Author Note
This story is being written for Questionable Questing and so that version of this story has some images to help tell the story. Go check it out if you want.
Reviews
tinman543
Could you post your reviews in English? I don't understand what you are saying.
shinigami101505
Thank you
wookie100
I don't intend for him to be doing merchant stuff all the time.
Alan
Here be dragons.
Team Builder
Part 51
House. Pocket Dimension.
"Everything is almost ready for your trip," said Natalia Alianovna Romanoff aka The Black Widow "The Grey Wind will be ready for its voyage within the week. You'll be in Kingslanding a few days before the tourney begins".
For a while, I'd been considering adding to my team by forking over points for an assassin so that I didn't have to spend my time going around killing some of the worst assholes in Westeros and in Essos.
The Faceless Men were not the most speedy of assassins even if they were very precise in their work, and the other assassin groups are not trustworthy, they are nothing more than hired thugs, and I had no desire to lower myself to hiring such people.
However, I wasn't able to decide on which of the companions on the list I would choose to be my hidden blade. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, and others I simply didn't know well enough to be sure they'd do a proper job for me.
I'd decided not to pay for an assassin, only to recently change my mind as the situation changed, I ended up choosing the Black Widow from the MCU, only she wasn't going off to kill people for me. No, I had a better use for her skills.
I'd decided to handle the killing myself with Ciri providing transport so that I take out my targets quickly while people thought I was elsewhere. That left no one to look after my business interests, even if I had a gang of secretaries these days.
So I decided to bring in Natalia Alianovna Romanoff, someone who could look after my business interests and take on other roles as needed. Someone used to taking on different roles and could still kick ass.
Sure she had some issues, and this version of her had no desire to talk about her past, at least not yet, but she was a fierce fighter and if she could handle Tony Stark then she could handle me.
I needed someone with her kind of experience who would be willing to tell me off when I was doing something foolish and perhaps even saves me from my own mistakes when brute force or throwing money at someone wasn't an option.
Hermione could have managed this if she'd been able to devote herself to the task, she was smart enough and knew spells that could help her, but she was better suited to research as she wasn't the most
sociable person in my group.
Besides, she spent a lot of her time looking after Danny, brewing potions and collecting information that was important to my plans.
Black Widow was more than just an assassin or spy, she'd taken on a number of roles when going undercover and while I was rather powerful I wasn't so arrogant to assume that I wouldn't benefit from an assistant who could also be my bodyguard at times.
Natalia Romanoff had thrown herself into the role of my assistant and already had a better grasp of business than I did. She advised me to back off for a while and let Braavos settle since I stirred the pot quite a bit since arriving here.
I felt sure that the Iron Bank would have done something if I was damaging the city-state finances, but they didn't know the full scope of my plans and how I planned to change so much.
Natalia did and she'd advised me to slow down, to focus on other matters for a time, and then push the uplift agenda. I still had lots of things I could introduce outside of Braavos.
This allowed me to spend some time doing my own research and hatch our dragons. We now had three of them along with an unhatched egg that I kept secure in the vault that was under this house.
They seemed to respond to magic users better than anyone else so if I got another witch on my team I'd try to bond her to the unhatched dragon.
Ciri had named her green and bronze dragon (this timelines version of Viserion) after the Witcher known as Vesemir who had been someone akin to a grandfather or a beloved Uncle to the young warrior woman. I well recalled her reaction to his death so I knew she'd loved that old witcher.
I had named my dragon, the biggest of the three who was black in colour and already growing larger than his siblings, Shenron, despite his lack of wish granting, and the little dragon seemed to like that name the most out of the ones I'd read from a list.
He was clearly Drogon in the main timeline judging by his size and colouring. I suspected that in a matter of years, he'd be big enough to lay waste to cities. Not that I wanted to destroy any cities.
Danny had alternated between Snuggles and Cuddles for her dragon, not that I judged as I'd given serious thought to naming my familiar Puff after a cartoon dragon, and to be fair her dragon did enjoy its hugs.
After talking with Hermione to get some ideas for names she went with Mushu, a dragon from some kid's movie that my witch remembered fondly. The little dragon was adorable and Danny held it as if the creature were a kitten rather than it being something that would grow up to be a magical flying WMD.
Traditionally, Targaryen princes and princesses received a dragon's egg that was placed in their cradle, allowing them to bond with the dragons as soon as the eggs hatched.
