11th Month of 284 A.C. Winterfell

Lord Eddard Stark

Ned felt tired, so very tired, sometimes he wondered how his father had managed to keep a hold on his sanity, there was just far too much going on within the north now for Ned to feel anything but tired. The canal was finally looking as if it might be finishing in construction, the trade links were growing within Essos, and there were offers for his brother's hand in marriage. And yet, there was one thing Ned was constantly worried about, one thing that he was continuously thinking about, and that was the issue of Barbrey Dustin and her child. Not for the first time he found himself cursing Brandon, cursing his impulsiveness and the fact that Brandon was always able to get away with anything he did. Ned was still not sure how his father had not realised what Brandon was doing, right under his very nose, and then he remembered that his father had often been willing to turn a blind eye to what Brandon did, Brandon was his heir, and could do no wrong, only Ned and his other siblings could do wrong. It was a thought that brought nothing but resentment and anger into his mind, for now he was forced to have to deal with the issues left behind by his brother's callousness and his father's wilful blindness.

He did not know where to turn on the matter, everything seemed as if it were happening at once. Had felt that way since the news had come of his father and brother's deaths. Ned felt as if his whole life had been turned upside down following that news, and it had not yet righted itself. He did not know how he felt about Lyanna that was one issue he had not willingly explored, was not willing to explore as such, and not willing to open the wound that was his sister's death and her last words. He was angry with her, and sad for her, he was upset that she felt so unwilling to listen, and that Benjen had allowed her to go. He would never tell Benjen of course, but he found himself looking at Benjen at times, as his brother grew into a man, and found himself wondering why Benjen could not have shouldered this burden. Benjen, who was quick to laugh, who knew Cat, was friends with her, and had none of the awkwardness that to some extent still resided between Ned and his wife. Benjen who knew the north in a way Ned never could, gods he did not know what to think of all of this, and he resented himself for feeling this way, truly he did. He feels his wife squeeze his hand and blinks, looks at her, and see her looking at him questioningly, he shakes his head and then turns to listen to Maester Luwin speak.

"There is word from the citadel that the winter that has since settled within the lands for the past three years might well soon come to an end. It seems their estimations of the stars and their places within the sky, was somewhat incorrect, and that winter is actually coming to an end sooner than they thought." Luwin says.

Ned finds himself not truly caring about the winter, but finds himself asking. "And what do the citadel, believe that this could mean for trade?"

The maester considers for a moment and then says. "From what the correspondence with them has suggested, it seems they think this could mean an opening up of trade routes with Essos, in particular those within the further north of that place. Braavos, and Lorath as well as Norvos and Qohor."

Ned nods and then says. "That is good, very good. It will certainly mean the lords of the north cannot find reason to complain about committing such man power toward building the canal." he pauses a moment and then continues. "Speaking of which, what word has there been from White Harbour, has Lord Wyman answered the query about the masons?"

The maester looks down at the notes he has, and the letters he has received and then responds. "It seems that the masons that were here and then left, are being questioned. And that so far their answers seem to be quite evasive, though one thing has been learned from them."

"And what is that?" Ned asks.

The maester hesitates for a moment and then says. "They are not masons proper my lord. They are merely using the title to gather information."

Ned feels as if he has been slapped across the face. "What?!" he exclaims. "What do you mean?"

The maester sighs then. "It seems from what Lord Wyman has been able to gather, that these men who masqueraded as masons came to Winterfell with the sole purpose of gathering information. What for, and who for, they did not say, though Lord Wyman is determined to find out as much as he can."

Ned feels Cat tense beside him, he can feel how nervous she is in how her hand tightens its grip in her hand. He, himself feels very nervous. Looking at the maester he considers all the possible options, it is quite obvious at least to him why these people would be coming here, but who could have sent them? Eventually, he says. "Did they say if there were any more of their kind here?"

"No my lord." the maester responds shaking his head. "Though they did say that more would be coming."

"More would be coming?" Ned asks shocked. "From where?"

"From different parts of the known world it seems. The building of the canal has caused quite a stir along the known world, many are coming to seek the chance to work. And with the laxness of some of the people hiring the masons for their own works, it is possible such people could come in." the maester responds.

Feeling horrified, Ned closes his eyes a moment and then opens them. "I want word sent round to all the lords in the north, they are to have their men look into these new comers as stringently as possible. I do not want anyone who is not known to at least someone within the inner circle of my lords working within the north."

