After resting that night, the next day Wright brought Gendry back to the furnace. Wright demonstrated the process of smelting and crafting Valyrian steel weapons. His blacksmith mentor in King's Landing, Tobh Mott, had also known how to do this, but he never taught Wright. Now, Wright understood that as the king's bastard, if he was willing to learn, his uncle Wright would teach him anything.
In addition to smelting, Wright also taught him the techniques of forging and polishing. The skills were there, but it would take years to master, especially without any magic. It was impossible for him to reach the level where he could polish weapons to legendary quality, but Wright could teach him all the techniques involved in the crafting process.
Using magic to forge weapons was much faster and less labor-intensive. After the weapons took shape, Wright took the opportunity during dinner to visit the Tyroshi military prison's dungeon, where he used four death row prisoners for enchanting. In addition to the built-in enemy-slaying charge from the Valyrian steel, Wright's enchanting skills had reached their peak, allowing him to imbue two effects onto a weapon: one was a purification effect that every weapon had.
The special enchantment on the warhammer was stamina drain. The hammer's long handle and head were made of Valyrian steel, with only a section of the handle covered in a non-slip wooden casing. The hammer was entirely dyed gold, with deep golden smoke-like patterns covering it.
The hammer's head was shaped like an enraged stag, with the antlers not spreading out but instead intricately carved into the head to maintain strength. Robert held it in his hands, unable to let it go, humming as he swung it around for a while, finally collapsing into his chair, exhausted.
"Discord! This hammer shall be named Discord!" Robert thought of his tumultuous life and decided on the name for the Valyrian steel warhammer.
For Stannis's longsword, the enchantment directly harmed life—any cut from this sword would cause prolonged bleeding. The sword was made according to Stannis's design: the original color of Valyrian steel and its forging patterns, with a simple and unadorned blade. The junction between the blade and hilt featured a stag's head, and its antlers formed the crossguard. Robert named it: Judgement.
Renly's design for Wright's longsword was the most ornate, featuring intricate flowers and inlaid decorations. Upon seeing the design, Wright's first thought was to throw Renly into the sea. Thankfully, with Gendry's help and Wright's magical assistance, the floral decorations were completed with patience.
In addition to the flowers on the blade, the hilt and crossguard were set with the blue sapphires Renly had brought. The second enchantment was for lightning damage, and Wright named the sword: Storm.
The Valyrian steel sword that was to be auctioned, Wright didn't know what kind of style people would prefer, so he kept the design fairly standard. The blade was dyed a pale blue, with some runes carved in the Old Valyrian language. At least visually, it looked like a high-end piece.
The auction was held in a warehouse where a port investor event was taking place.
The event started with various treasures from other nobles, including some rare items. A thousand bottles of Might from Volantis were bought by two houses, the Tyrells and the Freys, who each purchased five hundred bottles.
Wright sat in the front row and took two wine glasses from the serving maid's tray, handing one to the person next to him.
Tyrion Lannister, the Imp, took a sip from the glass and twirled a sapphire necklace in his hand. "Lord Wright, you're so considerate. That maid is very beautiful, though a bit too tall. If you hadn't helped me with the wine, I wouldn't have been able to reach it."
Wright took a small sip of his wine. "Does the Frey really need to drink this?"
Tyrion laughed. "After these five hundred bottles are gone, the Riverlands will have five hundred more Freys. Hahaha."
Mace Tyrell and Tyrion Lannister, both representing their houses, had bid against each other on earlier items, trying to test how much the other could afford and to drain their opponent's resources.
After mace had driven the price up twice, Margaery, originally sitting beside Renly, switched places with his older brother Garlan, who was next to her father. From then on, the bidding between Mace and Tyrion was evenly matched. Tyrion was also tricked once and bought a sapphire necklace in frustration.
Tyrion was quick to learn—aside from his poisonous tongue and looks, he was a talented individual. With some experience, he could become an excellent administrator. Wright wanted him to work in Tyrosh, but out of respect for Robert, Wright had never brought it up.
Finally, the main event arrived: the longsword Wright had made the day before. The maid carried the longsword covered by a red cloth to the center of the stage, pulling away the cloth. The pale blue blade, covered in mist-like patterns, and the mysterious runes carved along the blade, instantly captivated the audience.
The nobles continued to raise the bid, and when the price reached 100,000 gold dragons, the number of bidders began to decrease. Ultimately, the competition narrowed down to the Lannisters and Tyrells.
In war, seizing another house's longsword usually meant that the sword either ended up in the East, or the thief had to find a blacksmith capable of melting and reforging it. Otherwise, the original house would pursue them, and the thief's reputation would be ruined. Buyers, too, would lose their honor.
The Tyrell family had only risen to prominence 300 years ago, long after the fall of the Valyrian Empire, and they had no place to buy new swords. The Tyrells were not known for their martial prowess, and it was only now that Lord Mace Tyrell had made a fortune that he decided to buy a sword to show off.
The Lannister had been paying Robert 2.3 million gold dragons in installments over ten years. Tyrion already felt that the family didn't have much money left and had come to the auction just to see the excitement. Tywin, not knowing where else to dig, had scraped together a large sum of money.
Tyrion kept thinking about one thing: when he was about to leave, Tywin had looked at him as if to say, "This is all the money we have; you must win this sword!" or "You don't have enough; is there more at home?"
The two families continued to bid, pushing the price up to 430,000 gold dragons, the amount put forward by Lord Mace. Tyrion quietly tugged at Wright's sleeve: "Lord Wright, could you write an IOU for 50,000? You know how it is with the Lannisters—debts must be repaid."
Wright: "No problem, you can pay me in iron ingots at market price if you like."
Tyrion gave him a grateful glance and shouted, "450,000!"
In the end, the blue Valyrian steel sword went to house Lannister. After Tyrion went up and signed the payment receipt, the maid handed him the longsword. The sword was taller than he was, and Tyrion could only hold it aloft with both hands, accepting the congratulations of the crowd.
After the auction ended, Wright hosted a lavish banquet for the attendees. It would be too stingy to let people spend so much money without offering a meal in return. The banquet was held in another warehouse where the maids were already preparing the dishes.
Wright returned to his temporary accommodation to freshen up, and as soon as he opened the door, Nymeria and Margaery had already followed him in.
"Don't block the door!"
Nymeria pushed Wright into the room.
Wright: "What a coincidence, both of you came to relieve yourselves?"
Nymeria ignored him and hurriedly rushed into the bathroom.
Margaery smiled at Wright. "You had me stay by my father's side to guide his bids, driving up the price several times and making the Lannisters lose so much money. How are you going to thank me?"
Wright: "That's called reasonable bidding! Didn't we agree earlier? A 200,000 gold dragon reserve, and you get half of anything above that. This time, you should receive 125,000 gold dragons."
Nymeria casually walked out of the bathroom and washed her hands. "This is a partnership, Margaery is asking you to repay the favor!"
Wright glanced at Margaery's slightly swollen belly. "Aren't you pregnant now?"
Margaery lowered her gaze, sulking and not saying anything.
Seeing this, Nymeria took Margaery's hand and led her into the bedroom. "He's useless now. You'll have to rely on me to repay the favor!"