Chapter 8 [Stannis]
Eddard Stark was expected to arrive today. Renly had gone to escort the party to the capital earlier, so he should be arriving with them. Varys had informed the remaining members of the Small Council that Lord Stark was riding at the head of some three hundred men-at-arms. An almost unprecedented number of swords, if I had to admit it. The last few weeks had seen the city watch face more and more trouble with their duties. Rapes, murders and robberies had increased many times over due to the sudden influx of people, both nobles and smallfolk, who had been steadily arriving to witness the Tourney of the Hand. Though Stark might not like the titling, if his policies in the North were to be studied then one could make out that he was an exceedingly frugal man, loathing to part with coin and haggling with Essosi traders. The latter was questionable however as Ser Davos had overheard a few drunk sailors talk about it. Nonetheless Stark would certainly shift the balance of power.
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Eddard Stark entered the Small Council chambers escorted by Ser Barristan, the man looked...very different from last when I had seen him. His hair held patches of silver and his eyes had a purplish red mixed into them alongside the characteristic Stark grey. "A pleasure to have you Lord Stark, " Renly said as Stark shook his hand, giving him a firm nod. He then shook mine as well following which he gave Baelish a far harder shake than the man had been anticipating.
"So my lords, what news of the realm?" The man's tone held no emotion just like his face. "The realm runs fair Lord Hand," wheeled Pycelle, Baelish however interjected with his own words, "The Tourney of the Hand has been causing quite a bit of trouble for us all." Stark leveled his gaze and asked for the details. "Forty thousand golden dragons to the winner of the joust, twenty thousand to the victor of the melee and half that to the champion of the archery competition. This is without including the additional expenses of hosting such an event." Stark looked shocked, "Do you mean to say that the crown will spend over a hundred thousand golden dragons, out of its own treasury to engage in such frivolous activities?" Baelish smirked, "No Lord Stark. I mean to say that the crown will have to borrow over a hundred thousand golden dragons to host the Tourney."
"Borrow Lord Baelish?" Asked Stark, his tone sharp," Just how much is the crown in debt?" Baelish took a brief sip from his goblet, "Six million golden dragons Lord Stark. Most of it to the Lannisters and the Iron Bank, though the Tyrrells and the Faith have also contributed." Stark looked wroth now, "And tell me Lord Baelish, why exactly have you allowed the realms finances to degrade so significantly? Are you not duty bound, as Master of Coin, to make profitable financial decisions on behalf of the crown?" Bailey seemed slightly off footed but recovered quickly, "The king spends Lord Hand. I simply gather the coin."
Stark turned to the rest of us now, "Any other matter I should be aware of my lords." Varys spoke up, "The City Watch has been in a bit of pickle per my little birds. All forms of criminal activities have been taking place right under their noses and they have failed to apprehend any perpetrators. " Baelish quickly retorted, "The gold cloaks number two thousand. The city has half a million at the very least. " Stark looked severely at both, "Then find more men Lord Baelish, " he thundered, " When I rode to the keep, I could find no scarcity of unemployed youths. Raise the pay by a silver stag and start recruiting from the city's smallfolk. Give them shifts with the veterans if you have to, they'll learn faster." Baelish tried to counter but was shut down almost immediately, "If you can manage to gather coin for the Tourney, you can gather coin for the watch. Now my lords, if all is over I'd like to have some rest."
I would have to talk with hin privately.
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"Enter," came Lord Starks voice as the guard posted opened the door for me. "Ah Lord Stannis, I trust everything is going well. Take a seat please." I sat down in the seat opposite to him, "Lord Stark, as you can see the realms finances are in a precarious position, " I began, "Some days ago I proposed a new law to alleviate this pressure, if you could take a look at it..." I trailed off as I handed Lord Stark the framework for the law against Baelish.
The man pored over the contents for a solid ten minutes, before looking up and asking me, "This will cause an outrage in the city Lord Stannis." Outrage! Why would it cause an outrage? I began to open my mouth but Stark held up his hand to silence me. "Increased tariffs on all such flesh peddling establishments will reflect on the prices my lord. The people will have to pay two fold perhaps three to afford the same services they do now. There will be disgruntlement and grumblings at first, but soon it will shift to the unofficial areas. Rapes will increase, even more than they are now and sooner or later the crown will recieve no revenue at all from these brothels." Stark paused for a bit giving the proposal another look, "You seek to curb Baelish do you not my lord?" Ah, so he had caught on. Quite fast to be honest.
"He performs not his duty Lord Hand and I have a suspicion that he is stealing from the crown." Stark studied me before answering, "He might truly be stealing, aye. But the royal house is spending an inordinate sum of gold too. Lavish feasts and costly Tourneys, expensive rugs and silks and dresses of the finest myrish lace. Robert drinks and whores, while the Queen wastes money on meaningless luxuries." He got up and grabbed another set of reports before returning to his seat, "When I was riding down the Riverlands I could see the sorry state of the roads around. Trade and commerce flourishes when proper connectivity is ensured. When I finally arrive I find the crown to be six million in debt." He went through a page of the report he grabbed before closing it completely, "The gold was either wasted or stolen or both. Neither option is good, especially when the Iron Bank is involved. "
"It is Baelish Lord Stark. The man gathers coin suspiciously fast - loans from the Faith too he has obtained. The Faith! They were once practically sponsored by the throne and now they are lending to us." The man looked sympathetic atleast, that was a start, "The funds for the royal fleet are used up for feasts, I have had to rely on the tariffs of Dragonstone to maintain the fleet. The roads see no repair and Kings Landing is best not spoken about." Stark seemed to be in deep thought, "Robert will have to cut the costs. So will his family. The brothel tax would only work if we had six or seven thousand competent gold cloaks, nonetheless I might have to enact it if things turn dire. The gold saved from the reduced royal expenditure can be used to employ builders and workers to begin work on the roads. That should alleviate the unemployment somewhat."
This was my chance, it was now or never. If I got Stark into it solidly then perhaps the Lannister treason could be undone, "Lord Stark, I will be honest with you here. Roberts children...are not his. They are not of his seed." There I said it, the die was cast. Stark looked taken aback momentarily, "Lord Stannis that is a serious allegation to make. Do you have proof? Solid proof? And if you do why not approach Robert directly?" Stark made all logical points, "The children look nothing like Robert Lord Stark. And Robert wouldn't have listened to me, he'd probably have laughed and told me to drink up." Stark had composed himself now, though he still looked a bit off footed, "You are known as an honest man Lord Stannis. I want to believe you, but without solid proof I cannot act. Even my children take after my lady wife, save for my youngest daughter. That cannot be proof enough for such treason. "
Of course he'd want proof, I should have gathered it all securely before continuing confronting him, "Give me a few days Lord Stark and I shall present to you conclusive evidence exposing the Lannister treason. " Stark looked contemplative still, "We will have to proceed with caution. Lord Tywin might call in his debt if he finds his family's name in a precarious position. We would have to look to the Reacher lords then, and the throne will just find itself another puppeteer. "