The chaos below was a sea of screaming voices and clashing steel. Link did not look back at the high table. He knew the Stark guards would form a circle around Ned. His priority was the shadow in the roof.
He ran to the far wall where a heavy tapestry of a hunting scene hung from a stone ledge. Link leaped and grabbed the thick fabric while pulling himself upward with the strength of a man who had climbed the walls of Winterfell a dozen times.
[Status Alert: Vertical Pursuit]
[Status: Mental Fatigue Moderate]
He reached the wooden catwalks that spanned the ceiling of the Great Hall. The air up here was hot and thick with the smoke from a thousand candles. Fifty feet below the King's guards were fruitlessly searching the floor but they were looking in the wrong direction.
Link saw the assassin. The man was dressed in charcoal grey and was reloading a small hand crossbow. He was positioned directly above where the King and the Hand stood. He was not just after Ned. He was aiming for Robert too.
The assassin heard Link's boots on the wood and turned. He fired a bolt without aiming. Link twisted his body and felt the wind of the projectile as it hissed past his ear.
Link drew his blackened short sword. The dark metal did not reflect the torchlight which made it nearly invisible in the gloom.
"The Spider said you were a variable" the assassin whispered. His voice was cold and lacked any emotion. "He did not say you were a monkey."
"The Spider talks too much" Link replied.
Link lunged forward. The catwalk was narrow and one wrong step meant a fatal fall to the stone floor below. The assassin dropped his crossbow and drew a long thin stiletto.
The blades met with a sharp ring. Link felt the vibration travel up his arm. This man was not a common thug. He moved with the precision of a Braavosi water dancer.
[Status Alert: Combat with Faceless Initiate]
Link used his knowledge of the loops to predict the next move. The man favored his left side. Link feinted a high strike and then dropped low while sweeping his blade toward the man's shins.
The assassin jumped back but the narrowness of the beam worked against him. He stumbled for a fraction of a second. Link did not give him a chance to recover. He slammed his shoulder into the man's chest while pinning him against a vertical support beam.
"Who paid for the poison?" Link demanded.
The assassin looked at Link with a terrifying lack of fear. He bit down on something in his mouth. Black foam began to leak from the corners of his lips almost instantly.
"The Lion pays all debts" the man wheezed before his eyes rolled back.
Link cursed under his breath as the body went limp. It was a suicide pill. These were not just Lannister soldiers. These were professionals who were meant to leave no trail behind.
Link looked down at the hall. The Gold Cloaks were finally looking up. He saw Janos Slynt pointing a finger toward the rafters.
"There! On the beams!" Slynt shouted.
Link knew he could not stay. If the City Watch caught him over a dead body he would be blamed for the entire attempt. He looked toward the high windows. He saw a stone ledge that led toward the outer battlements.
He grabbed the dead assassin's crossbow and tucked it into his belt. He needed evidence. Then he leaped from the catwalk to the ledge and vanished into the night air just as the first guards began to climb the ladders.
He reached the courtyard in a blur of motion. He needed to find Ned before the Lannisters could twist the narrative.
.….
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction. I'll be realising 4 Chapters a day from now on.
Also I'll be still releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!