Reviews
renextronex
Mostly he takes them so they don't cause trouble while he's trying to sort out Westeros, but all of his consorts have their uses and in the next story I plan for him to command a starship in the Stargate universe so he's going to need more people. I doubt that he will be aiding many ladies to his group in future stories or this one since he has plenty now.
I see the creation of the White Walkers as the Children of the Forest using their powers in such a way that it harms nature. It was a perversion of the natural order they were supposed to be a part of that and this is why they lose control of the White Walkers. Ironically what they created to defend themselves with becomes the greatest threat to them. But that's just my take on them.
Melissandre is useful but she needs to be controlled hence why she is collared and kept out of Westeros.
I am thinking of using the books to introduce some new threats. With magic returning then some of the monsters of myth other than the White Walkers can return. I was pondering the idea of having the conquest of the Iron Islands result in some pact between the Squishers and the Ironborn being broken like how there is a pact between the Children and The First Men. The Squishers are a lot like some of the creatures in Lovecraft's work and so could be hard to fight. Plus there are other creatures that could show up again now that magic is a stronger force in the world.
Fiction Terrorist
Thanks, I guess.
Sakra95
Sound advice but my character won't be involved in the talks with Dorne it would be a long and boring process. Best avoided when there are much more fun things for me to write about.
Gforce1000's Rule 34 Economy CYOA V 2.0
World 2 - Game of Thrones
Part 22
Tower of The Hand. Kingslanding.
"There sure are a lot of Northern soldiers around here" I commented to Jon.
We'd just passed by the third group of house Stark soldiers in as many minutes, as we walked through the Red Keep and into the tower that was the residence of the Hand while he was in the Red Keep. The guards gave both of us a long look as we passed them by, before carrying on with their patrol. I was pleased that the guards were taking their jobs so seriously. I figured that there would be surprise attacks by Lannisters happening on Ned's watch during this timeline.
Jon, I was glad to see looked right back at the guards with a calm confidence. He had come a long way in the last several months since he had become my sworn shield. The boy who thought he was worth nothing, I could see was becoming a man of stature. All the fighting, the things I had shown and taught him had definitely built up his confidence over time even if he sometimes still had doubts about himself.
As for extracting Stannis's wife and daughter, that had surprisingly gone to plan. After a few minor memory alterations, I'd brought both of them to Kingslanding and handed them over to the Hand of the King as I trusted few in this world who weren't my consorts, Lord Stark was definitely near the top of that list with only Jon topping him out. I knew they would be safe with him as they could be during this time.
Getting them both settled in was pretty straight forward as they'd not been hard and as such didn't need the attention of a Maester, and I was glad to see that neither Viserys nor any of his men had abused them. Seems that once he had captured Dragonstone he had just locked in there rooms and seem to forget about them. As for the Dornish, they'd understand how valuable the two women were as hostages and so had ensured that the two ladies were cared for.
Now that I could see all the extra northern guards around the place I knew I had made the right decision in bringing them here. Also, it was good to see that Shireen's greyscale had completely cleared up thanks to Raven's healing efforts. My consort and I had discussed the disease and did seem to be a bacterial infection spread skin contact rather than a virus. In my world, such an illness would be treated by anti-biotics and perhaps been dealt with by a vaccine. In this world, it should have been a death sentence for the girl.
During our trip here Shireen's mother couldn't get her daughter away from the observation deck as we made our way to Kingslanding, and she seemed to have an endless number of questions about everything, from the ship to the clouds to the stars and what I thought they really were. In the end, I sent her to Hermoine and wondered who would run out of questions first.
They had both quickly settled in once we got to Kingslanding. Shireen was making a list of questions as soon as we landed that Hermoine had promised to answer next time they met. I'd seen that she was up to five pages by the time we'd dropped the two ladies off at there rooms. All the way here, a trip that I'd slowed down, Shireen's shrew of a mother had kept trying to get her to stop asking questions and help her with sewing, which Shireen mostly ignored.
It had been even funnier checking in on those lessons as I'd seen Hermoine slyly using a mild confundus on Lady Selyse every time she tried to take the young girl away from her teaching. I had to chuckle at Hermoine having found a such a disciple, and even better when in the future she expressed that I was doing something she thought to be wrong I could just point out her use of the Confundus charm.
Now I was thinking about all the extra armed men Ned had brought into Kings Landing. To be honest I was quite relieved to see them. It made sense to have more troops here should an attack come from Dragonstone be launched. But I knew that Eddard was preparing more for the king's return, than for any attack that Viserys might have been thinking about launching.
While there were still many red cloaks (Lannister soldiers) in the Red Keep. There would soon be a lot more armed men here when then the king and his army arrived back from the Iron Islands. Once the king arrived I knew Ned would tell him the truth about his children. I also knew that the most likely result of this would be bloodshed and at the very least the removal of the absent Cerise as queen as well as the removal of her children from the line of royal succession.
