The Chronicles of Valyria, Book 1 Resurrection

by Medieval Maniak

The Greatest Empire the world has ever known fell 400 years ago, and with it the only force capable of stopping the White Walkers. With Valyria turning to myth, mankind's ancient enemy grows in strength and number. To stop them, the Old Gods send their champions to rebuild Valyria and use its might to give mankind a chance of survival. Was previously named, The Angels in Westeros.

25. Chapter 25

The Chronicles of Valyria,

Book 1 Resurrection

Chapter 25

It took them 12 days to sail to Bloodstone, as they were taking special care to stay far away from Tyrosh to prevent them from being spotted by their scouts. Upon nearing the island, they could see that Oberyn, Dagmer and the Greatjon had not been idle in their absence.

The entire coastline of Bloodstone was dotted by stone watchtowers with massive braziers at their tops, serving no doubt as an early warning system in case of an attack. Their suspicions were proven correct as shortly after they had appeared on the horizon, the braziers were lit and with their enhanced eyesight, Aurora and Gabrielle could see a flurry of activity take place on the island.

By the time they were within a mile of the harbor's entrance, they were met by ranks upon ranks of soldiers waiting with drawn steel to throw any invader back into the sea. On either side of the island, vast amounts of ships prepared to take them into a pincher move and crush their fleet in the harbor if need be.

Aurora and Gabrielle were looking upon the military preparations with a mix of satisfaction and amusement before Aurora ordered the forlorn to show their colors. On the bow of the Chain Breaker, the Emerald andthe Sapphire, large black banners were unfurled, proudly displaying the sigil of House Valaris. Seconds later they were followed by the Titan's Pride and the rest of the fleet.

Aurora and Gabrielle had found the trio of men they had left in charge, standing on the docks, amidst of their men. Watching the realization dawn on them was highly amusing to the both of them.

As soon as the banners were unfurled, all three recognized the sigil immediately. Aurora had left one of the banners behind on Bloodstone to allow their army to familiarize itself with their sigil and to recognize it if they came upon it. Needless to say, within minutes everyone on the docks and the encroaching ships realized who they were dealing with and slowly but surely, cheers started to emerge. By the time the lead galleys were nearing the docks, a jubilant atmosphere had spread around the island.

The Chain Breaker and the Titan's Pride docked on either side of one of the piers and gangplanks were installed before delegations from both ships stepped onto the docks. Aurora, Gabrielle with Ygritte on her arm, the twins, Ashara, Yara and Syrio left the Chain Breaker, while opposite them, Orus, Uthero and several others left the Titan's Pride.

They were met by Oberyn and Dagmer with the Greatjon shortly behind them. As soon as they stood face to face, the trio of men made a small bow in greeting and Oberyn said, "Ladies, it is very good to see you again, though there are noticeably more of you." He first looked at Ygritte, who was avidly looking around in Gabrielle's arms, then to Orus and Uthero, and finally the massive fleet that had dropped anchor outside the harbor.

Both ladies laughed heartedly and Aurora replied, "Trust me Oberyn, there is a lot more to tell, and a whole lot of people to introduce you to." She aimed to the Sapphire which had docked on the pier next to theirs and the eyes of Oberyn, Dagmer and everyone in sight who was not from the North, went wide with shock.

The Greatjon and the Northerners' reaction was quite the opposite, swords and axes were grasped and arrows were knocked and drawn. The reason was quite obvious, Mag and five fellow giants had stood up from their place in the open hold and carefully stepped on the docks.

While Mag and his companions made their way towards them, Aurora quickly ordered everyone to lower their weapons, as she had noticed the raised club in Mag's hands. Turning to the men before her, Aurora introduced them. During the journey, several of the Free Folk who knew the Old Tongue, had been teaching the giants how to speak the common tongue, so they could understand what was being said, though replying was a bit difficult still.

"Gentlemen, allow me to introduce, Mag the Mighty, son of the chieftain of the Giants of the Haunted Forrest." Turning to Mag she added, "Mag, meet, Prince Oberyn Martell, Dagmer Cleftjaw and the Greatjon Umber, the commanders of our expedition forces."

Mag made a decent impression of a small bow, followed by his fellow giants and the trio of men replied in kind. Gabrielle spoke next, hefting Ygritte a bit higher on her arm. "This little cutie is Ygritte, the latest addition to our little family. And those men are Syrio Forel, Admiral Uthero, and Commander Orus, the leaders of the Braavosi part of our forces." She indicated each man in turn as she introduced them.

Turning back to the trio before them Gabrielle added, "We left Tychel Nestoris, the ambassador of the Iron Bank, behind in Myr, along with 2,500 men."

"So, you have taken Myr?" Dagmer asked with little surprise in his voice. When Gabrielle nodded, he turned back to the two men besides him and said, "Pay up, I won." Both Oberyn and the Greatjon handed him a small bag of coins, which he put away with a grin. Looking over his shoulder he whistled on his fingers before turning back to Gabrielle, "I want you to meet someone."

