“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “Doesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooked, yet his smile was wide and the look in his gaze cunning. “Don't be fooled, Duelist. It's smaller than any of the Free Cities, but still the largest city you'll find in this kingdom” He chuckled, as he exchanged a glance with Vii, who walked next to him, her gaze strangely unmoving as opposed to his clever smirk. “And it is a rich kingdom, untouched by war. Imagine the spoils such a city holds”
Montoya raised an eyebrow as he looked at the town from above the hill they were standing on. “I suppose we'll see”, he replied. “At least the lady pays well” This caused the Hawk to glance at his second-in-command, the expression in his sole eye no less sly than the Rat's. “Knowing you, you'll change your mind when you see the first pretty lass from there”
“That Lady Shett perhaps, I hope”, Montoya spoke, before he glanced at Jaqiros Nestoris. The man kept the same cold smile he had on his face for most of the journey. If anything, spending so much time about the Pig and his brute, he had gotten only colder and this was a sentiment the Hawk was at least able to understand. For types such as Jaqoris, the Pig could be hard to get used to.
“She is supposed to be fair, yes”, the banker finally admitted. “Not that I have met her, but my superiors and their benefactors assured me of such. Her beauty is not why you are here though, do not forget that, sellsword” Montoya gave him a sarcastic nod. “How could I, with such a fine representative of the Iron Bank always there to remind me?”
Jaqiros' expression soured, though he quickly regained his composure. “Regardless, I doubt the lady will appreciate your brutish manners. She holds an ancient name and it gives her pride” The Hawk exchanged a glance with Montoya, who merely shrugged.
“We meet the lady at the castle, aye?”, the Pig growled, to which Jaqiros shook his head, his thin, mocking smile returning. He even allowed himself a small chuckle before replying. “Oh, oh no”, he spoke. “Lady Octavia father, Ser Sterling, does not reside in Gulltown” He pointed into the distance and as the Hawk narrowed his eye, he spotted a building, dozens of miles away at the top of the cliffs. “This is Gull Tower”, he explained. “But once, all of Gulltown belonged to House Shett. Kin of her yet resides in the city, but the castle is held by Lord Grafton” He gave the sellswords a stern glare. “He must not know of your connection to Lady Octavia”
“The three companies are secretive”, the Hawk told him sternly, feeling slight anger at the man even implying that this was not the case. “To this, I give you my word” Jaqiros seemed to get the hint, as he merely nodded. “Good”, he said thinly. “Instead of the castle, we will meet the lady in one of the town's mansions, owned by an acquaintance”
This was all the Hawk needed to know, but the Rat, as always, was more curious. “I thought we'd meet Lady Shett alone. What can you tell us about this acquaintance?”, he asked. “Just so that we can prepare” Jaqiros shook his head. “Nothing he can't tell you himself”, he spoke. “He's waiting for us at the gates”
The very same gates had gotten close by now. It was telling for Gulltown's importance as a harbour that most of the people seemed to arrive and leave by sea. From the hill, the docks had seemed quite busy, a multitude of ships visible from there and far across the Bay of Crabs, the Hawk was able to see Bartmer Tidewater and his fleet of Braavosi ships, making their way to Gulltown as promised. But at the current time of the day, no one actually used the gates.
Two men stood guard in front and on top of the wall, the Hawk spotted several men, armed with crossbows, patrolling and only casually glancing at the group. The guards on the ground though instantly stood firmly. “Halt!”, one of them barked. “State your name and business in Gulltown!”
The Hawk gulped, as he glanced at Jaqiros. The banker had said nothing about this and he was half certain this oversight was nothing but an attempt to learn his true name. The Hawk was unlikely to satisfy them, yet at the same time, it was him. His real name belonged to a stranger, a man who died sixty years ago.
“Jaqorio”, Jaqiros introduced himself. “I am...” He did not manage to finish the sentence, as he got interrupted by a new arrival from inside the city. “Easy, men”, a deep voice sounded from behind the guards. “These belong to me” A man stepped into the Hawk's field of view and for a moment, the old sellsword mustered him. More flashy than what he had expected from the Vale, the man was clad in a long and high-collared coat of a fine, turquoise fabric. In contrast to the coat, screaming of a high birth or a full purse, his skin was tanned and rough, reminding the Hawk of a hard-working sailor. Piercing, blue eyes looked at the group out of a sharp face, his dark brown hair tied back.
“Mylord!”, the guard spoke, as he saluted. He and his colleague took a step aside, as they gave Jaqiros a nod. “You may pass, quickly” Jaqiros smirked, an expression the nobleman did not share, as he rode past the guards. However, they shared a warm handshake. After descending from their horses, the sellswords followed, through the gates and onto a larger street. Some people walked by them, though as the Hawk suspected, they weren't the strangest sight in this town by any means, as cozy as it looked even from the inside.
Only once they had walked around a corner did he address the man he had just met. “So... mylord?”, he asked. “Apologies, I thought Lord Grafton was not to be involved in this” To this, the man laughed brightly. “Ah, that is a misunderstanding”, he spoke, as he put a hand onto his chest. “Lord Grafton isn't involved in this, but I am not him. My name is Zeth Arryn”
The Rat whistled, impressed at that name and it meant something even to the Hawk, who had met more kings and high lords in his long life than he ever cared to count. “Lady Shett keeps high company”, he brought up, to which the lord shook his head. “Not the Eyrie Arryn's”, he spoke. “A common mistake, for I am actually of the Gulltown branch” He shrugged. “Mostly landless, save for property inside the city, but we make up for it in coin”, he explained. “My relation to the royal family is quite distant, I'm afraid. Last time I checked, there were roughly a hundred men and women ahead of me in the line of succession, including the Queen Regent herself”
“Still a surprise. Didn't expect so many noblemen involved with that Shett girl”, the Hawk growled, to which Arryn chuckled. “And I won't be the last you'll meet today, that much I can promise”, he spoke, before he extended his hand. “Though I am not your lord. While you're working for me, it's Zeth”
The Hawk nodded in a friendly manner, before he shook the hand. “A man to my liking”, he complimented him. “I am the Hawk” Zeth raised an eyebrow. “Not big on names, I have heard that much. Your reputation precedes you” He glanced at the other sellswords, his gaze first resting on the Pig. “And you must be the Pig, if I'm not mistaken”
A wide grin formed on the fat man's face. “The Pig, at your service”, he introduced himself in a booming voice. “Strongest among the Three Companies!” He patted Zeth onto the back and the man coughed slightly. “So they say”, he spoke, as he turned his attention to the Rat. The deformed hunchback had his issues with walking longer distances, but the Hawk knew, he was too prideful to admit. Instead, he was limping alongside Vii, occasionally gasping and heavily panting.
“And then this is the Rat”, Arryn deduced and the Rat grinned thinly. “That would be me, yes”, he replied, looking up at the nobleman. “Though you'd be best advised not to listen to the Pig's boasts. He might be strong, yes, but you'll find the best warriors among my company. The Pig only deals with mindless beasts”
Quickly, the Hawk glared at the Pig, though the large man surprised him by simply chuckling. “The little man boasts wildly”, he growled. “Look at him and let him boast. What else is there in his life?” He gave Zeth a wink. “When you need someone dead, you'll yearn for my beasts. Nothing more terrifying this side of the Narrow Sea”
Zeth smirked. “I take it you haven't seen Lady Octavia when she's angry”, he brought up. “The woman has a temper, but her goal is just” He continued to lead them through the streets of Gulltown and the Hawk had to admit, despite its smaller size, this city didn't have to hide in terms of beauty. Most of the buildings were painted, some red, some yellow, green or blue, most of them in impeccable condition. Despite the usual smell that accompanied any larger city, it was remarkably clean, the streets of cobblestone holding much less dirt than he would have expected. He had no doubt that Gulltown had its ugly places as well, though Zeth seemed to take the scenic route, avoiding these darker spots. And as much as he had never shied away from those, the Hawk appreciated it. A long life on the battlefield had given him an understanding of how rare beauty was, so he actually took a moment to enjoy the sight of a city at peace. And yet... he had brought hundreds of men to their shores, just a few miles to the east. He'd hate having to destroy such beauty.
“And what is it the lady is up to?”, the Rat asked, his eyes narrowed with curiosity, yet also distrust. That was what the Hawk appreciated the most about him. The Pig had his standards, yet it was the Rat who triggered them, who uncovered shady deals and questionable tasks. With a healthy ambition, yet always cautious, always curious, perhaps the only reason he had managed to stay in this position for over a decade now.
As soon as he had said this, Zeth stopped. “Well, why don't you ask her yourself?”, he replied, as he pointed at the building at the end of the street. It was a walled estate, larger than the rest, three stories high. While the walls were painted in blue, the roof tiles were kept white. There were banners hanging down from it, a white falcon on a blue ground, sharing the space with a crescent and a ship's sail.
“We Gulltown Arryn's don't own a fancy castle”, Zeth explained. “Although, I dare say, this isn't too bad. In the Free Cities, no magister lives in a castle and yet, each of them is a lord in their own right” With a wide smile, he walked past the open gates, the sellswords following at once. Servants came rushing over the courtyard towards them and the Hawk noticed Agar the Cold tensing up. He himself remained calm and with a smile on his face, he handed the reins of his horse to the older man approaching him.
More servants opened the door and Zeth casually walked in, Jaqiros behind him. The Rat followed, then the Hawk, who took a moment to admire the craftsmanship that went into the marble above the door, depicting a fleet of ships sailing towards a sunset. The main hall of the building was kept in a similar style, made out of grey marble, adorned with blue carpets and tapestries, the latter showing the sigil of House Arryn of Gulltown. There were portraits on the walls, kept in the style so common in the Free Cities, depicting ships, some sailing gently, others in combat with other sailors or beasts of the sea.
“Tell Lady Shett we have arrived”, Zeth spoke towards the closest, an older woman who nodded firmly and turned to the large door to her right. Arryn, and the Hawk still wasn't sure if he was a knight or a true lord, remained there, standing in the main hall, his arms crossed behind his back. He smiled politely at the sellswords and it was a genuine expression, not as fake as Jaqiros' gaze. “An opportunity to sit down will come shortly”, he promised, looking at the Rat, who had gotten visibly exhausted from dragging his body across such a distance.
The man nodded, though he remained silent, perhaps to refuse the Pig such a satisfaction. In this moment, the door opened again and the servant stepped out. “Lady Shett will meet you now”, she spoke, taking a step aside and leaving the door open. Zeth smiled, as he walked in first. Jaqiros only slightly after him. Then came the Hawk.
The room he entered now was smaller than the hall, yet still fairly decent in size and clad in teak wood. It was warm from a burning fireplace, the flames casting light onto the coloured glass on the large windows on the other side of the room. A sizeable table took most of the space, yet there was still room for a large bookcase behind it. The wall to the left, where the fireplace was located, as well as the opposing window facade were adorned by a strange collection of trophies. The Hawk recognized the skeletonized jaws of a shark and a large patch of a leviathan's skin, leathery and grey, alongside bones of stranger sea creatures, scales, teeth and other trophies. The most fascinating, yet slightly disturbing sight was an icicle, clearly frozen despite hanging right above the fireplace. It had an unusual size and after studying its form for a brief moment, the Hawk felt a chill running down his spine, as he realized that he was looking at a fang, almost the size of a greatsword.
“An ice dragon's tooth”, a voice sounded from the far end of the room and the Hawk managed to look away from the fascinating trophy. It was a woman who had spoken, sitting there in the chair he would have expected to be reserved for Zeth. A beauty she was, almost enough to make the Hawk's blood stir despite his age. Yet he had to admit, in almost ninety years he had rarely come across someone like her. Raven black hair just barely reached her shoulders, one strand tucked behind her ear, framing a delicate face with smooth cheeks and a sharp jawline. There was a beauty mark right above her upper lip and she looked at the sellswords with the cold expression of a woman used to authority. Her dress was as black as her hair and while form-fitting, it was high-collared and not the slightest bit revealing. A short coat of grey fur covered her shoulders and half of her upper body.
There was a second person sitting next to her, a man of an impressive size. He was bald, yet in his full beard, his advanced age was visible, as strands of grey were mixed into the brown. Unlike the woman's commanding expression, he was looking at the sellswords in a relatively friendly manner, his grey eyes widening as he spotted the equally massive Pig. Clad in fur and leather, he gave a wild impression.
“I never quite believed the stories until I saw it myself. To think how large the creature must have been, how far above, how mighty. How it nonetheless met its end at the hand of men. An inspiring sight”, the woman said, still referring to the fang. “It must have cost a fortune, dear Zeth”
“Not a fortune, mylady, just a favour with the right ship's captain”, Zeth replied, as he stopped next to the fang. He let one of his hands run over it, clenching it as he pulled back. “Still cold to the touch, yet it had been worse when they found it. The sailor who touched it first allegedly lost his fingers to frostbite” He glanced at the beautiful woman. “A reminder to always be cautious when dealing with a beast of such might”
She smirked at his remark, revealing a petite dimple on her left cheek. Meanwhile, Zeth turned around and towards Jaqiros. “My friend, may I introduce our fearless leader, Lady Octavia of House Shett, the Raven of Gull Tower” To this, Lady Octavia rolled her eyes, though she kept her soft smile. “It is ironic, is it not? The Raven of Gull Tower and the Falcon of Gulltown, united under a common cause” She looked at the men accompanying him, barely even acknowledging Jaqiros, who assumed position in one of the corners, save for a brief nod, and instead fully focussing on the sellswords. The Hawk had met more people like her in his life than he even cared to count, but even for him, her reaction was hard to read.
Finally, Octavia settled for a thin smile. “And those must be the sellswords. The companies of the Hawk, the Pig and the Rat, am I right with this?”, she deduced. The Hawk nodded, his sole eye fixed on her gaze. He tensed up, as he still found himself unable to read her. Was she pleased with them? Or disappointed that they were an old man, a crippled dwarf and a fat brute?
“I am the Hawk, mylady”, he introduced himself calmly. “I speak for the Three Companies. These are the Rat and the Pig, as well as our seconds, Montoya the Duelist, Vii the Innocent and Agar the Cold” Out of those introduced, only Montoya was at ease. He smirked at the woman, giving her a sly wink. “Mylady”, he greeted her and she raised an eyebrow, her expression not changing at all.
“And you have a warrior by your side, I see”, the Pig growled, looking at the huge, bald man to Octavia's right. She nodded and the man rose from his seat. Now being able to see him in full, the Hawk was impressed by his size, the man easily reaching the Pig's height, probably standing even taller than him. “Not just a warrior”, he said in reply, his voice deep and surprisingly warm. He grinned at the Pig. “Torgold Tollet, Lord of Grey Glen”
“Another Royce bannerman”, the Rat spoke, as he limped towards one of the free chairs, climbing up and sighing in relief, as he leant back. Quickly, his confidence returned, as he stared at Octavia and she at him. “Yet we had instructions not to inform Lord Grafton of your arrival. May I make an educated guess?”
Octavia nodded, giving him a sign to continue, as she watched the dwarf with interest and slight amusement. “Your presence here and the secrecy means you are up against a powerful opponent. I don't see an envoy of Runestone here, so I assume that the Bronze Lord himself is the one you seek to act against”
“It is true what they say, you do have a sharp mind, Ser Rat”, Octavia complimented him, her voice sharp, yet her gaze losing a momentary chill. “You are right entirely with what you say. I guess you may call Lord Orson my very own ice dragon” She smirked, as the sellswords slowly sat down. Vii took position next to the Rat, with the Pig and Agar the Cold sitting on the opposite side of the table, close to the window. This left the Hawk and Montoya to take the seats directly opposing Octavia and Torgold. His second leant forward, carefully eyeing the beautiful woman, though the Hawk did not make the same mistake. He could tell, Octavia had good chances to charm the duelist and thanks to his behaviour, she knew as well. The Hawk was of a different kind though, not easily swayed by a pretty face and honeyed words.
“I take it this is why you called for us. An uprising against Lord Royce and the Vale of Arryn”, he spoke and Octavia sighed. “A bit too much, Ser Hawk”, she corrected him. “You see, an uprising is what we have in mind, but solely against Orson Royce. We are no traitors, instead we seek to stop true treachery”
The Hawk raised an eyebrow, over the shard of dragonglass that covered his missing eye. “Royce is the traitor here?”, he asked and Octavia nodded, though she tilted her head. “Does it matter to you?”, she asked in return and after a moment of exchanging glances with the Rat and the Pig, he shook his head. “I just tend to be curious. If we are to work with you, I would like to understand the basics”
“And the basics is what you shall get”, Octavia agreed. “Orson Royce is the most powerful of King Ronnel's bannermen by quite a margin. Always ambitious, always powerful, there is not a single noble in the Fingers who can claim to have been spared from his schemes”
As she spoke, Torgold clenched his fists, his affable demeanour failing in an instant. “The bronze beast murdered my brother”, he snarled. “Sure, Tenison was a troublemaker. Yes, his loyalty to the Vale was questionable and I even believe he schemed against the old king” He shook his head. “But he was still highborn. Royce could have taken him prisoner, could have sent him to the wall as it was his right, or he could have let the king decide”, he continued, his warm voice gaining a bitter touch. “Least he could have done would have been to grant him a clean death. Instead, he sent his rotten bastard to do the deed, butchering my brother like a pig while asleep”
There was grief in Torgold's eyes and anger, an anger the Hawk could understand only too well. “It's been two years since Tenison Tollet's death”, Octavia explained. “Orson Royce never admitted to the deed, yet there are no doubts about his involvement, or that of his son, this Redmond bastard. I knew that the Bronze Lord had something to hide ever since”
The Rat nodded. “One does not resort to assassination if things were different”, he agreed. “I speak from experience” Octavia smiled slightly, sharply contrasting the cold anger of Torgold Tollet. “My research has yielded unexpected results, enough to grant me allies within the Fingers and some benefactors from outside”
“The stability of the Vale of Arryn has always been favourable for the Iron Bank”, Jaqiros spoke up. “Something our partners in the Free Cities quite agree with. You have our support, mylady, and our coin to pay the companies” The mention of coin caused a grin to flash over the Rat's face and for once, the Pig seemed to agree, yet the Hawk was not yet satisfied. More than coin, information was what he desired. He narrowed his eye. “What did you find out?”, he growled.
His tone was demanding and he could tell from Octavia's cold expression that she was displeased by this. As much as she was his employer, he would not yield to a girl old enough to be his great-granddaughter without knowing what he had to know. While she smiled, it was a joyless one. “More than I wanted to, Ser Hawk”, she spoke thinly. “Orson Royce had always been ambitious, yet it was King Alester's death that truly allowed him to act so openly. The king is a weak boy, the queen regent a talentless upstart, or so he believes. House Royce ever only knelt to strength and right now, House Arryn is as weak as never before” She leant back in her chair, resting her chin on one hand. “I believe Torgold's brother, Tenison, has indeed been plotting against House Arryn, but I think he was not the main conspirator”, she explained and Torgold sighed, closing his eyes as she said this. “Instead, Orson got rid of an uncomfortable accomplice, to hide his own ambition”
“Which would be to replace House Arryn?”, the Hawk asked and he quickly thought back to the lessons he had on their journey to Gulltown, the Vale and its strength. “This is a battle he cannot hope to win” Octavia shook her head. “Not alone”, she agreed. “Yet Orson is not alone and it's not a king he seeks to be. Instead, I fear he will sell the Vale to a new enemy, Aegon the Dragonlord”
“One of our contacts is on his way to the court of Dragonstone”, Jaqiros brought up, his voice oozing an infuriating smugness. “He informed us of Aegon's fleet. They assemble an army and I fear if they do, the forces loyal to the Vale won't be able to hold Gulltown, depriving the Iron Bank of a major trade partner this side of the Narrow Sea”
The Hawk suppressed a chuckle. “Sure that would be a tragedy”, he mumbled and a smirk flashed across Octavia's face. “Torgold has never trusted the bronze lord. He seeks revenge for his brother, a revenge I am only too happy to grant. Zeth wishes to defend his Arryn kin and his home here in Gulltown” Her eyes narrowed. “And I seek to reclaim what has been stolen from my family so long ago”
“Gulltown itself”, the Rat was quick to deduce and she flashed him a clever grin. “It might not surprise you that I do not trust Grafton after what his ancestor did to my family”, she spoke. “He is close to Lord Royce, his daughter a likely match for the bronze lord's eldest son. I do not count on his loyalty. If Gulltown is attacked, we will need an army of our own to defend it, even from its own lord if necessary”
“Guess that's where we come into play”, the Hawk spoke and she nodded. “Not just though”, she added. “I have chosen to hire the three companies in full and I intend to use you for battle if necessary. But I hope that this battle won't be against men from the Vale. If the Targaryen fleet attacks, you must be ready, but before that, I hope you can uncover the truth. I fear further meddling from me or my highborn allies would only attract suspicion”
“But we can work without using your banner”, the Hawk spoke. “We can work without being linked to you at all” He looked at Jaqiros, who confirmed his suspicion with a nod. “And if you are caught, the Iron Bank will take full responsibility. Nominally, you are here on our orders, to collect a debt House Royce still owes us”, he explained in a satisfied tone.
The Hawk had to nod, actually impressed by the measures the Iron Bank and Lady Shett had taken for this. “Looks like that'll be your share then, Jaqiros”, he brought up and the man smiled coldly, before the sellsword looked back at the young woman. “Uncovering the truth, that's what we shall do, mylady. We must, of course, discuss a strategy on how to do this. Doubt Lord Royce will just part with any evidence, or give us a confession”
“Doubtful”, Octavia admitted. “I was hoping you and your companions would have an approach on how to deal with this. Go on, let me hear how you would deal with this matter” She looked at the three sellsword leaders, as the Hawk did not break eye contact with her. “Your thoughts, Pig?”, he asked and the large man straightened his back.