There is a moment's silence and then Catelyn speaks. "That might cause some to get suspicious might it not my lord? By all means ensure that those coming in from outside of the north are looked at and examined, but do not make it seem as though they pose some sort of threat, otherwise, the hackles of the lords will go up."

Curious, Ned looks at his wife and asks. "What do you mean my lady?"

His wife looks at him then, and he finds himself falling into the pools of her blue eyes, gods… "The surest way to alert suspicion to something none of us want, is by making it seem as though there is something to hide. By making it so that those from outside of the north, or even those unknown to someone within the castles of the north does not get work, you are making more enemies than friends. Fear is the best way to make enemies, and people fear that which they do not know. We saw that during the rebellion, let us not make the same mistake here."

Ned considers this and then turning to his brother asks. "What do you think Benjen?"

His brother looks completely surprised to have been asked, and Ned can tell he has been day dreaming, still he responds all the same. "I think that what Lady Catelyn says is correct, but there is not igniting fear, and then there is being too lax. Some form of restraint must be applied."

Ned considers this and then says. "I believe then, that a choice must be made here. As I see it, we do need workers from the north as well as from outside the north. And yet, we must encourage northern workers to grow and prosper. Therefore, there will be a limit to how many workers can be used from outside the north. That will sit well with some of the more northern focussed lords such as Jon Umber and Rickard Karstark, as for the others, well they shall have to learn to live with it." He sees his wife nodding in agreement as well as his brother, and then turns his attention to Martyn, his father's most trusted advisor and asks. "Martyn what word has there been from Barrowton and the Rills?"

Martyn Cassel is a usually severe man, and today is no exception. He takes his time to respond, but when he does it is concise and to the point. "There has been nothing but silence from Barrowton. It is almost as if Lady Barbrey is keeping things deliberately quiet, it is unnerving. There has been no word on her child, or what the child looks like. There are rumours of course, but you know them all my lord." The man pauses then for a brief moment before continuing. "As for the Ryswells and the Rills, well Lord Roger Ryswell has continued on the same path his father Lord Rodrik was considering beforehand. He remains silent on wider issues, and yet continues to force things on House Ryder and House Greenwood."

Ned quirks an eyebrow at the man. "What things is he forcing on them?"

Martyn sighs then and then says. "He is increasing the level of tax they have to pay him for meat and other such goods. He is adding on more than the custom three percent that the laws of Winterfell instituted. It seems that he is also sending men to threaten them if they are late for a payment or if they argue against what he suggests."

Ned feels anger grow within him. "And what his justifications for this tyranny?"

"It seems he believes that as Lord of the Rills it is his right to get these dues from his bannermen. Furthermore, he argues that he needs the extra money to ensure that censure from Winterfell does not come." Martyn says.

Ned feels his anger begin to increase. "So he is using the canal as an excuse for his own crimes? Just like his father." he pauses then and then asks. "Have you found out how Lord Rodrik died yet?"

Martyn hesitates then. "I have my lord, and I do not know if you will appreciate this."

"What is it?" Ned asks.

"From my enquiries I have gathered that Lord Rodrik was out hunting before he died, and when he did make the move that finally killed him, there were wolves responsible for it." Martyn says.

"Why should that displease me?" Ned asks. "If Rodrik was fool enough to go after a wolf than on his be it."

"That is not the issue my lord." Martyn says. "It was not the animal that had him killed, there were people responsible for his death. The term wolf was used to describe a group of people."

Ned feels stunned. "That is not possible, the black wolves are still in Essos, and my family here are the only wolves within Westeros. We are the only Starks."

"What about Uncle Brandon's family?" Benjen asks. "Could they not have had something to do with this?"

Ned looks at his brother and shakes his head. "Uncle Brandon died during the rebellion and his daughters were married off long ago. Besides, he did not bear the wolf sigil. Not the direwolf at least." He looks at Martyn and asks. "You are certain the word is of a wolf meaning a direwolf?"

"Yes my lord. All those I have spoken to and from what I have gathered mention that there were men bearing the direwolf sigil who were there when Lord Rodrik died. And I think this is why Lord Roger is making the moves he is making." Martyn says.

Ned sighs then, tiredness engulfs him. "He is using that as an excuse to discredit me in the eyes of the Ryders and Greenwoods? Are you sure that this was not someone within the Ryswells own family using the direwolf banner?"

