Eddard Stark. King's Landing.
I was in the Small Council Chamber with Lord Baelish, Grand Maester Pycelle, Renly, Stannis, and an irritated Robert. And his irritation was understandable, for the sun had only just risen and we were gathered before breakfast.
- "Selmy's all right, but where's Varys?" Robert asked, looking at me, unhappily, "According to you, he asked to meet with some very important shit, and he hasn't shown up yet!"
- "He is the Master of Whispers, Your Majesty. We cannot take his words lightly," I shook my head.
- "Wise words, Lord Hand," the Grand Maester seconded me, and Renly and Stannis nodded in agreement, "Your Majesty, I think we should wait for Lord Varys. He wouldn't bother us for nothing."
- "Then where is he!" Robert pounded on the table, "Did he forget that I'm the bloody king! And what did he even want to tell me!"
- "Something to do with the Targaryen girl, I daresay, Your Majesty," Lord Baelish said with his usual polite smile, and Robert was silent almost immediately, his fingers clenched tightly into fists, "Otherwise he would not have disturbed you as he did Lord Hand."
- "I hope so," Robert growled.
I sighed tiredly as I watched, for I understood him a little. I, too, had business to attend to that had caused me a sleepless night.
Through Harold, the Red Men had reported that the Queen was paying too much attention to Sansa and Arya. But if in Arya's case, she had the Sand Snakes covering for her, which I didn't really like, then Sansa's situation made me apprehensive. Yes, she has learned a lot from Lady Kinvara and Solomon, but what if Sansa gets too caught up in the game?
Also, I've gotten reports that High Septon has been acting strangely. I had met him before, even before his appointment as Hand, and I could say with certainty that he had no honor. Corrupt and greedy, but unfortunately a necessary man.
That was then, but now he was happily donating his gold and silver to the kingdom's treasury and to the development of Steel Street, where the workshops and forges were located. All that would be fine, but he also began to often go out to preach in person, repeating to people about getting ready for something. This whole situation seemed very strange to me, as did the High Septon's goals unknown to anyone, but the reports didn't end there.
Lord Oberyn was preparing for something and started leaving the Red Keep very often, and Stannis called in more ships from Dragonstone for some unknown reason. Also, the Red Men sent word of Euron Greyjoy sailing near Oldtown with his fleet. And as much as I wanted to take action against him, there were enough problems here. That is, I didn't want another war, putting Winterfell and the North at risk in the first place.
Lord Tyrion and his inexplicable caution were also an oddity. On the surface it was almost invisible, or rather, I didn't notice anything, but that's what the Red Men said, and they gave me no reason to doubt themselves.
And as if that wasn't enough, I received a raven, not received directly of course, but through my men here from Winterfell, sent by Kat. In the letter she asked me to be very careful with Lord Baelish, but I still couldn't figure out why.
Besides, I never managed to change Robert's mind about not killing the Targaryen girl. Halon informed me that Daenerys Targaryen's goals were unknown to him, but she was being trained by Solomon, which I already knew. And now no one knows what she has in mind except the Dothraki Khalasar with whom she is moving to Vaes Dothrak.
I would hate to jump to conclusions, but knowing Solomon's training, it could be anything... Even a return here to Westeros, where Robert is sure to kill her.
As soon as my thoughts were over, Lord Varys entered the Small Council Chamber, clearly worried about something.
- "My Lords," he bowed and greeted us.
- "Well, at last!" Robert raised his voice at once, "Tell me, Spider, why have you summoned us? I hope it has to do with the dragons' imminent death, or I'll have to take away more than just your dick."
- "That would be... unpleasant, Your Majesty, but the situation is serious," Lord Varys began, "My birds have informed me that a new Sea Lord has been chosen in Braavos."
- "And?" Robert said impatiently, "I'm only interested in one thing beyond the Narrow Sea, and that's a dragon whore!"
- "Please calm down, Your Majesty. Let Lord Varys speak," I intervened and looked at the Master over the whisperers, "Lord Varys, please."
- "Thank you, Lord Hand," he nodded, "The disturbing news is that his new policy does not bode well for us."
- "More details, Lord Varys," Renly hurried him.
- "Braavos plans to raise the toll on all ships that enter its harbors," he replied, "I've also been told that the Iron Bank will raise the lending rate and the interest already accrued for the Seven Kingdoms. And if we refuse to pay the debt, Braavos will start acting more... harshly."
As soon as the last word came out of his mouth, my eyes became like golden dragons.
Why now?! Yes, the crown took most of the debt from the Lannisters, but we just don't have the money right now! Where are we going to get about a million gold dragons?! And as if that's not enough, we've got enough problems!
Of course, I'm not the only one affected by this news.
- "What?!" Robert pounded the table. "They want a war?!"
- "Not war, money," Renly sighed.
- "But the king's coffers are empty at the moment," Lord Baelish added, "And I don't think the Lannisters, Tyrells, and others will lend us more than we already owe."
- "In that case, what should we do?" I asked.
- "It would be wise to pay off the Iron Bank in any way we can," the Grand Maester said, "The Black and White House is in Braavos, and to show its seriousness, its assassins may be sent to us."
- "They're clamping down on us," Stannis put in, "By raising the tolls, they're already depriving us of some of our profits. And if things with Braavos stop, the rest of the Free Cities will be forced to support him because they don't want to get on his bad side."
- "Lord Varys, did your birds say anything about paying an increased fee to cancel the debt?" I asked, almost out of breath.
- "No, Lord Hand. That is all they managed to find out," Lord Varys shook his head.
I frowned.