“We're here to collect debts, aye?”, he spoke. “At least officially. I say we start right there. Break a few bones. Burn down a farm or two until Royce has to notice us. Put some pressure onto him when he doesn't need it. We know men under pressure are prone to make mistakes, especially if he believes that we truly are here only to collect a debt”
“That will demand a reaction from him”, the Rat admitted. “But can we afford that? A harsh reaction by Arryn's most powerful bannerman. I fear you overestimate the threat our three companies pose, yet again” The Pig frowned, though the Hawk noticed that Octavia was tilting her head at the dwarf's words. He himself did not look away from her. “What would you do then, Rat?”, he asked.
“I would use your very own resources, Hawk”, he said in a sly tone. “Subterfuge and skulduggery. If anything, this will be the most promising approach. Let Lord Royce believe we are not a threat to any of his plans, while your spies gather more intel. Look for weaknesses in the lord's plan. Maybe not he himself, but his allies. If we have to resort to violence, we shall strike swiftly and without mercy, but only if we know that we can win. Provoking the lord won't achieve anything”
“And maybe you are underestimating his intelligence, Rat”, the Pig spat. “Nothing new from the genius cripple, right?” He shook his head. “Hawk, you heard where we stand, but you kept silent as always. Share your wisdom with us, go ahead. Which of these plans do you support?” With this, the Pig and the Rat both looked at the Hawk, while at the other end of the table, Octavia gave him a questioning look.
[Agree with the Pig's plan][Agree with the Rat's plan]
[Agree with the Rat's plan]
This is in my opinion the most interesting new POV from this chapter. I can't wait to see more of the dynamics between these 3 groups.
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
[Agree with the Pig's plan] Yes, dumb violence. Burn farms like we're stormtroopers. Give into the hate.
A wide grin formed on the fat man's face. “The Pig, at your service”, he introduced himself in a booming voice. “Strongest among the Three Companies!” He patted Zeth onto the back and the man coughed slightly. “So they say”, he spoke, as he turned his attention to the Rat. The deformed hunchback had his issues with walking longer distances, but the Hawk knew, he was too prideful to admit. Instead, he was limping alongside Vii, occasionally gasping and heavily panting.
You know, it is incredibly funny that a fat guy to go out up and yell proudly that his name is "The Pig!". If I were a guard or someone, I'd crack up.
Love Montoya, want to seem some debauchery from him.
The room he entered now was smaller than the hall, yet still fairly decent in size and clad in teak wood. It was warm from a burning fireplace, the flames casting light onto the coloured glass on the large windows on the other side of the room. A sizeable table took most of the space, yet there was still room for a large bookcase behind it. The wall to the left, where the fireplace was located, as well as the opposing window facade were adorned by a strange collection of trophies. The Hawk recognized the skeletonized jaws of a shark and a large patch of a leviathan's skin, leathery and grey, alongside bones of stranger sea creatures, scales, teeth and other trophies. The most fascinating, yet slightly disturbing sight was an icicle, clearly frozen despite hanging right above the fireplace. It had an unusual size and after studying its form for a brief moment, the Hawk felt a chill running down his spine, as he realized that he was looking at a fang, almost the size of a greatsword.
I know a certain character who would probably need a change of pants upon seeing this. On my part, I've always loved random crap on the walls that museums have, especially fossils, so it was good for me. Is "skeletonized" a word? I've never heard of it. Also, love supposed ice dragon fang, awesome little reveal.
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
[Agree with the Rat's plan] Better safe than sorry. So we finally have an idea of Orson's plan, but we need Lachlan's POV to be sure Royce is truly working with House Targaryen.
The conflict reminds me a bit of what will happen in the Dance of Dragons when two of House Hightower's vassals directly fought against their liege lord.
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
Ah, this is great to hear! I am never certain how a new PoV is received, as they have to compete against characters that had time to grow over the course of years, but this makes it all the better when I succeed at making you interested in their storyline. The Hawk is going to have quite some nice things coming up and I hope I can keep you excited for his parts
[Agree with the Rat's plan]
This is in my opinion the most interesting new POV from this chapter. I can't wait to see more of the dynamics between these 3 groups.
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
You know, it is incredibly funny that a fat guy to go out up and yell proudly that his name is "The Pig!". If I were a guard or someone, I'd crack up.
I'm not even sure if the Pig fully realizes how funny that actually is. He's by no means a dumb brute, but compared to the Hawk and the Rat, he's not the brains of the trio. There is legitimate pride in his title, mostly because of the respect he had for the one who previously held it and at least in Essos, his company is well known, so he isn't really used to people cracking up at this. However, the fact that he's a fat guy calling himself "The Pig", together with the dwarf calling himself "The Rat", that'll be brought up at some point in the future
Love Montoya, want to seem some debauchery from him.
And debauchery is what you shall get from him! Montoya can be kinda outrageous even, he's sort of the Daario Naharis of the Three Companies, so expect him to be exactly as you probably think.
I know a certain character who would probably need a change of pants upon seeing this. On my part, I've always loved random crap on the walls that museums have, especially fossils, so it was good for me. Is "skeletonized" a word? I've never heard of it. Also, love supposed ice dragon fang, awesome little reveal.
Aye, I actually had the very same thought and I even had to check Zeth's submission to make sure that I don't mix them up. I didn't, as Zeth also has a bit of a seafarer theme going on, so I figured him having a trophy collection would be very fitting. This includes something that may or may not be an ice dragon fang and whatever it is, it's at least something special due to the fact that it has been hanging above the fireplace for years without melting.
When it comes to skeletonized, I must admit that I am not entirely certain. See, when I wrote this, I had a very specific German term in mind. We have a word for the particular state of a body when it has entirely decayed, to the point where only the skeleton remains. I thought the english translation would be "skeletal", but my trusty online dictionary told me that skeletal can be translated to the german term for "skeleton-like", which is not quite what I wanted to say. The word I was looking for has been translated to "skeletonized" by this online dictionary, which I haven't heard of before yesterday. My Open Office spellchecker doesn't know it either, but to be fair, the Open Office spellchecker is hardly the Oxford dictionary and there are a couple legitimate words it doesn't know. Considering that "skeletonization" is a term with its own wikipedia article, I decided that "skeletonized" is indeed a word, albeit probably one that is almost never used.
[Agree with the Pig's plan] Yes, dumb violence. Burn farms like we're stormtroopers. Give into the hate.
A wide grin formed on the fat… more man's face. “The Pig, at your service”, he introduced himself in a booming voice. “Strongest among the Three Companies!” He patted Zeth onto the back and the man coughed slightly. “So they say”, he spoke, as he turned his attention to the Rat. The deformed hunchback had his issues with walking longer distances, but the Hawk knew, he was too prideful to admit. Instead, he was limping alongside Vii, occasionally gasping and heavily panting.
You know, it is incredibly funny that a fat guy to go out up and yell proudly that his name is "The Pig!". If I were a guard or someone, I'd crack up.
Love Montoya, want to seem some debauchery from him.
The room he entered now was smaller than the hall, yet still fairly decent in size and clad in teak wood. It was warm from a burning fireplace, the fl… [view original content]
The conflict reminds me a bit of what will happen in the Dance of Dragons when two of House Hightower's vassals directly fought against their liege lord.
Aye and we do know how badly the Dance of Dragons will end eventually. House Royce is facing similar issues, with at least two of their vassals (and the wealthy House Arryn of Gulltown) more or less directly scheming against them, with the backing of the Iron Bank and several other parties in Essos. There is some legitimate danger coming from that and while the Dance of Dragons and the lessons that could be learned from it haven't happened yet, Orson Royce is no fool and he's already beginning his own preparations, as Lachlan's next part will show.
[Agree with the Rat's plan] Better safe than sorry. So we finally have an idea of Orson's plan, but we need Lachlan's POV to be sure Royce i… mores truly working with House Targaryen.
The conflict reminds me a bit of what will happen in the Dance of Dragons when two of House Hightower's vassals directly fought against their liege lord.
Well, this part finally shed some light on why the three companies are in the Vale, as well as vastly increasing my excitement for this conflict From what little we saw of him long ago, and from what we've heard since, I think the Bronze Lord will make for a great antagonist. And it seems these schemes within Vale are also connected with the Targs, which certainly makes things all the more interesting.
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “D… moreoesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooke… [view original content]
Direct doesn't always equate to dumb. I think it'd be more suspicious for Orson Royce if the Three Companies were just casually hanging out in the Vale, doing nothing in particular.
Actually, it is another choice, another tie. I don't always want to break it by counting the first vote twice, but I feel like there's no other way right now. So, here's how I'm going to do things, if anyone who hasn't voted still wishes to do so in order to properly break the tie, just leave a comment until I posted the next part. If nobody else is around to vote, I'll just count the first vote twice, which means the Hawk is going to agree with the Rat's plan. I think that's how I am going to handle things going forward, as I'll feel better with it. I always feel like I should wait when there's a tie, but at the same time, given how big my plans for the story are, I don't want to keep you waiting for longer just to resolve a tie. With this approach, I can technically keep the voting open until I got the next part actually ready, while still giving you an update on this upcoming next part without having to wait for so long. Means, if anyone hasn't gotten the chance to vote yet, you'll have another couple hours until the next part should be ready, but if nobody steps forward, you can consider the voting closed with the choice above being the one to win.
So, this next part should be out later today. First of all, I am glad you all enjoyed the Hawk's final part for this chapter! He's surely one of the more unusual PoV's, even counting the likes of Irae, so I am super happy to hear that he is well received. I realized, the least I can do is to give the other side in the Vale conflict a similarly enjoyable part, so my plans for Lachlan's part changed. He won't have to share his final part for this chapter with another PoV, instead it'll be all his and we get to meet quite a number of interesting characters in league with the Royce side of this storyline. Last time we met him, he had a conversation with Orson Royce's other guests, Lachlan's cousin Kyle Coldwater and Valydyn, an informant in service of Sharra Arryn's spymistress Eudoxia. They talked about the presence of an enigmatic group present in the Fingers, called the Order. An envoy of them, Kyle's and Lachlan's great-aunt Viera Coldwater, is currently present at Runestone and Valydyn suspects Order involvement in the current trouble at Gulltown. However, he largely agreed with the Order's goal, which is to create a stronger law, to protect the interests of the smallfolk from those who would harm them, effectively seeking to end despotic and unlawful decisions made by the highborn. It is an idealistic goal to approach, though Kyle argued that all such talk will actually achieve is to inspire bloodshed and peasant rebellions. Though generally sympathetic to more lawful behaviour by the highborn of the Vale, Lachlan ended up agreeing with his cousin, seeing the negative aspects of such change as more notable than the positives. This is where we will start with his next part, which I do hope to release either today or early tomorrow. With that, we're rapidly approaching the end of the chapter and I am very confident to finish it by the end of the month, maybe even to start Chapter 3 by then
The Voting is closed!
The Hawk is going to agree with the Rat's plan
Actually, it is another choice, another tie. I don't always want … moreto break it by counting the first vote twice, but I feel like there's no other way right now. So, here's how I'm going to do things, if anyone who hasn't voted still wishes to do so in order to properly break the tie, just leave a comment until I posted the next part. If nobody else is around to vote, I'll just count the first vote twice, which means the Hawk is going to agree with the Rat's plan. I think that's how I am going to handle things going forward, as I'll feel better with it. I always feel like I should wait when there's a tie, but at the same time, given how big my plans for the story are, I don't want to keep you waiting for longer just to resolve a tie. With this approach, I can technically keep the voting open until I got the next part actually ready, while still giving you an update on thi… [view original content]
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and Valydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A moment later, it got opened and Remi Royce glanced in. “You ready?”, she asked. “My father wishes to meet you now. He's in his audience room, if you may follow me”
Kyle, still smiling slightly, bowed deeply in front of her. “We may, mylady”, he spoke, walking past Lachlan and Valydyn. “If you allow me a question, will your brothers be present for this meeting?” Remi's mouth tightened, as she barely notably clenched her fists. “You are in luck, mylord”, she replied in a firm tone. “We got Osborn away from his bastard for long enough to pay attention to father's summons. Meanwhile, my … half-brother has returned early from his trip to the countryside”
“Only Clovis is missing then, eh?”, Kyle brought up, as he walked out of the room by Remi's side, Lachlan and Valydyn following behind. She nodded at this. “I would have preferred his presence as well”, she admitted. “Unfortunately, his business in Essos will keep him there for longer. In the meantime, consider me the voice of reason in this house”
“Considered”, Kyle agreed, his smile notably wider than Remi's rather cold and slightly annoyed expression. She led them through the halls of Runestone in silence, leaving Lachlan in awe at how old this castle truly was. His home at Phoenixfall was considerably younger, a small Andal fortress built about a thousand years ago. And while Runestone had been considerably expanded in the thousands of years that followed after the invasion, every once in a while, he came across evidence that people had been living at this very place since the dawn of time. A more crudely constructed hallway here, withered stone there and always the bronze that had given the old Royce kings their might.
After only a few minutes, Remi entered an open courtyard, a central garden in the middle of the fortress. There was a fountain in its centre, surrounded by short trees, though the cold weather had cost them their leaves early this autumn. Dry foliage littered the courtyard, snapping beneath their feet as Remi led them across. A cold wind was howling, the only sound aside from the snapping leaves, making for an eerie combination, especially as the four of them were the only people Lachlan had seen for the last couple of minutes.
Finally, Remi stopped at the other end of the courtyard, where a door stood open, revealing a decently sized room behind. As cold as the chilling wind was, a comfortable warmth came out of the room and Lachlan sighed at the thought of a proper fire. He had been young during the last true winter, the memory almost faded, yet he still distantly remembered the cold, how it had been felt even within the walls of the castle. If his father could be believes, an even rougher winter was about to follow.
The room they entered now was delightfully warm though, quickly causing the cold to vanish. Clad in wood, it was comfortable, if without major adornments, instead geared towards functionality. The light of the fireplace illuminated a long bookshelf on the one wall, with a multitude of maps hanging on the other one. Lachlan recognized the shape of Westeros, as well as smaller maps, depicting the Vale, the Fingers, the Bay of Crabs and the northern coastline. Additional maps displayed regions he was less familiar with, at least at a brief glance.
Quickly, he instead focussed onto the people already present, the five of them having gathered around a large table that made up most of the room. At the head of it sat a man Lachlan recognized immediately. Though he had never met Orson Royce in person, there was no mistake to be made here. He had Remi's blonde hair, cut short and carefully back-kempt, with his skin being lighter than that of his daughter. The lightest thing about him were his eyes, icy-cold and of a sharp blue, captivating and intimidating at the same time. With high cheek-bones and a smooth, clean-shaven skin, the Lord of Runestone could pass as a man a good decade younger than he truly was, the only thing giving him away being the soft hint of wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. He wore black, an elegant attire with a high collar, paired with a brown sash over his chest, the latter being adorned by black runes. Though there was no joy in his eyes, he did manage a short smile, the hint of politeness, just what was expected of him.
Two men were in the room, one standing to his right, the other sitting in the corner. Both were clearly younger, roughly in Remi's age, and from her report, Lachlan had no doubt whom they were. As different as they looked, the Royce brothers were as unmistakable as their father and though he hadn't met them either, he knew their names. Osborn had inherited the blonde hair, even if it was a bit longer and slightly wavy and his eyes had a shade exactly like his father's. Unlike his youthful father, he had strong and broad facial features, an angular face and a prominent jawline, it gave him a different, yet still undeniable handsomeness. Thick sideburns went down the sides of his face, all the way to the lower jaw. Clad in a white and grey tunic, he had his arms crossed and glanced at the newcomers with a stern gaze.
Then there was Redmond. It wasn't hard to guess which of the two men he was. Though his name was Royce now, it used to be Stone, his bastard heritage clearly visible in his appearance. Unlike his half-brother and half-sister, his hair had a vibrant shade of red, falling down to his shoulder in disarray. Though he had his father's facial features, he didn't have his build, looking almost gaunt, unlike his strong-boned half-brother or his thin, yet wiry father. There was a viciousness to his face, a cold bitterness, only barely hidden by a thin layer of indifference. Redmond the Hated, they called him and given the man's grim reputation, Lachlan could only imagine it to be well-deserved.
The two women however were not known to him. One of them was young, perhaps just thirty, with red hair, tied into a proper bun. Of average height and with a slim build, there was little about her that was alluring, nor was she repulsive in any way. She was a woman so average that no term that would make her stand out seemed fitting. Unremarkable for the better or the worse, it was her position by Lord Royce's left side that gave her a presence in the room, as she scanned the new arrivals with a firm gaze. She was clad not in the dress of a noblewoman, but in an attire Lachlan would have expected from a scout, wearing green and brown, dampened colours that would make her easily blend in out in the wilderness, but made her seem out of place here at Runestone.
Finally, the old woman. She was not to be overlooked, but where the younger woman was at least not ugly, this crone was anything but. Overweight and almost bloated, her round face lacked a chin, but her puffy cheeks gave her something of a toad. Her grey hair was tied into a huge and extravagant bun, while her face was crossed by deep wrinkled, further tarnished by a big mole on her upper lip. With narrowed eyes, she stared at them, crossing her fingers over the blue dress that covered her notable gut. In contrast, the finery she wore on her hands was of a delicate silver and likely worth a fortune.
“Ah, Remi”, Orson Royce spoke, his feigned smile growing only slightly warmer, if for a second. She nodded, gazing at her brothers, before she crossed her arms behind her back. “Father”, she greeted him. “Our guests, as you requested” Orson pointed at the chairs on the other side of the table and at his silent order, Lachlan, Kyle and Valydyn sat down. Remi however walked around the table, where she took position behind her father.
“Mylady”, Valydyn was the first to speak up, briefly saluting in front of the red-haired woman, who nodded in return. “Greetings, Valydyn”, she mumbled briefly, while Kyle gulped audibly, as he looked at the ugly crone. “Uh... hello, Aunt Viera”, he stuttered and she gave him a short, cold glare. “Nephew”, she spoke, as she looked at Lachlan. “Nephew”
The knight pulled himself together quickly. “Aunt Viera”, he spoke, even if he had never before seen the woman. A Coldwater by birth she was though and therefore kin through his mother's line and deserving of respect. Lord Royce smiled at this uncomfortable exchange, though the moment he straightened his back, all eyes were on him.
“Very well”, he simply said and though his voice was just barely raised above a whisper, it filled the room and resonated deep within Lachlan. “First of all, let me thank you for your timely arrival. There is nothing less at stake but the future of our kingdom” Lachlan's eyes widened and he exchanged a glance with Kyle. His cousin tensed up, though he was the first to speak up. “It is an honour to serve, mylord”, he spoke, his voice not able to hide his nervousness. There was an unspoken addition to this sentence and Lachlan caught up to it at once, as did Orson Royce.
“You wonder why I have sent for you two then, when the stakes are so high”, he deduced and Kyle merely nodded. “The answer is as simple as it is disheartening” He spread his arms slightly. “Loyalty”, he revealed. “This is all a matter of loyalty and its wicked counterpart, treachery” He leant forwards, his smile cutting and notably unnerving. It wasn't honest in any way, looking more forced, like an expression that was trained to hide what lied beneath. “House Coldwater and House Keding have always been my most loyal bannermen and this makes you my most valuable supporters in these dark times”
With this, he glanced at the woman to his left. “This is Eudoxia Tournebulle”, he introduced her and she straightened her back, saluting slightly in front of the Bronze Lord. There was no fear for the lord in her behaviour, as she met his expression with a cold look of her own. “Queen Sharra's spymistress and a valuable ally in the times to come”, Royce continued. “Eudoxia, please reveal to my guests what you just told me”
Eudoxia cleared her throat, as she placed a hand on the table, right onto a document in front of the lord. “This is a letter”, she revealed. “Sent by Aegon of House Targaryen, previously known as the Dragonlord, the last remnant of Valyria. He has declared war on the seven kingdoms of Westeros, from the North to Dorne”
She paused a moment to let this sink in and Lachlan felt a strange mixture of emotions inside him. His first reaction was to chuckle. The Vale was impregnable, untouched by war and with a strength no other realm could match. Yet he caught Orson Royce's expression and hesitated, allowing Eudoxia to continue. “Though he has only a small army at his disposal, early reports hint at his cause quickly gaining followers among the Riverlords. More importantly, he has a decently sized fleet and the might of three fully grown dragons to back him”
“Oh fuck...”, Kyle muttered, instantly biting his tongue as Viera Coldwater's glare hit him. Lachlan had a similar reaction, though in silence. Dragons... that changed the situation quite a bit. They couldn't possibly be that bad, could they? Just three of them... and yet, unlike Kyle he knew how to fight a man, on foot, on horseback, the Vale had experts on naval combat. But dragons? What good would their mountains be against a flying beast?
