Dragonborn Gothic 3 - GOT
Part 11
Street of Steel. King's Landing.
I knew that King's Landing, was the principal harbour of the Seven Kingdoms, rivalled only by Oldtown, which is larger in size but less populous. Just by looking at it, you could tell that King's Landing is the most populous city in Westeros, but it was rather unsightly and dirty when compared to other cities. The poorer smallfolk had built shanty settlements outside the city which made it look even bigger.
Given the smell, I was very glad that I'd not brought Aela with me as her poor werewolf nose would really suffer here as you could smell the horribleness of this place from miles away. I'd hate to find out what it was like without the cool breeze coming in from the sea. As it was I had fight down the urge to vomit and I was a man who'd walked into troll lairs of his own free will.
"Are you sure this world is worth saving" Lydia, my Housecarl, asked of me.
I'd summoned her as I had with Aela, only I was keeping my servent close as she was bound to serve me, even if I had been gone for years. Besides having a devoted bodyguard with me could be a very good thing when in this cesspit of a settlement. There wasn't nearly enough to go around here and that led to a lot of crime, not anyone trying to rob me would profit from the attempt.
"Some of them are," I replied.
The main city was surrounded by a wall, which while on the way in I'd seen manned by the City Watch of King's Landing, the men also known as the gold cloaks. They were still keeping order here despite the lack of proper leadership. According to what I'd discovered so far, Tommen Baratheon was still king. I'd not paid for his death since he seemed nice enough in the show, and he was just a boy.
As for the Small Council was made up of Kevan Lannister, the only Lannister of importance aside from Tommen Baratheon who I'd not ordered killed, Mace Tyrell the so-called Queen of Thrones. Margery Tyrell, as well as some people I'd never about were now in charge.
Even from far outside the city Lydia and I had been able to see The Red Keep, the royal castle that was located on top of Aegon's High Hill. I knew that within the castle were places such as Maegor's Holdfast and the Tower of the Hand. These locations might be seen much closer by me if the Mother of Dragons was able to take the city.
We'd also seen the Great Sept of Baelor, where the most devout go to convene with the High Septon. It is the holiest sept of the Faith of the Seven. It is located on Visenya's Hill and was still there since no one had blown it up in this timeline. Nor was the Faith Militant a thing here, not officially, although there were some Sparrows about, those that had become fanatical in service of the Seven.
They weren't doing much as far as I could see, they wisely left both Lydia and I alone, this was good for them as I despised such fanatics and wouldn't care to spare their lives. I'd met a few gods during my time and while the Divines were at least good for something, most higher powers weren't worth your respect. The only thing worse than them were the fools and power-hungry who used them as excuses to do cruel and stupid things.
My goal here was within one part of the city, I was looking for a certain person here in what the locals called the Street of Steel, here the many smiths of the capital have their forges. The higher up one goes, the more expensive the shops. At its top is the shop of Tobho Mott, and within its walls was a man called Gendry. He'd ended up back where he'd started.
He was the bastard son of King Robert. I didn't understand why bastards were looked down upon so much in this world as while I knew that the worshippers of the Seven thought them to the product of base lusts rather than the marriage beds, which were blessed by the gods, surely the sin and the stigma should be placed on the people had had sex outside of marriage rather than the child. In Skyrim, most Nords don't use surnames so getting born outside of wedlock wasn't such a big deal. Those surnames that do exist are typically earned or given or even passed down through the clans such as the Grey-Mane or the Battleborn.
Even I didn't have a family name, at least not any more. In my word of birth, he man called Gendry would be known as Gendry Baratheon despite him having been born out of wedlock and no one I knew outside of this would ever care what he called himself.
"Gendry!" I called out.
The illegitimate son of King Robert came forward from where he'd been working.
"Yeah," he said.
The man looked me up and down and saw a common sellsword because that was how I'd dressed before coming here.
"Greetings, I'm here on behalf of the new Lord of Dragonstone," I told the young man.
I shook his hand and while I knew that he might be loathed to return to that island because of what the Red Woman had done to him I wanted to offer him the job of castle smith before anyone else as I knew him to an honourable young man and talented enough to help me make more Valyrian steel swords. Dragonglass didn't really make for good weapons even if the Children of the Forest could use it, and while Dany could only risk supplying so much blood it would be good have as many White Walker killing swords as we could make.
"Oh, that place," said Gendry.
His lack of any warm feelings for the island was understandable and expected.
"The castle needs a smith," I told him "a good one, I'm willing to pay and you can train your own apprentice. There must some boy around here who needs a proper home who can train up".