From the ranks of the Ironborn behind him a single figure made its way towards them. It was a woman with long, braided, iron-grey hair and dressed in a cuirass of hardened leather reinforced with steel plates. In her left hand, she held a round wooden shield and in her right hand, a war axe. Two long daggers were placed in her belt and her face showed a long thin scar on her left cheek.

The woman walked up to Dagmer and placed a soft kiss on his lips before turning towards the others. "I would like you to meet my wife, Alys Umber."

Dagmer's words were followed by Alys making a short bow and saying, "It's an honor to meet you my ladies."

Aurora and Gabrielle inclined their heads in turn and Gabrielle replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I can see why Dagmer spoke so highly of you."

Alys gave her husband a loving smile before taking her place at his side.

The rest of the day was spent explaining everything that had happened to Oberyn, Dagmer and the Greatjon, and they in return telling them everything that had happened at the Stepstones during their absence.

As it turned out additional reinforcements had arrived from Westeros. 80 ships had come from the Iron Islands, carrying 3,000 people, amongst them 1,800 warriors. Furthermore, the Redwyne fleet had dropped off reinforcements on their way back to The Arbor, 8,000 men from the Stormlands and the Vale, under the command of Lord 'Bronze' Yohn Royce.

Following the orders of Aurora, they had put all available blacksmiths to work at forging full plate steel armor for the Forlorn on Gray Gallows, a process that had taken quite some time, but was just about finished.

The reports from Tyrosh were less optimistic though, according to Dagmer's scouting party, the Triarchy had been officially reestablished. They had made peace as a direct result of their conquest of the Stepstones, seeing it as a threat to their position and thinking, not wrongly, that they intended to conquer Tyrosh next.

They had joined their efforts and used all means at their disposal to reinforce Tyrosh, as it was closest to the Stepstones and stood the best change to withstand a direct assault. They had hired every sellsword and sellsail in a 500-mile radius, including some rather famous names; the Second Sons, the Windblown, the Stormcrows, the Company of the Cat, and most troubling, the Golden Company, all in all over 20,000 sellswords.

In addition to this force, the Triarchy had done something almost never before seen; they had summoned a sizeable part of their own citizens to arms, for a total of twice the size of the number of sellswords.

Add to this the Dragonstone walls, and they would have a very hard time to take the city. They had 40,000 men left from taking the Stepstones, after leaving Tychel at Myr they had 5,000 left from the ones that had come south with them from Braavos and North of The Wall, and they had received 9,800 reinforcements from Westeros. They had 500 Unsullied and 7,000 Forlorn, as they had reinforced their ranks at Myr, and added the pirates that had been captured on the rest of the Stepstones during their conquest. Giving them a grand total of about 62,000 men, roughly the same as what they expected to face in Tyrosh.

In a traditional battle, this would give them a fair chance, especially with Aurora and Gabrielle leading them, but when faced with the indestructible walls of Tyrosh, they would probably lose over 5,000 men, just getting to the wall, let alone taking them.

When they heard all this Aurora sighed, "I think it would be best if we went to scout it out for ourselves. Gabrielle and I might be able to find some weaknesses in their defenses that your scouts have missed."

Turning to Dagmer she said, "Please have the Chain Breaker, the Sapphire and the Emerald, stocked with provisions and valuable trade goods, also replace the sail with blank ones. We'll pose as traders offering our wares to the merchants, this might bring us into contact with the sellswords, and we can see if we might 'convince' some of them to join our side. Given enough gold, most any sellsword will be willing to reconsider an assignment."

The others all agreed with this course of action and afterwards, Aurora and Gabrielle visited the blacksmiths to give them a new assignment. They had brought Mag and the rest of the giants with them and the smiths were visibly nervous in their towering presence.

They ordered the smiths to clad each of the giants in full plate steel, as thick as possible. If they could get the giants to be immune for arrow-fire, they had a way to avoid using a battering ram to break down the gates. This would save them dozens, if not hundreds of lives that would otherwise be lost in the attempt to break them down.

The master smith hesitantly accepted the assignment, though he told them that they did not have enough steel to complete it, seeing as a large part of the supplies they had found had been used for the Forlorn.

"How much do you have left?" Aurora asked a bit disappointed that her idea had been put down immediately.

"Enough for three, maybe four, complete sets. We could scavenge more from the town and the fortress, but it'll give us only enough for at most one more set, seeing as if we make them as you want them, they'll be between 280 and 320 pounds of steel each."

Aurora grumbled a bit and walked away to think, while Gabrielle stayed behind and said, "She'll come around, she had just hoped to have it done before we took Tyrosh. She doesn't take disappointment well. Try to make the four sets, use whatever you need, but make sure they are strong enough. I want them to be able to take a ballista bolt to the chest and walk away from it, so focus on quality, not quantity."

