Dragonborn Gothic 3 - GOT

Part 6

Streets. Meereen.

While Dany hadn't made any sort of speech to the slaves of this city as of yet, and the army had camped some distance from this major settlement, we were already working towards the conquest of Meereen. My part in this phase of the plan was not complex, but it was important and it was something that only I could do easily, and that was to smuggle weapons to the slaves that would hopefully soon rise up against their cruel masters.

I'd already dropped off a bundle of knives in one of the slave barracks, much to the surprise of the people in that building as I'd just appeared before them, and they must be confused because they didn't understand why they'd been given all those very sharp knives. I'd only told them that the pointy things were a gift from the Breaker of Chains before I'd instructed them to hide the dangerous implements

By tomorrow when the siege of Meereen began, then they'd come to understand, but for now, I just need to walk the streets while invisible and drop off the gifts to those in need of them like I was some weird mixture of an overly generous weapons dealer and Santa Claus.

Mostly this involved wandering around Meereen and trying to find the most run-down of the buildings that were packed with unwashed slaves who slept in huddles on the floor. How they hadn't all be killed by some disease was a complete mystery to me, and I didn't wish to linger due in what passed for their homes dues to the smell.

You might think that it would be highly effective for me to simply head inside the palaces and start taking out of the leadership, but there were reasons for me not to go and do that. For starters, the siege hadn't begun yet and there were rules about this sort of thing and anyway, Dany wanted to give the slaves the means to aid in their own liberation rather than simply do it for them as they would need to be able to keep fighting for their freedom once we were gone.

Plus I had no real desire to go into the palaces and start slaughtering the leaders as there would be women and children caught in the crossfire. I was a warrior, not a butcher I'd leave the baby wall bashing to the likes of the Mountain That Rides, and perhaps one day I'd have the chance to kill him for that crime. I'd savour the moment if I could ever plant my boot on the chest of that massive corpse.

Sure I'd not followed such rules back when I'd forcibly disbanded the Second Sons, but that had been about sending a message to the people of these lands that going against the Mother of Dragons was a bad idea, and it looked to have worked given that no merc groups had ridden to come to offer their services in defence of Meereen despite the gold the slavers could afford to spend to have others fight for them.

As I moved through the city I saw a temple, one of the few places open despite the late hour as the worshippers of the Lord of Light began their prayers at odd hours. I knew that this faith had some truth to it, and it made me wonder about the fate of my soul. As the Dragonborn, I was supposedly favoured by Akatosh and since I was the Last Dragonborn there was no other Dragonborn around to consume my soul, so I should get an afterlife

Despite not being a Nord, Tsun himself promised me that I had a place waiting for me in Sovngarde, where I could feast and drink with other heroes for the rest of time, and while they sounded as if it could get boring after a while it would be better than having my soul consumed or ending up some sort of hell.

The problem with that? I wasn't in the Elder Scrolls universe any more. Could my soul be drawn to Sovngarde regardless of distance? Could the gods do that? I'd never met any of the Divines. I had, however, interacted with a few different Daedric Princes, and it was possible for a certain tentacle horror had a claim on my soul. I dreaded finding out. Lord Mora would not be kind to me due to me running off.

Back in the here and now I had other concerns to focus on. In the Elder Scrolls game, spells tend to have a time limit, but it was actually possible to sustain a spell for as long as you could channel the energy required and I had a lot of raw power due to all of the dragon souls I'd gobbled up. As such my chameleon spell and the darkness of the night kept anyone from seeing me. I had to drop the near invisibly and use a Shout to pass through the walls and into a barracks, but that was fine as I needed to be seen by the slaves and by the time my business here was done I would be able to use the Shout once again.

Like a ghost, I slipped inside the ill-kept slave barracks and dumped the bundle of knives and short swords at the feet of the frightened look slaves. This got their attention and lead to confusion as I'd appeared like some sort of phantom, a supernatural creature from a story told to children, and in those stories, the thing you are supposed to be scared off doesn't give you things to stab people with as it wouldn't want you to be able to defend yourself.

Since Shouts did have a cool-down period, I couldn't just become incorporeal again and vanish so I spent a few moments speaking to the slaves.

"Gifts from the Breaker of Chains," I told them "Soon the time to rise up and cast down the masters will be upon on us. Be prepared".

As they began to help themselves to the pointy things I took a step back and then I could again use my Shout to make it so that I could pass through the wall. Once the effect of the Shout came to end and I used my magic to hide from view. After that, I began making my way out of the city. My night's work was done.

(Line Break)

Outside Meereen. Esso.

