Sorry for the delay on this one, been busy and this one took a few rewrites.
Hope you enjoy the read.

Kingslanding, Crownlands, Westeros

Severus gazed at the vast city as the Shivering Maiden slowly made its way into the harbour while the rest of the sizable fleet stayed further back in the bay, in particular looking at the sheer size of the red stone castle that sat at the top of a hill. When they'd first entered the bay a large fleet of warships had approached and flew the flag of warning but backed down when the Imperial ships had flown the flag of peace, apparently maritime flag codes were universal. As the ship neared the wooden pier some of the crew picked up large bundles of rope and threw them to the dockhands already waiting for them. After the ship was tied to the harbour Severus pushed himself off the railing and walked over to the gang plank that was being set down.

"Seems we've already attracted attention, Sev." Erik muttered from his place next to the Imperial as a group of armoured men marched down the pier.

Severus nodded slightly to Erik. "To be expected." He turned to look over both his shoulders. "Is Rikke coming?"

"She said it would be best if you handled this, and she flat out told Neloth he wasn't making first contact." Erik explained with a slight smirk.

"Sounds like Rikke." Severus muttered as he descended the plank. "Remember what she did with that Elf Lord in Cheydinhal."

Erik laughed. "How could I forget the look on that smug bastards face when she just stuck her blade in his stomach."

Severus grinned at the memory for a few moments but returned to a passive face when the armoured men reached them. The first thing that struck him was their golden cloaks, like his and Eriks. "On the order of the Hand of the King, you are to follow us." The one at the front of the group stated matter of factly.

The Imperial and Nord shared a glance at the order but Severus soon nodded. "Very well, take us to the King's hand." When one of the men scowled at him before turning to walk back the way he came he glanced back at Erik and rolled his eyes. When they two set off two of the men fell into step behind them, no doubt keeping them from leaving.

...

The Red Keep, as Severus had by now been told was its name, was truly amazing in size and scope. Dwarfing both Dragonsreach and the Blue Palace and maybe even rivalling the White Gold Tower had it still been standing. Their golden cloaked escort led them through the keep and soon to a large hall. At one end was what looked like a throne but not any ordinary one, it seemed to be made out of melted down swords though the effect was obvious, it was the throne of a conqueror.

Passing through the hall they were led to a smaller chamber and upon entering they found a long table with five individuals sitting around it, an old man, a bald man, two middle aged men and another who looked very similar to the former jarl of Windhelm. The armoured men who had led them this far stopped and the lead one bowed. "Lord Stark, the men from the ships." He stepped to the side and gestured to Severus and Erik.

"Yes, thank you." The one who looked like Ulfric said, clearly this was Lord Stark. "Leave us." The guard bowed again and left, his men following behind him. "You're the leader of this fleet that arrived unannounced?" Stark asked, focusing on Severus.

"Yes Lord Stark. I am Severus Semponius, Thane of Whiterun Hold and servant of the Empire of Tamriel." Severus said with a nod before gesturing to Erik.

"I'm Erik, Carl to Thane Semponius." Erik said with his own nod.

The bald one raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me, Thane. But you say of Tamriel, we haven't had visitors from since before Aegon the Conqueror landed. Why are you here."

Well, no point in beating around the bush with this. "I'm afraid we're here to hunt down some people, from Tamriel. They are incredibly dangerous and it's imperative we find them."

Stark looked at him for a few moments. "And what of those other ships? How many men have you brought?"

"Eight hundred and forty." Severus simply stated.

There was a few moments of silence as the various men sat around the table looked at each other. Finally the old one spoke up. "And how are you to feed this many men, even if the Hand does allow you to land?"

"We have supplies to last a week, after that we were hoping to buy provisions from the local merchants and farmers." The Imperial replied, eyeing the old man.

"If you pay fair price you may buy what you wish." Stark said calmly before stroking his short beard and sighing. "Very well you may land, but your camp is to be outside the city walls and you are to report to me everything that happens, I want to know where your men will be at all times."

