Dust choked the air in the winch room. Link stood over the mangled gears, the iron bar still vibrating from the impact. Below, the heavy portcullis had slammed into the stone floor with the force of a falling star, Narrowly missing the lead rider of the King's party.
[Status Alert: City Gate Disabled]
[Status: Mental Fatigue High]
Shouts rose from the courtyard like a swarm of angry hornets. Robert's roar was the loudest, a sound of pure, drunken fury. Link did not stay to watch. He knew the Gold Cloaks would be climbing the stairs within heartbeats.
He moved to the rear window of the gatehouse, a narrow slit overlooking the tanner's district. He squeezed through the opening, his boots finding purchase on the rough decorative masonry. He climbed downward, fingers bleeding as he gripped the jagged stones, until he reached the thatched roof of a nearby stable.
[Quest Updated: Evade Capture]
[Status: Hidden]
By the time Janos Slynt kicked in the door to the winch room, Link was already on the ground, blending into the crowd of terrified commoners. He turned his cloak inside out, showing the plain brown lining, and walked with a limp toward the Tower of the Hand.
He passed the courtyard just as the King dismounted. Robert was purple with rage, kicking at the frozen iron gate.
"Someone find me the master of works!" Robert screamed. "I want the man who let this gate rot executed! I want him hung from his own winch!"
"It was no accident, Your Grace," Cersei said, her voice a calm, chilling contrast to his heat. She was looking up at the gatehouse with a predatory focus. "The gears did not rot. They were jammed. Someone is keeping you in this city against your will."
Link kept his head down and kept walking. He reached the back stairs of the Tower and slipped inside. He found Ned Stark standing by the window, watching the chaos with a confused expression.
"The gate is down," Ned said as Link entered. "The master of works says it will take a day, perhaps two, to clear the wreckage and raise the iron again. The hunt is cancelled."
"The King is safe," Link said, his voice raspy from the climb.
Ned turned, his eyes searching Link's face. He saw the blood on Link's fingers and the soot on his tunic. The realization hit the Hand like a physical blow.
"You," Ned whispered. "You did this. You committed an act of sabotage against the crown."
"I saved the King's life," Link replied. "And I saved yours. If he left today, he was never coming back. Now we have time. But only a little."
Ned sat heavily in his chair. The weight of the situation was crushing. His guard was a saboteur, his King was a target, and the city was now a cage for all of them.
"The Queen will find out," Ned said. "She is already looking for a ghost."
"Then we must give her a monster instead," Link said. "We have to move now, My Lord. While the gate is closed and the King is trapped. We find the proof of the wine, and we end this."
[Status Alert: Timeline Divergence Confirmed]
[Status: The Lion is Cornered]
....
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction. I'll be realising 4 Chapters a day.
Also I'll be still releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!