AN: And we are back! Let us jump right into it!
JON
OUTSIDE THE SEPT OF BAELOR
The two lords of Westeros, one a hero to the South, the other for the North, faced each other as their duel commenced.
J: 4000 B: 4000
"I shall go first." Beric announced as he drew a card. "Pay attention Pod! You still have a lot to learn." He yelled at his squire.
"I set this monster face down and add a face down as well. That will be it."
The three cards materialized on Beric's field.
Jon nodded. "My turn then." He said as he drew. He scanned his hand for the best way to deal with Beric's field.
'It's not exactly the most threatening, but on the other hand it could be anything.' Jon mused as he considered his options.
"I summon Gazelle, The King of Mythical Beasts." Jon said.
The familiar brown beast appeared on the field, roaring at Beric.
"Now, Gazelle will attack your face down!" Jon commanded.
Gazelle rushed forward, jumping and extending his claws out to tear the monster to pieces. As the face down card materialized, Jon saw its appearance.
It looked very much like a corpse. Covered in white wrappings, only its right eye was visible. Underneath it was several skulls, and he was sitting with his back to a stone slab.
The monster suddenly grabbed the slab and swung it with strength it's arm should not have been able to support. It struck Gazelle right in the head, and the King of Mythical Beasts scurried back to Jon's side of the field, whimpering and bleeding from his head.
"Poison Mummy has 1800 Defense Points." Beric explained. "But that is not all he has. When he is flipped face upward, you lose 500 life points from his ability."
Poison Mummy returned the slab to its former position. But one of the skulls at his feet suddenly shot forward, missing Gazelle and landing its jaws on Jon's arm, right above where his Duel Disk was.
If this had been a duel with malice, such an injury would likely cause the actual pain of being bitten to hit Jon, but instead, he simply noted a quick pinch before the pain subsided. Jon would hardly have felt it if not for the skull drawing his attention to his arm. Before he could really consider it, the skull let go and smashed to the ground.
J: 3200 B: 4000
Despite this setback of points, Jon was still in a good position. He had partially expected Gazelle to be destroyed this turn. Keeping him meant Jon could avoid a direct attack next turn. It also meant that he could use another card he had thought to save.
"I will place these two cards face down, then I end my turn." Jon decided.
"My move then." Beric drew.
Beric looked at his hand. This was the man who ended the High Sparrow. He should not be underestimated. Beric would have to plan carefully.
'I'll leave Poison Mummy for defence. In terms of offense however…'
"I summon Dragon Zombie!" Beric declared.
The ground on Beric's side of the field cracked apart as a purple dragon crawled out of the ground. It was much smaller than most dragons, roughly the size of Jon's Gazelle. A line of spikes went from its head to its tail, and its wings were too tattered to work. Several patches of scales and skin were missing, revealing the muscles and sinew inside of it, all rotting the moment they appeared.
It made up for this with a solid 1600 attack points.
"Now then, Dragon Zombie will attack your Gazelle!" Beric ordered.
Clawing its way through the field, Dragon Zombie approached Gazelle. Before it could make it all the way, Gazelle pre-emptively rushed towards Dragon Zombie. The Beast moved so fast that it closed the distance in less than a second before pouncing in the air.
"I activate my trap, Skill Successor!" Jon revealed. "Gazelle now gains 400 attack, more than enough to turn the tides and end Dragon Zombie."
A red aura began to envelope Gazelle. With one final roar he bit into Dragon Zombie's neck, biting down hard enough to kill any prey.
But Dragon Zombie was not killed.
Instead, a similar red aura as Gazelle enveloped the living corpse.
Beric let out a laugh. "Good move Jon! I didn't think we would both play the same card! I had thought to save this for later, but you forced me to use it now."
On Beric's side of the field, the singular face down was flipped, revealing the same trap that Jon had played.
Both monsters were empowered, which meant the naturally stronger Dragon Zombie won out. As Gazelle bit down harder, trying to pull Dragon Zombie's head off its body, a cloud of dark mist came from its own mouth. The moment the cloud touched Gazelle's fur, it melted away, leaving just the Beast's bone. Gazelle tried to back off, only for the mist to spread over his body, melting the skin as Gazelle howled in pain. Fur and skin turned to liquid as Gazelle fell apart. When all that was left was Gazelle's skeleton, Poison mummy picked up his horned skull, and added it to his collection by his feet.