Severus nodded. "Your terms are fair, we accept." He turned to leave but one of the other men, clearly the youngest, spoke up.

"Will you be coming to the tourney of the Hand, you look like riders?" The man had short dark brown hair and a full beard.

"A tourney?" Severus had heard of them before, they were supposedly quite popular in High Rock as a means of 'playing' at war since the Bretons hadn't gotten seriously involved in either of the Great Wars.

Stark sighed. "The King insists the capital hold a tourney in my honour, something that we can't afford."

"The realm prospers at such an event, my Lord." The bald one spoke.

"And fills the brothels." The other middle aged man spoke up, he was gaunt and looked to have some white in his otherwise dark brown hair.

Stark once again sighed and glared at the last one to speak before looking back at Severus. "You may leave now, Thane. Just make sure to send me reports on what you're doing."

Severus bowed his head slightly. "Of course, farewell my lords." He nodded again before leaving, followed by Erik. Once they were out of the chamber Severus let out a breath. "Well, that went better than expected."

"That lot are worse than the Empress's court." Erik muttered.

"That they are." The two came again to the main hall of the keep, where the throne made out of swords was. As they passed by it Severus slowed and eventually stopped to look at it. "I wonder how many swords it took to make that." He thought aloud.

"The stories say a thousand." The voice of the bald one from the council rang around the hall, the two turned to face him. "Forgive me, I am Varys, master of whisperers for the King." He looked at the throne behind them. "The Iron Throne of Westeros, I imagine it looks mundane compared to your Emperor's throne."

Severus looked behind him at the Iron Throne again but shook his head slightly. "The Empress sits on a simple throne in the Blue Palace." He looked back at Varys. "Though I don't doubt the old throne was just as imposing."

Varys smiled slightly. "An Empress, how interesting." He chuckled slightly, why the Imperial and Nord couldn't guess. "I shall bid you both farewell. If you ever need something, find me."

"I'll make sure to, Lord Varys." Severus spoke and gave the man a nod.

"Just Varys, I'm no more a lord than a beggar in Fleabottom." He bowed his head and left the two, exiting through the door the they'd first come in when being escorted by the gold cloaks.

Severus watched the man leave before beginning to move himself, followed quickly by Erik. "Come on, I bet Rikke is itching to get off the ship."

...

Janos Slynt, commander of the City Watch, sat on his horse just outside of the city walls, flanked by a few of his officers. Why these strange people from across the sea were here he didn't know and frankly he didn't care, all he cared about was the probable havoc they'd cause if they stayed too long.

"M'lord, there they are." The Gold Cloak to his right said as he pointed down the road. Sure enough there was a column of men with banners marching down the road that lead from the beach. "Wait... Is that?" The same man talked to himself as he peered closer, probably trying to get a closer look at the banners. When they did come into view Slynt balled his hands into fists, they had Dragons on their banners. And that wasn't all, as they passed it became clear that every single one of them was outfitted for war, all wearing matching heavy armour and carrying packs over their shoulders that held swords and shields along with other equipment.

"Steady lads." Slynt ordered, knowing some of the Gold Cloaks would be ready to dart back into the city, worthless bunch of cowards that they were.

Behind the long column of marching soldiers, that seemed to be broken up into four uniform groups judging by the slight gaps in the formation, rode a large company of cavalry. They were different to the infantry, instead of the plate armour they all wore mail and carried their weapons in their hands while their kit was strapped to their horses. A the front of the cavalry was another banner carrier, along with what looked like the commander of the unit since he was wearing the plate armour of the foot soldiers, at least he thought it was a he, the persons face was hidden by the helm.

After the cavalry company passed another, smaller group came. They too rode horses but these ones were heavier and their riders were outfitted in what looked like scale-mail armour and wore gold cloaks themselves. Great, things will be confusing enough without another bunch of gold cloaked soldiers walking around.

