Chapter 33; Placing the pieces;
Characters of the chapter
Daenerys Targaryen, The Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains, Queen of the of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men of the South, Queen of the South Kingdom of the Twin kingdoms and Protector of the Realm
Iledia Agent of the Inquisition, mage advisor in matters of the arcane in the court of Queen Daenerys
Tyrion Lannister, Hand of the Queen to Queen Daenerys
Wisdom Adney A representative of the alchemist's guild
"This request of yours… it's preposterous, truly." Said Wisdom Adney in a room of the Red keep Iledia had reserved for meetings like this. "The other specialists from Thedas we can consider working with. Not happily mind you, but we could stomach it. The Maesters however… they have long scorned our order and the knowledge we bear, as they do with all organizations of knowledge not their own. Why would we ever want to work with them, or them with us?"
Iledia pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm aware of the difficulties with them. And the past several days I have had personal experience just how condescending they can be."
Indeed the local Maesters had made no secret of their dislike for her. Magic ill fitted their neat, structured view of the world. Even those who had studied such matters and were thus more accepting had preferred to think magic a force long gone from the world. White Walkers and Dragons had temporarily disproven that assumption, and the peoples of Thedas had proven that to be false altogether. For all their collection of knowledge of a broad range of subjects the Maesters were deeply in love with their preconceptions and she represented a disruption. And of course a person in command of powers they had a hard time even understanding was regarded as frightening, which manifested as hatred. Nothing new there. Mages dealt with such attitudes their whole lives. Iledia had soon relented trying to speak with them and had left securing their cooperation to Lord Tyrion.
"Nevertheless this is by the Queen's command, a request that is of critical strategic value to the Kingdoms. Time is of the essence and all available resources are to be brought to bear for the task of deciphering the formula of the Qunari powder. Like it or not I'm afraid cooperation with the Maesters will be mandatory." She said.
"If this is by the Queen's own command, then let her tell us as much herself." The alchemist said.
"Her Grace is busy. But I speak with her authority in this. And if she has to personally come take care of this after delegating this to me… you won't like the results." She said.
"Hmmph." He scoffed. "Well, if an underling is what we are forced to contend with, then you tell us why we should do this. Helping the Kingdoms is all well and good, but if we are to lower ourselves to working alongside our main rivals, then there needs to be something in this for us. So what is that, exactly?"
"Why, for one thing you will get a chance to study this Qunari creation up close. Given your order's propensity towards creating flammable and explosive compounds, such should be very interesting to you. I have also been authorized to tell you that the Twin Kingdoms and the Inquisition will be jointly covering all expenses of the development effort, provided all expenses are properly documented and results are procured in a timely fashion. Once production of the explosive powder can begin you and the other institutions involved will be properly compensated for all purchases of course." She detailed.
"These *proper compensations* being in amounts set by the Crown and the Inquisition, I presume?" He asked dryly.
"Naturally. War profiteering is a concept I'm sure we are all familiar with. But in this war such will not be tolerated. Too much is a stake to permit anyone's greed to cripple our efforts. I will be honest with you: You are not going to get rich from this. But you will make a profit." She said.
"On the less concrete side of things in participating in this project you will be seen doing your part in defense of the realm. I'm certain that is an image you want to project of yourselves, just like everyone else. Furthermore, working with Inquisition researchers and the Maesters may in fact prove an enlightening experience. It could well be that you will find them more palatable than you expected once you have worked with them for a time.
Adney rolled his eyes, which made her smirk.
"Well, maybe not. However, moving on, most critically willing cooperation will help you avoid having your properties and workforces being seized by the Crown."
The tone of her voice meant her words did not hit home at once. But then the alchemist blinked, looking at her in shock.
"You… you're bluffing. You have no right to do that!" He said.
"On the contrary, that is our right. Westeros is at war, facing current and future threats on multiple fronts. The continued independence of the Twin Kingdoms is at stake. As is the independence of several other kingdoms that might be targeted after you. With such high stakes we consider ourselves entitled to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve victory. If your help is not forthcoming, we will absolutely appropriate what we need of you instead. Mind you, we are not at that threshold just yet. But I have been working on this ever since I returned here, without a lot of progress. I have given these arguments to others of your group, only for you to fail to respond and send someone else when I next wish to talk, forcing me to repeat myself while continuing to be ignored. Frankly I'm now reaching the limits of my patience. I will no longer be made a fool of. If no progress is made soon I will be advising Her Grace to stop asking politely. So consider this to be your final opportunity to volunteer to aid your homeland." She said.
