Prince Baelor stood in the small courtyard, away from the noise of the celebration.
"Ser Duncan," Baelor said as I approached. "Walk with me."
We moved deeper into the courtyard.
Baelor reached into his cloak and pulled out a sealed letter with a three-headed dragon sigil.
"This arrived by raven this afternoon," he said, handing it to me. "From my father."
I broke the seal and read:
To Ser Duncan the Tall,
Your conduct at Ashford has been noted with approval. Prince Aegon, fourth son of Prince Maekar, requires a knight of honor to guide his education. You are hereby requested to take the prince as your squire and present yourself at King's Landing.
Daeron II Targaryen, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men
I read it twice, then looked up at Baelor. "The king wants me to take Egg as my squire."
"He does. And to come to court." Baelor's expression was neutral. "It would be a great honor, Ser Duncan. A position. Security. The favor of the crown."
I folded the letter carefully. "I'll take Egg as my squire. Gladly. He's a good lad."
"But I won't stay in King's Landing," I continued. "I'll come. I'll pay my respects to His Grace. But then I'm leaving. I want to see the Seven Kingdoms and the Essos."
Baelor studied me for a long moment. "You understand what you're refusing?"
"I do."
"And you'd choose the open road over the Red Keep?"
"Every time."
"Very well. I'll send word to my father that you've accepted the squire but declined the position."
"Thank you, Your Grace."
Baelor nodded once, then turned to leave. He paused at the doorway. "Be careful in the capital, Ser Duncan."
Later that night, alone in my tent, I opened the system shop.
I knew what I needed to do.
My fingers navigated to the magic section, to the purchase I'd been thinking about since Ashford.
Blood Magic Mastery (Complete)
Cost: 2,000 Gold Dragons
Grants complete understanding of blood magic rituals, including resurrection, life binding, and advanced workings
I selected a purchase.
The gold vanished and pain exploded through my skull and raced down my spine like lightning. My muscles locked. My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth would crack.
I fell to my knees, biting back a scream.
Knowledge was forcefully poured into my mind.
Blood was life. Blood was death. Blood was the inbetween.
I knew things suddenly. Rituals I'd never seen. Symbols I'd never drawn. The precise way life force flowed through veins.
How to bind a wound that should be fatal. How to forge Valyrian steel with dragonfire and sacrifice.
And how to resurrect the dead.
The body had to be preserved. Fresh, or at least kept from decay. The blood circle had to be perfect. Twelve feet in diameter, specific runes at cardinal points.
And most importantly: the body would be flammable during the ritual.
During resurrection, dead flesh existed between states. Not alive, not dead. In that transition, the body became like oil-soaked wood. One spark and it would burn faster than paper.
I needed to be careful. No torches. No campfires. Nothing that could spark during the ritual.
The pain intensified and blood star dripping from my nose, even my vision start blurring.
But I kept absorbing. Kept learning.
The ritual required sacrifice. Blood from the living to call back the dead. An animal would work for a basic resurrection. A human sacrifice would bring back everything. The complete soul.
Finally, the knowledge stopped flooding in.
I collapsed onto my bedroll, gasping, my whole body trembling.
But I knew now.
I knew how to bring her back.
I just needed the right conditions and sacrifices.
….
Three Days Later, The Road to King's Landing
Egg and I rode side by side, the morning sun warm on our backs.
We'd left Ashford at dawn, ahead of Prince Baelor's party.
"Ser Duncan?" Egg said after an hour of silence.
"Aye?"
"What are we going to do in King's Landing? If we're not staying, I mean."
"Deliver wine and sell other few things that I have and then leave."
"Wine?"
I reached into my inventory carefully and pulled out a single bottle.
It appeared in my hand as if I'd been carrying it all along.
Egg's eyes went wide. "How did you do that?"
"You can call it, magic," I said simply. "I can store things in a space that's not quite here. And pull them out when I need them."
