After listening to Luwin, Maester's suggestion, Eddard murmured, "Going to King's Landing and seeking King Robert's judgment is certainly an option. However, we lack evidence at present."
Luwin, Maester said, "Miken told me that any skilled blacksmith can tell that the axes and armor sent by Lord Roose Bolton were made by Ironborn blacksmiths. Even the Ironborn's longships were used by the Ironborn pirates. That is evidence."
Eddard sighed, "King Balon will surely argue that Iron Islands-made weapons and armor can be bought in any port city in Westeros. As for the longships, the Iron Islands have sold many, and it's not difficult for shipyards elsewhere to copy them."
In Eddard's plan, after the Northern army had cleared the Ironborn pirates who had been plundering and burning along the eastern coast of the North, they would cross the sea to sweep Skagos. Once they found evidence of King Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands colluding with the Ironborn, Eddard would send a letter to King's Landing, requesting King Robert's judgment.
Eddard was a close friend of Robert's, while King Balon, the leader of the Iron Islands' raiders, was a traitor who had once rebelled. Eddard believed that Robert and Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, would support him in the event of a conflict between the North and the Iron Islands. However, going to King's Landing without evidence would be useless, even with all his friends in the court.
Luwin, Maester, fiddled with the links of the chain around his neck. "To find evidence, we must go deep into Skagos. Can the North's naval forces do it? Even if Lord Eddard does not request judgment from King Robert for the time being, he can request King Robert to send the Royal Fleet to help us sweep away the Ironborn pirates."
"King Robert's second brother, Duke Stannis Baratheon, is now the Master of Ships. He once defeated the Iron Fleet at Fair Isle during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Stannis is considered an outstanding naval commander, and the Ironborn would find it difficult to contend with him. If King Robert sends Stannis with the Royal Fleet to the North, the Ironborn pirates will surely collapse at the first touch."
Eddard thought for a moment, "Let's not. Even if Robert is willing to help me, the council in his Small Council will object. The Royal Fleet protects the safety of the King's Landing royal family and hundreds of thousands of people. If the Royal Fleet sails north, King's Landing's defenses will be empty. Who knows if the pirates of the Stepstones will have designs on King's Landing?"
Eddard had few friends in the Small Council, other than Jon Arryn. Based on Eddard's understanding, even Jon Arryn wouldn't agree to send the Royal Fleet north to help The North deal with the Stoneborn pirates.
Jon Arryn's own domain, the Vale of Arryn, was constantly raided by the High Clansmen. Jon Arryn had only relied on the Vale's vassals and Vale Knights to suppress them. He had never requested Robert to deploy the forces of the Seven Kingdoms to eliminate the bandits.
Even if everything went smoothly, and Robert and Jon Arryn generously agreed to send the Royal Fleet north to assist, exposing The North's internal troubles to the court and the Seven Kingdoms was extremely dangerous. It would be interpreted by outsiders as the Stark family of Winterfell being unable to suppress internal rebellion, causing some previously unmotivated schemers to eye Skagos, and use the Stoneborn to deal with The North.
Eddard touched the map of Skagos with his hand.
"Luwin, let's end the discussion here. Now, release the ravens and order the vassals to gather their armies and assemble at Winterfell. The North is too vast; we must gather the vassals' armies as soon as possible."
There was no turning back. Eddard knew that once the ravens delivered the orders from Winterfell, the archers of Deepwood Motte, Glovers, and the Forest Clansmen, the mounted archers of Torrhen's Square, Tallharts, the cavalry of Riverrun, Leswells, the cavalry and infantry under Widow Barbrey Dustin of the Barrowton, the White Harbor Knights of Lord Wyman, the infantry of the Northern Mountain Clansmen, and the soldiers of Bear Island, would all converge on Winterfell from all over The North.
Gathering a large army would undoubtedly affect farming and agricultural production, burdening the people and causing the vassals to complain, but Eddard had no choice. If the Stoneborn were allowed to run rampant, agricultural production and the economy on the eastern coast would suffer greater damage. And once the Stoneborn pirates spread to the waters of White Harbor near the Bay of Ice, the entire economy of The North would suffer huge losses.
After Luwin, Maester left, Eddard summoned his financial advisor, Klar. "If the Iron Bank is willing to lend to us, will fifty thousand Gold Dragons be enough?"
Klar's sapphire ring glittered on his finger. "Lord Eddard, why do you use the word 'if'? Do you lack confidence in me?"
Eddard frowned. "Do you think the Iron Bank will definitely lend us the money? Nothing is certain. Fifty thousand is a huge sum."
Klar chuckled. "The Iron Bank makes its money from lending. Lord Eddard, you are the Warden of the North of the Seven Kingdoms, and House Stark was the King of the North of old. How could the Iron Bank bear to refuse such a high-quality client?"
Eddard relaxed slightly. "Once the money is in place, it will be used to expand Wintertown, build ships, and eliminate the Stoneborn pirates. Do you think it will be enough?"
Klar stroked his chin. "Originally, this money would have been more than enough to expand Wintertown and build a small fleet, but now we are going to war with the Stoneborn... Lord Eddard, I heard that the last time Winterfell suppressed the Stoneborn rebellion, it took three years. Once the war starts, any number of gold dragons could be lost. If Lord Eddard is willing to borrow another twenty thousand gold dragons, it would be more secure."
Eddard said, "In addition to the Iron Bank, I have decided to borrow ten thousand gold dragons from Lord Wyman of White Harbor. Klar, borrowing from the Iron Bank has already put me at great risk, and I will not borrow another penny from the Iron Bank."
Klar smiled. "Why not borrow from King Robert in King's Landing? King Robert is also a client of the Iron Bank and owes them a lot of money."
Eddard said, "You said it yourself. King Robert is heavily in debt. Borrow money from him?"
Klar said, "Borrowing a hundred thousand or so Gold Dragons from King Robert isn't a problem. I hear Robert spends tens of thousands of Gold Dragons on a single tourney, not to mention the money he spends on whores and feasts. Robert's attitude is the right one. What's the difference between owing a million Gold Dragons and owing five million? You still can't pay it back. I also heard that Robert promised to help a Prince in exile from the Summer Isles to restore his kingdom, and that he's planning an expedition to the Summer Isles."
If Robert truly had plans to go to the Summer Isles, Eddard could only call it madness. The Seven Kingdoms couldn't even annex the Stepstones on their doorstep. Why would they go to the Summer Isles, which lie thousands of miles away, where they worship strange gods and the people are dark-skinned? Jon Arryn would never let Robert run amok.
Eddard said, "No matter how much Robert owes, I won't lend the royal family any money. Klar, you worked for the Iron Bank for many years. I want to ask you, how much negotiating power do these Iron Bank envoys have when communicating with their clients? Or do they only lend money at the interest rates set by the Iron Bank?"
Klar licked his lips. "Does my lord mean, can we haggle? Of course, we can. When the Iron Bank envoys arrive in Winterfell, you'll see how I deal with them."
....
Fully Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Patreon.com/AniFic