle unfolding before her. The crew were going through their usual morning training and Dacey Mormont, the formidable female warrior from the North, was going through the younger crew members one by one with ease and grace that she had never expected from a woman with a Morning Star.
Several days had passed since Tara and little Alla were rescued from Ironborn captivity, and Tara couldn't be more grateful. Jon Snow stood at the ship's forefront, with Alla clinging to him as if he were her blood brother. Tara couldn't fathom how Jon had so quickly charmed the shy girl transforming into her newfound best friend.
Little Alla was curious about everything and was constantly asking Jon questions about one thing or another. And Jon who had two little sisters back home was indulging her expertly and while Tara was a little unnerved she also took solace in the fact that Alla had recovered from her traumatic experience as an Ironborn prisoner remarkably fast.
Jon Snow was standing outside the impromptu ring with little Alla and both were on the side cheering or instead, he was goading on the crew members who were being decimated one-sidedly by their vice-captain, "That's it, lads! Don't let her off easy! Show her what you're made of!"
"Show 'em what you're made of!" Alla echoed enthusiastically, cheering on Dacey, who had quickly become her idol.
A teen calling a bunch of big-ass Northerners 'lads' would have gotten his ass handed to him anywhere else but it seems that no one had problems with it on this ship. But that Teen also being the captain of the ship was already too unusual so it didn't matter too much.
"Come on, Dacey. You're taking it too easy on them," Jon yelled enthusiastically.
Dacey flashed him a cocky grin as she deftly dodged a spear thrust, countering with a swift strike to her opponent's chest. "But... What can I do, They are too easy!"
Struggling to maintain his balance on the swaying deck, her opponent grunted in frustration, narrowly missing a swing at Dacey. She effortlessly sidestepped, teasingly taunting him. "Aye, lad, keep your balance! Can't have you falling overboard, now can we? Cory hasn't had dinner in a while. You wouldn't want to become fish food, would you?"
Laughter erupted from the crew, and the fighter's face reddened with a mixture of embarrassment and determination. He regained his footing and lunged forward, aiming for Dacey's midsection.
But she was ready, her reflexes sharp. With a swift twist of her body, Dacey spun around, mace connecting with the fighter's arm, sending his weapon clattering to the deck. "Better luck next time, my friend! Try to keep up!"
As the mock battles continued, the ship sailed steadily through the ocean, and the crew member fighting pushed themselves harder to compensate for the constant movement. After a few more mock battles Dacey's craving had been satisfied and she allowed the crew to resume their duties. Everyone dispersed, attending to their assigned tasks.
Little Alla went with Jon to his room, where he was teaching her all kinds of things like drawing, reading her stories and playing games with her. A stranger wouldn't even be able to tell that both of them didn't know each other just a few days ago.
Tara was left alone on the deck, her eyes scanning the vast expanse of the ocean in every direction. Left, right, front, back—the unending stretch of water was all she could see, devoid of any sign of a coastline. The sight filled her with an overwhelming sense of fear, surpassing any other apprehension she had experienced.
She couldn't fathom how these Northerners were navigating at all as it was the first she had ever heard of someone on a long trip like this one not sailing along the Coast. Initially, she entertained the notion that the crew somehow used the sun as a guide, a concept she had heard stories about, albeit considering it absurd. But as the ship continued its relentless journey, never halting even on cloudy days or during the night, she dismissed that idea.
Driven by curiosity, Tara discreetly questioned several crew members, only to receive the same response—they had no idea and that they left all the navigating to the Captain and the Vice-Captain. And she knew better than to ask Jon or Dacey because if it really was a new revolutionary way of travelling then there was no way they would even entertain the idea of telling it to a lowly maid like her.
Thus, she spent many sleepless nights wondering if they would be lost forever at the sea and that the ship would be the place where she would eventually die. But it seems she was the only one with such fear as the Northerners with their nerves of steel didn't seem to waste a single breath worrying about if they would somehow get lost on the sea.
And so when she went to sleep that night it was once again with a prayer to the Crone to guide her way to safety.
Thankfully her worry was for nought. When Tara woke the next day, an air of excitement permeated the crew as they went about their tasks with unusual vigour. When she asked about it they told her that according to Captain they would reach the Shore shortly.
True to their words, a few dozen minutes later, Tara spotted a port on the horizon, illuminated by the rising sun. Overwhelmed with emotion, she couldn't help but shed a few tears at the sight of land after the harrowing experiences she had endured. From the attack on her ship to Lannisport to her captivity and the cruelties inflicted upon her by the Ironborn, and finally, the uncertainty of ever reaching solid ground while aboard the ship with the Northern folk.
All of this was enough of her to stove off ever going on a ship for life.
...
As they entered the familiar port Jon was gratified to see that it was a little bigger than the last time, which was a familiar thing for him. Since he had arrived at Bear Island the construction for the port had been going non-stop without a single break. And he was proud to say that it was finally starting to look like a port instead of what it was before, a place where the locals tied their fishing boats.
He counted about 15 ships moored to the port at the moment and while it seemed like a big number, they were actually all their ships that they had "borrowed" from their generous neighbours to help them with pirating addiction. Since it would be wrong to call it a port when there was no foreign ship in there but that was how it had been for decades and it was hard to change it in a few years.
But Jon was working on a solution for that and he was happy to say that it was very close to being fulfilled. The main reason for the lack of foreign ships was very simple, lack of opportunities to make profits. If Bear Island could somehow export valuable things like Gold or silk, there was no doubt that the merchants would somehow find a way to make a trip here one way or another. Unfortunately, their resources were limited to wood, furs, and other inexpensive commodities.
And even those could be used to entice the merchants if they could trade safely and regularly but sadly that hadn't been possible because of the Ironborn. Only wealthy and powerful merchants, capable of commanding their own fleet and hiring sellswords for protection against pirates, would even consider the journey. And they would only make such a trip if it was worth their while and it wasn't so at the moment.
Or of course, on the other end, you could also be a pirate or a slaver like the one who contacted Jorah with a connection to the Ironborn so that they don't loot you on sight.
Jon had gleaned some rumours from the Ironborn he had "gently" interrogated, that Asha Grejoy, the heir of Balon at the moment was already in the Disputed Islands at the moment learning the ropes of Family business. And it was even said that Euron Grejoy was making regular trips there to reave the Essosi's to his heart's content.
Euron hadn't made his infamous Asshai trip yet so at the moment he was still a bit sane and was just one of the more notorious pirates and didn't have the fearsome reputation he would have in the future.
Anyway, the previously mentioned solution was that during the last few trips to Lannisport, he had been in contact with a few wealthy merchants who were interested in making a trip to the North to sell and buy if he somehow told them the so-called "secret" route he was taking. And that had given Jon the idea of establishing a small shipping company that would offer protection and secure passages for merchant vessels willing to join their fleet for a reasonable fee.
The only thing he was waiting for was a few more merchants to get on board so that they could create a proper fleet and make trade between the North and the South of the Western shore a reality.