Winterfell's Great Hall

[The Flint]

"that is my grandson." Brandon replied, tugging on his grey beard, " and I am Brandon Flint. Yourself?"

[The Smith]

Manderly chuckled, "Flint it is a great shame is it not. The moment I heard I came immediately, to comfort my daughter."

[The Flint]

Brandon considered this, and nodded slowly, "Naturally." He replied, "and it is worse then a shame, it is a horrid crime. And worse timing. As it was the boy had traveled south to warn Lord Stark of Wildlings coming south in great numbers, a subject which had concerned Lord Stark greatly."

[The Smith]

"I have heard. Clearly you will want men to deal with this crisis. Let us call up bannermen from across the North to deal with this. I can pledge five hundred of my own men." Manderly replied, "How many would you need to deal with this problem?"

[The Flint]

Brandon's eyes narrowed and he nodded, "That's mighty generous of you," He said, "But we should probably wait for the other bannerlords to arrive, and for the selection of the babe's regent."

[The Smith]

Manderly tilted his head, "Is there time to wait? I had thought this a crisis. If you are not comfortable going, simply give me your men, and I will lead them."

[The Flint]

Flint scowled, "My men are deployed throughout the mountains, as are the rest of the Clans. And this is not a matter of you, and me, but of the North." Brandon coughed, "I'd be pleased with your offer for assistance, but the issues at stake are not just for Manderly and Flint. Perhaps if you called your men, and prepared for a march north, it would serve." He replied. "Besides Wildlings we have murderers to consider as well."

[The Smith]

Manderly nodded, "Greyjoy. It must be the Ironborn... it will be hard to gain justice for this... but I think we must beg the King for ships to invade."

[The Flint]

"There's no evidence of that!" Danny cried out eying Lady Stark with concern. The Flint scowled and watched Manderly.

[The Smith]

Lady Stark looked at Danny, and then slowly stood, "Father... I... Danny was here. He investigated the crime." She stayed sitting.

Manderly turned his gaze to Danny, and said, "Well boy what do you know?"

[The Flint]

"Lord Stark was stabbed multiple times in the chest and stomach," Danny said, wincing knowing that Lady Stark had to listen, "he had no wounds on his hands or arms. In other words, he did not expect the cuts, and he suffered multiple stabs before he even knew what was happening. That suggests someone he knew did the killing."

[The Smith]

Manderly looked at Danny again, "I understand... what does that mean?" This time he studied all of the Flints more closely.

[The Flint]

"Lady Anya was cut by a single wound, across the belly, so deep that her entrails were exposed," Danny replied. "Despite this, she lived for several additional minutes. I spoke to her on her death bed. She said that Lord Stark had been meeting with a messenger of Lord Umber's, and that the man did the deed." Danny coughed, and looked to Brandon, who nodded for him to continue.

"I spoke too several servants however, and all of them said that this messenger had departed the keep BEFORE the attack took place. Now it is possible that he pretend to depart, and then doubled back, but that would seem difficult. Guards searched for the man but were unable to find him." Danny coughed.

[The Smith]

Manderly frowned, "None of this makes sense... is this suppose to make sense?"

[The Flint]

"No it doesn't make sense." Brandon confirmed. "Either the Umber man doubled back and did the deed, breaking into Winterfell undetected, which I find hard to countenance, or else Lady Anya was confused about what had happened. And why would neither Lady Anya nor Lord Stark be able to defend themselves from a single man? It seems most irregular.But none of it shakes off a death bed confession either. Lady Anya said Umber's man did. Before she died. And that's a strong piece of evidence, even if it makes no gods accursed sense."