8th Month of 287 A.C. The Red Keep
Ser Gerold Hightower
He had been in the Kingsguard for close to forty years now, joining during the reign of King Aegon the fortunate, the fifth of his name. Ser Duncan the Tall his mentor and hero had given him his white cloak and named him to the position made vacant by Ser Donnel of Duskendale. The Kingsguard then was of a different nature to the Kingsguard that Gerold currently served in, the knights that made up the Kingsguard were men of the old way, knights who stuck rigidly to their Kingsguard vows and had no reason to question them for the king was good and just. Ser Duncan the Tall was their commander and there was none better than him, a true knight he was. There was the Goldenheart whose name was etched into history, his duel with Lord Lothar Bracken was the stuff of legends, and then there was Ser Rupert Crabb a strong man and giant amongst men. Those were the times when life was simpler when an order could be given and followed with little question asked. And then Aerys had come to the throne and the lines had gotten muddled. Gerold held no resentment for his former sworn brothers who were dead now, Ser Jonothor and Prince Lewyn had been true white knights, and the king they had served had been corrupt. This current crop of white knights was perhaps the finest Gerold had known, they were good and true and were determined to ensure the King's safety first and foremost.
This dedication was necessary, for there was much that the king needed to be protected from being a little child. The white book recorded the follies that had become of the Kingsguard during the regency of King Aegon the Dragonbane and it did not paint a good image. Gerold was determined to avoid such things and as such used the contacts he and Oswell had gathered during their time in the Kingsguard to keep watch on the various nobles of court including the Lord Regent and the Hand. The Lord Regent was a decent enough man even if he did scheme with the best of them, he had his grandson the king's best interests at heart, and considering how close they had come to seeing the King die, it was best that such a man was in charge. As for the Hand, Gerold had never trusted Tywin Lannister, there was something about the man that made Gerold want to curl his hand into a fist and break the man's jaw. He did not know what it was but he inherently disliked the man. That they had uncovered several of his plots was even more worrying, he hoped that the regent would remove the man soon.
Right now though Gerold had to push such thoughts from his mind, as he was walking down passageways he had not known existed in the Red Keep looking for the secret vault of the Targaryens built by Maegor the Cruel, to keep the deepest most darkest of secrets of the royal family. Prince Oberyn had sent men down here previously but none had returned getting lost in the passageways, though Gerold suspected he knew the true reason why none had come back, for he had found bodies lying on the pathways as he had descended deeper into the Red Keep. Someone else was clearly looking for this vault as well, making this mission of Gerold's doubly important. As he walked down the pathways the torch he was carrying made the shadows seem like dragons, it would be intimidating if he did not know the Targaryen fascination with making everything they owned to be about the dragons. There was something in that connection, something more than just a bond.
He continued walking down the pathway, turning right then left, following the rough map Prince Oberyn had drawn showing where he thought the vault would be. If the Prince was right, this was just below the rooms where the king would sleep when he was a man grown. It made sense, to provide quick access to whatever might be within the vault. And yet no one had known of the Vault since King Aegon the Unworthy's time and so Gerold wondered how it had become lost to memory. He continued walking, following the trail of blood that seemed to be coming from the bodies strewn across the pathway, the blood curiously enough was not flowing down from the bodies, but was flowing upward as if forming a path.
This oddity was still pressing itself in Gerold's mind when he came face to face with a big black dragon staring right at him. Gerold's heart nearly leapt out of his mouth until he realised this was just a statue, or he bloody well hoped it was. He looked at the dragon which seemed to be a model of what the Black dread was supposed to look like and then walked through the gap that the thing left, and found himself face to face with a door, the lock of which appeared to be falling off. Wondering how he was going to open the door and not get locked in, he stood there staring at the thing for a long, long time, until something King Jaehaerys said came back to him. "My ancestors were many things proud, boastful and very often brash. But there was one man whose brains were somewhat stronger than others and he build the doorway to something long since forgotten. A turn and a knock and one would enter with their soul intact."
Gerold stared at the door a long moment wondering if this could be the thing that King Jaehaerys had been prone to mention in his final days. Eventually he decided that the only way to know was to try it, so he extended his hand towards the lock and turned it once, whilst bringing his other hand up to knock on the door. Nothing happened, and for a moment he thought to give up, and then he heard a creaking and suddenly he was thrown against the door and it flew open. As he staggered through the door, he saw golden cups, and crowns and dragon skulls. He blinked furiously, wondering if he had found the way into the treasury, until he saw a stash of swords and weapons that were mentioned only in legend. Eggs were there as well, ones with black, red, and silver colouring. Ones of blue, yellow and gold. Was this the vault? The legendary vault, and if so where was the letter?
