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The Wex Pyke problem


Lord Varys

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1 minute ago, Baseborn Manjack said:

 

Judging from the Faceless Men we've met, impersonating Wex would be easy.... it's keeping mute that would stump them. A chatty bunch, them.

Well, maybe. I don't find it so incredible. We have the precedent (with Dany's dragons) of a ship's crew moving from reluctant and fearful to proud once a formerly extinct animal is on board a while. Skagos is an (admittedly rare) port of call, it stands to reason that ships with appropriate holds and pens for animals would be in route there. While Osha has no money, I'm sure, she has political capital beside her (provided the captain is a loyal Northman). For all we know, they boarded a Skagosi ship, & the captain was looking forward to the reward he would get from a quarrelsome Magnar for gifting him with the last Stark to hold hostage/for ransom. 

Or since it is still the North, they could have happened across someone loyal to the Starks who took them across without any argument, much like Arya getting a free ride to Braavos simply due to the coin she had.  I mean it's no secret that the Starks have Direwolves, it's like their calling card South of the Wall.  Obviously it would have to be extremely fortuitous circumstances for something like this to take place.  Lol or maybe Howland Reed rowed them across in his canoe?

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12 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

 

The Dusky Woman isn't all that chatty, and she is a prime suspect as (one of?) Euron's Faceless Men.

The Skagosi are barred from having any ships, since an ancient Brandon Stark forbade them from accessing the Sea.

D'OH! Two assertions made, two shot down using solid, irrefutable text based arguments. Back to the training room, X-Men!

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30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

They care about Stannis because if they fail in restoring the King in the North, they at least want to be on the winning side, which Stannis still could be on. So he is a fallback option.

Yeah, but aren't they risking the Greatjon's life by doing this kind of thing. And wouldn't they still be sort of on the winning side if they later just declared for Stannis? You know, the way the Freys did after the Trident? I mean they have the excuse that the Freys are keeping their lord as a hostage.

30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

The Greatjon is the leader of House Umber. He is the fiercest supporter of the King in the North in the entire Westeros. The Umbers' primary goal is not to restore a Lord in Winterfell. They want to restore a King in Winterfell.

I'm sorry, but the Umbers didn't even gave a damn about the fact that Theon Greyjoy had taken Winterfell and murdered Robb's younger brothers. They are not at the top of my 'we are fiercely loyal Stark men' list. The Greatjon (and the Smalljon) apparently were - Hothor, Mors, and the Umbers possibly not.

Rickard Karstark and his three sons also all were loyal Stark men - but Arnolf and his brood only care about themselves.

The idea that the Umbers have an agenda to crown another King in the North is no way in evidence. I'm not saying it is impossible that there is not another Stark king but I very much doubt that there is a hidden agenda to accomplish that goal.

30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

In fact, other than the Bolton-Dustin-Ryswell-Karstark conspirators, none of the Northern lords willingly retracted their support for the King in the North. Even Manderly's story to Davos is the source of this entire thread's debate, so we don't really know where he stands.

Manderly speaks of Rickon Stark as his liege lord not as his king and he promises Davos that he will declare for Stannis should Davos bring Rickon back to him. Unless you can prove to me that Lord Wyman is lying there I'm going with the assumption that he is. 

30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

As long as having a King in the North remains a goal, you have to agree that the motivation for the Umber actions changes drastically from what you propose above.

Well, on the one hand you talk about desperation and the Umbers being 'afraid' and then you tell me stuff about them having big dreams about crowning young children. What is it? It can't be both. Men who ship their future kings of to a place like Skagos don't aren't very loyal, brave, or adventurous in my book.

And if they all intend to use or go with Stannis they just could do that by giving him (and Jon) Rickon. That way they could first have him as the new Lord of Winterfell and then later as a King in the North once they no longer need Stannis. Giving Roose valuable time to consolidate his power is just stupidity.

30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

See, all of the above is based on the idea that Northern independence has disappeared off all Northern lords' agenda.

The North isn't independent in all that. Robb was proclaimed King in the North and King at the Trident. The Trident is as much part of his kingdom as the North.

30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

We don't know this. In fact, the evidence refutes this. They are grudgingly forced to accept it, under current circumstances, but the idea is very much alive. And if that is the Umber agenda, then what you suggest above is not a feasible course of action.