Tywin Lannister would never accept that, but he would be massively outnumbered by all the other houses being here as witnesses. Tywin was no fool. He would have no choice but to back down or see his house destroyed. Though I knew that would be far from the end of it as the Old Lion could regroup and form up a might army once he'd returned to his own lands.
I couldn't see Robert killing children who he thought were his own for years even if he was quite possibly the worse farther in Westeros, but given what happened to Jon's siblings (the Targaryen ones) I was still glad that the two of them were in Casterly Rock thanks to my messing with Cersi's mind, a spell is done to save lives rather than how Hermoine had used it recently, not that I really judged her for such things.
Because of Tywin, I needed to travel to Braavos as soon as possible before heading to Old Town to chase more pirates. Tywin Lannister needed to die as once he was away from Kings Landing he would start plotting to take the throne for his legacy because he would not believe the truth about them. I had some time because he would need to reorganise his army and set up defences for the Westerlands before striking at anyone.
A pity he had to die as I actually like the Old Lion, as despite his attuidie he got things done, even if he was a monster. He at least always had a good reason for his actions unlike some of the nut cases around here. But his family could not be allowed to keep growing in strength if a civil war was to be avoided.
"Father's told me to be even more careful than ever, but he won't say why," Jon said, "I offered to stay here, only he wants me to go with you".
I could see he wasn't happy about being ordered away by his father. He took the idea of even possible danger to his father very seriously. If the shit hit the fan around here then Jon would be better off hunting pirates with me as at least then his fighting skills could help to protect him. No amount of magical weapons or armour I could provide the young Targaryen would keep him safe from the many ways assassins could kill him as part of the power games around here. And they would come if they found out who he really was. Secrets had a habit of being exposed here in the Red Keep.
Stopping our walk for a few moments we both looked out a window at the city, simply enjoying the view for a few minutes. Before saying anything my hands moved in a small circle as I cast a small spell to make sure we couldn't be overheard, a tricky bit of magic without a wand, but my talent with magic had only grown over the years. Jon frowned as he saw what I did, he knew what a few of my basic spells looked like as such he knew that what we were about to discuss was serious.
"He's right you know," I said, "You need to focus on earning yourself your own family name, and lands. Plus you are many great things my friend, but a politician you are not. Kingslanding is no place for Jon Snow".
He was a warrior, not a politician as such it was amusing to imagine Jon stuck in meetings all day or drowning in paperwork. He would kill himself trying to be something he was not I was sure. Would he be good at it?. Unlikely I thought. Lord Stark seemed to be struggling with his role and he'd been serving as Lord-Paramount for since before Jon was even born. My friend was a good man, but there's a world of difference between a good man and a good leader. Besides Jon was to kind to do the harsh things a king sometimes needed to do. Even as Lord-Commander of the Nightswatch he'd gotten himself murdered on the job. No best that he manages a small keep somewhere in the North and have himself a family.
"What so funny?" he asked.
I told him that I'd been picturing him in an office with mounds of paper. The secret heir to the throne leaned on the balcony from where we looked out over the city and sighed. The moment of levity was soon forgotten.
"I still wonder if it wouldn't be for the best if I went to The Wall" admitted Jon. The Night's Watch are struggling".
On this, we did not agree.
"You can do more for the Watch as a Northern Lord than just another sword on The Wall" I pointed out to him "As a lord, you can help to give them proper logistical support, that means more than having another set of hands".
Given that a large proportion of the Wildlings were moving to Ameros this meant that once we dealt with the Night King then The Wall would become just another curiosity for future generations. By the time those Wildlings beyond The Wall grew to such numbers as to be a threat, assuming they ever did, whole generations would have passed by and Jon would likely have died of old age.
"Besides once you're a lord you can marry and have children without worrying about any social stigma." I reminded him, and not for the first time. "That will make your father proud. And by taking out raiders with me you do protect and serve the realm".
Jon already knew all of that he just needed some reassurance, and then tense atmosphere around here didn't help, I didn't blame him because even if he didn't know he could sense that things were again about to change in unexpected ways. I'd already smashed his world view a several times since we'd met so no wonder I needed to remind him of his end goal.
A young page ran up to us, and I quickly dispelled the small ward so we could hear him speak.
"Ser James, Lord Stark wishes to see you, he's waiting for you in the Tower of the Hand".
After tossing the teenager a silver stag I told Jon to wait for me before I set off to find Lord Stark. As I entered the man's office I saw that another visitor was just leaving. It was the banker from Braavos who I knew to be called Tycho Nestoris, who was the only person outside of my group who could identify me as the man who'd sponsored the recent Targaryen troubles, which I was sure he had on his mind as he left. His eyes only briefly noted me without missing a step.