“I see you understand the gravity of our situation, Lord Coldwater”, Orson remarked dryly, one of his eyebrows slightly raised, a hint of amusement on his face. “Eudoxia came to me so that I may gather my banners. She deduced, quite rightfully, that if Aegon Targaryen launches his attack, he won't come by land. There's Hoare's kingdom between us and him, but to the south, we remain open for an attack by sea... or by air”
“There is Crackclaw Point”, Lachlan spoke and Orson nodded. “A borderline lawless region. A trusted agent of mine has recently brought some order to it, by removing one of our most dangerous enemies from the equation, but I fear we cannot trust in the Lords of Crackclaw Point. Given enough force, they will kneel, leaving the Bay of Crabs open for the Velaryon fleet”
“And then they will take Gulltown, unless we manage to repel them”, Eudoxia warned grimly. For once, the Bronze Lord sighed and it gave his face something old, as the smile faded and his expression darkened. “Which brings us right to the heart of the problem”, he revealed. “I fear I cannot trust in the loyalty of all of my subjects”
That explained one burning question in Lachlan's mind. With Coldwater and Keding, there were members of two important families sworn to House Royce present. But there were neither members of House Tollett, nor of House Shett at the meeting. “May I ask why you think so, mylord?”, he asked and Orson nodded. “You may”, he confirmed. “The answer is simple. This is where Eudoxia's assistant comes into play. Valydyn, please”
As soon as he had said this, Valydyn rose from his seat. Bowing slightly in front of Eudoxia and the Royce family, he began to speak. “I always kept an eye on the happenings in Gulltown”, he told them. “Doesn't always yield results, but a few weeks ago, I caught up to something interesting” He placed his closed fists on the table, similar to the position Eudoxia had assumed on the other end. “The Velaryon fleet might come eventually, but another fleet will be here notably sooner. In fact, it should reach Gulltown as we speak”
“We don't know the intentions of this new fleet, but they carry with them a company of sellswords, at least three hundred men strong”, Lord Royce continued. “This means with our kingdom at the brink of war, one of my bannermen decided to hire a sellsword army without informing me about it first”
“I can only say that House Keding is not involved in this”, Lachlan said and he regretted it instantly as Orson's sardonic smile hit him with full force. “You wouldn't be here had there been doubts about your loyalty, Ser Lachlan”, he growled in a low tone. “No, Valydyn's research revealed that Lord Torgold Tollett has left his home at Grey Glen, entering Gulltown at night about two weeks ago”
Tollett... that was a man Lachlan knew and the last he would have expected to be involved in this. He was a man of honour, jovial and direct, not the kind to scheme in secret. Yet he also knew how to keep a grudge and there were the rumours about the death of his brother...
“I know Torgold is not acting alone”, Orson explained. “He is not the type to plan such a thing, but I believe he may very well be convinced to support a pre-existing scheme. Certainly he has allies within the city, for Valydyn lost his track shortly after his arrival”
Glancing at the informant, Lachlan quickly spotted just how much he was bothered by this. Valydyn was tensed up, avoiding the Bronze Lord's gaze. “I never lose a mark”, he mumbled. “Unless they have allies within the city, people who know how to walk unseen or who pay my own sources to look the other way”
“And my control over the city isn't as strong as it used to be during my father's times”, Orson admitted. “Edgar Grafton values himself my equal. I am not his liege and as such, he has all but refused to cooperate” He shook his head. “Fact is, he cannot be trusted either. His role in this scheme is not yet known to me, but I know my bannermen of House Tollett and Shett are involved”
That fit with what Lachlan had learned in his earlier talk with Valydyn. “Has Sterling Shett left Gull Tower as well?”, he asked, to which Valydyn shook his head. “I believe he will send his daughter, Octavia”, he spoke, to which Kyle rolled his eyes. “Not that woman...”, he mumbled, earning himself an amused chuckle from Redmond and a glare from Osborn. “Octavia Shett is bad news, I'm telling you”
“Oh, we are well aware of that”, Orson agreed, glancing at his firstborn son. “A lesson some here had to learn quite painfully” Osborn looked down and Lachlan noticed that his hands were shaking. “If Octavia is involved, I do not wish to meet her again”, he mumbled and Redmond smirked thinly. “Oh, you're not fooling anyone, dear brother”, he spoke, his voice mimicking his father's in tone, albeit he lacked Orson's presence. “I know how it is to be in love”
Osborn narrowed his eyes. “Only difference is that I did not kill Octavia's father”, he snarled and Redmond shook his head. “Only difference is that Gaila is returning my feelings”, he corrected him. “Besides, had you killed Sterling Shett, we wouldn't be in this mess” This actually gave him a slightly shocked glance from Remi and one of pure displeasure by his father, to which he only shrugged. “What?”, he replied. “Just saying”
The Bronze Lord sighed again. “I do think now it is time to reveal the final piece we know of”, he said. “Lady Viera, you have waited patiently. Please, share your knowledge with my guests” The ugly crone smiled widely at Orson when he addressed her, though her expression changed into a mild frown as she looked at her great-nephews.
“I think you know of the Order, yes?”, she said and it was a statement, not a question. Lachlan realized, she absolutely expected them to have heard of her order, the very sentiment of someone not knowing being distasteful to her. “Well, there is really no way of saying it without embarrassing our noble goal, but I fear the current events are, at least partially, the Order's fault... ahem, their responsibility” Her voice was soft, yet with a hidden sharpness to it and not entirely unlike Orson Royce's tone. If she was copying him, she did a better job than Redmond.
“See, there is the inner circle of our order”, she continued. “Without going into too much detail about the inner workings, because this is really not something you have to know, I am part of the inner circle” She smiled proudly at this, looking around with a smug expression, before she continued. “Among several other members, the one you must know about is a certain Otho Wayland”
“A businessman, his base of operations usually in Maidenpool”, Valydyn explained. “Though he has known belongings in Gulltown and Sisterton. We don't know about his origins, yet nowadays he spends most of his time around the Bay of Crabs”
Viera smirked. “Oh, we know a lot more”, she assured him. “Otho is a businessman, yes, gifted with coin. In the name of the Order, he keeps connections to the great banks of Essos. I suspect you can call him our treasurer” Her smirk faded, replaced by a displeased frown. “And it stands to fear that he has contacted them without informing the rest of the inner circle of his intentions”
“A few weeks ago, Otho has left his estate at Maidenpool, sailing over the Bay of Crabs to Gull Tower, where he currently resides as a guest”, Valydyn informed them. “Paired with Lady Viera's report, we have to fear that he has arranged for House Shett to receive a loan”
“Around the same time, one of my bannermen hired a sizeable sellsword company”, Orson concluded. “It all fits together, but the worst part is that we don't know of their intentions. I count neither Torgold Tollett nor Sterling Shett to my friends and they have always been uneasy bannermen at best. I fear, should the Velaryon fleet sail to Gulltown, the city will be taken from within, through the treachery of those I have to rely on”
“And Targaryen gets a foothold in the Vale...”, Lachlan realized, to which Orson nodded grimly. “Now you know why I called for you”, he stated, his tone more sombre than usual, the look in his eyes stern, yet determined. “We face treachery, schemes and a war threatening to consume the entire continent. And so, I rely on your help to uncover the truth behind this” He narrowed his eyes, though the pale iris continued to glare at Lachlan, who suppressed the almost primal urge to cower in his seat. Instead, he met the gaze with one of his own, until Lord Royce raised an eyebrow. “Anything, mylord”, he promised. “What is it you want me to do?”
For once, Orson's smile seemed more genuine, though it remained eerie. “The way I see it, there are two main questions”, he explained. “First, I want clarity about the roles of Otho Wayland and Sterling Shett and their involvement with this sellsword company. For this, I require a presence at Gull Tower. Second, I need to know what Tollett is doing with Shett's daughter in Gulltown, I want to know which of the petty lords of that city is sheltering them and what Grafton knows about it”
“Octavia is innocent in this”, Osborn stated firmly. “Maybe she is being manipulated by her father, but she is not the kind to scheme behind anyone's back” Redmond chuckled coldly, though Osborn ignored it, as he sighed. “Though it is true that I do not wish to encounter her. I therefore offer to travel to Gull Tower. I always had a connection to Ser Sterling. With some help, I should be able to get him to talk”
Redmond shrugged. “Sure, ignore what a scheming bitch she truly is, just as always. That cunt is crazy and you know it”, he hissed, with anger flaring up in his voice. “Sterling however is a spineless coward. We should focus on his daughter and that Tollett brute. Waste your time at Gull Tower if you want, brother, but I will pursue the true culprits in Gulltown”
His father nodded at the suggestion. “You two splitting up would be preferable, yes”, he agreed. “I want to be honest with you, I do not trust my sons with this task, not on their own” This gave him a cold expression from Osborn, while Redmond bit down onto his lower lip, staring at the ground. “I suspect Osborn's infatuation with Octavia Shett to be not as cold as he claims”, the lord stated openly and his firstborn son gulped slightly. “This makes him anything but impartial. Meanwhile, Redmond's temper must be carefully reined in, or else we might have... unpleasant results”
The bastard of Runestone smirked at this, though there was a brief expression of anger in his eyes. Lachlan however fully understood. The first to speak up was Valydyn. “If mylord wishes, I shall accompany your son to Gulltown”, he offered and Orson merely nodded. This caused Kyle to stand up. “What do you say, Osborn? You and me, a trip to Gull Tower?”
Osborn smiled slightly. “Like the good old times, Kyle”, he replied and once more, Orson nodded. “This seems reasonable. Valydyn knows Gulltown, whereas Lord Coldwater is an appropriate companion for my firstborn son”, he agreed, before he looked at Lachlan. “I do have one companion for each of my sons already, yet I wish for you to take part in these events as well, Ser” He spread his arms, one hand pointing towards Redmond, who had leant forwards in his chair, intensely staring at Lachlan, while the other was pointing towards Osborn, who seemed indifferent. “The true choice however, that is something I leave to you. You have heard what is at stake and I trust your judgement. Where would you like to help?”
[Accompany Valydyn and Redmond to Gulltown][Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
I'm mostly picking this because I think it will make things easier for The Hawk because as i said before I really like him while honestly at the moment I'm not really all that interested in Lachlan although that just might change at some point. Still for now I'm going to try to make choice that help The Hawk more and I feel its likley we won't find anything useful at Gull Tower so lets send him there.
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower] The plot thickens, since either Orson is blatantly lying to his banner men, or the three companies are being manipulated by Octavia.
This means the Vale's bannermen are working against each other for the same goal.
We know House Grafton has nothing to do with the conspiracy, for now at least.
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
Hm, so it seems we're still in the dark regarding who is the real traitor here - Orson or Octavia. Both claim to be loyal to the Vale while painting the other as having treasonous intentions.
Octavia undoubtedly seems like the scheming type, but I'm not sure if there is a reason for her to lie about her loyalties to foreign sellswords - they only bow to coin anyway. Orson on the other hand would have very good reasons not to tell his loyal vassals that he is indeed conspiring with the Targs, so for now I see that as the more likely scenario.
And the Graftons seem to just be impartial to all of this... unless they are the real masterminds behind everything, conspiring with Aegon while playing Lord Royce against his own vassals That might be a bit too crazy of a theory, but if it turns out to be true, just remember I called it
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower] I considered the other option at first, but then I figured we as the readers would probably gain the most info overall by Lachlan going to Gull Tower - we already have the Hawk showing us the Gulltown side of things after all.
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower] I wanna make fun of Osborn's little crush more.
“There is Crackclaw Point”, Lachlan spoke and Orson nodded. “A borderline lawless region. A trusted agent of mine has recently brought some order to it, by removing one of our most dangerous enemies from the equation, but I fear we cannot trust in the Lords of Crackclaw Point. Given enough force, they will kneel, leaving the Bay of Crabs open for the Velaryon fleet”
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
I'm mostly picking this because I think it will make things easier for The Hawk because as i said before I really like him while honestly at the moment I'm not really all that interested in Lachlan although that just might change at some point. Still for now I'm going to try to make choice that help The Hawk more and I feel its likley we won't find anything useful at Gull Tower so lets send him there.
Ah, a valid reason, even if I do hope that Lachlan will eventually win you over as well, because his side of the storyline is going to be just as important. The question there is if it's truly going to make things easier for the Hawk. Keep in mind, Valydyn and Redmond are guaranteed to go to Gulltown and Redmond is hinted to be not the most stable guy. Perhaps having a PoV around to keep an eye on him could ultimately help. At the same time, it's certainly possible that Lachlan and Gull Tower will help the Hawk indirectly by not achieving so much to disrupt Octavia's plans.
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
I'm mostly picking this because I think it will make things easier for The Hawk because as i said… more before I really like him while honestly at the moment I'm not really all that interested in Lachlan although that just might change at some point. Still for now I'm going to try to make choice that help The Hawk more and I feel its likley we won't find anything useful at Gull Tower so lets send him there.
Hm, so it seems we're still in the dark regarding who is the real traitor here - Orson or Octavia. Both claim to be loyal to the Vale while painting the other as having treasonous intentions.
Aye, that is the core of the problem here. One of these two is lying and they are accusing each other of exactly the same thing. Even their supposed intentions are the same, they accuse the other one of working with the Targaryen's or at least plotting to turn on the Vale and Gulltown once the Velaryon fleet arrives. Fact is, they can't both be right, one of them is likely lying.
Octavia undoubtedly seems like the scheming type, but I'm not sure if there is a reason for her to lie about her loyalties to foreign sellswords - they only bow to coin anyway. Orson on the other hand would have very good reasons not to tell his loyal vassals that he is indeed conspiring with the Targs, so for now I see that as the more likely scenario.
Playing devil's advocate here, Octavia was also in the presence of Zeth Arryn and Torgold Tollett, the former is a businessman with a personal interest in protecting Gulltown, whereas the latter is mostly in this for revenge. It could be that neither is willing to work with House Targaryen, in which case Octavia would have to keep up a charade for them, the same reason why Orson might not be telling the truth here.
And the Graftons seem to just be impartial to all of this... unless they are the real masterminds behind everything, conspiring with Aegon while playing Lord Royce against his own vassals That might be a bit too crazy of a theory, but if it turns out to be true, just remember I called it
That might be the only way both, Orson and Octavia, could actually both be in the right and well, I suppose that'd be a twist While I can neither confirm nor deny any of this, I can say that this is an interesting theory that could potentially change everything about the situation. And if that happens, I'll make sure to point out that you called it
Hm, so it seems we're still in the dark regarding who is the real traitor here - Orson or Octavia. Both claim to be loyal to the Vale while … morepainting the other as having treasonous intentions.
Octavia undoubtedly seems like the scheming type, but I'm not sure if there is a reason for her to lie about her loyalties to foreign sellswords - they only bow to coin anyway. Orson on the other hand would have very good reasons not to tell his loyal vassals that he is indeed conspiring with the Targs, so for now I see that as the more likely scenario.
And the Graftons seem to just be impartial to all of this... unless they are the real masterminds behind everything, conspiring with Aegon while playing Lord Royce against his own vassals That might be a bit too crazy of a theory, but if it turns out to be true, just remember I called it
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower] I considered the other option at first, but then I figured we as t… [view original content]
I have to stick to my old “What could possibly go wrong” ways because nothing has gone wrong every time I think that way. Everything is, dare I say, going according to plan.
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
Okay,it seems that I wait enough time so...Hey! I'm back! What a surprise eh?
[Accompany Valydyn and Redmond to Gulltown]
RT: 1) Ahah!Jaron strikes first! 2) It was a really nice barfight! 3) Arryn Blackwell join the party! 4) Oh yes Devrin,send more men at the Rock borders that at your command will help the Ironborn;they will be really helpful! 5) Ahi ahi Willfred really dislike when people take his things eh?Expecially when we talk about ancient artifacts! 6)And Gulltown is officialy part of the story!Hurray! 7) The companies are secretive said The Hawk..but of course he is right! Who could expect that near the biggest city of the Vale there is an army of sellswords? They will for sure cause no panic/problem at the inhabitants of this kingdom! 8) The meeting with Lady Octavia was for sure an interesting one,expecially since she say without any concrete proof that Orson want to betray the kingdom and that he is a Targaryen ally 9) Meanwhile at the other side of the coin Orson said that the House Shett and Tollet plan to use the sellwords to help the targaryen (I'm curious to discover who say the truth and who say the lie) 10) Btw welcome back Orson! If I remember correctly last time we see him was at chapter 2 of the first book! 11) Speaking of old events it was nice hear Orson mention Maya and Lord Brune assasination 13) Oh well,after this last two parts I can officialy say that the Vale storyline is going to be a really complex and interesting one!
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and V… morealydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A mo… [view original content]
Okay,it seems that I wait enough time so...Hey! I'm back! What a surprise eh?
Though I might be in danger of sounding like a broken record there, I gotta say, welcome back
1) Ahah!Jaron strikes first!
And in this case, there is definite proof of it as well. Jaron struck first, let it be known, though he had a pretty good reason for it. I can confirm, had Arryn landed the first hit, he would have won.
2) It was a really nice barfight!
Ah, I am glad you enjoyed it! Bar fights are more or less something I haven't gotten much experience writing about, so it was a bit of a new experience for me. It's unlikely this will be the last one, given how many taverns our protagonists are going to visit in the chapters to come.
3) Arryn Blackwell join the party!
And the party is growing! I can confirm, Arryn won't even be the last potential ally Jaron can recruit. It's very much going to be an important factor going forward, whom he trusts enough to accept help from, whom he manages to convince, or whom stays around til the end, these different characters with their individual skills and motivations will certainly play a major factor in how the storyline is going to play out.
4) Oh yes Devrin,send more men at the Rock borders that at your command will help the Ironborn;they will be really helpful!
It is truly devious of him and there lies Devrin's genius. Even while Willfred has enough common sense to distrust Maron, he would never expect that the polite and friendly Devrin Oakheart has such dark motives. No one does, to be honest. And so, Willfred has no reason to doubt the benefits of the offer, not knowing that in doing so, he'll achieve the opposite of what he actually wanted to do.
5) Ahi ahi Willfred really dislike when people take his things eh?Expecially when we talk about ancient artifacts!
Don't take his precious, no! But yeah, even without the influence of some creepy ancient artifact, he is not the kind of guy to appreciate if random strangers go into his room, rearrange his things and take them into a wholly different room without consulting him first. Crazy, eh?
6)And Gulltown is officialy part of the story!Hurray!
Gulltown is going to be an interesting experience for me. It is a location that was never intended to be in the story as prominently as it ultimately will be, being a major location for the Hawk and potentially Lachlan as well. It'll be massively different form Oldtown, this I can already say, being much smaller and with a liege lord notably more in control than the old Manfred Hightower.
7) The companies are secretive said The Hawk..but of course he is right! Who could expect that near the biggest city of the Vale there is an army of sellswords? They will for sure cause no panic/problem at the inhabitants of this kingdom!
Ah, they are not secretive about their presence in the Vale, not at all. Keep in mind, word of their arrival has already reached Runestone even before they have landed. What the Hawk meant is, they are secretive about their true intentions. This is what makes them so valuable to Octavia. While her own true intentions are a source of speculation at this point, it is clear that Orson Royce is her opponent, at least this is what she believes. He is vastly more powerful, so she uses the most valuable tool at her disposal, namely creating chaos to destabilize his authority, to ultimately weaken him. A sellsword army causing problems without anyone knowing about their true intentions, that is a source of chaos, so something she can use for her own gain.
8) The meeting with Lady Octavia was for sure an interesting one,expecially since she say without any concrete proof that Orson want to betray the kingdom and that he is a Targaryen ally
9) Meanwhile at the other side of the coin Orson said that the House Shett and Tollet plan to use the sellwords to help the targaryen (I'm curious to discover who say the truth and who say the lie)
Gotta comment on these two points at once, because they are two sides of the same coin. This is the core conflict here, both accuse the other one of being a traitor and in league with House Targaryen, neither brings any actual proof beyond simple accusations. It is possible that one of them is right, though at the same time, both being manipulated is surely a potential interpretation as well. This question will actually be something the characters will think about as well and while it won't matter much to the Hawk, who does what he is paid for, the other followers of Octavia and Orson might get their doubts at some point.
10) Btw welcome back Orson! If I remember correctly last time we see him was at chapter 2 of the first book!
You remember correctly indeed! His return has been long in the making and while he won't be major in terms of appearances anytime soon, I can reveal we will see him more prominently in Book 2, appearing in several chapters and being a major force in the background in those he does not personally appear in.
11) Speaking of old events it was nice hear Orson mention Maya and Lord Brune assasination
That is something I very much want to make clear, by having these little references to earlier parts. Nothing is forgotten, except maybe Dimitri the Wise, and every plot element from Book 1 is going to be brought up at some point in Book 2, even relatively minor aspects such as the death of Trymon Brune. Book 2 might cause the story to grow a lot bigger in terms of scale, but the events of Book 1 are the foundation on which the current plot stands.
13) Oh well,after this last two parts I can officialy say that the Vale storyline is going to be a really complex and interesting one!
Ah, I hope this will indeed be the case and that my plans will live up to your expectations! Given what I have in store, I doubt this will be an issue though, so I can only say that I really look forward to share some of the future plot points with you. This is going to be complex indeed, but surely enjoyable
Okay,it seems that I wait enough time so...Hey! I'm back! What a surprise eh?
[Accompany Valydyn and Redmond to Gulltown]
RT:
1) Ahah… more!Jaron strikes first!
2) It was a really nice barfight!
3) Arryn Blackwell join the party!
4) Oh yes Devrin,send more men at the Rock borders that at your command will help the Ironborn;they will be really helpful!
5) Ahi ahi Willfred really dislike when people take his things eh?Expecially when we talk about ancient artifacts!
6)And Gulltown is officialy part of the story!Hurray!
7) The companies are secretive said The Hawk..but of course he is right! Who could expect that near the biggest city of the Vale there is an army of sellswords? They will for sure cause no panic/problem at the inhabitants of this kingdom!
8) The meeting with Lady Octavia was for sure an interesting one,expecially since she say without any concrete proof that Orson want to betray the kingdom and that he is a Targaryen ally… [view original content]
Lachlan is going to accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower
From a writer's perspective, I can say that while both options would have been interesting and I would have loved to write more about Lachlan in Gulltown (that doesn't mean he won't go there eventually), I can only thank you, because this will make things a lot easier for me, when it comes to introduce you to some of the background information in this conflict I otherwise wouldn't have been able to share this easily. In a story that complex, I gladly take any rare chance to keep things easy for me That being said, I also look forward to introduce the new characters at Gull Tower. This is going to be a lot of fun for certain!