The idea is 'very much alive'? What is your evidence for that? Lyanna Mormont's letter? Wylla Manderly's brave speech? She advocated for joining Stannis, not for crowning a new King in the North. With the way things stand now we have little reason to assume the Lords of the North intend to go on another futile secessionist adventure in the middle of winter. They want their revenge, aye, and they want the destruction of the Boltons and Freys and the restoration of House Stark but they don't want another war with the South they cannot hope to win.

30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

I agree that the Umber lands are large enough to hide a boy and a wolf in a hut in the forest for decades without him ever being found. However, the alternative is that Osha somehow found passage across the Bay of Seals, for a direwolf, on her own, and I find this so implausible as to be impossible.

Hm. I agree it is difficult to swallow right now. But we have to admit that we pretty much no nothing about the eastern coast of the North. If there are hidden smuggler ports on Crackclaw Point the wildlings could have similar places along the eastern coast of the North - or at least know about such smuggler hideouts from their dealings with smugglers.

All we need to presuppose is that Osha knew about such places and decided to try her luck at such a place rather than risk a meeting with those treacherous and infighting northern lords.

Now, perhaps her goal was to get Rickon to the Riverlands and his family at first - but then when she reached such a place she also received word of the Red Wedding. Then she decided to go to Skagos instead because she knows people there and/or concluded that Rickon would be safer there than anywhere else.

Wex would left her then because she might have felt that some loyal Stark followers should know where Rickon was. If nobody learned the truth things could go very ill for Rickon in the end even if he lived for the time being.

30 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

Of course, this also brings Rickon in close proximity to Jon, which is what I believe the future plot leads to. Jon finding Rickon, and acting as his regent. Essentially, Rickon takes Sansa's figurehead role from the Show, and Jon becomes the general who fights on his behalf.

That would make sense if we go with a political story about petty civil wars and the like in the majority of the remainder of the series. I think by the time Rickon and Jon meet each other - if they ever meet each other again - the war against the Others will have entered the next phase. A phase where Northern independence and civil wars will look even more petty and stupid than they are already looking.

I mean, Maester Luwin didn't even believe in the Others yet even he realized how stupid they are were shortly before his death in ACoK. You should really reread what he has to say about the petty wars in the North.

Oh, and no, Wex isn't a Faceless Man. The boy was with Theon the entire time in ACoK and would have had no opportunity to get to Pyke and back to White Harbor in ASoS.

Also, Wex is a Botley bastard. He can't speak but that doesn't mean somebody ripped his tongue out.

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41 minutes ago, Suzanna Stormborn said:

The way it's worded,IMO, definitely sounds like this is the goat's only horn.  It would say "one of the goat's long horns had raked him" or "the goat raked him with his long horns"  And the adjective 'long' is not normal for a goat.  'The goat's long horn" definitely implies it is the goats only horn. Plus this is an animal we have seen nowhere else in all 5 books.  And it is canon that unicorns live on Skagos and nowhere else.  Why would this tidbit be in the book if it didn't come up at least once later?

Edit: Plus we have Wex identifying Skagos as Rickon's location.

Edited 39 minutes ago by Suzanna Stormborn

You don't need to agree with me on animal behavior nor do you need to agree with my assessment of the quote. A wild rain lashed down upon his black brother as he tore at the flesh of an enormous goat, washing the blood from his side where the goat's long horn had raked him.

Would you please weave for me and give me some type of textual evidence that Rickon is on Skagos. I'm not talking theory and speculation. Prove to me that Rickon is on Skagos. Until the time that Martin releases WoW I don't know where the kid is.

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3 hours ago, Clegane'sPup said:

You don't need to agree with me on animal behavior nor do you need to agree with my assessment of the quote. A wild rain lashed down upon his black brother as he tore at the flesh of an enormous goat, washing the blood from his side where the goat's long horn had raked him.

Would you please weave for me and give me some type of textual evidence that Rickon is on Skagos. I'm not talking theory and speculation. Prove to me that Rickon is on Skagos. Until the time that Martin releases WoW I don't know where the kid is.

Well, we have more and better evidence suggesting that the boy is on Skagos than that he is hiding somewhere up the White Knife or somewhere else in the Manderly lands. The last Davos introduced an entire Skagos plot involving a search for Rickon Stark. I think we can be reasonably sure that George is continuing/introducing the Rickon plot through Davos as POV. If the boy was with the Manderlys we would have to assume that his story is going to be continued without a POV. And that's not very likely.