"Dealing with Iron Bank directly I see," I commented.
I entered the office, closing the door behind me, and taking a seat. Perhaps I should be worried I doubted that Tycho Nestoris had mentioned me to Eddard if he had Lord Stark would be a lot more on edge, as he wasn't good at hiding his true feelings even if he was stoic most of the time. Besides the Iron Bank would see no profit in ratting me out since unlike the crown I was actually making them money.
Before long I took note of how tired Eddard, looked and wondered how long it had been since he had, had a good nights sleep. Probably not since he came to Kingslanding if I didn't miss my guess and I doubted that his nights to come would be more restful.
"Now that I've made arrangements to begin paying off our debt the Iron Bank, they will no longer support Viserys Targaryen." Lord Stark told me. "But to get enough money, so that the crown can start paying off its debts I had to borrow heavily from the Tyrells who in return want Sansa as a wife for Loras or for Renly. As if giving them my eldest son wasn't enough. Aside from that Mace Tyrell has rather unsubtly mentioned more than once, what a good regent I would be for Robert should he be wounded or the gods forbid killed in battle despite Stannis being heir to the throne".
Even if something happened to Stannis there would still be Renly to take the throne who Loras was unlikely to side against. Perhaps the Tyrells were thinking of getting Renly on the throne and having Eddard be his Hand like he was for Robert thus ensuring the aid of the Starks for Renly over Stannis. Not a terrible idea and no wanted Stannis as king, I didn't think he'd be flexible enough for role, although I didn't think he'd be worse than Robert or the Mad King.
"They suggested that Sansa should marry Renly?" I asked "Politically, speaking it wouldn't be a bad match I guess. Just be aware than Renly and Loras are both famous sword swallowers, and its rumoured that are a couple. While I normally don't care about such things as it not my business what grown men get up behind closed doors, it is something to be aware of for future heirs. Much more importantly if Loras takes after his father then I do not know if Sansa would be strong enough to control him properly to prevent disaster. Mace's mother does her best to keep the men in her family in line, but she won't be around for much longer".
Mulling over what the Tyrells could be thinking I began to think. I knew that Sansa wanted to be queen, and Renly was in line for the throne. Pity he was a such an idiot, but with Ned as his hand and running things it could work out quite well, there were worse options. Stannis was firm and somewhat fair, but he was not well-liked, and without the support of powerful lords his regin could be a rocky one.
As for Lord Renly he could end becoming king if I couldn't keep a lid on a civil war breaking out. As he would not be killed by a shadow baby thanks me to keeping the Red Woman in a very short leash, this time around and having ties to The North would help support Renly's claim to the throne if Stannis was killed somehow.
"Stannis is next in line" stated Eddard "That is the law".
True, but there were other factors.
"The law should be used to serve society not be a means to prop up unsuitable men in positions of power" I replied "The laws of succession not only put the Mad King on the throne they kept him there despite how unsuitable he was to sit on the throne, and many people, including your own family, suffered because of it. That's something you need to consider should any happen to King Robert".
Eddard did not seem pleased by me reminding him of the past, but it was important for someone to do so as the rules governing succession were important they were a tool of society, not the divine will of some higher power. Lord Stark decided to change the subject rather than debate the matter with me, so I could only hope that my words would aid him.
"Robert even mentioned in a letter about engaging Tommen to Arya since Joffery has been missing for so long without a word that he must be dead by now," Eddard told me, not looking happy that more of his children being married of down south. "I had hoped for northern matches for my children to help strengthen ties to my banner-men, and Arya simply can't be engaged to anyone, she's too wild".
I could tell that Lord Stark just wanted someone to hear his troubles (seemed to be the day for it) As there was no one around he could trust to hear out his problems and to offer advice. I felt sure he had his own ideas and just wanted to run his problems by someone else to get another perspective. This was a role I'd played often with my friends during my first life as sometimes as part of my new one.
Leaning back in my chair, I gave the situation some thought. Going over what I knew of the show and the houses before I opened my mouth
"Well you have Bran and Rickon for Northen matches," I said "Perhaps your wife could come up with a list of potential brides in the North and have them visit Winterfell so Bran can meet them, he's still very young so I wouldn't be surprised if his plans didn't change at least a few times before he turns sixteen, and a knighthood doesn't have to mean service anywhere. A good woman might make him think about raising a family in The North rather going south".
I was sure that Eddard had already considered this and in my experience, it was best to give people options rather than try to make them follow a certain path.
"The problem is that Bran wishes to join the Kings guard and therefore it would be unwise for him to marry as it would mean abandoning his dream." he replied, "Since Bran isn't due to inherit Winterfell I didn't wish for him to have to abandon his dreams".
