POV Eddard
Lys is beautiful in a way that Ned never even imagined cities could be beautiful. Even the docks, roughest and dirtiest places in any port city are unusually clean with only a faint scent of fish. Ned read that the Citys sewage is cleverly sluiced off into sea in the times of low tide twice a day during early morning and late night and got washed away by hightide without raising a stink.
The sheer beauty of the city is awe inspiring and Ned is not ashamed to say that he gawked around like a country bumpkin for a minute. Everywhere he looked is filled with color and most people he saw are of the Valyrian look, with silver and spun gold hair with varying shades of purple for eye color. After he shook himself off Ned and Robert went in search of accommodations and found them in the inner city at the Inn called the Dancing Lady, the inn should more appropriately called a mansion of three floors located on the high rise, with a luxurious suite of rooms for Robert and Ned in the top floor and a dormitory in the back for their guards.
As soon as they got settled in their rooms Robert went in search of the nearest whorehouse, which turned out to be the Inn itself, apparently in Lys every tavern, pub, inn and even some Teahouses run a side business as whorehouses, with dedicated whorehouses serving the clientele with more exotic tastes or with wider tastes. Ned left Robert to sate his appetite and work that manic energy out of his system that got pent up due to three weeks of being cooped up on a ship without a woman in sight.
Lord Steffon generously gave five thousand gold dragons in coin, another twenty thousand in Letters of Credit with a Merchant House that has branches in most Free Cities on the Western Coast of Essos that Lord Steffon does business with and even access and key to a minor account among multiple accounts House Baratheon has with The Iron Bank. Knowing Roberts proclivity towards excess Ned has serious doubts whether even this substantial amount will be enough, Ned will have to reign Robert in before it gets too out of hand, but not today perhaps not for another sennight.
Ned has some things to do in the city first and perhaps find a source of income while he was at it. While Ned discussed his plans for Essos Tour in greater detail with his Lord Father in person, his Father revealed another piece of information, specifically about the Merchants that do majority of trade between The North and Essos. Apparently two thirds of this trade, be it gems, silver, grain, furs, metals, weapons, armor and any other crafted goods happens via a single Merchant House, The Company of Rose, the company founded by Northerns who chose exile over bending the knee to Targaryens.
Ned did know about them, at least he thought he did from stories Old Nan told, they chose exile, founded a Sellsword Company called the Company of Rose and not much else, there aren't even any rumors of their deeds like the Second Sons or the Golden Company nor did they gain any momentary infamy like so many sellsword companies of Essos, they just faded away from public perception. But House Stark has kept in touch with them, the mercenary company was a cover and a way to get some quick coin, along with the funds from their families, some generous donations from House Stark and the coin made as sellswords the Company had enough seed money to get into trade, to buy trading cogs and for last two hundred and fifty years they have been major trade partners of the North for exports and trustworthy intermediaries for imports.
The Company has not kept the same name of course, at least not publicly, using varied cover names, changing the name into a new for every few decades, the latest iteration being the Merchant House of Blue Rose, outside of whose Lysian branch Ned is now standing.