They began work at once. Engineers constructed the first defense: a palisade wall of Vale pine reinforced with sharpened stakes and lookout platforms. Trenches were dug around the outer rim. Watch towers rose at each cardinal point, fitted with signal torches and ballistae.
Every night, Vaeron organized guard rotations, while Nyra patrolled silently beyond the walls. Freefolk scouts appeared at the edge of the forest from time to time—shadowy figures watching, measuring. But no attack came.
Within weeks, the docks were reconstructed. Jaymee prioritized them after the defenses—ships from the Vale were due with reinforcements and materials. Using timber floated upriver, they built reinforced piers strong enough for long haulers and troop carriers.
Finally, after nearly three months, sails appeared on the horizon. Three ships docked at Hardhome, offloading seasoned guards, engineers, builders, crates of supplies, and weapons—not only for trade, but for defense also.
Jaymee stood with Vaeron, watching the busy camp shift into a growing settlement.
"We've secured the bones," he said. "Now we give it a heart."
Now the next step is to convince the freefolks to start trading with them.
Jaymee keeps a council with Vaeron & Nyra. " There are two ways to do this either we approach directly the biggest clan Thenns & if we are able convince them then rest of the freefolks will come automatically but if they see it negatively we will have a war which we most likely won't be able to win as it's their home ground or we can first start with small tribes & builds their trust little by little"
On which everyone thought was that they should go with the second approach of take taking it slow & should gain their trusts little by little. So they first send message to small tribes like Black ears, Redsmith, Hornfoots , Frozen shores & to other small clans inhabitting the Haunted forest. There message was clear hardhome is a place of trade & healing where they can either trade for Food, clothes, medicines & other necessary things & here also trained Physicians are there if they have people who are ill & wants to get treatment. They will except rare plants, minerals like iron, gold silver, ironwood or any other valuables they have. They also specified this is only a place of trade nothing else.
The message was transferred to each camp & for some time no reply came. one of their messages even not returned from from cave dwellers clan not knowing whether he was captured or killed. Jaymee understood the reason why Rodrik has chosen death row criminals for this role of messanger.
Jaymee kept up with his construction works & has not approached any of the free folks clans for right now as they might seem that as a threat.
After one month of message sending around forty people from the Frozen Shores came to Hardhome they were surprised to see such structure build here. They were armed & ready to fight if needed. Jaymee was there with his full guard to welcome them.
One of the big guys with an axe & heavy beard came forward & said his name was thor & he wanted to trade Iron wood with Food & medicine.
Things went forward from that point.
Trade began that very day. With the first transaction, walls of suspicion began to lower. The Freefolk watched, observed—and eventually more came. Small barters became regular exchanges. Word traveled fast.
Jaymee ordered the docks expanded, storage built, and a basic ledger system created to track trades. Within weeks, the camp at Hardhome buzzed with barter and talk.
But peace didn't last.
One moonless night, sixty warriors of the Ice Reavers launched a surprise attack. Scaling the western bluff, they tried to breach the palisade.
They hadn't expected Vaeron and Nyra.
Vaeron, clad in black leathers, met them at the gates with burning pitch and steel. Nyra rained arrows from a guard tower. Jaymee, in full mail, led the flank from the rear. The Vale soldiers, seasoned from mountain wars, fought in tight formation. The invaders were broken within an hour. Fifteen were captured, the rest dead or fled into the forest.
The next day, a message spread across the forest:
> The southerners at Hardhome are fair traders. They seek peace, not conquest. And they can defend themselves.
Not long after, emissaries from the Thenns arrived. Heavily armored, suspicious, but open to talk. The first negotiations with the largest Freefolk clan had begun.
Hardhome was no longer just an experiment. It was becoming a gateway between two worlds—stone by stone, trade by trade, trust by trust.