The next part is hopefully going to be out today. I know it should be and I am making good progress, but the issue is that I won't be here in the evening, as a friend of mine wishes to celebrate quite the occasion. So, I will have a couple more hours and I think I will close the voting right here for you to know the next part is going to come, but it could take me until tomorrow to actually release it, as much as I hope to get it done today. This next part will lead us back to the Riverlands, where Kyra Greyjoy finds herself manipulated by her own brother. We know Damon wants to overthrow House Hoare and he is playing a very shady game to achieve this. After the wedding of Harmund Hoare and Elaena Mallister, Kyra and her second-in-command Gravven Drumm went out to capture the outlaw Herman Irons, who has previously been responsible for the death of a number of guards, among them the man who betrayed the Sons of the Trident and led to the death of their original leader Addam Wode. Turns out, Herman is crippled from old injuries and not quite the fearsome rebel Kyra had expected. Having taken shelter with a farmer, he willingly gives himself up to spare his friends, even having sent the rest of his allies away for them to avoid capture. He furthermore revealed that while he did the deed, murdering the guards and the guy who betrayed the Sons of the Trident, he had help from within the castle. A cloaked stranger, as he called him, gave him valuable intel, let him and his men into the gatehouse and supposedly even poisoned the guards so that they slept when Herman and his men arrived. While he didn't give a name or a description, Kyra knew this was Damon's doing. With Gravven already growing a bit suspicious, she decided to end Herman's life right there, to prevent Harren's torturers from learning about the same snippet of information and potentially catching up to the true culprit behind these events. The next part will show the death of Herman Irons, but it will continue and show the events of Kyra's return to Harrenhal. I am excited for it and I hope you'll enjoy it as well
For a moment, Kyra closed her eyes. As she opened them again, the gaze in them was steely and determined, glaring at Herman, but right through him at the same time. Damon... There was anger growing inside of her, as she thought about how deeply his duplicity went. He had tricked her and for a moment, she feared that even her decision to come here had been influenced by him.
“In the name of Harren of House Hoare of the Black Blood”, she intoned. “Iron King, King of the Isles and the Rivers, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind and Lord Reaper of Orkmont...” She narrowed her eyes, noticing how Herman did not even flinch. The crippled man showed no fear, to an almost admirable degree. “I, Kyra of House Greyjoy hereby sentence you to death by decapitation. You will not be brought back to Harrenhal. The sentence will be carried out immediately”
Briefly, he sighed and she couldn't tell if it was regret or relief. Gravven next to her raised an eyebrow however. “Your decision, cap”, he agreed. “Just prepare for some questions once we're back. There's people who'd want him alive”
“My decision stands”, Kyra replied firmly and Gravven shrugged. “I'll fetch a block”, he offered. “Hey, farmer? You got any chopping blocks here? Might get bloody though, just so you know” He called into the other room and after a moment, the grey-faced figure of Barnell Nednock appeared. The farmer and Herman exchanged a silent look and the rebel smiled slightly, before he nodded.
“Is there no other way?”, Barnell nonetheless asked and Gravven rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you and your rebel friend here can come with us, to Harrenhal”, he growled. “Sure Holt Torv can show you another way” The threat was effective and the farmer staggered back as if Gravven had punched him. “I'll get it done at once” he promised, before he left the room again. After a moment of consideration, Gravven followed. “Never trust these fish people to fucking do their job correctly”, he muttered beneath his breath.
Herman Irons leant back in his chair, as he gazed at Kyra, his own glare matching hers in its determination. “I have no regrets”, he spoke and she shook her head. “I don't care”, she replied, as he tilted his head. “Why not Harrenhal?”, he finally asked and she clenched her fists, not willing to respond to his question. This only seemed to make him more curious. “What are you hiding, Ironborn?”, he almost demanded to know. “The stranger was a man, so... you are covering someone... Doubt you're doing this out of mercy, at least”
“Don't make me change my mind”, she warned him sharply. “The blades of Harren's torturers are still an option” To this, he merely shook his head, now smirking almost audaciously. “If I'm correct, they are not”, he replied slyly. “Now I gotta take my earlier statement back. The one regret I have is dying before I find out what you're hiding... whom you are covering”
Harshly, Kyra grabbed him by the shoulder. No matter if he accepted his fate, no matter his polite tone or the fact that he, just like her, had been manipulated, this man had murdered several of her guards. It wasn't mercy she was granting him, but she had to protect her brother from his own foolishness.
Herman grunted with pain, quickly grabbing his crutches to keep standing, as she yanked him up. “Easy, that won't be necessary”, he protested and she let go of him again, though her sharp glare remained. “Not a word to my companion”, she hissed in a low tone and Herman understood. He simply gave her a nod and an understanding was met.
Gravven chose this moment to return. He carried with him a decently sized block and now, the crippled rebel sighed. “I'd say we do it outside”, Gravven spoke. “Can be a nightmare to get blood stains out of the wood” Kyra nodded and with this, he opened the front door, stepping outside and leaving the two in the room for a moment longer.
“Greyjoy...”, Herman mumbled and he looked at her, his eyes slowly widening. Kyra slowly shook her head, as she grabbed him by the shoulder again, nearly knocking him off his weak legs. She kept him from falling though until he had regained his footing. “I think I know what is going on here...”, he said.
“You know nothing”, she growled in return, glancing at the door, fearing that Gravven would hear more than she wanted him to, more than what would be safe for him. This was already almost too much and she was afraid he'd start to ask questions. “Now, are you coming with some dignity, or would you have me drag your sorry ass to the block?”
Herman shook his head. “I'm coming”, he assured her and indeed, he began to limp past her, towards the front door. Kyra sighed, as she crossed her arms, leaning against the table and watching him. Her heart was racing at what she had just learned. Before Torvin's attempt on the king's life, her brother wouldn't have gone so far. A lot had changed in the last few months and Damon, he had gotten more reckless, more brutal. And still, the king was in charge and all her brother had achieved were a few dead guards, her guards. The king was unlikely to even miss them. She on the other hand...
As soon as the rebel had left the room, she pulled herself together and followed after him, out into the open. Glancing to her left, she spotted Barnell Nednock staring out, shielding his young son's eyes with one hand. Herman however had already made his way to the chopping block Gravven had presented. Glancing around, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Her second-in-command was standing next to him, Red Rain in his hand. As Kyra approached them, he gave her a nod, followed by presenting her the hilt of his sword. “Will you do me the honour, cap?”, he asked and she managed to smile at the offer. “Gladly”, she replied, as she placed a hand on the hilt of Red Rain. The sword was light, weighing much less than the regular steel they were using in Westeros and definitely lighter than her axe. Yet it wasn't actually the first time she had been wielding the weapon. Fierce as he was to his enemies, Gravven was even more generous to his friends, even when it involved his prized sword.
With a groan of pain, Herman sank to his knees, almost having to lie down on the ground. As he readily placed his head on the block, he had to cling to the wood to remain somewhat upright. Kyra felt no pity for the man, considering his actions, but his condition could only be described as pitiable. To think that her brother, Vickon, had almost suffered a similar fate, it filled her with dread and she could only pray to the Drowned God that she would be spared such a fate. To be weak, helpless, pathetic, it was worse than death.
Briefly, she knelt down next to the rebel, to make sure he was capable of remaining upright. Last thing she wanted was a messy execution. “You are right...”, she whispered into his ear, only for him to hear and even then barely audible. The man's eyes widened, as he stared at her. Though about to die, he smiled and as she raised the sword above her head, he opened his mouth.
Only the beginnings of a chuckle had left his throat as Red Rain hit his neck, cleanly severing the head from the body and cutting off any amusement he was getting from this. It was more than he deserved, but at least he died with some satisfaction. Blood sprayed from the neck, covering the wooden log and the ground, as the body sank down.
Wordless, Gravven handed her a piece of fabric he had likely taken from the farmhouse and she wiped the blood off the red blade, before giving the weapon back to its rightful owner. For a moment, they remained there, staring at the headless corpse of Herman Irons. The look on his face was one of happiness and it left a sour taste in her mouth. Her men were avenged at last, but there was more behind this.
“What now?”, Gravven asked and Kyra forced herself to smile at him. She was never one to shy away from carnage and he shouldn't get the idea that something else was bothering her. “Now we return home”, she promised and he chuckled. “Not quite the fight I was hoping for, but at least Red Rain has tasted blood”, he growled. “I could go for a beer now”
She nodded half-heartedly, as she turned to her horse. “What do we do with these people? The farmer and his son, I mean”, the man asked and Kyra stopped dead in her tracks. Glancing at the farmhouse, she saw Barnell still standing there. Tears streamed down his face, though he made no attempt to do anything. “We leave them”, she spoke. “They are not part of this”
“Fine with me”, Gravven agreed. “Though they did house a wanted rebel. Someone will ask questions. The king will send someone eventually” To this, she nodded. “And they'll burn this whole place down. If this fucker is any smart, he and his son will be halfway out of the kingdom by then”, she replied. “But that is none of my business. I went out here to confront the man who murdered my guards, not to kill some poor farmer and his boy”
As she had reached her horse, Gravven had caught up with her. “Yeah, about that”, he spoke, gently moving a hand through the mane of his own steed. “What do you think of what he told us? Someone who helped him from the inside” His tone was calm, yet Kyra spotted the distrust in it. She gulped, as her smile faded entirely. “Leave this to me”, she said, her tone firm and perhaps a bit cold. “Until then, not a word to anyone. If he told us the truth, we cannot trust anyone in the castle”
“Can't do nothing either”, Gravven replied. “If we leave the traitor be, there will be more dead guards to follow” Kyra tensed up at the suggestion, though she shook her head. “I said leave this to me”, she reminded him sharply. “It's going to be dangerous the more people know about this. I have a plan, but until then, you won't say a word to anyone, have I made myself clear?”
Gravven nodded reluctantly. “You have, captain”, he promised her. “But keep me updated. If you need my help, you have it. I got your back” Though she appreciated the sentiment, she could only roll her eyes at his loyalty. She knew those weren't empty words. At the same time, he had no idea what he was up to. Gravven would not get dragged into this, she was certain of it.
The return to Harrenhal happened mostly in silence. Kyra could tell that Gravven had gotten suspicious and there was little she could do about it right now. As such, she left him to his silent brooding, hoping his thoughts wouldn't amount to anything. And the whole time at the farm had put her into a bad mood, with anger rising up in her. There was no time for jests right now. As the towers of Harrenhal appeared in the distance, she knew she had to confront her brother.
The opportunity came quickly, as Kyra spotted Damon the moment she and Gravven rode into the courtyard. He was watching them from afar, his elbows resting on the railing of the staircase leading up to the smallest of the five towers. One of his hands was moving through his short beard and the look he was giving her was inscrutable and almost menacing.
“Cap?”, Gravven asked as Kyra slowed down her horse. He stopped next to her, following her glance. She noticed how he himself tensed up. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”, he mumbled, though she did not reply, as she descended from her horse. Hearing Gravven doing the same behind her, she began to approach Damon.
After a few feet, her second-in-command had reached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. With a low growl, she shook it off in an instant, as she spun around to look at him. “Not now”, she finally replied, though her tone was softer than her attitude. “Please, take care of the horses, then take the rest of the day off. That's an order”
Slowly, he looked at her and she saw the look in his eyes. He did not know, but he had a suspicion and that was already bad enough. However, he saw the silent plea in her gaze and pulled himself together. His mouth formed a thin smile and he gave her a nod. “Of course, Kyra”, he agreed. “Come meet me later on, if you got the time” With this, he turned around, leaving Kyra free to approach her brother.
Damon was waiting patiently, as she walked up the stairs. He was looking at her, then across the courtyard, where Gravven led the horses to the stables. “You're back”, he said, as he smiled at her. “I... am glad you are okay, little sister” She did not reply to his flattery, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. “And... Herman Irons?”
“Dead”, she replied coldly. “I executed him” With this, she took a deep breath, as she narrowed her eyes. “Though not before he told me something that gained my attention”, she added. “Can you guess what it is?” To his credit, Damon did not try to fool her. He merely nodded. “I suppose you have questions”, he replied.
“You bet I have!”, she snapped at him, as she slammed a finger against his chest. He had the audacity to smirk, staring down at her with a calm, smug look on his face. Then, he leant closer. “Yes, I have helped Herman and his people”, he informed her and she clenched her teeth. “You murdered my guards”, she growled, though she managed to keep her tone down. There was no one near them, but in this castle, she knew to be careful.
Damon shook his head. “To be fair, I merely made them sleep. The murdering, that was all on Herman”, he corrected her. “A necessary price” Kyra groaned in frustration, staring past Damon and down the stairs. “For what?”, she hissed. “A dozen of my men are dead. Your connection to the Sons of the Trident died when I cut off his head. You have gained nothing out of this”
“An unpleasant side goal of the larger objective”, her brother spoke. “I did this to get rid of Edgar. Turncoat or not, he is still a Riverlander. Figured he might get sick of the abuse your precious men put him through on a daily basis” For a moment, there was a dark anger visible behind his eyes. “And instead of helping, the little shit tried to blackmail me”
“Could have told you that much”, Kyra snarled. “Edgar has been scum. Surely there could have been easier ways to get rid of him though. Ways that don't involve murdering my guards!” Damon raised an eyebrow. “Quiet, sister”, he warned her. “I used Edgar's inevitable death to gain a favour with the Sons of the Trident. Trust me when I say, my connection is not even close to have dried out after Herman's death. We are one step closer and all I had to do was... to take care of a problem”
As he spoke this last sentence, he looked down the courtyard, where Gravven was just leaving the stables again. Briefly, the raider looked up at the two, though he thankfully minded his own business. Kyra understood what Damon meant though. “No”, she hissed. “Gravven is not a problem!”
“If you caught up to what Herman told you, then surely Drumm did as well. He's not as thick-headed as he looks”, Damon replied, in the same tone as one would comment on the weather. Kyra stepped closer, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and glaring at him. “I said he is not a problem!”, she warned him. “I should already inform the king just for what you did to my guards. But Gravven is a friend. Harm him and this is over!”
For a moment, Damon just looked at her, before he gulped. “You are serious”, he stated. “A foolishness, but I never expected you to be far-sighted” He sighed and she swallowed down her growing anger. “I won't harm Drumm, not if you can make sure that he won't tell the king”, he promised. “For if you expose me, I can guarantee you will hang right next to me. He is a vengeful one, the black king, and you have helped me before”
“We have an understanding then”, Kyra stated and Damon nodded. “I'm doing this for you”, he spoke and gently, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “All of this, I'm doing it to keep you safe from these beasts” She bit down on her lower lip. “I don't need your protection”, she informed him. “Maybe you haven't noticed, but a lot has changed while you were exiled”
“Another thing I did for you”, Damon reminded her. “Yet still, have things truly changed that much? How long do you think Harndon would hold back, would he not fear my wrath? He remembers the beating I gave him. And Harmund... you haven't seen the way he looks at you when you have your back turned on him. He desires you, in his dark and twisted way and he has never been able to deal with not getting what he desires”
Kyra shook her head. “Trust me, I know the looks”, she stated, though Damon was not done yet. “And Harrick...”, he said, causing her to tense up. “What about him?”, she growled, almost too loud. Damon looked around before he replied. “I do not care if you are just using him for fun. He is a handsome man and I suppose the only one in his entire family who bathes regularly” Sternly, he raised a finger. “But I fear this is more than just fun for you. After all, you were asking for a repeat performance, more than once”, he warned her. “You seem to be growing close to him”
“And?”, Kyra asked, not even bothering with denying his accusation. “And I will not see you becoming a Hoare”, Damon stated decisively. The thought, admittedly, was dreadful to Kyra. Princess Hoare, she would never want that. While it was true, Harrick was someone to be fond of, she would never allow things to become that serious. However, with her anger towards Damon, she did not attempt to ease his concern. “I don't see how you have any say in it”, she simply stated.
“I am your brother”, Damon reminded her. “From my standpoint, I do have a say in it” Kyra shook her head. “Vickon might have”, she corrected him. “But you are not Lord Greyjoy, no matter how much you want it” It was in this moment that she realized something and it nearly caused her to jump back in sudden horror. Dread rose up in her as she noticed Damon's expression at the mention of their brother.
“God...”, she mumbled and Damon quickly managed to control his vicious expression. “What do you mean?”, he said calmly, his voice oozing coldness. “Before he left for Pyke, he told me something”, Kyra revealed. “Told me that the night he fell down the stairs, he saw you. Told me that he thinks... he thinks you pushed him”
Damon's face showed no emotion and it was the worst thing she had ever seen of him. “Vickon fell down the stairs”, he insisted. “A tragedy, but thankfully he survived. Who knows what truly happened on that day, I doubt we can count on his memory being unfailing. It is for the better, for he lacks my experience. I trust him to rule Pyke well once he makes a full recovery, but he wouldn't have been a good Lord Captain”
“He is our brother!”, she barked and now she was louder than she should be. As she continued, she had gotten her voice under control again. “You threaten my men, you threaten my friends, you threaten our brother and for what? For you getting your sick revenge fantasy on the king?”
“For you!”, Damon insisted again and she knew, he was serious. At least he thought himself to be serious here, even if she suspected the truth to be more complicated than that. “All your life, it was my task to protect you. And I did, I kept you safe even from the king's rotten bloodline” She opened her mouth, but Damon cut her off by grabbing her by the shoulder. “Before you insist on not needing any protection, think of the consequences. Think of where you would be without me”
She paused, as her heart was thumping wildly. Glaring at him, she took a few deep breaths. “I know you saved my life”, she agreed. “Harndon...” She gulped and slightly shivered, as she thought back to that day, back to how she nearly fell. Would she have ended up like Vickon? Or maybe she would have died, broken on the rocks, all because some sick princeling wanted to get some fun. Damon saved her life on that day. He wasn't the same man anymore, but it didn't make her less grateful, nor did his recent actions make her any less furious.
“And I will do so again, without even hesitating”, he promised. “There is nothing I wouldn't do for you” He smiled gently and for a moment, he looked almost like the man he used to be before Harren sent him away. “In return, I want you to promise me only one thing”, he said and she gulped. “What?”, she asked.
“I want you to never betray me”, Damon explained. “I want you to be by my side, to support me as I aim to make this world better for the two of us. If you work closer with me, we can prevent something like the events with Herman Irons from ever happening again. My plans, coupled with your knowledge, your position so close to the king... I want you to help me, not just on occasion, but as my equal. Think of how easy it will be, how we can keep things from escalating again” He narrowed his eyes and there he was again, the Ghost of Pyke. “Think of Gravven. You tell me he is not a threat, but can I truly believe you?”, he asked and it sent a shiver down her spine. “Promise me to support me in this and we don't have to quarrel ever again. Then, I can believe your word” He smirked. “Then, we shall bring this whole rotten house down and anyone standing in our way, until you and I finally have what we deserve”
His gaze was intense, menacing, yet chilling. Kyra was tensed up, as she stared at him in return. He meant well, she had to tell herself over and over in her head, or else she would freak out. And he was serious. Yet, Harren was her king and no matter what Damon said, he wasn't too bad, not towards her. She had sworn an oath to him. At the same time, Damon was her brother. Could she truly swear another oath to him as well, knowing her loyalties would clash eventually? And could she truly afford not swearing it, risking his wrath?
Fuck Damon, was never a big fan of him, and my opinion of him grows more negative with each passing day, crippling his own brother is a low move, and him saving Kyra from Hoares long ago isn't enough to redeem him in my eyes. He is selfish, manipulative, and is basically emotionally blackmailing Kyra.
[Promise him]
Well look the first time I get to see a character being moved to the deceased section which I have to admit is kind of cool even if Herman Irons was more of a minor character.
Speaking of which I feel kinda bad for whoever created him because he only appears in Two parts before getting killed which must suck. But i feel his death is going to have ramifications even if there only minor.
Kyra
For a moment, Kyra closed her eyes. As she opened them again, the gaze in them was steely and determined, glaring at Herman, but rig… moreht through him at the same time. Damon... There was anger growing inside of her, as she thought about how deeply his duplicity went. He had tricked her and for a moment, she feared that even her decision to come here had been influenced by him.
“In the name of Harren of House Hoare of the Black Blood”, she intoned. “Iron King, King of the Isles and the Rivers, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind and Lord Reaper of Orkmont...” She narrowed her eyes, noticing how Herman did not even flinch. The crippled man showed no fear, to an almost admirable degree. “I, Kyra of House Greyjoy hereby sentence you to death by decapitation. You will not be brought back to Harrenhal. The sentence will be carried out immediately”
Briefly, he sighed and she couldn't tell if it was regret or relief. Gravven next to… [view original content]
Fuck Damon, was never a big fan of him, and my opinion of him grows more negative with each passing day, crippling his own brother is a low move, and him saving Kyra from Hoares long ago isn't enough to redeem him in my eyes. He is selfish, manipulative, and is basically emotionally blackmailing Kyra.
Aye, there is definitely a bit of manipulation on Damon's part here. He is quite a piece of work, his most redeeming trait probably being his desire to end the truly villainous Hoare line. As bad as he is, Harmund is all that and worse, but that still only makes him the lighter shade of black at best. There is genuine fondness for Kyra, but as you have rightly seen here, even that is warped and he is not above manipulating their bond for his favour. They once had a genuinely positive sibling bond, but Damon went through a lot of development during his exile and it hasn't necessarily been for the better, as Kyra slowly has to realize. There are positive aspects to him as well, but this part really highlighted some of his worst traits.
When it comes to him and Vickon, the full story is as follows: During the last weeks of Damon's exile, it was decided that Vickon would become the new Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, due to his position as Harren's most powerful vassal. However, shortly before he was to be formally appointed, he suffered an accident in Harrenhal, basically falling down the stairs and receiving severe injuries in the process. He is expected to make a full recovery, but it will take years until he gets to the point where he used to be, if he ever even gets there again at all. Damon returned shortly afterwards from his exile and managed to convince the king to make him Lord Captain in Vickon's stead, seeing as how Vickon is obviously unable to do the duties of a Lord Captain anytime soon. This has sparked some rumours already and as we have seen here, Vickon himself seems to remember seeing Damon on that day, something Kyra has never truly believed until now, as Damon did not return for another couple of days. That and her not wanting to believe that he had a hand in this, but well, it does seem like a possible explanation now.
