Queen of the Iron Islands Chapter 5
The Faceless assassin returns to "finish off" his work. However, he encounters unexpected opposition. All recognisable ASOIAF characters, locations, and themes rightfully belong to George R.R. Martin and HBO. As always, feel free to read and review.
The Faceless Man: The Crow Eye's Job
"Valar morghulis" ("All men must die" in High Valyrian)
Under the cover of darkness, the Faceless Man made his way into Asha Greyjoy's camp disguised as a thrall returning from night soil duty. This thrall was called Bert, a young ginger-haired peasant taken during one of the late Balon Greyjoy's recent forays into the North. For this mission, he wore the rough clothes of a thrall and carried two barrels on a wooden beam that stunk to high heavens. His identity was a farce. His face had been taken from a lad who had chosen to drink from the fountain rather than face his abusive step-parents. Asha's guards let him enter the camp without asking any question. Who would suspect that this unassuming thrall was actually a highly-skilled assassin?
This was not the first time that "Bert" had worked for Euron Greyjoy. A few months ago, Euron had travelled to Braavos and hired the services of the Faceless Men to murder his brother Balon Greyjoy, the self-proclaimed King of the Isles and the North. The Faceless Men were skilled and deadly assassins who were adept at making their assassinations look like accidents. However, they were known to charge exorbitant fees which rose according to the importance of their target and the difficulty of their objective. To seal the murder of Balon, Euron had forfeited a dragon egg that he had found in the ruins of Valyria, the former capital of the Valyrian Freehold.
Now, Euron had hired his services again. This time to kill the Wildling girl Ila, the sole living witness who could prove that Balon's death was not an accident but foul play. The Faceless Man was initially reluctant to go ahead with the deed since the Many-Faced God had not yet decreed her death. To test the reaver king, he had demanded that Euron kill one of his own daughters as payment. To the Faceless Man's amazement, Euron did not hesitate to slay one of his mongrel daughters in the presence of her weeping mother, a dark-skinned wench from the Summer Islands.
Euron had little affection for his children, who were the baseborn offspring of whores and salt-wives he had seized during his numerous raids. While the Ironborn did not regard the children of salt-wives as bastards unlike the other Westerosi, they still ranked behind the children of rock-wives, free Ironborn women. It seemed that this "King" Euron was prepared to kill anybody to preserve his grip on power. As a further incentive, Euron had personally outfitted the Faceless Man with a left-handed sword, a mailshirt, and a silver belt buckle bearing the silver shoal of House Botley.
Like his fellow brothers and sisters who had accepted the Many-Faced God, he was "no one." The Faceless Men were an ancient society that originated in the volcanic slave mines of Valyria, prior to the founding of Braavos and the "Ruin of Valyria." Followers believed that death was a "merciful gift" from the "Many-Faced God" to end the suffering of mankind. Over the centuries, the Faceless Men had served their god by plying their trade as assassins. While ambitious non-believers regarded assassinations as a "dirty job" that had to be done, the Faceless Men regarded any assassination contracts as a sacrament to their god. While the price was always dear, it was still not beyond the means of the person if they were willing to make the necesary sacrifice.
The Many-Faced God was present all over the world in many different forms. In Qohor, he was called the Black Goat. In the Faith of the Seven, he was the Stranger. In Yi Ti, he was the Lion of the Night. On the Iron Islands, he seemed to embody both the Drowned God and his dualistic opponent, the Storm God. The Drowned God demanded that the Ironborn reave and rape to carve out kingdoms and to make their names known through fire, blood, and song. If a man drowned at sea, it was believed that the Drowned God had need of another oarsman. Meanwhile, the Stormed God lured men to their deaths by setting snares and sending storms at sea.
Still carrying his newly-emptied buckets, the Faceless Man made his way to his target's adobe. On his first trip, he noted that Ila's tent lay near the middle of Asha's camp beside Asha's own tent. Ila's tent was a striped white blue canvas tent shaped like a rounded triangle. Outside the tent's flap opening stood three Ironborn warriors. One was clean-shaven while his two companions wore beards; one red and the other black. They looked alert and well-armed but the Faceless Man's training at the House of Black and White in Braavos had prepared him for this situation.
Pretending to use the path beside his target's tent as a thoroughfare to the thralls' quarters on the north side, the Faceless Man walked towards the guards who stopped their banter to inspect the night-soil collector.
"Halt," said the red-bearded man "Who goes there and what's your business?"
"I'm making my way to the thralls' quarters," replied the Faceless Man in his most submissive tone "Got more shit to collect."
"Eww, allright then," grunted his beardless, pink-cheeked companion who held his nose up to ward off the stench of stool and urine. "Go past, but move fast."