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11 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

Well, we have more and better evidence suggesting that the boy is on Skagos than that he is hiding somewhere up the White Knife or somewhere else in the Manderly lands. The last Davos introduced an entire Skagos plot involving a search for Rickon Stark. I think we can be reasonably sure that George is continuing/introducing the Rickon plot through Davos as POV. If the boy was with the Manderlys we would have to assume that his story is going to be continued without a POV. And that's not very likely.

Show the evidence.

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Also: As non-worshippers of the Old Gods, House Manderly may be less attached to the idea of Northern independence than the Umbers are, and more willing to accept a King Stannis provided they are given back their Lord Stark. Manderly even says as much to Davos: put a Stark back in Winterfell and I will accept Stannis as my king. And, out of pragmatism, they may have also managed to persuade other Northern Stark-loyalists (possibly including the Umbers, Glovers and Mormonts: and maybe even hoping to persuade Harrion Karstark should he return, since *he* was not implicated in either his father's crimes or his uncle's treachery.)

In any case, everyone in the North knows that the North cannot possibly hold the Riverlands against the South, but they could theoretically hold their own independence *against* the south by stopping them at Moat Cailin, against anything less than actual dragons - and in the winter they might even conceivably stop a dragon, since extreme bad weather is known to have been able to ground a dragon, even one as mighty as Vhagar.

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25 minutes ago, JLE said:

Also: As non-worshippers of the Old Gods, House Manderly may be less attached to the idea of Northern independence than the Umbers are, and more willing to accept a King Stannis provided they are given back their Lord Stark. Manderly even says as much to Davos: put a Stark back in Winterfell and I will accept Stannis as my king. And, out of pragmatism, they may have also managed to persuade other Northern Stark-loyalists (possibly including the Umbers, Glovers and Mormonts: and maybe even hoping to persuade Harrion Karstark should he return, since *he* was not implicated in either his father's crimes or his uncle's treachery.)

If Wyman or Wylis takes Rickon into his custody as his ward, he will be able to command Stark's bannermen, in Lord Rickon's name, to accept Stannis as their king. 

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I guess what aggrieves me most about the Wex Pyke story is that Martin could have moved the plot to the point he wanted to without any need to involve Wex Pyke in such ridiculous fashion whatsoever. He could have had Manderly just be aware that the Umbers stashed Rickon on Skagos when things got too hot , and that they now can't retrieve him for some obscure reason.

Either way, it remains ridiculous that between the lords ruling the entire 1000 mile long East Coast of the North, they don't have a single ship's captain who can sail to Skagos. This despite the Umbers and Manderlys bulding ships together to patrol the Bay of Seals for wildlings.

See, whether the Wex Pyke story is true or not, it doesn't change the fact that Davos is being shoe horned into this plot line simply because Martin needs him as POV character for this arc.

What was Manderly going to do if Davos hadn't happened to stumble into White Harbor? Leave Rickon on Skagos forever? Of course not. The Manderlys rule the commercial shipping center of the North. The idea that they don't have anyone that sails the Shivering Sea on a regular basis is beyond absurd.

 

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8 hours ago, Clegane'sPup said:

Show the evidence.

The evidence is that Wex Pyke tells Wyman, Robett, and Davos that Rickon is on Skagos. There is also circumstantial evidence of the sort that George promised us that Rickon and Osha would eventually return and that it makes little sense to have a POV character look for him on Skagos if he isn't there.

If Lord Wyman had Rickon in his custody and he did not want Davos to interfere with his plans he could have executed him in truth or let him rot in his cells until the series is over. There was no need for him to free Davos and send him on some mission. Yet he did.

And even if the animal Shaggy killed in Jon's dream isn't a unicorn (in my opinion that is a pretty good guess) - what makes you think Shaggy could maul some goat wherever you think Wyman is hiding him? If Rickon was with the Manderly fleet up the White Knife he would most likely be on a ship, not out in the wild. And the idea that they would allow Shaggy to hunt and kill domesticated animals like goats isn't very likely if they want to keep Rickon's presence a secrets. If rumors about a direwolf in the vicinity spread the Boltons will soon enough learn where the hell one of Ned's surviving sons is.

As to Northern independence:

A lot of the people who proclaimed Robb king are either dead or down in the South. Of there northern lords there were only Galbart Glover, Maege Mormont, and Rickard Karstark at Riverrun for the proclamation. The rest where all Riverlords.