I could tell that Gendry was tempted.
"And I'm sure Arya would like to see you again" I mentioned.
That got his attention. I was sure that he'd worried about her, and as for any romance between them if Arya chose him then that was her business as she might get fed up of me waiting for her to mature. If she did then she'd have no place at my side, but it was her choice.
"I'd be the castle smith?" he asked "No one master above me?".
For someone in his line of work that was high position. He'd be making arms and armour for very important people who would pay him well for his efforts.
"You'd answer only to the Lord of Dragonstone and anyone he leaves in charge," I promised the young man "and you can have the best equipment that money can buy".
That would be very tempting.
"That Red Woman's not still about is she?" he asked.
As far as I knew she was alive, but beyond that, I didn't know. If I did see her I'd likely kill her since she'd burned at least one child to my knowledge, and maybe more.
"No, and if she so much as sets foot on the island I'll have her killed" I promised.
We wouldn't need her help when the night came as I had plans of my own and a powerful dragon I could call upon.
"We're leaving this afternoon," I told Gendry
He gave it some thought.
"Okay but I'm not doing any rowing," he told me.
That was fine with me.
"I also need to a few stonemasons for a job and some fishermen" I mentioned Gendry "There's some extra coin in it for me if you help me".
(Line Break)
Bedroom. Dragonstone.
Like every room in this castle, this chamber was dark, and it had a feeling about it, something hard to put into words, but given how Gothic loved this place both Lydia and Aela, who were currently kissing each other as they sat on the Dragonborn's bed, figured that it something to do with this place having been built by dragons and dragonlords. Not that they were thinking much about that right now.
Nearby the Dovahkiin watched from a nearby chair as the two beautiful warrior women went at it. As he watched he did so without much in the way of any outward expression. This didn't mean that he wasn't enjoying the sight before him, how could he not? He was just very focused on what was going on before him. The new lord of this island had been rather busy, and so it was good for him to relax and to have some fun.
At this order the two warrior women began fingering each other as they kissed again, their naked bodies pressed together as they amused the man they both willingly served. From his viewpoint, he could see how much both of these women were putting into this show. Neither of them had much interest in other women, not in a sexual way, but they were eager to please their lord.
The bed they were making use of thankfully had a very well stuffed mattress, if not then the fact that this bed had been carved from obsidian from that made from wood, would have made it very uncomfortable. But this wouldn't have stopped the two women from trying to make their lord happy as both of them had slept and fucked in less than ideal condition many times before.
"Aela...that feels so good...don't stop...please..." Lydia was able to say.
The Companion responded by moaning as Lydia placed another finger inside her as she did both of the women looked at the Dragonborn, no doubt expecting him to come to join them on the large bed. After all, this was all happening to make him more aroused, but for now, he just wanted to watch and to make them do things. Not that Aela or Lydia minded as this was the man who'd saved their entire world from Alduin, and great heroes like him should be shown some proper gratitude.
"Lick each others cunts" Gothic ordered.
In a smooth series of moves, Aela lay on top of the Housecarl and planted her cunt on Lydia's face even as her tongue sort out Lydia already wet fuckhole. Lydia opened her mouth to give the moist, hot, pussy of Aela the Huntress above her a sensuous lick. The Huntress moaned as Lydia at work between her thighs, even as Aela the Huntress licked Lydia's own pussy.
"Keep going" they both heard the Dragonborn say.
They did see it happening as both of the women kept their eyes closed as they focused on pleasing each other, but they heard Gothic as he threw off his clothing with haste and threw them around the room. Once he was done the Huntress looked over to her lover and she liked what she saw.
The Dovahkiin was rock hard, Aela noticed that right away, and she also noticed that he seemed larger than when she'd last seen him, not in terms of his manhood, which was more than large enough for her, but he seemed physically more imposing than he had when they'd both last travelled together despite his nudity. Taking in the soul of the First Dragon had made the Last Dragon even more impressive.
As for the Dragonborn, he had few choices right now. One was Lydia's inviting pussy, currently being tongued furiously by Aela whose mouth also looked tempting. What made up his mind was when Aela opened her lips, inviting him in, and before long the Dovahkiin buried his length inside her hot, wet mouth.
"My Thane!" Aela and Gothic heard Lydia cry out.
Since she wasn't one for unexpected outbursts the saviour of Skyrim wondered if something was wrong.
"Lydia?" he asked.
"I need you inside me, my Thane," Lydia begged.
Aela smiled, and soon her lips were moving around the Dragonborn's cock before she pulled her head back slowly, so as to free it for another wet orifice.