"Right, on my…" replied the Faceless Man. Before he could finish his phrase, he leapt into action and used his wooden beam and pails to knock out two of the guards.
Taking advantage of his two opponents' momentary disarray, he unsheathed his new sword with his left-hand and lunged himself at the third Ironborn guard, a fierce-looking black-bearded man who wore a chainmail shirt. Before the warrior could reach for his sword the Faceless Man had slashed his upper right arm and drawn blood, causing his opponent to drop his sword. He then knocked the Ironborn warrior to the ground with a swift kick to the groin. The man fell and lay squirming in pain.
The Faceless Man was about to move in to finish him off when someone struck the cowl of his hood with a stick; the same beam he had used to carry the night soil pails. The stick delivered a short painful blow but not enough to knock the Faceless Man out. The Faceless Man retaliated by stamping on his second opponents hard felt boots. He had daggers fitted into his leather shoes which slashed through the man's feet; slicing through flesh and bone.
The Ironborn writhed in excruciating pain and the Faceless Man gave him the "kiss of death" by driving his sword through his throat and chest. Under the glare of a nearby brazier, the dying red-bearded Ironborn stared at him intently for a moment as blood flowed through his wound and mouth. Then he was silent for the last time.
However, his death did not discourage his other companions. With a howl of rage and anguish, the clean-shaven Ironborn warrior charged at him. The Faceless Man met his blow with his sword and the two parried in the darkness. The Faceless Man managed to break the deadlock by using his shoe knives to pierce through the Ironborn's leather leggings. His opponent howled in pain which gave the Faceless Man the break he needed to hack through his torso with his sword. The left-handed sword slashed through the man's boiled leather tunic before cutting into bone and flesh.
Leaving the man to wallow in his own blood, the Faceless Man knocked out the squirming black-bearded man with the flat of his sword before making his way into the tent. Already, he heard voices stirring from the other tents. Torches were appearing. He had to act fast. The Faceless Man strode into Ila's tent. Before him, lay a figure covered with a thick woollen blanket. The floor of the tent was lined with hay. The target seemed to be asleep and strangely undisturbed by the noise and commotion outside.
The Faceless Man dived in for the kill and hacked at the figure with his sword. However instead of cutting through flesh and bones, he felt his blade drive through a bale of hay. The Faceless Man inspected the object with his sword. It was not a child. It was merely a bale of hay. The distant glare of a burning brazier. He had not only failed in his mission but has also stirred up a hornet's nest. The voices were becoming louder and more numerous. He had to escape before they captured him.
The Faceless Man hacked his way out through the back of the tent only to find himself surrounded by a score of armed men on all sides. There was a tall, powerfully-built knight who wore thick armour and a long flowing cloak in the shape of a kraken. Standing to his left was a young woman with short hair and dressed in men's clothing. On his right stood an Ironborn priest with a thick beard that flowed down to his waist. So these were Euron's "jealous" relatives.
"Yield now," shouted the woman dressed in men's clothes "We knew that you and whoever hired you would come for the girl. Yield now or I will gladly order my men to hack you to death."
The Faceless Man knew that he was outmatched by his opponents. There was no escape. The struggle with the sentries had only raised the alarm. However, there was still one thing he could do.
The Faceless Man dropped his sword and then reached with his right hand for a leather pouch on his belt. He quickly fished out a vial containing a poison that would bring about a quick but painless death. This was the same poison that his brethren gifted to souls who wanted to die. If Faceless Men were caught, they were trained to take their own lives in order to prevent others from learning the secrets of their society. This suicide was also an extra clause written into his latest contract with Euron, who wanted to hide all involvement in this assassination.
The Ironborn women and her companions cried out in shock and ordered their men to restrain. But the Faceless Man was too quick. Within ten seconds, he had gulped down the entire contents of the vial. The painless poison had an immediate effect. Immediately, his vision began turning hazy and his heart stopped pumping. He began struggling for air. Within seconds, the Facless Man had collapsed face-first into the cold embrace of death. As he descended into the netherworld, he was hit by a flashback of his former life. And then there was nothing but a deathly silence.
Endnotes
This chapter is written through the point-of-view of the Faceless Man, sent to murder Ila. The same guy who murdered Balon Greyjoy. Information on the Faceless Men was based on their article in the A Song of Ice and Fire wikia. George R.R. Martin wasn't clear on the appearances of Hagen the Horn and Grimtongue. I deduced that Hagen had red hair because he has a red-haired daughter. I made Grimtongue black-haired and bearded since there are not that many blonde Ironborn characters. Qarl the Maid is easily recognisable as the clean-shaven Ironborn warrior. Another thing, Euron does not do anything unless it benefits him and his plans. His gifts to the Faceless Man will have implications for the next chapter.