Sea Dragon Point had ruins that dated back to the First Men, strongholds built to stake a claim on those lands. And around that stronghold rose a not-so-small village. Heavily populated at one point, the village was now small, full of fishermen and not much more.
Thinly populated Sea Dragon Point contained hills and bogs, Otters in lakes, Salmon in rivers, clams along the shore, and colonies of seals. The place had pine forests and a Weirwood circle at its highest hill.
Sea Dragon Point also happened to be, to mine and Ned Stark's great surprise, without a Lord or Master. Where we had assumed that Deepwood Motte or Bear Island would lay claim to those lands, Maester Luwin had informed us that neither Houses did so, that the lands and its people were left to their own devices.
It was a happy discovery for us since there would be no complexities with us establishing a port there. Though how long that place had been left to itself was a question. While most ruins found there dated back to the First Men, there was a good chance that the place had seen Kings or minor Lords after them, that perhaps it was abandoned after Brandon the Burner had burned shipyards after the disappearance of his father, Brandon the Shipwright, on the Sunset Sea. Perhaps establishing a Port there might add to the North's strength at Sea.
But one thing was certain, the North had way too many Brandons. What was up with that?
On the other hand, while we were busy looking through the logistics of it all, a reply had come from Kings Landing. The King agreed to give the North the money to establish a Port at Sea Dragon Point, not loan, but give. And the amount was much more than what Ned Stark had asked for.
As I had expected. Robert Baratheon had very little idea about how to spend money properly.
But there was one tiny twist that I did not expect or predict.
Petyr Baelish.
The man was the Master of Coin already, much to my dismay. And at his urging, Jon Arryn had agreed that the Master of Coin could take a trip up North and look upon the cost of it all, for the sake of bookkeeping of course.
Which was why we were all here now, standing in the cold and waiting for the Master of Coin to arrive in Winterfell. Ned Stark stood at the front, Robb on one side and I on the other. Sansa stood on Robb's side, while Arya was deemed too young and chaotic to be standing in one place for too long. It was very funny seeing what kind of chaos a year-old girl could commit.
"How much longer do we need to stand here?" Sansa complained gently to Robb, soft enough so their father wouldn't overhear her.
"I don't know" Robb grits out. Not even he liked waiting for so long.
Lucky for them both, men in arms rode in just then. They wore green and silver garbs and carried the sigil of House Baelish with them, the head of a titan with burning eyes if I remembered right.
Only Petyr Baelish would think himself important enough for something like that. Master of Coin or not, he was still from a minor family. And to my liking such an arrangement of men and sigils were fit for kings and greater families.
There were twenty men in total, and in the middle of them all was Petyr Baelish, a short man of slender build. He had sharp features, a small pointed beard on his chin, dark hair, and gray-green eyes.
"Lord Stark" Petyr Baelish greeted with a smile. A smile that did not quite reach his eyes.
"Lord Baelish, the hospitality of Winterfell is yours" Ned Stark stated, offering the man salt and bread that he gladly took.
"I've hoped to meet you for some time, Lord Stark. No doubt Lady Catelyn has mentioned me."
"She has," Ned said with the barest of smiles. NO mention of Brandon, a good thing too. The last thing we needed was these two throwing words at one another.
"I do not see her" Petyr inquired, his eyes roaming around just enough.
"She has given birth to my son not too long past. She is resting" Ned said. Bran was born just a few hours ago after all.
"Another son! Truly you are blessed" the man said with the same not quite reaching the eyes smile.
"The Old Gods watch over me and my family," Ned said with a smile. "We can talk more once you've had the opportunity to freshen up and have some food in your belly. Come."
I watched the man walk in with the rest of my family with a small frown. I did not get a feeling from him. And knowing the kind of man he was, my gut was telling the truth.
The Weirwood Network
It had gotten easier to train in the network as the days passed. It was not just mental imagery training that Brynden had me do, which was all that this was to be completely honest, he was also teaching me how to navigate the networks on my own, hovering over me to pull me back in case I went too far into something. He was imparting knowledge upon me so that I might learn the things he knew, watch the things he'd seen and use them appropriately.
That was my favourite part. It was like watching a movie, the history of men in greater detail than what was written in books.
Which was why we were here now, watching Brandon Stark cut a young Petyr Baelish.
"And this is why he holds a grudge against the Starks" I pointed out. "Not only did Brandon humiliate him, he also took away the woman Petyr loves."
"Loves?"
"He is still very much in love with Catelyn Stark."
"And you fear he might do something to your family here and now?"
"Not right now perhaps. He is above everything a clever man. He'll bide his time until he finds someone who will do his dirty work for him without even realizing it."
"Let me guess, he does so in the future?"
"Aye, he does."
"Do you wish to take care of him now? Be rid of the problem before it strikes?"
"Wouldn't be the worst thing to do, would it?"
"No" Brynden took a pause. "But you would be changing a lot of things. I'm certain the Sea Dragon Point Port alone have made things a lot more unpredictable and garnered some attention the North would normally not get. My advice would be to let him be, for now, so you have a known threat instead of an unknown one."
I frowned at the man.
I did not like his train of thought.
But I saw the wisdom in it.
I sighed and accepted my defeat.
