The Farosi

by JJAndrews

Book 1: Since the Age of Heroes, House Cassius has prospered across the Sunset Sea in the land of Farsos, for the last three hundred ruling the whole continent. Now, as the great game begins, and forces from the darkest nightmares wake again, House Cassius will return to Westeros and the game of thrones will be changed for ever. For the Crown, the Senate and the People of Farsos!

5. Chapter 5

The Farosi

Again, thanks for all the feedback and I've been blown away by how many have favourited this story so far. Keep them coming and thank you.

I own nothing but my OC's

Chapter Five

The Discovery of Lady Arya

Arya Underfoot is what they called her for many, many years. She wasn't underfoot anymore, rather she was underground, in the sewers of King's Landing, all because she had gone off chasing cats and now, wonderful, she was lost and up to her neck in slime, slowly feeling her way along the wall, hoping she would find a way out, and hoping she would avoid the magician and the juggler, whoever they were. Something in the back of her mind told her that they were a dangerous pair and she had to avoid them. Finally, she reached a higher tunnel and climbed up into it, finally out of the disgusting river of filth. It was still pitch black so she had to keep her hand against the slimy, rough wall. Then suddenly there was a change in the feeling of the stone, it felt new, the stones, or rather the bricks were smooth and well made, not ruined by years of use. Down the middle of the tunnel went a small stream of dirty water running towards the rest of the sewers.

Light.

Ahead she saw a faintly flickering light, probably a candle so she made her way towards it, hoping against hope that she would not find herself in even more trouble. As she came close and closer to the light she now noticed that between her and it was a large iron gate, padlocked as well, but there was just enough room between the bars for her to squeeze through. Just before she reached the candle Arya tripped on something and grunted at pain in her knee. When she stood up she saw that the stream in this part of the sewers had been covered by a sort of wooden platform, that was what she had tripped on. Arya stepped onto the platform and walked onwards, soon reaching a bend and she was suddenly in more than just a sewer, more like a store room. It was wide enough for dozens of men to stand in, but most of the space was filled with wooden crates stacked on top of each other. There were several candles in the room and she picked one of them up, holding it close to a crate to read the black writing on it.

SENATORIAL OFFICE OF SUPPLY, 500 ROUNDS .450 CAL.

What that meant she had no idea, but the next crate read the same, and the next, dozens of the crates said the same thing. Senatorial though, it sounded like Senate and she had overheard Princess Radwen talk about the Senate of Farsos, although what it did she had no idea. She reached some other crates, these ones narrower and longer and one of them wasn't nailed shut. Curious, she pushed the lid off and saw guns in it, five odd looking weapons, not unlike the ones Jon and his men used, but at the same time different, like Jon's revolver but made longer. On the lid she looked at the writing.

SENATORIAL OFFICE OF SUPPLY, 5 DONLEY&SONS REVOLVING RIFLES.

There were many crates like that, all stamped with those words. She studied another, holding her candle close to the writing to examine it all carefully.

SENATORIAL OFFICE OF SUPPLY, 15 TYPE 3 HAND BOMBS. WARNING, EXPLOSIVE, KEEP AWAY FROM OPEN FLAMES.

Arya quickly pulled her candle back and looked at the crate, taking a step away from it and hoping that was the last time she'd see that. She continued further into the armoury, that was the only word for it, past many boxes and crates, all stamped with the words "Senatorial Office of Supply" but soon it became apparent that there was more than just one room, there was a whole complex of them, some looked to be made from caves but all were packed with identical crates, and she saw a massive variety of what the Office of Supply was involved in.

SENATORIAL OFFICE OF SUPPLY, 200 RATION BISCUITS

SENATORIAL OFFICE OF SUPPLY, 50 TINS OF MARCHING BREAD

SENATORIAL OFFICE OF SUPPLY, 1000 DONLEY&SONS .455 CAL

SENATORIAL OFFICE OF SUPPLY, 50 USED SERVICE COATS

She noticed a hatch in the floor where it felt like there was just stone under the wooden floor. She gripped the handle of it and pulled with all her might but it didn't budge, it was either locked or too heavy to open for her. Witha sense of curiosity she held her ear against the door and held her breath, just being able to hear movement below her through it. There was a noise not from below but from close by, boots, Arya realised, and they were coming towards her. She almost dropped the candle as she hurried to find a hiding place, left the candle on a crateand then wedged herself between two crates, her small size for once helping her hide from these people. For a few tedious minutes she hid there until she heard the two men enter the room, not the same two men from earlier thankfully.