Now, Robb is later clearly implicitly acknowledged by all the absentee lords northern lords and Riverlords as their king yet one cannot but wonder whether the likes of Wyman Manderly, Barbrey Dustin, etc. would actually have support the whole king thing back then. I doubt they would have. The King in the North thing was a mad idea of the Greatjon who was a huge Robb fan - but that isn't representative for the entire North (nor all the Riverlands).

Thus I see no reason to believe a majority of the Northmen are now intending to continue the secessionist game which essentially cost them their victory in the War of the Five Kings. 'King Robb' was a major reason why they could not reach an understanding with either Renly or Stannis during the war, and if they had done that they could have defeated their common enemies, the Lannisters.

And as I've laid out above, the Umbers as a collective are neither great Stark fans nor necessarily all that loyal. The Greatjon was, his uncles may be much more pragmatic.

1 hour ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

I guess what aggrieves me most about the Wex Pyke story is that Martin could have moved the plot to the point he wanted to without any need to involve Wex Pyke in such ridiculous fashion whatsoever. He could have had Manderly just be aware that the Umbers stashed Rickon on Skagos when things got too hot , and that they now can't retrieve him for some obscure reason.

That would have been the plot if that was the plot. The fact that Manderly doesn't talk about the Umbers at all makes it clear that neither they nor Lord Manderly had any hand in Rickon reaching Skagos.

1 hour ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

Either way, it remains ridiculous that between the lords ruling the entire 1000 mile long East Coast of the North, they don't have a single ship's captain who can sail to Skagos. This despite the Umbers and Manderlys bulding ships together to patrol the Bay of Seals for wildlings.

They might have ships to get there but Lord Wyman says he needs a smuggler. Now, that makes it likely that he expects that the ship going there has to land somewhere in secret without being seen by the Skagosi. It might just be a precaution because of the reputation of the Skagosi. Davos is very tempted to return to his cell after he learns he has to go to that place, after all.

If we stick to the novel then it is clear that Wyman only knows from Wex that Rickon and Osha went to Skagos. That's a pretty big island and they might have to search for Rickon for quite some time. The approach Lord Wyman takes involving a man like Davos suggests that he is very cautious, having no idea where on Skagos Rickon actually is nor having any close or intimate contacts with any Skagosi.

1 hour ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

See, whether the Wex Pyke story is true or not, it doesn't change the fact that Davos is being shoe horned into this plot line simply because Martin needs him as POV character for this arc.

What was Manderly going to do if Davos hadn't happened to stumble into White Harbor? Leave Rickon on Skagos forever? Of course not. The Manderlys rule the commercial shipping center of the North. The idea that they don't have anyone that sails the Shivering Sea on a regular basis is beyond absurd.

Well, part of the role of involving Davos in this is apparently connected to Wyman wanting to actually establish a Stannis-Manderly alliance. By having Davos' Hand save the Lord of Winterfell they are essentially in this all together without even choosing to do so.

If Davos hadn't come Lord Wyman might have done nothing because he wouldn't have gotten his son back. But even if he had eventually he most likely would have found some other unlucky fellow to go to Skagos and try to find Rickon.

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10 hours ago, JLE said:

Also: As non-worshippers of the Old Gods, House Manderly may be less attached to the idea of Northern independence than the Umbers are, and more willing to accept a King Stannis provided they are given back their Lord Stark. Manderly even says as much to Davos: put a Stark back in Winterfell and I will accept Stannis as my king.
 

I don't think religion has anything to do. White Harbor was loyal to the Kings of the North during their whole history. Whatever plan Manderly has for Davos, he still needs to guard the appearances, Davos is loyal to the "True King", I cannot imagine Wyman saying 'bring me my king and I'd swear fealty to your king' 

Quote

In any case, everyone in the North knows that the North cannot possibly hold the Riverlands against the South, but they could theoretically hold their own independence *against* the south by stopping them at Moat Cailin, against anything less than actual dragons

The Riverlands are in their own now, although much of the Lannister's wins will be undone very soon, I believe. However, in comparison to the rest of the North, White Harbor is relatively vulnerable. Winters are milder there and they could not stand against the Redwyne fleet, for example. Events have made their situation much more comfortable.

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2 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

That would have been the plot if that was the plot. The fact that Manderly doesn't talk about the Umbers at all makes it clear that neither they nor Lord Manderly had any hand in Rickon reaching Skagos.

So, you think Rickon and Osha reached Skagos in their own? How? Osha is likely a good hunter, but she doesn't know the land and keeping Rickon hidden for weeks until reaching some coastline is very difficult. Then somehow Wex reached Manderly and told him that story and he believe him?