Adney looked sour, but nodded. "Very well. I shall bring this message to my superiors."
"Good. I will be expecting your response in a few days' time. And hopefully that will be a message of you agreeing to do your part willingly. I would prefer that outcome, as I'm sure you would." She said.
The alchemist stood up and left, without even bidding her farewell. Once he was gone he took a deep breath. That had gotten tense, but at least there was a good chance the message had gotten through now. Briefly she wondered how she had gotten herself stuck dealing with this mess in the first place. She was here as the Queen's magical advisor and a spymaster. As part of that deal she had expected to have to enter combat, and had even been able to adapt to the rather sudden responsibility of being placed in charge of troops. But which part of that job description included dealing with cranky old men so deep in their own agendas and rivalries it prevented them from seeing sense or acting for the greater good without persistent prodding?
Still, maybe this could be seen as useful practice for the future? Odds were good a day would come when she would have to do more of this in her own country, for many reasons, with many different people. And on the other hand being this close to the project reverse-engineering the Gaatlock presented certain… opportunities. She had already set plans in motion to quietly acquire a copy of the formula for her once it was complete. Her people had need of that. Not that she was planning on giving this secret to her people just yet, especially given the current circumstances. Doing so would be viewed as a betrayal by the Inquisition, and that was not something she wanted at this time. Even so, it seemed only reasonable to have this knowledge in the back pocket, waiting for the day she felt the time was right to give Tevinter that advantage. There might still be those in the Inquisition who would not approve come that day, but surely they could not seriously expect her to deprive the Imperium of this prize entirely? She had already given up enough in deciding not to claim the orb. She would not surrender this advantage as well. Not when it could play such a pivotal role in deciding the fate of her people.
In their long conflict the Qunari had their cannons, the Imperium their magic. There existed a balance of power, a stalemate, though she could not say whether this was only because the Qunari were unwilling to commit to a full scale war and the cost in lives that would surely follow. Either way if the Imperium had cannons of their own in addition to their magic, it might just be enough to reverse their fortunes in that conflict. Even if the stalemate was just an illusion, the Qunari weaponry would nevertheless strengthen Tevinter's defenses, making the horned giants more hesitant to attempt striking them at full force. It was something that was direly needed and those who thought she would deny her people this forever were foolish indeed.
She continued her work, reviewing reports that had arrived, holding a few conversations through her crystal, creating for herself the collective picture of what had transpired in the world. Eventually she realized it was almost time for her meeting with Lord Tyrion, so she left her office to go see him.
Her path led her to the throne room where she suppressed an involuntary grimace. Like in other locations in and around King's Landing, this room had been affected by Wildfire, haunted by the images of things that had happened, conveying echoes of the lingering pain of those it had burned to death. Gazing on the oppressive sight of the iron throne she could almost picture a wretched shell of a king with matted silver hair, long twisted fingernails and scabbed skin, cackling at a man slowly roasting alive in his armor, another younger man strangling himself to death trying to reach a sword just out of his reach. The hall, though full of others, deathly silent aside from the screams and the King's insane laughter. There were many similar visages to see, but none that stuck in her head quite as well as that one.
It was so hard to believe Daenerys could be in any way related to this monster of a man. Not even the most frightful tales told of the Dragon Queen were a match to those told of her father. And based on what she could sense had occurred in this room, the tales of the Mad King were not an exaggeration. At least his daughter was different, despite her fierce nature.
Doing her best to put the images out of her mind, she proceeded behind the throne and into the small council chamber. Tyrion was there waiting for her as expected. But rather more unexpectedly so was the Queen. As their eyes met, there was an odd expression on the Targaryen woman's face. It was as if Daenerys was searching Iledia for hidden signs of… something. But the expression did not last for more than a few moments, and she instead smiled in greeting.
"Your Grace? I did not look to see you here today." Iledia said.
"I did promise I would come to King's Landing periodically to check on things, did I not? Consider this the first of those visits." The Queen said.