This tradition supposedly started during the reign of King Aegon I Targaryen, when Princess Rhaena Targaryen placed a dragon egg in the cradles of her younger siblings, Jaehaerys and Alysanne shortly after their births. From these two eggs, the dragons Vermithor and Silverwing hatched.
In case this was important I'd gotten Danny to sleep with her dragon's egg before she'd gone into the fire to hatch hers. She'd been just as fireproof at six as she would be in the books/show.
The three eggs had been marked with a little of our blood before we went into the fire to hatch them, this symbolically marked them as ours.
I'd read all the information gathered by Hermione so I knew that newly hatched dragons are about the size of a small cat, but they grow very rapidly, reaching the size of a small dog in about one year, and the size of a small pony in only three or four years. I didn't think ours would need that much time.
The rate at which specific dragons can grow varies from one to the next, but in some recorded cases, dragons can grow big enough to ride after only a few years.
I suspect it has something to do with the bond between dragon and rider. Danny had been bonded more with Drogon than the other two and he'd grown the fastest.
It is unknown at what age dragons reach reproductive maturity and it could be some time before we get a supply of eggs, and oddly there's no record of dragons ever mating in the books we have and dragons reported to be male have laid eggs. To me, it seemed best to let nature take its course when it came time.
Dragons never stop growing as long as they live, and they can live for centuries, though many died in combat before reaching such an age. A fate I hoped our dragons avoided.
The largest Targaryen dragon, Balerion the Black Dread, lived for nearly two centuries and had a skull the size of a carriage. I knew this to be factually true because I had the skull on display in the main room of this house. It was the only room large enough.
"Sorry did you say something?" I asked Black Widow.
Shenron was distracting I'd not paid proper attention to what was being spoken about. The little dragon liked to be near me and he was a baby so that made sense, but he made it hard to get stuff done when he wanted to be fussed over.
"I just wanted you to know that the ship will be ready soon," Widow told me.
That was good news. It was time to head to Westeros to take care of some people and to start making contacts. My trade empire needed to be expanded into the Seven Kingdoms if it was to flourish and that network of trade would allow me to introduce new things into the Sunset Kingdoms.
"It should be the shortest boat trip from Braavos to Kingslanding in history," I said, "At least by cargo ship".
Yara's Grey Wind was faster than other trading vessels and better suited to moving cargo. I hoped that this new class of seagoing vessel would become a common sight over the next few years now that Yars was proving my design to be superior to others.
"Speaking of cargo we'll be carrying a large supply of vodka and pipeweed to sell to the local merchants. The guild you are sponsoring has some interest from a few merchants in Kingslanding who deal in luxury goods" I was informed.
The Guild of Sourleaf and Pipeweed was funded by me for now, and it was really just a larger version of the small guild that had handled Sourleaf. I'd not gotten rid of anyone from the old guild, instead, the whole operation had simply been expanded.
"Good and I'll find someone to start growing the pipeweed while I'm in Westeros," I said.
Natalia was encouraging me to spend more of my time making contacts and focusing on the big picture while she handled the details. So once I had found some lord with farmland she'd make sure a contract was drawn up that was backed by the Iron Bank.
Thanks to portkeys she'd be able to come with me to Kingslanding and still be able to run things here. I didn't intend to stay in the city, it would be best to set up some distance away and let people come to me.
"He sure seems to like it out here," commented the Avenger as we went outside to my forge.
Shenron didn't seem to care for gold, I'd taken him down into the vault and he showed no interest in my treasure, but he liked the forge.
I figured it was because of the fire or the magic I performed here. I'd been out a lot recently collecting all the Valyrian steel could I find so as to forge new swords.
Another reason why Shenron liked this place was that Dragons only eat cooked meat, mutton seemed to be the favourite, and older dragons use their extremely hot dragonflame which they breathe to cook their meat before eating it.
Our dragons didn't have enough fire for that yet so I barbecued meat for them out here. I too enjoyed barbecued meats so it was no chore.
I placed Shenron down and let him take a nap as I began to sort through my crafting materials.
"You've made another sword" commented Natalia.
Yes, I'd been working on something special.
"That's Lightbringer" I explained "I made it to slay the Night King".
I felt certain that Stormbreaker could do the job, but to make sure I was positioning myself to be the next Azor Ahai, a legendary hero who wielded a burning sword called Lightbringer.
