Chapter 94: Barbrey's Protest

When Eddard first introduced the Salt Ban policy, announcing that Winterfell would buy back salt from the salt pans at market price, some coastal lords were overjoyed; coarse salt was transported to Winterfell and exchanged for copper coins and silver stags.

Because the salt pans lacked oversight, no one could track their output, making it impossible to distinguish between salt from the pans and salt from the common folk. Some smugglers gradually began to reach their black hands toward the salt pans. With profits to be made, smugglers used money to pave the way, bribing lords, and the nobles and lords were more than happy to collude with the smugglers, using the salt pans to make money.

At first, the collusion between lords and smugglers was cautious, as Eddard sat in Winterfell, and the Duke of the North could issue an edict to strictly investigate the salt pans at any time. However, all of this changed after Eddard set out on his expedition to Skagos.

The Northern Army set out for Skagos, and many heads of houses followed Eddard on the expedition; those left behind to guard the various vassal castles were often acting castellans appointed by the lords.

Once these acting castellans saw that the Duke of the North had set out, and that their own lords had followed him to the distant Skagos, they colluded with smugglers and blackhearted merchants to resell illicit salt, hoard goods, drive up salt prices, and mix salt collected from the common folk into the salt from the pans, hauling it to Winterfell to settle accounts and earn the price difference.

During this period, the East Coast lords settled their accounts with Wyman Manderly at White Harbor. Salt prices were driven higher and higher, more than quintupling in some places. A strange phenomenon appeared: the salt output of the salt pans was astonishingly high, yet the price of salt was so high that the common people could hardly accept it, and public resentment boiled over.

The collusion between nobles and smugglers to drive up salt prices and use the salt pans to earn dirty money had become common knowledge. Roose Bolton of the Dreadfort wrote to Winterfell, accusing Lord Wyman of White Harbor of using customs to smuggle salt from the Three Sisters and the Vale into the North, while Lord Wyman of White Harbor accused the bastard of the Dreadfort, Ramsay Snow, of taking Reek and Flayed Man soldiers to the White Harbor territory to force the sale of illicit salt.

After Eddard returned triumphantly from Skagos, facing the outcry of the people, he went with the flow and issued the Salt Ban, forbidding the private production and sale of salt. Many smugglers and salt peddlers were exiled by Eddard to the military colonies at the castles on The Wall that Winterfell had restored. In this way, the production and management rights of salt in the North fell into the hands of House Stark of Winterfell.

Considering that the Salt Ban would cause dissatisfaction among some vassals, Eddard promised in letters to the Northern vassals that they could always obtain salt provided by House Stark of Winterfell for free, that they would no longer need to invest any money in the salt pans, and that they could enjoy a share of the salt pans' profits; he also hinted that he would no longer pursue those nobles who had colluded with smugglers to drive up salt prices.

Ravens flew back and forth; the Cerwyn family of Cerwyn, the Tallhart family of Torrhen's Square, the Glover family of Deepwood Motte, the Forest Clan, the Flint clan of the Northern Mountains, the Wull clan, the Norrey clan, and others all supported Eddard's Salt Ban.

However, more vassals chose silence, and their ravens were slow to arrive. The Umber family of Last Hearth, the Karstark family of Karhold, the Bolton family of the Dreadfort, the Manderly family of White Harbor, the Dustin family of Barrowton, and the Ryswell family of the Rills all failed to reply.

Now, Lady Barbrey Dustin of Barrowton has arrived at Winterfell, surely wanting to discuss the Salt Ban with Eddard.

Barbrey, the widow of Barrowton, had always paid lip service to Winterfell. Eddard had long guessed that if the Salt Ban were opposed by vassals, it would certainly be led by Lady Barbrey.

Eddard followed the steward Vayon Poole to the Great Hall, where Lady Barbrey was sitting in a chair, chatting with her nephew, the heir to the Dreadfort, Domeric Bolton.

Lady Barbrey was wearing a black velvet gown, her skin fair; she whispered a joke in Domeric's ear, and Domeric laughed heartily.

Seeing Eddard, Lady Barbrey stood up quickly.

"Lord Eddard, you conquered Skagos, made the Rockborn submit, and returned in triumph to become the hero of the North; I am truly happy for you."

Barbrey's face was wreathed in smiles, and Eddard said, "You came all the way from Barrowton to Winterfell; surely it wasn't just to congratulate me?"

"Of course not, I am here to visit my nephew Domeric." Barbrey stroked Domeric's head. "After my sister married Roose Bolton, she left only Domeric as her son, and since he was taken in as a ward by Lord Eddard, I must come to see him often. Domeric's name day is in a few days; Roose Bolton and my father, Lord Ryswell, will both come to Winterfell to celebrate Domeric's name day."

Eddard said calmly, "You are welcome to come to Winterfell to celebrate Domeric's name day."

Barbrey changed the subject, "Lord Eddard, as guests in Winterfell, we can enjoy Winterfell's salt; after all, once the Salt Ban is issued, we vassals have no chance to produce or sell salt. Winter is Coming, and we can't even afford to eat salt; these are difficult times!"

Eddard immediately understood that the widow of Barrowton wanted to use the occasion of Domeric's name day to gather her kin and her brother-in-law Roose Bolton to challenge Winterfell.

Barbrey was the Lady of the Dustin family of Barrowton. After her husband William Dustin died in battle at the Tower of Joy in Dorne, Barbrey ruled Barrowton for over a decade as her husband's widow, deeply winning the hearts of the people, and the members of the Dustin family also supported her.

She was the daughter of Lord Roderick Ryswell of the Rills. Her sister Bethany married Roose Bolton, and although Bethany had been dead for many years, she had left behind Domeric, the heir to the Dreadfort.

The Rills were famous for their fine horses, Barrowton was the third-largest population center after White Harbor and Winter Town, and the Dreadfort was considered by many to be one of the top three families in the North, possessing vast fiefs around the Lonely Mountain, the Weeping Water, and the Last River.

Now, facing Winterfell's Salt Ban, Barbrey had united with her kin, the Ryswell family of the Rills, and her brother-in-law's family, the Boltons of the Dreadfort, to oppose Eddard's order; Eddard was not surprised at all.

Eddard and Lady Barbrey walked and chatted all the way into the study. Once the study door closed and only Eddard and Lady Barbrey were left in the room, Barbrey's expression immediately turned gloomy, solemn as a shroud.

"Who gave Lord Eddard such a good idea for the Salt Ban? Was it the greedy financial advisor from Braavos, or that Iron Bitch Lord Eddard captured? Do the Northern vassals not even have the right to produce and sell salt?"

Eddard folded his hands and placed them on the table.

"Nobles colluding with smugglers to drive up salt prices and using the salt pans to defraud Winterfell of its wealth is a grave crime."

Lady Barbrey spread her hands, "I certainly did not collude with smugglers to drive up salt prices. In fact, when salt prices in Barrowton rose, I hanged several smugglers, but the salt prices continued to rise."

"Lord Eddard, you introduced the salt pan policy, and you promised that Winterfell would buy back salt from the salt pans at market price. Smugglers are like vampires who smell blood, swarming in. If the common people complain about rising salt prices, that can only be blamed on the noble Lord Eddard."

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(End of chapter)