Chapter 15

Casterly Rock, Westerlands

Tywin was angry. The past couple of years had not been kind to the Westerlands, and it was getting even worse. The day he and some of his foresighted ancestors had dreaded had arrived. The gold mines had finally gone dry. Gold was the power of the Lannisters, and he knew that if the others found out about this, the Lannister power would crumble. When the Chief Miner had informed him of this, the first thing he did was to bring all the miners working in those mines immediately and have Amory Lorch kill all of them and their families to silence the whole issue. He had not even told his own family about this new situation.

Still, after a few weeks, rumors started coming around that the Lannisters were out of gold. Realizing that the truth had somehow gotten out, he immediately flooded the mines and used it as an excuse to quell the rumors.

Then his idiot daughter had organized a tourney on Joffrey's tenth nameday, completely sponsored by Lannister gold, without even consulting him. The Lannisters had always lived an affluent lifestyle to show off their wealth and power. Now it had come back to haunt them. It was now that he started to respect the Starks, who used to live a frugal life and had only now started spending more when they had a steady source of income that was not coming from any mines. Though he himself was a very pragmatic man, the same could not be said about the other members of the Lannister family. To maintain the same affluent lifestyle, he had to procure the glass items and the weapons from the North, which had made a significant dent in his coffers. Though he had to admit that the Northern glass was cheaper and superior compared to their Myrish counterpart.

He was roused from his dreary thoughts by his brother Kevan, who came into his solar. He looked with disgust when he saw that the dwarf was also waddling behind Kevan.

"Brother," Kevan greeted him, to which Tywin nodded while completely disregarding the dwarf. But Tyrion, long being accustomed to his father's attitude, remained unfazed. Even though Tywin knew that Tyrion was more intelligent than both Cersei and Jaime combined, he was still disgusted by the fact that Tyrion was a dwarf. Tywin knew that the dwarf sometimes gave some intelligent insights to many problems, so he had allowed him to attend this private meeting.

"We have a situation at Lannisport," Kevan began. "Many of the merchants have not returned back. They have now settled in the North."

The burning of Lannisport had been a terrible blow to them. It had taken almost two years to rebuild the port. The Lannister fleet was still being rebuilt. But the damage was already done. The trade at Lannisport had halved. While once Lannisport had to compete with only Oldtown, now the Wolfbay had also joined the fray. The aggressive trade by the Seastarks had attracted the Free Cities, even Yi-Ti and the reclusive Asshai.

The Starks' utter ruthlessness against the Ironborn had gained them high popularity among the smallfolk. The thralls who the Northerners rescued were these days singing praises about their rescuers. He had even heard reports about a sudden increase in the worship of the Old Gods among the smallfolk. The Septons had come to him to protest against the rise of the heathen gods. But Tywin was not at all religious. He had stopped believing in gods when Joanna died. So he dismissed them. A small part of his mind considered this as his revenge against the Seven for taking away his wife.

"We could reduce the taxes now to attract the merchants and slowly increase it over the years," Tyrion piped up from his seat.

Knowing that the limited gold available to them could not sustain the Lannister legacy forever, he ordered Kevan to carry out Tyrion's suggestion.

Kevan continued, "The Northerners have completely stopped buying food from us as well as the Reach. They only buy from the Riverlands, and that too due to the Cailstark-Tully marriage. Our southern houses are complaining that they are unable to sell food grains as much as they used to in the past. So they are requesting a reduction in tax."

Without even thinking, Tywin said, "We Lions cannot be bothered by the bleating of the sheeps. There will be no tax reduction. Though I am trying to find a way to solve this problem. At least it is not as much as the Reach."

Tyrion started to guffaw and said, "It is this attitude of yours that has allowed the North to grow more powerful. When the Starks started their new projects, I warned you about this. But you dismissed my suggestions, and look at where they stand now in such a short period. You will find nowhere in history where a kingdom transformed this far within a few years. It is like magic, even though I know it is not. Still, we don't have to worry. We have enough gold to last for generations, don't we?"

