Meereen…
Samwell kept a grip on Brightroar, sheathed at his back, as he and several of his soldiers quickly moved across the ground. He was garbed in his dull black plate armour, looking out through the visor of his greathelm, which resembled a lion's face. Nymeria moved ahead of them, her naturally superior hunter's vision guiding their way through the nighttime darkness. As they were moving in front of Meereen's walls, the use of torches would have given away their position.
Having a pet Direwolf never ceased to be useful.
It had been a day since King Drakon had brokered an agreement with the Masters, who had provided information in regards to the city's layout and weak points. His Grace had commanded Samwell to enter the city along with twenty good men, along with Ser Prester of the Kingsguard. They were to enter the Great Pyramid and rescue his son and Lord Tarly. Only then would he launch an attack, for fear of his son's safety if he were still held captive.
Eventually, they arrived at their destination. Having skirted around the city, they came to a large sewer grate that emptied into the waters of Slaver's Bay. Samwell walked over to the grate as one of his men pulled down on the counterweight, using all his strength to lift it up.
Once the opening was clear, he stepped through, followed closely by Nymeria and the others. They proceeded to light torches, banishing the darkness around them.
They spent several minutes wading through knee-high water, holding their torches aloft. After that came a set of stone stairs, and as Samwell and his men climbed them, the torchlight suddenly revealed a number of golden masks that resembled the Harpy of Slaver's Bay. Several of his soldiers visibly recoiled and gripped their swords, but the stocky man kept his nerves.
Nymeria growled at the masked men, and they appeared nervous at the sight of such a large creature.
"Come" one of them said in Valyrian. Samwell had studied just enough of the language to understand a few words and phrases. He guessed that these were the 'Sons of the Harpy' they had been told about.
He and Ser Prester exchanged a glance, then started to move.
They followed the masked men through a series of tunnels and catacombs until they emerged into the streets of Meereen, dousing their torches before walking into the open. Braziers on top of buildings and torches along certain intersections provided enough light to see, and they quietly filed through streets and alleys, wary of attack. It appeared that that everyone was indoors, and Samwell guessed that only the Unsullied and Second Sons would be allowed out in the open to enforce a curfew. Cities under siege tended to tear themselves apart eventually; he had seen it before countless times.
Suddenly, the masked men gestured Samwell and his men into an alley. They hurriedly complied, crouching low and staying very still as sounds of marching feet could be heard coming from nearby.
Soon enough, a group of Unsullied came into view, maintaining perfect formation as they marched in step with one another. They moved as one, traversing the street with spears and shields in hand. One of the Sons of the Harpy started to stand up, but Samwell stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He pointed up at the Great Pyramid, and the masked man growled in annoyance.
"You have to wait for kill" he said, trying his best to remember his few lessons in Valyrian. The other Sons of the Harpy snorted in amusement, but they understood.
Once the Unsullied patrol was past, they stood up and continued moving towards their target. Eventually, after avoiding detection, they came within sight of the Great Pyramid's entrance. Of course, it was guarded, and while there were only four of the leather-armoured eunuchs guarding it, Samwell was concerned that one of them would raise the alarm if they attacked openly.
Before he could think of a plan, however, the Sons of the Harpy stood and ran out of the shadows. With knives in hand, they came within sight of the Unsullied and started spewing insults in Valyrian before running down a side street.
Two of the Unsullied leveled their spears and chased after them, leaving two at the entrance.
Grumbling at the lack of discipline of their 'allies', Samwell gestured to two of his men, who unslung crossbows from their backs. They loaded their weapons, took aim, and fired. The two bolts pierced the eunuchs in the throat, silencing them and nearly killing them instantly. As the bodies dropped, Samwell and the others quickly entered the Great Pyramid.
The stocky man and the knight of the Kingsguard led the way, with Nymeria following close behind while the soldiers kept wary gazes, their hands on their swords.
In the pyramid dungeons…
Edwyn winced a little as the door to his cell opened, bathing the darkened space with bright torchlight. Holding a hand over his eyes, he peeked in between his fingers and saw Ser Barristan stepping inside. The door closed behind him, and the young man lowered his hand.