"I guess I'll have to wait," said the werewolf as she sat up, keeping her cunt on the other woman's mouth.
Lydia screamed loud when her lord entered her. Not in pain, but because she was so happy. It had been so long since her Thane had fucked her, and for a good while she forgot that she was supposed to be licking Aela's cunt, but the werewolf soon reminded her and she enjoyed the attention as she watched the Dragonborn make use of his Housecarl.
It was a pleasant sight to see. Lydia was not like the women of this world, who all seemed to be skinny little things who needed men to protect them. Still, the Housecarl was taking an impressive pounding by her Thane. Aela was a werewolf, and therefore more durable than other women, and without than advantage it seemed as if Lydia would be lucky to ever walk again, yet she not only endured the fucking, she enjoyed it.
The moans and shouts coming from Lydia's mouth were muffled by Aela's soaked cunt, and this just made this all so more enjoyable. But all good things must come to an end. It was Aela who set him off, perhaps not quite surprising given her position. The Huntress' pussy was being consistently licked by Lydia, but despite this, the Huntress was able to focus enough to offer plenty of verbal encouragement.
"I am about to...ugh..." said Gothic.
Aela smiled, it was unlikely that the Housecarl had taken any precautions.
"Lydia is sworn to carry your burdens," the werewolf said.
Aela the Huntress was wickedly smiling at the thought of the Dovahkiin's "burden" being carried inside Lydia. Of course, there were potions to prevent that, and Housecarl would be careful, but it was arousing for Aela to think of the Dragonborn using them both for breeding. The wolf in her new who would make the best mate.
The Dovahkiin gave a final, violent, brutal thrust deeply inside Lydia and then began to fill her her cunt. Once he was done Aela dove her head once more between Lydia's legs to lick at the cum filled pussy. Tasting the seed of the Dragonborn and hopefully showing him how much she'd like to get fucked once Gothic was up for another round. That shouldn't be too long from now given his impressive stamina.
(Line Break)
Smithy. Dragonstone.
The thing about having Shouts, at least if you're the Dragonborn is that when you reach the height of your powers, you can pretty much alter the world around you just by yelling at it. Or at least it might seem that way to those who saw you exercise this rather special talent. Raw power was useful but without the right knowledge, it wouldn't be enough to accomplish my goals. Thankfully I had an innate understanding of the Dragon Tongue and somewhere within my mind was the essence of the First Dragonborn.
"Wahl Yol Qethsegol" (Create Fire Stone)
Gendry jumped back as the Shout passed over the small pebbles and transformed them into red stones, the rubies I'd been hoping for. Gendry had been amused to find that I was the Lord of Dragonstone, and despite his encounter with the Red Woman, he did run from the magic I used, even if it did make him somewhat jumpy. He might get aggravated when it came time to make Valyrian steel swords, but hopefully, his love of forging would overcome any concerns he had about blood magic. I'd handle that when I had to.
"Well that the end of any cash flow problems," I said.
I then reached for a book.
"If I can find someone to cut these can you forge a crown fit for a queen?" I asked of Gendry.
I should be able to get some more blood from Miss Stormborn easily enough.
"Sorry my lord I don't know how to forge crowns," he told me "Not much call for them".
I'd figured that this might come up so I'd found a book on the subject. Only there was a slight problem.
"Sorry my lord," he said, "I can't read".
In my world, most people could read and write because they went to school, and in the land of Skyrim, the level of education wasn't as bad as you might imagine.
"I know you don't trust magic, but I might be able to help you learn to read very quickly" I offered "Then you could read all the books we have here on metalworking and become an even better blacksmith".
For a time the temptation to become even more skilled at his craft warred with his distrust of the mystical.
"How would you teach me to read with magic?" he asked.
Since he was a smart lad he was getting the facts before committing to a possibly dangerous course of action.
"I have a spell of sorts," I told Gendry "That should give you some of my memories of schooling and allow you to understand them. Imagine have years of lessons in your mind, and even you just can't just suddenly read you'll learn much faster".
There were people around here who could teach him.
"I'll give it a go," he said.
He was a brave man and a bit reckless, like this father, only without the alcoholism and the need to fuck whores. So overall he was an improvement.
"Ofan Mindoraan Vahrukt" (Bestow Comprehend Memory)
Gendry grabbed his head and rubbed his temples. Then when he'd somewhat recovered I showed him the book, and as it turned out he could read. Adding the word for Comprehend had been smart of me as not only he had gained some memories from me he comprehended them, meaning the gained knowledge not just memories.