Riding at the head of the golden cloaked cavalry was the person he'd been ordered to speak to, to make sure everything smoothly as the small but no doubt formidable army set up outside his cities walls. Kicking his horse into action Slynt rode over, flanked by his officers. "Hail, Lord Severus." He called when he was close enough to be heard. The foreigner heard him and nodded to the men surrounding him before breaking off from the small formation, flanked by two of his own men. "His Lord Hand has ordered me to oversee you as you set up camp." He spoke in his authoritative tone, well honed over the years. "To ensure nothing untoward happens."

"I'm a Thane, not a Lord." Severus stated. "And the Lord Hand is gracious in his support."

Slynt scowled inwardly but kept up the passive exterior, he already disliked the man. "Of course, Thane." He eyed the black armour of the man, too similar to the black armour of the old Targaryens for his liking, especially since the solders before had carried dragon banners. "You've already chosen a camp site?"

"Yes, we have. Legate Rikke is leading the men to set it up." He gestured to the cavalry unit that had passed them and was now some way in the distance, heading to the edge of the Kingswood along with the footmen. "I assume there're lumber camps nearby." He added, looking at Janos expectantly.

"There are. Pay full price and we'll have no issues." The commnader of the City watch said with a slight bit of warning in his tone. "Don't want to hear stories about people not paying properly, not around here."

Severus nodded his head slightly. "I told the Hand we'd pay full price and that's what we'll do." The man pulled on the reins of his horse to turn it to the side. "Now, to the reason you're here." He kicked his horse on and trotted down the road, followed by his two men.

Scowling openly this time Slynt kicked his own horse forward, himself followed by his men. He quickly caught up with the Thane and the small group of riders were silent as they carried on down the road. As they got closer it became apparent the different units were already setting up their camp, some were pitching tents, other were digging groves in the ground. What caught his attention most was the raising dyke they were building around the camp. "Semponius." He raised his voice, causing the Imperial to look at him. "What are they doing?"

Severus looked at him for a moment, as if not understanding the question. "Setting up camp." Was his simple answer.

"And that means spoiling the Kings land?"

To Slynt's annoyance the man only shrugged. "The Hand knew we'd be setting up camp for months at the least, so we're making sure were set up for several months."

"I don't appreciate things like this just outside the city walls, be glad Lord Stark allowed this." Janos said, the threat quite clear in his voice. The Imperial nodded slightly and focused ahead again.

After a few more minutes they entered the beginnings of the large camp, most of the tents already seemed to be up and an area had already been marked off for the horses. Following the Thane they soon came to the centre of the camp where a tent larger than the others was already standing with two guards stationed outside it. Without a word the three Golden Cloaked foreigners dismounted. "You were sent to oversee us construct this camp." Severus spoke just at the entrance of the tent. "Do you have any other purpose here?"

This man was really beginning to tire Slynt. "I was told to remind you that his Lord Hand will require updates on all of your peoples movements." He nodded to his men to turn and leave but he himself stayed a few moments. leaning in closer to the Imperial he changed his tone to a clearly threatening one. "And make no mistake, I don't want you here, so I'll be watching you. And at the first mistake, I'll have the entire City Watch bearing down on you." He straightened up and smirked, that should keep him in line. Without another word he pulled on his horses reins and trotted back along the road, to catch up with his men.

...

"The City Watch Commander is a charming man." Severus said as he entered the command tent of the camp. It was currently empty bar one small table as the rest of the furniture and equipment was still being brought up by the Third Century.

"That was the one who threatened you?" Dinontus asked as he pace around the tent. Rikke and Neloth were studying the map of Westeros on the small table, both seemed more interested in their own private discussion about the best place to search first. "Not very subtle is he?"

Erik soon joined Severus's side, having also followed him inside. "Going to be confusing with them wearing golden cloaks."

"Why do you wear those cloaks anyway?" Guilliman asked, having stopped pacing. "Surely it just makes you more obvious on the battlefield, might as well carry around a banner saying "The Dragonborn is over here"."

Severus shrugged. "Colours of Whiterun." Was the simple answer.

Dinontus glanced up, as if in thought, before slowly nodding. "If you two are quite done." Neloth said, only now looking up from the map. "We have an entire Kingdom to search."

"It'll take months to search the city alone, it's bigger than the Imperial City ever was." Erik stated as he began to pace.

