After a while, the anchors were dropped, and both ships were securely moored at the bustling port. Almost immediately, a flurry of activity ensued as people began entering and unloading the cargo. Jon was one of the first to disembark along with Dacey and their guest Tara and Alla.
The moment he got down he was met with a short chunky, and muscular girl, with big hands, and thighs. Standing beside her was a younger girl who bore a striking resemblance to a youthful Dacey, clutching a small ledger in her hands.
"Jon! Dacey!" Lyra Mormont, the younger sister with the ledger, exclaimed with an exuberant smile, practically bouncing in place.
"Calm down, They are coming here whether you shout or not," the bigger girl said gruffly while rolling her eyes. She was Alysanne Mormont, the second eldest daughter of Maege also known as the She-Bear (no one said that to her face and lived though).
"Hey, kid," Dacey said with a warm smile and took her little sister in her arms and hugged her tightly, while greeting the older one with a smile, "How is it going, Aly,"
"Nothing much, just the usual," Alysanne said with a shrug and a soft smile.
Jon waited for the sisters to separate before he went toward Lyra and rubbed her head affectionately before asking, "How are you, Kid? Did you handle the port well while I was away?"
"I did! I didn't make a single mistake this time," Lyra proudly declared, showcasing the ledger she held. While Jon engaged in conversation with Lyra, Dacey introduced the two girls from the Reach to Alysanne. Jon had already instructed Dacey to accommodate them in the guest house, relieving him of any concerns regarding their well-being.
There were not a lot of literate and trustworthy people around this part so Jon had no choice but to teach little Lyra, Maege's daughter from the start so that one day when the port here becomes an actual port like the White Harbour, she would be well-prepared to take on the duties.
"I'll make sure to check that then," JJon replied, accepting the ledger from Lyra with a smile. Glancing over the recent entries, he inquired, "So where are the rest of the ships,"
"Well they are on their training trips," Lyra said gesturing enthusiastically, "Two are on their way to Barrowlands, three on the way to Torrhen's Square and a single one to Flint's island,"
The training system Lyra was talking about was part of a small system Jon had established here over the years.
After a few initial months and the success of his first few night raids, Jon had recognised one thing which was that the thing he would need the most in the future wouldn't be Ships but Sailors to sail them. So he worked out a system with Maege's assistance to help him with that.
What they had done was establish a small informal school that would produce a certain quality of sailors for them. There were three levels to this school.
The first level was the actual school which was just a small building near the Mormont Castle, where a few Veteran Sailor taught kids, teens, older men, women or anyone able-bodied from the nearby villages and castles, who came here to find a job or to become a sailor after hearing tales from the merchants about the money to be to made here.
Then for a few months, they were rigorously taught all the things they would require to work on a ship from rigging to tying various kinds of knots to how to raise a sail to even how to clean the deck and finally how to fight on a moving ship.
And after the veterans were satisfied with the few that passed their requirements they would send them to the next level where they would start learning hands-on on the ships. That is when they start to go on the so-called Training trips. These trips are usually taken from Bear Island to all the nearby Northern ports on this side such as Torrhen's Square, Barrowtown, and Flint's Finger and they even made a few trips to Moat Cailin.
And these trips were taken weekly which meant that not only did the prospective sailors get a lot of practice on relatively safer water. These frequent trips meant that Bear Island was not the only western port of the North that prospered. Since the ships almost always traded with the locals wherever they went there, it meant that they were making the locals richer a few gold dragons at a time with every trip.
The active trading along the western shores marked a significant boom for the overall economy of the North, reviving a dormant aspect of its commerce that hadn't been seen in centuries. And when Jon would eventually start making frequent trips down to Lannisport and Reach, it would be as if there would be a rebirth of the whole North, or at least that was a dream of Jon.
Anyway, after the trainee sailors completed enough training trips they would become proper sailors and get to go beyond Iron Islands and to be part of the Frost fleet. The Frost fleet is what the locals called it when Jon took as many ships as he could, filled with Starkhorses to brim with him to Lannisport and whenever he came back he bought back his ships filled with riches as well as products from Westerlands.
"All of this looks good, Lyra," Jon praised the young Mormont and she gave him a huge smile. She wasn't as good as her sister in combat and was more interested in Books and so when picked to train to be the future port master she was ecstatic and decided that she would work as hard as she could to succeed.