The master smith nodded in acceptance of his assignment and Gabrielle asked Mag to choose four of his strongest warriors to be clad in steel. When he had done that, those four were left behind while the others left the forges.

By then it was nearing dinner time, so they made their way towards the dining hall of the fortress, where all the captains and officers of their combined armies were gathered. During dinner not much happened, but several came before them with requests or disputes to be settled.

Near the end of the dinner, a hooded figure entered the hall and approached the table where Aurora and Gabrielle and their family were seated. The figure stood 5 foot 6 inches tall and had a greatsword slung on its back. By its stance, they saw it was carrying something beneath the wide black cape.

The two Immortals who stood on either side of the table made their way to intercept the figure, which they did on a spot only ten feet from the table. Addressing the figure, Gabrielle stood up and said loudly, "Who are you, what is your business here?"

A single hand came from underneath the cape and lowered the hood, revealing a relatively young face, with a large nose and grey eyes. He couldn't be more than 13 name days old and his long hair was dark and thin, but the most distinctive feature of his face was the horrible scar. The entire right half of his face was covered by an angry raw burn scar. By the looks of it, it could not have happened more than a few months ago, as small pieces of the scar were still not fully closed. His hair was combed over it to hide it a bit, but it was still shockingly visible.

Without paying any heed to their surroundings, Gabrielle jumped over the table, knocking several plates and jugs off of it and approached the boy before her. As he saw her jump over the table, the boy reached behind his back and drew a large knife, all the while keeping his other arm hidden behind the cape, along with whatever he was carrying in it.

Raising her hands in a sign of peace Gabrielle said to the Immortals who had raised their axes in preparation to strike, "Drop your weapons," turning to the boy she said, "I'm not going to harm you, I just want to look at your wound."

The boy nodded slowly and lowered the knife a bit, but didn't relax his grip on it. As Gabrielle carefully inspected the burn she asked softly, "What is your name?"

The boy visibly hesitated before he answered, "Sandor… Sandor Clegane."

A murmur went through the hall at that name and several knives were drawn, especially amongst the Dornishmen. A single look from Aurora was enough to prevent anyone from reacting and Oberyn was pushed back into his chair by Dagmer and the Greatjon who were seated beside him.

Standing up from her seat Aurora said loudly, "OUT, ALL OF YOU." The only ones who remained seated were the members of the military council, Dagmer, Oberyn, the Greatjon, Orus, Syrio and Uthero, and the members of the family.

Meanwhile Gabrielle was still focused on Sandor, carefully inspecting the wound until she felt something move beneath his cloak. Looking him in the eye she asked softly, "Who are you hiding under there?"

Hesitating again Sandor finally opened his cloak again and revealed his secret. A small girl, roughly the same age as Ygritte was clasped around his torso. She had a thick bundle of black hair and a very frightened look on her face. "This is my sister, Layla."

Gabrielle smiled kindly at the little girl while Aurora told Ygritte to walk over to them, hoping that someone her own age would put the girl at ease a little. Ygritte quickly did as her mother asked and ran around the table towards the trio on the other side of it.

Ygritte softly pulled on Layla's dress and when she had her attention she said, "My name is Ygritte, do you wanne go play?" Layla looked up to her brother and when he gave her a small smile, she slowly released her arms and legs from around Sandor and he placed her gently on the floor.

Ygritte took Layla's hand and softly pulled her away towards a corner of the hall, where she sat down and Willow handed her a small box with dolls and carved wooden animals. Patting the floor besides her Ygritte invited Layla to sit down, which the other girl soon did and she handed her a doll.

Meanwhile Aurora had joined Gabrielle and asked softly, "Why are you here Sandor? And how did you get burned so badly?"

Sandor thought a moment before answering. "My brother came home after the sack of King's Landing. I had never seen him so angry before. When I asked what had happened, he grabbed me by my neck and pressed my face into the fireplace. When father tried to stop him, he let me go to pull out his sword and he killed him. Mother screamed as she saw father die and Gregor choked her to death while I fled. I ran to Layla's room and pulled her out of bed before fleeing from the keep.

We sought refuge in the woods and stayed there until dawn had come and we could see smoke rising from the keep. When we saw others rushing towards the keep I knew Gregor had left so I snuck back into the keep and gathered what provisions and coins I could find. I took father's sword and stole the last horse from the stables. I brought Layla to the septon in the village and he told me what Gregor had done. He said I should try to join you as Westeros was no longer a safe place for anyone with the name Clegane.

We traveled to the coast and there I sold the horse and bought passage for us to this island on a cargo ship. We have been hiding for the last month, as I saw the banners of the Martells flying on the walls and I knew they would hurt us if they could, to avenge their sister. I saw you arrive today and so here I am. I will swear you my sword, if you promise to keep my sister safe."

