A clue from GRRM. Could Littlefinger know about fAegon?

[Shouldve Taken The Black]

15 hours ago, Widow's Watch said:

You have to consider who is giving the castle and the titles to Lancel. These are rewards coming straight from his uncle.

Yeah, I'm aware of that, hence my saying the title may have been awarded to elevate Lancel. 

I'm happy to concede that the Darrys may have been reduced to landed knights, by the way. It appears that that is likely. 

[Shouldve Taken The Black]

12 hours ago, Lollygag said:

The fit to gag was about Tywin who killed Rhaenys and Aegon via Gregor & Co. working with Doran.

Yeah, I always took that to mean Rowan was shocked at Tywin's brazen hypocrisy. However, it can't be discounted that Rowan harbours some loyalty to the Targaryens. He fought for them during Robert's Rebellion, and from what we know of him (which isn't much), he seems to be a relatively honourable man. The contrast with Redwyne is telling. Redwyne didn't care.

12 hours ago, Lollygag said:

When dolling out the spoils of war, Redwyne doesn't ask for anything except taxes to be eased on his higher-quality wines. Maybe he's expecting payment later via Aegon? 

I don't follow the logic there I'm afraid. Why would someone turn down profit because they're expecting profit from another source later on? Why not just take both. I think the reason Redwyne was content with the reduction of his taxes was that that was a great deal for him. There may be other reasons, but I doubt it was simply because he was expecting to get paid later. 

[Lollygag]

 

6 hours ago, Shouldve Taken The Black said:

Yeah, I always took that to mean Rowan was shocked at Tywin's brazen hypocrisy. However, it can't be discounted that Rowan harbours some loyalty to the Targaryens. He fought for them during Robert's Rebellion, and from what we know of him (which isn't much), he seems to be a relatively honourable man. The contrast with Redwyne is telling. Redwyne didn't care.

I don't follow the logic there I'm afraid. Why would someone turn down profit because they're expecting profit from another source later on? Why not just take both. I think the reason Redwyne was content with the reduction of his taxes was that that was a great deal for him. There may be other reasons, but I doubt it was simply because he was expecting to get paid later. 

I don't really get why Redwyne didn't take more either, especially when we have everyone else taking something more tangible. Getting land from a king and especially the spoils of war makes one beholden to a king to keep that land but I don't really see how that would affect Redwyne switching to Aegon. Maybe it's to avoid looking like Redwyne may have a conflict of interest? That doesn't quite work for me, but it's the only explanation I have...Interesting that Redwyne calls for Arbor Gold to toast Joff.

ASOS Tyrion III

Highgarden reaped the richest harvest. Tyrion eyed Mace Tyrell's broad belly and thought, He has a prodigious appetite, this one. Tyrell demanded the lands and castles of Lord Alester Florent, his own bannerman, who'd had the singular ill judgment to back first Renly and then Stannis. Lord Tywin was pleased to oblige. Brightwater Keep and all its lands and incomes were granted to Lord Tyrell's second son, Ser Garlan, transforming him into a great lord in the blink of an eye. His elder brother, of course, stood to inherit Highgarden itself.

Lesser tracts were granted to Lord Rowan, and set aside for Lord Tarly, Lady Oakheart, Lord Hightower, and other worthies not present. Lord Redwyne asked only for thirty years' remission of the taxes that Littlefinger and his wine factors had levied on certain of the Arbor's finest vintages. When that was granted, he pronounced himself well satisfied and suggested that they send for a cask of Arbor gold, to toast good King Joffrey and his wise and benevolent Hand. At that Cersei lost patience. "It's swords Joff needs, not toasts," she snapped. "His realm is still plagued with would-be usurpers and self-styled kings."

 

[Shouldve Taken The Black]

11 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

I don't really get why Redwyne didn't take more either, especially when we have everyone else taking something more tangible. Getting land from a king and especially the spoils of war makes one beholden to a king to keep that land but I don't really see how that would affect Redwyne switching to Aegon. Maybe it's to avoid looking like Redwyne may have a conflict of interest? That doesn't quite work for me, but it's the only explanation I have...

It's probably because the reduction in taxes was a huge benefit to him. I get the impression that the Redwynes are more commercially oriented than any of the other great houses (Manderlys and Hightowers being a possible exception). He might not be that bothered about expanding his lands, that he would then have to administer, etc. Instead, he just gets a massive tax break on his produce. He probably noticed the Lannisters were in a giving mood, and took the opportunity to gift himself a huge new slice of profit in perpetuity. I don't think it has anything to do with his allegiances.