According to tales from Asshai and followers of R'hllor recorded in one of the many books Hermione had collected. Azor Ahai is somewhat connected with the Westerosi legend of the last hero, who lived during the Long Night and helped to defeat the Others.
Just being the Dragonborn made me a hero of legend and I intended to slay the Night King with Lightbringer so as to become Azor Ahai, that should be a nice legacy and help me to complete one of my missions if being this world's Leonardo da Vinci wasn't enough.
Since such things seemed to matter when it came to magic I'd gone into the fire that hatched Shenron naked and I'd taken some salt with me.
Because the Prince That Was Promised was born in smoke and salt, and it could be considered a rebirth of some kind since the whole ritual was about creating new life.
Lightbringer wasn't the only sword I had on display out here. I'd recovered Brightroar and remade the weapon in the style of Oathkeeper so that I could sell it to Tywin Lannister. I wanted him to pay a fortune for what was basically his own property.
As pallned I would leave the sword at the Iron Bank and let them handle the transaction. I'd made a third sword that I would sell to some wealthy family in Westeros.
Learning to reforge Valyarian steel had been easy enough thanks to the Three-Eyed Raven who had shown me smiths performing their work to reforge swords and knives while in Westeros.
I'd put part of myself into Lightbringer, spiritually speaking, to ensure that it would be a powerful sword. A ruby decorated the mithril crossguard and the pommel was the same Dragonborn symbol found tattooed on the backs of my companions.
"Anything else we need to go over?" I asked.
Black Widow seemed to have it all in hand. Which was the whole point of her being here.
"I've got it covered" she promised "You focus on making contacts in Westeros and sorting out the Seven Kingdoms".
This was good as it meant I focus on making the armour I intended to wear while in Kingslanding. I needed to dress like an important lord and to be seen as a warrior because in Westeros the ability to govern is only bestowed upon people who can swing a sword around.
Acting as a warrior rather than as a greedy merchant would make it easier for the lords in the west to see me as someone like them rather than as an outsider.
Arriving in Westeros on Yara's ship would be the first time I officially visited the Seven Kingdoms, and I'd already begun paving the way by sending gifts to a few important people. I would need to have more gifts prepared in order to be seen as a generous ally to the high lords of Westeros. So it was good that I had some free time for that.
Team Builder
Part 52
The Grey Wind. Blackwater Bay.
At least coming to this city via a ship meant that the smell wasn't too bad. Although that would change once we got closer, as such, I was very glad for a clever magical item I'd come up with that decreased rather than enhanced an attribute, ability or skill.
I'd enchanted some amulets to greatly lessen a person's ability to smell, and it also deadened your sense of taste, it was actually a cursed item in some sense, but the effect only lasted for as long as you wore the amulet.
Another pleasing factor was the Grey Wind, which had grey sails rather than purple ones, unlike most vessels from Braavos at Yara's request, had made the trip in less time than was expected.
That combined with the ship's small crew and ample cargo room meant that as hoped, trading trips made by this class of vessel would be cheaper than was normal.
"Nice castle" commented Romanoff.
Yes, the Red Keep did look rather impressive from the bay, and Kingslanding could have been one of the most impressive cities in the world had it been managed correctly.
If the Targaryens spent more time looking after the kingdom and fought each other less then this city could rival Oldtown in the Reach or Braavos. A pity that it was such a dump.
"The Red Keep is the centre of power here in the Seven Kingdoms," I said.
As much as I disliked Kingslanding I had to spend some time here so as to carry out my plans. Aside from needing to forge useful contacts with people who would be here for the tourney, there were people in this part of the world, who needed to be removed from power so as make an uplift possible.
I wouldn't be able to get away with as much here as I had in Braavos, but there were a few advances I could offer to some of the more reasonable lords that could help things progress.
Better water and windmills would be a good start. Perhaps I could convince some of the smiths to try some superior methods of forging with steel.
Those were concerns for later as I could tell that Natalia, or Natasha as she didn't mind being called, had something on her mind, and so we went to my cabin to discuss the matter.
"So what's on your mind?" I asked as we headed below deck, "You've been distracted by something since before we got on this ship".
Given that she was an uncover agent a lot of her time I couldn't be sure that I was reading her right or if she wasn't putting on an act for some reason.