The walls of Meereen stood tall and thick, and they were casting a shadow over the land immediately around it. If Dany was any judge they stood thicker and taller than either the walls of Astapor or Yunkai. A formidable city, one that would not fall to her easily. The rulers of the other cities she'd conquered hadn't really taken her seriously due to her youth and gender, and some of them still lived to regret that. Those who commanded here were not acting so foolishly. They had not sent anyone to speak with, nor had they relaxed their guard since she and her army had arrived.

She remembered being told by one of her advisers that the gates of Meereen were said to be as beautiful as they were menacing. The corpses of some troublesome slaves that had been nailed to the gate stole the beauty of the sight but left in the menace. Clearly the bodies were a message to the Mother of Dragons, letting her know the lives of the slaves meant nothing to those who ruled this city and that her attempts to arm them may be wiser than she'd hoped. Those corpses had been placed for her to see when she'd arrived, and that had to have caused resentment among the slaves.

From where she stood the only sign the city was inhabited at all were the figures she could just make out on the walls. One figure who was clad in full plate, an odd sight given the heat, stood up on the walls and no one stood too close to him, accentuating his presence within the crowd. Some sort of leader obviously. Perhaps the man charged with the defence of the city. He would need to be dealt with soon. Despite the distance between them, she felt the eyes of that man on her, examining her in much the same way she was now looking at him. He was waiting for her move, and she was eager to show him just how easily a "Master" can be torn apart by those he mistreated.

Her advisor's suspected a direct battle would result in a victory, but one with many losses. That had to be avoided, but she could not simply use her dragons, as they could cause harm to the wrong people, and there were slaves on the walls. Also, this was not Yunkia, whose Masters would depend on hired swords to defend it this city, had many archers on the walls, enough to take bring her dragons down from the sky.

She would have to rely on her army and the Dragonborn. She would have to stand back, to let men kill and die in her name. She looked to the people lining the walls, making certain they all saw her standing for them.

And then she spoke.

"I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen. Your Masters have may have told you lies about me, or they may have told you nothing. It does not matter. I have nothing to say to them. I speak only to you".

She watched the men and women in fine clothing shift uneasily. Even with the distances involved it was easy to pick up the growing tension.

"First, I went to Astapor. Those who were slaves in Astapor, now stand behind me, free".

She watched as many of slaves moved to get a better look, and it was clear to all that they were intrigued by her words.

"Next I went to Yunkai. Those who were slaves in Yunkai, now stand behind me, free".

She watched masters look at slaves, perhaps they now really realized that those in chains greatly outnumbered the few without them

"Now I have come to Meereen. I am not your enemy. Your enemy is beside you. Your enemy steals and murders your children. Your enemy has nothing for you but chains and suffering, and commands. I do not bring you commands. I bring you a choice. And I bring your enemies what they deserve".

She looked to the armoured man who stood at the top of the main gates. His fine armour would not protect him from his own people.

Dany noted that while no calls for freedom met her speech, no masters jeered or insulted her either. The city was as silent as it had been when she arrived. The men and women standing at the walls who were dressed in the finer more colourful clothes began to move away. Somehow, she felt as if she'd passed a test. The slaves had heard her words and now they needed to see that they weren't just words.

"FORWARD!" she commanded.

The Unsullied marched as one a single step towards the city as they were about to attack, and then they moved aside as the siege weapons were pushed closer to the walls. These devices soon were loaded and ready to fire, but her intent wasn't to cause any harm. She wanted to show the slaves that her intentions to free them were more than just words.

"FIRE!" she ordered.

Upon her order slave collars taken from the crucified slaves at the mile markers that her army had stopped at so as to bury the slaves, were thrown over the walls and they showered the people in the city. The slaves saw the bindings and began to talk among themselves even as the masters of the city moved away at a greatly increased pace.

Dany smiled, knowing that her message had been received and understood.

(Line Break)

Meereen. Esso.

Many a time I'd wondered if I'd be able to learn to control the magically made doors, one of which I'd used to get to this world from a realm of Oblivion, and if this test was anything to go by then I could indeed control these doors, at least over a short distance as I'd been able to make one appear within the city. If I was able to perfect this Shout then I'd be able to go anywhere I wanted.

Quite a thrilling idea, but right now I had other things to worry about, such as holding this magical portal thing open while the Unsullied charged through it. They were trying to secure the gate to the city, and they were doing a good job of it. Our night time attack had taken the defenders of Meereen by surprise and even now the Unsullied were opening those gates for those ready to enter this city from the other side.

