Reviews
fridgeraiderz
What's wrong with Ciri being bi?
Dan
I'll keep what you said in mind.
Mugen-Muse
I think it's for the best if Danny forgets about her brother. A stable homelife is what she needs.
Yes, Marek will need to be more careful about ring forging in the future.
Team Builder.
Part 36
Manse. Braavos.
My study/workshop here in the Manse had quickly become a mess of tools, papers, blueprints books, ink pots, quills, pens, and half-drunk bottles of some rather good wine.
The only reason I didn't have dirty plates and bowls lying around was that the maids I'd gotten via the CYOA kept coming in to clean up. They'd turned out to be worth the investment.
There were also a number of unfinished projects taking up space such as the chessboard I'd made and hadn't finished carving pieces for.
I'd not finished because no one other than me played the game, Hermione didn't like chess, and I intended to patent the game once the Iron Bank had set up the Patent Office so there was no point finishing it yet.
That was not something which would happen soon even with me having offered to help fund the new office and having patents to file. Not that I was in any rush as I had other plans and concerns to focus on.
What mattered right now was the blackboard I'd set up that had the names of twelve special items on it that I needed to steal so as to get a lot more points, or rather eleven items as I'd already acquired one.
I wanted those items as I greatly desired those points so that I would have a pocket dimension as a safe place to raise dragons.
The hard part was obtaining these items as they weren't stuff you could just go out and buy.
12 Collectables
The Painted Table
"You got that already," remarked Hermione
That one had been easy to obtain since all I'd needed to do was touch it and no one was going to notice it was gone because the castle called Dragonstone didn't exist anymore. If it hadn't been outright destroyed then anything left was covered in molten rock and ash.
This annoyed me because the island was too dangerous to visit again and it was the primary source of obsidian in the known world.
Obsidian, or dragon glass as it was also known, could be used to destroy Walkers and wights, or just Walkers depending on the rules governing that in this universe. Either way, I would have liked a large supply of the material.
"Yes," I said "And I spent the point on our new guards".
Highlander Band
Cost: 1
A small, loyal clan of immortal warrior women. Infertile and only as strong as any 'normal' fit human they have literal centuries of skills and experience behind them.
There were more than enough of them to serve as guards and while their equipment was basic I could make them better stuff once I devoted some time to working at my forge.
Given the name of the band, it seemed safe to assume that they could only be killed by removing their head, something to be concerned about should they take part in a battle. Although destroying them with Wild Fire might also do the trick since I doubted they could regenerate from ashes.
I didn't really want my own army as that would cause trouble with the Magisters and Keyholders of Braavos who would feel threatened, but having guards was a very good idea.
Braavos was more accepting of having women in traditionally male roles than anywhere in Westeros other than perhaps Dorne, and while having female guards was odd, I'd not gotten any complaints so far.
Perhaps my neighbours thought it was acceptable because I was a foreigner with so much money that I could afford to be weird.
The Seastone Chair
"What's the Seastone Chair?" asked Ciri.
I hadn't known myself, hence why I had so much research material lying around. The local booksellers were making a fortune from me. Lucky for them I knew that books sometimes have more value than gold, and I had a lot of gold.
"It's the throne of the Lord-Paramount of the Iron Islands," I told her "The same Lord-Paramount who is currently rebelling against the crown so we might need to go and claim the chair soon in case King Robert decides to smash it".
According to my research, the Seastone Chair is made of a block of oily black stone carved into the shape of a Kraken. Legend says it was found on the shores of Old Wyk by First Men when they came to the Iron Islands.
In his book, of which I owned a copy, Archmaester Haereg pondered that the chair was created by a people who inhabited the isles before the First Men arrived and Maester Kirth speculated in Songs the Drowned Men Sing that the chair was left behind by a people from across the Sunset Sea.
I wouldn't mind going and finding out if there wasn't anything across the Sunset Sea. However, I had other concerns and knowing this world as I doubted that there was anything pleasant to find there.
Maester Theron suggested in Strange Stone that the chair was the work of so-called Deep Ones. Reading that led me to try to learn more about the Deep One just in case it was there's and stealing it upset them.
The only reference I'd found so far was that they were a "queer, misshapen race of half-men sired by creatures of the salt seas upon human women", according to Maester Yandel.
I was getting a Lovecraftian vibe from this, but it wasn't going to stop me from stealing the fancy chair, as it wasn't as if it would be in my possession and if there were Deep Ones I didn't think they cared for human affairs since no one ever saw them, or at least no one lived to tell the tale.
Crown of Rhaella Targaryen
"That's in my vault being guarded by the Iron Bank," I told my companions "It's the crown that belonged to Danny's mother. It's one of the few treasures that the Targaryans still have".
Viserys had tried to open an account with the treasure he'd stolen from me and his mother's crown as it turned out. The Iron Bank either didn't know or care, that it wasn't stolen property and had placed it in their vaults with everything else.
"Shouldn't you give it to Danny?" questioned Hermione.
Well, I didn't need all of the points and I wouldn't get my point for being a good parent if she found out I'd given away the only thing she had that belong to her mother.
"When she's older," I said, "If starts wearing it now it might tip off someone who wouldn't mind killing a child to gain King Robert's favour and children don't tend to be careful about such things".
Heartsbane
"That's a Valyrian steel sword belonging to House Tarly over in the Reach" I explained while showing Horn Hill on a map of the area I'd purchased recently "I don't mind stealing from him as he's a jerk".
I told my girls about Samwell Tarly and how his father had sent him to die at the Wall rather than send the boy to the Maesters or let him become a priest. There was no doubt in my mind that Lord Tarly sent Samwell to the Wall to die.
"Anyone who does that to their own child needs to be punished," remarked Ciri.
Hermione didn't seem bothered by my planned theft of a family heirloom.
Red Rain
"Red Rain is another Valyrian steel sword, this one belongs to House Drumm," I said "House Drumm are Ironborn raiders, the people who are currently raping, raiding and burning parts of Westeros".
I wondered why the list had two Valyrian steel swords on it. Are they meant to provide the CYOA with some Valyrian swords in case someone playing the CYOA asked for them as custom gear? Or was the list just a random collection of items selected by the R.O.B.?
Not that it mattered since it didn't make a difference to me. I just wanted the points.
An Iron Coin of the Faceless Men
"I'm going to need to visit their temple and try to make a deal" I reasoned.
There were a few assholes I wanted to be murdered so I might well find out if they were willing to trade one of their special coins while I was there. I had no desire to steal from them.
"What are iron coins?" asked Hermione.
Ciri seemed less interested in the details and had her attention on the contents of my wine bottles. The Daedra Merchant had somehow gotten his claws on someone's wine cellar and seemed happy to sell the contents.
