Capítulo 43: The Starks of Winterfell
Unsurprisingly, my suspicions about the two very different peoples clashing rang true right the next day after the northmen settled in.
"So you really slept with half the maidservants at Riverrun?"
"Half? No man, al-"
I'd been drinking with Greatjon, Jonos Bracken and Roose Bolton in the gatehouse when the steward ran in, hesitant and meek as he steadied himself against the door.
"Well." Greatjon put his tankard of mead down, face tinted, "Spit it out, boy."
"How many?" I asked, an amused smile on my lips.
"M...Milord wha-"
"How many, man?" I asked again, resting my chin on top of my palm, "I know what you're here about. What did they break?"
He stumbled slightly, then nodded his head fervently, "Two collarbones, ten and two arms, ten and five ribs, twenty knees, milord."
"Fewer than I thought." I shrugged, swallowing my mead in one go before standing up, "And what kicked it off?"
Had the rivermen been in a weaker position like they would have been if I hadn't intervened, they'd never get into fights with their allies but... the Northern host was twenty-five thousand strong, while the rivermen in total, including those patrolling the borders near Harrenhal and the Blackwater, approached forty thousand... not to mention the Valemen that had started steadily streaming in along the river road.
Men were hot-blooded, and the rivermen remembered their grudges with religious fervour.
"Lord Marq Piper slapped Lord Rickard Karstark's son and it turned into a brawl." The steward said, "Lord Galbart Glover broke it up but they hurt each other quite a bit and... Lord Karstark requests his due."
"Ha! Let 'em fight. They're men, aren't they?!" Greatjon rumbled with a red face, "Tell Karstark's son to grow a pair... or did Marq take his balls with his dignity?"
Jonos, on the other hand, was visibly annoyed by the news, "We are meant to be allies, not undisciplined oafs! I'll deal with them." He jumped to his feet and stomped off, blustering as he did most of the time.
"...Both of them should be punished." Roose Bolton remarked, "Their argument sets a dangerous precedent."
I just refilled my cup, "I'm not gonna say anything. It's Robb's job."
Robb Stark had a strange way of dealing with things. He remained stoic and kept his bannermen at arm's length, dealing with them sternly to keep them in line and they respected him for it... but, the fact he was taking so much time to call a war council for their next move spoke to his indecisiveness as a leader.
"That is why I was here." The steward spoke again, "Lord Robb calls for you, Lord Karl."
Huh...
Gulping down my whole cup again, I stood up, "Let's go then."
I found Robb standing near the shore of the Red Fork, watching the strong currents of the river with a hand at the hilt of his sword. When he noticed my footsteps, he didn't turn to face me.
"Lord Karl. I thank you for coming."
"Lord?" I asked curiously, fiddling with the belt on my new woollen tunic, "Last we met, I was a mercenary."
Robb smiled thinly at that, "That changed when my uncle informed me of just how the Lannisters were pushed back to King's Landing... Mother still has a hard time believing it."
I wouldn't blame her, but the people of this were oddly susceptible to accepting insane things as fact and adapting to them... or maybe that was just humans in general.
I sat down on the stony shore, picking up a handful of pebbles, "And what do you want to do now that the Lannisters won't be attacking?" I picked one up with my other hand, "Attack them?"
"My bannermen have fought no battles thus far." He explained, "They naturally wish to attack further."
They'd lost nothing, and now their 'enemy' was in a position where they could smash them to bits. It made sense that they didn't want to back down. I wouldn't either, but I'd come to learn that the wars I was used to were vastly different from the wars of this world.
Robb stopped for a moment, "A prolonged war is too costly. I do not want others to lose their fathers as I have."
"Even if it means giving up justice for your father?"
"Even if it means giving up justice for my father." He nodded, then explained further, "My brothers and sisters are safe, my mother too. I would have peace if possible."
That was... unexpectedly wise for someone his age.
"Huh." I tossed the pebble into the river.