This I understood since Ned had never meant to rule from Winterfell and so he wouldn't wish to force his own second-born son into such a similar role. I also understood why he shared these thoughts with me as unlike anyone else around here I still had enough human decency to show empathy and I wouldn't go against Eddard since his family had always been good to me.
"Do you think Jon would marry once he has a family name" I was asked, "I'll talk to him about it, but it's clear to me that you have your own plans for Jon and he seems agreeable to them"?
This was because what Jon wanted more than anything wasn't really his own name or to be a Stark, what he actually desires was acceptance and to be part of something larger than himself, like say his own family. If he'd simply been made a Stark it would never mean anywhere near as much as it would if he got a name of his own as a reward for service as then he would earn it.
"I do, and it involves setting Jon up as a cadet branch of House Stark," I told the Hand "Once everything down here in the south is sorted I'm sure between the two of us we can get the king to legitimise him. and once that's done I'm sure you have lots of empty land that's going to waste. He's earned plenty of spoils from our missions against the raiders, he earned his shares, and so he'll have more than enough coin to set himself up somewhere in the North. I know that Moat Cailin has been abandoned for some time with the coin he's earned perhaps Jon can rebuild the castle".
Jon did not wish for a throne and he deserved better than being sent to The Wall. Something I'd just been reassuring him about. Now his uncle also needed some words from me, they were far more alike than either man likely realised.
"Moat Cailin far enough from Winterfell that he won't see your lady wife, but not so far that you can't visit. I can help to fund the restoration as well Jon has more than earned that from me by helping capture all those pirate ships and we'll be going after more soon. I'd like to see him settling down somewhere".
Eddard considered this.
"I'll talk to Robert about legitimising Jon once he returns and letting him chose his own name if he doesn't wish to be made a Stark," said the Warden of the North. "Robert won't deny me this and while I don't like to abuse my role as Hand it won't be a purely selfish matter as I do have keeps that have gone unattended for years. If Jon starts his own cadet branch there will be bannermen of mine who will happily offer up their daughters to start this new family even with Jon having once been my bastard".
At this point, we were merely formalising plans we'd already discussed. This was simply the time to see them advance to the next stage. Bran's service as a squire under me had always been meant as a short term state of affairs, my life wasn't well suited to teaching a boy what he needed to know. Jon would find a suitable wife as I felt certain that at least a few northern families would like the idea of helping to set up a new cadet branch.
"I'll send a message to Cat about looking for a future wife for Bran from the Northen Houses for after he finishes his time down here in the south." Eddard was now saying. "I've been thinking of sending him to Riverrun to squire for some time as I was sent to The Vale so that Bran can earn his knighthood while staying with his mother's family. It some distance from Winterfell but still be close enough that my wife can visit which I know she'll like to do before her father before he passes. She might want to visit Highgarden as well to see Sansa before she marries".
That would give Bran plenty of options for his future as once he had his knighthood he could marry or seek a place in The Kingsguard or not depending on what he wanted. Something Eddard was no doubt also thinking about and just needed to discuss out loud with someone he trusted. As for Arya and Eddard's youngest son, they were both unsuited for long terms plans due to wildness or their age. I also concerned myself with Bran because he'd originally been chosen by the Three-Eyed Raven as a successor, but Bloodraven seemed happy enough with the Reed lad once the potions we'd given him help to strengthen his body. My own visions had never lead me to believe that Jojen would not be ruling the Seven Kingdoms so perhaps he'd spend his life in that cave or maybe return to his family home.
"I can divert my airship to Winterfell once we're done hunting down the black ships if you want me to take Bran to Riverrun. It'll be much faster and safer than the Kingsroad" I offered. "And I can easily return to Kings landing before any invasion of Dragonstone is ready to set sail."
So far there had been no word from Dorne about peace talks, but that didn't surprise me many words travelled slowly in this world. And now that I had taken Viserys off the board they had no one to place on the Iron Throne even if they could take to the city. None of the other old loyalist houses would rally to them without a Targaryen to lead.
"It will likely be months before we can sail to Dragonstone." said The Hand of the King, with a sigh.
He was probably thinking of all the paperwork he would be stuck doing while preparing for the retaking of the island.
"So you'll have plenty of time to capture pirate vessels and go to Winterfell" he then said, "Before you are needed back here for the conquest of Dragonstone".
My plans were progressing nicely and this seemed like a good time to get back out there and relax for a bit by killing some raiders, I think I might be getting a little addicted to attacking pirates. It was a good thing that there plenty of raiders and slavers around the Stepstones otherwise I might run out of targets. Perhaps I would have to sail out to the Stepstones in the future if I didn't find something else to keep myself occupied with until it was time to deal with the White Walkers.
I was about to leave when Lord Stark brought one more attention.