"Fucking hell it worked," said Gendry.
This pleased me, and I only wished that the process would work in reverse but Gendry couldn't Shout, but there was the Dragon word Gahrot which meant steal, perhaps I could use it to simply take what I wanted from another mind Something to try out later.
"If you can start to forge jewellery then I'll have some work for you," I told the smith.
Weapons I could get in other ways, and I had ideas for the forging of trinkets made from metals not found in this world that could be given as gifts as to help with the creation of alliances. Plus I would like to seduce a few more women in this world and a few shinies could aid in that goal.
(Line Break)
The Iron Bank. Braavos
As the name strongly suggested the Iron Bank of Braavos was a bank here in the Free City of Braavos. It is arguably the most powerful financial institution in the Known World, with clients from all over Essos and Westeros, including the Iron Throne, which owed the Iron Bank a lot of money.
Just as a common saying about House Lannister is "A Lannister always pays his debts", there is also a common saying that the bank often reminds its clients who fail to repay their loans: "the Iron Bank will have its due" this meant that if you didn't pay back any loans you made with money, then you'd end up paying some other way. Perhaps with your life as the Iron Bank could fund your enemies as easily as it had funded you.
I'd seen this place from a distance before but I'd not gotten close enough to see its the symbol of the Iron Bank until recently, the symbol depicted two golden triangles crossed in the manner of an hourglass, with two hands extending from left and right of the point where the triangles meet, their palms held upwards. I had no idea what it meant, but I did know a few things about his place.
The Iron Bank was founded long before the Doom of Valyria, when Braavos was still a "secret city", hidden from the Valyrian Freehold. It was formed by successful traders and craftsmen. Its name comes from the abandoned iron mine in which the bank's founders placed all their funds. The mine had a single entrance, which they sealed with heavy gates and iron bars and it is protected by guards hired jointly by all the members. Since then the Iron Bank has moved to new, grander quarters since that day, but the mine is still employed as a depository, as well as being a historical site of the city.
As for my business with the bank, I was here to met with Tycho Nestoris, who was a representative of the Iron Bank of Braavos. I'd heard that he was a rational man, more interested in numbers than in words, reasoning that the former are less likely to deceive than the latter. He sounded rather dull, but I only cared about his personality because learning about it would help me deal with the man.
"Lord Gothic," said a voice "He will see you now".
Tycho Nestoris had kept me waiting, trying to make it clear that he was in charge here, these silly little power games meant nothing to me, a man who could send armies packing with just a few yelled out words or turn mere stones in gems of great value.
"Wait for me here" I ordered Lydia and Arya "I'll call you in when I need you".
I'd brought Lydia with me as she was my Housecarl and Arya since she'd been to this city before. I'd left Meera and Aela behind to defend Dragonstone and to keep training my warriors. My operations on Dragonstone were growing quickly and I didn't wish for all I'd built to be lost because I didn't defend it. Hence why I'd come to this city with only two of my women and a few of my Blades.
"Welcome to the Iron Bank, Lord Gothic," said Tycho Nestoris "I believe you wanted to discuss opening a rather large account".
He'd had me wait outside his office for some time with nowhere to sit, and while there was a chair in here, I ignored it and got down to business.
"That and to begin repaying a debt," I told Nestoris "By now I'm sure that you are aware that Daenerys Stormborm of House Targaryen intends to take back her father's throne".
Of course, he had.
"I am here to secure your aid," I said.
Tycho Nestoris didn't visibly react much to my words, and since I felt sure he already knew who I was and who I served none of this would surprise him.
"And why would you need our help in such an endeavour?" I was asked, as if he didn't already know.
Her Grace wasn't going to have an army of those horse riding rapists on her side since she was unlikely to reopen the fighting pits and expose herself to an attack by the golden mask-wearing terrorists then she would need extra support. Such as the famed Golden Company and she would need more ships if any of the Greyjoys sided against us.
Jon Snow had exiled Theon Greyjoy from the north so he might have gone home to support his sister's claim to the throne. If his Uncle became King of the Iron Islands he might ally with Tyrell/Lannister alliance or with Dany, or Theon's sister might ally with my queen, and so the Ironborn would be an issue, and so we'd need more ships.
"When Her Grace begins her conquest she will need your support as we both know that wars are costly" I answered "and I've come to secure a line of credit so that can pay for sellswords and ships. Her Grace has a sizeable force, but war isn't predictable we may need to quickly replace losses".
Tycho Nestoris placed his hand on the desk he was sitting at before speaking.