Not that she had any reason I knew of to hide things from me. I was her boss and the Black Window had always been loyal to Nick Fury and her teammates.
"I had my period just before we left," Natasha told me.
For some reason, I didn't think she'd shared that tidbit of information with me on a whim. I just didn't get why it was so important.
"And this a big deal?" I asked.
The red-headed woman took a seat and poured herself a drink before speaking. Despite being Russian she didn't drink the vodka I produced she preferred watered-down wine, she wanted to keep a clear head I assumed as there was nothing wrong with my vodka.
"Because I don't have periods," she told me "When I was being trained in a place called the Red Room, among other things my uterus was removed. I'm sure you know a little about that since you chose me out of a wide selection and already knew about my skills".
Neither Hermione nor Ciri wanted to talk much about how I knew them so well. Black Widow was the same way, and I didn't blame any of them for ignoring the fact they were all fictional to people from my universe.
I knew she couldn't have children because she mentioned this fact in the Ultron movie, but I'd not known she'd had so much taken from her.
That was horrible to think about, being infertile is one thing, but to have the part of you that makes you a woman cut out of you is monstrous.
"So when I got my period I went to ask your other women if they had any tampons since I don't carry any" she mentioned "And I got talking to Hermione and she cast a few spells on me and she's not a doctor, but if she's right it looks like my baby-making equipment has all grown back somehow".
My witch had packed books on medical magic when going on her Horcrux hunt since she and her friends couldn't simply go to the Hospital Wing at school or Saint Mungos if they got injured, so if anyone could suss that out it would be her.
"The CYOA must have fixed you up" I reasoned.
No doubt Hermione had come to the same conclusion.
"I don't care why it happened or how," said Black Widow "What I care about is that I can have children, and I want a few. I want you to be the father and get me pregnant as soon as possible, in case something else takes away my choice".
While I was trying to digest all of that Nastasa stood up and let her dress fall to the door. Her visible clothing might have simple clothing, worn by many in Braavos, but what was under that was clearly not a local fashion.
"I want you to get me pregnant" Nastasa let me know "I'll do whatever it takes to convince you".
There were issues to consider. Childbirth could be dangerous even with our potions and magic. On the other hand, a woman who looked like Scarlett Johansson's hotter sister, because she looked even better than the actress, was going to beg me for sex given how things were going.
Besides, I didn't need to look after the kid, that was what the maids were for, I was rich and the wealthy didn't need to do much in the way of parenting. Danny still liked me even if I didn't spend much time with her. Would a baby be a bother?
"What about your work?" I asked.
Being a Mum could get in the way of keeping things organised for me. That was her purpose for being her after all.
"I won't be giving birth for nine months even if I get pregnant right away" she pointed "That gives me plenty of time to train up your people so they can do more. I'll make sure that things keep running".
She would know what she was doing. I was sure of that. She'd been an Avenger, she could handle being a working mother.
"I'm on a potion that stops me from knocking women up" I mentioned.
They were easy to brew and it just made sense for me to take care of that so none of my women got knocked up.
"I took care of that" admitted Nastasha "You forgot to take your last potion because you were working on your armour and you haven't fucked any of us for days. I packed some fertility potions. I've been assured they work".
That the wizarding world had such potions didn't surprise me. Look at the Weasley family. Magical humans tend to have fewer children than muggles as a rule.
She was right I had forgotten to take my potion. Although to be fair it was Hermione who often reminded me as she kept things organised and made me the potions that we easy to brew using simple ingredients.
It struck me then that they use a type of tea here to prevent unwanted pregnancies. I should look into that as a birth control tea could sell well in other worlds if it did have unpleasant side effects.
Rather than ask the spy to make a note of that I took the offered potion she'd gotten from her own expanded bag, and as I drank it I could feel my penis getting very warm. Not an unpleasant feeling.
"Well I guess I won't be needing these," I said as I began to remove my own clothes.
Mine weren't fancy either. I didn't see the need to wear expensive clothing. Not when I had sets of armour to show off.
I had a very sexy woman in front of me so I didn't think much about my armour. Not only did Natasha have a gorgeous face, but her body was comic book levels of fitnesses.
Her breasts were well-hidden most of the time, and when I saw them uncovered they were big, firm and the nipples were perfectly sized nubs. They needed to be put into my mouth.