15 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

Interesting that Redwyne calls for Arbor Gold to toast Joff

It could mean something, or it could mean nothing. Arbour Gold is referenced throughout the books as the fanciest wine about, and Redwyne produces it. It would be more odd if he suggested anything else. If you were offered a drink by the Count of Champagne, you'd be a bit miffed if he broke out some Lambrini. 

[Lollygag]

Just now, Shouldve Taken The Black said:

It's probably because the reduction in taxes was a huge benefit to him. I get the impression that the Redwynes are more commercially oriented than any of the other great houses (Manderlys and Hightowers being a possible exception). He might not be that bothered about expanding his lands, that he would then have to administer, etc. Instead, he just gets a massive tax break on his produce. He probably noticed the Lannisters were in a giving mood, and took the opportunity to gift himself a huge new slice of profit in perpetuity. I don't think it has anything to do with his allegiances.

It could mean something, or it could mean nothing. Arbour Gold is referenced throughout the books as the fanciest wine about, and Redwyne produces it. It would be more odd if he suggested anything else. If you were offered a drink by the Count of Champagne, you'd be a bit miffed if he broke out some Lambrini. 

I know some folks on the forum are not comfortable digging into the deep details of the series, but I'm not one of them. I tend to see intent rather than filler.

Arbor gold is linked to lies in the series. Arbor gold is good stuff, but it's not the only good wine out there. And what we typically see in the Lords of Westeros is more, more, more which puts Redwyne's restraint in odd contrast. Within this scene itself, we see Redwyne intentionally contrasted with the other lords.

Littlefinger was the one who levied the taxes, so either LF took a very heavy hand against the Redwynes who seem connected to Illyrio, or the taxes were insignificant which makes Redwyne's request even more curious. Below, the Redwyne wine in Illyrio's cellar is so purple as to look almost black. Very Targ-y association. Runceford was Olenna's father and Olenna was almost married to a Targ.

ADWD Tyrion I

Tyrion left the fat women to their loaves and kettles and went in search of the cellar where Illyrio had decanted him the night before. It was not hard to find. There was enough wine there to keep him drunk for a hundred years; sweet reds from the Reach and sour reds from Dorne, pale Pentoshi ambers, the green nectar of Myr, three score casks of Arbor gold, even wines from the fabled east, from Qarth and Yi Ti and Asshai by the Shadow. In the end, Tyrion chose a cask of strongwine marked as the private stock of Lord Runceford Redwyne, the grandfather of the present Lord of the Arbor. The taste of it was languorous and heady on the tongue, the color a purple so dark that it looked almost black in the dim-lit cellar. Tyrion filled a cup, and a flagon for good measure, and carried them up to the gardens to drink beneath those cherry trees he'd seen.

 

[Shouldve Taken The Black]

6 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

I know some folks on the forum are not comfortable digging into the deep details of the series, but I'm not one of them.

It's not a matter of discomfort. I just think you're going down a blind alley.

Arbour vintages appear all over the place all the time. Illyrio having one, particularly a rare one, may be a sign of collusion, or it may not. But Redwyne asking for reduced taxes on wine is not really a clue, nor is his offering a round of drinks afterwards. 

[Rufus Snow]

46 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

I don't really get why Redwyne didn't take more either, especially when we have everyone else taking something more tangible. Getting land from a king and especially the spoils of war makes one beholden to a king to keep that land but I don't really see how that would affect Redwyne switching to Aegon. Maybe it's to avoid looking like Redwyne may have a conflict of interest?

I can think of one good reason why Redwyne didn't particularly want land. His fief is an island - if he took more land it would necessarily be on the mainland, so his holdings would be divided. This would make him more vulnerable, not stronger. His power, militarily speaking, is at sea, as it needs to be to defend an island. 30 years off his tax bill gets him more ships, an isolated holding on the mainland probably not.

This isn't to say that he hasn't also got political considerations in mind, but pure strategic considerations are enough to explain his choice - and that may be his genuine viewpoint, or it may be a feint to hide whatever political concerns he has, but I imagine it would pass the sniff test...

[Lollygag]

Just now, Shouldve Taken The Black said:

It's not a matter of discomfort. I just think you're going down a blind alley.