Aurora and Gabrielle were silent following his tale until Aurora stood up and said, "Oberyn, come here." The tone on which she said this made it clear to the others that he was not to try anything or risk their extreme displeasure, but Oberyn did not heed her words.

As soon as Dagmer and the Greatjon let go of him, he stormed towards them, only to be stopped by the Immortals who grabbed his arms as he tried to put them around Sandor's neck.

Sandor had spoken so soft that only Aurora and Gabrielle had heard his tale so Aurora forced Oberyn to look at Sandor's wound and she said, "Take a good look Oberyn, this boy has just as much reason to hate Gregor as you do. So, if you ever try to harm him, I'll harm you."

Oberyn was startled at seeing the massive burn covering half of Sandor's face and he slumped in the arms of the Immortals. They dropped him to the ground while Aurora told Oberyn what Sandor had just told them.

When she had told him everything, Oberyn looked up sadly towards Sandor and said honestly, "I'm so very sorry, my grief led me to make a hasty decision and I was wrong. Can you forgive me?"

Sandor nodded silently in answer before he was claimed by Gabrielle again, who finished her inspection of his burn.

Aurora looked over her wife's shoulder and asked softly, "What are we dealing with Gabby?"

Gabrielle finally turned away from Sandor's face and replied just as soft, "Severe third-degree burns, partially revealed bone tissue and severe damage to the facial muscle structure. If I had access to the potions from back on earth it would be fully reversible, but as it stands, the most I can do is repair the muscle damage and re-cover the bone tissue, there is little I can do for the skin damage, he will carry it with him for the rest of his life, though I might be able to lessen his discomfort somewhat."

"Do what you can for him." Aurora replied before turning her attention to Sandor. "Did you mean what you said about swearing your sword to us?"

Sandor nodded without hesitation but said, "Yes, but only if you swear to protect Layla, she's all I have left and I cannot lose her."

Aurora briefly looked to the corner where Ygritte and Layla were playing happily before turning back to Sandor. "You have my solemn oath, as long as you remain faithful to us, your sister will live under the protection of our House."

Drawing the sword from behind his back, Sandor placed it before him and knelt on one knee. "I, Sandor of the House Clegane, swear to serve you, from this day until my last day. In peace and in war, in victory and defeat, I will stand as a shield to protect your House, my sword will strike down all those who oppose you. May the Warrior give me the strength to uphold my oath. May the Father judge me fairly when my end has come, and may the Stranger welcome all those I will send him in your name."

Aurora and Gabrielle looked pleased with his words, and Aurora placed her right hand on Sandor's left shoulder, "I Aurora, of the House Valaris, accept your oath. From this day, until your last day, you shall have a place at our table and a bed under our roof. Your sister shall be raised under our protection and will know safety and a loving home. Now rise Sandor."

Sandor did as he was bid and he put his sword back in its sheath. He stood just that bit taller as Aurora looked down on him and after a while she said, "Gabrielle will care for your wound and once it is healed as far as possible, you'll be my squire until you're ready to be knighted."

Sandor bowed in gratitude and after a nod from Aurora, he followed Gabrielle out of the hall and towards the infirmary, which was located two floors up.

When they had left, Aurora turned to Oberyn and said coldly, "Next time I expect you to think before trying to kill someone. Try this again and I'll send you back to Dorne."

Oberyn nodded softly before he was picked up by Dagmer and the Greatjon and was escorted out of the hall.

With that taken care of, Aurora slowly walked to the playing children and sat down behind Ygritte, taking up one of the loose dolls and playing along with her and Layla.

The next week was used with preparations for their scouting trip to Tyrosh. Aurora and Gabrielle had decided, much to the children's disappointment, to not take any of the girls with them. They would be taking 100 of the Unsullied and 200 Forlorn posing as sailors, in addition to the Immortals, to provide them with security if need be.

After a lot of deliberation, and not of their own free will, Dagmer and the others had managed to convince them to leave their armor behind on Bloodstone, as it stood out like a sore thumb and would never convince anyone that they were simple merchants. Instead they wore richly decorated silk robes covering their entire bodies save their heads, which would hide the Valyrian steel mail they wore underneath.

They had taken the mail from the armor they had taken from Dragonstone and refitted it to their own bodies. To hide the sound of the mail, they wore little golden bells in their hair and had attached bells to their robes.

This meant however, that they would also have to leave behind most of their weapons, as the axes, and the hand-and-a-half swords were too large to conceal on their person. Aurora was vehemently opposed to this when Oberyn suggested it and after a very heated discussion, it was decided to give their swords to the Immortals, who would carry them until they might have need of them. They did carry their short swords and daggers with them though, as they could be hidden beneath the robes.