Tywin choked on his drink, and then his lips tightened at that question. He didn't even bother to answer it. Though he saw the dwarf looking at him in a suspicious manner from the corner of his eyes.

'Did the dwarf find out about the empty gold mines... Hmmm. No, he wouldn't have. He is not that intelligent.' He dismissed the thought.

Then Tywin said, "We have more pressing problems. Theomore is dead."

"Theomore? Who is that?" Tyrion asked, pausing his drink.

It was Kevan who answered, "Theomore was a Lannister from Lannisport who joined the Citadel. He was assigned to White Harbor a few years ago when the North started their new projects, by some encouragement from Tywin. He was essentially our most strategically placed spy in the North."

Contrary to Tyrion's belief, Tywin had planted many spies in the North, especially in Winterfell and Wintercity, acting on Tyrion's observations. Only some of them used to give him their reports, most of which were utterly useless.

"Glad to see you took my word seriously, Father," Tyrion said. "How did he die?"

"Official word is that he was drunk and slipped down the stairs while climbing and broke his neck," Tywin said.

Tyrion japed, "In a way, he drank to his death." Then, looking at Tywin's face, he asked, "But you disagree?"

"Theomore's death has confirmed my long-time suspicions," Tywin declared.

Kevan and Tyrion looked at each other, and then Kevan prodded, "What do you mean, Tywin?"

Tywin said, "I had placed many spies throughout the North. But for the past several years, they were only providing me chicken feed. Now, with Theomore's death, I am sure that the Starks have somehow discovered them. We are, in fact, blind to whatever is happening in the North, which is slowly becoming a threat to our power. And I don't like being kept in the dark about the affairs of kingdoms. So I have decided that Tyrion will go to Winterfell. I want you to stay there for some time. Your cover is to make a deal in procuring steel weapons and more glass products for the Westerlands. I want to know their military power. I have tried several times in the past to infiltrate their secret glass-making facility but failed. Try to procure any trade secrets; if not, try to lure some of those workers here. And most importantly, find out everything about Aryan Stark."

Tyrion sat there gaping at Tywin and stuttered, "Me? Are you sure that a dwarf like me would be suitable for this job? And who would replace me as the Master of Drains here?"

"You will do as I say. I have made all arrangements for you to travel North. You will leave in two days. Nobody will replace you from your current post. When you return, you will resume your duties. Now get out of my sight," Tywin declared.

Tyrion, still stunned that his father had given him such an assignment, waddled out of the room.

Kevan asked, "Are you sure that he can do it?"

"All he does here is get drunk and consort with whores. Let him show his worth," Tywin finished.

Kevan was about to get up but then remembering something asked, "Did you try for a marriage alliance with the North?"

"I had sent a missive with Cerena's proposal to the Regent Eddard Cailstark. But he replied that the issue of marriage would be decided by Aryan Stark himself when time comes," Tywin replied dryly.

Humming at the response, Kevan quietly said, "I cannot say that I am surprised. One thing about the Northerners is that, unlike the other kingdoms, they do not fear us and so they would not jump at the opportunities for an alliance with us. Perhaps they must be looking for a Northern bride, or perhaps they are not happy with a bride from one of our side branches. Then you must convince Cersei for a royal marriage alliance with the North. While Eddard Cailstark is a good friend of Robert, there is no guarantee that the same courtesy would be extended to Joffrey, especially with the things we are hearing about him."

Tywin grimaced at that. He had heard about how Joffrey had torn open Tommen's pregnant cat and how he removed its foetus to please Robert. But Robert thrashed the boy black and blue after seeing the cruelty. He remembered how Cersei had written to him ranting about how Robert was harming her golden lion and urged him to do something. But Tywin had to question Cersei's sanity if she was going to ignore Joffrey's activities.

Not wanting to discuss his daughter's shortcomings, Tywin ended their discussion by ordering, "Find a good match with the Reach for Lancel. If time comes, then we need allies against the North."

Kevan understood Tywin's dismissal, so he went away.

