Chapter 9.2 The Tragedy of Wyman Manderly

A few months passed, and many gifts arrived at the doors of House Dustin from different lords of Westeros, all joyfully grateful for having received such a method. Now they would no longer have to depend entirely on House Tyrell for food, and the price of grain would drop considerably so all but those who had a monopoly on grain benefited.

On the other hand, Amon had already solved both the problem of the spies and the smugglers in Barrowdock, and the situation was much calmer, but a new mission had been assigned to him, one of considerable difficulty.

The cause of such a mission, Wolfgang Dustin, was once again heading for a city he had already visited several times; White Harbor. His objective was to accompany his wife, Wynafryd Manderly, to bid farewell to her grandfather, who would be departing on an extended trip south to Old Anchor, near Gulltown.

One of Wyman's first cousins had passed away after falling ill very suddenly. Wyman found the situation too unexpected, but it was his duty to go to her funeral.

His initial idea was to go with his firstborn, Wylis Manderly, but he was unavailable. Wolfgang Dustin had asked him for a favor only a week before news of Wyman's cousin's passing reached the North.

Wylis was on his way, at Wolfgang's request, to Last Hearth. House Umber was the one most affected by the, albeit infrequent, Skagos encroachments on their lands. Wolfgang apparently intended to begin trading with the Skagosi, as a way of preventing them from continuing to attack the North.

Skagos is a large island located at the mouth of the Bay of Seals, off the northeast coast of Westeros. Nearby is Skane Island and beyond is the Shivering Sea. Skagos is mountainous and threatening, with choppy and treacherous currents around the island. Sailing is dangerous, especially during autumn storms, when the cold can freeze ropes and sails. The nearby waters have rich fishing grounds.

The Skagosi or Skagossons call themselves the stone-born, as Skagos means "stone" in the ancient language. They are an isolated people descended from the First Men.

The Skagos people are generally despised by the rest of the Northmen , who derisively call them "Skaggs". They regard the Skagosi as little more than tribes of raiders and savages, not unlike savages . They are considered a backward people, rumored to still perform human sacrifices on arcians , lure passing ships to destruction with false lights , and engage in cannibalism during the winter.

Wolfgang wasn't too much of a fan of Skagos, but he could see that it had its uses, for how isolated it was from the world. However, despite all that, Wolfgang's more immediate goals were not targeting the island of Skagos, not now at least.

The situation is that, with Wylis Manderly unavailable, Wyman had to undertake the journey with his other son, Wendel Manderly. Wyman was on the verge of just sending his son, but he was deeply fond of his cousin, something well known to his close family, so he decided to go personally.

"Though it is surprising that Lord Manderly would undertake such a great journey" commented Wolfgang, as Wynafryd rested his head on the young man's shoulder.

"Yes, I was surprised too when the raven arrived, but well, I've told you repeatedly what he was like with that cousin. She was the only person in the family, other than his own children or granddaughters, that he spoke fondly of."

"Yes, I remember the times you told me," Wolfgang replied, and a strange twinkle passed through his eyes. "It must be a hard time for the Melcom House."

"Yes, especially for my aunt's children, my cousins" the girl remarked thoughtfully, and then she began to look at Wolfgang with doubt, and a faint pleading.

"Don't tell me-are you thinking of going?"

"Shouldn't I? It's family after all."

"And if you go who will be left to care for White Harbor? Your grandfather and uncle will undertake the old man, and your good father is on his way to Last Hearth, though he'll probably return to town on hearing the news. But by the same token, as long as it takes for your father to return, you will be in charge of the town. Mistress of White Harbor."

"Mistress of White Harbor..." whispered the girl.

"Sounds good, doesn't it? Lady Wynafryd Dustin, Mistress of Barrowlands and White Harbor," Wolfgang said theatrically, to which Wynafryd nodded as she held back laughter at her husband's antics.

"Actually, I rather like the sound of it."

In conversation the time passed them by very quickly, and they had finally arrived at their destination, the beautiful town of White Harbor.

Wyman Manderly went to greet his granddaughter, forcing a smile to greet her despite the circumstances.

"Grandpa!" exclaimed the young girl with a smile, it had been long enough without seeing him.

"My dear Wynafryd," Wyman replied, and gave her a tight hug.