[Don't promise him]
Fuck Damon, was never a big fan of him, and my opinion of him grows more negative with each passing day, crippling hi… mores own brother is a low move, and him saving Kyra from Hoares long ago isn't enough to redeem him in my eyes. He is selfish, manipulative, and is basically emotionally blackmailing Kyra.
Well look the first time I get to see a character being moved to the deceased section which I have to admit is kind of cool even if Herman Irons was more of a minor character.
And before this chapter is over, he will not remain the last, this I can promise. I might not be super trigger happy when killing off characters, but over the course of Book 2, the deceased section will definitely grow significantly.
Speaking of which I feel kinda bad for whoever created him because he only appears in Two parts before getting killed which must suck. But i feel his death is going to have ramifications even if there only minor.
Aye, in this case Herman's early death was the direct outcome of your choices. Potentially, he could have lived for far longer, becoming an ally of Kyra if she would have chosen to support Damon in the last chapter, or being a prisoner in Harrenhal if she would have decided to take him in at the end of her last part. I don't like killing off underdeveloped characters, but I feel like there isn't too much I can do with Herman's character, so this death was a fitting end for him, I believe. I can also confirm that his creator is not an active reader to my knowledge, I tend to be a bit more lenient with these in terms of when I decide to kill them off. At least I don't think I ever killed the character of an active reader within such a short time frame. In general, I usually don't kill off characters this quickly and I would have liked to keep him around for a bit longer, but every once in a while, a character just dies quickly. At best, I hope to give them a small but memorable role, something I hope to have succeeded in with Herman. There are other characters who have died an early death after only a single chapter, these being Robb, Alexander and Otis and I think each of them has at least left some sort of an impact, with especially Alexander being still brought up by Ilish for saving her life. And I aim to make every death count, albeit some will obviously have larger importance than others. Expect Lucas or Richard to be brought up all the way to the end of the story. Occasionally, the other characters will be remembered as well, their deaths having consequences ranging from major to minor, but unless every character with a connection to one of the deceased is going to die as well, no character will be forgotten.
[Promise him]
Well look the first time I get to see a character being moved to the deceased section which I have to admit is kind of cool e… moreven if Herman Irons was more of a minor character.
Speaking of which I feel kinda bad for whoever created him because he only appears in Two parts before getting killed which must suck. But i feel his death is going to have ramifications even if there only minor.
[Promise him] As much of a bastard as he is to Kyra and the others, he truly cares about his sister, and we all know they must get the f**k out of there before the dragons arrive. The least attached she is to House Hoare, the least likely she is to burn to ashes along with whoever stays.
Kyra
For a moment, Kyra closed her eyes. As she opened them again, the gaze in them was steely and determined, glaring at Herman, but rig… moreht through him at the same time. Damon... There was anger growing inside of her, as she thought about how deeply his duplicity went. He had tricked her and for a moment, she feared that even her decision to come here had been influenced by him.
“In the name of Harren of House Hoare of the Black Blood”, she intoned. “Iron King, King of the Isles and the Rivers, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind and Lord Reaper of Orkmont...” She narrowed her eyes, noticing how Herman did not even flinch. The crippled man showed no fear, to an almost admirable degree. “I, Kyra of House Greyjoy hereby sentence you to death by decapitation. You will not be brought back to Harrenhal. The sentence will be carried out immediately”
Briefly, he sighed and she couldn't tell if it was regret or relief. Gravven next to… [view original content]
Kyra
For a moment, Kyra closed her eyes. As she opened them again, the gaze in them was steely and determined, glaring at Herman, but rig… moreht through him at the same time. Damon... There was anger growing inside of her, as she thought about how deeply his duplicity went. He had tricked her and for a moment, she feared that even her decision to come here had been influenced by him.
“In the name of Harren of House Hoare of the Black Blood”, she intoned. “Iron King, King of the Isles and the Rivers, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind and Lord Reaper of Orkmont...” She narrowed her eyes, noticing how Herman did not even flinch. The crippled man showed no fear, to an almost admirable degree. “I, Kyra of House Greyjoy hereby sentence you to death by decapitation. You will not be brought back to Harrenhal. The sentence will be carried out immediately”
Briefly, he sighed and she couldn't tell if it was regret or relief. Gravven next to… [view original content]
Kyra
For a moment, Kyra closed her eyes. As she opened them again, the gaze in them was steely and determined, glaring at Herman, but rig… moreht through him at the same time. Damon... There was anger growing inside of her, as she thought about how deeply his duplicity went. He had tricked her and for a moment, she feared that even her decision to come here had been influenced by him.
“In the name of Harren of House Hoare of the Black Blood”, she intoned. “Iron King, King of the Isles and the Rivers, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind and Lord Reaper of Orkmont...” She narrowed her eyes, noticing how Herman did not even flinch. The crippled man showed no fear, to an almost admirable degree. “I, Kyra of House Greyjoy hereby sentence you to death by decapitation. You will not be brought back to Harrenhal. The sentence will be carried out immediately”
Briefly, he sighed and she couldn't tell if it was regret or relief. Gravven next to… [view original content]
Comments
The Hawk
“So, this is Gulltown, huh?”, Montoya brought up, as the town appeared in the distance. He chuckled, as he raised an eyebrow. “Doesn't look too exciting” The Hawk had to admit, he was right with that. Though by now means small, Gulltown was still smaller than expected, for the largest town in the Vale. Then again, the entire kingdom wasn't particularly densely populated, from what little he remembered of Hadrax' lessons.
Located in a natural and fairly spacious harbour, gentle hills in the distance, it certainly made for a beautiful scenery, few houses larger than two stories, most of them painted in a wide array of colours, from red, to yellow to blue. There was a keep, fairly small but pretty, well-fitting for a city like this. In the distance, outside the natural harbour, there was the Bay of Crabs, illuminated by the evening sun.
“Quite scenic though”, the Rat spoke. Even atop the back of a horse, he was small and crooked, yet his smile was wide and the look in his gaze cunning. “Don't be fooled, Duelist. It's smaller than any of the Free Cities, but still the largest city you'll find in this kingdom” He chuckled, as he exchanged a glance with Vii, who walked next to him, her gaze strangely unmoving as opposed to his clever smirk. “And it is a rich kingdom, untouched by war. Imagine the spoils such a city holds”
Montoya raised an eyebrow as he looked at the town from above the hill they were standing on. “I suppose we'll see”, he replied. “At least the lady pays well” This caused the Hawk to glance at his second-in-command, the expression in his sole eye no less sly than the Rat's. “Knowing you, you'll change your mind when you see the first pretty lass from there”
“That Lady Shett perhaps, I hope”, Montoya spoke, before he glanced at Jaqiros Nestoris. The man kept the same cold smile he had on his face for most of the journey. If anything, spending so much time about the Pig and his brute, he had gotten only colder and this was a sentiment the Hawk was at least able to understand. For types such as Jaqoris, the Pig could be hard to get used to.
“She is supposed to be fair, yes”, the banker finally admitted. “Not that I have met her, but my superiors and their benefactors assured me of such. Her beauty is not why you are here though, do not forget that, sellsword” Montoya gave him a sarcastic nod. “How could I, with such a fine representative of the Iron Bank always there to remind me?”
Jaqiros' expression soured, though he quickly regained his composure. “Regardless, I doubt the lady will appreciate your brutish manners. She holds an ancient name and it gives her pride” The Hawk exchanged a glance with Montoya, who merely shrugged.
“We meet the lady at the castle, aye?”, the Pig growled, to which Jaqiros shook his head, his thin, mocking smile returning. He even allowed himself a small chuckle before replying. “Oh, oh no”, he spoke. “Lady Octavia father, Ser Sterling, does not reside in Gulltown” He pointed into the distance and as the Hawk narrowed his eye, he spotted a building, dozens of miles away at the top of the cliffs. “This is Gull Tower”, he explained. “But once, all of Gulltown belonged to House Shett. Kin of her yet resides in the city, but the castle is held by Lord Grafton” He gave the sellswords a stern glare. “He must not know of your connection to Lady Octavia”
“The three companies are secretive”, the Hawk told him sternly, feeling slight anger at the man even implying that this was not the case. “To this, I give you my word” Jaqiros seemed to get the hint, as he merely nodded. “Good”, he said thinly. “Instead of the castle, we will meet the lady in one of the town's mansions, owned by an acquaintance”
This was all the Hawk needed to know, but the Rat, as always, was more curious. “I thought we'd meet Lady Shett alone. What can you tell us about this acquaintance?”, he asked. “Just so that we can prepare” Jaqiros shook his head. “Nothing he can't tell you himself”, he spoke. “He's waiting for us at the gates”
The very same gates had gotten close by now. It was telling for Gulltown's importance as a harbour that most of the people seemed to arrive and leave by sea. From the hill, the docks had seemed quite busy, a multitude of ships visible from there and far across the Bay of Crabs, the Hawk was able to see Bartmer Tidewater and his fleet of Braavosi ships, making their way to Gulltown as promised. But at the current time of the day, no one actually used the gates.
Two men stood guard in front and on top of the wall, the Hawk spotted several men, armed with crossbows, patrolling and only casually glancing at the group. The guards on the ground though instantly stood firmly. “Halt!”, one of them barked. “State your name and business in Gulltown!”
The Hawk gulped, as he glanced at Jaqiros. The banker had said nothing about this and he was half certain this oversight was nothing but an attempt to learn his true name. The Hawk was unlikely to satisfy them, yet at the same time, it was him. His real name belonged to a stranger, a man who died sixty years ago.
“Jaqorio”, Jaqiros introduced himself. “I am...” He did not manage to finish the sentence, as he got interrupted by a new arrival from inside the city. “Easy, men”, a deep voice sounded from behind the guards. “These belong to me” A man stepped into the Hawk's field of view and for a moment, the old sellsword mustered him. More flashy than what he had expected from the Vale, the man was clad in a long and high-collared coat of a fine, turquoise fabric. In contrast to the coat, screaming of a high birth or a full purse, his skin was tanned and rough, reminding the Hawk of a hard-working sailor. Piercing, blue eyes looked at the group out of a sharp face, his dark brown hair tied back.
“Mylord!”, the guard spoke, as he saluted. He and his colleague took a step aside, as they gave Jaqiros a nod. “You may pass, quickly” Jaqiros smirked, an expression the nobleman did not share, as he rode past the guards. However, they shared a warm handshake. After descending from their horses, the sellswords followed, through the gates and onto a larger street. Some people walked by them, though as the Hawk suspected, they weren't the strangest sight in this town by any means, as cozy as it looked even from the inside.
Only once they had walked around a corner did he address the man he had just met. “So... mylord?”, he asked. “Apologies, I thought Lord Grafton was not to be involved in this” To this, the man laughed brightly. “Ah, that is a misunderstanding”, he spoke, as he put a hand onto his chest. “Lord Grafton isn't involved in this, but I am not him. My name is Zeth Arryn”
The Rat whistled, impressed at that name and it meant something even to the Hawk, who had met more kings and high lords in his long life than he ever cared to count. “Lady Shett keeps high company”, he brought up, to which the lord shook his head. “Not the Eyrie Arryn's”, he spoke. “A common mistake, for I am actually of the Gulltown branch” He shrugged. “Mostly landless, save for property inside the city, but we make up for it in coin”, he explained. “My relation to the royal family is quite distant, I'm afraid. Last time I checked, there were roughly a hundred men and women ahead of me in the line of succession, including the Queen Regent herself”
“Still a surprise. Didn't expect so many noblemen involved with that Shett girl”, the Hawk growled, to which Arryn chuckled. “And I won't be the last you'll meet today, that much I can promise”, he spoke, before he extended his hand. “Though I am not your lord. While you're working for me, it's Zeth”
The Hawk nodded in a friendly manner, before he shook the hand. “A man to my liking”, he complimented him. “I am the Hawk” Zeth raised an eyebrow. “Not big on names, I have heard that much. Your reputation precedes you” He glanced at the other sellswords, his gaze first resting on the Pig. “And you must be the Pig, if I'm not mistaken”
A wide grin formed on the fat man's face. “The Pig, at your service”, he introduced himself in a booming voice. “Strongest among the Three Companies!” He patted Zeth onto the back and the man coughed slightly. “So they say”, he spoke, as he turned his attention to the Rat. The deformed hunchback had his issues with walking longer distances, but the Hawk knew, he was too prideful to admit. Instead, he was limping alongside Vii, occasionally gasping and heavily panting.
“And then this is the Rat”, Arryn deduced and the Rat grinned thinly. “That would be me, yes”, he replied, looking up at the nobleman. “Though you'd be best advised not to listen to the Pig's boasts. He might be strong, yes, but you'll find the best warriors among my company. The Pig only deals with mindless beasts”
Quickly, the Hawk glared at the Pig, though the large man surprised him by simply chuckling. “The little man boasts wildly”, he growled. “Look at him and let him boast. What else is there in his life?” He gave Zeth a wink. “When you need someone dead, you'll yearn for my beasts. Nothing more terrifying this side of the Narrow Sea”
Zeth smirked. “I take it you haven't seen Lady Octavia when she's angry”, he brought up. “The woman has a temper, but her goal is just” He continued to lead them through the streets of Gulltown and the Hawk had to admit, despite its smaller size, this city didn't have to hide in terms of beauty. Most of the buildings were painted, some red, some yellow, green or blue, most of them in impeccable condition. Despite the usual smell that accompanied any larger city, it was remarkably clean, the streets of cobblestone holding much less dirt than he would have expected. He had no doubt that Gulltown had its ugly places as well, though Zeth seemed to take the scenic route, avoiding these darker spots. And as much as he had never shied away from those, the Hawk appreciated it. A long life on the battlefield had given him an understanding of how rare beauty was, so he actually took a moment to enjoy the sight of a city at peace. And yet... he had brought hundreds of men to their shores, just a few miles to the east. He'd hate having to destroy such beauty.
“And what is it the lady is up to?”, the Rat asked, his eyes narrowed with curiosity, yet also distrust. That was what the Hawk appreciated the most about him. The Pig had his standards, yet it was the Rat who triggered them, who uncovered shady deals and questionable tasks. With a healthy ambition, yet always cautious, always curious, perhaps the only reason he had managed to stay in this position for over a decade now.
As soon as he had said this, Zeth stopped. “Well, why don't you ask her yourself?”, he replied, as he pointed at the building at the end of the street. It was a walled estate, larger than the rest, three stories high. While the walls were painted in blue, the roof tiles were kept white. There were banners hanging down from it, a white falcon on a blue ground, sharing the space with a crescent and a ship's sail.
“We Gulltown Arryn's don't own a fancy castle”, Zeth explained. “Although, I dare say, this isn't too bad. In the Free Cities, no magister lives in a castle and yet, each of them is a lord in their own right” With a wide smile, he walked past the open gates, the sellswords following at once. Servants came rushing over the courtyard towards them and the Hawk noticed Agar the Cold tensing up. He himself remained calm and with a smile on his face, he handed the reins of his horse to the older man approaching him.
More servants opened the door and Zeth casually walked in, Jaqiros behind him. The Rat followed, then the Hawk, who took a moment to admire the craftsmanship that went into the marble above the door, depicting a fleet of ships sailing towards a sunset. The main hall of the building was kept in a similar style, made out of grey marble, adorned with blue carpets and tapestries, the latter showing the sigil of House Arryn of Gulltown. There were portraits on the walls, kept in the style so common in the Free Cities, depicting ships, some sailing gently, others in combat with other sailors or beasts of the sea.
“Tell Lady Shett we have arrived”, Zeth spoke towards the closest, an older woman who nodded firmly and turned to the large door to her right. Arryn, and the Hawk still wasn't sure if he was a knight or a true lord, remained there, standing in the main hall, his arms crossed behind his back. He smiled politely at the sellswords and it was a genuine expression, not as fake as Jaqiros' gaze. “An opportunity to sit down will come shortly”, he promised, looking at the Rat, who had gotten visibly exhausted from dragging his body across such a distance.
The man nodded, though he remained silent, perhaps to refuse the Pig such a satisfaction. In this moment, the door opened again and the servant stepped out. “Lady Shett will meet you now”, she spoke, taking a step aside and leaving the door open. Zeth smiled, as he walked in first. Jaqiros only slightly after him. Then came the Hawk.
The room he entered now was smaller than the hall, yet still fairly decent in size and clad in teak wood. It was warm from a burning fireplace, the flames casting light onto the coloured glass on the large windows on the other side of the room. A sizeable table took most of the space, yet there was still room for a large bookcase behind it. The wall to the left, where the fireplace was located, as well as the opposing window facade were adorned by a strange collection of trophies. The Hawk recognized the skeletonized jaws of a shark and a large patch of a leviathan's skin, leathery and grey, alongside bones of stranger sea creatures, scales, teeth and other trophies. The most fascinating, yet slightly disturbing sight was an icicle, clearly frozen despite hanging right above the fireplace. It had an unusual size and after studying its form for a brief moment, the Hawk felt a chill running down his spine, as he realized that he was looking at a fang, almost the size of a greatsword.
“An ice dragon's tooth”, a voice sounded from the far end of the room and the Hawk managed to look away from the fascinating trophy. It was a woman who had spoken, sitting there in the chair he would have expected to be reserved for Zeth. A beauty she was, almost enough to make the Hawk's blood stir despite his age. Yet he had to admit, in almost ninety years he had rarely come across someone like her. Raven black hair just barely reached her shoulders, one strand tucked behind her ear, framing a delicate face with smooth cheeks and a sharp jawline. There was a beauty mark right above her upper lip and she looked at the sellswords with the cold expression of a woman used to authority. Her dress was as black as her hair and while form-fitting, it was high-collared and not the slightest bit revealing. A short coat of grey fur covered her shoulders and half of her upper body.
There was a second person sitting next to her, a man of an impressive size. He was bald, yet in his full beard, his advanced age was visible, as strands of grey were mixed into the brown. Unlike the woman's commanding expression, he was looking at the sellswords in a relatively friendly manner, his grey eyes widening as he spotted the equally massive Pig. Clad in fur and leather, he gave a wild impression.
“I never quite believed the stories until I saw it myself. To think how large the creature must have been, how far above, how mighty. How it nonetheless met its end at the hand of men. An inspiring sight”, the woman said, still referring to the fang. “It must have cost a fortune, dear Zeth”
“Not a fortune, mylady, just a favour with the right ship's captain”, Zeth replied, as he stopped next to the fang. He let one of his hands run over it, clenching it as he pulled back. “Still cold to the touch, yet it had been worse when they found it. The sailor who touched it first allegedly lost his fingers to frostbite” He glanced at the beautiful woman. “A reminder to always be cautious when dealing with a beast of such might”
She smirked at his remark, revealing a petite dimple on her left cheek. Meanwhile, Zeth turned around and towards Jaqiros. “My friend, may I introduce our fearless leader, Lady Octavia of House Shett, the Raven of Gull Tower” To this, Lady Octavia rolled her eyes, though she kept her soft smile. “It is ironic, is it not? The Raven of Gull Tower and the Falcon of Gulltown, united under a common cause” She looked at the men accompanying him, barely even acknowledging Jaqiros, who assumed position in one of the corners, save for a brief nod, and instead fully focussing on the sellswords. The Hawk had met more people like her in his life than he even cared to count, but even for him, her reaction was hard to read.
Finally, Octavia settled for a thin smile. “And those must be the sellswords. The companies of the Hawk, the Pig and the Rat, am I right with this?”, she deduced. The Hawk nodded, his sole eye fixed on her gaze. He tensed up, as he still found himself unable to read her. Was she pleased with them? Or disappointed that they were an old man, a crippled dwarf and a fat brute?
“I am the Hawk, mylady”, he introduced himself calmly. “I speak for the Three Companies. These are the Rat and the Pig, as well as our seconds, Montoya the Duelist, Vii the Innocent and Agar the Cold” Out of those introduced, only Montoya was at ease. He smirked at the woman, giving her a sly wink. “Mylady”, he greeted her and she raised an eyebrow, her expression not changing at all.
“And you have a warrior by your side, I see”, the Pig growled, looking at the huge, bald man to Octavia's right. She nodded and the man rose from his seat. Now being able to see him in full, the Hawk was impressed by his size, the man easily reaching the Pig's height, probably standing even taller than him. “Not just a warrior”, he said in reply, his voice deep and surprisingly warm. He grinned at the Pig. “Torgold Tollet, Lord of Grey Glen”
“Another Royce bannerman”, the Rat spoke, as he limped towards one of the free chairs, climbing up and sighing in relief, as he leant back. Quickly, his confidence returned, as he stared at Octavia and she at him. “Yet we had instructions not to inform Lord Grafton of your arrival. May I make an educated guess?”
Octavia nodded, giving him a sign to continue, as she watched the dwarf with interest and slight amusement. “Your presence here and the secrecy means you are up against a powerful opponent. I don't see an envoy of Runestone here, so I assume that the Bronze Lord himself is the one you seek to act against”
“It is true what they say, you do have a sharp mind, Ser Rat”, Octavia complimented him, her voice sharp, yet her gaze losing a momentary chill. “You are right entirely with what you say. I guess you may call Lord Orson my very own ice dragon” She smirked, as the sellswords slowly sat down. Vii took position next to the Rat, with the Pig and Agar the Cold sitting on the opposite side of the table, close to the window. This left the Hawk and Montoya to take the seats directly opposing Octavia and Torgold. His second leant forward, carefully eyeing the beautiful woman, though the Hawk did not make the same mistake. He could tell, Octavia had good chances to charm the duelist and thanks to his behaviour, she knew as well. The Hawk was of a different kind though, not easily swayed by a pretty face and honeyed words.