Martyn nods. "I am quite sure. If this had been before the rebellion or perhaps even before Duskendale I would have said maybe, but your father lord Rickard prevented his bannermen from using Stark colours unless fighting in a war. And it is a law that has not been changed."

Ned runs a hand through his hair then and sighs. "Gods above, this is something that must be looked into. Someone is breaking the law by using the family colours. Have you managed to find anything Martyn?" he asks.

Martyn is silent for a moment and then says. "I found only one trace of where these people might have been. They had something of a camp within the Wolfswood for a time, but then it disbanded. And since then there has been no more sighting of them."

Ned sighs, Cat squeezing his hand comfortingly under the table. "So, is it possible that there is someone, or some group of people using the direwolf for their own ends, or to potentially sow discord within the north, and if so why, and to what end?"

Martyn speaks then. "It is possible that whoever this is that has been using the Stark direwolf is acting on Ryswell and Dustin orders my lord." the man pauses and then continues. "There is some confusion in the whispers I have gathered about what happened between Lord Brandon and Lady Barbrey and, none have seen the child she bore, apart from the maester at Barrowton, and her family. And they are not likely to speak on the matter. It is possible this is their ploy to try and sow chaos to create a space for this child to be put forward as a candidate to replace you."

"Someone would support a babe over Ned? What nonsense is this?" Benjen guffaws.

"A babe is easier to control than a grown man my lord." Martyn says calmly. "And if they can have the appeal made that the babe is Lord Brandon's then there is more chance of support being garnered."

Ned closes his eyes then, to hide the resentment he feels at Martyn's words. His stomach lurches when he hears Cat ask. "What do you mean by that Martyn?"

Ned opens his eyes and looks at Martyn, the man looks deeply uncomfortable, and belatedly Ned remembers that the man would have been there when Brandon was growing up into a man, Ned wonders if the man shares his father's preference of Brandon. The man's words do little to ease Ned's doubts. "There are some within the north, my sources inform me that are discontent with Lord Eddard. They feel as if he is too southern influenced and has not known the north for long enough to truly earn his title."

"Ned led the north through the rebellion! He won the damned war." Benjen protests.

Martyn fixes cold eyes upon Benjen then and says. "I know master Benjen, I thought alongside your brother. But there are those who still question whether he is northern enough to truly know how to rule the north. Some use the closeness of you Lord Eddard with King Robert and how that ended for Lady Lyanna to disparage you."

"They would not dare!" Benjen protests sounding outraged.

"Truly, they must not have the brains nor the gall for such a thing!" Catelyn says, and Ned feels his heart do something funny at that.

Hiding his doubt though, he tries to keep his voice as calm as possible when he asks. "And who are the main people behind these rumours Martyn?"

For a brief moment he feels horrified that Martyn himself might be involved, but the man responds in such a manner that dispels such thoughts. "My own thoughts are on the Ryswells and Barbrey Dustin both have reason to begrudge you the power you now have. And furthermore, I think there is something to be said of Lord Bolton as well. His marriage to Lady Bethany seems far too convenient."

"So what do you suggest I do Martyn? Openly attacking the Ryswells and the Boltons would be mad, and I do not wish to go on a wild hunt through the north looking for those who spread rumours and lies about me." Ned says firmly.

The man looks somewhat uncomfortable. "There are many things you can do my lord. You can ignore the issue and hope it disappears when the canal is finally ready for use. That would be ill advised for it would only allow the issue to fester and grow. You can act in a discreet manner and have those learning of the rumours create their own counter rumours that would be a good thing, and would help sow confusion amongst the less positive adherents. Or you can act on the Ryswells."

"What do you mean act on the Ryswells?" Benjen asks.

Ned looks at his brother and then looks at Martyn and asks. "Do you mean what I think you mean Martyn?"

"What do you mean, does he mean what you think he means?" Benjen asks.

Ned has not taken his eyes off of Martyn though, and though he can see Cat looking at him out of the corner of his eye, he keeps his focus on Martyn. Eventually the man nods. "I do my lord, it is the only way to clear this mess."

"You have the men still in place?" Ned asks.

"I do." Martyn responds.

"None will be able to bring it back to me?" he asks.

"None, none will know it came from you." Martyn responds.

Ned thinks over it, pushing away an image that threatens to come to the surface, he bring his wife's hand to his lips and kisses it, he looks at her and whispers. "For the children." He sees her nod, and then he turns to Martyn and says. "See it done."