"I don't know for sure" I admitted "But when Arya Stark had one she was given free passage to Braavos just by showing it to a ship's captain".
Since I didn't intend to use the coin I wasn't too concerned about what it did.
A Dragon Horn
"The only place we might find one of those is Valyria," I told the two women "They were used to control dragons from what I understand, but you didn't need one to tame a dragon from what I understand".
Venturing to the Doom was going to be risky, however, with our combined powers it could be done. Perhaps I could create some sort of hazmat gear to work alongside magical protection?
It depended on how bad conditions actually were there. If it's just a matter of foul air then we could handle it. If the land was cursed then we might better off simply avoiding the place.
Melisandre's ruby
"Isn't she one of the people you warned us to avoid?" questioned Hermione.
And I'd warned them both for good reasons.
"She's a witch and not a good one," I said "She has the ability to do some evil stuff with shadows and fire. She's also known for burning people alive, even children and she messes about with Blood Magic".
Okay so she hadn't burned Stannis's daughter yet, but she'd be willing to, and I wouldn't be shocked to learn that she'd murdered other children that way.
"She's no different than The Crones by the sounds of things" Ciri commented.
I knew who she meant, but Hermione didn't, so I decided to fill her in.
"The Crones are three creatures who are basically every story you ever heard of evil witches brought to life," I told Hermione "They lure children with sweets, put curses on people, and cook humans in pots.
Melisandre isn't on that level of evil, still, we should take her out and save a few lives and acquire the ruby which disguises her true appearance".
Not to mention I wanted to avoid having shadow baby assassins sent after me. I didn't know how one of those was aimed at a person so didn't know if I was protected against them.
A glass candle
"Easy enough," I said "There are a few at the Citadel and we should go there soon anyway. I want to steal their books on magic and maybe met that one Archmaester who studies magic".
I wasn't just a craftsman and warrior, I studied magic as well and needed to advance my understanding of the magical arts.
One of my ideas that I'd hopefully get around to looking more into was to travel north of the Wall and find myself a Warg to learn from. That wasn't high up on my list of things to sort out.
The Iron Throne
"That's the seat of the King of Westeros," said Hermione "Stealing that could cause all sorts of problems".
I'd thought about that.
"People fight and die to claim that silly thing," I said "Maybe Westeros would be a better place without it".
I had plans to sneak into the Red Keep at night and take it. They could always make a new throne.
"If its loss upsets Danny when she's older and I tell her about then I'll make a throne of gold" I decided.
A Dragon Egg
There were more of them than I'd imagined. The three that end up being hatched by Danny are currently in the Sealord's palace rather than in Pentos. It seemed odd that the Sealord would trade them even if the price was right, yet he must do it.
I'd read a story in which a noble house of Westeros ended up with a dragon's egg because Aegon the Unworthy gifted one to them and there were a few scattered about Westeros.
A golden skull
"According to my research, Golden skulls are the gold-dipped skulls of the deceased captains-general of the Golden Company sellsword company," I said, "The tent of the current captain-general is supposed to be surrounded by a ring of pikes topped with these gilded skulls".
Neither Ciri nor Hermione liked the sound of that even if they didn't argue against me stealing one. I thought it would awesome to have the gilded skulls of my enemies as trophies. When I mentioned this I got some worried looks. Women are so strange.
"So which are we going after first?" wondered Ciri.
I'd already decided.
"The Seastone Chair," I said "Robert doesn't deal with the Ironborn harshly enough so they end up rebelling again in a decade. Taking their throne, their treasure, and their library should send them a message".
They were pirates by profession and listed their hobbies as raping, raiding and enslaving, no one would miss them. They were no better than orcs.
"I'm not going to try to talk you out of it, but I want to sit this one out," said Hermione "Besides, we shouldn't leave your ward alone".
That was fine. I would have Ciri with me and some immortal warriors
"Someone should stay here with Danny and look after the house" I agreed.
She was better off babysitting and doing some more research into the magic of this world. She could leave the messy stuff to me and Ciri.
Team Builder.
Part 37
Pyke. The Iron Islands.
While I'd intended to come here soon so as to deal with the Greyjoys and acquire the Seastone Chair as part of my Collectables mission, I'd not been in any rush and I had other things to be getting on with.
That had changed when my scrying let me know that the forces under the command of King Robert were now deployed on the island of Pyke so as to end the rebellion by taking the seat of the local Lord Paramount.
This meant I had to act now or run the risk of the Seastone Chair being smashed by an irate King Robert, and me never gaining the priceless point offering in exchange for the throne.
Another thing to consider was the sword called Red Rain, which was also on my list of collectables, happened to be within the walls of the castle Pyke. This meant that there were two collectables very close together, making them very tempting targets, so I might as well grab them now and get my points.
I also wanted to make sure that Balon Greyjoy died today so he couldn't rebel again in about ten years. Leaving a power vacuum here in the Iron Islands might not be tempting to the leaders of Westeros, but it suited my plans just fine as if the Ironborn ever ended up united under say Euron Greyjoy they could interfere with my plans.
Besides, it was time to flex my muscles and see what I could do. I had my magic, my Shouts, my skills as a warrior, my dragonbone armour and my version of Stormbreaker.
Thanks to Ciri's powers we appeared inside Castle Pyke, bypassing its walls and many of the raiders who were defending those walls from the army under the command of King Robert.
The trip here had been much smoother than it would have been by Portkey even if one of them could even transport us this far, and it had taken less time as well. Being able to teleport around the known world like this was a massive advantage that we had over everyone else.
According to the history books Pyke was originally built on a cliff jutting out into the sea, but over time the cliff has eroded, leaving the castle's keeps and towers standing on three barren islands and a dozen small stacks of rock, surrounded by water.
I knew that the towers are connected by swaying rope bridges, as such, it was a good thing that Ciri could teleport and I could fly as I didn't wish to try crossing such flimsy bridges, even less so during a siege.
Not that we should need to as this was the main keep and Balon Greyjoy should be in this throne room, sitting around while other men died for him. His cowardice and lack of care for his people were offensive.
"You ready for this?" I asked my companion.
She withdrew her sword from its scabbard.
"It's just a pirate fortress," she said.
My scrying had shown an unused room and Ciri had brought us to the right place, this meant we didn't have to start fighting as soon we arrived, but it didn't take long for us to find some trouble.
I wondered how I looked to the Reavers. I stood there in my dragonbone armour, my cloak of invisibility/flying hanging off my shoulders, and my Stormbreaker in my hand as the weapon sparked with electricity.
"Fuck me, it's the storm god!" yelled an Ironborn.
From what little I knew of the culture of the Iron Islands the storm god was the eternal enemy of the drowned god, he sent the storms to destroy the Ironborn ships that lacked the protection of the drowned god and would pluck souls into the sky so as to stop the from going to the underwater halls of the drowned god.