“I take it this is why you called for us. An uprising against Lord Royce and the Vale of Arryn”, he spoke and Octavia sighed. “A bit too much, Ser Hawk”, she corrected him. “You see, an uprising is what we have in mind, but solely against Orson Royce. We are no traitors, instead we seek to stop true treachery”
The Hawk raised an eyebrow, over the shard of dragonglass that covered his missing eye. “Royce is the traitor here?”, he asked and Octavia nodded, though she tilted her head. “Does it matter to you?”, she asked in return and after a moment of exchanging glances with the Rat and the Pig, he shook his head. “I just tend to be curious. If we are to work with you, I would like to understand the basics”
“And the basics is what you shall get”, Octavia agreed. “Orson Royce is the most powerful of King Ronnel's bannermen by quite a margin. Always ambitious, always powerful, there is not a single noble in the Fingers who can claim to have been spared from his schemes”
As she spoke, Torgold clenched his fists, his affable demeanour failing in an instant. “The bronze beast murdered my brother”, he snarled. “Sure, Tenison was a troublemaker. Yes, his loyalty to the Vale was questionable and I even believe he schemed against the old king” He shook his head. “But he was still highborn. Royce could have taken him prisoner, could have sent him to the wall as it was his right, or he could have let the king decide”, he continued, his warm voice gaining a bitter touch. “Least he could have done would have been to grant him a clean death. Instead, he sent his rotten bastard to do the deed, butchering my brother like a pig while asleep”
There was grief in Torgold's eyes and anger, an anger the Hawk could understand only too well. “It's been two years since Tenison Tollet's death”, Octavia explained. “Orson Royce never admitted to the deed, yet there are no doubts about his involvement, or that of his son, this Redmond bastard. I knew that the Bronze Lord had something to hide ever since”
The Rat nodded. “One does not resort to assassination if things were different”, he agreed. “I speak from experience” Octavia smiled slightly, sharply contrasting the cold anger of Torgold Tollet. “My research has yielded unexpected results, enough to grant me allies within the Fingers and some benefactors from outside”
“The stability of the Vale of Arryn has always been favourable for the Iron Bank”, Jaqiros spoke up. “Something our partners in the Free Cities quite agree with. You have our support, mylady, and our coin to pay the companies” The mention of coin caused a grin to flash over the Rat's face and for once, the Pig seemed to agree, yet the Hawk was not yet satisfied. More than coin, information was what he desired. He narrowed his eye. “What did you find out?”, he growled.
His tone was demanding and he could tell from Octavia's cold expression that she was displeased by this. As much as she was his employer, he would not yield to a girl old enough to be his great-granddaughter without knowing what he had to know. While she smiled, it was a joyless one. “More than I wanted to, Ser Hawk”, she spoke thinly. “Orson Royce had always been ambitious, yet it was King Alester's death that truly allowed him to act so openly. The king is a weak boy, the queen regent a talentless upstart, or so he believes. House Royce ever only knelt to strength and right now, House Arryn is as weak as never before” She leant back in her chair, resting her chin on one hand. “I believe Torgold's brother, Tenison, has indeed been plotting against House Arryn, but I think he was not the main conspirator”, she explained and Torgold sighed, closing his eyes as she said this. “Instead, Orson got rid of an uncomfortable accomplice, to hide his own ambition”
“Which would be to replace House Arryn?”, the Hawk asked and he quickly thought back to the lessons he had on their journey to Gulltown, the Vale and its strength. “This is a battle he cannot hope to win” Octavia shook her head. “Not alone”, she agreed. “Yet Orson is not alone and it's not a king he seeks to be. Instead, I fear he will sell the Vale to a new enemy, Aegon the Dragonlord”
“One of our contacts is on his way to the court of Dragonstone”, Jaqiros brought up, his voice oozing an infuriating smugness. “He informed us of Aegon's fleet. They assemble an army and I fear if they do, the forces loyal to the Vale won't be able to hold Gulltown, depriving the Iron Bank of a major trade partner this side of the Narrow Sea”
The Hawk suppressed a chuckle. “Sure that would be a tragedy”, he mumbled and a smirk flashed across Octavia's face. “Torgold has never trusted the bronze lord. He seeks revenge for his brother, a revenge I am only too happy to grant. Zeth wishes to defend his Arryn kin and his home here in Gulltown” Her eyes narrowed. “And I seek to reclaim what has been stolen from my family so long ago”
“Gulltown itself”, the Rat was quick to deduce and she flashed him a clever grin. “It might not surprise you that I do not trust Grafton after what his ancestor did to my family”, she spoke. “He is close to Lord Royce, his daughter a likely match for the bronze lord's eldest son. I do not count on his loyalty. If Gulltown is attacked, we will need an army of our own to defend it, even from its own lord if necessary”
“Guess that's where we come into play”, the Hawk spoke and she nodded. “Not just though”, she added. “I have chosen to hire the three companies in full and I intend to use you for battle if necessary. But I hope that this battle won't be against men from the Vale. If the Targaryen fleet attacks, you must be ready, but before that, I hope you can uncover the truth. I fear further meddling from me or my highborn allies would only attract suspicion”
“But we can work without using your banner”, the Hawk spoke. “We can work without being linked to you at all” He looked at Jaqiros, who confirmed his suspicion with a nod. “And if you are caught, the Iron Bank will take full responsibility. Nominally, you are here on our orders, to collect a debt House Royce still owes us”, he explained in a satisfied tone.
The Hawk had to nod, actually impressed by the measures the Iron Bank and Lady Shett had taken for this. “Looks like that'll be your share then, Jaqiros”, he brought up and the man smiled coldly, before the sellsword looked back at the young woman. “Uncovering the truth, that's what we shall do, mylady. We must, of course, discuss a strategy on how to do this. Doubt Lord Royce will just part with any evidence, or give us a confession”
“Doubtful”, Octavia admitted. “I was hoping you and your companions would have an approach on how to deal with this. Go on, let me hear how you would deal with this matter” She looked at the three sellsword leaders, as the Hawk did not break eye contact with her. “Your thoughts, Pig?”, he asked and the large man straightened his back.
“We're here to collect debts, aye?”, he spoke. “At least officially. I say we start right there. Break a few bones. Burn down a farm or two until Royce has to notice us. Put some pressure onto him when he doesn't need it. We know men under pressure are prone to make mistakes, especially if he believes that we truly are here only to collect a debt”
“That will demand a reaction from him”, the Rat admitted. “But can we afford that? A harsh reaction by Arryn's most powerful bannerman. I fear you overestimate the threat our three companies pose, yet again” The Pig frowned, though the Hawk noticed that Octavia was tilting her head at the dwarf's words. He himself did not look away from her. “What would you do then, Rat?”, he asked.
“I would use your very own resources, Hawk”, he said in a sly tone. “Subterfuge and skulduggery. If anything, this will be the most promising approach. Let Lord Royce believe we are not a threat to any of his plans, while your spies gather more intel. Look for weaknesses in the lord's plan. Maybe not he himself, but his allies. If we have to resort to violence, we shall strike swiftly and without mercy, but only if we know that we can win. Provoking the lord won't achieve anything”
“And maybe you are underestimating his intelligence, Rat”, the Pig spat. “Nothing new from the genius cripple, right?” He shook his head. “Hawk, you heard where we stand, but you kept silent as always. Share your wisdom with us, go ahead. Which of these plans do you support?” With this, the Pig and the Rat both looked at the Hawk, while at the other end of the table, Octavia gave him a questioning look.
[Agree with the Pig's plan] [Agree with the Rat's plan]
[Agree with the Rat's plan]
This is in my opinion the most interesting new POV from this chapter. I can't wait to see more of the dynamics between these 3 groups.
[Agree with the Pig's plan] Yes, dumb violence. Burn farms like we're stormtroopers. Give into the hate.
You know, it is incredibly funny that a fat guy to go out up and yell proudly that his name is "The Pig!". If I were a guard or someone, I'd crack up.
Love Montoya, want to seem some debauchery from him.
I know a certain character who would probably need a change of pants upon seeing this. On my part, I've always loved random crap on the walls that museums have, especially fossils, so it was good for me. Is "skeletonized" a word? I've never heard of it. Also, love supposed ice dragon fang, awesome little reveal.
[Agree with the Rat's plan] Better safe than sorry. So we finally have an idea of Orson's plan, but we need Lachlan's POV to be sure Royce is truly working with House Targaryen.
The conflict reminds me a bit of what will happen in the Dance of Dragons when two of House Hightower's vassals directly fought against their liege lord.
[Agree with the Rat's plan]
[Agree with the Pig's plan]
Ah, this is great to hear! I am never certain how a new PoV is received, as they have to compete against characters that had time to grow over the course of years, but this makes it all the better when I succeed at making you interested in their storyline. The Hawk is going to have quite some nice things coming up and I hope I can keep you excited for his parts
[Agree with the Pig's plan]
I'm not even sure if the Pig fully realizes how funny that actually is. He's by no means a dumb brute, but compared to the Hawk and the Rat, he's not the brains of the trio. There is legitimate pride in his title, mostly because of the respect he had for the one who previously held it and at least in Essos, his company is well known, so he isn't really used to people cracking up at this. However, the fact that he's a fat guy calling himself "The Pig", together with the dwarf calling himself "The Rat", that'll be brought up at some point in the future
And debauchery is what you shall get from him! Montoya can be kinda outrageous even, he's sort of the Daario Naharis of the Three Companies, so expect him to be exactly as you probably think.
Aye, I actually had the very same thought and I even had to check Zeth's submission to make sure that I don't mix them up. I didn't, as Zeth also has a bit of a seafarer theme going on, so I figured him having a trophy collection would be very fitting. This includes something that may or may not be an ice dragon fang and whatever it is, it's at least something special due to the fact that it has been hanging above the fireplace for years without melting.
When it comes to skeletonized, I must admit that I am not entirely certain. See, when I wrote this, I had a very specific German term in mind. We have a word for the particular state of a body when it has entirely decayed, to the point where only the skeleton remains. I thought the english translation would be "skeletal", but my trusty online dictionary told me that skeletal can be translated to the german term for "skeleton-like", which is not quite what I wanted to say. The word I was looking for has been translated to "skeletonized" by this online dictionary, which I haven't heard of before yesterday. My Open Office spellchecker doesn't know it either, but to be fair, the Open Office spellchecker is hardly the Oxford dictionary and there are a couple legitimate words it doesn't know. Considering that "skeletonization" is a term with its own wikipedia article, I decided that "skeletonized" is indeed a word, albeit probably one that is almost never used.
Aye and we do know how badly the Dance of Dragons will end eventually. House Royce is facing similar issues, with at least two of their vassals (and the wealthy House Arryn of Gulltown) more or less directly scheming against them, with the backing of the Iron Bank and several other parties in Essos. There is some legitimate danger coming from that and while the Dance of Dragons and the lessons that could be learned from it haven't happened yet, Orson Royce is no fool and he's already beginning his own preparations, as Lachlan's next part will show.
[Agree with the Rat's plan]
Well, this part finally shed some light on why the three companies are in the Vale, as well as vastly increasing my excitement for this conflict
From what little we saw of him long ago, and from what we've heard since, I think the Bronze Lord will make for a great antagonist. And it seems these schemes within Vale are also connected with the Targs, which certainly makes things all the more interesting.
[Agree with the Pig’s plan]
[Agree with the Rat's plan]
[Agree with the Pig's plan]
Direct doesn't always equate to dumb. I think it'd be more suspicious for Orson Royce if the Three Companies were just casually hanging out in the Vale, doing nothing in particular.
The Voting is closed!
The Hawk is going to agree with the Rat's plan
Actually, it is another choice, another tie. I don't always want to break it by counting the first vote twice, but I feel like there's no other way right now. So, here's how I'm going to do things, if anyone who hasn't voted still wishes to do so in order to properly break the tie, just leave a comment until I posted the next part. If nobody else is around to vote, I'll just count the first vote twice, which means the Hawk is going to agree with the Rat's plan. I think that's how I am going to handle things going forward, as I'll feel better with it. I always feel like I should wait when there's a tie, but at the same time, given how big my plans for the story are, I don't want to keep you waiting for longer just to resolve a tie. With this approach, I can technically keep the voting open until I got the next part actually ready, while still giving you an update on this upcoming next part without having to wait for so long. Means, if anyone hasn't gotten the chance to vote yet, you'll have another couple hours until the next part should be ready, but if nobody steps forward, you can consider the voting closed with the choice above being the one to win.
So, this next part should be out later today. First of all, I am glad you all enjoyed the Hawk's final part for this chapter! He's surely one of the more unusual PoV's, even counting the likes of Irae, so I am super happy to hear that he is well received. I realized, the least I can do is to give the other side in the Vale conflict a similarly enjoyable part, so my plans for Lachlan's part changed. He won't have to share his final part for this chapter with another PoV, instead it'll be all his and we get to meet quite a number of interesting characters in league with the Royce side of this storyline. Last time we met him, he had a conversation with Orson Royce's other guests, Lachlan's cousin Kyle Coldwater and Valydyn, an informant in service of Sharra Arryn's spymistress Eudoxia. They talked about the presence of an enigmatic group present in the Fingers, called the Order. An envoy of them, Kyle's and Lachlan's great-aunt Viera Coldwater, is currently present at Runestone and Valydyn suspects Order involvement in the current trouble at Gulltown. However, he largely agreed with the Order's goal, which is to create a stronger law, to protect the interests of the smallfolk from those who would harm them, effectively seeking to end despotic and unlawful decisions made by the highborn. It is an idealistic goal to approach, though Kyle argued that all such talk will actually achieve is to inspire bloodshed and peasant rebellions. Though generally sympathetic to more lawful behaviour by the highborn of the Vale, Lachlan ended up agreeing with his cousin, seeing the negative aspects of such change as more notable than the positives. This is where we will start with his next part, which I do hope to release either today or early tomorrow. With that, we're rapidly approaching the end of the chapter and I am very confident to finish it by the end of the month, maybe even to start Chapter 3 by then
[Agree with the Rat's plan] If you still need someone to break the tie, look no further.
Lachlan
For a moment, Lachlan remained indecisive, though he quickly made up his mind. “Well, the Order has noble goals”, he agreed and Valydyn smiled at this, though Lachlan quickly continued. “However, sometimes, even noble goals can do more bad than good. Ultimately, I'd say they are misguided more than anything else”
“Exactly!”, Kyle exclaimed. “Glad someone's making sense at last. See, I don't have anything against supporting the smallfolk, but the way the Order does it? Only riles up the peasants and Seven know we don't need any of that” Valydyn, while not smiling anymore, seemed to take this turn calmly. “Then this is where we disagree”, he simply said. “Though it ultimately matters little. The Order doesn't have much influence anymore and I doubt that'll change anytime soon”
Before he was able to specify his opinion on the topic further, a slight knock on the door caused the three men to shift their attention towards it. A moment later, it got opened and Remi Royce glanced in. “You ready?”, she asked. “My father wishes to meet you now. He's in his audience room, if you may follow me”
Kyle, still smiling slightly, bowed deeply in front of her. “We may, mylady”, he spoke, walking past Lachlan and Valydyn. “If you allow me a question, will your brothers be present for this meeting?” Remi's mouth tightened, as she barely notably clenched her fists. “You are in luck, mylord”, she replied in a firm tone. “We got Osborn away from his bastard for long enough to pay attention to father's summons. Meanwhile, my … half-brother has returned early from his trip to the countryside”
“Only Clovis is missing then, eh?”, Kyle brought up, as he walked out of the room by Remi's side, Lachlan and Valydyn following behind. She nodded at this. “I would have preferred his presence as well”, she admitted. “Unfortunately, his business in Essos will keep him there for longer. In the meantime, consider me the voice of reason in this house”
“Considered”, Kyle agreed, his smile notably wider than Remi's rather cold and slightly annoyed expression. She led them through the halls of Runestone in silence, leaving Lachlan in awe at how old this castle truly was. His home at Phoenixfall was considerably younger, a small Andal fortress built about a thousand years ago. And while Runestone had been considerably expanded in the thousands of years that followed after the invasion, every once in a while, he came across evidence that people had been living at this very place since the dawn of time. A more crudely constructed hallway here, withered stone there and always the bronze that had given the old Royce kings their might.
After only a few minutes, Remi entered an open courtyard, a central garden in the middle of the fortress. There was a fountain in its centre, surrounded by short trees, though the cold weather had cost them their leaves early this autumn. Dry foliage littered the courtyard, snapping beneath their feet as Remi led them across. A cold wind was howling, the only sound aside from the snapping leaves, making for an eerie combination, especially as the four of them were the only people Lachlan had seen for the last couple of minutes.
Finally, Remi stopped at the other end of the courtyard, where a door stood open, revealing a decently sized room behind. As cold as the chilling wind was, a comfortable warmth came out of the room and Lachlan sighed at the thought of a proper fire. He had been young during the last true winter, the memory almost faded, yet he still distantly remembered the cold, how it had been felt even within the walls of the castle. If his father could be believes, an even rougher winter was about to follow.
The room they entered now was delightfully warm though, quickly causing the cold to vanish. Clad in wood, it was comfortable, if without major adornments, instead geared towards functionality. The light of the fireplace illuminated a long bookshelf on the one wall, with a multitude of maps hanging on the other one. Lachlan recognized the shape of Westeros, as well as smaller maps, depicting the Vale, the Fingers, the Bay of Crabs and the northern coastline. Additional maps displayed regions he was less familiar with, at least at a brief glance.
Quickly, he instead focussed onto the people already present, the five of them having gathered around a large table that made up most of the room. At the head of it sat a man Lachlan recognized immediately. Though he had never met Orson Royce in person, there was no mistake to be made here. He had Remi's blonde hair, cut short and carefully back-kempt, with his skin being lighter than that of his daughter. The lightest thing about him were his eyes, icy-cold and of a sharp blue, captivating and intimidating at the same time. With high cheek-bones and a smooth, clean-shaven skin, the Lord of Runestone could pass as a man a good decade younger than he truly was, the only thing giving him away being the soft hint of wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. He wore black, an elegant attire with a high collar, paired with a brown sash over his chest, the latter being adorned by black runes. Though there was no joy in his eyes, he did manage a short smile, the hint of politeness, just what was expected of him.
Two men were in the room, one standing to his right, the other sitting in the corner. Both were clearly younger, roughly in Remi's age, and from her report, Lachlan had no doubt whom they were. As different as they looked, the Royce brothers were as unmistakable as their father and though he hadn't met them either, he knew their names. Osborn had inherited the blonde hair, even if it was a bit longer and slightly wavy and his eyes had a shade exactly like his father's. Unlike his youthful father, he had strong and broad facial features, an angular face and a prominent jawline, it gave him a different, yet still undeniable handsomeness. Thick sideburns went down the sides of his face, all the way to the lower jaw. Clad in a white and grey tunic, he had his arms crossed and glanced at the newcomers with a stern gaze.
Then there was Redmond. It wasn't hard to guess which of the two men he was. Though his name was Royce now, it used to be Stone, his bastard heritage clearly visible in his appearance. Unlike his half-brother and half-sister, his hair had a vibrant shade of red, falling down to his shoulder in disarray. Though he had his father's facial features, he didn't have his build, looking almost gaunt, unlike his strong-boned half-brother or his thin, yet wiry father. There was a viciousness to his face, a cold bitterness, only barely hidden by a thin layer of indifference. Redmond the Hated, they called him and given the man's grim reputation, Lachlan could only imagine it to be well-deserved.
The two women however were not known to him. One of them was young, perhaps just thirty, with red hair, tied into a proper bun. Of average height and with a slim build, there was little about her that was alluring, nor was she repulsive in any way. She was a woman so average that no term that would make her stand out seemed fitting. Unremarkable for the better or the worse, it was her position by Lord Royce's left side that gave her a presence in the room, as she scanned the new arrivals with a firm gaze. She was clad not in the dress of a noblewoman, but in an attire Lachlan would have expected from a scout, wearing green and brown, dampened colours that would make her easily blend in out in the wilderness, but made her seem out of place here at Runestone.
Finally, the old woman. She was not to be overlooked, but where the younger woman was at least not ugly, this crone was anything but. Overweight and almost bloated, her round face lacked a chin, but her puffy cheeks gave her something of a toad. Her grey hair was tied into a huge and extravagant bun, while her face was crossed by deep wrinkled, further tarnished by a big mole on her upper lip. With narrowed eyes, she stared at them, crossing her fingers over the blue dress that covered her notable gut. In contrast, the finery she wore on her hands was of a delicate silver and likely worth a fortune.
“Ah, Remi”, Orson Royce spoke, his feigned smile growing only slightly warmer, if for a second. She nodded, gazing at her brothers, before she crossed her arms behind her back. “Father”, she greeted him. “Our guests, as you requested” Orson pointed at the chairs on the other side of the table and at his silent order, Lachlan, Kyle and Valydyn sat down. Remi however walked around the table, where she took position behind her father.
“Mylady”, Valydyn was the first to speak up, briefly saluting in front of the red-haired woman, who nodded in return. “Greetings, Valydyn”, she mumbled briefly, while Kyle gulped audibly, as he looked at the ugly crone. “Uh... hello, Aunt Viera”, he stuttered and she gave him a short, cold glare. “Nephew”, she spoke, as she looked at Lachlan. “Nephew”
The knight pulled himself together quickly. “Aunt Viera”, he spoke, even if he had never before seen the woman. A Coldwater by birth she was though and therefore kin through his mother's line and deserving of respect. Lord Royce smiled at this uncomfortable exchange, though the moment he straightened his back, all eyes were on him.
“Very well”, he simply said and though his voice was just barely raised above a whisper, it filled the room and resonated deep within Lachlan. “First of all, let me thank you for your timely arrival. There is nothing less at stake but the future of our kingdom” Lachlan's eyes widened and he exchanged a glance with Kyle. His cousin tensed up, though he was the first to speak up. “It is an honour to serve, mylord”, he spoke, his voice not able to hide his nervousness. There was an unspoken addition to this sentence and Lachlan caught up to it at once, as did Orson Royce.