"Come on, Jon," Dacey said after finishing up arranging lodging for Tara and Alla with Alysanne, "Let's go to the Castle, Mother must have gotten the news of our arrival by now. And you know how she gets when she has to wait,"
"Alright then," Jon nodded and started to move with Dacey toward the castle after telling Lyra and Alysanne to take care of the new ship they had gotten. Evey time he got a new ship it first has to pass through a process so that it stops looking like an Ironborn's ship which involved some paint, some refitting and a few changes to sail.
He passed through the port, where a small market had cropped up over the past few months. Though it paled in comparison to bustling markets like White Harbour or Oldtown, the small market that had emerged here was a significant development for the people from nearby villages and holdings who had probably never left the confines of their village.
Jon looked around in pride as he saw the rapid changes the place, which was just a small fishing village with a few crofters, had gone through in a matter of a few years.
The establishment of the Starkhorses factory and the influx of goods brought by the ships had created numerous job opportunities in the area. Merchants engaged in trading activities between Bear Islands and the inland villages, while woodcutters, cart drivers, port workers, and sailors became prominent figures in the local workforce. And with the arrival of these jobs came an influx of money.
With newfound wealth came the irresistible urge to spend it. Soon enough, pubs, inns, blacksmith shops, and clothing stores began to spring up, catering to the growing demands of the burgeoning community.
"I could kill for a drink, right now," Dacey said longingly while looking at the pub they were passing by. Even from out here, Jon could feel the liveliness that was being created in there. The clanking of mugs, laughter, cursing and shouts Jon could hear from outside told him about the celebratory mood in there.
"You don't have to kill for that," Jon said with a wry smile while pushing a very reluctant Dacey towards their destination, "I am sure your mother won't keep us for long and then you can go for some drinks. I am sure our crew would also be already there by then too,"
"I hope so too," Dacey said, before she looked at Jon with a raised eyebrow, "And you still won't drink a mug or two,"
"As I told you already, the day I grow a beard is the day I drink my first glass,"
"Pussy..." Dacey scoffed.
"Yeah! Yeah!" Jon rolled his eyes at the expected remark.
While he didn't know exactly know what effects drinking from such a young age would have, he was sure there was a reason his previous world had a minimum drinking age. So to be on the safe side Jon had decided to abstain from that until he was reasonably old no matter how many names he was called.
They eventually arrived in front of the Castle door, which had been upgraded recently to a heavy Ironwood one. Maege had earned quite a bit of tax over the past few years with all this improvement and after she had paid her debts, the first thing she had done on Jon's suggestion was to invest in improving the infrastructure whenever and wherever she could.
They passed through the Longhall and arrived before the Lord's Solar. And as they approached closer, Jon could hear multiple loud voices coming from inside arguing about some kind of an attack.
Jon and Dacey exchanged glances and before Jon could even raise his hand to knock, Dacey opened the door forcefully causing an abrupt silence to fall upon the room. Jon rolled his eyes and followed after Dacey, inside the room there were three people, two men and one woman.
The woman standing imposingly behind the dest was of course Maege, the lady of Bear Island and beside her was the Master-at-arms here, a bear-like handsome man named Brandon and if the rumours were to be believed he was also the father of all of Maege's daughter. And the last man was the captain of guards, Pod, a bald man with wild whiskers and a foul mouth.
The moment the door was slammed open Maege angrily opened her mouth to curse the son-of-a-bitch that dared to slam her door but closed her mouth at the sight of her own daughter.
"What happened," Dacey asked her mother impatiently, "Who are you attacking,"
"You came at just the right time. One of Jon's minions sent a letter an hour ago," Maege said greeting Jon before she turned toward her daughter with a smile, "Some wildings were sighted making their way here,"
"How many? And how far?" Jon asked immediately.
"About fifty and the letter said they were a few days away," Maege said calmly before she asked with a smirk, "So, the two of you tired or are you ready to join the festivities,"
"Of course, we're going to join," Dacey said immediately agreeing for him without a care about his opinion, "And I'll be leading this time," she said to Jon with her hands on her waist.
Jon sighed, shaking his head in mild exasperation. "Fine," before he said, "It seems like you're going to miss the chance to get hungover,"
"There are few things I'll choose over alcohol but..." Dacey said with a smirk, "Bashing in some Wildling Skulls is definitely one of them,"