I threw my axe and the raider went flying into the wall with enough force to crack the stone and break all of his ribs as well as his spine judging by the amount of noise the blow produced. He didn't even scream, the raider was already dead.
"Fuck, he is the storm god!" another yelled.
These warriors, if they deserved to be called that, actually ran away after only one of them died. To be fair they were raiders, not proper soldiers, they didn't have discipline and they didn't often raid people who could fight back.
"Cowards!" called out Ciri.
Wisely she didn't go chasing after them and we weren't here to kill all of the rapists and reavers just the ones who got in our way, as such chasing them down made no sense.
Since I intended to destroy Pyke once I had my prizes the more of them who fled the better. I didn't desire too many needless casualties. I just needed to make sure the Ironborn could not threaten my plans and if I wished to I could attack their other castles in the future. Heck with the right Shouts I could take out their whole fleet.
Not all of the fighters fled and so we had to kill some people as we headed for the throne room that should still be occupied by the Greyjoy family. They were our real targets.
Along the way, we ended up in combat with many of the raiders, who fell quickly before our might, and those that didn't fight would flee as others had done. They were the smart ones.
The axe blade of Stormbreaker destroyed the crude steel weapons of the Ironborn and their armour (they wear metal armour despite preferring fighting at sea because drowning is holy to them, fucking morons) was offering them no protection at all against my godly weapon or Ciri's sword.
Only one weapon didn't break, the very sword I'd come here for. It actually managed to withstand a blow. Those Valyrians must have been fine craftsmen for one of their swords to withstand even a single blow of my axe.
"I'm not scared of you, even if you are an avatar of the storm god!" claimed the Ironborn.
Judging by the quality of his clothing and the fact that he carried a Valyrian steel sword this man must be a local lord.
"I am..." he started to say.
Who he was didn't matter to me.
"Gol Hah!"
"Give me the sword and then jump out the window" I ordered.
As soon as I touched Red Rain it vanished and the Ironborn soon went out via the window. He resisted at the end and sort of stumbled, screaming as he fell. I had to smile.
Ciri made some remark, but the man's scream drew more of the braver Ironborn to us so I never heard what she had to say about that amusing death.
I batted aside a raider and crushed the skull of another with the blunt half of the axe as my Witcher companion cut three men down. She'd vanished, appear, kill a man, and then vanish again.
"Hey this guy has a magic sword too" Ciri let me know once the fighting stopped again.
Thanks to my scrying and studying my special map I knew that this weapon was Nightfall, a Valyrian steel longsword belonging to House Harlaw. The sword has a moonstone pommel
"Can I keep it?" Ciri requested.
She gave me a look that I didn't even try to resist. I doubted that the White Wolf himself could have said no to her. Although the corpses around her didn't subtract somewhat from her attempt to secure her prize.
"Yes," I told her.
I'd recover Blackfyre if I wanted a Valyrian steel sword of my own. For now, we needed to get to the throneroom of the Greyjoys.
"Run, it's the storm god!" I heard someone shout as I threw the axe down a corridor.
The godly weapon zapped anyone who got too close, clearing the way as we moved closer to the throne room. There was very little resistance after that.
It seemed as if the siege upon the castle had really gotten going. I could hear the battle outside as the siege engines brought down the walls. We didn't have long before the Westerosi were here in force.
Two guards with pikes did their best to guard the door to the throne room, only for me to channel a lightning spell through the goldy axe, which directed and amplified the effects.
The two guards died screaming very quickly and I doubted that even the thick wooden doors that barred our way would muffle the sounds of their screams.
"Yennefer would like you" Ciri commented.
I had no idea if that was a good thing or not, and it wasn't important right now, so I ignored the words and threw the axe so as to bring down the doors to the throne room.
"Stay behind me" I ordered Ciri.
As I'd expected some fools tried to take me down with crossbows, only for the bolts to meet a magical shield I'd created. They broke against the barrier.
Before anyone could reload I once again channelled a lightning spell through my version of Stormbreaker and killed those who had foolishly tried to slay me with their primitive weapons.
"Stormgod!" was shouted out again as people fled.
Balon Greyjoy to his credit did not flee, nor did some of the men in a higher quality clothing than was normal, they must be Balon's sons and brothers.
There was also a girl in here who must be about sixteen. She must be Ashra/Yara Greyjoy and she looked as ready to fight as the others. She wouldn't fair any better.
"I really thought you guys would put up more of a fight" I commented.
At this rate, I'd never get to test my full powers.
"He's just a man!" called out one of the Greyjoys.
They were so wrong about that.
"Faas Ru Maar"
Chaos filled the throne room as men who had already been very nervous, perhaps even truly scared despite their angry expressions, completely lost their minds when struck with the Dismay Shout.
Some ran but I killed them anyway, some cowered and yet they still died, Balon whimpered in this chair and the children hide beneath a table. I noticed some wine on that table and decided to help myself once I'd done killing the pirates.
"Get off that throne" I ordered the rebelling Lord Paramount as I helped myself to his wine "You don't deserve it".
The man did and left a wet puddle behind that made me glad that I didn't have to sit on the fancy chair in order to claim it. Balon died like all the rest when I threw my axe at him.
Now I just needed to deal with the two children.
"Didn't you have a plan for them?" questioned Ciri.
I did indeed. I wanted to wipe out the whole family, but I'm not a murderer of children. I do have some morals.
"Gol Hah!"
Once the children were under my control a potion that puts people into an enchanted sleep. I'd planned to have Hermione wipe their memories of being Greyjoys and then I would arrange for their care with a family in Braavos who were involved in sailing as traders.
Now I was thinking that perhaps I should keep Ashra/Yara for myself, she wasn't that bad-looking, she was older looking than I'd expected, and having someone who'd grown up in Westeros around to provide information wasn't such a bad idea.
Plus I'd been meaning to test my ability to brand women and bring them under my control.
"Take them as we discussed" I ordered.
The potion would keep them unconscious for a while and I had guards to keep them contained until they were dealt with. Ciri took them to my manse yet that didn't mean I was stuck here. She knew where to meet me in about a quarter of an hour.
Before I destroyed this castle, something I was sure I could do, I went into the workspace of the Maester of Pyke. The man himself had fled, perhaps taking what he could with him, but he'd still left a lot behind.
There were very few books here, to what would be the dismay of Hermione, but that was good for me as I didn't want to spend a lot of time packing books into the expanded bag I kept for looting.
Once that was done I broke down a wall with Stormbreaker and then I flew out of the castle. My cloak kept me up in the air and invisible so I didn't need to worry about anyone trying to take me down with an arrow while I was distracted.
"Strun Bah Qo"
The Storm Call Shout took a day that was oddly peaceful in terms of weather and made it a sailor's nightmare. In no time at all the sea began to turn, as rain poured down from the sky, and the wind began to howl.
