Chapter 206: The King Attends the Small Council Meeting
King's Landing, Red Keep
POV of Renly Baratheon
Renly Baratheon looked at his brother Robert, sitting at the end of the table in confusion.
Sixteen years, and his brother has only ever sat in the Small Council meeting 3 times.
This would be the 4th time his brother graced the Small Council with his presence. And he had no idea why that was.
"News from the North, Varys." His brother Robert said, starting the small council meeting without any fanfare.
"Your grace." The eunuch got up from his chair and bowed. "Ever since the meeting held by Lord Stark in Castle Black, he had ordered all his vassals to start gathering food and weapons. He has also ordered them to start training their levies. News has arrived that Lord Stark has also ordered Moat Cailin to be repaired."
"Mhmm… Your grace…" Grand Maester Pycelle spoke in his old, gravelly voice, "Lord Stark, mmm… he seems to be preparing for war. Once Moat Cailin has been constructed… hmmm… the North will be unassailable. No Southern army ever crossed that fort."
He held the urge to roll his eyes at Pycelle's insinuation that Lord Stark was planning to rebel against the Iron Throne.
Against the man who considered him a brother.
Pigs will fly out of his ass before the honorable Lord Eddard Stark even thinks about doing such a thing.
With that said, the news about the preparation for war and the construction of Moat Cailin did worry him, if only a little bit.
His brother paid no mind to the Grand Maester. "And what of the letter? Is it legitimate?"
This time it was the Hand, Lord Jon Arryn, who spoke, "Indeed, your grace. After two rounds of sending ravens back and forth, we've finally concluded that the letter was indeed from Lord Stark."
Letter? He looked around the room and noticed that Petyr was sitting calmly in his seat, and so was the Grandmaester.
His brother Stannis was once again absent from the meeting, doing God knows what.
This meant that he was the only one in the small council right now who didn't know about Lord Stark's letter.
He wondered what it said.
"Then it's settled. We're going to the North as soon as possible." His brother Robert said, and Renly's eyes widened.
What kind of letter did his brother receive from the North that he was willing to go all the way to Winterfell for it?
Robert's decision changed Renly's seriousness about the situation. He needed to learn more about the letter and the situation as quickly as possible.
He would need to investigate further after the Small Council dismissed, but for now, he would try to gather as much information as he could from the Small Council members.
"Is that… wise, your grace?" Pycelle asked, and his brother Robert didn't even deign to reply to the old fossil.
"Any other news from the North, Varys?" Renly asked. Anything to help him understand the situation could be crucial to him.
He wanted to know what Lord Stark was doing and why.
"There are indeed… rumors that my little birds sang to me about," Varys said with some hesitance.
Huh! He wondered what would cause the spy master to hesitate. "Go on." Lord Jon Arryn said.
"Rumor is… that when Lord Bolton came back from his expedition this time, there were no giants or wargs with him. But he came back with an undead instead. The brothers of the Night's Watch all claim that it was a Wight. But… the Wall is the furthest from King's Landing. News from there is few and far between. Nothing is confirmed for now."
"Wights." Petyr Baelish snorted, "The next thing you know, Lord Bolton will be bringing us Grumkins and Snarks as well. Maybe even Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."
"He brought the giants and the wargs. Even the Children of the Forest, as some people claim." He said, "At this point, I would not be surprised if Lord Bolton truly succeeded in bringing back the Grumkins and Snarks or Crumple-Horned Snorkacks from beyond the Wall as well."
Lord Baelish snorted in derision but didn't say anything more.
"The rumors about Lord Stark's brother, Benjen Stark's death, have also been confirmed." Varys said, "Galbart Glover, the heir of House Glover, is also said to have perished in this expedition. According to reports, Jojen Reed, the heir to House Reed, was also mortally wounded during this expedition, but Lord Bolton saved the heir's life by treating the boy. There are also claims that of the 4000 men who went North this time, only 3,300 returned while the others died in a battle with some Wildling bands north of the Wall."
Did Lord Bolton know how to heal people? Even more so, to the point of treating mortal wounds? This was the first time Renly had heard of it. Could it have been an exaggerated rumor?
"Are we sure that it was not Lord Bolton himself who killed Benjen Stark?" Petyr Baelish asked, "For all we know, Lord Bolton did the deed himself to lower the number of Starks out there. He does seem to be quite ambitious after all."
"Since Robb Stark and Jon Snow are said to have gone with Benjen Stark across the Wall and since they didn't cast any blame on Lord Bolton, I think we can be sure that Lord Bolton had no hand in this matter," Varys said, and he frowned.
Varys and Petyr always spoke against Lord Bolton whenever the topic of him sprang forth. They both seemed to have some sort of grudge against the boy lord. But it seems like Varys was trying to help Lord Bolton here.
He wondered what kind of web the spider was spinning this time.
"Will you be taking the Queen and your children with you on your journey to the North, your grace?" Lord Jon Arryn asked.
His brother Robert shook his head, "No. This is a military matter. Women and children have no reason to come."
"Some lords would say that 16 years is old enough for a boy to be considered a man." He said with a smile, "Are you sure you don't want to take your son with you? Some time away from behind his mother's skirts will do good for him."
His brother Robert didn't look amused at the mention of his fairly useless son.
"Jon will sit in the blasted iron chair in my absence."
His brother Robert said as he stood up from his chair, "Begin the preparations. I want to leave for Winterfell in a fortnight."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.207: Jon Arryn's Personal Problem
Ch.208: Things That Must Be Done