Rumors and Reports of Westeros Part One
Twenty Ninth Day of the Second Month 294 AC
Crownlands
Crackclaw Cutthroats: King's Landing's control over Crackclaw Point has grown ever more tenuous of late. Where two years ago it was only the tax collectors who were unsafe on the roads, these days even an armsman in Baratheon livery can expect to pass through those twisting pine-guarded roads as though in an enemy land. More troubling is the fact that several of the more ambitious fishermen of the point have been trying their hand at piracy against the ships of Crownlander Houses known to be Loyal to Robert Baratheon, often flying the three-headed dragon to intimidate their prey into striking sail under supposed threat of sorcery.
While Lord Brune and the others have been doing their best to curb such 'enterprising spirit', they are struggling against the sheer weight of popular sentiment and worse, the lure of easy gold. He writes in earnest:
I can't rightly hang smallfolk for being traitors to the Usurper. I fined some and sent the boldest to Sorcerer's Deep to make honest sailors out of them. May the day come soon when we Pointsmen no longer have to keep our banners furled.
Cutting a Thread: The Faceless you set to guard lord Monford Velaryon have proven their worth. A pair of
shadow-weaving assassins from the deeper reaches of the Plane of Earth were captured while attempting to poison the Lord and Lady of Driftmark in full court after subtler approaches proved fruitless.
When questioned, the assassins admitted to having been hired by the Queen of the Seven Kingdom's with the aid of the Master of Coin. That either of them has access to the resources of other Spheres is an unpleasant realization. The assassins suspected that 'the Hollow One', as they called Baelish, was attempting to blackmail the queen by sating her lust for revenge, though they do not know what other plans may have been put into motion once the Velaryons were killed or forced to flight.
Most unpleasantly, both assassins claimed to have personally traded in drow goods, confirming that there is still some polity of that kindred to make deals with in the Deep Earth.
Riverlands
A Troubled Trout: With the death of his brother, Hoster Tully left court and returned to Riverrun once more. He has begun to quietly inquire among his bannermen as to which may be amenable to acting in the Vale's internal conflict. An attempt to bind the lords together in common cause, Tytos Blackwood writes, and for a wonder Lord Braken actually agrees. While even the attempt points at a weakening of royal power that you can only applaud in the days running up to the invasion, you do not need the instability in the Vale overflowing into the Riverlands. Thankfully, you should have enough leverage among the lords there to keep Hoster from marching to his daughter's aid.
The Flayed Man over the Bridge Passing: While you cannot say you are surprised that Roose Bolton and Walder Frey found common ground, you are surprised it takes the form of trading in undead soldiers to help Black Walder in far Omber. A commendable initiative just the same, and very much in the spirit of what bannermen are supposed to be doing to preserve royal resources.
The North
Grasping Power: Although five year old Arya Stark is no longer as important to the plans of the Old Gods as she had been when she was first invested with the kinship of the Green, it is still notable that she has attained mastery over the first Circle of spells and other skills of a novice druid in full. Dany jests that she is jealous of the girl's precociousness. Bloodraven is simply relieved to have a proper mediator through which to speak to Eddard Stark as necessary. Unlike dreams and portents, having one's youngest daughter experience a divine visitation can be rather harder to ignore.
Marsh Watch: For the first time in living memory, the people of the Neck are setting out north to trade in large numbers. It seems they have been slowly cultivating arcane reagents as much as friendships with the local fey for years in the hopes of leveraging a stronger and more respected position in the North and beyond.
OOC: Since it was the Faceless that killed the assassins in Driftmark they are keeping the personal loot for their own use. They are also one of the few other organizations that consider bodies to be part of the loot. Not yet edited.