J:3100 B: 4000
"Nice try." Beric said again, a friendly smile on his face. While they may be opponents in the tournament, no hostility was present between them.
'A nice change of pace compared to the Sparrows.' Jon thought, letting himself smile back.
"I thought I had you there." He spoke to his opponent.
"Almost did. But now we both know what the other can do." Beric pointed out.
He did not just mean they knew what each other was like. Skill Successor could still be used a second time from the Graveyard. The only issue being that it could only be used when its user attacked, so it could not be used to protect a monster like its first activation.
Both Beric and Jon were capable of using it then. However, Jon would get the chance to use it first on his turn. Should he use it right away? Or save it for a later move?
"I'll end with another face down, to replace the one I just used." Beric said.
"My move." Jon said as he drew.
It was an equip spell. He could work with that.
"I summon Pitch Black Warwolf!" Jon announced.
The dark and ominous beast like man emerged from the shadows, matching Dragon Zombie point for point.
"Now, I equip him with this: Fighting Spirit! He gains 300 attack points for every monster you have on the field."
A white aura mixed with the shadowy one surrounding Warwolf. His attack was raised to 2200.
"Now Warwolf will attack your Dragon Zombie, and due to his ability, you cannot play traps!" Jon declared.
Warwolf ran forward. Dragon Zombie lunged forward, unleashing its toxic breath, only for Warwolf to power through it, and pin Dragon Zombie down with his blade. Once immobilized, Warwolf got down on all fours like a regular wolf, and began to devour his kill, ripping off Dragon Zombie's head. Warwolf seemed to avoid the more rotten sections of meat, while feasting on what could still be considered fresh. One particularly squeamish Smallfolk watching the match actually ran off as his stomach rejected his last meal in response to the sight.
J:3100 B: 3400
Beric looked warily at Warwolf, reminded of the Dornish War. "I am really starting to despise cards that prevent traps." He muttered too softly for Jon to hear.
"I end my turn." Jon said simply as Warwolf left Dragon Zombie's carcass to rot. Well, further than it had already rotted. Without it on the field, Warwolf's attack points lowered to 1900, as Poison Mummy was still on the field.
Beric nodded and drew a card. With the Fighting Spirit card, it would be difficult for most to defeat Warwolf. But Beric had just the card for it.
"I set a monster. That is all." Beric announced.
Jon drew a new card from his deck as he stared at the generic back of one that was materialized on the field, representing Beric's face down. With it, Warwolf was again at 2200 attack points.
'Is it a desperate move to buy time, or a trap?' Jon found himself asking.
He looked at his hand once again, trying to come up with the best counter.
"I summon Fossil Tusker, in attack mode!" Jon's familiar white and brown rock monster appeared on the field.
"Now then, Fossil Tusker will attack your face down monster!" Jon commanded.
Fossil Tusker charged forward, and Beric's monster was revealed to be some kind of turtle, wearing a strange headpiece similar to a crown, and with a triangular building of some kind on its back. Despite its strange appearance, it was crushed in Fossil Tusker's charge. The only remnants left was the red adorning Fossil Tusker's horns and hair. That, and a box that reminded Jon of the graves in the Winterfell Crypts.
"Your monster may have been in defence mode, but Fossil Tusker deals 400 damage when it destroys a monster." Jon revealed as Fossil Tusker kicked a stone from the turtle's back at Beric.
J:3100 B:3400
Beric grinned at the move. "Impressive. But that is not the only ability you activated. Since Pyramid Turtle was destroyed, I can special summon any Zombie monster in my deck, so long as it has at most 2000 defence points. So that means I can call forth one of my strongest monsters, Skull Flame!"
The coffin opened, and from within rose a skeleton-like creature, with a head of flame, black robes held by visible ribs, and a red cape on his shoulders. Were it not for the visible bones, one would think there was flesh filling out the outfit.