“You wonder why I have sent for you two then, when the stakes are so high”, he deduced and Kyle merely nodded. “The answer is as simple as it is disheartening” He spread his arms slightly. “Loyalty”, he revealed. “This is all a matter of loyalty and its wicked counterpart, treachery” He leant forwards, his smile cutting and notably unnerving. It wasn't honest in any way, looking more forced, like an expression that was trained to hide what lied beneath. “House Coldwater and House Keding have always been my most loyal bannermen and this makes you my most valuable supporters in these dark times”
With this, he glanced at the woman to his left. “This is Eudoxia Tournebulle”, he introduced her and she straightened her back, saluting slightly in front of the Bronze Lord. There was no fear for the lord in her behaviour, as she met his expression with a cold look of her own. “Queen Sharra's spymistress and a valuable ally in the times to come”, Royce continued. “Eudoxia, please reveal to my guests what you just told me”
Eudoxia cleared her throat, as she placed a hand on the table, right onto a document in front of the lord. “This is a letter”, she revealed. “Sent by Aegon of House Targaryen, previously known as the Dragonlord, the last remnant of Valyria. He has declared war on the seven kingdoms of Westeros, from the North to Dorne”
She paused a moment to let this sink in and Lachlan felt a strange mixture of emotions inside him. His first reaction was to chuckle. The Vale was impregnable, untouched by war and with a strength no other realm could match. Yet he caught Orson Royce's expression and hesitated, allowing Eudoxia to continue. “Though he has only a small army at his disposal, early reports hint at his cause quickly gaining followers among the Riverlords. More importantly, he has a decently sized fleet and the might of three fully grown dragons to back him”
“Oh fuck...”, Kyle muttered, instantly biting his tongue as Viera Coldwater's glare hit him. Lachlan had a similar reaction, though in silence. Dragons... that changed the situation quite a bit. They couldn't possibly be that bad, could they? Just three of them... and yet, unlike Kyle he knew how to fight a man, on foot, on horseback, the Vale had experts on naval combat. But dragons? What good would their mountains be against a flying beast?
“I see you understand the gravity of our situation, Lord Coldwater”, Orson remarked dryly, one of his eyebrows slightly raised, a hint of amusement on his face. “Eudoxia came to me so that I may gather my banners. She deduced, quite rightfully, that if Aegon Targaryen launches his attack, he won't come by land. There's Hoare's kingdom between us and him, but to the south, we remain open for an attack by sea... or by air”
“There is Crackclaw Point”, Lachlan spoke and Orson nodded. “A borderline lawless region. A trusted agent of mine has recently brought some order to it, by removing one of our most dangerous enemies from the equation, but I fear we cannot trust in the Lords of Crackclaw Point. Given enough force, they will kneel, leaving the Bay of Crabs open for the Velaryon fleet”
“And then they will take Gulltown, unless we manage to repel them”, Eudoxia warned grimly. For once, the Bronze Lord sighed and it gave his face something old, as the smile faded and his expression darkened. “Which brings us right to the heart of the problem”, he revealed. “I fear I cannot trust in the loyalty of all of my subjects”
That explained one burning question in Lachlan's mind. With Coldwater and Keding, there were members of two important families sworn to House Royce present. But there were neither members of House Tollett, nor of House Shett at the meeting. “May I ask why you think so, mylord?”, he asked and Orson nodded. “You may”, he confirmed. “The answer is simple. This is where Eudoxia's assistant comes into play. Valydyn, please”
As soon as he had said this, Valydyn rose from his seat. Bowing slightly in front of Eudoxia and the Royce family, he began to speak. “I always kept an eye on the happenings in Gulltown”, he told them. “Doesn't always yield results, but a few weeks ago, I caught up to something interesting” He placed his closed fists on the table, similar to the position Eudoxia had assumed on the other end. “The Velaryon fleet might come eventually, but another fleet will be here notably sooner. In fact, it should reach Gulltown as we speak”
“We don't know the intentions of this new fleet, but they carry with them a company of sellswords, at least three hundred men strong”, Lord Royce continued. “This means with our kingdom at the brink of war, one of my bannermen decided to hire a sellsword army without informing me about it first”
“I can only say that House Keding is not involved in this”, Lachlan said and he regretted it instantly as Orson's sardonic smile hit him with full force. “You wouldn't be here had there been doubts about your loyalty, Ser Lachlan”, he growled in a low tone. “No, Valydyn's research revealed that Lord Torgold Tollett has left his home at Grey Glen, entering Gulltown at night about two weeks ago”
Tollett... that was a man Lachlan knew and the last he would have expected to be involved in this. He was a man of honour, jovial and direct, not the kind to scheme in secret. Yet he also knew how to keep a grudge and there were the rumours about the death of his brother...
“I know Torgold is not acting alone”, Orson explained. “He is not the type to plan such a thing, but I believe he may very well be convinced to support a pre-existing scheme. Certainly he has allies within the city, for Valydyn lost his track shortly after his arrival”
Glancing at the informant, Lachlan quickly spotted just how much he was bothered by this. Valydyn was tensed up, avoiding the Bronze Lord's gaze. “I never lose a mark”, he mumbled. “Unless they have allies within the city, people who know how to walk unseen or who pay my own sources to look the other way”
“And my control over the city isn't as strong as it used to be during my father's times”, Orson admitted. “Edgar Grafton values himself my equal. I am not his liege and as such, he has all but refused to cooperate” He shook his head. “Fact is, he cannot be trusted either. His role in this scheme is not yet known to me, but I know my bannermen of House Tollett and Shett are involved”
That fit with what Lachlan had learned in his earlier talk with Valydyn. “Has Sterling Shett left Gull Tower as well?”, he asked, to which Valydyn shook his head. “I believe he will send his daughter, Octavia”, he spoke, to which Kyle rolled his eyes. “Not that woman...”, he mumbled, earning himself an amused chuckle from Redmond and a glare from Osborn. “Octavia Shett is bad news, I'm telling you”
“Oh, we are well aware of that”, Orson agreed, glancing at his firstborn son. “A lesson some here had to learn quite painfully” Osborn looked down and Lachlan noticed that his hands were shaking. “If Octavia is involved, I do not wish to meet her again”, he mumbled and Redmond smirked thinly. “Oh, you're not fooling anyone, dear brother”, he spoke, his voice mimicking his father's in tone, albeit he lacked Orson's presence. “I know how it is to be in love”
Osborn narrowed his eyes. “Only difference is that I did not kill Octavia's father”, he snarled and Redmond shook his head. “Only difference is that Gaila is returning my feelings”, he corrected him. “Besides, had you killed Sterling Shett, we wouldn't be in this mess” This actually gave him a slightly shocked glance from Remi and one of pure displeasure by his father, to which he only shrugged. “What?”, he replied. “Just saying”
The Bronze Lord sighed again. “I do think now it is time to reveal the final piece we know of”, he said. “Lady Viera, you have waited patiently. Please, share your knowledge with my guests” The ugly crone smiled widely at Orson when he addressed her, though her expression changed into a mild frown as she looked at her great-nephews.
“I think you know of the Order, yes?”, she said and it was a statement, not a question. Lachlan realized, she absolutely expected them to have heard of her order, the very sentiment of someone not knowing being distasteful to her. “Well, there is really no way of saying it without embarrassing our noble goal, but I fear the current events are, at least partially, the Order's fault... ahem, their responsibility” Her voice was soft, yet with a hidden sharpness to it and not entirely unlike Orson Royce's tone. If she was copying him, she did a better job than Redmond.
“See, there is the inner circle of our order”, she continued. “Without going into too much detail about the inner workings, because this is really not something you have to know, I am part of the inner circle” She smiled proudly at this, looking around with a smug expression, before she continued. “Among several other members, the one you must know about is a certain Otho Wayland”
“A businessman, his base of operations usually in Maidenpool”, Valydyn explained. “Though he has known belongings in Gulltown and Sisterton. We don't know about his origins, yet nowadays he spends most of his time around the Bay of Crabs”
Viera smirked. “Oh, we know a lot more”, she assured him. “Otho is a businessman, yes, gifted with coin. In the name of the Order, he keeps connections to the great banks of Essos. I suspect you can call him our treasurer” Her smirk faded, replaced by a displeased frown. “And it stands to fear that he has contacted them without informing the rest of the inner circle of his intentions”
“A few weeks ago, Otho has left his estate at Maidenpool, sailing over the Bay of Crabs to Gull Tower, where he currently resides as a guest”, Valydyn informed them. “Paired with Lady Viera's report, we have to fear that he has arranged for House Shett to receive a loan”
“Around the same time, one of my bannermen hired a sizeable sellsword company”, Orson concluded. “It all fits together, but the worst part is that we don't know of their intentions. I count neither Torgold Tollett nor Sterling Shett to my friends and they have always been uneasy bannermen at best. I fear, should the Velaryon fleet sail to Gulltown, the city will be taken from within, through the treachery of those I have to rely on”
“And Targaryen gets a foothold in the Vale...”, Lachlan realized, to which Orson nodded grimly. “Now you know why I called for you”, he stated, his tone more sombre than usual, the look in his eyes stern, yet determined. “We face treachery, schemes and a war threatening to consume the entire continent. And so, I rely on your help to uncover the truth behind this” He narrowed his eyes, though the pale iris continued to glare at Lachlan, who suppressed the almost primal urge to cower in his seat. Instead, he met the gaze with one of his own, until Lord Royce raised an eyebrow. “Anything, mylord”, he promised. “What is it you want me to do?”
For once, Orson's smile seemed more genuine, though it remained eerie. “The way I see it, there are two main questions”, he explained. “First, I want clarity about the roles of Otho Wayland and Sterling Shett and their involvement with this sellsword company. For this, I require a presence at Gull Tower. Second, I need to know what Tollett is doing with Shett's daughter in Gulltown, I want to know which of the petty lords of that city is sheltering them and what Grafton knows about it”
“Octavia is innocent in this”, Osborn stated firmly. “Maybe she is being manipulated by her father, but she is not the kind to scheme behind anyone's back” Redmond chuckled coldly, though Osborn ignored it, as he sighed. “Though it is true that I do not wish to encounter her. I therefore offer to travel to Gull Tower. I always had a connection to Ser Sterling. With some help, I should be able to get him to talk”
Redmond shrugged. “Sure, ignore what a scheming bitch she truly is, just as always. That cunt is crazy and you know it”, he hissed, with anger flaring up in his voice. “Sterling however is a spineless coward. We should focus on his daughter and that Tollett brute. Waste your time at Gull Tower if you want, brother, but I will pursue the true culprits in Gulltown”
His father nodded at the suggestion. “You two splitting up would be preferable, yes”, he agreed. “I want to be honest with you, I do not trust my sons with this task, not on their own” This gave him a cold expression from Osborn, while Redmond bit down onto his lower lip, staring at the ground. “I suspect Osborn's infatuation with Octavia Shett to be not as cold as he claims”, the lord stated openly and his firstborn son gulped slightly. “This makes him anything but impartial. Meanwhile, Redmond's temper must be carefully reined in, or else we might have... unpleasant results”
The bastard of Runestone smirked at this, though there was a brief expression of anger in his eyes. Lachlan however fully understood. The first to speak up was Valydyn. “If mylord wishes, I shall accompany your son to Gulltown”, he offered and Orson merely nodded. This caused Kyle to stand up. “What do you say, Osborn? You and me, a trip to Gull Tower?”
Osborn smiled slightly. “Like the good old times, Kyle”, he replied and once more, Orson nodded. “This seems reasonable. Valydyn knows Gulltown, whereas Lord Coldwater is an appropriate companion for my firstborn son”, he agreed, before he looked at Lachlan. “I do have one companion for each of my sons already, yet I wish for you to take part in these events as well, Ser” He spread his arms, one hand pointing towards Redmond, who had leant forwards in his chair, intensely staring at Lachlan, while the other was pointing towards Osborn, who seemed indifferent. “The true choice however, that is something I leave to you. You have heard what is at stake and I trust your judgement. Where would you like to help?”
[Accompany Valydyn and Redmond to Gulltown] [Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
I'm mostly picking this because I think it will make things easier for The Hawk because as i said before I really like him while honestly at the moment I'm not really all that interested in Lachlan although that just might change at some point. Still for now I'm going to try to make choice that help The Hawk more and I feel its likley we won't find anything useful at Gull Tower so lets send him there.
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower] The plot thickens, since either Orson is blatantly lying to his banner men, or the three companies are being manipulated by Octavia.
This means the Vale's bannermen are working against each other for the same goal.
We know House Grafton has nothing to do with the conspiracy, for now at least.
[Accompany Valydyn and Redmond to Gulltown]
Hm, so it seems we're still in the dark regarding who is the real traitor here - Orson or Octavia. Both claim to be loyal to the Vale while painting the other as having treasonous intentions.
Octavia undoubtedly seems like the scheming type, but I'm not sure if there is a reason for her to lie about her loyalties to foreign sellswords - they only bow to coin anyway. Orson on the other hand would have very good reasons not to tell his loyal vassals that he is indeed conspiring with the Targs, so for now I see that as the more likely scenario.
And the Graftons seem to just be impartial to all of this... unless they are the real masterminds behind everything, conspiring with Aegon while playing Lord Royce against his own vassals
That might be a bit too crazy of a theory, but if it turns out to be true, just remember I called it 
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower] I considered the other option at first, but then I figured we as the readers would probably gain the most info overall by Lachlan going to Gull Tower - we already have the Hawk showing us the Gulltown side of things after all.
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower] I wanna make fun of Osborn's little crush more.
YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT LORD BRUNE! YOU'LL NEVER WIN!
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
Ah, a valid reason, even if I do hope that Lachlan will eventually win you over as well, because his side of the storyline is going to be just as important. The question there is if it's truly going to make things easier for the Hawk. Keep in mind, Valydyn and Redmond are guaranteed to go to Gulltown and Redmond is hinted to be not the most stable guy. Perhaps having a PoV around to keep an eye on him could ultimately help. At the same time, it's certainly possible that Lachlan and Gull Tower will help the Hawk indirectly by not achieving so much to disrupt Octavia's plans.
Aye, that is the core of the problem here. One of these two is lying and they are accusing each other of exactly the same thing. Even their supposed intentions are the same, they accuse the other one of working with the Targaryen's or at least plotting to turn on the Vale and Gulltown once the Velaryon fleet arrives. Fact is, they can't both be right, one of them is likely lying.
Playing devil's advocate here, Octavia was also in the presence of Zeth Arryn and Torgold Tollett, the former is a businessman with a personal interest in protecting Gulltown, whereas the latter is mostly in this for revenge. It could be that neither is willing to work with House Targaryen, in which case Octavia would have to keep up a charade for them, the same reason why Orson might not be telling the truth here.
That might be the only way both, Orson and Octavia, could actually both be in the right and well, I suppose that'd be a twist
While I can neither confirm nor deny any of this, I can say that this is an interesting theory that could potentially change everything about the situation. And if that happens, I'll make sure to point out that you called it 
[Accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower]
I have to stick to my old “What could possibly go wrong” ways because nothing has gone wrong every time I think that way. Everything is, dare I say, going according to plan.
Disclaimer: I have no plan.
Okay,it seems that I wait enough time so...Hey! I'm back! What a surprise eh?
[Accompany Valydyn and Redmond to Gulltown]
RT:
1) Ahah!Jaron strikes first!
2) It was a really nice barfight!
3) Arryn Blackwell join the party!
4) Oh yes Devrin,send more men at the Rock borders that at your command will help the Ironborn;they will be really helpful!
5) Ahi ahi Willfred really dislike when people take his things eh?Expecially when we talk about ancient artifacts!
6)And Gulltown is officialy part of the story!Hurray!
7) The companies are secretive said The Hawk..but of course he is right! Who could expect that near the biggest city of the Vale there is an army of sellswords? They will for sure cause no panic/problem at the inhabitants of this kingdom!
8) The meeting with Lady Octavia was for sure an interesting one,expecially since she say without any concrete proof that Orson want to betray the kingdom and that he is a Targaryen ally
9) Meanwhile at the other side of the coin Orson said that the House Shett and Tollet plan to use the sellwords to help the targaryen (I'm curious to discover who say the truth and who say the lie)
10) Btw welcome back Orson! If I remember correctly last time we see him was at chapter 2 of the first book!
11) Speaking of old events it was nice hear Orson mention Maya and Lord Brune assasination
13) Oh well,after this last two parts I can officialy say that the Vale storyline is going to be a really complex and interesting one!
[Accompany Valydyn and Redmond to Gulltown]
Though I might be in danger of sounding like a broken record there, I gotta say, welcome back
And in this case, there is definite proof of it as well. Jaron struck first, let it be known, though he had a pretty good reason for it. I can confirm, had Arryn landed the first hit, he would have won.
Ah, I am glad you enjoyed it! Bar fights are more or less something I haven't gotten much experience writing about, so it was a bit of a new experience for me. It's unlikely this will be the last one, given how many taverns our protagonists are going to visit in the chapters to come.
And the party is growing! I can confirm, Arryn won't even be the last potential ally Jaron can recruit. It's very much going to be an important factor going forward, whom he trusts enough to accept help from, whom he manages to convince, or whom stays around til the end, these different characters with their individual skills and motivations will certainly play a major factor in how the storyline is going to play out.
It is truly devious of him and there lies Devrin's genius. Even while Willfred has enough common sense to distrust Maron, he would never expect that the polite and friendly Devrin Oakheart has such dark motives. No one does, to be honest. And so, Willfred has no reason to doubt the benefits of the offer, not knowing that in doing so, he'll achieve the opposite of what he actually wanted to do.
Don't take his precious, no! But yeah, even without the influence of some creepy ancient artifact, he is not the kind of guy to appreciate if random strangers go into his room, rearrange his things and take them into a wholly different room without consulting him first. Crazy, eh?
Gulltown is going to be an interesting experience for me. It is a location that was never intended to be in the story as prominently as it ultimately will be, being a major location for the Hawk and potentially Lachlan as well. It'll be massively different form Oldtown, this I can already say, being much smaller and with a liege lord notably more in control than the old Manfred Hightower.
Ah, they are not secretive about their presence in the Vale, not at all. Keep in mind, word of their arrival has already reached Runestone even before they have landed. What the Hawk meant is, they are secretive about their true intentions. This is what makes them so valuable to Octavia. While her own true intentions are a source of speculation at this point, it is clear that Orson Royce is her opponent, at least this is what she believes. He is vastly more powerful, so she uses the most valuable tool at her disposal, namely creating chaos to destabilize his authority, to ultimately weaken him. A sellsword army causing problems without anyone knowing about their true intentions, that is a source of chaos, so something she can use for her own gain.
Gotta comment on these two points at once, because they are two sides of the same coin. This is the core conflict here, both accuse the other one of being a traitor and in league with House Targaryen, neither brings any actual proof beyond simple accusations. It is possible that one of them is right, though at the same time, both being manipulated is surely a potential interpretation as well. This question will actually be something the characters will think about as well and while it won't matter much to the Hawk, who does what he is paid for, the other followers of Octavia and Orson might get their doubts at some point.
You remember correctly indeed! His return has been long in the making and while he won't be major in terms of appearances anytime soon, I can reveal we will see him more prominently in Book 2, appearing in several chapters and being a major force in the background in those he does not personally appear in.
That is something I very much want to make clear, by having these little references to earlier parts. Nothing is forgotten, except maybe Dimitri the Wise, and every plot element from Book 1 is going to be brought up at some point in Book 2, even relatively minor aspects such as the death of Trymon Brune. Book 2 might cause the story to grow a lot bigger in terms of scale, but the events of Book 1 are the foundation on which the current plot stands.
Ah, I hope this will indeed be the case and that my plans will live up to your expectations! Given what I have in store, I doubt this will be an issue though, so I can only say that I really look forward to share some of the future plot points with you. This is going to be complex indeed, but surely enjoyable
The Voting is closed!
Lachlan is going to accompany Kyle and Osborn to Gull Tower
From a writer's perspective, I can say that while both options would have been interesting and I would have loved to write more about Lachlan in Gulltown (that doesn't mean he won't go there eventually), I can only thank you, because this will make things a lot easier for me, when it comes to introduce you to some of the background information in this conflict I otherwise wouldn't have been able to share this easily. In a story that complex, I gladly take any rare chance to keep things easy for me
That being said, I also look forward to introduce the new characters at Gull Tower. This is going to be a lot of fun for certain!
The next part is hopefully going to be out today. I know it should be and I am making good progress, but the issue is that I won't be here in the evening, as a friend of mine wishes to celebrate quite the occasion. So, I will have a couple more hours and I think I will close the voting right here for you to know the next part is going to come, but it could take me until tomorrow to actually release it, as much as I hope to get it done today. This next part will lead us back to the Riverlands, where Kyra Greyjoy finds herself manipulated by her own brother. We know Damon wants to overthrow House Hoare and he is playing a very shady game to achieve this. After the wedding of Harmund Hoare and Elaena Mallister, Kyra and her second-in-command Gravven Drumm went out to capture the outlaw Herman Irons, who has previously been responsible for the death of a number of guards, among them the man who betrayed the Sons of the Trident and led to the death of their original leader Addam Wode. Turns out, Herman is crippled from old injuries and not quite the fearsome rebel Kyra had expected. Having taken shelter with a farmer, he willingly gives himself up to spare his friends, even having sent the rest of his allies away for them to avoid capture. He furthermore revealed that while he did the deed, murdering the guards and the guy who betrayed the Sons of the Trident, he had help from within the castle. A cloaked stranger, as he called him, gave him valuable intel, let him and his men into the gatehouse and supposedly even poisoned the guards so that they slept when Herman and his men arrived. While he didn't give a name or a description, Kyra knew this was Damon's doing. With Gravven already growing a bit suspicious, she decided to end Herman's life right there, to prevent Harren's torturers from learning about the same snippet of information and potentially catching up to the true culprit behind these events. The next part will show the death of Herman Irons, but it will continue and show the events of Kyra's return to Harrenhal. I am excited for it and I hope you'll enjoy it as well
Kyra
For a moment, Kyra closed her eyes. As she opened them again, the gaze in them was steely and determined, glaring at Herman, but right through him at the same time. Damon... There was anger growing inside of her, as she thought about how deeply his duplicity went. He had tricked her and for a moment, she feared that even her decision to come here had been influenced by him.
