Year 277 AC
A new year has come and everything Ned worked at continued to bore fruit. His friendship with Rhaegar grew, the Prince has successfully secured Dargonstone and he replaced the Maester there with someone named Marwyn, apparently this Marwyn has deep interest in the higher mysteries, and already forged a Valyrian link and holds disdain and distaste for his Order and The Citadel due their insistence that magic has left the World, when Rhaegar discreetly offered him a position in his retinue, the maester enthusiastically jumped at the chance. Rhaegar also mentioned that he was able to sense something about Marwyn while meditating but he wasn't entirely sure. Of the other good news he shared, the Prince had found a cache of Glass Candles hidden in the tunnels underneath Dragonstone and has started working with Marwyn on deciphering how to use them. Once the Prince and Ned meet later this year at the probable tourney at Kingslanding, Ned can measure the Prince's progress in magic.
Nowadays Ned constantly pulled on the bond for low level enhanced senses, with that help he could compete with Robert on an even footing, while at first it felt like cheating, Ned decided that it was a too great a boon to left unused. The guilt about it was still there, but as always Ned is a master at managing his emotions. While Ned feared Roberts reaction at his improvement, his friend only grew joyful that Ned can keep up with him and that they will be invicible on a battlefield together and dubbed Robert and Neds combination as 'Winterstorm'. His friends genuine happiness at Neds improvement only reinforced his opinion that Robert is a good man and a great friend.
After Brandon's vacillation in the face of choosing a bride, his Lord Father decided for Brandon and announced his betrothal to Barbrey Ryswell, while Ryswells weren't one of the greater vassals of Starks like Boltons, Karstarks and Manderlys, those Houses don't have any marriageable daughters in the main branches and they were powerful enough already. A match with House Ryswell will also bring some of their prized studs and thousand headcount herd of their horses as dowry, which is not a small thing. Ned has plans for those horses. His Lord Father has indicated that Brandon will marry Barbrey immediately upon turning six and ten, when Ned questioned this, his Father stated that he didn't trust Brandon not to do anything reckless if given more time. When Ned wrote to Brandon asking him about his opinion on betrothal and marriage, his brother was unenthusiastic about it, it seemed to Ned that Brandon didn't want to marry, ever. What will he do then, bed everything that has two legs, two tits and a cunt? Ned was not impressed with his brother.
Father also started to negotiate with Mormonts about betrothal between Ben and Dacey, while the Mormonts were enthusiastic about it, Father decided to wait untill both of them reach two and ten namedays before announcing it formally. Regarding Lya's prospect for marriage Ned requested his Father to wait until they meet in person.
Dorne was on Neds mind for quite awhile. There really wasn't much that could be traded between Dorne and the North, North has no need of spices and silks that Dorne export in large quantities, while Dornish spices, fruits and dried foodstuffs could be good additions to Northern diet, only Noble families can afford them and most Northern Lords aren't very interested in them with the exception as occasional delicacies, even their most famous export Dornish Wine doesn't have much of a market in the North, while the Northern Lords buy an occasional cask of the stuff, most northerners commoners and nobles alike prefer Northern Ale and Dornish doesn't have much use for Northern furs and Iron. North needed that Iron for their own use and the little that was exported goes to the Vale and new gem trade is only done in small quantities and merchants do the most of the trade as it is an exclusive market. That left timber, Dorne doesn't have a fleet same as the North, while the North didn't rebuild their fleet after Brandon the Burner burnt most of North's fleet. While Dorne says they didn't want to build any after Queen Nymeria of Rhyonar burnt the ships the Rhyonar used to escape to Westeros, but the real reason Ned found after studying histories is that Dorne doesn't have the right kind of wood to build ships. While they could have imported timber to build them, their legendary animosity and bood soaked history with their immediate neighbours of Reach and Stormlands didn't permit for such trade in the past and even now. The Essosi really don't export timber outside their own continent, they don't have enough for themselves as it is. Even then importing timber is expensive at those distances and Dorne doesn't have any kind of diplomatic relations ever with the North to even ask, even if they did ask the same prohibitive cost issue regarding importing from Essos applies to the North. But Dorne needs ships, specifically Warships. Dorne suffers most pirate raids on eastern coast of Westeros due to this reason, one of their main ports Planky Town has burnt to the ground many times due to their lack of warships.
Nobody sells warships, while buying and selling of trading cogs, carracks, caravels and galleys is common enough, no one ever sells Warships, so Dorne doesn't have any, but if the North started rebuilding their fleet and offered to sell some of their warships being built to Dorne, Ned was certain Dorne will pay a minimum of four times their cost price. And selling warships to Dorne doesn't pose any threat to the North, for one, there isn't any prior bad blood between the two kingdoms and there is no reason for the two kingdoms to ever come to conflict.
His Father promised to start construction of a castle at Sea Dragon Point using the stone from ruins there and to rebuild Northern fleet in the hidden coves near it, while reconstruction of the fleet could not be truly kept a secret, those hidden coves will help in obscuring just how many ships are being built and of what kind. Ned will suggest his idea of selling warships to his Father, he isn't sure how well it will be recieved.
If North wants to make any use out of the ships they will build, House Stark will need experienced captains and sailors, while House Manderly will be to eager to be of service in that regard, this new fleet needs men who will be loyal to House Stark first not House Manderly, since all experienced sailors in the North are under the employment of Manderlys in one form or other, they will have look towards the South for these men, maybe the Prince can provide some council, as only Stark in the South it is Neds duty to find such men.
The time passed fast for Ned with all the work he is doing, the day Ned once again leaves Eeyrie for Moat Cailin is fast approaching, Robert wanted to tag along but Ned convinced him otherwise.
The evening before Neds start of journey to Moat Cailin, an urgent message arrived for Lord Arryn while they were having supper, after reading the message the man turned white as a Weirwoods bark, when Ned asked what was in the message, Lord Arryn replied in a whisper, " The King has been taken as hostage by Lord Denys Darklyn, as of a day ago the King is prisoner at Duskendale "
At those words dread formed a stone in Neds gut and a shiver travelled down his spine.