Chapter 79

NED STARK POV

Ned was laying on his bed with his wife after dinner when Maester Lewin asked for an audience and gave him a letter sent to him by none other than Lord Rickard Karstark.

After giving the letter, Maester Lewin bowed and left, leaving with the letter which he quickly opened and started reading.

"What does the letter says my love?" his wife Catelyn asked from beside him.

He opens his mouth to tell her but then decided otherwise and give the letter for her to read instead.

She quickly skimmed through the letter, a pensive expression growing on her face as she finished the letter.

"It's seems like Lord Rickard Karstark is not happy that his subjects are leaving their lands to go to the Bolton Lands for better opportunities." She commented on the obvious.

"I doubt any lord will be happy if their smallfolk start leaving their lands to go to other lands." He said, remembering the similar letter of complaints he got from the Hornhill and Manderlys. "But be as it may, we cannot punish the smallfolk for wanting to choose a better life. Nor can we stop them from going to greener pastures."

"So what can we do?" his wife asked worriedly. After all, taking smallfolk from the land of other lords might not be counted as breaking the law but everyone could agree that it was morally wrong as it hurt the economy of the other lords whose economy are mostly based on the products produced by their smallfolk.

"As it is, Lord Bolton has not broken any of the Kings Laws so I cannot intervene in this matter. Nor can I ask him to stop paying his workers so well that it might attract the other smallfolk from nearby lands." He told her "But I can see that this is not a matter that we can just leave be and hope it to solve itself. I'll just have to go to the Bolton Lands and see the situation for myself to make a decision before my lords start a civil war among themselves."