Chapter 113: Act 2: Chapter 49

Tenth day, Ninth Moon, 260 AC (+3 days)

Michael POV

The coughing sounded wet, and the man looked haggard.

Edwyle Stark did not look good. He lived and was supposedly already feeling better than he had been, but whatever disease he had caught in the south did not do him any favors.

I beckoned to one of the servants to bring Edwyle some water, but he motioned them away. "I'm fine," he said. "I am not going to let some southern sickness beat me, especially not while I am home, in the North. I have too much to do."

"The maester has said you are already doing much better," I said.

Edwyle laughed, which ended in another coughing fit. "The maester is an optimist."

"Still, I am glad to see you once again, my lord."

"I am glad to be back in the North. It was an honor to fight, and to fight so well, but my thirst for battle has waned as I have grown older."

"As it does for many, my lord."

"Even so, conquering foreign land is something a Stark has not done in a millennium, so I am pleased to have done so."

"Has the King decided on which families will be granted land in the Stepstones?" I asked.

"I believe he has the rough shape of it but is waiting until the conclusion of this war before giving anything out."

"Will the war be over soon, then?"

Edwyle took a small sip of watered wine. "Perhaps. The last I heard was the invasion of Little Tyrosh, under the command of Lord Baratheon, was underway, and the invasion of the Disputed Lands, under the command of Prince Duncan, was progressing nicely."

"What do you know of my sons?"

"Your eldest, Ryden, has fought with distinction in several battles and is currently leading your men in the archery group. Arthur has done very well for himself, convincing Lord Baratheon and Prince Duncan to give him command of a small force of men to fight deep within the Disputed Lands."

I sputtered wildly. "What?!"

Edwyle smiled. "He has taken a group of men to attack supply lines, and other targets of interest, while freeing slaves."

"Freeing slaves, my lord?" inquired Nyra.

"The Seven Kingdoms is forbidden from taking land in Essos proper, but none of us are overly interested in continuing the tradition of slavery. Arthur proposed that instead of another generic power, one that would likely be based on slavery, we create a slave-free state. To do that, Arthur is attempting to free slaves and incite slave revolts in the interior of the Disputed Lands. Quite smart of him," complimented Edwyle.

Nyra looked proud. "How many men does he lead, my lord?"

"Three hundred."

Nyra was ecstatic, "That is wonderful!"

"Indeed, you both should be proud of your sons."

"We are!" exclaimed Nyra.

I nodded, pride warring with anxiety.

"Branda seems quite excited for Arthur, too, if her letters are anything to go by."

"I'm sure Arthur wishes he could be by her side," said Nyra.

Edwyle nodded. "A man deserves some time to make a name for himself. Still, I know that Branda awaits their marriage eagerly."

"That is good," replied Nyra. "Hopefully, eagerness turns to love, and they have a happy marriage."

"And young Alice? How is she? I have not seen her yet," asked Edwyle.

I grimaced. "Her miscarriage weighs heavily on her, though she prays every day, and still has her family near her."

Edwyle shook his head. "It is a shame that the gods try us so. How has your youngest daughter been enjoying the city?"

"Very much so. She enjoys finally being able to get out of Redbridge and has made friends among some of the ladies here."

"I am glad to hear it. And your work? How does it proceed?"

"Very well," I said, making sure to sound confident. "Harvests are continuing to come in, and I have men processing goods into forms that will travel well – like borts. It's more efficient that way, and we can ship more down south." I had finally agreed with Nyra to start taking credit for things I did – there really was no sense in leaving good things on the table, when I ought to claim them.

"I noticed that when I was down there," commented Edwyle. "I believe that the North is out supplying every other region, though that has more to do with your efforts than the size of the harvest."

"I'm pleased to hear that. It was a struggle at first, but we have the process almost perfected at this point."

"Trouble?"

"At first, it was with listening to the authority that you gave me, though I set that straight."

Edwyle nodded firmly. "Good; I vested authority in you, and to question that is to question me."

"As I said, I dealt with it. Now, most of the complaints revolve around sending too much to the south, and not keeping enough for winter."

"Are the winter stores truly that low?"