At the end of the week, Aurora and Gabrielle said goodbye to their little family, telling the twins to make sure Saphirus and Violet behaved, and the others to continue their preparations for the siege. Aurora had given them several designs for siege engines she wanted them to build and a large force of carpenters were put to work on constructing them. Ship-mounted onagers, ballistae and scorpions were amongst these designs, but also a mobile battering ram, covered by a housing of bronze plates to prevent the defenders from setting it on fire, and two dozen trebuchets.

Just before noon they set sail southwards, in the direction of Lys, so as to approach Tyrosh from the south and not raise the suspicion they would if they came from the west. They sailed south for a full day before turning around and heading for Tyrosh directly which they reached at noon the second day.

As they approached the city one thing stood out amongst all others, Tyrosh was a fortress first and a city second. The black walls of fused Dragonstone stood a-hundred-foot-tall and the many towers were occupied by siege engines. The large harbor was a mass of activity, hundreds upon hundreds of ships lay moored at the docks or where anchored in the bay. They could recognize some of the banners from famous sellswords or sellsails.

Just outside the walls were multiple encampments, the nearest one was a large encampment surrounded by golden banners. In the centre stood a large tent of golden cloth, surrounded by pikes decorated with gilded skulls, the encampment of the Golden Company. They could see a large amount of horses in a nearby field, guarded heavily and a little further away, a few dozen elephants stood lumbering in a pool of water.

In the bay, they saw forty-or-so galleys surrounding a galleass bearing a peacock on a red background, ships belonging to the Saan family, who, according to Dagmer, were notorious pirates from Lys.

Their small flotilla was soon noticed by the lookouts on the walls and horns alerted the patrol vessels who soon intercepted them. Six galleys intercepted them and two went alongside each of their ships. Grappling hooks were thrown and boarding parties jumped onboard, only to be met by the wall of shields and spears of the Unsullied.

The two sides were locked in a stand-off, until Aurora stood up and yelled to the other ships, "There is no need for hostility here, we are simple merchants coming to offer our wares to your brave soldiers. Our guards will not resist if you wish to search our vessels."

This somewhat placated the captain of the patrol vessels and he boarded the Chain Breaker himself, after ordering his boarding parties to hold back for the moment. The captain, a man with a purple beard and bright green hair walked toward the platform before the aft castle where Aurora and Gabrielle had been seated beneath an overhang of sailcloth.

Said ladies were now standing before the platform and made a slight inclination of their heads in greeting of the man, something that was replied to in kind. The man introduced himself as, "Moreo Tumitis, Captain of the Storm Dancer."

"My name is Gabrielle," came the reply, "and this is my partner Aurora, we are traveling merchants in precious metals and gemstones. Our guards are just here to protect ourselves and our merchandise."

Moreo nodded politely and replied, "Then I am sure you will have nothing to hide, my men will search your ships and if they find nothing but your professed cargo, you are free to continue and try to sell your wares."

Aurora spread her arms in a welcoming gesture and said, "By all means Captain, please sate your curiosity and you shall find we have nothing to hide."

Moreo nodded again and issued a few orders, upon which groups of his men went below decks of all three ships and went to investigate. Half an hour later they came back up and after they reported their findings, Moreo turned back to Aurora and Gabrielle and said, "You are free to go. Please enjoy your stay in our beautiful city, but be advised, a hostile army is camped in the Stepstones and we anticipate an attack to come any day now."

"We shall be on our guard, captain, thank you for the warning." Aurora handed Moreo a small bag of coins and said, "A small appreciation for your welcome and your words of warning."

Moreo accepted the bag with a grin and said, "Always glad to be of service. Good day to you and I hope your stay will prove fruitful for you." He nodded once more in greeting and went back aboard his own ship, followed by the boarding parties all returning to their own ships as well.

Now with the way clear, they sailed on to the harbor and docked on one of the few empty docks, where they were met by one of the harbor masters. After telling them of their purpose, they paid him the docking fee and then they were left to their own devises.

Before they left the ship, Aurora and Gabrielle retreated back to their cabin and Gabrielle removed an ornate wooden cylinder from a locked chest beneath their bed. Putting the cylinder in her robes, Gabrielle turned around and they each took a bag with precious stones and one with coins from a second chest and attached both to their belts.

Once back on deck, Aurora snapped her fingers and immediately the 12 Immortals formed a protective formation around them, with the four carrying their swords directly in front of them, allowing them to draw them if the need arose.

The small group left the Chain Breaker and headed towards the encampment of the Golden Company, a walk that took them nearly half an hour due to the crowds that covered the markets outside the walls.

When they arrived at the edges of the encampment, they were stopped by two sentries, one a knight and the other an archer. The knight took the word and said, "HALT, what be your business here?"

Aurora stepped forward from between the Immortals and said, "We are merchants in precious stones and metals, we wish to meet with your Captain-General, Myles Toyne, we have a potentially very profitable proposition for him."

The knight looked calculatingly at their company before nodding his head, "Very well, you may proceed, but don't try anything funny while you're here." This last part he added with a dark look at the massive axes carried by the Immortals.