"I thought magic died with the dragons!" Egg leaned closer to look at the bottle. "Can you teach me?"
"Maybe, after you learn few other things," I said, Egg was taking this rather well. Even after seeing me pulling out this bottle from the air, his behavior didn't change. Maybe there is something wrong with all Targaryens?
"Is that the wine you mentioned to Uncle Baelor?"
"Part of it. I've got a thousand bottles."
I handed him the bottle. He turned it over, examining it.
Then his face changed. "Ser Duncan, this has writing, it's so equal! And this material wrapping it. What is this?"
Plastic wrap. Modern labels. Text that was printed.
"That," I said, "is why we need to stop and do some work."
We pulled off the main road into a clearing hidden by thick trees. I materialized the wooden cart I'd bought from the system, then started pulling out cases of wine.
Twenty-four bottles per case. Forty-two cases total.
Each bottle is wrapped in clear plastic with printed labels showing vineyards and vintage years from another world.
"We need to remove all of this," I said, peeling plastic from the first bottle.
Egg picked up a bottle and stared at the label. "Napa Valley, 2019. What does that mean?"
"Nothing you need to worry about. Just help me peel them off."
We worked for an hour. The sun climbed high and hot. My fingers grew sticky with adhesive.
But slowly, steadily, we stripped every bottle of its modern packaging. I stored the plastic and labels back in my inventory. Couldn't risk leaving evidence.
Then we packed the clean bottles into wooden crates with straw padding to keep them from breaking.
By the time we finished, the sun was setting. The cart was loaded and secured.
"That's a lot of work for wine," Egg said, flexing his sore fingers.
"Come on. We need to make a few more miles before dark."
We rode back onto the main road, the loaded cart rolling behind us.
A group of travelers passed going in the opposite direction. Four men on horses, rough-looking, with hard eyes that lingered too long on our cart.
I watched them go, my hand resting near my sword.
That Night
We made camp well off the road, in a clearing where we could see anyone approaching.
I built a small fire for light and warmth, nothing that would be visible from a distance.
Then I pulled up the system shop and started shopping for dinner.
Egg watched with fascination, as items appeared in my hands. A pot. A pan. Dried pasta. Ground beef. Tomato sauce. Garlic. Onions. Cheese.
"Can I really learn this magic?" he asked.
"Yes, you can." Few skill orbs in the system shop can be given to others, "but you have to prove yourself."
I saw determination on his face, at least for a few seconds.
"What are you making?" he asked.
"Something from my homeland." I set the pot over the fire with water to boil. "It's called spaghetti."
"Spa-what?"
"You'll see."
I diced the onions and garlic while the water heated. The familiar motions were soothing.
When the water boiled, I added the pasta. Eight minutes.
In the pan, I browned the ground beef with the onions and garlic. The smell made my mouth water. Added the tomato sauce, some dried herbs from the system shop. Let it simmer.
Egg watched like I was performing a play.
When the pasta was done, I drained it and mixed it with the sauce. Topped it with grated cheese that melted into strings and meatballs.
I divided it between two plates and handed one to Egg.
He stared at it. "What do I do with it?"
"Twist it on your fork like this." I demonstrated.
He tried, made a mess, tried again. Finally got a decent bite into his mouth.
His eyes went wide. "Seven hells, that's good!"
We ate in comfortable silence.
"Ser Duncan?" Egg said eventually.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you. For taking me as your squire. For teaching me things."
"You're welcome, Egg."
"And for this." He gestured at his empty plate. "Whatever this was."
I smiled. "There's more where that came from."
…
The Next Morning
We broke camp at first light.
The road was quiet.
Around mid-morning, we came around a bend and stopped.
A massive tree trunk lay across the road. Thick as a man was tall, blocking the path completely.
"That wasn't there yesterday," Egg said.
"No. It wasn't." I warged inside Raven, which was flying above.
Five men, hiding on top of a tree, wearing mismatched armor and weapons. Bandits.'
…