He walked around the room growing more and more convinced that this was the vault of legend, where the Targaryens of old kept their deepest and darkest secrets. Proof of this he found in the scrolls of Queen Visenya Targaryen where she talked about how the end of King Aenys had come about, in the writings of King Aegon the Dragon and his musings on Dorne, and the famous letter that Princess Deria had delivered to King Aegon from her father had brought peace with Dorne, reading that letter made Gerold shudder and wonder what the great king had felt when he read it himself. There were many other countless objects and letters here that had caused no end of controversy for the royal family over the years, but the one letter Gerold was looking for he could not find and it was beginning to drive him more than a little bit mad.
As he continued to explore the vault, a song an old song, he sees the dragon eggs and the crowns and the countless weapons of Targaryens of old and he wonders how no one else has found this room before him. How it became lost is a mystery to him, but he does wonder whether it was ever truly lost. He continues walking around the vault looking through it and wondering where this letter could be, he walks passed many things that seem to have come from the Dance of Dragons, children's clothes, crowns, a jewel that looks like it once fitted into an eye. The search continues and to Gerold it feels as if he is walking through a generation of Targaryens, maps and scrolls from the time of Daeron the Young Dragon to Viserys the wise are in the shelves that he sees, but still no sign of this one particular letter.
Just as he is about to give up hope he sees a seal, a golden three headed dragon crossed with a black three headed dragon and he feels his heart begin to beat a bit faster, he walks over to where the seal is and picks it up off the shelf. He looks at the seal, and then is about to pocket it when he hears a voice behind him says. "You are going to want to give that to me Lord Commander."
Gerold holds onto the scroll and turns around slowly, he cannot see the man's face but he knows his voice. "Lord Massey this is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Lord Errol Massey is a thin man, a reed really but he is cunning and quick with a sword, Gerold knows should it come to it he will have to be careful. "Give me the scroll Ser Gerold and we do not need to take this further."
"The scroll?" Gerold asks, then faking wonder he holds up the scroll in his hand and says. "Oh you mean this scroll? Why ever would you want that?"
"A friend of mine wishes to have that scroll. It is his by rights." The man responds.
Gerold can tell that he is nervous by the way his words come out. Gerold himself is somewhat nervous but years of experience have enabled him to hide the nerves somewhat better than Massey. "And whom is this friend that has asked you to go sneaking and crawling around the Red Keep? Is it the eunuch?"
"That is none of your concern." The man says though Gerold noticed the twitch when the eunuch was mentioned.
"Oh but as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard it is my concern. You see, the eunuch is a traitor and an enemy to the throne. Therefore anyone who is working for or with him, is also an enemy and must be dealt with. Now tell me who are you working for?" Gerold responds.
The Lord of Stonedance visibly twitches, his voice is wavering. "I repeat that is not of your concern." He goes to draw his sword and says. "Now give me the scroll or die."
Gerold looks at this reedy man and says in his most commanding voice. "No one needs to die now my lord. Simply tell me who it is you are working for and we can work together to prevent him from doing whatever it is he threatened you with."
The man wavers then and Gerold hopes against hope that he is going to cave but then his voice comes out again. "You cannot help me. No one can help me. Not against what he has against me."
"What does he have on you my lord? What has made you turn from the light?" Gerold asks softly.
"He has information on certain things that I have done which I am not proud of Ser. He knows my role in the conspiracy against the throne and he is using that to bring me down to his side. He also holds my sister and her children hostage in Pentos. I….I must get the scroll to him so that he can release them." Massey says.
"I am afraid I cannot give you this scroll my lord. It is of paramount importance that the Lord Regent gets it, so you must stand down." Gerold responds.
The man before him pulls down his hood then and Gerold nearly recoils at the scarring on the man's face. Something clearly happened to him on his return from Lys. His voice is harsh when he speaks. "Give me the scroll Ser, or I shall have to fight you and kill you. I might not be as strong as you are, but I am certainly quicker."
Gerold sighs then. "I cannot give you the scroll my lord, even if I wanted to I could not. And now unless you move aside you shall perish."
The man draws his sword then and Gerold draws his own sword, they advance towards one another seizing one another up looking for weaknesses, and just as Gerold thinks to make the first move Massey lunges forward. He certainly is quick, Gerold just about manages to get his sword up in time to block the man's sword, their swords creaking against one another. Gerold is old, but he is not so old that he cannot use his strength to force the other man's sword off of his. He does so and then begins his own barrage of attacks against Massey. He slashes, and hits the man's skin, he cuts, and begins opening up new cuts on top of the old ones. For all that he is quick, Massey clearly has not been able to practice for some time, his movements are rusty and sloppy, Gerold is easily able to defend or block or even counteract them. He pummels Massey into the ground, before raising his sword in the air.
Before he brings his sword down to end the man Massey asks. "Will you ensure my family are safe Ser?"
Gerold hesitates for a moment and then responds. "Aye." The man merely nods then and closes his eyes as Gerold brings his sword down and slices the man in half. His sword is stained red with blood but he still must get the scroll and leave before someone else comes down. He grabs the scroll and as he does so he sees a spider scampering away.