Sorry, it is very difficult to believe.

Quote

They might have ships to get there but Lord Wyman says he needs a smuggler. Now, that makes it likely that he expects that the ship going there has to land somewhere in secret without being seen by the Skagosi. It might just be a precaution because of the reputation of the Skagosi. Davos is very tempted to return to his cell after he learns he has to go to that place, after all.

If we stick to the novel then it is clear that Wyman only knows from Wex that Rickon and Osha went to Skagos. That's a pretty big island and they might have to search for Rickon for quite some time. The approach Lord Wyman takes involving a man like Davos suggests that he is very cautious, having no idea where on Skagos Rickon actually is nor having any close or intimate contacts with any Skagosi.

Then the mission has little expectations to succeed. 

I'm with @Free Northman Reborn we need to admit that this part of the story is too thick and we need to force ourselves to swallow it in the expectation that the juice will come later in tWoW.

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14 minutes ago, rotting sea cow said:

I don't think religion has anything to do. White Harbor was loyal to the Kings of the North during their whole history. Whatever plan Manderly has for Davos, he still needs to guard the appearances, Davos is loyal to the "True King", I cannot imagine Wyman saying 'bring me my king and I'd swear fealty to your king'.

Lord Wyman explicitly refers to Rickon as his liege lord, not as his king, and then he promises Davos that he'll declare for Stannis if he brings Rickon. That whole thing settles the issue, in my opinion.

Not to mention that the Manderlys switching sides and declaring for Stannis during the coming battle should also seal the deal.

Quote

The Riverlands are in their own now, although much of the Lannister's wins will be undone very soon, I believe. However, in comparison to the rest of the North, White Harbor is relatively vulnerable. Winters are milder there and they could not stand against the Redwyne fleet, for example. Events have made their situation much more comfortable.

We have little reason to believe White Harbor of all places wants a fragmented Realm. It would be very bad for trade and you have to keep in mind that those Northern lords have grander ambitions of their own. A Lord of White Harbor was once betrothed to a Targaryen princess and Torrhen Manderly both served as a regent and Hand to Aegon III.

The Riverlords will take their lands back but I'm with you that they have little reason to take another Stark king. Not if there is a great chance to declare for one of the Targaryen pretenders (Aegon or Dany - most likely the former since he is already there) to get their revenge on the Lannisters.

6 minutes ago, rotting sea cow said:

So, you think Rickon and Osha reached Skagos in their own? How? Osha is likely a good hunter, but she doesn't know the land and keeping Rickon hidden for weeks until reaching some coastline is very difficult. Then somehow Wex reached Manderly and told him that story and he believe him?

Well, Jojen and Meera didn't knew the land, either, yet they got to the Wall all by themselves. All Osha needed to do is stay out of sight and go to a place where she could catch a ship. Yeah, we have to assume she either knew about that or found out about such a place on the way but then - we don't know anything about her.

If Wex teamed up with Osha and Rickon for a time he might actually have a token on his person that made it clear he came from Winterfell or was connected to the Stark. Say, a piece of Rickon's clothing depicting the direwolf of House Stark.

The biggest problem I see there is Wex even establishing contact with the Manderlys. He is not stupid enough to let it slip/allow them to realize he is Ironborn against his will so they should have no reason to arrest him. And Lord Wyman or anybody important would never have bothered interacting with a mute boy unless the boy had been willing to tell them stuff.

But why should Wex Pyke tell Lord Manderly where Rickon and Osha are? What are they to him? Why does he care? He clearly wants to communicate with them.

6 minutes ago, rotting sea cow said:

Sorry, it is very difficult to believe.

The idea that things aren't as they seem is even more difficult to believe. Any other scenario could have been introduced without a witness of the events at Winterfell. If Rickon and Osha had reached the Umbers or White Harbor they would have had their audible testimony about what had transpired and Wyman could have just relayed that to Davos.

Instead we get Wex and a lot of incomplete answers based on a yes-no interrogation procedure. There is a lot of stuff unknown to both Wyman and Robett and the story they tell to Davos is incomplete, too. We don't know how Wex came to Lord Manderly nor why exactly they think Rickon is on Skagos. But there should be some good answers to those questions.

6 minutes ago, rotting sea cow said:

Then the mission has little expectations to succeed. 