I lifted Stormbreaker and the godly weapon allowed me to direct the fury of the storm at the towers that made up the castle of Pyke as well as the main keep.
It wasn't as dramatic as hoped. The towers didn't crumble into the sea and the keep didn't collapse. There was soon a lot of smoke coming from the castle and the rope bridges were gone, but that was it.
"My compliments to the architect" I muttered.
Then to my surprise, a massive monster came out of the ocean a Kraken unless I was mistaken, it could have come right out of that Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It began breaking ships that were judging by their sails from all over the Seven Kingdoms.
I couldn't help thinking that this was somehow my fault. That comet had appeared soon after I'd forged my Ring of Power and recently begun enchanting the equipment of my highlander claim.
I'd suspected that magic might become more common I'd just not imagined that the drowned gold might be real, I doubted that some sea creature deiced to pop up randomly. This had been planned.
Even if this creature was just an avatar or a servant of the drowned god that had been sent to protect the Iroborn from invaders, it was a threat to me as I lived in a city that was a major seaport. It had to be dealt with.
I channelled lightning again and blasted the sea monster with the power of the storm. Electricity and water don't mix well, but this seemed to only stun the sea monster.
There was only one thing I could do to try to match that sort of power.
Well, that wasn't totally true as Alduin has a dragon shout named "Dragon Storm Call". It is similar to Storm Call, but it calls forth a meteor storm instead of a lightning storm and the sky turns red instead of stormy grey. Alduin used this Shout to destroy Helgen.
It was possible for me to perform that Shout since I understood the words of power involved, but there was something else I wanted to try first as the Dragon Storm Call might do too much damage.
"Dur Neh Viir! Hear my Voice and come forth from the Soul Cairn. I summon you in my time of need".
To my amazement, it worked and a dragon appeared out of some sort of portal. A dragon of Skyrim, it was larger and much more powerful than the native dragons who were themselves living WMDs in this setting.
I made myself visible and then I pointed to the sea monster.
"Krii!" I commanded.
That was the Dovah word that meant 'kill' and while Durnenviir wasn't compelled to obey my command the Dov was quite happy to go prove the superiority of dragons over sea monsters.
Having a dragon appear was going to throw Westeros into turmoil I knew, but that actually served my plans. The Seven Kingdoms needed to be shaken up and no one would know that the soon-to-be well-known Magister Marek Dovahkiin was involved in any of this.
The storm started to settle as Durnenviir swooped down and used the Drain Vitality Shout against the sea monster. The creature tried to grab the dragon with its tentacles.
Only Durnenviir proved to be too mighty to be dragged down into the sea by the creature that had already been weakened by a deadly Shout. His wings flapped and even from this distance, I could tell that he was struggling valiantly, refusing to submit.
While this wasn't the first time I'd seen a dragon I'd not had much chance to admire the sheer power of Smaug the Terrible. Now I was getting to watch a dragon fight and it was fucking epic. No amount of CGI could ever show something like this and compare it to the real thing.
Durnenviir managed to get the sea monster in his claws and lift it partly out of the water before biting the creature with his powerful jaw. Then when the dragon let go the creature either sank or retreated. I hoped it was the latter, but given the kind of world that I was in I highly doubted it. The monster would appear again despite how much of its blood had been spilt.
Now that Durnenviir's job was done, at least well enough, the Shout came to an end and the dragon left this world, I went to meet Ciri down on an empty bit of beach, so that she could take us home so I could get some rest. The fighting had been easy, however, Shouting as I had really takes it out of you.
While I'd not destroyed the castle of Pyke the Greyjoys were over as a noble house and hopefully, the other nobles would be busy for a while killing each other so as to become the top dogs.
I'd done enough here and with the appearance of the sea monster, I knew that the danger rating of this world had increased due to me forging my version of the One Ring.
It was now more important than ever to collect the point I needed, get my pocket dimension and hatch some dragons as while I could summon one the Shout didn't last that long. I would need more firepower.
Team Builder.
Part 38
Pyke. The Iron Islands.
Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, the Lion Cub of Cintra, the Lady of Space and Time, better known as Ciri, watched as the dragon faded away as if some spell had come to end
Given what she knew of the man called Marek Dovahkiin it wasn't hard for the young woman to guess who had summoned up that beast. There was only one man in this world with that kind of power. At least as far as she knew.
Ciri was normally up for a bit of monster slaying, but that sea creature would have been beyond her. Even a team of witchers couldn't have fought off that monster, not at sea at least and if Marek hadn't sent the dragon many men would have been lost.
She could imagine the look in Yennfer's eye if the power-hungry sorceress ever found out that there was a man around who could perform that sort of magic and it was a good thing that it wasn't something mages of her world could do.
She was a little worried about Marek being able to perform such magic. He could do a lot of damage if he decided to conquer this world or just lay waste to those he deemed evil.
The only reason she wasn't too worried was that the Dragonborn had summoned up the creature so that it would battle some sea monster that had suddenly turned up and started wreaking ships, dragging sailors to their deaths, and generally causing a lot of mess.
She dearly hoped that Marek Dovahkinn had wanted to destroy the sea monster to save lives rather than to show off his power.
Since there weren't supposed to be any proper mages in Westeros it was a mystery how the sea monster had turned up.
It wasn't unheard of for monsters to suddenly appear and there were even mages who had made such creatures even if they weren't so massive, but this world wasn't supposed to have anyone who could do that sort of thing.
Ciri assumed that it had something to do with the drowned god that the pirates worshipped and used as a justification for their crimes. It certainly had looked like something a sea god could have sent to aid its worshippers in their time of need.
Whatever it was, the creature had been no match for a dragon. That was actually comforting to know as there was a chance the sea monster might turn up again or something else equally dangerous could be out there.
Cirilla wondered why anyone would praise a deity that had either been drowned or drowned itself and if someone had drowned it then they were clearly more worthy of respect.
Perhaps it had been the storm god the pirates had shouted about when running away from Marek. A god of storms certainly sounded more impressive.
The sea monster was either sinking to the bottom of the sea or had gone off to lick its wounds. Either way, the battle was over and before long the fleet would reorganise and the castle of Pyke would be taken.
So in Ciri's view was a good thing that they would be leaving soon and going back to Braavos.
Ciri thought about her new life and found that she was enjoying it for the most part. No one had any expectations and there wasn't much going on that demanded her time.
She was taking advantage of that to relax, but she'd not gotten lazy, she still sparred and she was trying to learn about this world since it looked as if she was going to be here for a while.
When the god that aided her in the battle against the White Frost had made its offer of help in exchange for service in some sort of contract, Ciri hadn't known what to expect, and she was pleased that Marek seemed content to keep things casual between himself and the women who were meant to serve him.