Tywin had set his eyes on the Leffords of Goldentooth. As Alyssane Lefford was the only heir to Lord Lefford, she was the most suitable wife for Jaime. This would bring the gold mines of Goldentooth under Lannister fold. He was already diffusing the marriage proposals for her using whatever available means. Getting Jaime back now had become more necessary than ever.

Then, like the past few weeks, he decided to get drunk, bemoaning how insecure his legacy was becoming.

King's Landing, Crownlands

The sound of rutting could be heard from the outside. The animalistic grunts of the customer and delightful moans of his whore. Peeking through the hole and satisfied with the new whore's performance Littlefinger started to walk towards his office. He used to closely monitor all his whore to make sure they were always capable of satisfying all types of customers. This was the reason for his brothel to be very successful in Kingslanding.

Born as a child of a very minor Lord in the Vale and now the Master of Coin of the Seven Kingdoms, all of which he achieved through his cunning and luck. Yes, luck too, or else he would not have been in the same tavern twelve years ago, depressed over his cat, where he coincidentally met the messenger who was carrying Lyanna Stark's letter to Winterfell. He made the messenger drunk enough and later drowned him in the Red Fork. And used the same busy tavern as the point to start the rumor of Lyanna to be kidnapped by the Prince.

He started to look over the latest reports from his spies. Few affairs here and there while seemingly insignificant would come in hand at a later date. When the rumors about the Lannister mines gone dry surfaced, he sent some of his men there. But they got back claiming the mines were flooded, killing all the miners, due to which Tywin Lannister had stopped mining for some time. The logical part of his mind knew that the rumors may be true based on the facts, but one cannot be too sure about Tywin, so he did not do anything to capitalize on this.

While he was not worried about the other Kingdoms, the same could not be said about the North. The brothel he set up in Wintercity with so much difficulty was demolished during the castle's expansion works. After that, he was not given permission to set up a new brothel for some reason or another. So without a base, he was not able to place any spies in the domain of the Bloody Wolf. So he didn't know any of the strategic or sensitive information about the North as all meetings were held in Winterfell, where he did not have any access.

He had financed the pirates to attack the ships coming to the North through the Bite. It was also him who convinced Jon Arryn not to do anything when the Starks complained. He knew that it was Jon Arryn who had saved the ironborns from the hell that Northerners had unleashed, which had angered the Starks. He was going to use this new tension between them to slowly break the friendship between the Vale and the North. He had hoped that the North would attack the Three Sisters, and the resulting conflict would damage the Vale-North alliance. But the North did something better which dashed his plans. They now had an excuse for a standing army as well as a naval presence through the Bite into the Narrow Sea, which was enough for King Robert not to take any actions when Jon Arryn raised concern about the new army of the North. Petyr cursed himself for not thinking of this possibility when he started his plans. Still, he was a patient man. His time would come.

Right now, he was worried over another matter. His main source of money was embezzlement of funds when the Iron Throne took a loan or from the taxes of the Seven Kingdoms. But the North has been given tax exemption for seven years—all because the Queen bitch could not control her vanity.

Flashback

Queen Cersei, on hearing so much about the new famed glass products of the North and seeing some of them from the merchants in King's Landing, ordered a large quantity of glasses, plates, and chandeliers directly from Winterfell. Her argument was that, as King's Landing was the most important place in the Seven Kingdoms, it should have these fine products too, especially in the Royal Palace. Baelish also supported her idea, already thinking about taking another loan for paying the Northerners, from which he could siphon some for himself. How wrong he was.

The representatives from the North had arrived in the form of Lord Wyman Manderly and the Mayor of Wintercity, whatever that was. All the goods were arranged in front of the Iron Throne. Already he could see everyone in the room was marveling at the products. It was the first and probably the last time anyone would see so many glass items in one place. Even he was impressed by the intricate craftsmanship. Cersei looked very pleased and praised the products. Many of those who knew her true nature were surprised to see a genuine praise coming from her.

The Mayor said, "Your Grace, Lord Stark is giving you the finest glass materials you will ever see, better in every manner than the ones from those Myrish. Lord Stark personally supervised many of these while our glassmakers made them."

Holding a wine set with lions etched on its sides, the Queen smiled and said, "Please tell Lord Stark that we are highly impressed by these."