But the most significant thing about it was its 2600 attack points.
Jon gritted his teeth. He had fallen for Beric's trick. Yet at the same time, there was really no other choice, as Pyramid Turtle would have had to leave the field at some point for him to win.
Now, he had to deal with this powerful foe. There was but one way to.
"Warwolf! Attack Beric's Skull Flame!" Jon commanded as he reached into his graveyard and retrieved Skill Successor. Warwolf was covered in an even more intense energy than Gazelle. In fact, some in the audience would later claim that they saw Gazelle himself come back from the graveyard to lend his strength.
With this boost, in addition to Fighting Spirit, Warwolf stood at 3000 attack points. Enough to end Skull Flame before Beric could do anything with it.
An orb of pure fire appeared in Skull Flame's hands, and the undead monster launched it at Warwolf, only to watch helplessly as it was cut in half, the two pieces absorbed by Warwolf's natural dark aura. Warwolf continued the charge and smashed Skull Flame to pieces. True to its beast nature, it grabbed one bone from the lot and chewed on it as it returned to Jon's side.
J: 3100 B: 3000
"That will be all from me." Jon said as he ended his turn. He had the advantage of life points, though only barely. And Warwolf was back down to 1900.
'I really need to destroy Poison Mummy.' Jon thought.
Despite the loss of such a powerful monster, Beric simply smiled.
"I figured you would not risk me gaining such a powerful monster. Luckily I have another waiting in my hand."
Suddenly, Skull Flame was removed from Beric's graveyard. As Beric grabbed the card, the bone in Warwolf's mouth burst into flames. They floated back to Beric's side of the field, and Skull Flame returned, only this time his bottom half was an armored horse clad in black metal and golden trimmings.
"By removing Skull Flame from the graveyard, I can special summon the Supersonic Skull Flame!" Beric revealed.
"But that is not all. Remember, he was Special Summoned. Meaning that I can still summon the monster I just drew. Gozuki."
A bull man wearing a necklace of large blue orbs, and a large hammer the size of his own body in his left hand appeared on the field. With 1700 attack points, it was weaker than Jon's monsters on the field. But it would not be for long.
"Now, Supersonic Skull Flame will attack your Warwolf!" Beric commanded.
With Gozuki on the field, Warwolf's attack was increased to 2500. Not enough to survive such an attack. Flaming skulls flew towards Warwolf, and while he was trying to swat them away, they sucked his aura from Fighting Spirit away as Jon removed the equip spell to save him. Unfortunately lowering him back down to 1600.
J: 3000 B: 3300
"And now, Gozuki will finish him off!"
Gozuki charged and in an instant, Warwolf was crushed under his hammer. Blood pooled from under the hammer, and Gozuki lifted up the bloodstained weapon like it was nothing.
J: 2900 B: 3300
"That will be all for now." Beric said. He left Poison Mummy in defence mode, but as Warwolf was destroyed, it had claimed the bone Warwolf had chewed on.
Jon drew and tried to come up with a way to turn this around.
'Fossil Tusker can get rid of Gozuki, but that leaves Supersonic Skull Flame on the offensive. I used Skill Successor too early. No, he wanted me to use it. While he still has his.' Jon thought as he looked at what he had. In addition to his hand, reduced to 3 cards, he still had his face down from his first turn. 'Not that it would do much right now.' He thought to himself. 'But maybe this would work. Normally it could not, but with Skull Flame...'
"Since you have a monster with over 2000 attack points on your side of the field, I can special summon Schwarzschild Limit Dragon, in attack mode!"
The thin brown dragon materialized on the field, floating right next to Fossil Tusker.
Jon watched as Beric did not outwardly respond to the monster's summon. Specifically, he did not activate his face down trap.
"Next, I sacrifice both Fossil Tusker and Schwarzschild Limit Dragon. In their place, I summon Thunderclap Skywolf!"
A purple furred wolf descended from the sky, lightning heralding its arrival. Its mouth and stomach were covered in solid lightning, while its eyes and mouth were filled with blue and white light. Despite this magnificent display, it was just barely weaker than Supersonic Skull Flame, only having 2500 attack points.
