The fire in the study burned brightly, the logs crackling and popping.
Gryn frowned slightly, his fingers slowly rubbing over the secret letter, while Lady Catelyn and Sansa sat quietly to one side.
Lord Eddard had issued an order to mobilize troops. He intended to send the two thousand newly recruited men of Winterfell to Last Hearth as soon as possible.
The letter revealed that Harrion Karstark, the new Lord of Karhold, had shown little enthusiasm for the war in The North. He had only sent over two hundred farmers who had no land to till because the long winter was approaching.
Yet what Lord Eddard needed most was House Karstark's longshield regiment. They could be called the ideal weapon against Stannis's Wildling army.
Everyone in the room understood why Karhold had acted so. It was a problem left behind by Robb Stark, who had personally cut off Lord Harrion's father's head (Chapter 284).
Everything came at a price.
Karhold did not dare rebel against the Starks, but it could find seemingly reasonable excuses to express its displeasure.
This matter also showed that the trouble Robb had caused was still fermenting across the lands of The North. Lord Eddard had no choice but to mobilize the forces guarding Winterfell.
If those recruits were sent away, fewer than three thousand soldiers would remain to defend Winterfell. Meanwhile, the troops Gryn had brought numbered over ten thousand elite men, along with several thousand auxiliary soldiers arriving in succession.
Gryn could not help rubbing his brow. Lord Ned had entrusted Winterfell, his wife, and his children to him with remarkable ease.
Was Ned truly not afraid that...
All that could be said was that The Gods watched over the Starks. After all, King Gryn was a knight who was As High as Honor