I had to fight as the troops who defended this city were panicked and while some had run, others were lashing out at the enemy as they refused to simply surrender or flee. My dragon-bone sword sliced through a man and his leather armour with ease, as it did with the next one, and the one after that. These might be capable men when it came to keeping the slaves in order, but they weren't much good against proper soilders and a Dragonborn.

Some of the slaves had joined us as Dany had known they would. They weren't much more than a distraction during this attack, but their attacks had diverted the resources and attention of the masters, and that would have made a small difference. But mostly I'd helped to arm them so they could start learning to defend themselves.

Then he appeared, a man who was not of this city, when he took his helmet off I saw that he had pale skin, and he wore plate armour, much like a Westerosi knight, which he could be, and the man carried a two-handed sword, very much unlike the other fighters around here. I got the sense that this man was the champion of this Free City despite having his heritage from another land. There was no doubt an interesting story behind this man's presence here, but it hardly mattered since I was about to kill him.

Despite the heaviness of my dragon-plate armour, I was surprisingly nimble on my feet and my reflexes had been honed when in battle with creatures that should only exist in the imagination of storytellers and those who read their work. As such, I was easily able to avoid the swinging greatsword as the large man tried to kill me in one blow. I'd had my armour enchanted so that helped as well.

While the warrior had overextended himself he was able to swing his massive weapon again, having moved with the blow and spinning around a full 360 degrees knocking down one of Meereen's troopers as he did. Lucky for me I'd handled far more fearsome foes in my day so I knew what do to.

I waited until the warrior put all he had into another blow, one that if it connected would likely kill me, armour and Dragonborn toughness or not, but I knew the spell Telekinesis and while my command over this magic was crude (when practising the spell I'd often send things flying about a room when I just wanted to move them closer to me) it was more than to send this warrior's weapon from his hand. Something that shocked him so much that he didn't react in time to stop my attack. I swung my enchanted sword and with all the fearsome power of the Dragonborn, I removed the man's head from his shoulders.

By this point in the battle, the Unsullied had control of the main gate and they were pouring into the city. I knew that within hours the city would have fallen and the Breaker of Chains would be addressing her new subjects as the sun began to rise.

(Line Break)

Royal Chambers. Meereen

Once I was done I pulled out of the dragon queen's very hot cunt and I felt my concerns melt away. It had been a stressful day for all of us as we set up the queen's court and dealt with many other matters. Daenerys and I had both needed some release, and that I was more than happy to help with. I knew it had to have been stressful for her because she'd let me go on top, she rarely did that anymore, she preferred to ride me while letting me look at her ass or breasts. She didn't mind me not looking at her face at times like this.

"I think I prefer you on top while facing away from me," I said, once I had my breath back "You have a cute butt".

She smirked upon hearing that.

"A man should not speak to his queen in such a way" Miss Stormborn teased.

Dany smirked at me again and kissed me before going to fetch us some wine, but she stopped on the way to the refreshments as she knew the butt I loved so much was in plain view. Then she came back and got into bed again, handing me a silver goblet as I sat up. Again this was a bit different as she was the ruler here. I should be serving her.

"How long before your brave knights remind you that you're depending too much on me?" I asked.

I'd have to go then as the young queen couldn't afford to alienate her allies, and while I didn't think that Ser Jorah feared me because of my powers he had his own reasons for not wanting me around. Besides Her Grace's reasons for sending me to scout out Westeros were valid and when I returned the knight would have seen that they really did need me.

"I'm really not sure if you should go," the Mother of Dragons said she sipped her drink "It seemed like a good idea at the time".

I'd warned her about the Masters, who she'd not simply had crucified in this timeline, and how they might fund a rebellion in the near future, right now the masters were more in danger than anyone as the slaves were the ones roaming the streets with daggers in their hands.

"Well, I do need to go to Westeros soon," I told her.

This surprised her grace.

"What? Why?" Dany asked.

Mostly to check up on the Starks, assuming they were any left, as we would need them to ally with against the Night King when the time came.

"It's like you decided," I said to her "You'll need allies and certain people do need dealing with. I'll need to go to Baarovs to hire the Faceless Men and then on to Westeros. I've been training my Blades and we can pass ourselves off as a small Sell Sword Company".

Thinking on I wondered if perhaps we should all go.

"Maybe we should all march to Braavos and hire as many ships as we can" I suggested "With the supplies that we can take from this city and the gold we have we can rent enough ships and buy what we need to take Kings Landing. I can open one of my portals directly into the Red Keep".

If we took the seat of power in Westeros with little bloodshed we could secure the city before any of the local armies had time to react.

"You know why I have to stay here," she told me.