"Of course, Ser…" Aurora inquired for the knight's name.

"Lord," came the gruff response, "Lord Laswell Peake of Starpike."

"My apologies Lord Peake, but if I may, where can we find the Captain-General?"

Laswell thought for a moment before he replied, "He'll be having his noonday meal along with the rest of the commanders at the great pavilion in the centre of the camp.

Aurora bowed her head slightly and replied, "Thank you my Lord, we shall proceed there at once."

Lord Laswell nodded gruffly and stepped aside letting them enter the encampment. They followed the improvised roads that led through the camp, all the while paying close attention to their surroundings and the activities of the soldiers around them. They were somewhat impressed, as it was clear that, for sellswords at least, the Golden Company men were very disciplined and the camp was neat and organized.

When they arrived at the pavilion they were once again stopped by a pair of sentries, both knights judging by their armor and they each held a halberd in their hands. Preempting their questions Aurora stepped forward and said, "We are traders from Westeros with a message for your Captain-General, please ask him if he will see us."

One of the knights nodded and entered the pavilion, while his comrade stayed and blocked their entrance. After a few minutes the other knight returned and said, "The Captain-General and the other officers will see you, but be advised, do not draw weapons or make any threatening moves. The pavilion is well guarded."

Aurora nodded and the two knights let their company pass. Eight of the Immortals stayed outside, and only the four carrying their swords accompanied them inside the pavilion.

Inside the large tent, they saw a large table, seating four men, with an additional twelve armored knights spread out around the edges of the pavilion.

From left to right were seated, a large black man with a feathered cloak of green and orange, a portly man with a big round head and mild grey eyes, a jug-eared man with a big nose and a crooked jaw, and finally a large-set young man with the looks of a Dothraki screamer, though dressed in plate steel and a broadsword lay next to him on the table.

When they stood before the men, both Aurora and Gabrielle made a small bow and filtering the men through the information they had gotten from Dagmer they guessed their names. The black man was Black Balaq, a summer islander who commanded the Company's archers. The portly man was Harry Strickland, the company paymaster and second in command. The jug-eared man was Myles Toyne, the Captain-General. And finally, the Dothraki man was Horro, the commander of the Company's cavalry.

Gabrielle was the first to speak and said, "Greetings my lords, we are merchants from Westeros and were asked to deliver a message to you. However, because of the nature of the message, we were asked to give it to the Captain-General, and the Captain-General alone. So, if you wish to hear it, I am afraid that I need to ask you to order your guards to leave the pavilion, ours will go as well if that will satisfy you."

Myles and Harry looked at each other and conversed softly for a minute before Myles looked up and said, "Very well, you have awakened my interest." With a wave of his hand, Myles send the dozen knights out of the tent, and the Immortals left as well, after Aurora snapped her fingers and they handed them each one of their swords.

Upon seeing that, both Myles and Horro looked suspiciously and Aurora said with a grin, "Think nothing of it, just a precaution for us, should you decide to refuse our message."

Myles nodded once and said, "All right then, speak your message."

Aurora nodded and Gabrielle stepped forward, after handing her sword to her wife, she removed the cylinder from her robes and opened it, removing the scroll it contained. Unrolling it she started to read.

"By the order of his grace, Rhaegar Targaryen, first of his name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, this message shall serve as a Free pass and Royal Pardon for every member of the Golden Company who would wish to return to Westeros."

A deathly silence fell in the pavilion until it was broken by Harry Strickland. "Are you saying that the King is willing to offer us a Royal Pardon?"

Gabrielle nodded and replied, "That is correct. But, it will have to be earned first."

"And how, pray tell, are we supposed to earn it?" Myles Toyne asked suspiciously.

With a grin, Aurora stepped forward and answered, "By making a choice. Have you heard of what happened at King's Landing during and after the sack?"

All men nodded and Aurora continued, "Then you know that the King has been joined by two Dragonriders from Valyria?" Again, the men nodded. "Here is your choice, accept the Kings terms and live and get the chance to earn your pardon, or refuse and die.

In two weeks, these Dragonriders will arrive at this city's gates, with the entire army camped at Bloodstone. Every sellsword and warrior who will stand against them shall burn in dragonfire. Everyone who joins them in taking the city shall be richly rewarded and given the opportunity to win their Pardon."

The reactions they got were a bit varied, Myles and Harry looked interested and intrigued, Black Balaq looked mildly interested but not overly so, and Horro looked skeptical and highly suspicious.

"We shall leave you to ponder it but a final word before we leave, should you accept, tell your men to each carry a black band around their chests, if they do so, the Westerosi forces will not attack them. And any effort made on your part to hasten the city's fall with fewer loss of life shall be rewarded."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle bowed their heads shortly and Gabrielle put the scroll back in its cylinder and replaced it within her robes. They turned around and left the pavilion were the Immortals surrounded them again and they left the encampment in the direction of the city.