"If we are going to catch him in the future, we would need to keep an eye out for him. He isn't the noblest of men and anything he does can be used against him."
"I will keep my eyes on him as well" Brynden closed his eye and gave a small nod. "Tell me about the situation with the new Port?"
"Baelish brings good news. He approves of our plan to restore the ruin of a castle on the second highest hill on Sea Dragon Point. It would save the Crown a great deal more than it would have cost to build something from nothing. He also informs that the King agrees to send extra men and women up North, but only those who volunteer to go. He wants us to make use of everything around the place to give these people a home to live in and work to do so they might earn the food to fill their belly."
"A valid condition."
"One we both know Robert did not suggest. It's all Jon Arryn" I smiled. "It's mostly bogs and hills there from what I read and what Maester Luwin spoke, so agriculture is very limited to beans, berries and reeds. But the hills are a good place for farming in small patches and livestock. They can grow Wheat and Barley there and vegetables like turnips, carrots and potatoes. They can also raise and breed goats, sheep and pigs. There are trees for them to cut as well. And there already exists a fishing village there so we are enabling them to reach further to catch more fish."
Brynden hummed after I explained, his red eye scanning me closely.
"The men and women that already live there, will they be alright with all of this? You are basically adding more to their plate with these new people. Would that incite some animosity?"
"Hopefully not" I muttered. "Ned had gone there to see how things were in the area. The people there were happy but not as well off as they can be. He sat with them and talked to them. Seeing as we are going ahead with this plan, Ned must have convinced them. Otherwise, the idea would have been thrown out the window."
"I see" Brynden mused. "And who is going to act as Lord of Sea Dragon Point until you come of age?"
"What do you mean?"
"Surely since this is your idea, you would want to be Lord of those lands."
I shook my head.
"It would take me too far from where I need to be" I explained simply. "Instead I suggested that perhaps it'd be a better idea to promote one of the minor houses that have been loyal to House Stark for generations, to show that their loyalty is noted and that loyalty is rewarded."
"I see" Brynden mused. "And have you chosen such a house?"
"We have" I nodded. "To choose such a house we first needed to match a particular goal. House Manderly has been managing White Harbour for generations now. They know how to run a port city while any minor house we promote will have no experience or knowledge to run a port town. Ned and I wanted to get the Manderlys involved, and while loyal to the bone Wyman Manderly would heed the request or order, we felt it would be better if they felt that they were invested in the whole thing more. Like say, a chance for their families to expand."
Brynden's lone eye flickered.
"Wyman Manderly has two sons, and his eldest son has two daughters."
"So you decided to go with a house that the daughters could marry into."
"Exactly!" I grinned at the man. "So with House Cassel being given Sea Dragon Point, Wyman Manderly has agreed to help guide them through his sons or other manners, in exchange for his granddaughter Wynafryd marrying Jory Cassel when she comes of age since she is only nine at the moment. Jory is a man who has fought in a rebellion, is skilled with a sword and is a good man overall."
Brynden hummed thoughtfully.
He thought for a while.
His humming stopped but his thoughts did not.
I was starting to get nervous now. Had the man seen something that I had not?
"You have company" he finally said and I felt like I was being pulled out through water.
The Weirwood Network
"What a rare sight to see a bastard praying."
I whirled around, hand going to the sword at my hip.
It was Petyr Baelish, smiling the same not meeting the eyes smile.
"I did not mean to interrupt or sneak up on you" the man said raising both his arms in surrender.
"My apologies, my Lord" I relaxed. "Is there anything I can assist you with?"
"I was not aware children in the North were allowed to carry weapons," the man said instead, ignoring my question entirely.
I looked at the sword at my hip.
"A blunted tourney blade, my Lord. Ser Rodrik wishes for me to get used to carrying a sword around."
"You must be skilled if he is already putting you through this" the man hummed softly. "Do you always come to pray here?"
"A habit I developed when my father went to war. It stuck" I shrugged.
"Ah, the best time to find religion I'd say" Petyr chuckled. "I hear you've been quite a help with the ideas that Lord Stark is entertaining right now."
"I merely asked questions. It was the others who found solutions."
"No need to be so modest now child. Your father's been singing your praises all through our discussions with the restoration work of the castle and the building of a new port."
I tried not to blanch. I did not need this man's attention on me.
"And yet it is young Robb who has earned himself a betrothal, and House Cassel who earned themselves a promotion. Unfair wouldn't you say?"
"Robb is the heir to Winterfell, his betrothal to Alys Karstark is a way to show the North that House Stark does not forget loyalty. The same applies for House Cassel."
"Yet he did not feel it important to reward your loyalty to the House and to the North?" the man asked.
"Lord Stark has given me a roof over my head, clothes on my body and food for my belly."
"The bare minimum" the man almost sounded… sympathetic.
Petyr stepped forward and knelt before me, placing a hand on each shoulder.
"Perhaps I can thank you in some way in the future, for the good you are doing for the North. Should you ever… dream bigger than you dream now, you will find that I am a welcoming friend ready to help."
I gave a small nod and a small smile. The man rose, turned on his heels and walked away. I watched him walk, and could only think about one thing.
This little bitch is trying to recruit me for some shit.