Ciri thought back to that confrontation and how she'd foolishly rushed off to face the force that threatened more than one world.
In retrospect, she'd been more worn out from fighting the Wild Hunt than she'd thought and would have died if not for the actions of the entity that Marek called Rob for some reason.
It hadn't been a hard choice to make, she could have chosen to die then and there, but instead, she'd decided to take a chance. So far she wasn't regretting it.
Hermione, her fellow consort? seemed nice enough and far less arrogant than most mages Ciri had met. She didn't go around setting people on fire or cursing them. That was a nice change.
As a bonus, Marek wasn't trying to force Ciri into doing anything and she'd gotten a nifty magic sword earlier in the day. She'd be the envy of many a Witcher if they ever found out about it. Not that there were many Witchers left.
The Dragonborn wasn't so bad and she didn't think she'd mind having him in the same bed as her. He hadn't pressed the issue, due to being busy, and the had plenty of other women around if he felt the need to plough someone.
Ciri didn't want to be alone and it had been a good long while since she'd been touched by someone else in that special way. Perhaps she would be the one to make the first move if Marek didn't keep getting distracted.
The Dragonborn brought the Lady of Space and Time out of her thoughts as he landed on the beach. He was invisible, but she'd heard him hit the sand, and a moment later he appeared as if by magic because it was magic.
She couldn't see his face due to his horned helmet, but she got the sense that the Dragonborn was worn out. Making that storm and calling up a dragon must have taken a lot out of him.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
It had been a busy day and Ciri fancied getting something to eat before having a nice rest.
"I'm done here" confirmed Marek.
A few seconds later they were on their way back to the manse in Braavos.
Pyke. The Iron Islands.
Eddard Stark of House Stark had not seen his friend King Robert this angry since the rebellion and he was worried about how much the man was drinking.
The loss of Dragonstone to a natural disaster had been bad enough (but not that big of a deal to the monarch as the castle and island were Targaryen strongholds) but the appearance of an actual dragon had gotten Robert Baratheon more than a little upset.
He seemed to take the existence of the dragon, some reports of which stated seemed to be an undead creature like out of one Old Nan's tales, as some sort of insult, as if the monster existed to offend Robert Baratheon personally.
The king had already offered a great reward for the person, or more likely group of people, who brought him the creature's head and for some reason, Robert seemed to believe that the loss of dragonstone and the appearance of that monster were connected despite dragonstone being on the far side of Westeros.
Robert Baratheon also seemed to think that this was all part of a Targaryen plot to undermine his rulership, and he'd ranted about those who called him usurper, those who would welcome a Targaryen back on the Iron Throne.
Eddard didn't think this was a plot because it made no sense for the Targayens to destroy their own ancestral seat, but the king didn't want to hear that, nor did he care that the only two known Targaryens in the world were mere children.
None of the other lords wanted there to be a dragon about, not if they weren't the ones to control it Eddard thought, and so they had all agreed to spread the word of the dragon as well as the reward across their lands.
The Lord of Winterfell thought this a little foolish as news of a dragon being spotted anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms would cause panic and perhaps make those who still had some loyalty left to the Targaryens think that the Dragonriders might return, but the news would get about soon enough as many had seen the monster with their own eyes.
Another concern was how many sellswords and robber knights would soon be roaming the lands trying to find the dragon. They would no doubt terrorise the smallfolk as they chased rumours of a dragon sighting, or at least cause problems for the lords whose lands they'd trespass upon.
In the command tent that had been set up so that Robert had room for a full war council, Eddard Stark looked around at his so-called peers.
The Lion of Casterly Rock, Tywin Lannister, was no doubt thinking about how this situation could be made to serve his interest and advance his family. The man was always looking for such advantages.
Mace Tyrell was too foolish to do the same, but Eddard knew that the Lord Paramount of the Reach was not the entirety of his family and that Mace's kingdom was as full of schemers as anywhere else in the south.
Eddard wondered how the Dornish would respond to this news. Would they react?
At least Stannis had his priorities straight, he'd been sending off ravens ever since he'd heard of Dragonstone's loss and doing his best to prepare himself for his new role as Lord Paramount of the Iron Islands.
Eddard thought this was foolish as well as the Ironborn would never follow a Greenlander, not unless they were forced to and the Seven Kingdoms couldn't afford to station an army here permanently.
Robert had likely signed his brother's death warrant by giving him the castle known as Pyke and worryingly the king didn't seem to care when Eddard voiced his concern.
The castle was a wreck, which was why they weren't meeting within its walls, Pyke had been battered by an expected storm and struck by many lightning bolts. Some of the captives had spoken about an avatar of the storm god having rampaged through the castle and given the sudden storm.
Eddard couldn't help wondering if the storm god was real. He'd seen a dragon today, something thought to be a mere legend by many, and a sea monster so what else could be real? Giants? The Children of the Forest?
Someone had killed the Greyjoys, although they hadn't found the bodies of Theon Greyjoy or Balon Greyjoy's daughter, who no one really cared about as it was only important to secure Theon, since he was Balon's heir and could be used as a figure to rally the Ironborn, to lead them into another rebellion.
"So this storm god" Robert was now saying to his friend "He kills Ironborn and has a magic axe that controls lightning. Could he be a Targaryen do you think? Could he have brought the dragon here".
Eddard really had no idea. The dragon had simply vanished into the air and they were hard to miss so it wasn't as if could have flown off without someone seeing which direction it went in.
"I've never heard of a Targaryen with power over a storm," said some lord from the Westerlands said.
That was true. There were stories of Targaryens riding dragons, having strange dreams and being able to withstand the touch of a flame without being burnt, but this avatar of the storm god was something else.
Likely the captives were spinning a bit of a tale, however, there were bodies in the castle that looked to have been struck by lightning according to the Maester who had examined them.
Another oddity was that the dragon hadn't breathed fire during its battle with the sea monster. That was something else that no one could explain.
The Ironborm claimed that the sea monster was an avatar of the drowned god sent to save them and to do battle with the avatar of the storm god.
Only the sea monster hadn't turned the tide of the battle, although it could have, and likely would have if the dragon hadn't turned up.
It was all a mess and none of it made sense. Eddard badly wanted to go home and not just because he was worried about the safety of The North, but because life made a lot more sense back in Winterfell.
"Someone better find out who this avatar of the storm god is" demanded Robert "If he controls that dragon then he's got to have some connection to the Targaryens and he's a threat to the Seven Kingdoms".
Eddard wondered if that was true since the dragon had actually saved the fleet and the avatar had only gone after Ironborn. Had the raiders done something to offed a powerful dragonlord, one that may or may not be a Targaryen?