"Since you're hard to contact I've been sent some offers of marriage to pass on to you" he let me know "I doubt you have time to read them all so would you like me to assgin a steward to handle them or do you want to take them with you?".
I knew exactly what to do with those offers.
"Burn them all" I said.
No lord was going to trap me in a marriage alliance. I had the women a man could ever need. Too many really, if I wasn't such a greedy bugger I'd consider letting some of them go.
Airship. The Sunset Sea.
I'd learned that the original Corsairs of Umbar were a race of Men. Specifically corrupted Númenóreans, who while living in Middle-earth were known for their piracy of ships along the coasts of Gondor. As for Umbar, that was an old Númenórean haven settled by the King's Men, a proud faction loyal to the King and opposed to the divine authority of the Valar. Over the years the Corsairs had mixed with the Southrons, becoming a mixed people to the point where their Númenórean blood was mostly gone. This had been worth mentioning to me by both Hermoine and Raven even if I didn't understand the importance.
My concerns had to do with these raiders having taken the place of the Ironborn in that they were attacking ships and smaller settlements around Old Town. After so many lives had been lost to conquer the Iron Islands I wasn't just going to let another bunch of rapist thugs take their place. Or it would have all been for nought. My plans to improve the Seven Kingdoms, or at least to prevent it from becoming the war-ravaged nation I'd seen in the show, required these raiders to be removed.
This could be both easier and harder than dealing with the Iron Islands. I had two possible courses of action, both of which required me to locate the portal to Middle Earth that the corsairs were using. The simplest action would be to close the portal with magic, and between all of my magic-users, it wasn't that hard. I would have to capture a raider who knew where the portal was, but that wouldn't be too much trouble as I'd gotten good at luring them to me. Most people tried to avoid raiders.
The other plan would be to gather the royal fleet and sail them through the portal along with my vessel so that we could attack Umbar directly. However with a hostile force still at Dragonstone for the time being. The royal fleet needed to sail to Black Water Bay to defend Kingslanding from an attack. Which was a shame as taking out the pirates at their base of operations would have had a much larger impact.
Tywin Lannister via King Robert had us out here looking to pick up one of the Umbrian ships for study and sink or capture as many others as I could manage. Since I would have done it anyway I had no issue following Tywin Lannister's commands to find the black ships. Besides, it was relaxing to get away from Kings Landing, with the wind in my hair and the sun at my back.
The only real issue with my orders was that Tywin wanted to study the design of those alien ships to improve those of his own fleet if possible. While this was clever I didn't worry too much about it bringing more power to the Lannisters since I could easily sell better ship designs to the other nobles houses if I wished earning me a whole bunch of goodwill and favours.
As for the cargo of any vessels I captured, that would simply be a nice bonus, I could even tow other captured black ships to other ports to cement further alliances with ruling houses. As for the cargo, most likely I'd give most of it to any thralls I freed as that made me feel good about myself and it wasn't as if I didn't have many other ways to add to my coffers.
"Looks like they are falling for the same trap my people did," stated Yara as she checked out the incoming black ship with her bronze telescope. "Are you going to wait for her to try boarding us?"
While it wasn't like her to hang back, my pirate princess had agreed to it after a lot of screaming and shouting. As she could be pregnant by now so if I teleported over to the enemy ship I'd leave her behind while the fighting happens and then let her sought out the captured ship afterwards.
"I think we can risk letting them onboard." I decided, motioning at the axes at her hips. "You should have at least one chance to use your new axes, but that will be it for you".
Using my stern face just resulted in Yara smiling at me before she went back to watching the quickly approaching ship. Yara was a raider and she knew about fighting on the high seas, along with Ciri, and the rest of the girls Jon and myself, the risks were minimal. My magic users could sink the pirate ship ten times over before they got anywhere near us.
Wiping out the crews of these ships was fine with all of us even some of the more sensitive of my consorts didn't wish to get involved directly. They were raiders, murderers, looters and rapists. We all agreed that the world was a much better place without them in it.
"Yes Master," said Yara. "Just let me fight these fuckers who dare think they can be Ironborn, then I'll go be a mother".
This would her last fight until after she gave birth. Yara would never accept me keeping her out of danger permanently. Besides, it wouldn't be practical as the future there would be times when I needed all of my consorts to go into battle.
"Ciri when they charge on board I want you to appear behind them" I instructed, "the rest of us will meet them as they board. You'll be the hammer and we'll be anvil that you break them against".
Upon looking at her I saw that Ciri was looking towards the rapidly approaching ship with a gleam in her eye. Oh, those poor poor men I thought with a laugh. They had no idea what they were about to face. Ciri wanted to make this world a better place for the innocent and so unleashing against the raiders was a wise move by me.
"Hopefully they'll only extend only one plank as they think we're defenceless" I was now saying "If they don't then the magic users will kill or disable anyone who try's to get on board some other way".