"I trust your conversation with the Wisdom went well?" Asked Tyrion.
"Ah… yes. Better than the last few times at least. I believe I may have finally secured their cooperation. I'll know it for certain in a few days' time." Iledia said.
"Good to hear. The maesters have also agreed to set aside their differences with the alchemist's guild to work on this. Not happily mind you, but they will do it." He said.
"Then it with the Inquisition researchers already here it sounds like we are just about set to begin our work." Daenerys said. "Where is the powder now?" She asked.
"Most of it stored in a warehouse close to the docks. Heavily guarded with soldiers and some of my own spells of course. " Iledia replied.
"So most of it's in a single location?" The Queen asked.
"It was felt that it was the best way to keep it secure. We have moved a few barrels to other secret locations in King's Landing as an additional safety measure. Though my gut says if something were to happen to the main stash we might not have enough to work with." Iledia explained.
"Not to worry though. My agents are keeping keen watch. No enemy is going to get to the powder if we can help it." She added.
"Speaking of which, Lord Hand, sometime ago I requested a company of troops to be placed under my command. Do you have them for me?" She said to Tyrion.
"They are yours. Goldcloaks and some Unsullied." He said.
"What do you intend to do with those troops?" Daenerys asked.
"To help secure the powder I thought it best to have a fast reaction force available if they are needed. I'll have them stationed close to the warehouse and keep them on a rotation, so a portion of them are ready to move at all hours. That way they can be brought to the warehouse in a matter of minutes in case my agents and the guards watching the place are not enough." Iledia said.
"These preparations… you're expecting trouble I take it?" Daenerys said.
"There is a high chance of that, Your Grace. It's surprising enough that we faced no issues on the way here. I can only surmise our enemy failed to locate us. Now with the Qunari weapon here and the research on it about to begin, our enemies are facing a rapidly closing window of opportunity to intervene. I'd be astonished if they did not attempt something very soon. I have issued a general order to my people to purge all known Qunari spy cells, and that may slow or even prevent such action. But that still leaves the unknown operatives for us to worry about. I'm not willing to lower our guard until this most dangerous period is well and truly behind us." Iledia said.
"Have your agents uncovered any leads on such threats?" Tyrion asked.
Iledia shook her head. "Nothing concrete enough to move against. But enough to put me on alert. I'll keep looking of course. If at all possible I will stop our enemies before they can act against us. But it is far more likely I'll only be able to pin them down once they come out of hiding and make their move. Hence my wish to have fast reaction forces like the one I have requested on hand."
"Well… you're the expert on such matters. We place our trust in you to keep this new weapon safe until we have unlocked its secrets." Daenerys said. "Is there anything else to report?" She asked then.
"Plenty." Iledia said with a smile. "There are good tidings on my efforts to build a team to destroy the Imperium's weapon. Varric Tethras has responded to the Kirkwall ambassador's messages, promising his support to the mission. Unfortunately he refused to call upon most of Messere Hawke's companions at this time."
"Why not?" Daenerys asked.
"Personal reasons I suspect. He's on good terms with all of Hawke's friends and is not willing to risk them on a mission as dangerous as this. Which probably tells us something of how motivated he himself is to do this. I'm just glad he is cooperating at the moment." Iledia said.
"However it turns out there are two of those people who have already involved themselves, which he was hence comfortable asking for aid. One of these is the sea captain Isabela, who somehow happens to be in the service of Yara Greyjoy. I say somehow because I understand it is rather unusual for her to involve herself in conflicts like ours." She continued.
"You say this captain is with Yara? I'm wondering if she is the same one I briefly encountered some time ago." Daenerys pondered.
"There is a strong chance of it if you remember her. As someone of Rivaini origin she certainly would have stood out among the Ironborn. She is said to be a very capable sailor, experienced amongst other things in smuggling items and individuals. I'm hoping to enlist her services in getting us to Essos and then back again once we have succeeded." Iledia said.
"So who is the second one?" Tyrion asked.
"His name is Fenris. He's in Essos on some personal vendetta of his, battling the Tevinters." She said.
"So you're hoping that the enemy of our enemy is our friend?" He guessed.
"More or less. If he opposes the Imperium I think there is a chance to convince him to help us. Assuming we can locate him." She said.