The Lord Paramount of the North did wonder, but he also figured that it wouldn't be a good idea for him to try to find out more. Offending anyone powerful enough to rampage three a castle was not a wise idea and he didn't want that dragon going north.
He would do his duty here and spread the word of Robert's bounty. He would also arrange to head back to the North as soon as possible. The south had once again proven that it was no place for a Stark.
Team Builder.
Part 39
Manse. Braavos.
"They didn't take as long to make as I thought they would," I said.
Before us on the table in my study/workshop were the eight Gwent decks that I'd commissioned a local artist to paint according to my plans. While I was many things an artist wasn't one of them so I'd outsourced the work to a talented painter.
The eight decks were themed in a way that a person could play the game using cards from their homeland. As such, each deck had a certain theme to it.
For example, the Northern deck had direwolves, and regular wolves, while the Westerlands had lions of a few different kinds.
As well as peasant levies, cavalry and siege engines, each deck also had cards for special characters that would only be equalled by the most famous characters of the other kingdoms.
The Westerosi love their famous heroes and figures like Bran the Builder, Lann the Clever, Garth Greenhand and others that are still spoken about thousands of years after they were supposed to have lived. Assuming that they ever existed at all.
The eight decks were for the North, the Westerlands, The Vale of Arryn, The Stormlands, The Reach, The Iron Islands, Dorne and the Riverlands.
I'd not commissioned a deck for the Crownlands as they were Targaryen lands by tradition and I didn't want King Robert having a hissy fit about their being dragons in the game.
Offending King Robert as Magister Marek Dovahkinn would only frustrate my plans so perhaps I would make him a nice warhammer, one superior to any in the primitive Seven Kingdoms.
It would be amusing to me to keep aggravating the man while also pretending to be something of a supporter if only because I sent him fancy gifts.
What mattered most was that the decks be more or less equal so as not to offend some prickly lord who would then try to ban the game, at least on his own lands.
My target audience would be lords, knights and merchants, who wanted to show loyalty to the kingdom of their birth.
"So how exactly are you going to get people playing my favourite game?" the witcher asked me.
It shouldn't be too hard. People craved distractions and it wasn't as if there was anything in this world to really compete with Gwent.
"Once the patent office is up and running I'll patent the game of Gwent in your name since it's your game," I told the ashen-haired young woman "Then no one else in Braavos will be able to produce decks without paying a fee to the patent office".
At least in theory, and since no one wanted to anger the Iron Bank there would be few foolish enough to make any counterfeit decks. Those who did would find themselves with a powerful enemy.
Outside of Braavos things would be different, but it actually suited my plans to have people try to copy my ideas as it would force them to try new things and perhaps improve on old methods.
"In my name?" Ciri asked.
I couldn't have all the patents come from me.
"This is your idea," I said "You should own the game and collect the profits".
Hearing that pleased the warrior woman.
"When the patent is filed I'll hire people with some skill with paint to copy the decks we already have" I was now saying "I plan to buy some more property and open up a store that sells things from other worlds and things I make, including Gwent decks".
I could buy things cheap from the Daedric merchant and then sell those items at a profit here in this world because they wouldn't be common items in this reality and therefore could be sold at higher prices.
Also if I needed more money I could sell stuff easily obtained in Braavos to the Daedric merchant for septims that were gold coins and therefore could be exchanged at the Iron Bank.
If anyone asked about my sources I would claim that they were brought in from foreign lands I explored as a treasure hunter.
Another idea of mine was to forge some of the swords the Braavosi like to use in duels using more advanced smithing methods and I would put a little mithril into each blade. That way my swords would be superior to anything made by the locals.
Bravos use slender swords that are edged and balanced for the thrust, quite similar to rapiers back in my world.
Since I had access to all human knowledge from my world it wouldn't be hard for me to find a more advanced design than the one used by those that made swords for the Bravos.
The Bravos dress in colourful finery and some put scented oil in their hair. If they had the money for fancy clothes, scented oils and swords, as well as lessons on how to use them, then at least a few of them should have some coin to spend on the superior swords that I can supply.
I remembered seeing some of the Bravos here in Braavos when I'd last gone out, and how they wanted to pick fights and prove their skills.
Most will fight with little cause or no cause and anyone carrying a sword after dark in Braavos can be challenged to a duel. Even simply placing a finger on the hilt of a sword while facing a bravo can be considered a challenge.
Yet the Bravos never bother anyone without a sword, but if you have a sword they will challenge you to a duel for many reasons, some of which are quite stupid reasons in my view.
Braavosi bravos are known to fight duels in the name of courtesans, such as the Nightingale, to defend their own honour, or to avenge some slight that might have been imagined.
The greatest bravos in Braavos practice a style of sword fighting known as the water dance. If we were still in this world when Danny was old enough to start combat training I might hire a water dancer to train her.
Producing superior swords for the bravos and introducing new products would no doubt upset other business owners, so it was good that I had my own clan of immortal warriors and Hermione could ward places to keep them safe from hostiles.
Having the support of the Iron Bank was very important and I might need to do a little ass-kissing so as to get in good with the Sealord. It would only make things easier for me later.
While magic was more accepted in Essos, it was just part of life even if it wasn't that noticeable, that didn't mean it was a good idea to make blades that were noticeably magical.
I wouldn't enchant those swords, I would just make sure that they were noticeably superior to other swords and maybe patent the designs for other smiths to buy if my blades became popular.
As for making Gwent popular enough for Ciri to find players of the game in the taverns she visited, I planned to send a copy of each deck to the Lord Paramount of the Seven Kingdoms of the kingdoms I'd made decks for, aside from the Iron Islands since I'd killed the Greyjoys, as it might lead to more interest in the game.
"There aren't any Essos armies" commented Ciri as she looked through the cards.
Before selling the decks we had to play test them and this involved quite a bit of drinking and making bets. Since I was the source of her income I wouldn't have won anything even if I had managed to beat her in the game.
"Westeros has a strong military culture" I explained "They have lots of famous knights and stories of great battles. Essos is more about trade than war, and the Free Cities tend to depend upon sellsword companies and buying Unsullied, so they don't many famous warriors in their histories".
I might have managed a Dothraki deck if they had more than light cavalry, but I doubted any of those savages would pay for the cards so there would be no point, and no one who would play the game liked the Dothraki.
"You should do a sellsword deck" advised Ciri as she moved over so she could come and sit on my lap "Sellswords love card games if only for the gambling, and you can have their cards work so they can be added to anyone's deck since sellswords fight for whoever pays them".
That could make for a decent expansion later, even if many lords criticised sellswords they still made use of them in war and I doubted the merchants would care.
"If you want a sellsword deck I'll plan one out and have it made for you" I promised.
Rather than reply verbally she turned her body so that she was straddling me and began mashing her lips into my face.
I could taste the expensive wine she'd been drinking and feel the heat coming off her body.