Actually, I didn't. Her reasoning wasn't that sound.

"Your home is in Westeros, and there has never been a better time to strike" I advised "If you could take Kingslanding quickly enough the enemy won't have time to mobilise. Plus you have dragons, no one wants to fight dragons. You can let most of the kingdoms keep most of their independence and then invite them to join you on their terms".

Not that I wanted to start another war, but if she went now I could help her and perhaps limit the bloodshed. I might be a warrior but that didn't mean I wanted lots of people to needlessly die. With my magic doors, we could more soilders directly into the Red Keep and seize it without a long siege.

The young queen was not convinced.

"But we do not know what the situation is these days" Dany reasoned "news from the Seven Kingdoms takes too long to reach us and I cannot abandon this city until I know it will be safe, and not if we'd be sailing into the unknown. Besides, I won't even if Braavos has the ships I need".

When she put it that way it made a bit of sense. I just saw staying here as folly because I knew about the Sons of the Harpy.

"Very well, when I leave I will gather information for you and report back," I told Dany.

I wasn't that loyal to the Mother of Dragons, but I had no desire to ally with anyone in Westeros as they were a bunch of backstabbing short-sighted fools selfish cunts, so she didn't need to worry about me finding anyone more worthy to serve than her. I didn't really want to serve anyone at all, but Her Grace had a claim to the throne and it was better to be the power behind the throne that the one sitting on the fancy chair.

"Now if you're going to be leaving me so soon, let us make use of that time wisely" she suggested.

While that sounded good to me. There was something I wanted from her.

"Before I leave I want you to give me a knighthood," I told Dany.

That surprised her.

"I don't think the lords and ladies of the Seven Kingdoms would acknowledge the title if it came from me," she said.

That wasn't why I wanted to her to knight me.

"It will matter when you are queen," I said "But it's more for me than anyone else. I'll know".

At some point in their lives, nearly every boy wants to grow up to be a knight, to slay monsters and save damsels in distress. I'd gotten do that, for a time it had been fun, and while I'd mostly moved on from that phase of my life I still wouldn't mind the title.

"I'll have Ser Barristan Knight you for your part in taking Meereen and Yunkia" promised Dany "He won't be able to deny your accomplishments".

To be fair I'd saved all of Nirn from the World-Eater, granted with help, but that alone should be enough.

"Now if you're going to go soon we should make the most of the time we have left," said Her Grace "I'm a little tired, but I think we should go one more round".

The best idea either of us had come up with all day.

(Line Break)

Braavos. Essos.

This was Braavos, one of the Free Cities that were located to the east of Westeros. It was the northern-most, the richest, and arguably the most powerful of the Free Cities. It had been described to Arya Stark as a city of seafarers and master swordsmen. While sailing here she'd also learned that Braavos consisted of hundreds of tiny islands that were connected by stone bridges. Its main landmarks included the Titan of Braavos, the House of Black and White and the city's famed Iron Bank.

Not that Arya Stark had seen much of the city as she'd spent most of her time just sitting outside of the House of Black and White waiting to be let in. The House of Black and White was a temple here in Braavos that Arya had heard was dedicated to the Many-Faced God. The sole entrance to the temple was a door, of which one-half was ebony, and the other pale Weirwood, thus one black door and one white door. It served as the headquarters of the guild of religious assassins known as the Faceless Men. Arya had discovered that although the island the temple sat on can be reached by boat or bridge from other locations in the city, the island is usually deserted.

Really she should have given up on ever getting inside, but she was stubborn and she didn't have anywhere else to go. As such she had remained in the vicinity for several days hoping to be let in, she figured that it was some sort of test, and aside from when she left to get food or relieve herself she stayed by the door. She even slept by in despite how exposed she was out here.

Until today she'd seen no one come to visit the temple, but now she saw a whole group of well-armed people walk onto the lonely island, and it was clear that they were heading for the doors of the temple. While most of them looked like foreign sellswords who wore a very odd mix of armour and weapons, only some of which she recognised, it was their leader that caught her eye.

He was a big man, with dark hair and skin as pale as any Northerners. Right away Arya knew that there was something about this man which made him different from others. Something inside him, she had no words to describe this quality, nor did she understand what it was about the man that had her attention, but it was there, and while on the outside he looked like just another exotic sellsword she knew he was something more.

"Hello, Arya Stark," said the leader of the sellswords.

She should have run, but she was tired, hungry and didn't have anywhere to go.

"I don't know you," she said as she reached for Needle.

The young Stark girl didn't think she could fight her way out of this even with the fine blade her brother had given her, but if these men had tracked her down so as to take her back to Kings Landing or to kill her then she wouldn't go down without a fight.