"That could be easier than you think. I'm not entirely sure, but seem to remember Daario mentioning working with someone by that name in his letters." Daenerys said.
"Well… good. In that case he might be with the Second Sons and I'll be able to ask for his assistance when we come across them." Iledia said.
"In addition to the Viscount the Inquisition has sent us a mercenary and former spy by the name of Iron Bull. I'm aware of the ship he's travelling on and I expect he will be here in a few day's time. I should warn you that he is one of the Qunari race, so I'd appreciate if you advised your city watch not to freak about seeing one of the hornheads in the company of my agents." She added.
"Well, thank you for the heads up. That could have caused a bit of a panic otherwise." Daenerys said with a chuckle.
"One of the Qunari race…" Tyrion said in contemplation. "Are you sure it's wise to include one of them in this? Tensions here aside he's likely going to stand out in Essos. And the Qunari have been enemies of the peoples of that continent as well. Not many places will receive you happily with him in tow."
"I'm sure. I happen to be familiar with some of his work. The skills he brings to the job are too good to pass up because of his origins. And it was my intention to avoid being seen by the locals as much as possible anyway. If infiltration becomes necessary I suppose I'll have to improvise." She said. "And no need to worry, he has proven to be loyal to the Inquisition beyond any doubt. He can be trusted."
"It's your call to make." Daenerys said. "Though seeing as Lyanna Mormont is also going to be part of this mission I recommend you speak to her of this in advance. Given her situation she won't take kindly to one of the Qunari being involved in this, even if this one works for the Inquisition. We wouldn't want to end up dealing with excessive drama would we?"
"You're right, good thinking. I'll be sure to talk things over with her as soon as she gets here." Iledia said.
"While we're discussing Lyanna Mormont, the King also informed me he had asked one… Meera Reed to offer her services?" She continued.
"Yes, he's told me as much as well." Daenerys said. "And in truth you could call her a joint contribution on both our behalf. She is one of Jon's subjects, but she impressed me as well not too long ago. So she certainly has my recommendation."
"She impressed you? How so exactly? I'd like to know her qualifications if she is to be part of this." Iledia asked.
"When we were still fighting the Orlesians I ended up separated from my army during an attack. Very nearly got myself captured by the Imperials. She rescued me, commanding a very well led ambush. Before that she had had a decent amount of success making hit and run attacks against the forces of the Empire. Later on, at my request she led an infiltration mission to destroy a magical artefact that was preventing me from destroying Moat Cailin. Thanks to her efforts my army was able to break through those defenses and march to Winterfell's aid in time. She risked her life for us and was a big reason why we won that war." Daenerys explained.
"Brandon also once told me how she was one of a small group of people who went north of the Wall while the White Walkers were active in the region. Along with Brandon himself she was the only other survivor of that group to make it back south. Doing so at that particular time in history… it's not an easy feat. I'm sure skills like that you would want to have on your side when you leave for Essos." Tyrion added.
Iledia grasped her chin. "It does sound like a very impressive list. She is willing to join the mission then?"
"She's willing to come to King's Landing and hear the specifics. For now that's all. And I think it would not be reasonable for us to expect anything more at this stage. Her folk are touch reclusive at the best of times, and she is probably no keener to leave her lands than the rest of them would be. But seeing as she did not turn us down outright I think there is a good chance to convince her of the importance of this. If not, then she will return to her home and at the very least it think we can rely on her to keep confidential topics to herself." Daenerys said.
"I see. I shall aim to be at my most convincing in that case. Someone like that could be a great help." Iledia decided.
"Jon said, uh... that you had also recruited one of the Faceless Men to the cause. Has he arrived?" Daenerys asked.
Iledia's expression momentarily turned sour. "Yes, he's arrived, just yesterday. Reported himself to my agents like I had told him to, thankfully. I've had him placed in lockup until he's needed, having my agents watch him around the clock just in case. I still cannot say I trust him, but at least he is doing as he is told for the time being. And fortunately we have the magic Kieran developed that will act as insurance during the mission. Though I still need to test it first to make sure it's safe."
"It does sound like your preparations are coming along nicely." Daenerys commented.