Whatever Petyr expected to hear from Cersei, this was not. Cersei had always disdained smallfolk. She never visited them nor took time to even see them. So, seeing her polite interaction with a Northern official who was still a smallfolk, Petyr was surprised. Wonders never cease.

It was Jon Arryn who asked the question which was on several people's minds, "You introduced yourself as the Mayor of Wintercity. What exactly does it entail?"

The man curtsied, saying, "My Lord Hand, as Lord Stark is busy most of the time managing the North, he is not able to give much attention to the people of Wintercity. So, he appointed me to manage and develop Wintercity as well as the voice of the people there."

Varys tittered, "His Grace appointed Lord Eddard Cailstark as the Regent of the North until Lord Aryan Stark comes of age. Does Lord Cailstark approve of all these?"

It was Wyman Manderly who answered, "A Regent is appointed for those who we feel are not mentally fit to make right decisions till they come of age. Lord Stark has proven himself to be very capable of looking after the North himself. Even though Lord Cailstark is the Regent of the North, all Lord Stark's actions have full approval of Lord Cailstark."

Renly decided to make his presence felt, saying, "Still being unable to administer his own city shows his incapability as a Lord."

Wyman fixed his eyes on Renly, then looking at the King asked, "May I speak freely, Your Grace?"

Robert laughed, already seeming to know what was coming, and said in jest, "Of course, you fat Lord, speak your mind. I am bored hearing flowery words everywhere. Some blunt talk is always refreshing."

It seemed Wyman had taken his insult good-naturedly and smiled at the King. Then looking at Renly, said, "The King's Landing is supposed to be governed by the King himself with his small council. But they also have to look after the affairs of the Seven Kingdoms. But as they are busy in their duties, the city itself was forgotten. Poverty and crime have increased, which have gone unnoticed by all of you. Perhaps you have noticed but decided not to do anything. To avoid these problems, Lord Stark had appointed a Mayor. He did not want the people to feel neglected as many of them felt in King's Landing."

Many courtiers nodded at that. But the newly appointed Master of Law interrupted, "Are you accusing us that we are not governing King's Landing properly? This city is the most important city in the whole Westeros. Also, the crime and poverty here are very low."

Everyone looked at Renly incredulously, who shrank back to his chair at the attention. It was common knowledge that poverty and crime were synonymous with King's Landing. While many of the poor and homeless had migrated to the North, new ones had replaced them.

Robert bellowed from his throne, "Renly, you idiot, stop making a fool of yourself. They are telling the truth. If you had done your duty properly instead of enjoying your power, you would not have to face such accusations."

Baelish smirked at Renly's peril. Even though the Gold Cloaks were under the Master of Laws, most of them were corrupt and abused their position. Also, it was Baelish who used to pay them. They were more loyal to him, and he used to take advantage of that in his activities.

Seeing the situation getting out of control, Jon Arryn changed the subject and asked the Mayor, "How much is all these going to cost?"

The Mayor replied, "The actual cost of these products is two million dragons. But we are willing to sell these to the Royal Family for only one million dragons."

As expected, everyone gaped at that staggering amount. Though Petyr had a look of shock, inside he was jumping with joy, already making plans for siphoning funds from the repayment loans.

The Hand composed himself and said, "Thank you for your generous offer. But still, the price is huge, and the treasury cannot afford to pay such a large amount. Perhaps you can take some of them back."

Cersei became angry and said, "Absolutely not. I personally and painstakingly ordered these items. Most of these were made according to my designs and recommendations. These are the highest quality products, and Lord Stark is generously giving us all such a large discount. It will be an insult to send them back." Then she urged Robert to say something, exploiting Robert's soft corner for the Starks.

The King ruled in her favor, "Do what she says, Jon. It is not every day we hear her praising the Starks." And he laughed.

Jon resignedly asked Baelish, "Lord Baelish, how do we settle the payment?"

