A/N I'm sorry it took soooo long to get another chapter up, but New Year, the Holidays and school kept me quite busy. Anyway I hope you enjoy this new chapter and if you're up for it leave a review if you have a remark =)
The Sister were never known for their loyalty. Their towns filled with smugglers and pirates, but you couldn't deny the fact that these islands were in the perfect spot to station a fleet that could control the upper part of Westeros.
Giving Arstan all the remaining details of what he was supposed to do at Gulltown Artys sat back down at his desk, reading through all the letters that arrived in the morning. Most of them were letters from his Lords, that gave report on how the rebuilding of the infamous Arryn fleet was going. It didn't take long before his eyes fell on one the most important letters he had ever received. A letter from King Robert Baratheon.
'Lord Paramount Artys Arryn, I hereby require you to travel to Winterfell, where I will arrive in a two weeks, so you can swear fealty to me, King Robert I of House Baratheon.'
Artys put the letter back down and thought for a moment, how he would manage to put it into his busy schedule. However, it didn't take long before Artys found a solution. He wanted to go to the three sisters, and convince them to join the Arryns once again, and make them into his primary fleet location. Artys summoned Ser Robar, telling him to go find his good friend Bryan Sunderland, heir to the three sisters, who was residing in The Eyrie. After both of them where in Artys' solar, Artys spoke up.
"I have gotten a royal summon from King Robert. He requires me to travel to Winterfell, to swear fealty to him. I find this the perfect opportunity to travel to the Three Sisters, convince your father to join us, making The Three Sisters the main location of our new fleet." Artys announced, Ser Robar seeming impressed while Bryan found it a marvellous idea.
"How do you come up with all this?" Ser Robar asked amazed. "I know, I know I'm brilliant ." Artys said laughingly before going to the courtyard, where he drummed up 30 veteran men at arms, 25 knights, and 45 mounted archers.
They set off that same day, venturing towards The Three Sisters, which took up about 6 days, but things went swiftly as they ran into very little trouble, until near the end of the trip, where they got ambushed by clansmen. Artys was caught off guard by them, unsure of how to handle the situation as he saw a few men fall by slingers. Even when taken by surprise, Artys was quick to regain the control of the situation, ordering his men to hide, while his knights and archers rode back, ready to charge against their footmen, since they wore no spears. His knights easily charged over the footmen, while the archers took out anybody left behind, while also taking the slingers out. He himself charged behind some of the slingers, but instead of killing them, he imprisoned them, taking them with him towards his mounted archers. Once the battle was over, he went to his prisoners so he could pass a message on to the leaders of the clans.
'Tell your leaders to come have an audience with me, or I shall make sure every single one of your hideouts will be found, slaughtered, and razed.'
However, he didn't include that his brother was already on a warpath against them, hunting them all down with fervour. Counting the remainder of men that went along with Artys, they quickly set course for The Three Sisters once again.
"We only lost 9 men there, how is that even possible in such an ambush?" Ser Robar asked confused.
"it's rather simple, these men are both trained by some of the most veteran men we have and my brother, who Is known for making bandits flee in terror." Artys said, finding Robars confusion amusing.
"But your brother does not use a bow, how could he train them then?" Artys smiled and chuckled before answering. "I'll show you once we get back."
Ser Robar found his answer cryptic, but kept his mind on the question for nearly the rest of the trip, trying to get an answer out of Artys. It didn't take long before the boats they needed to cross the sea towards the Three Sisters came in view, which was also the moment Bryan Sunderland rode front, since the men there wouldn't deny them passage when he was present.
"Who goes there?" The men asked, loyal to House Sunderland more than House Arryn.
"Lord Artys Arryn, Lord Paramount of the Vale." Artys said calmly.
"What's your business here?" They asked, right on cue Bryan appeared behind Artys, the guardsmen instantly kneeling. "milord, we're happy to see you!" One of the guardsmen exclaimed, giving Artys' party access to the boats. They left their horses behind at the harbour, but sent message ahead to White Harbour, to ready some horses in a good week. The voyage towards the Three Sisters went with ease, as the sea was calm and there were no pirates in this part of the sea.
Arriving into Sisterton, Lord Sunderland had received message that Artys Arryn was arriving, half the Vale knew the Arryn brothers had ambitious plans, so Lord Sunderland definitely wanted to hear the older one out, as it was also known the younger part most likely didn't stop by for a conversation. "Lord Arryn, Bryan!" Lord Sunderland exclaimed, hugging his brother and giving Artys a firm handshake.
"Welcome to Sisterton!" He cheered, showing Artys the harbour as they walked by. Artys however took a mental note that at the first chance he had he needed to inspect the harbour closely, even though he knew they had a very fine harbour. Artys noticed plenty of guardsmen however, which made him feel more and more certain about his plans for The Three Sisters. They arrived in the great hall, which wasn't anything to write home about, but felt comfortable and welcoming. Lord Sunderland brought Artys, Robar and his son, Bryan to his wardroom, since it was the best room to discuss matters, as they were undisturbed as long as they were in there. Artys chatted a bit at first with Triston, before starting to discuss the matters on his mind.