Perhaps. But then - how good were Lord Wyman's chances to get away with his Frey pie plot or with whatever he intends his men to do during the coming battle against Stannis? Not very good if you ask me. It is all dependent on the tide turning against the Boltons.

I don't get the impression that they actually know where on Skagos Rickon is - nor whether he is still alive. The point is to find that out. This is not a pickup mission but really a search-and-rescue mission.

 

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I don't think the Northmen are looking for independence ala Braveheart. The reason for rebelling in the first place wasn't a desire for independence, but rejection of Lannister rule given that Lannister had murdered Lord Eddard and waged war and occupied the Riverlands. Declaring a king in the north was preferable to supporting Stannis's quixotic claim or Renly's claim supported by Highgarden. (Although, I have doubt that Robb and Renly could have reached an easy accord.) 

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On ‎09‎.‎12‎.‎2016 at 1:58 PM, Lord Varys said:

We have begun to discuss this thing in another thread, and I wonder what you make of the whole Wex story in ADwD. How did he find out where Osha and Rickon were going? How did he end up in the custody of Lord Manderly? How did the Manderly men realize he was an Ironborn and had something important to tell (the boy could neither speak nor write when they first met him)? How is it that Wex can be sure that Osha and Rickon actually are on Skagos? How did Osha and Rickon get to Skagos - presumably not from White Harbor or else Davos or some Manderly men could just catch the regular ferry to Skagos?

My idea is that he might have been caught by Osha and Shaggy and accompanied them for some time, before they were either separated or Wex was sent away. One assumes that Wex wasn't captured by the Manderly men as some suspect (after all, he could easily enough play the role of some dimwitted mute peasant) but rather sought them out and convinced them he had something to say.

Any thoughts on that?

According to the book, Wex followed Osha and Rickon Stark until he learned that they were heading for Skagos, then came somehow into Lord Wyman's custody and was questioned there.

Lord Varys opened this thread by asking for some details:

  • If Wex had ever been noticed by Osha/Rickon,
  • if he went to Skagos himself,
  • if Wex was caught by Manderlys or if he sought them out.

Now, the thread has somehow derailed to questioning Manderly's loyalty to the Starks, or that he already had Rickon in his custody and sent Davos to Skagos for whatever reason undeclared to Davos.

To me, the chapter is well written and conclusive in its story. I can see no reason to doubt the great line of it.

And whatever the true answer to Lord Varys' questions concerning some details, these do not change the great picture at all.

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2 hours ago, rotting sea cow said:

So, you think Rickon and Osha reached Skagos in their own? How? Osha is likely a good hunter, but she doesn't know the land and keeping Rickon hidden for weeks until reaching some coastline is very difficult. Then somehow Wex reached Manderly and told him that story and he believe him?

Sorry, it is very difficult to believe.

Then the mission has little expectations to succeed. 

I'm with @Free Northman Reborn we need to admit that this part of the story is too thick and we need to force ourselves to swallow it in the expectation that the juice will come later in tWoW.

Osha has better skills in this regard than Meera and Jojen who are use to swamps.  If Bran and co can make it to the wall unseen than the smaller party of Rickon and Osha can make it to the coast.  The Direwolf would be very useful as well, Rickon showed a high degree of control over him before leaving WF.

As to Wex, I presented the theory back on page 2 that he did not follow them, but overheard their plan and then headed to Moat Cailin because that is where the Ironborn are.  Manderlys lands come close to Moat Cailin and he would likely have had patrols in the area so he would know if the Ironborn sent any men north, these patrols would then have caught Wex.

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21 minutes ago, Greywater-Watch said:

According to the book, Wex followed Osha and Rickon Stark until he learned that they were heading for Skagos, then came somehow into Lord Wyman's custody and was questioned there.

Lord Varys opened this thread by asking for some details:

  • If Wex had ever been noticed by Osha/Rickon,
  • if he went to Skagos himself,
  • if Wex was caught by Manderlys or if he sought them out.

Now, the thread has somehow derailed to questioning Manderly's loyalty to the Starks, or that he already had Rickon in his custody and sent Davos to Skagos for whatever reason undeclared to Davos.

To me, the chapter is well written and conclusive in its story. I can see no reason to doubt the great line of it.

And whatever the true answer to Lord Varys' questions concerning some details, these do not change the great picture at all.

Since there's no apparent hints in the story that any of those things happened, we are left to ponder what we think might be going on in the plot to figure out the possibilities. For my part, I think Wex is just a plot device to give necessary information  to Wyman. 

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