Dark Nights – Dark Deeds

Afternoon in the city.

Rah has come back with info about Theodon that suggests he put a contract on us. As I am told this means at best that he has hired someone that will try to steal the coin and skull from us, or kill us. It was quite apparent that he was very interested in the items we presented, but I had not anticipated that he would go to such drastic measures. He barely waited till we had left! This does provide a bit of problem, as these contracts can only be cancelled by the person who initiated it. By what I am told, it is not even possible to bribe the Faceless men.  They are an order with almost knight-like virtues, in stark contrast to the service they provide.

So… we could kill Theodon, but we would not escape the contract. We could actually trade him the coin. I don’t think I could live with aiding in necromancy. This means we will have to deal with possible assassins.

Theodon’s shop has been under watch, and as we are pondering how to deal with the situation, Rha comes to the hotel room almost out of breath. Theoden has got a Justicar visiting, and closed the store. He urges us that we must hide the coins, skills and other questionable items. Of course he is right. We decide to rent another hotel room in the noble quarters, buy a secure chest and keep the items there with Marrok as guard.  We are keeping a guard at all times outside Theodon’s shop; Rah and Caradog are stationed there. The next news we receive is that there are three groups of justicars fanning out in the direction we left in. They target inns and other obvious places. It is time to move on to an establishment more fitting for a Lady.

After much discussion we decide to take down Theodon, he is too much of a liability for us. Rha and Caradog return to the shop. I have asked them to see whether it is possible to also search the premises. When they return things have not gone according to plan. Theodon left the shop and Rha followed him yet again to the Faceless men. Theodon tried to dispatch a pigeon to an accomplice, but it was efficiently taken down by our master archer. Caradog collects the bird when night falls. The message reads “I have had a breakthrough. Come to the shop. We are almost there.”

We make another attempt at Theodon’s life. We all go to the shop. We post guards up and down the street. Barrett and I stand by as Rha and Willard scale the wall and climb onto the roof. This time Rha takes out Theodon, with four arrows as he is reading in his courtyard. The bodyguard goes for cover, as Rha and Willard make their way into the courtyard. Then she dashes for the window and jumps straight through it. Remind me to pray more to the Stranger. I call off the attack and we return to our new inn. Rha roams the streets, keeping an eye on the activities of the justicars. After a while we deem it safe enough to return to the shop. The broken window has been boarded up, and the justicars have left. Searching Theodon’s chamber, we find 1500 G and some interesting books, which we take. The belongings of the bodyguard we leave be. We uncover a secret door underneath the desk in the front room of the shop. The sight that meets us is grueling. Jar upon jar with body parts, and on a slab in the center of the cellar; a corpse. Barrett examines it and informs us the body has passed due to disease. There are many books, and some journals. The latter seem to cover experiments Theodon has been performing here. Reading it we discover the reason for Theodon’s zeal and impatience. The body is that of his own son.

We destroy information that can aid in necromancy, and then jam the entrance so that it cannot close. Back at our inn we indulge in a lavish meal, and a 50G wine. The staff almost performs a ceremony around presenting and pouring the ruby liquid. Maybe the excitement of our adventures is coloring my mind, but it is truly the best meal of my life.

The next day…

We still have business to attend to. Some research into the Iron Bank as revealed that they use the Gentle Men as sell swords. They are renowned for being honorable and pricey. Getting home with the gold we have borrowed is a priority, and we book passage on a boat bound for Gulltown leaving in four days. We also secure the services of the Gentle Men, 20 of them, to secure our freight. That means we don’t have much time to look into the lair of the Avengers. As we know the Golden Company were founded by Aegor Bittersteel Rivers, later to be led by his son. The latter was killed by a cloaked figure, who took over the guild and renamed it the Avengers.

Our best strategy is to go in when the prostitutes are visiting, so we wait for their next arrangement. It comes in the neck of time, the night before our boat leaves. We climb up onto the roof and into the battlements. From here we can enter all sides of the building; we go through them one by one, starting with the ones furthest away from the custodian. Alas, there is not much to be found, and we move on to the building he is sleeping in. He is sleeping heavily, flanked by empty bottles. There is nothing of interest here either, we must move into the lower levels.

A few nerve-wracking rooms into the lower level, we come upon a vault filled with books. It seems the Golden Company, under the founder Aegor Bittersteel Rivers and his son, kept records annually. Thankfully they are penned in the Common tongue. We focus on the first and last years, while Barrett scours the room for other books of value.  The last five years are not on record, there was no natural heir to take over the Golden Company after the death of Aegor’s son. The records are all very official and state the basic statistics of the company; as such they are not very useful. Then Rha stumbles upon a hidden compartment. In it are the personal diaries of Aegor.  We bring them along. We hear people coming closer and decide not to push our luck, we return to the inn.

After a very short rest, it is time to get our delivery home. The Gentle Men, and the Iron Bank are very good to do business with, and we find ourselves safely installed on the boat.

The passage is without trouble, and we finally arrive in Gulltown. Ah, to be back in Westeros. The diaries of Aegor have been a nice pastime on our journey. He was a bastard of house Derry, who was loyal to the Targaryens, after the battle. It confirms the rumor that the body of Daemon Blackfyre was switched. Aegon brought the body of Daemon with him to Braavos and buried it in the crypt he had built in the Valley of the Dead. To preserve it, and eventually resurrect it. Aegon was clearly cynical, he would use any means to achieve his goals. His aim was to restore the Blackfyre dynasty – the Targaryens. He searched for dragons, and sent men to Assai to investigate the Black Arts. There was a breakthrough just before he died; he was able to resurrect a body. With the help of Lo, a warlock from Assai they performed a ritual in 293 AL. By sacrificing his own sons inscribing the scull of Daemon and placing the infamous coin it. They apparently achieved his goal approximately five years ago. There is also mention of dragon eggs being found about two decades ago in Valeria.