They stayed in the city for three more days, scouting out the battlements at night and trading at the markets during the day. During their nightly scouting, they had left a nasty surprise which the defenders would discover once their attack began.

On their last day in the city, they did something they had avoided up until that point, they visited the slave markets. Upon reaching the large square they were immediately besieged by the cries of children and yelling of the slave traders, praising their wares. In the middle of the square was a large stone platform where the auctions took place.

Steeling their hearts, Aurora and Gabrielle led their guards across the market, stopping here and there to inspect some of the slaves, searching for people they could use or help. Against the back of the market almost at the end, they found something rather intriguing.

A large area against the back of the square was occupied by a series of large cages, all of the occupants of the cages appeared to be women, but what made it odd was that they all more or less looked like them. Each of the women was tall and muscular and most carried an assortment of scars that one could only get through a lifetime of war. Furthermore, they were all bare-chested and each of the women wore iron rings through their nipples and ruby studs in their cheeks.

When they approached the cages a large, fat, copper-skinned man with a bald head and wearing a richly decorated vest of supple leather stepped forward and said in bastard-Valyrian. "Careful lady, these slaves have yet to be broken, they do not make good servants."

Addressing the man Aurora asked curiously, "Where do they come from, I have never seen the likes of them before."

The man gave her a grin, showing half a dozen golden teeth, and replied, "I have bought them from a horde of Dothraki, who in turn stole them from a tribe of Jogos Nhai, I believe they are the last remains of an army of warrior maids that was sent from the fortress city of Kayakayanaya to fight the Zhorse-riders of the Jogos Nhai. They have come from very far away and have proven very stubborn in learning their proper place beneath their masters."

Aurora nodded slowly and said, "I am looking for pit-fighters, maybe this would prove a nice change of pace for the masters of Slaver's bay, at least they should give a good show, even if they don't obey. Can you get one of them out for me to inspect?"

The men gave her another grin, this one filled with greed and he shouted a few orders to half a dozen large summer islanders, who judging by their collars, where slaves themselves. The men opened one of the cages and using quarterstaffs, they beat several of the women into submission until they could grab one and they pulled her out of the cage, before locking it again behind them.

They clasped thick iron shackles on the woman's wrists and ankles and attached chains to them. Forcing the woman to walk, they made their way over to them and when they stood before them, the slaver kicked the women in the backs of her knees, causing her to fall and the male slaves pulled her to her knees.

Now that they could see her properly they saw that woman was a large word for her, she was tall and proud, but she couldn't be more than 18 or 20 name days old. Her hair was filthy and she was covered in grime, but they could see that she was not unpleasant to look at. Her hair might have been golden in color once but it was hard to tell now.

Dreading what she was about to do, Aurora grabbed the woman by her jaw and forced her to look her in the eyes. Being as gentle as possible, she pulled out the information she needed, her language, her culture and her customs.

When she had what she needed she let go of the woman's head and knelt before her, so she was on the same height. She now gently lifted her head and spoke to her in her own language. "What is your name?"

The woman looked up in surprise at hearing her own language and she responded softly, "Valaya."

"How did you come to be in slavery Valaya?"

"The Patriarchs sent us from Kayakayanaya to stop the Jogos Nhai from raiding our trade routes to Vaes Dothrak. They surprised us in the night, and killed most of us. We are all that are left, 379 out of an army of 10,000. The Jogos Nhai brought us south, intending to sell us to slavers from Qarth, but they were surprised by a Dothraki horde. The Dothraki killed the Jogos Nhai, raped all of us and sold us to that fat man over there."

Smiling gently at her Aurora said, "Do as I say, and tell your sisters to do the same, if you do, I will get you of here and give you your freedom back."

At those words Valaya looked wide-eyed and she fell on her hands and knees, kissing Aurora's feet. Aurora gently pulled her up and said, "No need for that, now stand up and don't fight back."

Valaya quickly did as she was told and stood up, keeping her head obediently lowered and crossed her hands before her stomach. Aurora turned to the slack-jawed slaver and said with a grin, "Sometimes the hard hand is not always the best way. I'll buy them from you, how much for all of them."

The man shook his head to recover from the shock and had the slaves bring Valaya back to the cages, before he weighed the options in his head. They obviously wanted to buy them so he could ask them a pretty price, but seeing as no one else wanted to buy them, they would undoubtedly use that to drive a hard bargain. Finally, he made a decision and said, "450 gold pieces each."

Aurora looked him in the eyes and said, "You're kidding right, you just told us yourself that they were unbroken and seeing as no one else is standing here, there won't be that many buyers. I'll give you 40,000 for all of them."

"100,000"

"45,000"

"80,000"

"47,000"

"60,000"

"50,000 my final offer." Aurora send a slight mental nudge with her eyes, and the man blinked two times before nodding,

"Fine, 50,000 for the lot of them, but you pay cash, up front."