"No, you don't" stated the leader of the sellswords "But I know about you, Arya Stark, and I think we might be able to help each other".

She still wanted to run or fight, only she didn't think either of those choices would help her given how greatly she was outnumbered and while she could run that would be pointless unless she could get inside the temple, and the doors remained shut to her, there was nowhere on this island for her to hide and the sellswords were between her and the bridge.

"Fancy some lunch?" as the Sell Sword's leader "There must be a tavern near here".

With little to lose and perhaps something to be gained Arya decided to get the man up on the offer. If nothing else she'd get food and maybe answers to some questions that were even now formulating in her mind. If this man meant her harm then he could kill her and now. Besides, it would be much easier to find somewhere to hide if she needed to if they went to a tavern, she could slip out into the crowded streets and vanish into the crowd.

(Line Break)

Braavos. Essos.

For such a small girl Arya Stark of Winterfell could sure eat a heck of a lot, and I was getting a stomach ache just from watching her. My thinking was that she'd not eaten a proper meal for some time, and given that I'd been able to find her before she'd entered the House of Black and White she'd been free to come with me to an inn to talk. The promise of food had not been what I'd used to lure her here, but it did seem to be helping to break the ice as it were.

"Slow down" I instructed, "I promise you, the food isn't going anywhere".

She slowed down and glared at me as she ate more slowly. I really had been concerned that she would choke.

"You know where Sansa is?" she demanded to know "Tell me".

That was the bit of information I'd used to help bring her to this table. She still seemed rather eager to leave, but I didn't think that was because I worried her, she was worried about losing her chance to join the assassins.

"From what I've heard Roose Bolton is now Warden of the North," I told Arya "And it is rumoured that Sansa Stark has been married to his son to help secure his father's position".

While I didn't know for sure if this had happened yet, such news took time to get around, I did know where Sansa would be if she wasn't in Kings Landing. If she hadn't made it where the Bolton's were living she'd be with Little Finger at her aunt's castle.

"I'm going to Westeros to kill some people and make some allies," I said to Arya Stark "You can come with me if you like".

This girl had potential. She wasn't just a good fighter, her brother was a Greenseer, a warg, and that could mean she had some of that power as well. In the books all the Stark children were wargs. If so she'd be should be able to master spells more powerful than any of my Blades had been able to learn. Or at least I hoped this was the case. If it was worth investing some of my time and resources into finding out.

"I need to stay here," she told me.

There wasn't any need. I could teach her how to kill people if that was what she wanted. She'd make a fine battlemage or better yet a Nightengale since stealth and magic would suit her best.

"You want to be a Faceless Man," I said to the orphaned girl, "But there are other options".

Now she looked curious. She must be wondering how I knew that and I knew her at all.

"I'm what's called a Dragonborn" I explained as I placed my gloved hand on the table and let a little lightening pass between my fingers "I have magical powers, and I know things normal men don't. I can teach you some of what I know and help you avenge your family. I have magical spells at my command, weapons and armour, everything you need to avenge the Starks".

Most people would at least be nervous at this point in the conversation, but Arya only looked curious.

"I came here to learn how to do that" she stated.

Well, training here was an option, but not the only one and perhaps not the best choice she could make given her goals.

"Killing for personal gain or out of anger or hate is forbidden to Faceless Men" I informed the Stark girl "And because the Faceless Men forsake their identities in the service of the Many-Faced God, they only assassinate targets they have been hired to kill and may not choose who is worthy of the 'gift' by themselves. So even if you survived the training, which you might not, you might never get the chance to kill the people you want to kill".

She was too smart to simply take my word on this.

"You can ask them" I offered "I'm going there to hire them to kill some people for my queen. You can come with me and ask them how you become No-One".

Since Arya's main motivation in life is to kill a bunch of people for personal reasons becoming a Faceless Man didn't actually serve her purposes, but she hadn't known that when she crossed the Narrow Sea in order to come to this city. Once she did learn a little she'd quickly realise that joining up with me would better serve her agenda.

"Your queen?" she asked,

Hearing that I served a woman rather than a man got me an odd look from Arya Stark.

"I am Thane Gothic, the Dragon" I formally introduced "I serve Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, Queen of Meereen, Mother of Dragons and Breaker of Chains".

She had some other titles but I couldn't remember them.

"I'll come with you to ask about the Faceless Men's rules," said Arya "If they let me in".

This pleased me as once she discovered the truth about the training she'd realise that it wasn't really for her, and I was here to offer her an alternative.