All wine is not sour 126/3 [read only]

[Nathaniel Mason]

[It has been noted that Nathan's machinations are often hidden behind a cloak of secrecy.  In the interest of player entertainment, I thought I would provide a snippet of what Nathan is doing when he appears to be doing nothing.]


Lord Gorman Tully sat beside a well as Nathan rode up.  The abandoned farming croft was extremely pretty and had a beautiful view of both Riverrun and the surrounding area.  It was one of the reasons Nathan had purchased it in the first place.  He had been extremely careful how he dressed for this meeting: understated, so as not lay claim to a place above his station, but with touches of gold and mink, as a subtle reminder of his wealth.  He dismounted from his sand steed Belthasar, an exclamation point on his wealth, if one was needed.

"You best not be wasting my time, Master Mason."
said Lord Tully, irritably.

Let us not speak of how much of my time you have already wasted, Lord Tully. thought Nathan.

"I thank you for meeting me, Lord Tully.  Trust me when I say, there are those in the Greens who have only your best interests at heart."


"Bah." he scoffed.  "I have already seen how the Greens attend to my interests."


Nathan frowned slightly.  "If you are referring to the Blackwood/Bracken situation, then I think you do your friends a disservice." he replied.  "That situation had all the hallmarks of a disaster in the making.  There is also the fact that such an investigation is extremely expensive.  Was it your desire to shoulder the risk and expense yourself, or was it not better that such burden be carried by another House, and a Black House at that."


Lord Gorman weighted Nathan's words.  The man was foolish, but not necessarily stupid.  "So in answer my 'friends' send me the Bartheld whore."


"It is out of deference to your reputation that we meet like this, Lord Tully." replied Nathan smoothly, ignoring the man's baiting.  "I would only remind his Lordship that I was a penniless boy five years ago, and now I am... not.  If you think I attained my wealth simply lying on my back all day, then I think you do me a disservice as well."


"Fine." stated Gorman with a growl.  "Show me what you have."


Nathan took out a leather-bound manuscript and handed it to the Lord.  "I have taken the liberty of examining your current holdings.  Here is my assessment."


The Lord of the Riverlands took the manuscript and began reading it.  It was a full ten minutes before he looked up again.  His brow narrowed in confusion a number of times, but to his credit, he kept reading.

"You want me to lower my taxes by ten percent?"


"Some of your less prosperous bannermen cannot meet the current tax level, and some of your more prosperous bannermen are already cheating you by at least that much.  To compensate, you can make visits to your more well off bannermen holdings.  It will lower your overall household costs by thirty percent and your hospitality expenses by over seventy."


"I can see how increasing the number of festivals in Riverrun can be beneficial."


Nathan nodded.  "More festivals, more merchants.  More merchants, more trade.  More trade, more taxes in your pocket."


"What about this section on growing... rice?"


"Due to misfortune, about a quarter of your land is under water.  You can either let that land rot, or you can use it to your advantage.  It need not be rice.  I have consulted with several Maesters.  There are several harvests that could be grown.  My personal favorite is fenberries, but I live in wine country.  You could become the largest exporter of dark sweet wines in the area.  This flooding could be a blessing in disguise."


Nathan could almost see the gold coins in Lord Tully's eyes.  He perused the document a bit more.  "You wish me to fire Hubert?"


"Not fire, my Lord, retire."


"He has been with me for many years."


He has been stealing from you for many years.  "That is true, and he is a man of talent, but his talents are not what you need now.  You need a man with vision who can do more than tot up numbers on a page.  You will note that there is a letter from Grandmaester Orwyle himself making the recommendations you see there, and he is an astute man of impeccable judgement.

If my recommendation holds any weight, I would suggest Beezal Barker.  He is a man with a keen mind;
completely honest and discrete.  Just be aware he has the tendency of telling his employer the truth even when they don't wish to hear it.  He has been fired on more than one occasion for that reason, much to his employer's eventual misfortune."


Lord Gorman Tully raises at eyebrow at this remark, curious as to whether an alternate will be offered but too proud to ask, given that the initial suggestion seems palatable.

"Of course, the more obvious choice is Maester Lawrence. He is a man of excellent standing and unequivocal talent. My understanding is that he is a former Hightower and a distant relation to the Queen.  The Citadel has always been a kind supporter of the Greens."Nathan let the information sink in. While Lawrence might be the slightly better choice over Beezel, having a Maester that had a direct conduit to the Queen might not be in the best interests of Lord Tully; a  man who regularly took bribes. "My only reservation, would be that he already has substantial duties in King's Landing and would needs give them up if he comes to work for you." And... Maester Lawrence's talents can be put to better use than coddling you.

"This man, Beezel... you say he is discrete?"


"He is, my Lord, and very competent or neither I nor the Grandmaester would recommend him.  It is in all our interests that your House not be penalized by misfortune beyond your control." Nathan managed to say the last with a completely straight face.

"Maester Medrick has served my family well. I will not cast him out and shame him by appointing a new Maester, he has lived our family's words better than my blasted son."

Family, duty, honour. Lord Tully's son and heir Eoric was a notorious Black sympathizer who had scandalized the realm by knighting a woman.

"Better not to have a Maester, particularly if Hubert is to go." There was little evidence of sentiment here. "If this Beezal fellow meets with your approval and the Grandmaester's, he would be a blessing to any household, I am not so proud as to turn away skilled men."

Lord Tully was almost too proud, truth be told, but the head of House Tully was no fool and in desperate straits, driving him to accept the aid.

Lord Tully stood.  "Very well, I shall give this a more thorough reading." He said casually, clutching the manuscript to him as if it were the Book of the Seven.  "Thank you for your efforts."


Nathan bows deeply to the Lord of the Riverlands.  "No need to thank me, my Lord.  I was never here and this meeting never took place."


Mounting, Nathan rides away, happy that his work here is over.  Lord Tully's finances would be stabilized and his place within the Greens re-affirmed.  There was Maester Hubert, of course, but so long as the man went quietly into retirement with his ill-gotten gains, it was no skin off Nathan's nose.

The only question that remained was what to do, if anything, with Lord Tully's son Eoric.  A problem, certainly, but only Lord Tully's problem at the moment.  Should the young Heir start become a greater thorn in the sides of others beside his Father's, Nathan would revisit the question then.

[Reader]

[Ooc: confirming my drafting participation and approval of the above]