Aurora nodded and pulled out a bag of gemstones. She grabbed a wooden bowl from a nearby table and poured the contents of the bag in the bowl. A mixture of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds fell into the bowl and Aurora said, "The diamonds are worth 500 gold pieces a-piece, and the others are 300, agreed?"

The man nodded and Aurora counted the gemstones before she handed them to him. He put them into a bag of his own and hung it on his belt while Aurora put the rest of the gems back in her own bag and replaced it on the belt beneath her robes.

In the meantime, Valaya had spread the word amongst the fellow warrior-maids and when the slaver ordered the six male slaves to open the cages, they stood up calmly and followed Valaya out without protest or any attempt to flee.

Aurora and Gabrielle grinned inwardly at seeing this as loyalty bought through kindness and good deeds, was so much stronger than that forced by pain, fear and submission. Now that they were all out of the cages they had the opportunity to see them more clearly. Most looked to have a similar hair color as Valaya, though black and brown were also common. At least two dozen of them were pregnant, no doubt the result of their rape by the Dothraki, though none appeared to be further along than 5 months.

Addressing the woman in their own language Aurora said, "Follow us back to our ships, don't make any sudden moves and keep your eyes lowered, don't provoke anyone."

They all bowed their heads in agreement and as they turned around, they followed them in a long line of four wide. During the trek back to the harbor Aurora said mentally, "Shouldn't we get them something more to wear, if we arrive at Bloodstone with them dressed like this, it might not be such a smart thing to do."

"You're right love, how much do you have left?"

"About 50,000 in gemstones and we have another 40,000 back on the Chain Breaker, should be enough to get all the non-pregnant ones dressed in steel."

"Well then, they aren't expecting us for another week, so we have the time to invest in their protection. If we play it right, we might have just gained our very own Royal Guard."

"I think you're right love, it would be fitting though, an all-female Royal Guard. We'll have to see how they react to the idea once we return to Bloodstone. For now, let's just focus on getting them armored up for the time being. We can make them something proper once we get to Valyria."

They turned into another street and made their way towards the Steel Market. Once there they quickly found a very affluent merchant in armor that was able to sell them what they wanted. 350 full sets of heavy armor, leather under armor, covered by mail and half plate consisting of a cuirass, gorget, gauntlets, a skirt, greaves and upper arm and leg plates and simple barbute helmets with a Y-shaped visor.

The quality was excellent for the regular market, but when compared to the work of Westerosi armourerers, it didn't look like much and couldn't compare to the quality of the armor worn by knights. Also, unfortunately the chest plates were designed for male users, so it would be a little tight for their breasts but otherwise it served nicely.

Another merchant was able to sell them armaments, and after asking the warrior-maidens what their preferred weapons were they all answered that they were trained in the use of the bow, spear, knife and sling.

It took them a while of bartering but finally Aurora was able to purchase 300 bows and quivers filled with arrows, 320 spears and 400 daggers to be delivered once they were gathered. They made their way back to the harbor after buying tunics for all of the women to wear until better could be found or procured. The merchants had said that it would probably take them a few days to gatherer everything and have it brought to the harbor, so they would have to wait there until it arrived.

As it turned out, it was a rather tight fit, with nearly 700 people on 3 ships, but after making some accommodations, they all had a more-or-less comfortable sleeping place. It was lucky that all three of their ships fell in the larger category of dromonds, so most of the forlorn could sleep in the place of the rowers with the Unsullied sleeping on the deck and the rest choosing a spot wherever it was. All of them who were pregnant were given a place in the cabins, though they had to share them with three or four per cabin.

When the ordered armor and weapons were finally delivered after two days of waiting, they loaded them up and quickly left the harbor, having depleted the better part of their wealth, but gained some skilled allies in return.

Upon their return to Bloodstone they drew quite a crowd, being followed by the group of warrior-maidens, either dressed in armor or pregnant. However, upon arrival they were awaited by a full company of 250 Forlorn, who, in addition to the men they had brought formed an effective barrier to keep everyone away.

They moved immediately to the keep and upon a single order from Aurora, the entire fortress was emptied of everyone except the Forlorn and a few dozen female servants. Gabrielle led them towards one of the larger natural cavers beneath the fortress that had access to a hot spring being warmed by a subterranean magma flow. It had been turned into a large bathing area and Gabrielle ordered the servants to bring soap and all the towels they could find.

The next three hours the warrior-maidens were helped to clean themselves of months of filth and dirt, while Aurora and Gabrielle briefed their military council on what they had found and done in Tyrosh. Upon hearing of their 'present' for the defenders the others all grinned, as it would allow them to use their most powerful weapons during the assault.

In a matter of days, they would leave Bloodstone and head for war.

Author's note: So that's it, the board is set and the pieces are in position. Next chapter is the battle for Tyrosh, I'm curious to hear what you think is going to happen, so please send me your thoughts.