"An impressive summoning." Beric said, "But I can see where this is going."
"I suppose it is obvious." Jon admitted. "Thunderclap Skywolf, attack Gozuki!"
The wolf charged forward. Gozuki tried to crush him with his mallet, but Skywolf dodged to the side and jumped up and ripped out Gozuki's throat. No blood flowed from the Zombie creature, but the flesh rotted to the point of decaying to bones.
J: 2900 B: 2500
"I end my turn." Jon declared. He had one card left in his hand, a monster that would be guaranteed to be destroyed this round, and a facedown. No one would think he is in a good position.
"My turn." Beric said as he drew. A spell card, though not one that he could use now.
"And I also flip Poison Mummy to attack mode!"
The Poison Mummy stood from his spot and grabbed the slab like a weapon.
"Now, Supersonic Skull Flame! hunt down his Skywolf!" Beric commanded.
Running forward on his horse legs, Skull Flame lobbed balls of flame at Skywolf, forcing him to stay put. A blast of lightning was shot forth to defend him, but it missed. From behind Skull Flame grabbed Skywolf by the neck, and the next moment cooked Wolf meat was smelled by all present.
J: 2300 B:2500
"And now that you have no monsters to defend you, Poison Mummy, attack him directly.
Pulling the slab back, Jon found himself struck in the gut faster than he could properly comprehend by the large rock. No pain though, which was a relief.
J:1300 B:2500
"I end my turn then." Beric said.
"My move." Jon said as he drew. It was a monster. That was good.
"I should thank you for destroying Skywolf." Jon told Beric, putting the older lord on alert that something he had done had gone amiss.
"I activate my spell card, Monster Reborn! This allows me to summon any monster in either of our graveyards."
Beric laughed. "I see. You're going to summon the original Skull Flame, then summon a monster to take out Poison Mummy. Sorry to remind you, but Skull Flame was removed from the Graveyard."
"Not quite." Jon said. "I bring back Thunderclap Skywolf."
The ground of the field broke apart, and a wolf corpse appeared, after a few moments, its form seemed to be invigorated with life, and its stormy appearance re-emerged as it took Skywolf's form.
Beric frowned. 'He can't attack Supersonic Skull Flame. He can take out Poison Mummy, but it wouldn't win him the match. What is he planning?'
"You see, when Skywolf is summoned from the graveyard, I do not get to attack this turn. I do however get to destroy all your monsters!" Jon revealed his monster's ability.
"What?!" A shocked Beric gasped.
Skywolf opened its mouth, and both Poison Mummy and Supersonic Skull Flame were struck by lightning, disintegrating their undead bodies into ash.
"Now, since I cannot attack, I end my turn." Jon said.
Beric looked at the wolf that stared him down. He had not known of Skywolf's ability. And now it was strong enough to take him out next turn.
"Last chance." Beric muttered to himself as he drew. It was a spell. He had no monsters in his hand.
But he could buy himself another turn.
"I activated the spell card Fissure!" Beric played it. "This card destroys the monster on your side of the field with the lowest attack points. And since you only have the one, that means Thunderclap Skywolf is automatically chosen."
True enough, a hole suddenly opened up underneath Skywolf, sending the resurrected beast back into the ground.
"I end my turn." Beric said.
"My move." Jon said as he drew another card. Luckily, it was a monster he could summon.
"I summon Blue Flame Swordsman, in attack mode!"
The Blue clad warrior came swinging onto the field, ready for battle.
"And now he attacks you directly!" Jon declared.
Although there was one face down still on each duelist's side of the field, Beric kept his down. He watched calmly as Blue Flame Swordsman struck him but felt no pain as his Life Points took a severe hit.
J:1300 B: 700
'Now, before he has a chance to counter on his turn.' Jon thought to himself.
"I activate my trap card, Cemetery Bomb!" Jon revealed the card he had kept on the field since his first turn.
"Now, you take 100 damage for every card in your graveyard. You took out Skull Flame but never used Skill successor. Add up all the cards you played, and you lose 700!"
