POV: Baelor Breakspear
I saw them coming down the road just after midday.
Duncan and Egg, riding together with a loaded cart trailing behind. The big destrier Thunder led the way, with the boy's smaller horse keeping pace.
I raised my hand in greeting and rode out to meet them.
"Ser Duncan," I said as I drew close. "You made good time."
"The road was clear, Your Grace." He dismounted and bowed while Egg did the same.
My eyes went to the cart. Wooden crates were stacked carefully and covered with canvas. "What do you carry?"
"Wine, Your Grace. The shipment you ordered."
"Ah. Good." I nodded. "We'll have it brought to the Red Keep when we arrive."
"As you wish."
I studied Duncan's face. He looked calm enough. His armor was clean. His horse is well-tended. Nothing obviously wrong.
But something was off.
I've spent my life around warriors. I know when a man is carrying weight he doesn't speak about. Duncan had that look. The kind soldiers get after their first real battle. Or their first real loss.
I didn't ask. Some things a man needs to carry alone until he's ready to share them.
"We're preparing for a hunt," I said instead. "There's a great stag in these woods. Been spotted twice this week. I'd be honored if you joined us."
Duncan glanced at Egg, then back to me. "I'd be glad to, Your Grace."
"Good. We leave within the hour."
The hunting party gathered near the edge of Kingswood. Twelve men on horses, with handlers and dogs. My nephew Daeron came, still looking half-drunk but functional, and my son Valarr rode beside him while speaking quietly.
Duncan stayed near Egg checking the boy's gear and making sure his bow was strung properly.
The master of hounds released the dogs. They bayed and ran with their noses to the ground, picking up the scent trail.
We followed at a steady pace. So the dogs can do their work.
The forest was thick here. Old oaks and ash trees. Good cover for deer.
After an hour, the dogs found it.
We urged our horses forward and broke into a clearing.
There at the far end, stood the stag.
It was a magnificent creature with antlers like a crown and a coat the color of autumn leaves.
"Aegon," I called. "Your shot."
The boy looked startled. "Me, Your Grace?"
"Yes. You should take the kill."
Egg dismounted and drew his bow. His hands shook slightly as he nocked the arrow.
Duncan said something to him it was too quiet for me to hear. But whatever it was, it steadied the boy.
Egg drew the bowstring back. Held his breath.
Released.
The arrow flew true. Caught the stag in the chest, right through the heart.
The great beast stumbled and fell to its knees, then died without a sound.
The hunting party cheered. Daeron clapped Egg on the shoulder. Valarr smiled.
I rode forward and dismounted beside the stag. "A clean kill. Well done, Prince Aegon."
Egg looked pleased but also sad. As boys often do after their first real hunt.
Duncan helped him field dress the kill. Showed him where to cut, how to work the knife.
A good knight for squiring.
We loaded the stag onto a pack horse and rode back to camp as the sun began to set.
That evening, we feasted.
The stag was roasted over an open fire. Duncan brought out bottles of wine from his cart.
We sat around the fire, passing cups while telling stories. Daeron was in fine form, recounting some ridiculous tale about a horse race in Oldtown. Valarr laughed. Even Duncan smiled a little.
Egg sat beside his knight, eating quietly, looking tired but content.
I watched Duncan throughout the meal. He drank moderately. Spoke when spoken to. Laughed at appropriate moments.
But that weight was still there. That shadow behind his eyes.
Whatever happened on the road from Ashford changed him.
I wondered if I'd ever know what it was.
Probably not.
Some burdens men carry to their graves.
…
POV: Brynden Rivers (Bloodraven)
I stood in my chamber at the inn, preparing the glamour.
The moonstone sat in my palm, it was the size of a chicken egg.
I pricked my finger with a needle and let three drops of blood fall onto the stone.
It absorbed them instantly and started to glow faintly.
I closed my eyes and thought of the face I needed. Ser Maynard Plumm. A minor knight. Unremarkable. The kind of man people forgot as soon as they stopped looking at him.
I felt my features shift. My white hair darkened to brown. My red eye faded to common gray. Even my height changed slightly. Shorter. Less noticeable.
I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror.
Ser Maynard Plumm looked back.
Good enough.
I used moonstone as a brooch and climbed down to the first floor of the inn.
The common room was half full. Merchants. Travelers. A few locals are drinking away their evening.
I took a table in the corner and ordered food and wine from the serving girl.
She brought bread, cheese, and roasted chicken. The wine was sour but drinkable.
I ate slowly, watching the room.
That's when they entered.
Two men. Essosi by their clothes and coloring with dark skin and oiled beards. Fine silk robes that marked them as wealthy.
They spoke quietly to each other, then ordered food, and started eating in a hurry.
As they finished eating and left, dropping coins on the table.
I waited a few moments, then followed them.
They walked through the streets toward the harbor. Unlike tourists or traders who enjoy the city.
I kept my distance. Let them think they were alone.
At the docks, they approached a ship flying Lysene colors. Sleek vessel. Well-maintained. The kind used for fast voyages with valuable cargo.
They boarded without challenge. The crew knew them.
I found a shadowed spot between two walls and let my mind drift.
The shift was smooth. I slipped into a raven perched on a nearby roof and flew toward the ship.
I landed on the ship's mast and looked down.
There were three large iron cages below deck.
The first cage was full of people. Men, women, and children. Maybe twenty in total. They were huddled together.
'Dear god!'
Their skin was covered in dark spots and weeping sores.
They were infected with the black death.
The other two cages were empty but showed signs of recent use. Shackles hanging from the walls. Dried blood on the floor.
And in the corners, severed limbs. Still bound to chains.
They'd cut people free rather than unlock the shackles.
Gods.
This wasn't a merchant ship.
'They are deliberately spreading it!'
I pulled out of the raven and back into my own body, breathing hard.
This had to be stopped. Now.
….
It has been three days since I found that ship. Today, I stood in the Red Keep courtyard, looking at the row of twenty-three spikes,
Each one bore a head.
Essosi. All of them. Traders and crew members from that Lysene ship.
We'd moved fast. Seized the ship. Executed everyone involved. Burned the vessel down to the waterline.
But it was too late.
The plague was already in the city.
Seven confirmed cases so far. Three servants. Two merchants. A dock worker. A baker's daughter.
All are showing the same symptoms. Dark spots. Weeping sores and fever that wouldn't break.
And in the Red Keep itself, two servants had fallen ill.
The king had ordered quarantine procedures. Sealed off the infected sections and posted guards there. But it won't stop the plague.
I'd sent word to the Citadel asking for maesters who understood the black death.
But I knew the truth.
There was no cure for it.
Once it started, it burned through a population until it ran out of people to kill.
King's Landing had a million people.
The plague was here.
And we were all in its path now.
…
(A/N: I will upload extra chapters according to the power stones received.)