NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Chapter 9
|3rd POV|
Something is happening.
That is what is inside Eddard 'Ned' Stark's mind as he sees a lot of food coming into his city. He is grateful for the cheap food coming to Winterfell. However, he cannot help but feel a little bit suspicious of the many goods coming to Winterfell, which all come from a single place, Lys.
Not only is it coming from a single place, they are also cheap. Cheaper than any merchant that comes to the North. It is cheaper than even the merchant from Reach, the North's previous food supplier, for a long time.
And the Reach is the main food supplier for the entire Seven Kingdoms. That can only mean a few things. The first one is that Lys somehow manages to beat Reach in food production, which is supposedly impossible because Reach is the most fertile land in the entire Westeros. Not only that, but the Reach is also significantly bigger than Lys.
"What do you think, Maester Luwin? How can they supply us with this amount of food?"
Maester Luwin, an old man with gray hair and gray eyes, looks at his lord and says.
"It is supposedly impossible, my lord. I agree with your assessment. Lys main and southern islands can produce food. However, because Lys is located in the middle of the ocean, it is not as fertile, and only a few things can grow in that place. Among them is the Lys Grape, which is famous for making Lys Wine. That can only mean two things. The first one is that they have a massive excess of food that they need to throw away in a matter of a couple of months."
"That can't be right. All of their goods are fresh as if they just harvested them on their ships."
"Then that can only be the last one. They found a new farming technique that boosted their food production by a thousand times more than before. If this is true, then this technique is something that they created centuries ago, and I don't think this can happen in a year or two."
Eddard nods his head in agreement. There is no way they can come out of this technique in a few years. He wonders if they are willing to share this technique with them to prevent North from being dependent on others to feed her people. Sadly, he knew that it was an impossible wish.
There is no way they are willing to share the secret just because he asks them nicely. However, he knows that he can do something to tie the new house Lunaran to his house.
He wants his daughter to be happy and willing to marry her to someone she loves. However, as the Lord Paramount of the North and Lord of Stark House, he needs to think of his people. He is willing to marry his daughter to Lord Lunaran as long as he is not a total psychopath who will beat his daughter when they marry.
However, Eddard pushes that thought for later as he needs to meet Lord Lunaran first before he offers the marriage between their two houses.
"Right. Have you asked Ser Rodrik to invite the merchant to come here? Who is his name again?"
"Horo Enneris, my lord. He is one of two merchants selling his goods in Westeros, and Horo is selling to the North."
"Where is the other one?"
"She sells her goods in the South, the Martell."
"She?"
Luwin nods his head and says.
"Yes, she. Laena Iranaan is a merchant from the same house as Horo, and she mainly sells her goods to Martell and nothing else."
"And I understand the reason why. It is smart of her to start there instead of the other place."
Luwin nods his head in agreement. Martell and almost all Noble House in Dorne did not care if you were a woman or a man. As long as you are good at your job, they will respect you. Dorne and North are the same in this regard. Eddard understands why they decide to go to North and Dorne instead of starting with Stormland or Vale.
Eddard shakes his head and says.
"Back to the invitation, have you asked Ser Rodrik to invite Horo Enneris?"
"Yes, my lord. He should return soon."
*Knock* *Knock*
"Ah! That must be him, my lord."
Luwin opens the door and sees Ser Rodrik Cassel, the Master-at-Arm of Winterfell, standing behind the door with someone following him from behind.
"My lord, I bring you Horo Enneris, Merchant of the Lunaran Family."
Eddard nods appreciatively toward Rodrik and smiles at Horo.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation, Horo."
"Think nothing of it, my lord. It is an honor to meet the Honorable Lord Stark."
Eddard nods and says.
"Please take a seat." Eddard then looked at Luwin "Maester Luwin, can you tell the servant to prepare some wine for our guest?"
"Of course, my lord."
As Luwin talks to the servant outside the room, Eddard takes a seat on the opposite side of Horo and says.
"You must be wondering why I call you here, right?"
"That question does appear in my mind, yes. I have not created trouble for you, am I, my lord?"
Eddard shakes his head and says.
"Nothing like that. The reason why I call you here is to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."
"Of course! I am more than happy to answer your question, my lord. However, I must apologize in advance that I cannot answer a few questions that reveal the secret of my lord and his house."
"I see. Does that include the way you guys get this many foods?"
"Yes."
Eddard looks at Horo right in the eyes and says.
"Does this secret involve a technique that lets you guys harvest ten thousand more than regular technique?"
Horo might have an excellent poker face, but Eddard notices the brief movement in Horo's eyes. Without him answering, Eddard knows that he hit the bullseye. He decides to calm Horo down by saying.
"Don't worry. I come here not to force you to reveal this secret. I swear it in the name of House of Stark and the Old Gods."
Horo releases a relieved sigh and says.
"Thank you, my lord."
"Don't mention it. As for my second question, can I ask for an audience with your lord? I want to ask him for an agreement between our two houses."
Horo did not know what to say because he was among the dozen people who knew the real identity of Vyn Lunaran. He did not want his lord to be the place that robbed him of his divine right but at the same time, it is a mission from his lord to establish a good connection between his house and the North.
According to Lady Melisandre, this is the grand plan coming from her vision that will crack the relationship between the Stag and the Wolves. He did not want to make this plan to fail.
After a few seconds of thinking, Horo takes a deep breath and looks Eddard right in the eyes.
"I shall deliver your invitation to my lord, Lord Stark."