But, it was naive too.
An enemy like House Lannister wasn't the sort to be made peace with, they would scheme and plot his downfall every passing moment.
Robb Stark would not make for a wise king. A good king perhaps, but not the kind that could solve the problems that plagued these lands... It was unfair of me to think so of a youth who could mature into a great one, but my experience taught me to trust the 'would' of things over 'could'.
"Then do it, you're their lord." I tossed another pebble, disrupting the flow of the water, "Order them to dig in, or to march back home... but the Lannisters won't have peace and you know it."
Robb nodded, "I know. Which is why I need your help on the morrow."
"What makes you so sure my help will be worth anything?" I asked, smiling amusedly.
"You... sank the Iron Islands." He finally turned to look at me as I tossed a handful of pebbles into the river, "I shall not deny you your power or your works. You helped House Stark once, help us again."
Once?
Chuckling, I turned to look at him, "Let me hear what you have in mind, child."
-
I wandered through Riverrun's godswood, going over Robb Stark's somewhat flimsy 'plan' for dissuading his bannermen from a costly war in my head. It was an arbitrary one, and relied far too much on their so-called 'loyalty' to House Stark, and my own presence.
It almost made me think twice about repelling the invaders.
That train of thought went out the window when I realised the glory of noble cunts didn't matter at all and it would enact a heavy toll on the commoners that had done nothing to deserve it.
Once again, I found myself near the heart tree.
The crow perched on one of its many branches cried loudly before jumping down and settling on my shoulder again as I settled against the tree.
In my time here, I had mapped out the whole of the Riverlands, helped several villages rebuild after the Lannister raids. I had grown acquainted with most of the lords of the land and now, I wished to travel once again.
Hopefully, Robb Stark would make a decision tomorrow, before I got tired of waiting around for him and left for elsewhere. He couldn't be the King the people needed, and so, I would look to someone else.
"My lord?" A familiar voice called out.
"Hmm?" I raised my head to find Catelyn Stark standing some paces away, looking at me with confused eyes, "Fancy meeting you here."
She smiled softly, "I could say the same for you, my lord."
But then she went silent, and it was quite the awkward silence... for her at least, interrupted only by the calls of songbirds and sparrows.
"So, what brings you here?" I crossed one leg over the other.
"I..." She hesitated, then relented, "My father and I spent a lot of time here... I learnt to ride here... with Lysa." Her eyes glazed over from nostalgia, and she spoke freely, staring up at the tree, "Ah, Petyr used to play with us here too, in the mud. He wouldn't leave us be. And we used to tease the Septa as well."
I listened quietly.
It seemed my flair for the dramatic would be adequately catered to after Robb's council and what I planned to do with Petyr during it.
The Stark matron's eyes grew wet, "Eddar-... my husband and I were married here."
She grasped the situation quickly, and wiped her face with the sleeve of her burgundy dress, making her plentiful locks of auburn tremble with her movement, "I apologise for the shameful display, my lord."
I waved my hand, "No worries. If I remembered my father, I'd probably be the same."
It was a sad thing, but a long life did that naturally. I couldn't remember if I ever had any I could call family, if I did, I had long forgotten them. Addam had once called my existence sad for not knowing love, and I didn't appreciate that he was mostly right.
"It seems Edmure was right."
"What about?"
"That you are aged beyond what you seem."
I perked up, "The fucker's been telling people I'm old?" Then chuckled out of amusement, "I'm spreading that floppy fish song."
She looked down at me with wide blue eyes, "You know of it?"
"You mean the song about a certain fish that couldn't get it up. Oh yeah, I'll make sure every bard I encounter is singing that before the month is over." I nodded, "And child, you better not tell the maidservants that I'm old."
To my surprise, the older Tully sister averted her gaze, stifling a laugh.
Humans could be pretty strange.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a certain Stark girl spying on us from behind a tree.
"Come on, I told you. You should at least hug your mother."
-
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