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One Man to Rule them
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298 AC
The Riverlands, The Twins
"Ser Roderick, would you not think we could scale these walls?" Domeric asked among his own bannermen as they stared at the Twins, the Frey bridge-fortress.
"Well we could, my lord," the commander replied, "but not quickly. Tywin's horde would be upon us by the time we broke through the first keep."
We had entered the riverlands and Robb Stark had hit his first major obstacle on his march southwards to save his father.
How lucky the Freys were to have access to such an important choke point. It was a blessing for the Riverland house indeed and it would be their curse in the close future.
The strategic position of the Twins had allowed House Frey to grow wealthy, aided by the fact that they held wider domains and could call upon more soldiers than their own liege lords of House Tully at Riverrun or any other Riverland house.
Under their current lord, the "late Walder Frey", the crooked family had only grown in size and power. And so in truth, they were now the most powerful bannermen the Tullys possessed.
The Freys had also been purposely exacting higher tolls on the merchants of his lands who crossed the bridge-fort to travel south.
One of the other reasons he preferred the sea routes instead of land.
I had even sent letters to complain of such ill intentions, and he did as he always did, nothing. Still bitter over my refusal of his marriage proposal years ago. Well, that and the fact that he was a bitter old man overall, a man more akin to a swindler than lord.
The Bolton lands were making gold, and everyone from the Wall to Dorne knew it. And Walder wanted his fill, as any other.
And if that was the only issue with him then it wouldn't be so bad, but the old man was insufferable, disgusting, and devoid of decorum. Having such a man command one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in this half of the world was something I would not tolerate forever.
And it was evident why tywin had his sister married off to one of Walder's ilk.
Most of the Freys were cunts, and ninety percent of them I would and will cull when the opportunity presented itself.
I could've even had the man assassinated ten times over, but it all went against the plan. Walder would be the medium through which many of the schemes to usurp Robb would begin.
If things could be kept as they had been in the other timeline, then the Freys would be allies until I shoved a knife in their backs after they did my bidding.
Let the Freys betray the Northern lords and let them take the fallout. After which I would ride in as a savior to kill the lot of them and their lord.
And in the midst of this chaos, hopefully Robb Stark would be killed. And the North would be without its leading head. Leaving the seat of power vacant for the best contender.
Hopefully it would go like this. Otherwise it would be the forceful route, I would call upon the rest of my banner men and my aunt's as-well to crush each and everyone one in my way into submission.
But until then subtlety was required. If I could spare men, resources, and avoid being seen as the traitor, then I would choose that road.
Robb would be a prominent figure after his victories in the Whispering Woods. His status would be higher than the clouds in the eyes of the North and the rest of the continent. Defeating Tywin's host and capturing his son proved much in this feudal world.
"We need a way through. Father lies in a dungeon in King's Landing, and who knows how long he'll stay as such before they decide to take his head," Robb said, displeased with the answers he was hearing.
"We have five times their numbers. We can take the castle," Theon Greyjoy added.
'Did the squid not hear what Ser Roderick said a moment ago? The damned thing wouldn't fall in time, and Tywin's army was marching north towards us as we speak.' He mentally face palmed
And here came Robb's "loving mother". If I were Robb, I'd have escorted her back to Winterfell at once. Her counsel was borderline foolish at the best of times, but many of these lords were too caught up in themselves to even notice. Well….some were. Others remained quiet and held their tongues, as I did.
"The Freys have held the crossing for six hundred years, and for six hundred years they have never failed to exact their toll," she said.
Robb considered her words, eyes still on the castle.
"We must bargain with Lord Frey. Force will not gain us passage here." I added my two cents.
"Of course you'd know this Lord Bolton. Why don't you journey down there and make such a bargain with him? You're both swindlers after all."
Varro gripped the hilt of his sword, as did the other five praetorians at his back.
"Touche, Lord Umber," I thought, annoyed.
The man was making a joke , surely he was but joking at such a moment was no joke at all, merely an insult. And he wondered why we'd cut our trade with him for a time.
We had stopped harvesting ice in Umber lands due to Lord Jon Umber's "mannerisms" and petty ego. Man-child he was he didn't know how a business was truly run. Rulers they were but bad ones.
The Karstarks proved more agreeable, and harvesting ice beyond the Wall with wildling labor was cheaper. Dangerous yes, but cheaper. Give them a sack of grain and the worst steel they considered the best and poof… capitalism at its finest.
I was preparing to give my reply when Robb interrupted, as he always did.
"Enough of that, Lord Umber. I'll go and negotiate with Lord Frey."
"That's not wise, my lord. You enter the Twins alone and he'll sell you to the Lannisters the moment you pass through those gates," Lord Umber countered.
"He's right, Robb," Catelyn agreed.
"Well, we can't stand here all day thinking. Someone has to go," Lord Cerwyn said.
Definitely not me, I thought.
"I'll go," Lady Stark offered.
"Mother!" Robb exclaimed.
"I have known Lord Walder since I was a girl. He would never harm me," she said.
Oh, the irony of that. In another life she would not be saying the same.
"Unless there's profit in it," someone muttered behind Rob , it sounded like Lord Forrester by what he could tell.
Robb sighed, and his eyes drifted towards me.
This is not good.
"Lord Bolton, I mean not to burden you again, but as mercantile and administrative as you are, I would ask that you accompany my mother as well, to see matters through."
'Is he mad!?'
Robb, you fool. I am perhaps the most important man here after you. You'd cripple your army and this entire campaign. Perhaps he knew this and hoped I'd be imprisoned while Walder released his mother. Either that or I was overthinking. Paranoia again…
"Well, my lord, it does not bode well for me to go into the clutches of such a man bureaucratic as I am, Lord Walder and my house are at odds over trade agreements. I'd likely be held captive," I half-lied.
"Robb, it's all right. I'll go alone. Believe me, I can do this," Catelyn answered, giving me a quick disapproving look.
"Very well then, Mother."
— — — — — — — — — —
"One if the men say Lord Karstark entering Lord Bolton's tent last night. More proof that you can't trust Lord Bolton," Theon said to his wayward friend as they sat alone in Robb's tent.
"You don't have to remind me. My mother does enough to make me not forget for even a second," Robb replied, taking a seat, worry gnawing at him over his mother's self-imposed trip into the viper's pit.
If she knew Walder Frey as she claimed, she would come out unharmed soon enough. But if she had mistaken his nature and his lack of honor then she would become a valuable hostage.
Not the smartest idea, but someone prominent had to represent their cause.
As for Lord Bolton, he was perhaps the least of Robb's issues. Bolton had offered no defiance as others had, yet many lords voiced wariness of him and those came from the ones who weren't profiting like other houses were.
Yet for all their willingness, Robb held them all at arm's length. He could trust none, just as he could not trust Domeric Bolton fully. They had no doubt continued to whisper that he was too young to lead, that drastic decisions should be made by those older with more experience.
They were lucky he was not like some lords, or he would've not been so lenient with their defiance.
Yet here he was keeping the peace as best he could, mediating between lords and lesser men so they could have his father saved.
"Send for Lords Karstark and Cerwyn," he said, and Theon nodded.
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One Man to Rule them
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