"Mhmm yes," Natasha cooed, as her hand reached down to stroke my already hard cock "I can't wait to breastfeed our baby".
That made it a little awkward for me to keep going, only that hardly mattered as Natasha wanted to move on to the main event as soon as possible.
"You ready for me to fill your little pussy up," I asked.
She pulled down her underwear and playfully tossed them out at me.
"I bet that pussy is already wet for me," I said.
If her moans of pleasure as I sucked on her nipples were anything to go by I would have no trouble slipping my cock inside her.
She clearly had some sort of impregnation fetish going on. I'd have to ask her about that and see if I could use it to make sex better for her.
"I'm soaked," she admitted.
As soon as I got onto what passed for a bed on this ship I was pinned down as she straddled my waist. I normally was the dom and wished to control the action, but I was willing to see where this would go.
"Mhmm...oh," Natasha moaned as she pushed before down on my cock "Feels so good".
Right away I could tell that the spy had very good control of her body and that she knew exactly what she was doing. The way she moved her body, slowly pushing herself up and down as she got used to having me inside her, would draw things out.
As she rode my cock Natasha made sure that things didn't get boring. She clearly wasn't only interested in her own pleasure, she would speed up, slow down, slam down on my lap, and then move more carefully.
While she did all the work I paid attention to her breasts, her ass and her hips. Grabbing parts of her and enjoying the feel of her body. It was mine to do as I wished with, or so I thought.
Without warning, she grabbed my arms and pinned them down to my surprise. I could have stopped her easily, but she was riding me very well.
"Who's your mommy?" Natasha asked suddenly as she sped up again "I want to hear you say it".
I had trouble speaking and not just because of what she'd just asked me to say.
"W-What?" I said.
Natasha stopped her movements just as I was about to start shooting my cum into her waiting womb.
"I want you to call me Mommy," she said "I'll make it worth your while".
While I could just order her to keep going I could tell that this meant a lot to her. It seemed strange to me because while I wasn't overly bulky, I was a big man, over six feet tall and well-muscled, I could kill with my voice and I was a skilled warrior, not exactly the type to be mothered.
"Who's... your... mommy?" Natasha asked slowly as if she was talking to a baby.
I struggled against my male pride.
"Come on, answer me," said Romanoff.
She moved her hips in a very nice way. She knew exactly how to get what she wanted from a man.
"You are. You're my mummy" I told her.
She began to speed up again. She was clearly happy to have heard those words.
"Good boy" she praised.
She milked my cock with her wet warm pussy, and soon got me shooting upside her. Once she was done riding me she gave me an amused smile.
"Don't pretend you don't want me doing all the work, and I do take care of things for you," she said.
I could at least indulge her a little in bed given that she did so much for me and every other woman who spread her legs for me was happy letting me control the action. They were only a portkey away if I wanted something different.
"We should be docking soon" I realised.
I would need to get dressed and introduce myself to the people running the port. Plus I needed to make sure that our cargo was handed over to the right people. If this first trade went bad it would do damage to my business interests.
Then I would need to sign up for the melee, possibly with some bribing to make sure I'd have a place, and then I'd set up outside of the city.
Team Builder
Part 53
Tourney Grounds. Outside Kingslanding.
I'd set up my pavilion, it was far too fancy to be called a tent, soon after arriving and I'd placed it as far from the city as I could without actually leaving the area the tourney would happen in so that I couldn't smell much, and yet I still needed my special amulet to stop me from smelling the city.
While mine was the largest pavilion around there were others for my guards as I wasn't going to have my loyal warriors sleeping on the ground or what passed for beds in this kingdom.
Having this much free space meant that I had room to set up my forging equipment and practice my archery. It had been some time since I'd tested my skill with the bow, but the last time I'd done so I was under the tutorage of an elf from Rivendell.
My ability to fire arrows at a target hadn't diminished much and I felt sure that I'd have a good chance of winning the archery contest tomorrow, more so once Ciri arrived, having teleported here directly rather than take a ship, and began practising with me.
"How did you get so good?" she asked.
Ciri was annoyed that even with a bribe she couldn't enter any of the contests due to having been born a girl, but rather than be all bitter, or disguise herself as a man, she'd decided to first go out drinking last night, and then come back very early in the morning along with a special guest.
Now she was helping me to prepare for the contests that would start tomorrow.