With a smile, Petyr began, "I have made a payment plan, Lord Hand. We must take loans to accommodate their payment. But we can pay a hundred thousand dragons a year for the next ten years." Then he thought to himself, I can pay them for a few years, then delay the payment for some reason or the other. In the end, I will gain a large sum.

The Northerners looked at each other, then Lord Manderly said, "Pardon me, Your Grace. Lord Stark has instructed us to take immediate payment only and no loans. He doubts the capabilities of the Master of Coins, which I also share. We cannot trust any plans made by the man under whom the Realm has gone into such a large debt."

Baelish lost his smirk and bristled, losing his cool. He asked in a tight voice, "Are you accusing me of leading the realm to debt?"

With a smile, Manderly said, "That is exactly what I said."

"Enough. Baelish has my complete trust. He has proven himself very loyal to His Grace," Jon Arryn interrupted.

In a grave tone, Wyman said, "You may trust him, Lord Hand, but we don't. I like to think I am a man with reasonable knowledge in economics, something Lord Stark agrees with. That is why he sent me to discuss this issue if it arises. The debt of the realm is rising year after year. The Master of Coin should have taken steps to contain the debt or make payment plans to repay those debts. Do you have any repayment plans, Lord Baelish?"

Baelish sputtered at that, completely lost for a reply. Then, gathering his wit, he addressed the King, "Your Grace, I have always been loyal. He cannot accuse me like this."

Throwing his wine glass at Littlefinger's head, Robert roared, "Just answer him, you worm."

Calming himself, Petyr started to speak in high economic terms about what he was doing (all of which were lies), which went over most people's heads. But Lord Manderly was not one of them. He countered each and every argument of Baelish, and soon Baelish was at his wit's end. He could hear Pycelle snorting, disguising it as a cough.

It was Stannis who broke the silence, "So, you must have a payment plan of your own."

Lord Manderly said, "We are aware of the Realm's debt to the Iron Bank, the Lannisters, the Tyrells, and even the faith, which is almost greater than five million dragons. We do not want the Iron Throne to have a debt with the North. So, Lord Stark proposes a full seven-year tax exemption."

Seeing everything getting out of his hands, Baelish tried for some damage control, saying it would be difficult to find funds for everyday affairs of King's Landing, to which Lord Manderly suggested some methods to generate more income.

Suddenly the doors opened, and the servants brought in two large statues covered in clothes. They set those in the middle of the hall. The Mayor then unveiled two life-size glass figurines, saying, "Lord Stark's gifts for His Grace and Her Grace."

The whole court gasped at the life-size statues of Robert and Cersei made of crystal-clear glass with their dress made of colored glass. The eyes of Robert were made from Blue Sapphire, while those of Cersei's were of Emeralds.

And that sealed the deal. One thing any intelligent person in the palace knew was that even though Cersei was smart enough, she was still vain and enjoyed materialistic pleasures. These statues were perhaps the best gifts she would ever receive. Even Robert was captivated at his own figurine, which displayed him with his raised hammer.

Cersei came near the figurine and started to marvel at it. Then, looking at the Northerners, said, "Tell Lord Stark that we are honored and extremely pleased by his gifts." Then meeting Robert's eyes, she said, "And your payment terms are acceptable."

Without any support, Baelish had no choice but to agree to their demands.

Flashback Ends

The Northerners then went away with a favorable deal. It seemed that the Queen and Lord Hand had paid close attention to Lord Manderly's suggestions and were keeping an eye on the financial matters. He had to pump back a lot of his stolen money into the treasury to avoid suspicions. Also, due to no new loans, he was unable to embezzle funds. He had lost most of his assets that he had gained over the years, which would now take many years to gain back. But even more important was that his position was now not secure and was hanging by a thread. He had already a plan to regain Robert's favor, and it was time to send his people to Essos to sniff out the last dragons.

"Damn the Starks. Damn Brandon Stark. Damn his spawn Aryan Stark." He cursed for the umpteenth time. He was disturbed by a knock on the door. It was Janos Slynt who said, "Your guests are waiting downstairs."

Baelish smiled and dismissed him. Then, gathering his wits, he went to meet his guests with an evil smile. The Sorrowful Men had arrived.