Before Beric could speak, his graveyard on his Duel Disk suddenly let out a burst of wind, almost as if there had been an explosion inside the device itself.
J: VICTOR B: DEFEAT
As the cards faded from existence, Jon and Beric both tried to send their Duel Disks away, but the Tournament Rules inhibited that ability. A message marking Beric's defeat also appeared on his Duel Disk.
Jon wasn't sure how Beric would respond to losing. He was friendly so far, but would he still be so?
Pod raced up to Beric as well, a worried look on his face for his knight.
But Beric just started to chuckle, then he turned it into a full-on laugh.
"Good job there! I had almost forgotten that trap card, it had been so long since you played it." Beric congratulated Jon on his win.
Jon shrugged. "Takes a while to set up. Not exactly something to use on your first turn."
"True enough." Beric said. He pulled out his two Tournament Gold Dragons, and handed them over to Jon. "You earned them."
Jon looked at the coins. Two Dark, and one of Fire and Water. Four down, eight more to go. It was still just the first day though, and if he only bet two at most on a single duel, then he can afford to lose once.
"Thank you, Lord Dondarrion." Jon said to his defeated opponent.
"No need for thanks. Now, as you beat me, you have to win this whole thing. Least that way I have an excuse for why I lost so quickly!"
Jon found himself laughing with him. "I'll try. No promises though.
"Good to hear." Beric said. He turned back to his Squire. "All right Pod, I'm getting a bit peckish. Let's go find a place to eat."
"Yes Ser." Pod replied as the two walked away, leaving Jon alone.
Jon watched them go before looking around. The small crowd that had watched them started to disperse, though some did still look at him.
Specifically, Jon noticed a Septon eyeing him from the Sept of Baelor. And at the bottom of the stairs, the blond probable Lannister he had seen was also staring at him.
'...Nope. Not dealing with that today.' Jon thought to himself as he turned in the opposite direction and began walking down what he assumed was the Street of Sisters.
'...I really need a map.' Jon silently bemoaned to himself.
BERIC
STAG'S DEN (FORMERLY DRAGON'S CAVE)
The tavern was an old one. Word among the small folk was that it was the first bar built in the city, and even The Conqueror had come here with his preferred wife to unwind. Not likely, but if it made Small folk feel good to sit in the same building as a king, who was Beric to break it to them? Its name changed after Robert's coronation did little to stop the stories, only some now said it was Orys who came here often.
As the two mugs of ale reached them, Beric was close to the end of his patience for his squire's stare.
"If you have a question, spit it out Pod!" Beric reminded the boy.
Shocked at the order, Pod took a minute to word his question.
"Sorry Ser. Did, did you let Jon Stark win?"
Beric raised his eyebrow. "Oh? What makes you think that?" He asked.
"Your trap. You never used it, even when he attacked you directly. Why not?" Podrick explained.
Beric smiled. "Ah that." He took a swig of the ale. Nothing to spread word about, but it was good for the price. "My face down back when Dragon Zombie was on the field. Why do you think I never used it? Didn't you see what card it was?"
Pod shook his head. "No, I couldn't make out your hand from behind you. I figure you might have wanted to go easy on him, because he is a hero or because you feel bad about the Sparrows."
Beric smiled. He took out his deck and began going through it. "I see. Perhaps, I would have if it had crossed my mind, but such thoughts did not. In truth, there were two reasons I never activated it. The first, is I wanted to see how he responds."
"Responds?" Pod asked, confused.
"You can tell a lot about someone by how they duel. Some just rely on brute force, attacking without regard for what their enemy has done beforehand. As I understand it, that was basically King Robert's actual personality during the Rebellion. Oh sure, he would plan brilliant strategies before the battle, but once the two sides met, he led from the front, disregarding the importance his life had on the rebellion. Others are wracked with fear and constantly on the defensive. They won't risk anything. Walder Frey was like this in the Rebellion. He did not choose a side until the last possible moment, and he was able to choose the winning side with little risk. While craven, it is a viable strategy from the view of protecting his House. You are also like this, but I hope that breaking you out of this mindset will help you grow." Beric explained.
