Chapter 126. Call me Jaehaerys.

Chapter 126: Chapter 126. Call me Jaehaerys.

Jaehaerys finally managed to set foot on the ground. The journey from the North had been exhausting. Riding on a dragon’s back was one of the most boring things in history. Moonfyre flew off, Blackfyre followed him, and both disappeared into the forest, or tried to. They would probably take a few trees down with them when they landed.

Dany climbed down stiffly from her dragon. Jaehaerys looked at her; she still looked composed and fresh. The woman beside her, not so much.

Val had been sent by the free folk as a sort of emissary. She would observe life in ArgentStone and report it to the wildlings, free folk, Jaehaerys reminded himself. Val was Mance Rayder’s sister-by-law; by southern standards, she would be something like a princess beyond the Wall. She was quiet and observant. Jaehaerys had watched her struggle to keep her composure while riding atop the dragon.

He could sense a trace of fear. It was rather surprising. Anyone else in her position would have been terrified. She was alone, in the south, surrounded by people who hated her people.

Jaehaerys had been somewhat reluctant to let her travel with Daenerys, but the princess had insisted, giving him several perfectly valid reasons.

"You fear she might attack me in the air. One roll from Blackfyre and she would fall to the ground." Logical, if you assumed the person wanted to live. But if they had some greater purpose in mind, sacrificing their own life was not much of an obstacle.

Even so, that was being fed by his own paranoia. Val was not stupid. From what he knew of her, she had a good head on her shoulders. She would not act recklessly.

"Welcome, Prince Jaehaerys," Qyburn greeted him with a bow.

Jaehaerys was already sick of being welcomed back to his own castle. He did not want to leave again for at least 10 years. Ah, he had already committed himself to going back for the wildlings in 3 months.

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"What would our iron production be now?" the prince asked. He had missed his desk.

"Yes, the reverberatory furnace is... magnificent, my prince." The person giving the report was not Qyburn, but Samwell Tarly. The boy had changed since first setting foot in ArgentStone.

Jaehaerys had to admit that the boy’s genetics were bad. He would probably always be predisposed to being fat, especially with the sort of diets nobles tended to have, rich in fats. Not that Sam was weak. He hit like a bull. If he had been properly trained from childhood, he might have been able to give the Hound a good fight.

"What is its capacity, Sam? Are the furnaces being used to their full potential?" the prince asked.

The boy, no longer quite so fat, nodded. "No, my prince, they are not operating at full capacity, though I think the reverberatory furnace is the worst of them," he said, a little timidly.

"Explain," Jaehaerys said. The extracted ore entered the blast furnace, where it was combined with coke and limestone to produce pig iron. That pig iron was then fed into the reverberatory furnace, where it was heated indirectly. It became a pasty mass, not completely liquid, and the impurities floated through that mass and were removed by hand.

"In truth... barely a small part of the reverberatory furnace is being used," Sam said. "Only one of the blast furnaces is used constantly. We do not extract enough iron ore for all three furnaces. A single furnace can process around 10 tons of ore a day," Samwell said.

"Then should I triple iron extraction? Send more men?"

"I don’t think that would be a good idea. Not unless more iron mines can be found," Samwell said a little hastily. "The miners already manage to extract around 5 tons a day. More men would only get in one another’s way. I think we should explore for more mines. Or—"

"The Ironborn will bring me iron. I hope the furnaces can be brought to full capacity," Jaehaerys said. Extraction was not his priority at the moment. He would not stop it, not at all. There was no chance he would make himself dependent on pirates, but he would take advantage of the iron they brought to produce as much as he could. "Qyburn is always speaking well of you. Now I see why," the prince praised him. "A pity you won’t always be here," he complained aloud. Sam’s ears and cheeks turned red from embarrassment, or excitement. Jaehaerys could not tell which.

"I... um... I have some ideas for improving production in that case," Samwell said, trying not to look up.

"Go on, I’m listening." The prince wanted coffee, but he had never found the plant anywhere on Planetos.

"Right now, air enters the furnace through the tuyeres, pushed in by the bellows. But it sends cold air inside. If we could heat that air before it enters, less heat would be lost and... perhaps we could make better use of it?" he asked at the end.

"Mhm... that’s a good idea, Samwell." The prince nodded. "Have you designed it already?" he asked curiously.

When he first arrived on Planetos... he had wanted to create everything. He wanted to design everything, put his name on everything, every creation, every mathematical theorem, every discovery, all of it. In time he discovered that he simply did not have enough time for everything. Even so, he wanted technology to advance by leaps and bounds, and he could not do it alone. People like Samwell, like Qyburn, would be the ones to accompany him through that process. Knowledge could not be generated by a single person, not while that person was mortal.

"Uh, no... it’s something I thought of before learning about the shortage of iron ore," Sam said, scratching his head. "I can work on it... an external furnace might work," he murmured.

"If you can make use of the heat already escaping from the furnace... it would be more efficient," the prince said.

"Certainly, my prince. A magnificent idea," Samwell said.

"Qyburn assigned you to me as an assistant, didn’t he?" Jaehaerys asked. Qyburn wanted to do nothing but dissect corpses.

Or living people.

"Yes... he said I would learn much more with you." The boy did not seem to question how a man in his twenties could know more than an elderly maester.

"Good... it won’t all be learning. Though I truly wish it could be. I also have to manage my people. If you become lord of Horn Hill, it will be useful to you." Even Samwell caught the if, though he did not seem particularly interested in it.

"I would like to give up my inheritance rights," he said. "I don’t want to be a lord... I only..."

"And I would like not to go to war with your father," the prince said. The logistics of war were a nightmare. He did not want to repeat them anytime soon. "But I understand you. Stay here a few more years. Something will happen, and then you’ll be able to decide your fate more clearly," the prince said. Samwell shifted in his seat, looking somewhat relieved.

Samwell was rather like him, only less physically fortunate, not reborn, and softer. He was the sort of man who enjoyed knowledge. At first Jaehaerys had not involved himself much with him, mostly because of the gap between them. He could not teach Sam anything too advanced because he probably would not understand it. Now that was different. Samwell had finished his apprenticeship under Qyburn. He should be able to help him.

"What about the copper mines? Has anything been found?" the prince asked.

"Yes, my prince," the Tarly boy said. "One was found, though there is a problem. It lies on the border with House Wode." Jaehaerys sighed heavily. House Wode was where he had sent Lady Whent. He did not expect them to be particularly cooperative. "They have rejected the princess’s offers to discuss the mine. The princess even offered gold," Samwell said.

"Have them send a letter to Lord Wode. The Prince of ArgentStone warmly invites him to his castle to discuss the fate of the copper mine." Copper was not especially valuable in this age. It could be used for coins, cauldrons, and other ornaments, but it did not compare to gold, and Jaehaerys knew Dany was anything but stingy. If Lord Wode refused to let the matter go, it was only to spite him.

"Will Lord Wode come?" Samwell asked, a little innocently.

"Fear will bring him here. He may ignore Daenerys, she’s too kind, but I—"

"You are kind too, Prince Jaehaerys," Samwell interrupted him.

Jaehaerys fell silent for several seconds.

"I’ll send the letter, my prince," Samwell continued as he hurriedly rose.

"Tarly," Jaehaerys called when he reached the door. Samwell looked at him fearfully. "You may call me Jaehaerys." The boy remained frozen for a few more seconds. "Go," the prince told him again.

Samwell nearly ran out.

———-

Give me stones or I’ll tickle you...