"The Iron Bank has already invested a considerable amount of money in the future of Westeros" he stated, "and the Crown has promised to begin repaying the bank".
Now I needed to show him that the bank could profit from this alliance.
"And so far you've gotten nothing back," I stated before turning to the door "Lydia, Arya, please come in here".
The two women did as instructed and laid the chests they been carrying on the desk. The two women then opened the small chests to show the treasures within them before going back outside of the office. Some of the content of these chests came from Skyrim, I'd had a few stashes hidden away in case I needed them, made up of profits from my adventures, and now I needed them so I'd sent Lydia back to Skyrim with another Shout before returning her to Dragonstone. This wasn't something I intended to do again as I didn't want any of the Princes finding out about this world. The last thing we needed here was some Oblivion Gates popping up. The rest was stuff I'd gathered or made by transmuting more common materials with magic.
"I realise that the crown is in debt to you," I said, "But unlike those currently controlling the throne my Queen intends to give you a return on your investments".
The banker looked over the treasures.
"I will have more in the future" I promised.
The banker smiled at me, it was not a pleasant sight.
"I think its time for the Iron Bank to support a better claimant to the throne," said Tycho Nestoris.
(Line Break)
Dragonstone. Blackwater Bay.
The Atronach Forge is a dais capable of magically creating items and creatures in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The one in the game could be located in The Midden, an underground facility beneath the College of Winterhold. The forge includes a lever, an offering box, and the dais itself. Different items and Daedra can be conjured with the forge by placing certain combinations of things inside the offering box, then pulling the lever. Atronachs summoned with the forge are unbound and aggressive so I had to be prepared to such a creature if one appeared so I could use a Shout to banish the Daedric creature away.
Creating the forge had been little work as I'd discovered with Grendy's help that Kings Landing had plenty of fine stonemasons who'd looking for work, as well as fishermen who didn't mind returning the island as the conditions in King's Landing, were pitiful, to say the least.
We'd, meaning Arya and I, discovered early on that the recipes are somewhat flexible: sometimes an ingredient can be replaced with something close to it so as Arya and I worked deep into the night we ended getting rid of a lot of junk we'd found around the island and getting things more useful in exchange. Lydia, my Housecarl, who like Aela had been summoned to this world by me, kept a watchful eye on the growing piles of junk and useful items.
So far we'd created some staffs, some alchemy ingredients, and a few Spell Tomes, explaining where they came from, and I now had a theory about why Spell Tomes worked the way they did. I figured that the forged worked by forcing minor Daedra to take on certain forms. The Daedra were not physically creatures and they didn't work as mortals did.
Daedra Hearts, in addition to their alchemical uses, they are also a key ingredient in making Daedric armour and weapons, both at standard forges and at the Atronach Forge. This is because the key difference between Daedric and ebony equipment is that the essence of a Daedric creature is bound into the equipment. Daedra hearts provide that essence and therefore are critical for making all varieties of Daedric gear.
My thinking was that the Spell Tomes were formed by making a lesser Daedra bind to a book, as you needed to put a book in the forge to make a Spell Tome, and then when you read it the minor Daedra would bind itself to you like a more friendly form of demonic possession. Clearly this Daedra was not connected to a certain prince whose name I wouldn't speak and sure he was the Prince of Knowledge, but that didn't my theory was wrong.
Arya, who could read and write rather well, was taking note of everything I put into the box in an attempt to get something back. Combinations that didn't work were recorded separately from those that did. Unlike most people around here Arya rather like magic.
"We're low on old books" she let me know.
I wasn't going to sacrifice books that people could still read, and while there some partly burned books here and others that had been ruined by water, the damage had been done when the island had been abandoned by its smallfolk after they found out Stannis was dead, I was going to need more. Books that could be recycled were common enough in my world but not here. I might need to make a trip that had cheap books.
"We need a printing press here, and modern plumbing would be nice to," I said to Arya "I miss taking showers".
Plus we could do with a load of other stuff, but wherein the multiverse could I go that would have plumbers that wouldn't get freaked out getting here by magic.
"You mean like standing outside when there's rain?" she asked.
No, I'd not meant a shower of rain.
"Try to imagine a small indoor waterfall that you can stand under and make the water hot or cold" I instructed.
The problem was you didn't get that sort of thing in medieval castles even if they were magical. Well, there was one place that I knew about. Perhaps it was finally time to leave this world and to venture somewhere else.
"Arya I think its time we went on another trip to a far off place," I told the Stark girl.
She looked very happy about that.