The Ironborn had always rushed to board us as quickly as possible, not stopping to extend more than one plank, and since we could raise barriers this made it easy to trap the pirates in a bottleneck. Hopefully, these raiders were just as greedy and stupid as the ones found in this world.
I scanned the ship alongside us and saw several possible people who could be in charge. Flicking my wand into my hand I sent several quick stunners at them. They collapsed without anyone noticing as most of the pirates were too busy preparing themselves for the coming boarding action. Why they didn't try to kill us with arrows before boarding I didn't know and I was hardly going them any tips.
Before too long it turned out I was right about them displaying greed over any caution. As soon the black ship had come alongside us, they extended a single plank and rushed onto my vessel only to run into a barrier which kept them contained as they came on board. Allowing me and Yara an easy fight since there was never any more than one pirate at a time for us to face and we cut them down so quickly that they were tripping over there own friends body's most of the time. Once they saw what was happening two other planks were tried but the magic users quickly destroyed them.
The rest of the pirates, who like the Ironborn before them, were unprepared for magic, did not put up much of a defence, their light armour did little against our magical weapons and their odd curved blades were easily forced aside or shattered as they met our blades. While this struggle took mere moments I got a chance to exercise my sword arm as I cut down pirates and sent others flying over the side into the ocean wandless blast of magical power. By the time Jon, Yara and I had carved our way onto the pirate vessel, Ciri had done her part, between the three of us we were getting quite the kill count.
"Jon, Yara, Ciri!" I shouted. "Dump the bodies over the side; they can eat food for the sharks if they'll stomach it".
As they got started on stripping the bodies of weapons, as we could sell those, before throwing them over the side. I turned to my oldest companion.
"Raven with me" I ordered.
We headed down below decks to find men, women and children chained up as well as a cargo bay somewhat full of plundered goods.
"Hello everyone, I'm The Captain" I introduced.
They'd not heard of me, but soon they'd share stories about the day they were saved by The Captain. You could pay for PR as good as this.
"I've just come to let you know that your captors are dead" I informed the prisoners. "You'll be dropped off at the nearest port in a few days".
As Raven moved among them, unchaining them and checking for injury's, saying a few soft words for the couple of crying children she found. She could be a real softie for kids.
"Once we make it to port you'll be given a share of the cargo and allowed to go free" I explained to the frightened faces "Until then you have the run of the ship".
Moving to the closest person I worked to break the chains to free these poor people as quickly as possible if only because it stank down here. I needed to get back on deck with the fresh air as soon as I could. Before long my group had secured this vessel to my airship so that it could quickly be sailed to Lannisport as arranged. Once that was done I'd be free to hunt any other ships I could find and sell the ships as I pleased.
When we were underway I moved to Elysiums cells. The several men I had stunned were chained to the walls with there arms above there heads they were all awake now and were watching me silently as I walked outside of their cells. I could see myself getting a massive headache from breaking into this many minds, it was going to be messy. I didn't care much about any sort of brain damage done to them, but I couldn't simply brute force my way their minds, I might destroy something important.
Turning to the first one I flicked out my wand and dove into his mind without warning. His body seized up, as he tried to fight me. He managed to fight me off for a few seconds which was quite impressive for a non-magical. But that was all he could do to hold out. I slid knife-like into his mind and looked around. Looking for where his ship came from and any other information that might be useful. I couldn't simply read his mind as it didn't work that way, but I could see memories, the things he pictured in his mind. None of them was pleasant.
The rest still didn't say anything thing but I could see that they were terrified. Moving to the next one I dove into his mind. It was going to be a long night and while none of these men would be harmed too much by what I was doing that didn't mean they would be happy afterwards as I would be handing them over to the Lannisters for judgement and the Old Lion was unlikely to be merciful to such scum.
Lannisport. The Westerlands.
Tyrion Lannister didn't fully understand why the smallfolk cheered as the flying ship Elysium that belonged to Ser James came into the dock while towing one of the infamous black ships behind it. House Lannisters newest prize certainly looked impressive from what he understood of ships. But that would not benefit the small folk in any way as they would not profit this capture.
Perhaps they were just happy about the chance to trade he thought. Stories about the stuff that was traded by those who controlled the airship and always for good prices had spread far and wide across the Seven Kingdoms. Even the Smallfolk here in the Westerlands had more coin than their distant kin in the other parts of Westeros and if Tyrion was any judge the coffers of Ser James would be filled further by coming here to trade.
The dwarf suspected that they might be celebrating simply because they needed to. There hadn't been much reason for them to cheer in some time. They had been living in fear of Ironborn raiders for years before they'd started raiding again. And then they are finally dealt with properly the stories of the black ships began to spread, and the stories he had heard made them seem much worse than those about the Ironborn. So seeing one of the feared ships brought to port as a trophy no doubt made them all feel safer. Not that there was much difference as far as Tyrion knew, one group of raiders was much like the other.