Arbour vintages appear all over the place all the time. Illyrio having one, particularly a rare one, may be a sign of collusion, or it may not. But Redwyne asking for reduced taxes on wine is not really a clue, nor is his offering a round of drinks afterwards. 

We'll have to agree to disagree. Those details weren't necessary to the story, yet GRRM chose to add them...

[Alexis-something-Rose]

Redwyne wine is in direct competition with Dornish wine. For his bottom line it makes sense that he would ask for a remission of taxes. 

[Lollygag]

Just now, Rufus Snow said:

I can think of one good reason why Redwyne didn't particularly want land. His fief is an island - if he took more land it would necessarily be on the mainland, so his holdings would be divided. This would make him more vulnerable, not stronger. His power, militarily speaking, is at sea, as it needs to be to defend an island. 30 years off his tax bill gets him more ships, an isolated holding on the mainland probably not.

This isn't to say that he hasn't also got political considerations in mind, but pure strategic considerations are enough to explain his choice - and that may be his genuine viewpoint, or it may be a feint to hide whatever political concerns he has, but I imagine it would pass the sniff test...

Maybe. I'd need to know more about the Redwynes and more about this specific Lord Redwyne to know what context to place this.

At present, I need to roll with Redwyne's request being not normal for the typical Westerosi lord and that this request was contrasted in the same passage thus raising questions. If GRRM didn't want people to ask questions here, why not just have Redwyne ask for land like everyone else? It's a poor writing choice if Redwyne's request is benign and nothing important yet GRRM put contrasts around him which make this choice seem odd. 

But typically divided holdings don't seem to bother the Westerosi Lords. We saw in this same chapter where the lords asked for distant lands, and also in this same chapter we see Balon Greyjoy's claim who is also a seafarer now claiming a rather random list of separated tracts of land.

 

Ser Kevan Lannister cleared his throat. "As regards the Starks . . . Balon Greyjoy, who now styles himself King of the Isles and the North, has written to us offering terms of alliance."

"He ought to be offering fealty," snapped Cersei. "By what right does he call himself king?"

"By right of conquest," Lord Tywin said. "King Balon has strangler's fingers round the Neck. Robb Stark's heirs are dead, Winterfell is fallen, and the ironmen hold Moat Cailin, Deepwood Motte, and most of the Stony Shore. King Balon's longships command the sunset sea, and are well placed to menace Lannisport, Fair Isle, and even Highgarden, should we provoke him."

 

[Lollygag]

17 minutes ago, Widow's Watch said:

Redwyne wine is in direct competition with Dornish wine. For his bottom line it makes sense that he would ask for a remission of taxes. 

Of course. It's asking for *only* reduced taxes and nothing else (implied in the chapter is that Redwyne could have been granted a great deal more especially as the IT needs ships) which is odd given the context of the rest of the chapter. 

[Rufus Snow]

6 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

Maybe. I'd need to know more about the Redwynes and more about this specific Lord Redwyne to know what context to place this.

At present, I need to roll with Redwyne's request being not normal for the typical Westerosi lord and that this request was contrasted in the same passage thus raising questions. If GRRM didn't want people to ask questions here, why not just have Redwyne ask for land like everyone else? It's a poor writing choice if Redwyne's request is benign and nothing important yet GRRM put contrasts around him which make this choice seem odd. 

But typically divided holdings don't seem to bother the Westerosi Lords. We saw in this same chapter where the lords asked for distant lands, and also in this same chapter we see Balon Greyjoy's claim who is also a seafarer now claiming a rather random list of separated tracts of land.

But Paxter Redwyne isn't a typical Westerosi lord - he looks to the sea rather than the continental mainland and he is the leading naval power in the 7K. And unlike Balon Greyjoy he has not declared himself a king; they cannot be compared in that regard because Balon thinks he can carve out an entire kingdom, not just a little bit of disjointed land.

Whether Redwyne asks for any land has to be considered in context of what land was on offer, and who else was claiming it. Mace Trell snaffled up the juiciest chunk, the Florent lands. Then:

Quote

Lesser tracts were granted to Lord Rowan, and set aside for Lord Tarly, Lady Oakheart, Lord Hightower, and other worthies not present. Lord Redwyne asked only for thirty years' remission of the taxes that Littlefinger and his wine factors had levied on certain of the Arbor's finest vintages. When that was granted, he pronounced himself well satisfied

Look at the people involved: Rowan has a Redwyne wife, Tarly has earned his slice and has a very prickly nature, and Hightower are a power to contend with. Oakheart I'm not sure about. They're all people Redwyne would be prepared to keep sweet, I believe, for the sake of a piece of land that is not necessarily of any great value to him.