"Here" the old man said, offering him a bowl of food. Edwyn glanced warily at it, and the knight said "It's not poisoned. You have my word."
Remembering how highly his father thought of Ser Barristan, Edwyn took the bowl and started scooping food into his mouth with his hand. Considering the quality of the 'food' he had been served the last several weeks, not counting the feast Tyrion Lannister tried to bribe him with, it was a delicacy.
"Thank you" he said in between bites.
"Your welcome" Ser Barristan said. "Your father told me about you, once. It must have been four years ago. We met in King's Landing after Joffrey had dismissed me from the Kingsguard. I thought he'd died twenty years ago during the Sack of King's Landing, but there he was… the boy I had taught how to fight, how to be a man. He was born from tragedy and death; all I ever wanted was for him to know happiness, to take back what the world had taken from him."
Edwyn stopped eating, staring at the old man. His father had told them little about the circumstances of his birth and his early life in the Red Keep, and whenever he or his siblings would ask him about that part of his life, he had always avoided talking about it at length. The young man knew that he was dealing with a lot of pain.
The old knight smiled. "So when he told me that he had married and fathered children, I was overjoyed. He told me all about your sister, and you and your brother. You remind me of him."
"Really?"
"Oh, yes" he said, smiling. "From the time he could walk, your father wanted nothing more than to become a knight. He used to take wooden sticks and spoons, challenging every servant and guard he could find to a duel once I told him that knights fight duels."
Edwyn chuckled. "That reminds me of my brother and me. We used to spend almost every waking hour sparring with each other." His smile lessened as he stared at a wall. "Being the Lord of Highgarden means I don't get to see him anymore."
Ser Barristan looked at him for a moment. "Your father loved Rhaegar Targaryen like a brother. They grew up together. He's been haunted by Rhaegar's death ever since."
"It sounds like he was happy back then. Before the rebellion."
"He was. As much as he dreamed of being a knight, he never enjoyed killing. He and Rhaegar had that in common. He loved to read; I lost count of the number of times I found him in the libraries of the Red Keep, buried in a mountain of books. He always came back to his family's history. I suspect that he felt lost. His father and mother were both dead, and his link to the past died with them. I tried my best to teach him, to give him a reason to look forward."
As Edwyn finished his last mouthful of food, he stared at the old knight. His father had spoken of his mentor with nothing but absolute respect and admiration. He loved him like a father, and Edwyn was coming to realize that Ser Barristan loved him just as much.
The old man then said "Your father is a good man, at heart. But he is plagued with demons, demons that have haunted him since the day he was born." He then pounded his fist on the door, and it opened. "Even after everything that's happened, I still believe that Drakon is the boy I trained, the boy I raised." As he turned to leave, Edwyn thought he could hear the old man mutter "The boy I love."
With that, the cell door was closed and locked, leaving the young man in darkness once more.
A few minutes later…
After rounding a corner, they saw an attractive, dark-skinned woman with curly hair being escorted by a pair of Unsullied as she walked down the corridor. As they hurried over to her, Samwell gave a short whistle. Nymeria charged forward as the Unsullied turned around, leaping through the air and tackling one of them to the ground. The curly haired woman shrieked as the Direwolf tore his throat out, and Samwell drew Brightroar as he faced the other one. After swatting the eunuch's shield aside, he brought his weapon down and sliced him from face to groin. The strength of the blow was enough to knock his corpse to the ground.
Two of his soldiers held the woman against a wall, and one of them held a hand over her mouth. Samwell lifted the visor of his helmet and said "Do not scream." She nodded, and he gestured to the soldier. The man removed his hand, and Samwell asked "What is your name?"
The woman glanced warily at them, obviously terrified of Nymeria, then replied "Missandei."
"Missandei, I am Samwell Royce. I am here for Edwyn Blackfyre and Randyll Tarly. Do you know where they are being held?"
"Yes."
