After a moment, he turned to one side and said, "Alliser, you just said the old mines were becoming less profitable. Then you cannot keep pouring your efforts into places that are nearly exhausted. The Lannister lands are vast. Apart from these old mines, have you considered where else nearby new mines could be opened? And you should not confine your attention to the lands of Casterly Rock."
Viserys named no specific places. He simply traced a finger lightly across the map of the entire Westerlands on the table, drawing Alliser's gaze toward it, then quickly withdrew his hand.
Alliser listened intently, leaning forward slightly. His gaze settled on the places Viserys's fingertip had just passed over: Castamere and Tarbeck Hall, both well known in the Westerlands.
He fell silent for a moment before slowly straightening. His brow furrowed involuntarily as he said hesitantly, "Tywin destroyed every mine in the lands of Castamere and Tarbeck Hall. And I have heard that before sealing them, he sent men to mine them day and night without stopping."
"Besides, the mines at Castamere are completely flooded now, unlike those here at Casterly Rock, which only have some standing water. Tarbeck Hall is nothing but wreckage. Those two territories may look vast, but people have tried their luck there over the years. After all, even Tywin's strict orders could not stop everyone who wanted to get rich. None of them ever managed to reopen the mines."
Viserys smiled without committing himself. He merely pushed the map closer to Alliser and said, "That was only because, while Tywin lived, no one dared attempt it openly under the Lannister name. That left them with little equipment they could use in the open. Naturally, they could not extract anything."
"But Tywin is dead now, House Lannister is