Anyway, all I'm suggesting is that it's not necessarily out of character for him to refuse the lands - not that he has nothing to hide or question. He does seem to be close to Rowan (Cersei observes them whispering 'furtively', for instance), his own wife is a Tyrell, and he was one of the last Targaryen loyalists to lay down his sword during Robert's Rebellion. He's also one of the names Viserys believes would be ready to rise for him:
 

Quote

 

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys I

Her brother, sprawled out on his pillows beside her, never noticed. His mind was away across the narrow sea. "We won't need his whole khalasar," Viserys said. His fingers toyed with the hilt of his borrowed blade, though Dany knew he had never used a sword in earnest. "Ten thousand, that would be enough, I could sweep the Seven Kingdoms with ten thousand Dothraki screamers. The realm will rise for its rightful king. Tyrell, Redwyne, Darry, Greyjoy, they have no more love for the Usurper than I do. The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children. And the smallfolk will be with us. They cry out for their king." He looked at Illyrio anxiously. "They do, don't they?"

 

Throw in the fact that the Twins tried to escape Cersei's 'hospitality' on a Pentoshi ship, and that LF was quite keen to release them as well, as part of his trip to Bitterbridge, ostensibly to win Redwyne and Tyrell to Joffrey, and I think we do have cause to ask questions of Lord Paxter...

[Alexis-something-Rose]

25 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

Of course. It's asking for *only* reduced taxes and nothing else (implied in the chapter is that Redwyne could have been granted a great deal more especially as the IT needs ships) which is odd given the context of the rest of the chapter. 

I don't know if Illyrio and Paxter are in bed together. But I can play .

I think that it was his ships (Redwyne) that helped Willem Darry escape Dragonstone with Viserys and Dany after the Targaryen fleet was smashed to hell. 

I agree that there is more going on with the Reach than what we know. Luckily we now have a POV character there. 

I can certainly see a break between Paxter Redwyne and Mace Tyrell. Mace has proven to be a complete fool with this grasp for power. They had the information in Oldtown about Dany and her dragons. And in the prologue of AFFC, Leo Tyrell speaks of Dany and her dragons like they are a fact (which we the reader know it is). This is information that would have been sent to Highgarden. Mace should have these details because Willas would have received them from Oldtown but his actions with Margaery seems to indicate that he either doesn't care, or that he doesn't think Dany is coming to Westeros. His attitude in the epilogue of ADWD, knowing that he might have been in possession of important information is pretty baffling.

Furthermore all this information that has been dismissed comes from sailors and the Redwynes are traders as mentioned by someone up thread. Paxter Redwyne might know a lot more because his ships travel far and wide and this has been one of the best ways to get information throughout the books. And the information so far that we've heard from them is accurate. He is a businessman, so he would have vested interest in what's happening with this brewing war in Essos, the Golden Company breaking contract. All this information trickled down to King's Landing via the harbor, but was completely dismissed because it was happening half a world away.

Tin foil: Maybe he asked only for remission of taxes because he has his eye on a much larger prize. 

[The Fattest Leech]

On 3/21/2018 at 2:22 PM, Widow's Watch said:

You have to consider who is giving the castle and the titles to Lancel. These are rewards coming straight from his uncle.

That's interesting, although reading Jaime's POV while he's at Darry is kind of pretty hilarious. I wouldn't count the Darrys out just yet.

 

On 3/21/2018 at 2:46 PM, Jaehaerys Tyrell said:

Didn’t Petyr give the tapestries to Nestor Royce, who’s an ally of his, not his rival, Yohn Royce?

I’m a big fan of Gatehouse Ami too, but if you’re suggesting her nickname is related to her claim to Darry I don’t really see it. The line of succession to Darry as of the first book was something like Raymun > Lyman > Mariya > Little Walder > Amerei. Little Walder was the legitimate Darry heir right up until his murder towards the end of ADWD. 

With the fates of the Riverland Freys, who knows what the Crakehall-Darry-Gatehouse could be up to in the future? Now, I am not in anyway claiming that Aemeri is going to bump from  D list charatcter to a B+ list character, just that we should keep an eye on her int he next book because for her and her semi-strategic location, it cold prove interesting. In the end she will always be a D list level character, but that doesn't mean she isn't important. We learn about Ami in AFFC, and on the tour before the book was released, the author made several statements that, "the women are taking over". Again, not claiming Ami is going to be a huge plot breaker, just interesting for her small bit because her name does have a dual meaning.