As we began making out like a couple of horny teenagers, I put my hand inside the top Ciri was wearing and found to my surprise that she was wearing a modern bra.
"Hermione made it for me," Ciri said as she showed the item of clothing to me by taking off her top "She just waved that stick of hers and made one".
You can transfigure something into a bra?
After hearing that I spent some time admiring the view before making a mental note to introduce bras to this world as advancing women's fashion could also help towards my goal of an uplift.
I stopped caring about that when Ciri exposed her breasts to me by removing the bra and shoving her tits into my face.
Her attempt at seducing me was crude but extremely effective. I bit and sucked on her nipples, much to her delight, and I kept going until I decided that I wanted to see more of her body.
In one swift motion, I stood up and placed the witcher on the table, not caring for the cards that got knocked on the ground.
I then removed the leather trousers she often wore to show she wore modern knickers well. She noticed me paying them quite a bit of attention.
"They feel nice against my skin," Ciri told me.
She'd have to get a new pair as I removed the ones she was wearing and threw them into the clutter of study/workshop, something that made my companion giggle in a very girly way.
Soon I began to kiss and lick her bare pussy. I had asked Hermione to introduce Ciri to the feminine hygiene products that we got with our supplies from the CYOA and by the looks of things the warrior woman had made good use of the razors.
She wasn't at all shy about her body and was fine with me taking some time just to admire her form. Her breasts were modest in size, yet very perky and with nipples that just needed to be inside my mouth more often.
I also noticed the rose tattoo she had on her inner thigh, my mark (the old Akaviri symbol for the Dragonborn) was on her back as it was on Hermione's body. It showed anyone who saw it that she was mine, it served as a visible sign of the power I had over these women.
Her pussy looked ready to be used and the expression on her face was I needed to confirm this. Although she did give me verbal confirmation as well.
"Please!" she called out "I want you inside me. Fuck me, Marek".
I considered holding back to tease her, but I really wanted to fuck her as well, to use her body for my pleasure, so I did.
"Oh," Ciri whispered, her eyes locked with mine as I pushed inside her.
She seemed very happy to have my filling up her eager cunt. While she was tight, she was very slick so it was easy to get my cock deep inside her.
She was no virgin I felt sure, but I didn't think she'd gotten fucked much by a man so gave her a few moments to get used to having me inside her.
"Oh, fuck!" she called out.
Her nipples looked as if they could be used to cut glass, and the amount of noise coming out of her mouth made it very clear to me that she was enjoying having me start to thrust inside her tight little fuckhole when I did start moving.
Despite needing to focus on Ciri I couldn't help wondering if I'd be doing the same to the Greyjoy girl I'd brought here once she was under my control. Would she be a cold fish in bed?
I pushed such thoughts aside and focused on what or rather who I was doing. Something that took real effort as my mind wasn't one that easily stopped thinking.
So I focused on how good Ciri's tight cunt felt around my cock as I pushed into her harder than before, trying to get balls deep.
She moaned and might have tried to speak, but she couldn't as her brain looked to have melted and poured out of her ears some time ago. She just wanted to be fucked, and I got on with that.
I picked up the pace, knocking everything else off the table, and making a mess for those poor maids to clean up later.
Ciri's grunts and moans became louder almost deafening to me, no doubt later she'd be glad to hear this room had charms on it to block out noise, although I'd gotten Hermione to place those to remove distractions while I was working.
There was no talk, we barely sounded human as I used Ciri's body for my pleasure. I pushed into her again and again, rocking the table and I was glad it didn't break as I pounded the female witcher.
I just kept going until my cum was filling her up. Something that Ciri delighted in giving the noises now coming out of her mouth.
She went limp afterwards as I sat down. It took some time, but we managed to recover our senses, and as it turned out Ciri's brain hadn't in fact melted and poured out of her ears.
"You ploughed me like I'm a cheap tavern wench," the warrior woman said as she smiled at me.
I felt it best not to offer a tip as I would have if she had been a real tavern wench.
Team Builder.
Part 40
Near Craster's Keep. North of the Wall.
It might seem rather random for me to come to this frozen land and given how many matters needed my attention it would also seem to be a waste of time, but it certainly wasn't.
Nor was something I was doing out of the blue, because I'd been scrying to spy on certain people and groups ever since I'd arrived on this world.
The movements of the White Walkers, who as it turned out were the show version of the creatures (an effect of the Derp feature I assumed as it was meant to make this world less dangerous for me) were of great interest.
While I wasn't going to attack them in their icy fortress in the far north, it made sense to try to pick off any lone Walkers that I could find when I got the chance.
My concern for their growing strength was a valid one as mere hours ago when I'd attempted to check up on what the Night King was up to the water in the bowl I'd been using a conduit suddenly froze.
I didn't think the leader of the White Walkers had been able to see me due to my defences, but his being able to block my attempt to spy on him was more than a little worrying.
If the Walkers were growing in power then I needed to do something about it as it might be my fault if nothing else.
That sea monster over in the Iron Islands shouldn't have turned up, it shouldn't have even existed, and I just knew that it had to do with me forging the Dragon Ring of Power.
The comet was here many years early and while I didn't know for certain I had this feeling that I upset some sort of balance, that I'd stirred up ancient forces that the humans of this world thought limited to legends.
If the drowned god was real, and White Walkers roamed the far north, then what else was out there?
If nothing else I was trying to uplift this world and leave a legacy that would result in me being remembered for centuries. Neither of those objectives would work out in the long term if everyone was killed by ice demons and their armies of the dead.
"Are you sure this monster is going to turn up?" asked Ciri.
She was on edge because Craster had ventured out of his home a short time ago and left a baby in the woods. Her biology was telling her to go over to the baby and comfort the little guy, and I too felt the need. Taking in Smaug had certainly changed me, but I was still a human being.
I was just glad I'd gotten one of my immortal warriors to go wrap the baby in the blanket that Hermione had placed warming charms upon. If Ciri had gone over there the baby would be in Braavos by now.
Us being here while Craster was sacrificing one of his sons was not a coincidence, this was why a lone White Walker was off by himself and I'd tracked him coming this way.
A lone White Walker was simply too tempting a target, and we needed to ensure that Valyrian steel could destroy one of them. If for some reason it didn't I had Stormbreaker on standby.
"Using a baby as bait is wrong" complained Ciri.
We'd already been over this. I'd not placed the baby in the woods and if we left with him now the Walker would be free to go around killing people so as to raise them from the dead. We'd help a lot more people by taking out this Walker.
"I won't let it happen again" I promised.
Craster needed to die so that he couldn't supply any more male children to the Others. Aside from that practical concern, he was an asshole who needed to die and his family deserved better. As for the women, well dealing with them would be a more complex matter.
"It's here" I heard one of my immortal warriors whisper.
