Chapter 47: The Confession of Jaime Codd

Jaime Codd, over thirty years old, was captured in the lands of House Umber. Because he was one of the few captives taken by the Northern Army who bore a noble surname from the Iron Islands, Eddard decided to question him for more information about the Ironborn Pirates and "Iron Bitch" Helen Pyke.

Although the Codd family were descendants of bondmen in the Iron Islands and many nobles and even commoners despised them—a fact confirmed by the Codd family motto, "Though All Men Do Despise Us"—a noble was a noble nonetheless.

Night fell, and under the burning campfire, Jaime Codd knelt before the Heart Tree with his hands shackled in iron chains.

Eddard's shadow loomed over Jaime Codd, "Exactly how many Ironborn Pirates does Helen Pyke have under her command?"

Jaime Codd bared a ferocious grin, "Did you take a heavy loss at the hands of the Iron Bitch? I knew it; sooner or later, Helen Pyke would lead the Ironborn Pirates to teach you Northmen a harsh lesson."

Greatjon kicked Jaime Codd in the back, sending his face crashing into the ground; his lip split and blood trickled out, yet he only laughed harder.

Eddard said coldly, "Jaime Codd, as a captive, you are getting too cocky. Are you truly not afraid of death?"

Jaime Codd spat out a mouthful of blood, "Then get on with it! I would rather die cleanly than rust away in a cell; the Ironborn hate rust most of all. If you do not kill me, once Helen Pyke leads the Ironborn Pirates to defeat you and opens the iron cage to release me, I will kill even more Northmen."

Greatjon drew a sharp dagger, "Lord Eddard, just grant this fellow his wish; let me slice open his chest and see exactly what that black heart of his looks like!"

Eddard waved a hand to stop Greatjon, and he said to Jaime Codd, "You are quite eager to die yourself, but are you not afraid of implicating your own family?"

The smile vanished from Jaime Codd's face, and he said, "My family all died during the Greyjoy Rebellion; I have no family."

Eddard said, "You are lying. You went out to be a pirate and take risks, was it not to bring back wealth to make life easier for your parents and siblings? Jaime, you are of the Codd family; I can use your surname to track down your family in the Iron Islands, and even the Codd family will suffer because of you."

Jaime Codd said dismissively, "Are you bluffing me? Across thousands of mountains and rivers, what could you possibly find out in the Iron Islands? What power does a Duke of the North have in the Iron Islands?"

Eddard said calmly, "If you truly think that, you are too foolish. It is common knowledge that I am a friend of King Robert Baratheon; we are as close as brothers. When Balon Greyjoy knelt and submitted to King Robert, he swore an oath before the Drowned God and the New and Old Gods, vowing to restrain his Ironborn; any Ironborn who dared to raid in the Seven Kingdoms would face the death penalty."

"You lot of Ironborn Pirates, raiding in the Stepstones is one thing King Robert cannot reach, but you have actually come to the North and colluded with the Rockborn on Skagos to raid; King Robert will certainly punish you severely. Your family will pay the price for you."

Eddard pointed to Theon standing to the side, "Theon is my ward and the rightful Heir to the Iron Islands. If I write to King Balon, King Balon can just as easily help me ferret out your family and severely punish the Codd family."

The name of King Balon was clearly more terrifying to Jaime Codd than the name of Robert; after all, Robert was separated from the Iron Islands by thousands of mountains and rivers, while King Balon, sitting in Pyke, could easily extend the tentacles of the golden Sea Monster to every corner of the Iron Islands.

Jaime Codd was somewhat afraid, and Eddard said, "I know the Codd family comes from bondmen and that they struggled for many generations to achieve their current status in the Iron Islands. But because of you, the Codd family has offended the North, and they will all have to pay the price."

Jaime Codd grew angry, "It is my freedom to be a pirate; why must you pursue my family?"

The weakness had appeared. Eddard said, "If you do not want your family to suffer, why not hurry and tell me exactly how many Ironborn Helen Pyke has? We can all hear the sound of the waves and smell the salt of the sea; the Drowned God has great power here. Jaime, if you lie, the Drowned God will not forgive you."

Jaime Codd pondered for a long while, "Less than a thousand."

Eddard said, "What kind of answer is that? Anything from one to nine hundred and ninety-nine is less than a thousand."

"Nine hundred and some," Jaime Codd stared at the ground, "Anyway, that is how many she had before I was captured."

Theon frowned, "The Iron Bitch actually has that many men?"

Jaime Codd sneered, "Back then, your old man Balon couldn't beat King Robert's army; it was one thing for him to kneel, but he had to force all the Ironborn in the Iron Islands to kneel with him. Many people, in order to pursue the Old Way, chose to go to the Stepstones to be pirates; after all, the Stepstones are a lawless place, and no one cares what you do there."

"The Stepstones are a pirate den, and there are many Ironborn there. Helen Pyke was the one who gathered her pirate team there. Helen Pyke is a natural leader; in the Stepstones, not only Ironborn Pirates, but many Sistermen, and pirates from Myr, Lys, and even the Summer Islands and the Basilisk Isles are willing to serve her."

Eddard said, "Then why is Helen Pyke not in the Stepstones acting as their Pirate Queen, but instead came to Skagos?"

Jaime Codd said, "It is all because of that damned Salladhor Saan. He is a pirate from Lys. Salladhor Saan's fleet is powerful, backed by the Governor of Lys, and even the Master of Ships Stannis seems to shield him."

Roose Bolton chuckled, "Stannis would shield a pirate from Lys? He is a rigid, stubborn man who never forgives anyone; would he cooperate with a pirate from Lys?"

Jaime Codd said, "Regardless, Stannis's man is friends with Salladhor Saan—that Onion Knight, his name is Davos Seaworth. With the support of the Governor of Lys and Stannis, Salladhor Saan can obtain supplies from Lys, Myr, and Dragonstone. Helen Pyke could not beat Salladhor Saan, so she had to come to Skagos."

The "Sistermen" captain Kaserun the Greybeard had also mentioned Helen Pyke being defeated by Salladhor Saan; it seemed Jaime Codd's words were highly credible.

Eddard said, "I know Helen Pyke reached an alliance with the Rock King Samro Crowl on Skagos. She has shipyards and smithies on the island; in which specific location? The Abyss Keep of the Crowl clan? The King's Hall of the Magnar clan? Or the Driftwood Hall of the Stern Clan?"

Jaime Codd smirked, "In the Rock King's Abyss Keep, but you cannot take the Abyss Keep; that castle is even sturdier than Casterly Rock and Storm's End, and more treacherous than the Eyrie!"

(End of chapter)