I think that whether or not LF knows about Aegon, there is going to be a "dragon" in the Riverlands one way or another, probably Aegon for some bit, and that maybe some old loyalties might start to appear again.

[Alexis-something-Rose]

30 minutes ago, The Fattest Leech said:

With the fates of the Riverland Freys, who knows what the Crakehall-Darry-Gatehouse could be up to in the future? Now, I am not in anyway claiming that Aemeri is going to bump from  D list charatcter to a B+ list character, just that we should keep an eye on her int he next book because for her and her semi-strategic location, it cold prove interesting.

I'm not about Ami, I'm about her mother. 

[Lollygag]

10 hours ago, Rufus Snow said:

But Paxter Redwyne isn't a typical Westerosi lord - he looks to the sea rather than the continental mainland and he is the leading naval power in the 7K. And unlike Balon Greyjoy he has not declared himself a king; they cannot be compared in that regard because Balon thinks he can carve out an entire kingdom, not just a little bit of disjointed land.

Whether Redwyne asks for any land has to be considered in context of what land was on offer, and who else was claiming it. Mace Trell snaffled up the juiciest chunk, the Florent lands. Then:

Look at the people involved: Rowan has a Redwyne wife, Tarly has earned his slice and has a very prickly nature, and Hightower are a power to contend with. Oakheart I'm not sure about. They're all people Redwyne would be prepared to keep sweet, I believe, for the sake of a piece of land that is not necessarily of any great value to him.

Anyway, all I'm suggesting is that it's not necessarily out of character for him to refuse the lands - not that he has nothing to hide or question. He does seem to be close to Rowan (Cersei observes them whispering 'furtively', for instance), his own wife is a Tyrell, and he was one of the last Targaryen loyalists to lay down his sword during Robert's Rebellion. He's also one of the names Viserys believes would be ready to rise for him:
 

Throw in the fact that the Twins tried to escape Cersei's 'hospitality' on a Pentoshi ship, and that LF was quite keen to release them as well, as part of his trip to Bitterbridge, ostensibly to win Redwyne and Tyrell to Joffrey, and I think we do have cause to ask questions of Lord Paxter...

It looks to me like there is set up for comparison. Anyhow, being seafaring by culture doesn't make it automatic that he wouldn't want land-locked property as well. Balon is certainly not the only seafaring power in ASOIAF who makes a play for land-locked land at some point. The IT needing Redwyne ships puts them in a position to be able to claim some nice stuff if they were so inclined.

But it all boils down to how the scene was written for me. I maintain that if GRRM didn't want anything to stand out here, he would have Redwyne make more typical requests and not have Tyrion call it out as an unusually small request. But he didn't. That a lot of speculation and mental leaps are required to make sense of Paxter's choice is a flag for me that something else is going on. 

 

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys I

Her brother, sprawled out on his pillows beside her, never noticed. His mind was away across the narrow sea. "We won't need his whole khalasar," Viserys said. His fingers toyed with the hilt of his borrowed blade, though Dany knew he had never used a sword in earnest. "Ten thousand, that would be enough, I could sweep the Seven Kingdoms with ten thousand Dothraki screamers. The realm will rise for its rightful king. Tyrell, Redwyne, Darry, Greyjoy, they have no more love for the Usurper than I do. The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children. And the smallfolk will be with us. They cry out for their king." He looked at Illyrio anxiously. "They do, don't they?"

This quote that you pulled is interesting. Later in the chapter, Redwyne advocated acknowledging Balon as he wished to combine with Greyjoy ships to go after Stannis on Dragonstone. Tywin shot it down as Balon's ships were otherwise occupied and Tywin was never going to let the North go anyhow. I'm wondering if the Greyjoy's interest in the Targs goes back further than I thought.

If it's not too much trouble, could you point me to where I can find the bolded? LF leveraging the taxes against Redwyne's better wine might hint that LF knows something about Aegon as it seems specifically targeted to them, so now I'm interested in checking out all of LF's actions regarding the Redwynes to investigate.

 

[Lollygag]

10 hours ago, Widow's Watch said:

I don't know if Illyrio and Paxter are in bed together. But I can play .

I think that it was his ships (Redwyne) that helped Willem Darry escape Dragonstone with Viserys and Dany after the Targaryen fleet was smashed to hell. 