"Which is why, once we get fully set up here, we're going to write wanted posters and post them around the city in the taverns." Rikke chimed in, not looking up. "A decent bounty should solve most of our problems here and in the other major cities." She sighed heavily. "By the Nine I don't think we brought enough men. Eight hundred in a kingdom this size, with a city of half a million a arrows shot from out camp and at least three other major cities with the populations in the tens of thousands. If the bounties don't work we'll have to somehow search street by street, and I doubt the King will allow that."

"The bounties will likely work. Severus spoke, nodding slowly. But something else was on his mind. "Tell me, Guilliman, why couldn't your Lords send over some of the famed men-at-arms of High Rock?"

"The Lords of High Rock have their own interests to look out for." Dinontus said in a clearly well rehearsed way. "And if they were called, the last untouched force in Tamriel would be deployed, rather than ready in case the Thalmor strike again."

"The Thalmor are in no fit state to strike at the Empire, both Valenwood and Elsweyr are up in arms. By all accounts their civil war is far bloodier than the Skyrim one ever could've been." Severus retorted.

Rikke nodded slightly. "He's right Dinontus, there's even talk that separate faction in the Summerset Isle are beginning to rebel after two military humiliations in a span of just a few years."

Glancing around the room, Guilliman seemed to look for an ally in the conversation, but Neloth was ignoring the rest of them in favour of writing notes down on a piece of parchment he had next to the map. "What would you have me do? Send a Gyrfalcon back to the Blue Palace that we need to send another legion?"

"No. Not yet at least." Rikke said firmly. "The Fourth Legion overcame the Stormcloaks, it overcame he Thalmor, it'll overcome a few so called champions." She pushed herself off the small table, shaking it a bit to Neloth's dislike. "I think it's time I saw to the lumber situation."

"According to the City Watch Commander there are several nearby, we pay full price." Erik spoke up. "They'll probably charge more but by the sounds of it he's just waiting for an excuse to get rid of us."

Rikke nodded and left the tent. After a few moments of silence Dinontus stopped pacing. "I have things to see to, want to make sure my belongings made the journey safely." He too left the tent, leaving Severus and Erik with Neloth.

"So..." Severus began. "Do they know you're an Elf, the people of Westeros I mean?"

Without looking up from his notes the Dark Elf chuckled slightly. "It's amazing what the application of a hood can do when you pair it with around a hundred and sixty armoured riders."

...

Janos Slynt scowled as he watched the foreigners build their camp, watched them dig up the Kings soil to build their own dyke. He was alone, rare for him but this time he didn't want some of his officers around, they were always looking to take his position. "M'lord!" Came a voice from behind him. Looking over his shoulder he saw a figure clad in black and riding a dark brown horse, who pulled to a stop when he got near Janos.

"What do you want?" He was in no mood for hedge knights, this man looked the type.

"M'lord, I come to warn you. To warn you to keep a look out over the man called Severus." The figure spoke, he had a smooth voice, no doubt taught by some highborn how to smarm his way into and out of things. "He is more than meets the eyes, do not threaten him lightly."

"And who are you to tell me who I should and shouldn't fear?"

The figure looked at him for a moment, only his mouth was visible from under the hood he wore. "I am nobody m'lord. But I hope you heed my advice, he will cause much issue in the future, and you may not always be there to see him fall."

"That's enough! I'll not be lectured to by some hedge knight!" Slynt snapped at him. "Leave, before I decide you're worth the trouble."

The figure looked at him for a moment before nodding his head. "Very well, but do not forget what I said." He pulled the reins on his horse and soon trotted off, leaving the Watch Commander alone again.

Eadric Haraldsson - Hircine
Skjor - Hircine
Mystery person - Try guessing
Delvin Mallory - Nocturnal

Okay so there's another chapter done.

Sorry it was focused nearly entirely on Kingslanding but I felt that needed a chapter devoted to it in order to set things up properly.
Hope you enjoyed the read and as ever feel free to leave a review as all of them help and encourage me to continue.