POV Eddard Stark
The building hosting the Merchant House of Blue Rose is as much of mansion as the inn Ned is staying at, while it was not as ostentatiously decorated as many such mansions in Lys, painted white and blue, it was grand in its own severe, solemn way. Appropriate for something that has its origins in minimalist Northern culture without looking out of place in the grandeur ever present in Lys.
One of Neds men approached the gate guardsmen to announce Neds presence and titles, which got a respectful bow, complete opening of the main gates instead of a just a side gate and one of the two guardsmen sent running to announce his visit, Ned proceeded at a stately pace as though he owned the place, Ned would have brought Ironeyes for added gravitas and awe, but the direwolf has been exceptionally grumpy from the voyage, the combination of being confined to the ship during the voyage and the fearful stares from the populous during the trek from disembarking the ship to the inn made the direwolf irritable and sulky, he would be back to his playful self in a bit, so Ned left Ironeyes to gorge himself on a pile of deboned fish and a slab of steak. Furthermore it seemed bit over the top to bring the direwolf for a simple meeting.
As Ned was half way through the path to the mansion, a middle aged man in sombre yet still extravagant blue and white silk robes hurried towards Ned, as Ned slowed down and stopped the man too stopped two paces from Ned to give a deep bow and said in a heavily accented common tongue, " Lord Stark, you honor us with your presence, I am Harrin Wylde, master of Lysian branch of the Blue Rose, please be welcome and follow me, bread and salt and refreshments await us."
" It is you who do us much honor Master Wylde, I am gladdened by this welcome, I insist that you address me as Eddard or Lord Eddard if you must, Lord Stark is my Lord Father", Ned replied with a small bow of his own.
"As you wish Lord Eddard, as you wish", Master Wylde replied with another deep bow, as much as Ned wanted to awe whoever is incharge of this branch of Company of the Rose to get upper hand in the negotiations that would follow, Master Wyldes obvious subservient demeanor caught Ned off guard and made him uncomfortable.
The remaining walk to the mansion passed in awkward silence, once the ceremony of guest rites are over, Ned and Master Wylde retired to his solar where Master Wylde arranged it so that they seated near the hearth on equal footing instead of at his desk where the power dynamic would have been unequal, yet again this gesture and what it conveyed caught Ned off guard.
Once they settled near hearth with goblets of wine Master Wylde opened the discussion by stating, "Apologies My Lord, we have just run out of Northern Ale a few days ago, if we had intimation of your coming to Lys the Company would have received you at the docks with all the ceremony your welcome deserves."
"No apologies needed Master Wylde, your goodwill is more than appreciated and grander than expected. I am humbled by your regard", Ned replied.
"You words honor me my lord, please tell me how I can be of service?", Master Wylde asked tad eagerly.
"I was hoping to learn more of the Companys history since its founding, at least for now"
"Of course my lord, of course, whatever you desire. While I am not privy to what exactly transpired between King Torrhen and his brother Brandon,what I know is that King Torrhen legitimized his half brother as the last act of his Kinghood, so Brandon Snow became Brandon Stark, whose descendant Edwyl Stark now heads the Company. The Company first landed on Braavos, with many second and third sons and some ladies of noble descent of the North, it was at Braavos that newly elevated Lord Brandon organized this loose collection of exiles in to the Company, it was Lord Brandon who dragged those exiles out of the morass of despair and uncertianity and gave them a direction", Ned could hear the veneration and awe Master Wylde held of the bastard brother of Last King of The North in his voice, " The Company went on to take up a mercenary contract with city of Braavos which lasted for nearly ten years, by the end of the contract the Company was if not rich, was more than financially sound, it is then that Lord Brandon unveiled his brilliant plan, the Company expanded into Trade, initially of grain, you must already know, while the city of Braavos is perhaps the most defensible Free City it is entirely dependent on imports for grain and foodstuffs, hence any Merchant House willing to trade in grain has the unspoken support of both the Sealord and the Iron Bank, all tariffs on imports are waived if its foodstuffs that are being imported, while profit margins are slim, the Company managed to accrue some more wealth in another two decades and once more expanded into gem and fur trade, the North and House Stark specifically are the main reason why the Company even managed to get into that market. Yet, this is the time the Company faced its first and last real challenge in Essos, we got too big and too fast, several Merchant Houses both inside and outside Braavos came together and conspired to destroy us, our ships were seized or sunken by pirates, our caravans were attacked by bandits or Dothraki, our people were assaulted in the streets when in small groups. We did not know who was perpetrating these attacks or why, before we know it the Company was in dire straits financially, the dwindling military arm of the Company was roused, Braavosi streets ran red with blood, we were almost sanctioned and exiled for disturbing the peace, we did not know the game that was being played. It is at this juncture that Lord Brandon who passed on the office to his son once again came to our rescue, I do not know how but several prominent Merchant Lords were assassinated in quick succession, entire affluent families were decimated. The pressure on the Company almost entirely disappeared. Yet Lord Brandon commanded to cease all operations, almost every contract we held was either completed or severed, our reserves were opened and every debt settled. The Company was re organized, the military training for every member and their families became mandatory, a new Standard Operating Procedure was established, we became as much as warriors as merchants, we changed our public name and keep changing it every two to three decades, most of our men serve for three to four years in varied sellsword companies throughout Essos, if we deem anyone was good fit among those mercenaries during our service we recruit them into the Company, our trade ships are retrofitted so that they many serve as warships if necessary. With these changes the Company has grown my lord and we have managed to keep a low profile, with the exception of the Iron Bank no outsider knows how big we are, we have a branch in every Free City, even most members do not know how vast we are, I know as much as I do because I am the Master of our Lysian branch", Master Wylde finished in a proud voice, like a child retelling his achievements to his father.
Meanwhile Neds thoughts raced even in his stunned state, Father did not know this, he would have told me if he knew, this opens up so many new paths.