What does Braavos want to accomplish with this? Why ruin relations with the Seven Kingdoms if they were the main source of income? Was there some hidden pretext that we can't see?
- "If they want war, they'll get it!" Robert declared.
- "We can't afford it," Stannis shook his head, "The only way is by sea, and Braavos is impregnable from the sea."
- "Then we'll attack from land!"
- "Nothing will change," Renly said, "The only way into the city is by one narrow bridge. As long as our troops cross it, numbers won't matter. We'll be slaughtered before we even get to the gate."
- "And we'll lose a huge chunk of our profits to tolls anyway," Lord Baelish added.
- "The merchants won't be happy with this situation, and they'll come right here to say so."
- "Unless they do it more covertly," Lord Varys agreed.
- "Both outcomes are possible, my lords," the Grand Maester shook his head.
- "And?! Are you suggesting I just swallow it?!" Robert bellowed, to which he was answered by silence, "Into the fiery furnace of you! Since you, my bloody Small Council, are so averse to war, then find a solution yourselves! Or, I will personally turn the titan of Braavos into a pile of garbage!"
With that, Robert, stomping his feet loudly, walked out of the hall, leaving us here alone. Silence rejoiced for a while longer, until I let out a weary sigh and shook my head.
- "If he wasn't king, I think he would have just gotten on a ship and gone to Braavos alone," I said.
- "He would," Stannis agreed.
- "Still, our brother is not irresponsible enough to do that under the circumstances," Renly added with a smile.
- "His Majesty is wise but stubborn," the Grand Maester began, "We must find a way out of this situation, or he will indeed summon banners and sail across the Narrow Sea."
- "In that case, I will try to contact some old acquaintances. Perhaps they can help us out," Lord Baelish said.
- "My birds will keep an eye on the situation in Braavos," Lord Varys added.
- "Stannis and I will try to speak to His Majesty," Renly said, and Stannis nodded in agreement, "And, Lord Hand, I will ask you to do the same. We don't need a war when the last one was just a short time ago."
- "My Lords, we have much work to do, and I hope we can survive this crisis.
Everyone nodded collectively, and were about to leave the table when suddenly a panting Ser Selmy came running into the hall."
- "My Lords! We have a problem!"
- "Yes, we know, Ser Selmy, and we are just about to find a solution," said Lord Baelish.
- "No, it's bad!" cut off Selmy's forces, "The gold cloaks and the city guards are getting more and more requests for help!"
- "What do you mean!" I couldn't believe it could be any worse.
- "People in pubs, taverns and brothels are spitting out the contents of their stomachs en masse and falling down without strength, and their skin is turning pale!" replied Ser Selmy, "We must do something, my lords!"
- "And we will, Ser Selmy," I said gravely, "Grand Maester, do you know what it could be?"
- "The symptoms are similar to food poisoning, but to be so widespread? That's very unusual."
- "So, we can place them next to the healthy ones, right?" I asked.
- "Yes, but it wouldn't hurt to take precautions."
- "In that case... Ser Selmy!"
- "Yes, Lord Hand?"
- "I want the sick placed in and near the Dragon's Lair, and I want guards placed around the place and blocked off. The Maesters, including the Grand Maester, will attend to the sick, and the guards or anyone else who wishes to support them will do so for a reward of five silver stags."
- "As you command," Ser Selmy nodded quickly and was about to run out of the hall when I stopped him.
- "But, Ser Selmy, watch the quantity. The kingdom's treasury is almost empty as it is, and we can't afford to spend too much," I said, and after making sure he heard me, I let him go.
- "I too will go to do my duty, Lord Hand, my lords." said goodbye Grand Maester and, limping, went to fulfill my orders.
- "Well, that was unexpected," Lord Baelish said, "Do you think it was planned, my lords?"
- "By Braavos?" Stannis raised an eyebrow, "I don't think so. Too nefarious by their standards, and they're rather arrogant."
- "Then who could it have been?" Renly wondered, "I don't think such a mass poisoning could have been a mere accident."
- "My birds have told me nothing of this," Lord Varys shook his head.
- "Clarification later, my lords," I interrupted them, "Send your men to help the guards and maesters. The reward for them is also on the table. We have more important things to do now."
They nodded and left the Small Council chamber, and I slumped back in my chair, my head resting on my clasped hands.
So many things had come together at once... What should I do...? Will the Seven Kingdoms be able to survive this crisis...? Also...
The deadline Solomon spoke of is very near....
-0-
Shiro Kotomine. Braavos.
I frowned, standing in one of the empty alleys of Braavos, illuminated by moonlight, and looking at six dead bodies. In their shadows on the ground were stuck my Black Keys, long and graceful rapier-like swords a meter long with extremely short scarlet holders.
And in addition to their increased effectiveness against vampires, demons, and any other evil entity, they had the ability to paralyze a target if stuck in its shadow. However, even with my flawlessly working Black Keys, the assassins still died, frozen like stone statues.
- "Who do you think could have sent them, Shiro?" Beni-enma asked, holstering a long katana disproportionate to its owner's height, "Six for each of us. Twelve assassins for the two of us? Someone wanted us dead badly, chirp."
- "I don't know, Beni-enma-san. I didn't have time to interrogate them, and apparently someone sent them to test our strength," I shook my head and put away my Black Keys, causing the dead bodies to fall to the ground, "These people obviously knew what they were getting into since they took the poison beforehand."
- "I don't sense any living people around here, chirp."
- "Neither do I," I nodded. "We should get back to the mansion. Lady Kirana might know a suspect or two."
- "Alright, chirp," Beni-enma agreed with me, and we went home after entering Spiritual forms.
Our mission has begun, has it not, Lord Solomon?
-0-
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