It was a relatively simple comparison, he had just taken what he knew from watching jousts and melee's and applied it to duelling strategies.
"And Jon Stark?" Pod asked. "Is he the first one then? Since he constantly attacked when he could?"
"No actually." Beric said as he drank more ale. "Jon did attack, but not instantly. He read the situation, but in the end considered it worth the risk each time. While that does sound like an ideal middle ground, it has its own issues as well."
"Like what Ser?" Pod asked, finally sipping his own ale.
"Imagine if there were no cards. We were back to fighting a war the old way. If Jon was a lord, then he may lead his men into battle. He may decide, based on what he knows, to pull back, and avoid a trap, but if he thinks his side can either win, or survive the trap, he may decide to go for it.
"The problem there is in a disregard for life. Not so surprising, he is young, probably hasn't thought about death that often. And when he has, it's probably been about dying in battle, going out in glory as he fights for the Starks. Many Bastards with nothing to lose think as much. Just look at his duel against the High Sparrow. I doubt he honestly expected to win, yet he went in there anyway. If he doesn't care about living, then how would he treat the lives of soldiers under his command?"
Pod shrugged. "People die in war, unavoidable now, unavoidable in the past. Sometimes it's necessary to send a friend or a brother to their deaths..."
"Or a squire?" Beric said. He was reminded that Pod's own cousin was his previous knight. A knight who saw no need to protect Pod, and instead sent him into the thick of battle.
Pod grew quiet at that. He sipped his ale again.
Beric finished his ale. "Jon seems like a good man. He doesn't seem to have let his newfound glory take his head, but if his solution to everything is to throw himself into danger and hope to either weather the attack or soften them up for the next person to finish, then I am afraid that the Moat will be abandoned again before the next winter."
They sat in silence for a bit after that. Beric put some coins on the table, but to do so he put his deck down as well, which reminded Pod.
"Ser? You said you had two reasons you didn't use your face down. What was the second?" He asked.
Beric smiled. They had gotten so into the conversation they had forgotten the second part. "Ah yes. Well, if you must know, this was my face down."
Beric showed the card to Pod. The Squire's face fell.
"Seriously?" He asked.
"Aye. Radiant Mirror Force. The main reason I didn't use it? I never could!" Beric said with a laugh.
"I-it was a bluff?" Pod asked.
"Partially, it works great with the first reason. Had he managed to summon three monsters at one time, I would have used it for sure." Beric said as he returned it to his deck.
Standing up, Beric and Pod walked out of the bar.
"Alright Pod. I might be out for now, but I may get back in through the melee. But before that, you still have your Dragons. I want you to duel at least once today, understand?"
"Aye Ser." Pod said, nerves starting to get to him.
"This is what I mean Pod. Just relax and you will be surprised how far you can get." Beric encouraged the boy.
ROBB
COBBLER'S SQUARE
"Are you sure you don't want to just head back?" Robb asked his sister.
Sansa shook her head. "We already made it this far. It would be a waste just to head back to the Red Keep." She pointed out.
While Sansa had no interest in duelling, she was still in the Capital. She had wanted to see the city that was the Heart of the Seven Kingdoms. Which meant that Robb, as her brother, had to escort her. That, and the fact that Jon won the coin toss. They had been together since the Tournament had started. Robb figured he could probably duel at least once even with Sansa nearby.
Sam had offered, but Robb told the Reach boy to go enjoy a day with Gilly. Ygritte was left to look after Arya, but both were competing, so they should be fine.
They had been going down the Street of Steel, Sansa looking for jewellery while Robb skimmed any cards being sold. At one point, Robb felt something. It was hard to put into words, but it was like whenever he and Jon played pranks when they were Bran's age and he was on lookout. Like someone he couldn't see was watching them.
While he was thinking this over, some commotion from a nearby duel pushed a crowd around and Sansa broke her shoe in the confusion. Rather than go back to the Keep with one barefoot, Sansa decided to simply find a cobbler or other leatherworker to fix it quickly.
"I am sure no one will care, or if they do, they will understand." Robb weakly offered.
"Says the one who had a personal summoning from the King. You spent forever making sure you were presentable." Sansa pointed out.