“In the name of Harren of House Hoare of the Black Blood”, she intoned. “Iron King, King of the Isles and the Rivers, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind and Lord Reaper of Orkmont...” She narrowed her eyes, noticing how Herman did not even flinch. The crippled man showed no fear, to an almost admirable degree. “I, Kyra of House Greyjoy hereby sentence you to death by decapitation. You will not be brought back to Harrenhal. The sentence will be carried out immediately”
Briefly, he sighed and she couldn't tell if it was regret or relief. Gravven next to her raised an eyebrow however. “Your decision, cap”, he agreed. “Just prepare for some questions once we're back. There's people who'd want him alive”
“My decision stands”, Kyra replied firmly and Gravven shrugged. “I'll fetch a block”, he offered. “Hey, farmer? You got any chopping blocks here? Might get bloody though, just so you know” He called into the other room and after a moment, the grey-faced figure of Barnell Nednock appeared. The farmer and Herman exchanged a silent look and the rebel smiled slightly, before he nodded.
“Is there no other way?”, Barnell nonetheless asked and Gravven rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you and your rebel friend here can come with us, to Harrenhal”, he growled. “Sure Holt Torv can show you another way” The threat was effective and the farmer staggered back as if Gravven had punched him. “I'll get it done at once” he promised, before he left the room again. After a moment of consideration, Gravven followed. “Never trust these fish people to fucking do their job correctly”, he muttered beneath his breath.
Herman Irons leant back in his chair, as he gazed at Kyra, his own glare matching hers in its determination. “I have no regrets”, he spoke and she shook her head. “I don't care”, she replied, as he tilted his head. “Why not Harrenhal?”, he finally asked and she clenched her fists, not willing to respond to his question. This only seemed to make him more curious. “What are you hiding, Ironborn?”, he almost demanded to know. “The stranger was a man, so... you are covering someone... Doubt you're doing this out of mercy, at least”
“Don't make me change my mind”, she warned him sharply. “The blades of Harren's torturers are still an option” To this, he merely shook his head, now smirking almost audaciously. “If I'm correct, they are not”, he replied slyly. “Now I gotta take my earlier statement back. The one regret I have is dying before I find out what you're hiding... whom you are covering”
Harshly, Kyra grabbed him by the shoulder. No matter if he accepted his fate, no matter his polite tone or the fact that he, just like her, had been manipulated, this man had murdered several of her guards. It wasn't mercy she was granting him, but she had to protect her brother from his own foolishness.
Herman grunted with pain, quickly grabbing his crutches to keep standing, as she yanked him up. “Easy, that won't be necessary”, he protested and she let go of him again, though her sharp glare remained. “Not a word to my companion”, she hissed in a low tone and Herman understood. He simply gave her a nod and an understanding was met.
Gravven chose this moment to return. He carried with him a decently sized block and now, the crippled rebel sighed. “I'd say we do it outside”, Gravven spoke. “Can be a nightmare to get blood stains out of the wood” Kyra nodded and with this, he opened the front door, stepping outside and leaving the two in the room for a moment longer.
“Greyjoy...”, Herman mumbled and he looked at her, his eyes slowly widening. Kyra slowly shook her head, as she grabbed him by the shoulder again, nearly knocking him off his weak legs. She kept him from falling though until he had regained his footing. “I think I know what is going on here...”, he said.
“You know nothing”, she growled in return, glancing at the door, fearing that Gravven would hear more than she wanted him to, more than what would be safe for him. This was already almost too much and she was afraid he'd start to ask questions. “Now, are you coming with some dignity, or would you have me drag your sorry ass to the block?”
Herman shook his head. “I'm coming”, he assured her and indeed, he began to limp past her, towards the front door. Kyra sighed, as she crossed her arms, leaning against the table and watching him. Her heart was racing at what she had just learned. Before Torvin's attempt on the king's life, her brother wouldn't have gone so far. A lot had changed in the last few months and Damon, he had gotten more reckless, more brutal. And still, the king was in charge and all her brother had achieved were a few dead guards, her guards. The king was unlikely to even miss them. She on the other hand...
As soon as the rebel had left the room, she pulled herself together and followed after him, out into the open. Glancing to her left, she spotted Barnell Nednock staring out, shielding his young son's eyes with one hand. Herman however had already made his way to the chopping block Gravven had presented. Glancing around, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Her second-in-command was standing next to him, Red Rain in his hand. As Kyra approached them, he gave her a nod, followed by presenting her the hilt of his sword. “Will you do me the honour, cap?”, he asked and she managed to smile at the offer. “Gladly”, she replied, as she placed a hand on the hilt of Red Rain. The sword was light, weighing much less than the regular steel they were using in Westeros and definitely lighter than her axe. Yet it wasn't actually the first time she had been wielding the weapon. Fierce as he was to his enemies, Gravven was even more generous to his friends, even when it involved his prized sword.
With a groan of pain, Herman sank to his knees, almost having to lie down on the ground. As he readily placed his head on the block, he had to cling to the wood to remain somewhat upright. Kyra felt no pity for the man, considering his actions, but his condition could only be described as pitiable. To think that her brother, Vickon, had almost suffered a similar fate, it filled her with dread and she could only pray to the Drowned God that she would be spared such a fate. To be weak, helpless, pathetic, it was worse than death.
Briefly, she knelt down next to the rebel, to make sure he was capable of remaining upright. Last thing she wanted was a messy execution. “You are right...”, she whispered into his ear, only for him to hear and even then barely audible. The man's eyes widened, as he stared at her. Though about to die, he smiled and as she raised the sword above her head, he opened his mouth.
Only the beginnings of a chuckle had left his throat as Red Rain hit his neck, cleanly severing the head from the body and cutting off any amusement he was getting from this. It was more than he deserved, but at least he died with some satisfaction. Blood sprayed from the neck, covering the wooden log and the ground, as the body sank down.
Wordless, Gravven handed her a piece of fabric he had likely taken from the farmhouse and she wiped the blood off the red blade, before giving the weapon back to its rightful owner. For a moment, they remained there, staring at the headless corpse of Herman Irons. The look on his face was one of happiness and it left a sour taste in her mouth. Her men were avenged at last, but there was more behind this.
“What now?”, Gravven asked and Kyra forced herself to smile at him. She was never one to shy away from carnage and he shouldn't get the idea that something else was bothering her. “Now we return home”, she promised and he chuckled. “Not quite the fight I was hoping for, but at least Red Rain has tasted blood”, he growled. “I could go for a beer now”
She nodded half-heartedly, as she turned to her horse. “What do we do with these people? The farmer and his son, I mean”, the man asked and Kyra stopped dead in her tracks. Glancing at the farmhouse, she saw Barnell still standing there. Tears streamed down his face, though he made no attempt to do anything. “We leave them”, she spoke. “They are not part of this”
“Fine with me”, Gravven agreed. “Though they did house a wanted rebel. Someone will ask questions. The king will send someone eventually” To this, she nodded. “And they'll burn this whole place down. If this fucker is any smart, he and his son will be halfway out of the kingdom by then”, she replied. “But that is none of my business. I went out here to confront the man who murdered my guards, not to kill some poor farmer and his boy”
As she had reached her horse, Gravven had caught up with her. “Yeah, about that”, he spoke, gently moving a hand through the mane of his own steed. “What do you think of what he told us? Someone who helped him from the inside” His tone was calm, yet Kyra spotted the distrust in it. She gulped, as her smile faded entirely. “Leave this to me”, she said, her tone firm and perhaps a bit cold. “Until then, not a word to anyone. If he told us the truth, we cannot trust anyone in the castle”
“Can't do nothing either”, Gravven replied. “If we leave the traitor be, there will be more dead guards to follow” Kyra tensed up at the suggestion, though she shook her head. “I said leave this to me”, she reminded him sharply. “It's going to be dangerous the more people know about this. I have a plan, but until then, you won't say a word to anyone, have I made myself clear?”
Gravven nodded reluctantly. “You have, captain”, he promised her. “But keep me updated. If you need my help, you have it. I got your back” Though she appreciated the sentiment, she could only roll her eyes at his loyalty. She knew those weren't empty words. At the same time, he had no idea what he was up to. Gravven would not get dragged into this, she was certain of it.
The return to Harrenhal happened mostly in silence. Kyra could tell that Gravven had gotten suspicious and there was little she could do about it right now. As such, she left him to his silent brooding, hoping his thoughts wouldn't amount to anything. And the whole time at the farm had put her into a bad mood, with anger rising up in her. There was no time for jests right now. As the towers of Harrenhal appeared in the distance, she knew she had to confront her brother.
The opportunity came quickly, as Kyra spotted Damon the moment she and Gravven rode into the courtyard. He was watching them from afar, his elbows resting on the railing of the staircase leading up to the smallest of the five towers. One of his hands was moving through his short beard and the look he was giving her was inscrutable and almost menacing.
“Cap?”, Gravven asked as Kyra slowed down her horse. He stopped next to her, following her glance. She noticed how he himself tensed up. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”, he mumbled, though she did not reply, as she descended from her horse. Hearing Gravven doing the same behind her, she began to approach Damon.
After a few feet, her second-in-command had reached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. With a low growl, she shook it off in an instant, as she spun around to look at him. “Not now”, she finally replied, though her tone was softer than her attitude. “Please, take care of the horses, then take the rest of the day off. That's an order”
Slowly, he looked at her and she saw the look in his eyes. He did not know, but he had a suspicion and that was already bad enough. However, he saw the silent plea in her gaze and pulled himself together. His mouth formed a thin smile and he gave her a nod. “Of course, Kyra”, he agreed. “Come meet me later on, if you got the time” With this, he turned around, leaving Kyra free to approach her brother.
Damon was waiting patiently, as she walked up the stairs. He was looking at her, then across the courtyard, where Gravven led the horses to the stables. “You're back”, he said, as he smiled at her. “I... am glad you are okay, little sister” She did not reply to his flattery, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. “And... Herman Irons?”
“Dead”, she replied coldly. “I executed him” With this, she took a deep breath, as she narrowed her eyes. “Though not before he told me something that gained my attention”, she added. “Can you guess what it is?” To his credit, Damon did not try to fool her. He merely nodded. “I suppose you have questions”, he replied.
“You bet I have!”, she snapped at him, as she slammed a finger against his chest. He had the audacity to smirk, staring down at her with a calm, smug look on his face. Then, he leant closer. “Yes, I have helped Herman and his people”, he informed her and she clenched her teeth. “You murdered my guards”, she growled, though she managed to keep her tone down. There was no one near them, but in this castle, she knew to be careful.
Damon shook his head. “To be fair, I merely made them sleep. The murdering, that was all on Herman”, he corrected her. “A necessary price” Kyra groaned in frustration, staring past Damon and down the stairs. “For what?”, she hissed. “A dozen of my men are dead. Your connection to the Sons of the Trident died when I cut off his head. You have gained nothing out of this”
“An unpleasant side goal of the larger objective”, her brother spoke. “I did this to get rid of Edgar. Turncoat or not, he is still a Riverlander. Figured he might get sick of the abuse your precious men put him through on a daily basis” For a moment, there was a dark anger visible behind his eyes. “And instead of helping, the little shit tried to blackmail me”
“Could have told you that much”, Kyra snarled. “Edgar has been scum. Surely there could have been easier ways to get rid of him though. Ways that don't involve murdering my guards!” Damon raised an eyebrow. “Quiet, sister”, he warned her. “I used Edgar's inevitable death to gain a favour with the Sons of the Trident. Trust me when I say, my connection is not even close to have dried out after Herman's death. We are one step closer and all I had to do was... to take care of a problem”
As he spoke this last sentence, he looked down the courtyard, where Gravven was just leaving the stables again. Briefly, the raider looked up at the two, though he thankfully minded his own business. Kyra understood what Damon meant though. “No”, she hissed. “Gravven is not a problem!”
“If you caught up to what Herman told you, then surely Drumm did as well. He's not as thick-headed as he looks”, Damon replied, in the same tone as one would comment on the weather. Kyra stepped closer, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and glaring at him. “I said he is not a problem!”, she warned him. “I should already inform the king just for what you did to my guards. But Gravven is a friend. Harm him and this is over!”
For a moment, Damon just looked at her, before he gulped. “You are serious”, he stated. “A foolishness, but I never expected you to be far-sighted” He sighed and she swallowed down her growing anger. “I won't harm Drumm, not if you can make sure that he won't tell the king”, he promised. “For if you expose me, I can guarantee you will hang right next to me. He is a vengeful one, the black king, and you have helped me before”
“We have an understanding then”, Kyra stated and Damon nodded. “I'm doing this for you”, he spoke and gently, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “All of this, I'm doing it to keep you safe from these beasts” She bit down on her lower lip. “I don't need your protection”, she informed him. “Maybe you haven't noticed, but a lot has changed while you were exiled”
“Another thing I did for you”, Damon reminded her. “Yet still, have things truly changed that much? How long do you think Harndon would hold back, would he not fear my wrath? He remembers the beating I gave him. And Harmund... you haven't seen the way he looks at you when you have your back turned on him. He desires you, in his dark and twisted way and he has never been able to deal with not getting what he desires”
Kyra shook her head. “Trust me, I know the looks”, she stated, though Damon was not done yet. “And Harrick...”, he said, causing her to tense up. “What about him?”, she growled, almost too loud. Damon looked around before he replied. “I do not care if you are just using him for fun. He is a handsome man and I suppose the only one in his entire family who bathes regularly” Sternly, he raised a finger. “But I fear this is more than just fun for you. After all, you were asking for a repeat performance, more than once”, he warned her. “You seem to be growing close to him”
“And?”, Kyra asked, not even bothering with denying his accusation. “And I will not see you becoming a Hoare”, Damon stated decisively. The thought, admittedly, was dreadful to Kyra. Princess Hoare, she would never want that. While it was true, Harrick was someone to be fond of, she would never allow things to become that serious. However, with her anger towards Damon, she did not attempt to ease his concern. “I don't see how you have any say in it”, she simply stated.
“I am your brother”, Damon reminded her. “From my standpoint, I do have a say in it” Kyra shook her head. “Vickon might have”, she corrected him. “But you are not Lord Greyjoy, no matter how much you want it” It was in this moment that she realized something and it nearly caused her to jump back in sudden horror. Dread rose up in her as she noticed Damon's expression at the mention of their brother.
“God...”, she mumbled and Damon quickly managed to control his vicious expression. “What do you mean?”, he said calmly, his voice oozing coldness. “Before he left for Pyke, he told me something”, Kyra revealed. “Told me that the night he fell down the stairs, he saw you. Told me that he thinks... he thinks you pushed him”
Damon's face showed no emotion and it was the worst thing she had ever seen of him. “Vickon fell down the stairs”, he insisted. “A tragedy, but thankfully he survived. Who knows what truly happened on that day, I doubt we can count on his memory being unfailing. It is for the better, for he lacks my experience. I trust him to rule Pyke well once he makes a full recovery, but he wouldn't have been a good Lord Captain”
“He is our brother!”, she barked and now she was louder than she should be. As she continued, she had gotten her voice under control again. “You threaten my men, you threaten my friends, you threaten our brother and for what? For you getting your sick revenge fantasy on the king?”
“For you!”, Damon insisted again and she knew, he was serious. At least he thought himself to be serious here, even if she suspected the truth to be more complicated than that. “All your life, it was my task to protect you. And I did, I kept you safe even from the king's rotten bloodline” She opened her mouth, but Damon cut her off by grabbing her by the shoulder. “Before you insist on not needing any protection, think of the consequences. Think of where you would be without me”
She paused, as her heart was thumping wildly. Glaring at him, she took a few deep breaths. “I know you saved my life”, she agreed. “Harndon...” She gulped and slightly shivered, as she thought back to that day, back to how she nearly fell. Would she have ended up like Vickon? Or maybe she would have died, broken on the rocks, all because some sick princeling wanted to get some fun. Damon saved her life on that day. He wasn't the same man anymore, but it didn't make her less grateful, nor did his recent actions make her any less furious.
“And I will do so again, without even hesitating”, he promised. “There is nothing I wouldn't do for you” He smiled gently and for a moment, he looked almost like the man he used to be before Harren sent him away. “In return, I want you to promise me only one thing”, he said and she gulped. “What?”, she asked.
“I want you to never betray me”, Damon explained. “I want you to be by my side, to support me as I aim to make this world better for the two of us. If you work closer with me, we can prevent something like the events with Herman Irons from ever happening again. My plans, coupled with your knowledge, your position so close to the king... I want you to help me, not just on occasion, but as my equal. Think of how easy it will be, how we can keep things from escalating again” He narrowed his eyes and there he was again, the Ghost of Pyke. “Think of Gravven. You tell me he is not a threat, but can I truly believe you?”, he asked and it sent a shiver down her spine. “Promise me to support me in this and we don't have to quarrel ever again. Then, I can believe your word” He smirked. “Then, we shall bring this whole rotten house down and anyone standing in our way, until you and I finally have what we deserve”
His gaze was intense, menacing, yet chilling. Kyra was tensed up, as she stared at him in return. He meant well, she had to tell herself over and over in her head, or else she would freak out. And he was serious. Yet, Harren was her king and no matter what Damon said, he wasn't too bad, not towards her. She had sworn an oath to him. At the same time, Damon was her brother. Could she truly swear another oath to him as well, knowing her loyalties would clash eventually? And could she truly afford not swearing it, risking his wrath?
[Promise him] [Don't promise him]
[Don't promise him]
Fuck Damon, was never a big fan of him, and my opinion of him grows more negative with each passing day, crippling his own brother is a low move, and him saving Kyra from Hoares long ago isn't enough to redeem him in my eyes. He is selfish, manipulative, and is basically emotionally blackmailing Kyra.
[Promise him]
Well look the first time I get to see a character being moved to the deceased section which I have to admit is kind of cool even if Herman Irons was more of a minor character.
Speaking of which I feel kinda bad for whoever created him because he only appears in Two parts before getting killed which must suck. But i feel his death is going to have ramifications even if there only minor.
Aye, there is definitely a bit of manipulation on Damon's part here. He is quite a piece of work, his most redeeming trait probably being his desire to end the truly villainous Hoare line. As bad as he is, Harmund is all that and worse, but that still only makes him the lighter shade of black at best. There is genuine fondness for Kyra, but as you have rightly seen here, even that is warped and he is not above manipulating their bond for his favour. They once had a genuinely positive sibling bond, but Damon went through a lot of development during his exile and it hasn't necessarily been for the better, as Kyra slowly has to realize. There are positive aspects to him as well, but this part really highlighted some of his worst traits.
When it comes to him and Vickon, the full story is as follows: During the last weeks of Damon's exile, it was decided that Vickon would become the new Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, due to his position as Harren's most powerful vassal. However, shortly before he was to be formally appointed, he suffered an accident in Harrenhal, basically falling down the stairs and receiving severe injuries in the process. He is expected to make a full recovery, but it will take years until he gets to the point where he used to be, if he ever even gets there again at all. Damon returned shortly afterwards from his exile and managed to convince the king to make him Lord Captain in Vickon's stead, seeing as how Vickon is obviously unable to do the duties of a Lord Captain anytime soon. This has sparked some rumours already and as we have seen here, Vickon himself seems to remember seeing Damon on that day, something Kyra has never truly believed until now, as Damon did not return for another couple of days. That and her not wanting to believe that he had a hand in this, but well, it does seem like a possible explanation now.
And before this chapter is over, he will not remain the last, this I can promise. I might not be super trigger happy when killing off characters, but over the course of Book 2, the deceased section will definitely grow significantly.
Aye, in this case Herman's early death was the direct outcome of your choices. Potentially, he could have lived for far longer, becoming an ally of Kyra if she would have chosen to support Damon in the last chapter, or being a prisoner in Harrenhal if she would have decided to take him in at the end of her last part. I don't like killing off underdeveloped characters, but I feel like there isn't too much I can do with Herman's character, so this death was a fitting end for him, I believe. I can also confirm that his creator is not an active reader to my knowledge, I tend to be a bit more lenient with these in terms of when I decide to kill them off. At least I don't think I ever killed the character of an active reader within such a short time frame. In general, I usually don't kill off characters this quickly and I would have liked to keep him around for a bit longer, but every once in a while, a character just dies quickly. At best, I hope to give them a small but memorable role, something I hope to have succeeded in with Herman. There are other characters who have died an early death after only a single chapter, these being Robb, Alexander and Otis and I think each of them has at least left some sort of an impact, with especially Alexander being still brought up by Ilish for saving her life. And I aim to make every death count, albeit some will obviously have larger importance than others. Expect Lucas or Richard to be brought up all the way to the end of the story. Occasionally, the other characters will be remembered as well, their deaths having consequences ranging from major to minor, but unless every character with a connection to one of the deceased is going to die as well, no character will be forgotten.
[Promise him] As much of a bastard as he is to Kyra and the others, he truly cares about his sister, and we all know they must get the f**k out of there before the dragons arrive. The least attached she is to House Hoare, the least likely she is to burn to ashes along with whoever stays.
[Don't promise him] House Hoare forever! Never shall it fall! The world will burn and nothing shall come of House Hoare! Loyalty till death!
[Don't promise him]