After helping the Children's of forest to settle down in the mountains Jaymee traveled back to Hardhome. Where he met Rodrik.
" So everything went smoothly? there was not problem right & nobady saw you?" Rodrik asked as he was little tensed that if anybody got to know the truth he will not be able to keep his word.
Jaymee reconfirmed " Yes, nobady sawa anything & they have settled well in their new home. So are we going for the Giants next"
" No, Leaf has told me that I should not go to the Giants right now as condition near Ever Winter is worst right now & we won't be able to survive there so we should go after around seven months at that time the weather becomes less hostile for about a month" Rodrik explained to him.
Jaymee understood the logic & he was little relieved because as per Leave theybwould need to fight them & win which Jaymee was not too confidant that he could do. " So what the plan now?"
" We will go back to Vale this post is stable now. We could leave others incharge of it & they will be able to handle it" Rodrik said on which Jaymee was thrilled.
They both went back to Vale. Rodrik confirmed with the children's as if they need anything. Dew & others were comfortable in their new environment. So Rodrik goes back to his usual everyday work in Eyrie.
" So with which house do you want to partner up for the new smokey wiskey" Yobert asked.
" For now we could do anything it ourself if need to require for greater production capacity we can collaborate with House Royce" Rodrik answered while signing some documents.
Rodrik asked about the progress of the railway network.
" We have covered the whole of Vale in each big cities & village a railway station has been made & for the smaller village we have connected with the bigger ones through proper roads as you have mentioned. For the next phase as you have said we will priorities the railway network in North then Riverlands, then Crownlanda, then Reach, then Stormlands & Finally Dorn" Yobert explained.
" Make sure that we have a fixed transportation for peoples from small villages to the cities for railway stations & make sure to have caverns near the stations where people could stay for rest. Take nominal fees from the people rest we can pay" Rodrik gave instructions & asked " Have seperate trains for Nobels & wealthy people where we can give all the amenities, Space & services they would need & can pay for but also make sure In the normal train basic facilities like toilets are clean, water is available & only certain number of peoples board the trains".
Yobert noted all these down waited to see Rodrik expression to know whether he is tired as the next talk would be tiring for him " There is just last thing on the agenda that is your marriage".
Rodrik expression turned for the worst " Do we have to discuss this now we were having a good run"
" Yes this needs to be decided now there is a wave of parchments coming from the seven kingdoms & from Essos regarding Marriage proposals. You are a rich, Young, Powerfull lord who have proved himself both in war & Management of his territory. People has come to realise that Vale will be leading the future of not only Seven Kingdom but of the world. You are offering optimum age. You don't understand how serious this situation is. I have recieved so many bribes I can't tell you. People have offered me land, Gold, one of his daughter even for marriage if I help setup a match with you". Yobert gace a defeated sigh.
" What I can I do in this it's not my fault" Rodrik said as he was feeling wronged.
" It is kind of your fault, if you could have just gone ahead with the princess all this will be resolved. Now even if you select a wife you will make enemies with half the world" Yobert said.
" First of all King Viserys bethrothed her to Laenor I had no say in it. But I see your point. Give me some time Yobert I will think on it" Rodrik said with a mystery in his eyes.
Just as Yobert was going to counter that. A servant came running he gave a letter to Yobert. Who got serious as soon as he read the letter & spoke " Milord a letter has come from house Torrent. Ironborn has attached many villages & towns near the bite. As per the details mentioned in the letter they have left a grim scene behind them".
Rodrik face soon turned serious " Call Jaymee. We are leaving for the bite".
A contingent was made of Rodrik, Jaymee & a score of nights. They moved as fast as possible. Rodrik was aware about the iron islands & their ways. He has seen their work in the shows but as he is someone who wanted to avoid confrontation. He has not made contact with them. He didn't think that they would attach Vale. No mention of such attachs was in the show but maybe because of Vale's fast growth they got greedy & attached Vale. He would try to resolve this issue as peacefully as possible.
In those two days, Rodrik tried to think of ways to resolve this without plunging into open war. Maybe diplomacy, maybe reparations—he wasn't sure. But all those thoughts shattered when he reached the first village.
Lord Howland Torrent was already there, his face grim, clothes blood-smeared, and eyes hollow. The stench of death clung to the wind like mold.
Rodrik dismounted slowly. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see.
The village looked like it had been clawed apart by monsters. Homes were blackened husks, doors ripped from hinges. He passed by a well where three bodies—two women and a man—were floating, bloated and eyeless. One of the women was a girl no older than twelve.
Inside a crumbled barn, Rodrik found a scene that made his knees tremble: a young mother lay sprawled across a straw pallet, her dress torn and her body bloodied. Her child, no more than two, sat beside her, wailing, trying to wake her. Her face had been stabbed repeatedly, so deeply it was barely recognizable as human.
Elsewhere, he saw children beheaded and mounted on spikes. Whole families lay in burned homes, their remains fused into one another by fire. Livestock had been mutilated, not for food, but for sport.
One man had his legs and arms cut off and was left to die slowly. They found him still alive, breathing in rasping gasps, begging to be killed.
Jaymee threw up by the fifth house.
Rodrik didn't speak. He walked through every ruined hut, every street soaked with the blood of the innocent. His eyes were dry at first, but by the time he reached the third village, tears streamed down his face silently. Not the kind of tears one weeps in sorrow—but in fury so deep it boiled the blood.
He saw cages with villagers, especially women and young girls, taken as thralls. Those who weren't raped had been branded.
Rodrik stood like a statue amid the rubble, shaking.
No one dared speak to him.
Even Jaymee was afraid. There was something terrifying in Rodrik's silence. His fists were clenched so tight his nails drew blood.
Then, slowly, he turned to Jaymee.
"Send two letters."
Jaymee nodded. "To whom, my lord?"
"The first to the Iron Islands. They have one week. Exactly seven days to hand over all the reavers who have sacked my lands, and every man, woman, or child they took. If they fail…"
He paused. His voice dropped to a lethal whisper.
"Then I will scour every house on those wretched rocks no matter how small or how big. Everyone of their Reavers shall die. Every priest of the Drowned God shall be hunted and slaughtered. I will burn their ships, salt their harbors, and erase their fucked up faith from this world."
A gasp spread through the crowd. Lord Torrent's face blanched. One knight dropped his sword in shock.
Jaymee hesitated. "And the second letter?"
Rodrik's gaze grew steel-hard. "To King Viserys. Inform him of what has happened. Tell him of the reavers' crimes. Let him know the conditions I've given. And tell him this—" Rodrik leaned closer. "—that this is not a request for aid. This is a plea to stay out of this. Do not try to mediate. Do not try to stop us. For whatever he tries to do We will not stop. This is a blood debt & they will pay this in blood whether with the blood of those who have done this or from the blood of whole Iron Islands"
Jaymee swallowed but nodded. "Yes, my lord."
Two ravens flew out that night—one toward Pyke, the other to King's Landing. Their messages would ignite a firestorm that would change the shape of the Seven Kingdoms forever.