After an uneventful couple of weeks, we arrive in King's Landing. In my opinion it's a shame that it's the capital of Westeros - the obvious choice is Oldtown. Far older and far more beautiful, the Hightowers are admirably efficient in running a city. The same can't be said for, well, pretty much anyone who has ever ruled King's Landing.
Be that as it may, we weave our way through the smelly, dirty streets and find an inn in a more hospitable area near the nobles' quarters. After installing ourselves, we make our way to lady Tandra Stokeworth's estate.
After about an hour's wait, the lady comes to greet us. At over 80, I wouldn't insult her and call her spry, but she's definitely still very much alive both in body and spirit. She eyes us shrewdly as we introduce ourselves, as if measuring what worth we could have to her. After some formal introductions, we ask her for the latest court gossip. This is what she tells us:
- Tywin's meddling in the affairs of the Riverlands did not fare well for him. Not only is he apparently in a frankly pissy mood because he was foiled, the king himself reprimanded him. My heart goes out to him...
- Reputedly the king is very tired of the Freys and their behavior. Nor has the king forgotten the Freys' usual very late arrival on the scene during Robert's rebellion. If we ignore Edmure, that means we'll have a lot more leeway to act as we please towards the crotchety old bugger. Excellent,most excellent.
- Lys:
- Someone bearing the Blackfyre sigil has reputedly taken control of Lys, cooperating with the council there. Some even say that it's Daemon himself! Perish the thought...
- The temples to R'hlor have all been sacked. Not too surprising, the undead aren't usually fans of light, fire and all that stuff.
- The king hasn't been informed of the latest development, it's a closely guarded secret among a select few. Given the ruinous state of the Westerosi finances, another war hastily entered into is not a priority among those with a functioning brain.
- King's Landing:
- Lady Stokeworth's informants in the gold cloaks have told her that there have been actual undead attacks no less than 6 times in the last few months, the last one just a few weeks ago. The king hasn't been informed of this either.
- Maester Collin of house Edgington (very minor) is apparently researching the appearance of the undead [?]
- The light on the isle is the talk of the court. I inform the lady of the cause.
As to our mission here, the lady will help us gain access to the Dragon Pit, since it's guarded at all times. No time like the present, so we decide to go that very night.
The entry is in the eastern part of Fleabottom. The sergeant of the gold cloaks tells us that at least some of the undead attacks have originated from within. We enter, alert for any trouble - but we encounter no living nor unliving beings. We see clear signs that work has been done here though. Crates that look tailor-made for carrying dragon bones are found in one store room. There are a ton of tracks, 3-4 weeks old (and older). And most importantly - there are no intact dragon bones left. None.
The next day, we get a bit more info from the lady. Apparently there's a thieves' guild, led by one "Breaker", who have done work transporting a lot of stuff for a rich merchant from Lys called Niram Lado. No points for guessing what kind of stuff. What's more surprising is that there are apparently agitators in Fleabottom preaching the word of Blackfyre! We decide to go check it out.
Sure enough, we find a flier with the Blackfyre sigil laying about in a street pretty quickly. And an hour later, we come upon one of these agitators, accompanied by two beefy-looking guards. Correctly playing to the audience, he keeps it simple. "When the true king arrives, support him and we will remember those who chose wisely", "the true king will return" and so forth. Throw in some free food to all the downtrodden and you might have yourself a crowd not entirely unfriendly to the idea of a new ruler. I'd probably keep my hood on if I were Daemon though.
We follow them once they're done with the agitating, and after a change of clothes into normal attire they head to Niram Lado's estate. Well, I guess we have to deal with that arsehole then.
Riverlands
(As relayed by lady Joy by letter, perhaps with some embellishments by yours truly)
The hot topic in Seagard is, of course, what should be done about Erenford. Discussions turn into fights turn into endless back and forths. The upshot is a choice between either myself (no thanks) or one Othell Pebbleton. He's famous for escaping a grim fate of endless torture by the ironborn during Greyjoy's rebellion, relaying the location of the iron fleet to Stannis Baratheon who then crushed the smelly island dwellers. Without this key event, the entire counterattack would have been much, much harder.
Since then, he's made a name for himself by establishing himself as the premier merchant of all things war-related in the Riverlands. Not a bad business choice, for when do we ever tire of bashing each others' heads in? From limited personal experience and gossip I also know that he's extremely persuasive and quick, with an absolutely absurd capacity for remembering every tiny detail about, well, anything. Seems like a fine choice to me, though I'd make a point to verify his loyalty to the Mallisters.
Sander and his party find the bodies of the missing Mallister men in exactly the same area where Tommen died - except that of Lord Richard and Craydon Strong. Additionally, there are some footprints the size of a house in the area...pretty much has to be the Mountain right? Given the location the bodies are found in, I think we can safely say that the Freys are sending a not entirely subtle hint that hostilities are not at an end.
Lord Keith and Sander travel to Erenford proper, where they find Craydon's body hanging from the keep. The captains of the remaining troops have both fled, prompting Keith to promote a couple of sergeants on the spot. He gives a flaming speech meant to inspire the troops, not mangling it too badly. There is a decided lack of food in the land. Some of the men report that indeed have seen the Mountain about. Who knows if that cunning animal is acting on his own or on behalf of Tywin, or the Freys? He's certainly capable of causing bloody mayhem just for the sheer thrill and hell of it.
In Seagard, Lady Joy decides to confront the septon directly. He quickly lays his cards on the table - apparently he's scared because his guards recently disappeared (courtesy of my people). This is what he tells the lady:
- Fenton Pyke forced him, on sword point, to relocate to Seagard. Apparently Tywin is not involved, Fenton works directly for the Freys. I find this somewhat hard to believe, but ok.
- The septon's mission was to report from Lord Jason's court. Apparently, he hasn't done this.
- He offers to set up a meeting with Fenton Pyke so that we might surprise him.
If given a choice between an enormously huge pile of money, a lordship title of my choosing and capturing/torturing/killing Fenton Pyke, I'd be hard pressed to choose anything but the latter. That man has been a thorn in our side for far too long....