"Lord Sunderland, I know out of our history that your houses allegiance to my house has been shaky, but I aim to change that." Artys spoke up, definitely grabbing the attention of Triston.
"How do you plan to do that?" He asked curiously, waiting for Artys' answer.
"I need a good location for a fleet. And instead of taking your islands by force, which would displease me, and undoubtedly your son. It would please my brother. But therefore I wanted to speak with you about this matter. I offer you this, swear undying loyalty to me , and in return, you will become a very rich man."
Triston's attention was at an all time high, since he knew Arstan would be more than happy to besiege the Three Sisters, nothing personal, the young Arryn was just a bit too fond of displaying his might.
"So as I was saying. I'd like for your men, to build me a fleet, and in return, you will gain riches beyond imagining. I assume that's a fair deal, if not, I'm willing to listen to any 'normal' adjustments." Artys said, Lord Triston needing no other convincing before shaking Artys' hand and sealing the deal.
They discussed some more needed trade deals like the delivery of enough wood and metal to build the ships, but they were quickly straightened out. "Tomorrow, we'll have a feast in your honour, as I will urge the Lord of Longsister, Sweetsister, and Littlesister to come to the feast, as we have very important things to discuss, that said, they should already be on their way." Triston announced, leaving the war room.
Artys left Bryan at the keep, to talk with his father, while he and Robar went to inspect the harbour. Artys thought about bringing a small detail of guards but Triston insisted that the harbour's were guarded well enough so it wouldn't be necessary. Upon leaving the keep the news of the allegiance to the Arryns quickly spread all over town, as many of the commoners and traders greeted Artys with "milord." Which normally wouldn't be seen. Artys had Robar look out for anything suspicious while he took a look at the wharf, noticing plenty of stationed guardsmen with even more patrols. As he looked at the wharfs he noticed a warship being built, so of course he went closer to inspect.
"Milord." A man taking notes greeted Artys. "I assume you're here to check on the warship?" He asked, Artys nodded. "It's going along as planned, we have about 3/4th of the work done." The man said, while Artys just studied the ship.
"How long have you been building this ship?" Artys asked, the man looking at the notes, before looking at the stance of the sun.
"Around the morning, took a break for lunch a few hours ago." Artys' mouth nearly fell open, surprised at the quick work of the Sistermen. "So you're telling me, you started building it at the morning and it's done before nightfall?" While the man just nodded. Artys seemed to think about it. "What about the quality of the ship?" The man looked at his notes before showing Artys them. "It's made out of oak wood, which isn't that good but we had a tight budget, while it is extra supported by iron supports." 'The quality of these ships while also being the fastest built ships I've ever seen.' Artys thought, before saying goodbye to the man, and continuing to inspect. He asked many more stewards like the one he first spoke to how the shipbuilding was going and which materials he used before returning to the keep, meeting up with Bryan and taking notes in his logbook.
The next morning Artys woke up at dawn, ready to go and see how the harbour was going at this hour, before being stopped by Lord Borrell, Longthorpe and Torrent. Artys said greeted to the Lords, who seemed unimpressed by the young Lord.
"Ah, I wasn't informed that you would be arriving." Artys said in surprise, which the Lords seemed to find normal. "Well, I'm Lord Artys Arryn, Lord Paramount of the Vale, Son of Jon Arryn and Lysa Arryn." Artys greeted and bowed towards the Lord, who still seemed unimpressed and started laughing at him, all except Lord Borrell.
"We have no use for formalities here, boy." Lord Torrent smirked.
"Let's take this conversation somewhere more private." Artys stated calmly, the Lords surprised the remark had no effect on him. Following Artys into Lord Sunderland's war room, Artys sat down at the head of the desk, as Triston was summoned into the chamber by Ser Robar.
"Ah, I see you guys finally arrived, took your damn time." Triston said, the other Lords listening to Lord Triston.
"Now listen to what Lord Arryn has to say, or I'm sure you'll regret it." He said sternly, making the Lords listening intently.
"I'll keep this as short as I said it to Lord Sunderland here." Artys started, "I've made a deal with him, that he'll swear loyalty to me and my house, and I suggest you follow suit." Artys said with a voice carrying authority.
"Why would we do that?" Lord Longthorpe asked. "Mixing ourselves in the affairs of the seven kingdom's only brought us misery." He added, losing his temper.
"I know." Artys said, receiving looks of confusion from the Lords. "You think I don't know how the Kings of Old fought over you. How you joined the Vale simply to just escape The Starks? You think times are still like that? War might lurking around the corner, but the Vale has never asked much of you. Even now, I stand here and ask for you to join me in the wars to come, and build me a fleet, while I could also just send my brother here and you lose your land and kin for boats?"
The lords seemed to shrink, all except Triston, even if he knew Artys and Arstan wouldn't hesitate to do it if they needed to. "I stand here, risk my life coming here with a small escort, to ask you your allegiance, and you think you can threaten me? You think I don't know what I'm talking about? If you want a fight just tell me. But mark my words, you will regret it from this day until your last." Artys spoke up, his voice booming across the room.
