A Need to Suffer

Tainted Deals

Chapter Twenty-Three

Tainted Deals

“What exactly are you getting at, Lord Baelish?” Lamor Umber’s brow arched in suspicion as he leaned back in his chair warily taking in the whole of the two men sitting across from him. Three of Smalljon Umber’s siblings, two brothers and a sister (that upon a casual glance due to her size and stoutness could easily be mistaken for a man) sat grimly across from Petyr Baelish and Harald Karstark.

They had traveled south upon a harried courier’s bedraggled arrival revealed the results that the war had taken more than half of their army and their brother’s life. The offense to their house was enough to regroup the men that had escaped death from overwhelming Stark forces along with ready reinforcements willing to make a stand for their fallen lord. The Umbers had prepared a small army intent on confronting the Starks before further claims could be made that their lands could be considered forfeit for siding with the Boltons against the Starks and their Wildling army.

The Umbers had made it to Long Lake when their procession was halted by expectant Vale delegates awaiting them on the King’s Road to stop their determined march to Winterfell (apparently they had already known about their informing herald relaying the news of the battle as well as the fact that they had gathered cavalries that now rode down to face the Starks personally.) There was some debate on whether it would be better not to just kill these men and continue their trek to deal with the Starks as anticipated, but a mutual decision between the three nobles was decided (much to the envoys’ relief) to instead take the detour alongside the White Knife River and answer the summons the emissaries had presented to them.

It was an understood risk coming to Moat Calin with the knowledge that it now housed a fair number of the Vale’s cavalry army in its well-fortified walls, but so was it a risk to charge to Winterfell where many of the noble houses that had retaken the keep still lingered with their own personal forces alongside an encampment of unpredictable savage Wildlings. Harald Karstark had sent the Umber house a personal missive coated with a wax seal of a sun. It had come from his ring (or someone had taken it… or the hand or finger it rested upon to use the ring’s signet to lure them here.) Either way, after their eldest brother’s defeat at the hands of House Stark, and the reclaiming of Winterfell from House Bolton, the remaining Umbers knew that a parlay was inevitable if they didn’t wish to go to war at a later date. This new avenue was a mystery that created further opportunities than a humble arrangement given by the Starks to prevent retaliation against them from the houses that now filed quickly back into the Stark’s ranks. It was certain that the Umbers would suffer undo judgement for their brother’s untimely and seemingly unwise act of treason, but that was better than being seen as a traitor and cut off from the provinces economic circle.

Petyr Baelish controlled the Vale, until the young Lord Robin of Arryn decided to relinquish said control (to which the Umbers nor Karstark were at all aware.) As it was, Baelish’s motives were yet unclear why he’d summoned them all together. The side of Baelish’s mouth lifted in a sly grin, “Lord Lamor, I am offering to help you, so that you do not need to prostrate yourselves on bended knee to plea forgiveness from a Stark for the choices your brother made. The Umbers are a proud people, and we both know that you and the Karstarks once controlled a formidable army, but as it is now, you are sorely outmatched by Wildling and Vale alike. What I can give you is an opportunity to make a bargain.”

The younger of the two brothers stood as he rebutted snidely, “If our house is so easily swarmed than why risk losing allegiances siding with us now?”

Petyr regarded the man coolly remaining calmly detached as he addressed the question, “I’m not siding with you; I’m giving you the ability to set terms on your own standards over having the Starks dictate them to you. I will be a silent partner granting you access to a hostage that you can barter for a better outcome. I find having something or in this case someone to bring to the table gives way to negotiations in your favor.”