"Soon I will be making my way to Kings landing to ensure King Robert doesn't let Dornish win this war," His father reminded his youngest son. "Kingsguard or not I intend for Jaimie to rule while I am gone. For you I have a different task".
Once his father had put him in charge of getting sorting all the sewage systems in Casterly Rock, he had done a good job, perhaps his father had more shit for him to deal with he mused.
"You will oversee the project." Tywin declared. "Make sure that this black ship is stripped down and that every plank is properly studied. I will expect letters reporting your progress even if it turns out that there is nothing new to learn from it."
Needless to say, Tyrion was surprised to hear this.
"I don't know anything about ships." he protested.
His father gave him a look that made Tyrion feel foolish, he was rather good at that.
"The shipwrights and the maesters have the knowledge who will require," said the Lord of the Westerlands. "And you're not without some wits when you are not drinking them away, you can learn."
Since he had some wits the Imp soon realised that this was a golden opportunity to prove himself a useful member of the family.
"Very well, father," said the dwarf "I'll go down to the docks and make sure the black ship is secured".
His father rode off without another word, not caring for more talk or the cheers of the smallfolk, he had bigger matters to concern himself with. There were yet wars to win and since Joffery must be dead by now the Lord of Lannister needed to stay strong in order to see his grandson Tommen on the throne and his eldest son ruling here in the Westerlands.
Jump City. The Teen Titans Universe.
While it wasn't safe for Ciri to return to her home universe because of the Wild Hunt, she was still about to use her powers to move herself and a few others to different worlds. Given her power, it was tempting to leave Westeros and come back later after visiting a load of other places. After some deep thought, I'd decided against it. It would be far too easy for us to get distracted by what we might find out there. Plus we would be in trouble if we ended up an alien planet that we weren't prepared for. Also if anything happened to Ciri the rest of us could be far from Westeros and be unable to complete our objective for this part of the CYOA. I didn't want to fail, this level and be stuck in Westeros, or worse sent back home losing all my gains.
Since I'd already explored the Wizarding World or at least some parts of it, and since I knew that part of the multiverse rather well as once you walked outside of the magical places it was pretty much the same as my home dimension, I'd deemed it safe to visit that universe to acquire any needed magical supplies that my consorts might need for their studies as well as items to trade when in Westeros or Essos. I even kept some of my wealth within the goblin bank of Gringotts since it wasn't wise to keep all your eggs in one basket, or gold in one vault in this case. I might trust the goblins, but I might need their services in the future.
Today I'd broken this policy of mine because years ago I'd promised Raven that should we find a way for her to visit her friends, that we would go, so here Ciri, Raven and I were, standing in Jump City. I have to admit I was feeling a bit nervous, the DC universe was even worse than Marvel for time travel shenanigans and overpowered gods deciding to drop in to try and take over the place, and that was on a good day. This dimension made Harry Potter's world and Planetos seemed rather tame.
We found ourselves standing on the coastline looking at the Titans massive T shaped building that was in the middle of the bay. We both looked over at Raven as she stared across the bay at her old home, with an emotionless face. I knew that she'd fallen back into that old habit of suppressing herself when she feeling powerful emotions.
It had been years she since she'd last step foot in that tower, or seen any of her friends. It must feel weird. After several minutes of quietly looking at the building, Raven finally spoke.
"I wonder how long I've been gone?" she wondered.
The former part demon didn't seem to need an answer from either me or Ciri. Since Ciri could move through both time and space we couldn't be sure that how much time had passed for Raven's friends. It could be days or it could be years, all Ciri could do was try her best when it came to travelling like this.
"Will you come with me?" Raven requested.
I'd intended to walk around the city for a while and check a few book stores, which Raven had mentioned she got some of her occult texts from, while maybe do some sightseeing. Sure my inner nerd did want to go and meet some real-life superheroes. It was just that I had the feeling that they'd blame me for their friend vanishing. To be fair it was at least partly my doing as I'd selected her from a list of possible companions.
"If you really want me to," I said.
While I'd rather not get involved directly with superheroes at the moment, I didn't wish to abandon Raven when she needed me. She'd done a lot for me over the years and this seemed like such a small thing to repay her hard work with.
"I need the support," she said.
Guess I was off to meet the Titans, assuming they were still living in the tower. I sure hoped that Darkside or some other big bad didn't decide to attack while I was here. I might be able to beat White Walkers and pirates, but I was not ready to deal with super-powered crooks. One day I might have to as part of the CYOA and hopefully, by then, I would be prepared. I would need to learn more about magic and gather some advanced tech before I began to plan to deal with smaller threats that could be found in a universe such as this.