"You're right my Lord." Lord Godric Borrell said, kneeling in front of Artys, "I pledge my life and honor to you, Lord Artys of House Arryn." Borrell said, raising up again to receive a handshake of Artys, who didn't seem fazed at all by the webbing between his fingers. The two other lords quickly followed suit, before taking their seat again.
"Now, you were smart enough to join the fold, I will also do my job as Lord Paramount and listen to your problems." Artys stated calmly.
"Well, I have a bit of a problem with production." Lord Borrell admitted. "We don't quite have that many people willing to work hard for our harbour, we think it's an issue with payment, since we don't have that much trade going on."
Artys seemed to think for a moment. "Make trade routes with the free cities. They pay good for even the most common goods around. They should net you a good income, along with a loan I will give you." Lord Borrell certainly was surprised at how Artys proposed solutions to most of his problems in a matter of mere minutes. The rest of the morning was spent listening to the other problems and fining solutions as well.
By the time their conversation was done they gathered in the dining room for lunch, which they quickly ate, to go and attend some business they had in the capital, while Artys strolled around the harbour, which was currently bustling with people. All of the ships he saw being built yesterday were currently in the sea, and were now working on the Arryn fleet, which was already going along just fine. Yesterday one of the stewards he talked to would get him aboard one of the freshly built Warships, to allow him to inspect it up close, see how good the ship was up close. Boarding the ship together with Robar and the steward, he immediately noticed how sturdy the ship felt.
"Is this just a standard ship?" Artys asked, wondering if it was specially built or great quality. "This ship is of standard quality." The steward said, looking at his book. Artys took mental note of this, also to make some of his flagships out of exceptional wood, since it will most likely be one of the best ships to ever sail the narrow sea. After inspecting most of the ships, including the quarters for his soldiers and cargo hold, he got off the ship again, leaving for the keep.
As he entered the keep, he saw the great hall being prepped for the feast, with Triston monitoring closely, as he wanted to make sure it was up to 'Vale Standards' as he called it. Artys spent the rest of the day mapping out the details of their journey with Robar, before the feast started. Arriving at the feast, a bit later than the feast started, most people instantly bowed before the young Lord. 'Milord' were a lot of mutters Artys heard. Once he was seated the feast began again.
"Ah Lord Arryn. Good you could make it." Triston announced cheerfully, worried Artys wouldn't come. "I would never dare to skip a feast when I was in the area." Artys replied, seeing some of the lords roll their eyes. It didn't take long before nearly all food was being served and eaten, and many men and lords alike got drunk. Artys wasn't one to get drunk, or atleast not a lot. He had a few times he would get drunk, but not during feasts. He thought it was disrespectful, unlike his brother, who decided being drunk was more fun than being sober sometimes. Once the feast neared its end Artys said goodbye to the lords and left for his chambers, where he would spend his last night and then depart for White Harbor, before going to Winterfell.
Artys awoke at dawn, readying Ser Robar and Himself to leave for White Harbor, taking one of the ships he had gotten from Triston as a departing gift. They quickly left for the harbor, needing to make haste towards Winterfell, as the King would undoubtedly arrive soon. The voyage towards White Harbor only took a few days, and went by rather quick, since the sea was rather calm. Artys didn't like the sea being so calm, he called it "The Calm Before The Storm." Untrustful of the still sea. Once the harbour was in sight, Artys couldn't help but notice the Seal Rock, a massive stone crowned with a ringfort, fortified with Crossbowmen, Scorpions and Spitfires. The men stood at attention on the passing ship, but saw the Arryn banners and allowed it to pass, notifying Lord Manderly in the process.
Arriving in the harbor, Lord Wyman Manderly sent for a party to accompany the young Arryn to New Keep, the seat of House Manderly. "Lord Arryn, to what do I own this pleasure?" Lord Manderly called as we entered the great hall.
"We're here passing for Winterfell, by the King's summon." Artys answered, Lord Manderly smiled.
Lord Manderly and Artys chatted for a bit, before Artys spoke up. "You know I can see right through you with your stupid questions, Lord Manderly?" Artys said with a tone full of ice. "The eyes always reveal a man's true intentions. I'm here to pass through nothing more."
Lord Manderly shrunk. "I will however, be willing to negotiate a trade deal, for more wood and iron." Lord Manderly nodded, "That can be arranged, My Lord."
They settled on a deal, wood and iron shipped to The Three Sisters, which confused Lord Manderly since it wasn't yet known of their allegiance to House Arryn. The room went cold quickly as the conversation stalled, because of Artys' coldness, but it soon became warm again, as the two ladies entered the Great Hall. "Might I introduce my granddaughters, Wylla and Wyndafryd Manderly. They made Artys' jaw drop, as he quickly introduced himself and his companions. They too, chatted with Artys a bit before he excused himself, and prepared to leave for Winterfell, thinking back about those lovely ladies.