"Carrots and apples," Eddard repeated. It sounded like this boy could be of even less help than the others, and he was already the last of the four Littlefinger had mentioned.
Eddard still had to wait for Jon; he had entrusted Jon with gathering information on the other three.
After Jory left, Jon entered Eddard's room again.
"I've spoken privately with everyone, some by me, some by Mikke," Jon said. Jon's grey eyes were so dark they were almost black, but few things in the world escaped his observation.
"How are things?" Eddard prompted Jon to continue.
"Ser Hugh was hot-tempered and refused to say much, already very proud after just becoming a Knight. According to him, if Lord Hand wished to speak with him, he would be pleased to receive him, but a mere bastard had no right to interrogate him... even if that bastard was ten years his senior and a hundred times better with a sword," Jon's eyes dulled; Ser Hugh's insolence made him uncomfortable.
"It's alright, Child," Eddard comforted him. That was just how the Knights of the Vale were, rigid and proud.
"However, the other two had more or less useful information," Jon continued. "The kitchen girl said Lord Jon read too much, and that he worried about his youngest son's frail health, and was very rough with his lady."
"Damn it," Eddard frowned. He already knew their relationship was not good. Lysa, a shy, big-chested girl in her youth, had been forced by Hoster to have an abortion, suffered multiple miscarriages, and endured a marriage with a vast age gap. Now she was like a mad cow.
"Lord, with all due respect, Lady Lysa is an unstable person. Lady Lysa and Lord Arryn's marriage was not happy, and Lady Lysa's condition has always been very bad. There were also Knights from the Vale who came for the Tourney; if you ask them, you might learn more," Jon said. Lord Arryn's heart was indeed a bit too big, to still keep Littlefinger by his side. Jon couldn't help but suspect he was confused.
Jon had a darker suspicion, but he hadn't told Eddard yet. Many feuds and assassinations in the world were due to lovers turning against each other, and Lord Arryn's marriage was a political union. This mad Lady Lysa was clearly involved with Littlefinger. Littlefinger was too solicitous; Jon simply didn't trust him.
When he was at Winterfell, Theon used to call Jon moody and overly sensitive to any taunts, especially jealous of Theon's noble birth and Robb's regard for him. But Jon felt that in King's Landing, being moody and sensitive was far better than being lenient.
"I will listen to your words, Jon. And the other person, did his information provide more clues?" Eddard perked up. This was King's Landing; he was playing the game of thrones.
Speaking of martial prowess, the Northmen were not inferior. But when it came to sensitivity and caution, none of them could compare to Jon, the bastard. Eddard needed to let suspicion take root in his heart and think with the greatest malice. If he fell into relying on Littlefinger's path, it would be very dangerous.
"Yes. As for the stable boy, who now makes a living pulling carts, he never spoke to Lord Arryn," Jon said. "But he did know a lot of kitchen gossip: he heard that the Lord often argued with His Majesty the King recently, that the Lord complained the food wasn't good, that the Lord planned to send his son to Dragonstone as a foster Child, that the Lord suddenly took an interest in hunting dogs, and that the Lord went to find a skilled weapons master and commissioned him to forge a brand new suit of armor, completely plated in silver, with a blue sapphire carved falcon on the chest and a moon made of mother-of-pearl. The stable boy said that His Majesty the King's brother himself accompanied him to select the materials and designs—oh no, not Lord Renly, but the other one, Lord Stannis."
"The most crucial part is Lord Stannis; the stable boy said Lord Arryn was always very robust and often rode out with Stannis, not just to the smithy, but also to brothels," Jon said.
"Stannis?" Innumerable thoughts raced through Eddard's mind. Stannis had accused the Lannister siblings of incest in a secret letter, but what were Stannis and Arryn doing in King's Landing? Damnable Stannis, ever since fleeing to Dragonstone, Stannis had fallen into a suspicious silence.
After listening, Eddard only found it strange; there were too many peculiarities in these words.