I shook my head. "No, the lords and their stewards are just cautious, my lord. Lord Manderly could tell you more, but the harvests in this region have been record-breaking so far this summer. The new methods I have introduced have seen those farms that use them see large surpluses, and the machines have changed the way many of the farms work. It is still a work-in-progress, but we are constantly receiving new machines from Redbridge; we received thirty just last week, and I expect another thirty in another week."

"I have heard from my uncle, Rodrik, much the same. Though he to would like more machines."

I nodded. "My daughter, Violet, is overseeing an increase in the speed at which we make them. It is difficult since we lack people, but more and more people continue to arrive in Redbridge, so we are constantly increasing the number of machines we can make."

"Have you been asked about the machines from any other Houses?"

"A few of the smaller ones that are sworn to the Manderlys, but otherwise, no."

"Hmm, not unexpected, I suppose. Most Houses are looking to the south or inwards right now."

"I can understand that," I said.

"Well, I must say I am quite pleased with how you have handled yourself here."

I smiled. "Thank you, my lord."

"I talked briefly with the King and the Small Council as I made my way back to the North," said Edwyle. "We talked of many things, but one thing that had been noticed, as I said before, was that the North was supplying much more than the King and his Council would have thought."

The King had noticed me? I gulped. There was a difference between taking credit and having the King credit you. "Oh?" Was all I said.

"Indeed. The Master of Coin congratulated me on my generosity – supplying so much to the army, which I personally found odd. After all, the North has provided exactly what we were obliged to, and the King bought the rest, so why would we not sell as much as we can?" said Edwyle, rhetorically. "The Master of Coin, Lord Hugh Grandison, was quite candid; apparently, there is trouble trying to organize the buying, selling, and transportation."

"Lord Grandison? I'm afraid I am not familiar with him; I thought it was a Lord Sunglass who was Master of Coin?" I asked.

"Lord Sunglass was the previous Master of Coin, but King Aegon dismissed him after he proved not up to the task of the war. Apparently, he made some poor agreements with the Iron Bank – it's an ongoing scandal in King's Landing."

"Will it be an issue for the war?"

Edwyle waved off my concern. "Hardly, it's mostly just politics. Lord Grandison was very interested in what had been happening here, so I told him of your work. He quickly grasped what you were doing and the benefits of having someone dedicated to logistics. He's a very smart man, very smart. I expect you will receive some letters from him soon asking for more information, or possibly any help, so I expect you to help him."

"Of course, my lord."

"Obviously, I ensured that he knew that it was the North that he had to thank when he succeeds, but it would be helpful if you reinforced that notion, as well as your own role."

"I shall, my lord. Thank you."

Edwyle nodded. "I expect great things from him if I am frank. He is eager to apply what you have done since the southern army group, under Prince Duncan, is facing some severe food shortages."

I frowned. "Severe, my lord?"

"I had some issues myself, especially as we moved further east, and away from Westeros, it became harder to feed the army. The southern group had more men, so naturally, they had a harder time. Hopefully, with them in the Disputed Lands, they can begin to raid farms and towns for food, which should be much more plentiful than the Stepstones. For our northern group, I had Lord Bolton take responsibility for securing our food supply and ensuring that the ships actually went to the frontline, instead of being misplaced. A much better method, than leaving it to merchants."

"I would have imagined that Lys would have been able to provide food for our army."

"Lys is having its own troubles, and Braavos has always needed to purchase food, so they can hardly give any to the army. There is food available in the Reach, the issue that Lord Sunglass also failed to address is that a lot of it stayed there. Some lords held on to their goods in the hopes that prices would rise, others waited on orders to move it, while some were wholly uninterested in selling it." He coughed again, taking a sip of wine. "Enough of that, tell me, how is your other daughter doing? Evelyn, was it?"

"Yes, my lord. Evelyn is enjoying married life, and I have her husband hard at work. The bank is growing, and once Silverhold is developed more, and silver is flowing in larger quantities, I expect it will continue to grow."

He let out another series of coughs.

"My lord, do you need some rest?"

He tried to wave me off, but he was taken by another coughing fit. I signaled for the servant to fetch the maester. I looked over to Nyra, who looked just as worried as I.

I hoped he would be better soon.