Chapter 85: Act 2: Chapter 29

Fifteenth day, First Moon, 257 AC (+61 days)

Barrow Hall had surprised me. Many castles, to my initial surprise, when I had arrived on this world, were built of wood – especially the smaller and more unimportant ones. A few great castles were made of wood, like Deepwood Motte, and were things of beauty. They also made sense, in that a castle surrounded by forests would be easily constructed out of wood.

Barrow Hall was neither small or unimportant and was not surrounded by vast forests – yet it was made of wood. To be sure, there were trees around, but hardly in the same density has the Wolfswood. Barrowton was a large city, if not as nice or large as White Harbor, and the castle itself was nicely built. But the castle had existed for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. Rebuilt many times, but still here. Why had it never been built with stone? Even little by little, it could have been done – yet it hadn't.

I didn't comment on it, as I hoped to have a good relationship with Lord Dustin, but the whole thing frankly had me stumped.

Regardless, the whole visit had been somewhat pleasant. Denys Dustin was a gracious host if a bit pushy, and the rooms we were hosted in were luxurious. The food was plentiful, and the atmosphere of the city was a nice change of pace. Barrowton reputedly had around 10,000 people in the city walls, which was more than I could count to confirm. It certainly seemed much larger than Redbridge, but it was hard to draw a comparison between the two. For one, Barrowton was much more densely populated, and only counted those within the city walls.

Redbridge, as it stood today, had roughly 3,000 people in the general area. Another three groups of 100 people came from the Glovers, and our population growth was rapidly outpacing the death rate. Unfortunately, many of my people still needed to be farmers, so our population was overwhelmingly rural and spread out. Saying there were 3,000 people in Redbridge was a bit misleading.

"It certainly is an interesting proposal."

Denys' reply tore me from my thoughts. I turned to him and said, "Oh?"

He smiled reassuringly. "I'm glad you brought this to me first. It is interesting but needs some work."

I stifled the urge to fidget and let him believe that I went to him first about my community service proposal. Lord Stark had already replied with tentative approval, though with some modifications.

"Though I do wonder how it would fare in a larger community such as this," said Denys, gesturing to the city that stretched out before us.

"That is why I chose orange, Denys. Something bright and easy to see. The distinctive style of clothing also makes it more obvious. If someone was to run while wearing it, he is easily seen. If he sheds the clothing, a naked man is also easily spotted."

Denys chuckled. "True enough. Together, we can word a proposal for Edwyle and send it to him once he returns from King's Landing."

Once again, I stifled my urge to curse. How should I get out of this? Denys would eventually realize that our relationship was not as he imagined it was, and while I did not want to be treated as he seemed to treat me, the benefits of it were great. Already, I had secured a steady, if not overly large, supply of wine for my people and opened a market for my drinks, soaps, and garum. I still hoped to take some of his smallfolk as well.

I would probably have to send a separate letter to Lord Stark to apprise him of the situation.

"That sounds wonderful," I replied.

"Speaking of wonderful, I must congratulate you on the news. A grandfather – that is a beautiful thing."

I smiled. "Aye, my eldest daughter, Violet, gave birth to a daughter, Rose. Both are doing wonderfully as well."

"Excellent, excellent. And your other children?"

"My second daughter is still unmarried, and my eldest son is set to wed Alice Manderly sometime next year. The details are still being planned out, but I've left that to the women."

Denys laughed. "A smart choice. Speaking of marriage, what do you think Edwyle has gone south for?"

I blinked. "What do you mean, Denys? I thought he had said that he wished to show King's Landing to his son and bring some issues forward to the King?"

Denys waved that explanation away. "Yes, yes. I'm sure that is a part of the reason. But what is it that drove him there?" His tone took on a lecturing quality. "The North has always kept to itself, except to occasionally show just how strong we are, and this trip is quite the surprise to the lords of the North. But interestingly, Edwyle's son, Rickard, is unmarried. Coincidently, King Aegon's granddaughter is as well. These are the details you must be aware of, Michael, so that you may always be prepared."

"Ah, I had not realized. Is – is that a good move? Politically?"

Denys stroked his short beard. "It could very well be. Minor and major rebellions have plagued King Aegon's, and he is not well loved by many of the southern lords. Tying the Starks, as a powerful House, to him makes for a great deal of sense in his eyes. As to the Starks? In desperation, Edwyle may get an excellent deal for such a marriage and possibly some deals with southern lords for food come winter. But knowing Edwyle, he will be wary of any such offers."

"Why is that?"

"King Aegon had promised marriages before, for his children, but all except his youngest daughter have broken their promises and married others. He might try again with his grandchildren."

"A Targaryen Stark. That would be quite the marriage."

Denys nodded. "A first. Though it would involve the North more in the affairs of southerners."

"I thought you said the North has always made a good showing?"

He chuckled. "I did, but it was not just war I am speaking of. Court intrigue has never been the First Men's strong suit. The flowery language the Andals like use to hide their motives is always them simply hiding their daggers."

"Does that mean you think a marriage would be a bad thing?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. If Edwyle uses it for steady gains for the North, I believe it would work quite well. But if he tries to grasp something big?" He shrugged. "Southerners hate to share power and make sport of tearing down their rivals. A new player on the scene would ruffle feathers. An ambitious new player would do a lot more."

"Do you think they will reach a deal?"

"Impossible to say. Edwyle has never expressed an interest before, but perhaps he's seen something to drives him to become tied closer to the throne?"

I bit my lip. Perhaps he had seen more than I thought? Seen the inevitable changes that I brought? I had been keeping things close to my chest, but I had no doubt that my machines would eventually escape my grasp and set about changing the country.

He was a smart man, but to see something without the hindsight that I had? It was doubtful, but his actions were hard to reason otherwise.

"Perhaps," I said. "Doubtless, he thinks he has a good reason."

"True. Good relations with others is a key aspect of being a successful lord. It's a shame that Lord Ryswell could not be here; it would have been good to cultivate a better relationship between the two of you. Perhaps later we can all get together, and perhaps invite Lord Flint and Lord Tallhart."

"That sounds like a good idea. I have had construction begin on the castle at Stonefisk, and I hope that once that is complete in a few years that I can begin the castle at Osend."

"Osend?"

"Ah, that's the name for the future village, Denys. It will be located slightly inland, along the Twin Lakes River. My goodbrother's family will take that over, and I will finally be a true neighbor to Lord Ryswell."

"I see, that would be good. Speaking of new places, I have found a few people willing to move with you."

"Oh? That is much appreciated, Denys," I replied gratefully.

"Mostly third sons and the like, some with their own families, ready for a new adventure."

I chuckled. "The older I get; the more adventurous younger people seem to get."

Denys laughed. "I agree. There are about sixty people, but I'm sure they will work hard for you."

Sixty was hardly a large number, but every bit helped. Plus, all it cost me was the trip here. Still, I could encourage them to send messages back to their families about how much they love Redbridge?

"That is most gracious of you, Denys. This will help me greatly in the coming years."

"Oh, Michael. We will help each other; I am sure we will accomplish much together."