I agree that there is more going on with the Reach than what we know. Luckily we now have a POV character there. 

I can certainly see a break between Paxter Redwyne and Mace Tyrell. Mace has proven to be a complete fool with this grasp for power. They had the information in Oldtown about Dany and her dragons. And in the prologue of AFFC, Leo Tyrell speaks of Dany and her dragons like they are a fact (which we the reader know it is). This is information that would have been sent to Highgarden. Mace should have these details because Willas would have received them from Oldtown but his actions with Margaery seems to indicate that he either doesn't care, or that he doesn't think Dany is coming to Westeros. His attitude in the epilogue of ADWD, knowing that he might have been in possession of important information is pretty baffling.

Furthermore all this information that has been dismissed comes from sailors and the Redwynes are traders as mentioned by someone up thread. Paxter Redwyne might know a lot more because his ships travel far and wide and this has been one of the best ways to get information throughout the books. And the information so far that we've heard from them is accurate. He is a businessman, so he would have vested interest in what's happening with this brewing war in Essos, the Golden Company breaking contract. All this information trickled down to King's Landing via the harbor, but was completely dismissed because it was happening half a world away.

Tin foil: Maybe he asked only for remission of taxes because he has his eye on a much larger prize. 

I admit that the Reach politics has been under my radar until very recently so this is great stuff as I'd forgotten it. Glad you decided to play along.

As to the tin foil, this is my top suspicion too. Anyhow, Paxter seems to know something. 

[Alexis-something-Rose]

8 hours ago, Lollygag said:

I admit that the Reach politics has been under my radar until very recently so this is great stuff as I'd forgotten it. Glad you decided to play along.

As to the tin foil, this is my top suspicion too. Anyhow, Paxter seems to know something. 

The politics of the Reach is pretty interesting. I hope we will find out more in the next book.

The wealth of information provided by sailors cannot be underestimated and we have seen how people act on that information. Tracking ships, where they were, where they are going, the characters the sailors encounter and then the degrees of separation between characters is so one of the most interesting things for me. 

[Daendrew]

My post was about Littlefinger knowing about fAegon. What happened to this thread? Nothing is about the OP.

[Rufus Snow]

9 hours ago, Lollygag said:

If it's not too much trouble, could you point me to where I can find the bolded? LF leveraging the taxes against Redwyne's better wine might hint that LF knows something about Aegon as it seems specifically targeted to them, so now I'm interested in checking out all of LF's actions regarding the Redwynes to investigate.

Here you go

Quote

 A Clash of Kings - Tyrion VIII
"And forty more - twenty knights with as many squires. If I arrive without a knightly tail, the Tyrells will think me of small account."
That was true enough. "Agreed."
"I'll include Horror and Slobber in my party, and send them on to their lord father afterward. A gesture of goodwill. We need Paxter Redwyne, he's Mace Tyrell's oldest friend, and a great power in his own right."
"And a traitor," the queen said, balking. "The Arbor would have declared for Renly with all the rest, except that Redwyne knew full well his whelps would suffer for it."
"Renly is dead, Your Grace," Littlefinger pointed out, "and neither Stannis nor Lord Paxter will have forgotten how Redwyne galleys closed the sea during the siege of Storm's End. Restore the twins and perchance we may win Redwyne's love."
Cersei remained unconvinced. "The Others can keep his love, I want his swords and sails. Holding tight to those twins is the best way to make certain that we'll have them."
Tyrion had the answer. "Then let us send Ser Hobber back to the Arbor and keep Ser Horas here. Lord Paxter ought to be clever enough to riddle out the meaning of that, I should think."
The suggestion was carried without protest, but Littlefinger was not done. "We'll want horses. Swift and strong. The fighting will make remounts hard to come by. A goodly supply of gold will also be needed, for those gifts we spoke of earlier."

Notice how LF wants to send both twins (with a good reason, but is a 'good reason' ever LF's true reason?), whilst Cersei doesn't want to give them up. It takes Tyrion to split the difference and serve both ends. Actually, if you want to delve into the current state of Reach politics, this chapter is well worth going over with a fine tooth comb. And of course it shows all of LF's wheedlings to get himself out of court and into the Tyrell/Reach camp well out of Varys' sight. It is after all, Varys' inability to track LF's progress on this mission that gives us one of the first major hints that his network of little birds is not so extensive beyond King's Landing. I think you'll find plenty to get your teeth into here....