"I'll just go for a walk," Ciri said as she turned to go walk into the city "Don't worry about me I've explored plenty of worlds before. I'll pick you two up in a couple of hours"
Since I'd not gotten any visions of any disasters recently it might seem okay for my warrior-princess to go off on her own I got the feeling that if she did that Ciri would get into some sort of trouble. Probably involving some super-powered crooks whom she would kill without a thought because that was how things worked in other dimensions. Even though I and Raven had sat down and explained the basics for how to act here, I knew it wouldn't take much for Ciri to go all old testament on some criminals and cause a bloodbath. Doing that sort of thing here got you labelled as the villain. And we didn't need the Justice League chasing us across the multiverse, not when I so much to sort out back in Westeros, so reaching over I stopped Ciri from walking off.
"We best stick together, for now. We can do the sightseeing thing another time." I told the Lady of Space and Time, with a look I used to stop any sort of argument from starting. "We can always go for a stroll if Raven wants some time alone with her friends".
Once she was ready, or as prepared as she was going to be, Raven opened up a portal to the tower and we all walked through.
Titan Tower. Jump City.
Once they got inside the tower, Raven felt the need to talk if only to cover up her own nervousness so she began to explain about her old home to her master and Ciri as it helped her in staying calm. Starfire had been glad to see Raven, extremely glad in fact judging by the rib-cracking hugging she gave Raven as soon as we walked in. Starfire had insisted on giving Raven's friends a tour.
"Back when the Teen Titans first saved Jump City from destruction" Raven explained "The citizens were very thankful. The city council made a deal with the Titans: They would pay for the construction of a base for the Titans in exchange for their protecting the city, from villains, monsters, aliens, and whatever else turned up. So the city council paid the rent, utilities and repairs, which allowed us, the Titans I mean, to focus on saving the city. Because we didn't need to go out and get jobs we never needed any civilian identities and over time people got so used to seeing us that we could go out as ourselves without getting swamped".
Raven had more to say as she and Starfire walked them through the tower showing Ciri and James the more import areas of the tower, the parts that few people got to see.
"This is the Main Ops room" Raven informed "It also serves a triple-duty as both a living room and a kitchen when not being used to plan missions. The Tower also has training facilities both inside and outside, as well as a gym, to help keep us in shape".
Once everyone had sat down Starfire began to explain to her friend what happened since she'd been gone, as it turned out none of her other old friends were even in the tower at this time. Starfire did her best to explain why. Raven did not take the news very well.
"Let me get this straight. Robin is now called Nightwing and he's moved to Bloodhaven, oh and he's romantically involved with Batgirl" she summarised after Starfire finishing speaking "Cyborg is working with the Justice League but does come by the help out, and you're the leader of the Titans, which is now made up of a different people. A new Robin, someone called Blue Bettle and... wait what happened to Beast Boy".
"Beast Boy is still around," said Starfire with a smile. "He is out on a date".
Things sure had changed while she'd been gone. To say that Raven was taken aback by all the news she'd gotten would be an understatement.
"There's some stuff in my room that I need," she told Starfire. "Once I'm packed up we should talk some more".
Raven and James stood up to leave while Ciri stayed behind talking to Starfire, the last thing she heard before she and her master walked out for the room was Ciri asking if they had anything decent to drink. When Raven and her master got inside what had once been her room, she saw her master look around the dimly lit space, which was filled with mystical artefacts along with some beautiful sculptures, and a wall lined with a ton of books. Her large circular bed dominated the centre of the room with its an ornate headboard and purple-blue sheets.
Not that he got to admire this for very long. Raven began to wave her wand and all of her stuff that she'd left behind began to pack themselves neatly away into chests that they had brought along made tiny by magic until they were needed. While sitting on her bed her master watched her as she conducted a symphony of magic that resulted in every getting packed away before the trunk. Less than a minute later everything had been packed away and the trucks had been shrunk and they flew into her pocket.
"Not taking the bed?" James asked
Raven came over and sat next to her beloved master. The bed was more comfortable than she remembered.
"They even cleaned the sheets," she commented.
She ran her hands over the sheets, choosing not to answer the question.
"They really did think that I'd be back soon," she said next.
The former part demon spent some time thinking about the many hours she'd spent sitting on this bed trying to purge herself of strong emotion. She waited as James tried to think of something to say to her.
"At least you'll be able to visit thanks to Ciri," he told her.
Raven didn't think that she'd track down any of her other old friends during this trip as she felt emotionally drained by her homecoming. But it was good to know she could come back and visit.
"I imagined us doing it on this bed if I ever came back here," Raven admitted to her master. "But now that I'm here I can't get into the mood".
Somehow knowing exactly what Raven needed he leaned over and simply held her for a while.