Firstly, the Jon Arryn Eddard knew would never wear jeweled silver armor. He had said: armor is armor, for defense, not for decoration. Of course, he might have changed his mind; after more than a decade in court, he couldn't possibly be exactly the same as before... yet this change was too drastic, and Eddard truly couldn't reconcile it.
Secondly, Eddard knew Arryn and Stannis did not get along.
Jon Arryn and Stannis certainly exchanged courtesies, but they were never close. When Robert visited Winterfell, Stannis also retreated to Dragonstone. Going to a brothel was even stranger. Robert's love for women was known throughout the realm, constantly mocked in songs, but Stannis was different. Though only a year younger than His Majesty the King, his personality was poles apart: severe, lacking humor, never easily forgiving others, and valuing responsibility to the point of near-cruelty.
"That smithy is very unusual; His Majesty the King's bastard used to apprentice there," Jon explained. "It's that famous bastard, who is now opposing His Majesty the King Across the Narrow Sea, and his master is still in King's Landing."
"Gendry, is that right?" Eddard's eyes brightened. This bastard was determined to attack his father and brothers, just like Daemon Blackfyre, in a rebellious manner. If so, this would strike a heavier blow to the ruling order than Daemon Blackfyre.
Thus, it seemed Lord Arryn and Stannis were searching the world for His Majesty the King's bastards. But why were they looking for bastards? Legally, that Child would have no claim to succession.
Eddard still remembered His Majesty the King's first bastard daughter, who should be eighteen or nineteen now. Robert often went with Eddard to see Mia, even though he had lost interest in the Child's mother. Robert was then a robust, tall, black-haired man, who often tossed little Mia into the air to play.
"The name of that brothel, I'm sorry, this stable boy doesn't know. Because on that day, three Attendants and Lord Arryn went, but now the Attendants should have returned to the Vale. But I think it might also be related to His Majesty the King's bastard," Jon said.
"You've done very well, Jon," Eddard mused. Things here were truly terrible. This damned Lysa, was she truly mad or pretending? Lady Lysa, Maester Colemon, and Lord Stannis... every person who might know the truth was a thousand miles away.
Lord Arryn's plan had already shown his intentions: in investigating the secret and searching for His Majesty the King's bastard, he chose to be with Stannis, not trusting Renly and others. Perhaps he, like Lord Arryn, could trust no one.
"Do you want to summon Lord Stannis back from Dragonstone?"
"Not yet," Eddard said. "I'll wait until I understand the situation better and figure out whose side he's on." This matter truly vexed him. Why did Stannis leave? Was he involved in the murder of Jon Arryn? Was he afraid?
But Eddard believed Stannis was generally trustworthy; he at least understood what honor meant, to the point of being unsociable, yet strong and powerful. Stannis had also obeyed Robert's commands for so many years, even though Robert had hurt him deeply.
"Let's go to the smithy now!" Eddard said to Jon. Eddard chose the vest that symbolized his identity, the grey one with the Direwolf motif.
"His Majesty the King still has a brother in King's Landing," Jon reminded him.
"Forget it, don't mention him," Eddard said. Renly was friendly and always smiling, but Eddard couldn't trust him, unable to understand his intentions.
A few days ago, Renly had pulled Ned aside and showed him an intricately carved golden rose pendant, inside which was a vivid portrait in the style of Myr, depicting a lovely young girl with doe-like eyes and soft brown hair. Renly seemed eager to know if the girl reminded Ned of anyone, and when Eddard couldn't answer and merely shrugged, he seemed quite disappointed. The girl turned out to be Margaery, Loras Tyrell's sister. Renly confessed that some said she resembled Lyanna. "She doesn't," Eddard told him, puzzled. Renly was busy with something unknown.
Eddard and Jon rode straight to the Street of Steel, perhaps noticed by many watchful eyes, but that was unavoidable.
Eddard left the square and turned into the Street of Steel, riding along the winding path up the long Visenya's Hill, passing smiths working in front of their forges, Free Riders haggling over armor, and grey-haired ironmongers selling all sorts of old iron and worn knives from their carts. They climbed higher and higher, the buildings growing taller, most of the city's smiths located here.