"I need you to take us there. You will not be harmed, you have my word."
Her eyes flicked down to the dead Unsullied.
"They were soldiers" he explained. "You are not. There is no honour in killing you." After a moment's hesitation, she nodded.
With her leading the way, they descended into the pyramid's lower levels. Any Unsullied they came across were in groups of one to four, and Samwell guessed that most of them were out in the city, maintaining order in the face of the siege. In any case, they were swiftly dealt with, and they soon came to the dungeons. While one soldier kept a firm grip on Missandei's arms, Samwell and Ser Prester led the others in opening the cells.
Many were empty, while others contained imprisoned Sons of the Harpy. As the Meereenese rebels were freed, the stocky man unlocked the last cell on the left. He opened the door and smiled as he saw Edwyn Blackfyre standing inside the cell, looking rather haggard and dirty.
"Samwell!" he cried, obviously pleased to see a familiar face as he shakily got to his feet. "I assume father sent you."
"He did" the stocky man replied. "Now come; it's time to get you out of here." After returning Edwyn and Randyll Tarly's weapons to them, they all made their way out of the dungeons. A scant few minutes later, they could hear bells starting to ring from higher up. Cursing under his breath, Samwell said "It appears that we have been discovered."
Several shouts could be heard from nearby, and a group of Unsullied, along with several Second Sons, came running around a corner at the opposite end of the corridor, their weapons drawn.
Samwell drew Brightroar and told his men "Take Lord Blackfyre and Lord Tarly and get them out of here!"
"Samwell—" Edwyn started to say.
"Go!"
The young man pursed his lips, but nodded. He and the others ran down the corridor to their right, while the stocky man lowered his visor and readied himself for a fight. As the soldier holding onto Missandei took a step back, Ser Prester came to stand beside him, drawing his own sword.
"I would remind you, Ser, that you are sworn to defend the king and his family."
"Aye" the Northerner said. "But I would never leave a man behind, especially a man who's claimed the loyalty of a Direwolf."
Nymeria growled at the oncoming enemies, baring her fangs as her entire body tensed. She then launched herself at one of the Second Sons, and the fighting commenced.
Ser Prester threw himself into the fray, displaying his prodigious swordsmanship as he cut down three Unsullied. Samwell chose to attack one of the Sellswords, aiming a horizontal slice at the man's throat as he moved to block. At the last second, he pulled back with his greatsword, then thrust the Valyrian Steel blade through his opponent's head, killing him instantly. Just as another Sellsword tried to attack, Nymeria clamped her jaws on the man's leg, eliciting a cry of pain. Samwell took advantage of the distraction and split his head in two with Brightroar.
Glancing to his left, he saw Ser Prester being encircled by a group of Unsullied. One of them thrust a spear at him, but he dodged, grabbed the weapon with his left hand, then struck with an upwards slash, cutting through leather and skin. The Northerner then spun on his heel as another eunuch tried to attack from behind and cleanly beheaded him.
Samwell then dispatched a pair of enemies. He suddenly heard a high-pitched cry, and turned to see Nymeria standing against a wall, holding up her left front leg as it bled while one of the Second Sons loomed over her.
His heart thundering in his chest with battle rage, he pierced the man's side with his greatsword, shoving the tip of the blade clean through the skin on the other side.
The stocky man withdrew his blade, letting the corpse fall as he moved to stand in front of Nymeria. Anytime someone tried to attack, he would fend them off, never standing more than a step away from the injured Direwolf. Several feet away, he could see Ser Prester moving so fast that his eyes could barely keep up; the Kingsguard was cutting through his enemies with the ease of carving a cake, and the blood spattered on his sword and black armour proved as much.
Just as Samwell cut the arm off of a Second Son, the pyramid shook. They all froze, and a moment later, a monstrous roar could be heard, even this far down in the pyramid.
Samwell smirked behind his helmet as he attacked with Brightroar.
Please review/favourite!
Vgu: Thanks! Hope you like this one.
Agent of Hydra: And I can't wait to show you more. Hail Hydra!