Morning came. Levi woke early, prepared a meal of lizard meat and hard bread, and ate it in silence. The rising sun cast golden beams through the swampy mist outside his window. Before long, a knock came at his door.

He opened it to find Jory and Lyle standing there.

"Come in," Levi said, stepping aside. They entered, both wearing tired but hopeful looks.

Levi didn't waste time. "So, how many are willing to listen to me and go for training?"

Jory and Lyle exchanged a glance and then answered in unison, "All of them."

Levi blinked, genuinely surprised. "All of them?"

Jory nodded. "Not many want to go back to their old lives. Being guards they are fed and paid its enough for them. Training was just a word that made them more than happy."

"With the 65 men from the old guard and our 15 doing town duty, that's 80 men total," Lyle added. "With Kell, Arl, and Munty training the 54 new recruits, we're at 134 men altogether."

Levi nodded slowly. "134 men. But not all of them are cut out for swords or spears. Knowing how to use a bow that's what matters most. Bows first, Spears and swords comes second."

He leaned back in his chair, thinking aloud. "But training while guarding the town... That's the hard part. Our original 15 aren't enough to keep the town safe while the rest are busy training."

He paused. "Alright, here's the plan: split the 65 men and 54 recruits into rotating shifts. Sixty men will train the first day while the remaining ones along with our 15 brothers guard the town. The next day, they switch. The 59 who went to guard will train. while the first 60 that did train will guard with the 15 brothers."

Levi continues on saying. "Kell and Munty will do the training, Let Arl recruit for now."

He looked to Lyle. "Tell Kell, Munty, and Arl what they need to do. Make sure our 15 lead the guard groups. I trust them more than anyone. And tell them their armor is ready in my storage over 400 suits. More than we need, but it's better to have too many than not enough."

Lyle gave a quick nod and left.

Levi turned to Jory. "I need you to find Lysa and Wren. I want to speak with them."

Jory gave a quick salute and followed Lyle out the door.

Levi waited in silence. Not long after, Jory returned with Lysa and Wren.

All four of them sat at Levi's table.

"I've tasked Timor and his smithy with a heavy load," Levi began. "We're arming over 300 men. But even with the armor already made, weapons are slow to come."

He leaned forward. "I plan to have 200 guard this town. The remaining 100 will work as caravan guards. But we can't wait on Timor alone. That work would break even the best smiths."

He looked at Wren. "What's the state of our caravans? With more than twelve running through the North, they should be bringing in steady coin and spreading our name."

Wren nodded. "Business is better than ever. Merchants from the south stop by often. We get information and goods from them. Some of the sellswords working for us don't even want to leave they're fed, paid, and trusted for now."

Lysa added, "We can't arm all the guards overnight, but we can use trade connections to slowly fill in the gaps. Some weapons we can buy. But we'll need to be clever. we can pretend while we buy armor saying its for the sellswords but that wont be an acceptable reason if we keep buying for long"

Levi sighed. "This plan will take more than three moons to finish."

Wren slid a small bag across the table. The soft jingle of coin followed.

"More profits," Wren said. "The rest goes into resupply and buying new goods to trade."

Levi glanced at the gold dragons and then pushed them aside. "Give that to the Old Maester next time. He keeps my ledgers and pays our workers. If you're working with him, you'll learn more than just trade."

Both nodded and stood to leave.

Jory remained. "What next?"

Levi gave him a tired smile. "With Lyle spreading word and moving armor, help get it to the guard posts so no one waits on it. When he finishes, both of you help Arl recruit more men. That'll ease the load."

Jory nodded and left.

Levi sat alone again.

Evening came. Another knock.

It was the Old Maester.

"Come in," Levi said, stepping aside.

"Another lesson," the Old Maester said.

Levi smirked. "It's been a year since you started teaching me about the great houses North, Vale, Westerlands, and Riverlands. I suppose now it's time for the Stormlands and Dorne?"

The Old Maester sat down, opened his worn satchel, and began to speak.

"And the current house of the king," he added. "House Targaryen. You'll want to remember their names. One day, they might matter to you more than you think."

Levi leaned in. He had build a town. Now he'd need to understand the world more to make plans for his own future house.