Tobho Mott lived at the top of the hill, one of King's Landing's most famous and expensive smiths. Tobho had a huge house built of wood and plaster, with floors high enough to overlook the narrow alleys below. The house's two large doors were made of ebony and weirwood, carved with a hunting scene, and a pair of stone knight statues guarded the entrance on either side, clad in fantastical Red Cloaks armor, in the forms of a griffon and a Unicorn.
The clever, slender female Attendants recognized the Hand's bearing at a glance, so the master himself came to greet them.
Tobho wore a black velvet coat with Iron Hammer patterns embroidered in silver thread on the sleeves, and a heavy silver chain around his neck, on which a sapphire the size of a pigeon's egg hung.
"If you need new armor for the Hand's Tourney, you've come to the right place." Eddard was too tired to correct him.
Tobho boasted, but Eddard felt he had the skill to back it up, otherwise he wouldn't have such a prominent location.
Besides Tobho, no other weapons master in the city could produce such a deep green, because he had learned the secret of infusing color into steel when he was an apprentice in Qohor; compared to that, painting or glazing was merely Child's play. Or did Lord Hand want a good sword? Tobho said he had also learned the technique of forging valyrian steel in Qohor, and only those who knew the correct spells could make old weapons look new.
Eddard smiled slightly. "So, you also forged a falcon helmet for Lord Arryn?"
Tobho Mott paused for a long time at these words. Finally, he put down his wine cup: "Lord Hand did come to me, with His Majesty the King's younger brother, Lord Stannis. Unfortunately, I did not have the honor of serving them."
"Alright, Master, they most likely asked you other things," Eddard looked at Tobho.
"Things everyone knows, I told them..." Tobho pouted. "I didn't know that Child was His Majesty the King's, nor did I notice his escape."
"But that Child left a long time ago; they only know some things from the past," Tobho said.
"What did they ask?" Eddard continued to ask.
"They asked a lot! Whose Child he was, how he was sent here, what he looked like, how he behaved when he was with me, and why he suddenly ran away!" Tobho spread his palms, only able to answer truthfully.
"Some things I don't know, but I can only describe the Child's appearance; I don't know his mother or his background."
"Be more specific," Eddard looked at Tobho, letting him continue.
"That boy was a good hand, and quite diligent in his work; I liked him very much. His appearance was unforgettable to anyone who saw him: thick, unruly hair, black as ink, and his eyes? Warm, deep blue eyes. He was much taller than an average Child, with strong muscles in his arms and chest."
"Like His Majesty the King?" Eddard asked him.
"Lord, I haven't seen His Majesty the King when he was young, but I think he must have been very similar, after all, I've also seen Lord Renly. But the temperament is different, as Lord Renly wouldn't be a smith."
"But other than that, I don't know. This Child was my apprentice, and I never imagined he would do something that would get him beheaded. Back then, he was very serious with me, didn't go to prostitutes, didn't drink much, honest and decent."
"So how did he leave?" Eddard continued to ask.
"Leave? My apprentices all have holidays, who knew this Child would leave and never return? He still owes me his apprenticeship," the smith mused. "None of us knew his identity; he probably discovered something himself. King's Landing is an unsafe place. Think about his identity, how awkward it is, Lord."
"Dangerous, explain it to me!" Eddard asked Tobho.
"What are you pretending to be confused about, Lord? Besides jousting and hunting, does His Majesty the King see people?" Tobho whispered. "Many times it's the Queen who calls the shots. Every day in King's Landing you see Red Cloaks. Do you think these people, if they found him, would let him live? I think the people of king's landing won't forget the cries from The Red Keep."
Lannister, it was Lannister again. They were certainly wealthy, but their actions were also malicious.
Eddard cursed. Succession, was everything for succession? But logically, a bastard Child...
Unless there was an even more terrifying possibility, which was that the legitimacy of the legitimate children's claim to succession also couldn't stand.
"Damn it!" Eddard's eyes flashed. He was now desperate to find the other bastard.
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