'We have to check our supplies again,' one said to the other.

'If you ask me the Colonel's being ridiculous about this. Who the Hell would steal from the stores, no one knows about it but us, a couple of the officers and the princess.'

'That's Her Royal Highness to you.'

'Relax, the Colonel's not watching us.'

'You never know. Just check none of the crates have been tampered with and then we'll head up to the mess.'

'Alright Sarge, what are we having today?'

'They're doing sausages and something else, I don't know. Hang on, which idiot left the candle here?'

'What candle where?'

Arya looked out into the room from her hiding place and saw the two men standing by the crate she left the cadle on. Both were clearly Farosi, their long moustaches displayed that, but she wasn't sure if they were soldiers or not. In the dim light it was hard to tell but they didn't seem to be wearing dark blue, rather black jackets, white shirts, thin neck ties and top hats on their heads. One of them, the man identified as "Sarge" had three silver bands around the right cuff of his jacket and seemed to be older by a few years.

'False shotgun shells, bloody Hell. Are you going to report this?'

'No, not worth it, I'll just remind the men not to leave candles next to bullets,' Sarge told him.

'Remind them that two and two makes four while you're at it Sarge.'

'Even they're not that stupid.'

'What are false shotgun shells anyway?'

'Exactly what they sound like. Instead of firing they make the gun into a bomb, kills whoever uses it.'

'Nasty that. Let's get out of here.'

After moving the candle onto a crate labelled "Biscuits" they finished their check, nailing shut a few crates and then left. As soon as they were out Arya hurried away from her hiding spot and went after them, her small feet not making a sound on the wooden floor. After a short walk they left behind the wooden floor and onto a stone one leading to a set of steps, a way out. Arya smiled in triumph, it was her way out. Of course she waited until the two men were out and then waited for a while, counting to a hundred, and then made her own way to the steps which led to a trap door in the roof. It was easy to open and she was almost blinded by the sunlight, making her stagger and wince until her vision recovered. The girl looked left and right to discover that she was in an alley so she hurried out of it to discover that she was in an odd looking part of Kings Landing. The streets were very wide and the buildings looked to be well planned unlike the confused mess of buildings she had seen in other parts of the city after they arrived. The people there were all dressed like the Westerosi and suddenly she realised where she was, the Farosi District. It wouldn't be too hard making her way up to the Red Keep from there, she could see it from where she was. After walking for a minute or two she saw a commotion ahead, a carriage being pulled by a pair of white horses and a number of Light Horsemen rode ahead of it.

'Make way for Her Highness!' the driver shouted and Arya gasped, realising who must be in it.

It was the carriage Radwen always rode when she went up to the Red Keep. Arya got out of the way and watched as it slowly went past, even seeing Radwen on the inside of it, a concerned look on her face as she looked out of the window. The people close by bowed as she past and Arya did the same, wanting to blend in a little, that was hard though since she was covered in filth. At the end of the street Radwen waved her hand to her guards who rode to the window and Arya watched as they seemed to listen to the Princess, and then they looked up at Arya herself who panicked, after seeing all that down below she did not trust them so she quickly walked into an alley before sprinting away, looking for a place to hide.

'Halt!' a shout came at her and she looked over her shoulder to see the two riders at the entrance to the alley, one was pointing a gun at her. 'Come over here.'

At Winterfell she had seen how lethal those weapons were when she watched Jon showing them to Robb. She knew better than to resist so she raised her arms and walked towards them slowly as they rode towards her, dismounting and then aproached her.

'It's her,' one of them said to the other.

'Aye, the other agreed. 'Do you remember me Lady Arya?'

'No,' she answered, obviosuly nervous.

'I was with Mister Snow when we found you and your wolf.'

'You're one of Jon's men?' she asked, relieved, they were her brothers soldiers. Still, she was cautious, these men were still Farosi.

'That's right Lady Arya, the Princess saw you and sent us to check on you.'

'You'd better come with us.'

'Where?'

'The Embassy, the Princess said that if it was you we were to take you there.'