"I learned the finer points of archery from some elves that have had centuries to perfect their fighting skills," I told her "If we ever do go back to Middle Earth I'll find you a teacher".
Returning to Middle Earth to end what I'd started when I chose to screw up Sauron's plans was one of my long-term plans.
I had the desire to go back to that world to help deal with the Balrog who would be the next dark, but it wasn't something I thought about much as there were many others worlds I'd like to spend time in.
We fired off a few more arrows and Ciri scowled as I beat her. Granted my bow was better than hers because it was an elven bow I'd been gifted by the elves of Rivendell, but skill still mattered.
"Here," said the witcher.
She tossed me a gold coin and I inspected it. The coin had a dragon on one side and what I assumed to be an image of King Robert on the other.
"Money here is so weird" I commented.
I still got shipments of money and supplies thanks to a feature of the CYOA, even though I had more than enough resources to support myself, and the latest shipment arrived just this morning so it contained Westerosi currency.
I had now had a good supply of gold dragons, silver stags, silver moons, copper stars, copper groats, half-groats, pennies and half pennies.
The difference in value between a gold dragon and a copper coin was insane even if some of the other differences in value made sense. You got 30 silver moons to a gold dragon, which was fine, but then you got 11760 copper pennies equalling one gold dragon.
You could eat for pennies a day here in Kingslanding if you were stupid enough to eat the food they served here, so a man could live off a single gold dragon for a few years if he was very careful.
Yet the CYOA had provided me with a fistful of gold dragons and they were supposed to make me moderately wealthy by local standards.
Petyr Baelish, during the Hand's tourney, says that he could buy twelve barrels of expensive Dornish wine with a hundred golden dragons, and so I had to wonder how much difference there was in wealth between myself and the very elite of Westeros if they can afford to gamble with that kind of money.
Also, is that wine liquid gold or something because it seemed way overpriced?
In Braavos they had square iron coins the value of which was backed mostly by the Iron Bank, although you could use other currency from most places since the city was a major trading port.
The fact that Braavos had a currency backed by gold in possession of the bank and supported by the government, the Iron Bank was the government to some extent, showed me just how backwards Westeros was when compared to at least one of the Free Cities.
"Marek!" Natasha called out "He's awake".
On the way into my pavilion, I passed by my guards and the armour I'd put together for this tourney that was bound to get me some attention.
It was steel plate done in a style of such armour from Skyrim only I'd added mithril to the steel to lighten it in both terms of colour and weight. The chainmail that was under was dark in colour due to my adding some ebony to the steel.
My temporary home, although I wasn't actually sleeping here, was comfortable enough and a display of my great wealth.
As for who was in the tent, while securely tied to a very sturdy chair, that would be Ser Amory Lorch, a knight of House Lorch and bannerman of House Lannister.
He was more a swine than a man in my opinion, he had a piggy face, a pair of pig's eyes, and a high, thin voice that irritated my ears as he begged for his life.
I wondered if Natasa had castrated him when getting information out of the man or if he was just this much of a whinging git.
Looking at him I didn't think she'd done more than rough him up a bit. Natalia hadn't come off as a sadist to me even if she had volunteered to get information out of him.
Due to the charms placed on this pavilion, it was soundproof so I wouldn't have heard him even if he screamed like a little bitch.
The bastard wasn't even trying to be dignified at this end. What a pisspoor excuse for a knight. I silenced him with magic just so I didn't have to listen to him whine.
"Did he confess?" I asked.
I could have made him tell me everything with a single Shout, but the Black Widow had asked to be able to handle him for me and I saw no reason to refuse her if she wanted to prove herself to me.
"Yes he broke quickly," she said "I didn't have to do much and he signed his confession".
Back in 283 AC, Amory was responsible for the murder of 3-year-old Rhaenys Targaryen, Danny's niece, during the Sack of King's Landing.
Per the orders of Tywin Lannister, he and Gregor Clegane scaled the walls of Maegor's Holdfast so as to access the royal apartments. He then dragged the screaming toddler from under a bed and stabbed her dozens of times.
I'd known about that, what I hadn't known was that during the Reyne-Tarbeck rebellion in 261 AC, Ser Amory threw the last Lord Tarbeck, a three-year-old boy, down a well in Tarbeck Hall.
What was the deal with drowning people in wells? Why would anyone do that to their supply of drinking water? Some people did need to be removed from the gene pool.