"Because you refused to let me go as I was!" Robb reminded her
"Exactly! And you still haven't said what that was about." Sansa threw back.
It had been a day after they had arrived. A squire came by their rooms to summon Robb, and only Robb to meet with the King. He was an impressive figure. A stone or three larger than Ned's stories, but the warrior underneath was still visible.
'How would I explain it? 'Hey everyone! The King wants our help in order to weaken his father by law's hold on the crown's debt. But keep it a secret so the lions don't pounce on us.'' Robb thought to himself. It was an awkward situation to be in for sure. Robb would only tell the others if they made it past this round.
After what felt like hours, the two of them finally found a leatherworker who appeared to have experience with high class clothing.
While they waited, Robb took a step outside. He could still feel it. As though someone was watching him. Casually, Robb turned his head, scanning the people around. Many were Smallfolk just going about their business. Some were duellists participating in the tournament, he could tell because like him they all had their Disks out.
There was even a spider spinning a web in the entrance of one of the nearby buildings.
Robb was about to dismiss the feeling as paranoia- he was in a new place that was just too different from home for him- when he saw one of the Duellists. They had been on another street when Robb was there. He seemed to be staring at Robb for a few seconds.
Sansa stepped outside; her shoe fixed. "Alright, that is all done." She said, grabbing Robbs' attention.
Before Robb could reply, the man walked through the crowd and ran up to them. "Apologies, but are you two the Starks?" The man asked.
Robb got a closer look at him. Specifically, he got a better look at a pin on the man's shirt. A bird of some kind, Robb could not tell exactly.
"Ah! Lord Baelish!" Sansa recognized and curtsied to the Master of Coin.
"You have met?" Robb asked his sister.
"No, but I have dreamt of coming to the capital for years, I made sure to know how to identify important people. Lord Baelish always wears a mockingbird of some design." Sansa explained.
The now identified lord smiled. "True, though this single pin is more hidden than most of my outfits. I am impressed you recognized it so quickly. Though I guess I should not have been surprised, seeing as you are Catelyn's children. You look just like her. And you Robb, I honestly thought you were your uncle Edmure."
"You know our mother?" Robb managed to ask before he felt the elbow hit his side. Obviously, Sansa thought he was embarrassing her in front of one of the King's closest advisors.
"Yes, I am familiar with both sides of your family in fact. I carry memories of your mother in my heart, and a memento of your Uncle Brandon on my body." Baelish explained, though the second half was noticeably more strained than the first statement.
Robb was silent at that. Most of what he knew of his uncle Brandon came from Maester Luwin. Father rarely talked about his generation of the family. He was especially tight lipped about Brandon, which Robb could understand, considering Mother was supposed to marry him if not for Rhaegar and Aerys.
"But that is enough about the past. It is all done." Baelish said, returning to a more jovial expression. "I see that you are participating."
"As are you." Robb noted Baelish's own Duel Disk.
Baelish's grin grew.
"Well then, do I even need to ask?"
AN: And that is a wrap! About double the length of my average 3K word chapters. Not bad if I do say so.
This is probably the last post before my last semester of College, not sure how often I can write during it, but I will aim for one chapter per 2 weeks.
I have one more chapter outlined, so I will work on that, then I will go back to some other stories. I will probably try to update each one but the Fate one, and the aim is 2 chapters for each. Sorry to those of you who read only this, but that is the plan.
In this chapter, Jon vs Beric took up most of it. I tried to focus on cards Jon has that I have not used much of, and I of course gave Beric a Zombie deck, with a Fire Zombie as his ace, though I was unable to use his ability.
We then get an outsider's look at Jon as a person, applying his duelling strategy to how he would likely lead. Thought that may be appreciated.
Oftentimes, duels will use up every card on the field, so I thought it would be a good joke that there was one card left that Beric had, but that it was completely useless to the situation.
Finally, we have Robb and Baelish set up with Sansa as a witness. So that will be fun.
Hope you all stay safe, and I wish you all luck in your endeavors. See you next chapter then in my other stories.
Jaehaerys Joestar