'Where's Jon?'

'At the Red Keep looking for you,' one of them chuckled.

They helped her onto one of the horses and then made the short trip to the Embassy. Within an hour she had been bathed and given a Farosi dress to wear, she did not like it but it was a better alternative to her soiled garments. Soon after this she was sitting in what she was told was Princess Radwen's private living room and was eating a quickly prepared meal of lamb and potatoes. Just as she ate some more meat the door opened and the princess walked in, her expression reminding her of her mothers when she was particularly annoyed.

'Your Highness,' she said, remembering her manners.

'Lady Arya, would you mind explaining what you were doing wondering around the streets of this city?' she told her firmly.

'I was chasing cats,' she explained meekly and told her about how she found herself in the depths of the castle and then the sewers which led her to the Farosi District. Of course she left out what she heard of the two men, the magician or whatever, and the armoury in the sewers.

'I hope nothing bad happened,' Radwen said, apparently relieved but Arya had a feeling she was still questioning her. 'How can you do something so silly? Your father's been tearing the castle down to find you, I had to give Jon the day off to help look for you. They've been worried sick!'

'It was an accident.'

'Then I suggest you stop having accidents. One of the men rode up to the keep after we found you, your father will be here soon.'

For a moment she felt dread at the thought but she had to tell him the truth about what she heard. The Princess sat down across from Arya and made some small talk with her for a few minutes.

'How is Sansa?'

'She was wondering why you didn't go to the tourney,' Arya answered her.

'Was she? Well, I just didn't see the appeal, too violent my tastes.'

'Too violent?'

'Yes. I enjoy shooting at targets or birds but I don't like the idea of watching men with sticks poke at each other,' she then had a strange look on her face and chuckled at something in her mind. 'Anyway, I heard about that poor young man who died there and that utter brute Clegane trying to kill Loras Tyrell.'

'The King was furious,' said Arya, remembering it and how delighted Sansa was with the outcome.

'I heard about that. If this was Farsos he'd be in a prison by now.'

There was a knock at the door and one of the servants stepped in, he bowed and cleared his throat.

'Lord Eddard Stark, Your Highness.'

'Send him in,' she said and stood up, as did Arya.

Arya watched her father enter and as soon as their eyes met he hurried over to her and crouched down, embracing her.

'Arya!'

'I'm sorry father,' she said with complete honesty.

'We were worried about you,' he then stood up and bowed to the princess. 'Your Highness, you have my gratitude for finding my daughter.'

'I was doing my duty Lord Stark. I'm just glad to help your family.'

'In that case I'm glad to have a friend in you.'

'The feeling is mutual. Still, I hope young Lady Arya here won't go on another adventure like this.'

'She won't, don't worry.'

'And I'm glad to hear it. Will Jon be returning soon?'

'He will be.'

'Good, I will see you at the Small Council in the morning.'

'Yes,' he said and led Arya away.

Once they were outside of the embassy he didn't say a word until they were in his Solar at the Red Keep and she quickly told him about everything she saw inside the sewers, the two men, which he father brushed off as entertainers, but when she told him about the armoury he was interested, thank the Seven.

'I'll keep this in mind Arya. Still, they might just be keeping a store of weapons for an emergancy.'

The door was opened again and Jory stepped in followed by a man in black, one of the Nights Watch by the look of him.

'Lord Stark,' Jory said to him, clearly concerned, 'we have a problem.'

'Arya, go back to your room,' he told her and the door was closed behind her as she left and the alarmed words of the watchman were muffled.

AN: So, the game continues, what is really hidden under the Farosi District and what are they really up to?

Review Responses:

Frost 5: I've never been good with spelling and I'm writing with wordpad which doesn't have spell check or anything like that but I try my best. Still, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you liked this chapter.

Tertius711: I really enjoyed writing the background of Farsos, they started as refugees and have built a mighty kingdom now. As for Jon and Sam I wrote in the first chapter that they are a part of the Foreign Officer Programme, an initiative from the Farosi government to recruit Westerosi nobles into their officer corps to strengthen ties between the two kingdoms.

Pinoy Gamer: Well the presence of the Farosi would change a lot of things, and firearms do change the nature of warfare completely, however I was more inspired by events such as the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 than the expansion era in America. Thanks for the review and I hope you like the next one.