After greeting his granddaughter, Wolfgang Dustin approached, and gave her a respectful salute.

"Lord Manderly."

"Lord Dustin" greeted the duo.

The rest of the Manderly's were also present, so naturally they also participated in the greeting, and then all headed for New Castle, led by Wyman Manderly himself.

"Wealth is palpable in the air" commented Wolfgang with a smile.

"That's right, with the profits from transporting the gold on our ships House Manderly has been able to increase its fleet considerably" commented Ser Wendel Manderly, with a shaven head, bushy brown eyebrows and a large moustache of the same color. A scar ran across his left eye.

Despite the content of his words, Ser Wendel's tone was not overly friendly or grateful, it was rather distant, which was to be expected; he was the closest to House Stark within the family after all. That friendship only became stronger in the Greyjoy Rebellion, where Eddard Stark saved his life in the midst of the Siege of Pyke.

The attitude of Ser Wendel's brother Ser Wylis had caused the brotherly relationship to crack a bit. Something similar happened between Wynafryd Dustin, formerly known as Wynafryd Manderly, and his sister Wylla. The younger of the two, staying in White Harbor with her grandfather, was much more influenced by him than by her own father.

In the midst of the family luncheon, where all the Manderlys but Wylis were present, along with Wolfgang Dustin himself with his wife, Lord Wyman Manderly made a remark that made almost everyone freeze.

"I recently received a letter," said the Lord of House Manderly.

"A letter?" whispered Wolfgang as he used a soft, fine cloth to wipe away any food debris that may have been left in his mouth. 'Why would a letter be relevant to this conversation?'

"Yes, a letter from Lord Eddard Stark" at such a comment the silence only grew more tense. "He was expressing an apology to me for what happened three years ago."

"That's quite a long time to give an apology" Wolfgang commented, and Wynafryd at his side let out a small laugh. She was quite immature and childish at the time, but she still remembered the scene, and witnessed how her father held a bit of resentment towards the Starks.

"He is, in that Lord Dustin is right. However, something else came along with that apology, a way to make amends."

"A way to make up for it?"

"Yes, a proposal of betrothal, of my granddaughter Wylla to the heir of Winterfell, of House Stark and of the North, Robb Stark."

"From... Robb Stark" Wolfgang commented in a whisper, but his thoughts were interrupted by a loud laugh, belonging to Ser Wendel.

"Hahaha! So apparently our families are joining!".

"It's not certain yet," Wyman commented. "I have not yet accepted the proposal" such a comment caused Ser Wendel's cheerful mood to dampen.

"Why would there be a reason to hesitate? It is an honor to our family such an engagement. Don't you feel the same Wylla?" asked Ser Wendel, and Wylla, though shyly, flashed a tender smile. She had met Robb Stark only a few times, but his attractiveness was undeniable.

"Not of his own volition of course, but through an unfortunate event" commented Wyman, and his eyes fell on Wolfgang, who showed no change in his expression. He was still smiling politely, whispering a word or two with his wife every so often. "I'm afraid such a decision must be approved by my son, Wylla's father. I cannot make it without his consent, but, for very inconvenient reasons, Wylis is not here at the moment."

"That has an easy solution, Lord Wyman. The situation at Last Hearth is not so urgent, I have no trouble sending a letter to my wife's good father to ask him to return here. I don't know what he would think of the engagement, but it is certainly an important matter, whether he supports or declines such a request," Wolfgang Dustin said, to which Wyman nodded, but there was still an index of suspicion in his eyes.

The rest of the lunch was quieter, and the subject was not touched on too much, but the actors could not get such a letter out of their heads. Wolfgang had to admit it, he never had any knowledge of the letter's existence, as Wyman Manderly apparently thought.

Unfortunately House Dustin has not yet been able to build a spy network, it required a lot of resources and manpower, and Wolfgang preferred to prioritize an anti-spy network, to chase Varys's little birds and the Boltons' lackeys. In the future it is possible that the Gestapo could expand, but for the moment it was not possible.

It was for such reasons that it was not possible for Wolfgang to have knowledge of that letter, and that is because the reasons Lord Dustin sent Wylis Manderly to Last Hearth was for very different reasons than to prevent him from giving his consent in such an engagement.

'But this makes everything even more perfect' thought Wolfgang, hiding from showing the macabre smile that threatened to creep onto his face.