I knew since I kept track of the Walker on my special map. It didn't seem to know or care that we were here. The arrogant fool most likely thought that no one could hurt it and so didn't worry about us getting in the way.
"As soon as you see the Walker strike it down," I said to Ciri.
Spoiler
She did just that, vanishing and striking, the Walker shattered into little bits of ice that were soon taken away by the wind. Nightfall worked as Longclaw had in the show. Good to know.
"Well, that was easy," I remarked.
Ciri was already going for the baby so I went to join her.
"I was taught by the best," the witcher stated.
Indeed, Geralt had trained her well.
"And we know that the Valyarian steel works," I said.
Ciri held the poor baby close to her and rocked him. His crying soon stopped.
"They'll be more careful in the future" she commented.
Yes, that was a concern of mine. At least losing one of their own would slow them down and I intended to kill Craster so as to deny them more boys to transform.
They might have other sources of recruits or be able to obtain male children via other means, but I could keep an eye out for that and hinder their plans further.
We might end up taking on Walkers that have a lot of wights to protect them or they could start travelling in groups. We'd have to carefully gather intelligence on our targets and strike so as to keep the number of Walkers low.
Sooner or later the Night King would make a move and I would go after him with as much force as I could muster.
"Just let me drop this little guy off with Hermione," said Ciri "I'll be right back".
With that, she vanished and when she didn't return right away I didn't worry as more than likely she was fussing over that poor baby and chatting with my other companion about what a heartless monster I was for leaving the little chap out in the cold.
The fact that I was helping to safeguard every baby everywhere by stopping the Walkers would not be taken into account and I would no doubt be getting some sour looks from my witch for some time to come.
As for Hermione, she had taken to running my household rather well, and she was also educating Danny while instructing Yara Greyjoy in her new role, she'd even altered Theon Greyjoy's mind for me so that he could be sent to live with a family of sailors.
She would look after the baby until he was placed with a suitable family over in Braavos. I hoped that neither of the women got too attached as I had no desire to start collecting children.
I did consider taking the tyke and just leaving, but that wouldn't really make a difference and it might even lead to the Walkers killing all of Craster's family if some sort of deal was broken.
Besides, the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few or the one.
"The little guy is having a nap" Ciri reported when she returned "Let's go kill his dad".
We headed for Craster's Keep and the man made no move to stop me as I entered his home. He wasn't stupid enough to try taking on a fully armoured warrior with armed women at his side.
"You're no crow," he said "And none of the Free Folk has armour like that".
My dragon bone armour might look primitive since it was made of parts from a dead creature, but it was actually the product of advanced craftsmanship and the use of materials that were magical in nature.
Ciri didn't give the man a chance to talk further on that or any other matter, she killed him before I could talk and I looked at her. Even with my helm on she knew I was giving her a questioning look.
"He sacrificed his own sons," she pointed out, "Which made him a monster and I kill monsters".
I couldn't argue with that and I had more important things to do than to comment about how she was hogging all the kills. It was a good thing we didn't need XP to advance our skills.
"Ladies," I said to the scared Wildling women "You've got three choices. You can stay here, go off on your own, or let us take you south of the Wall".
As bad as it could get in Westeros south of the Wall, at least no one there wanted to add to their growing army of the undead and the world was a big place. It would be easy for them to hide out somewhere remote.
I could have taken them to Braavos, but while it was easy enough to find homes for a few children, resettling this many women would be a different matter.
Braavos might as well be on another planet given how
different it was to the society of the Free Folk. They'd suffer from culture shock and their skills wouldn't be useful in a city that revolved mostly around trade.
I'd considered returning the boy to them, but I'd worried that these women might just end up putting him back in the woods.
They might think that the lad would grow up to be like this father and want to do away with him. I'd been willing to risk the child's life, but I'd taken responsibility for the boy when making him part of my plans and had to do my best for him.
One of the older women stepped forward. She was the only person in the group brave enough to speak and to be fair I did look rather intimidating.
"We'll make our own way, milord," she said "Just leave us be".
Their fates were their own and I was content to let them live their own lives. Moments later I was gone, with Ciri and the immortal warriors, appearing within our manse over in Braavos.
I was soon taking off my armour. Knowing that it was important to clean and maintain my equipment.
"Oh good, you're back," said Hermione when she found me in the armoury of the manse "You've got a few appointments this morning that we need to go over".
Braavos was hours ahead of where I had been in terms of time zones, as such it was morning here rather than very late at night.
"You need to meet with a few of the Magisters about you joining their ranks" I was reminded "You need to start making more allies in the city".
Yes, that was important. I wouldn't be able to get much done in Braavos without their approval, and by approval, I meant bribes and promises of future favours.
My patent office threatened the Magister's power and could undermine the guilds that helped run this city-state.
The Magisters controlled the movement of goods, but without the guilds, they'd have little to export. There was a pottery guild, a blacksmith guild, a seamstress guild and so on.
My plan to butter up the leaders of the guilds was to offer them free designs for new products. This would get them interested in the patent office and reassure them that I wasn't going to drive them out of business.
The Magisters could be won over with exotic goods and promises of a share of the profits later. It was the guild leaders who worried me. If they felt their lively hoods were threatened they'd make trouble for me.
As Hermione worked to organise everything I went to get dressed. She followed me and kept going over her plans as I changed.
"I've got everything ready for the dinner party tonight" she let me know "Every Magister is coming with his wife or mistress. I guess they are curious about the new guy".
Curiosity wouldn't be the only factor. The Iron Bank wouldn't be giving out my personal details but people talked and by now rumours of my wealth would have gotten around.
"Is Danny okay with her role?" I asked.
Daenerys Targaryen was now Daenys Dovahkiin as Daenerys and Daenys are similar enough for a five-year-old to remember and there was no hiding her Valyrian heritage even with her hair being dyed.
We had the same colour eyes so it just made sense to pass her off as my daughter and pretend to be a family of Valyrian descent.
Given the history of Braavos, it might seem unwise to act as Valyrian descendants, but I'd not felt any hostility towards me when people saw my eyes. The Freehold was gone, and the dragons too, they had no reason to fear the dragonlords.
"She'll be fine" Hermione assured me "She's happier being Daenys Dovahkiin than she was as Daenerys Targaryen".
Safer as well as Daenerys Targaryen is a threat to anyone holding the Iron Throne whereas Daenys Dovahkinn is just the daughter of a wealthy man living in Braavos.
"And your own backstory is important," Hermione said "You're of Valyrian descent and a sellsword who joined a treasure-hunting expedition to an outpost of the Freehold. It explains your wealth and any advancements you try to bring about can be credited to what you found in Valyria".
That should work, and people won't care much where the money comes from once I started spreading it about. For today, I would have to be as charming as possible.