"Yes, though things could still be better. A few extra bodies would not hurt. I'll keep looking into it. And suppose there is always Kieran I can ask. Though I still would rather not deprive you of his services. We'll see what is necessary." Iledia said.
"In the meantime my agents have formally begun attacking the Imperium's resources, with some assistance from the Second Sons. And an interesting side development, it looks like the Faceless Men have been doing the same. Just recently there has been a chain of assassinations against notable Imperials and their allies." She continued.
"Well, well… I guess this definitively rules out the possibility of the Faceless being on the side of the Tevis." Tyrion contemplated.
"Looks that way. Though obviously this does not yet make us friends. Merely that we share some objectives. Even so their attacks have been to our advantage, spreading Tevinter security measures more thinly and helping mask our involvement in the events of that continent." She said.
"And the Dothraki refugees? Any progress on those efforts?" Daenerys asked.
"Some, though it has proven to be a difficult endeavor." Iledia admitted. "What's left of the Dothraki are spread to the winds and have wisely made themselves as scarce as possible. But that part means it is also very hard for my agents to find them either. If not for Lord Brandon it might be impossible for me to locate them at all. When we do find them it is often hard to convince them to trust us and make the sea crossing to Westeros or join the efforts of the Second Sons. Particularly as several of them are still uncomfortable with idea of a sea voyage. Honestly, with the Dothraki spread around such a large area, in such small groups and the Imperium doing its own hunting, it's hard to tell how well we're doing in our efforts. But I count every Dothraki rescued as a victory."
"Haggo will certainly appreciate every one of his people that this will save. And while I cannot promise he will support us against our immediate enemies, I do believe he will engage the Tevinters should they come here. Because he certainly has a score to settle with them. He'd go to fight them right now had we not denied him the means to do so. If and when Tevinter invades, he still might not ally with us formally as his way of protesting. But he will certainly wage his own war against them. And if so he is smart enough to take the movements of our forces into account in his strategies." Daenerys said.
"Well… its close enough I say. Let's take what we can get. As ever." Iledia said. "But as we are now discussing the activities of our enemies, my agents have noticed increased troop movements to the Westers shores of Essos, and increased activity against the Braavosi. My guess is their city is the Imperium's next main focus. There is some activity also directed at the Qunari in the narrow sea. But at the moment that looks to be mostly defensive actions, to keep the Oxmen from exploiting any openings." She continued.
"So Braavos is next. Which means time is starting to run low for all of us." Daenerys contemplated. "Hurry my friend. By the time the Imperium's eyes turn to us they must no longer be in possession of their greatest weapon. Everything depends on that. In the meantime have your agents assist the Braavosi war effort in any way they can. The longer they hold the more time we have to prepare ourselves."
"Naturally. I'll see to it." Iledia said with a nod.
"So that is it for the Tevinter activities. What of our other enemies?" Tyrion asked.
"Spy operations of course continue on behalf of both Tevinter and the Qunari, but I'm of course working on all leads I know. Those operations are too varied to reasonably describe in a conversation, but rest assured I'll keep you up to date on anything that requires your attention. But there is little to report as far as overt activities go. The Qunari are reinforcing their positions and amassing supplies at Bear Island. They are patrolling the nearby waters, but no intelligence suggests they are preparing to attack anywhere else at this time. They are most likely waiting for spring, just like the rest of us. As for the darkspawn… I've not heard anything new lately. Neither has Lord Brandon. But unfortunately either of our methods are poor in tracking darkspawn movements." Iledia said.
"In your case I can believe that. Hard for spies to infiltrate a pack of monsters. But I did not realize Brandon was also having issues with his abilities." Tyrion commented.
"Yeah, he explained that somehow the corruption the darkspawn carry prevents him from observing them directly. He can only find them through other uncorrupted beings that come into contact with them. I suppose we will hear more of that when we do." Iledia said.
"I suppose so. It sounds like you have a lot more work ahead and we should let you get back to it. And Tyrion and I should get back to our own conversation. Taxation, supply lines and the training of troops make for dry topics at the best of times, but they are necessary nevertheless." Daenerys said.
"But before you leave…" She said then, making Iledia stop. "There is still one more thing I have to ask of you. Seeing as you are going to be heading to Essos and speaking with the Second Sons and Daario… there is a message I need you to bring them. Something I need them to do…