"You seem to have a thing for killing small children," I said to the knight.
I let Ciri read the confession.
"I'd have killed him already if I knew about this," she told me.
The female witcher had known that I wanted to speak with this knight and even kill him because of his crimes.
He was also a threat to Danny because if Tywin Lannister wanted the job of wiping out the Targaryens finished he'd send this man along with a few others and the Mountain, who I intended to deal with soon.
"How did you end up finding him?" I asked.
I hadn't enquired about that as I'd known I would find out once the knight was broken.
"Oh, I got taking to him last night" Ciri let me know "I was at one of the nicer taverns, and he has a Gwent deck for the Westerlands, looks like it was made locally, and not by a very good artist".
I'd hoped the game would spread far and wide if only so the Lady of Space and Time didn't keep pestering me to play.
"He actually won, somehow" the ashen-haired woman admitted "I offered to let him plough me in the backroom as payment, pretending I was running low on money, and soon as we were alone I knocked him out and brought him here".
I gave her a look upon hearing that.
"He didn't lay a hand on me" she promised.
Good, only I was allowed to plough her.
"What are you going to do with the confession?" asked Natasha "I get the feeling that the king won't care even if you showed it to him".
If we were in Braavos then I would have the right to sentence him for his crimes since I was a Magister. I couldn't do that here even if I had been willing to openly challenge Tywin Lannister at this time. Such action could easily derail my plans for a proper trade empire.
"The confession is for the Princes of Dorne" I explained "Depending on how things work out I might need to destroy House Lannister and makes allies with other noble houses. Having Lorch ready to hand over to them with a signed confession, could win me some major brownie points with House Martell".
For that, I would need to stash him somewhere. That would be made easier with the Draft of Living Death which put people into a suspended animation of sorts that looked a lot like death. Lorch could then be safely stored until I needed him.
"I'd rather kill him," said Ciri.
It was tempting, but he was worth more alive, for now.
"Nothing we do to him will match what the Princes of Dorne would do if given the chance," I told her
"Besides there are people even worse than him we can go after".
One of my guards, who were an odd sight in Westeros since they were all women, entered the tent.
"Magister, Lord Varys is here to see you," she said.
The Spider wanted to talk to me? Whatever for?
"Tell him I'll be with him in a moment" I commanded.
Quickly we forced the potion that Hermione had made to humanly sedate the animals we'd sacrificed to birth dragons into the false knight's mouth, and then I had Ciri teleport him to my Manse in Braavos so he could be secured.
I was glad that I kept Danny in my pocket dimension these days as even while he was in a death-like state I didn't want her going anywhere near that man.
Once we were ready I invited the Master of Whispers into my pavilion and I took a seat at the large wooden table that took up quite a lot of space inside the big fancy tent.
"Magister Dovahkiin," he said with a slight bow, "I came to welcome you to Kingslanding. It's not often we are graced with the presence of a merchant lord from Braavos".
Given how little respect the merchant class got in the Seven Kingdoms I could see why few of my peers would ever want to visit.
"Thank you, Lord Varys" I replied "Would you care for some refreshment?".
He took a seat before answering.
"Wine if you please," he said "I find that your vodka leaves me lightheaded".
One of the maids I'd brought with me poured the man a cup of some fancy wine. It all tasted the same to me, but I'd been assured that it was good stuff. Given the price it better be.
"Cursties aside, what brings you so far from the Red Keep?" I asked.
Men like him don't stray far from the centre of power without a good reason.
"Aside from offering my aid with your endeavours, I wished to enquire about the well-being of your daughter" the bald man answered "I do worry about that poor girl. If King Robert...".
That was far as he got. I didn't even use a spell or a weapon to kill him. I felt my Ring of Power grow hot on my finger as I reached out and snapped his neck with magic.
"Bloody hell" swore Ciri "What did you do that for".
She was used to violence, but even for her that had been brutal. At this rate, I would need to invest in that therapy that you could buy from the CYOA or we were all going to end up needing to stay in padded rooms.
"He was going to threaten Danny, to force me to do stuff for him even if he wouldn't state it that way," I explained, "If I'd gone against his wishes he might have let slip that I'm looking after her to the king. Robert has a hatred for Targaryens that clouds even his poor judgement, he would have come after us and I won't tolerate someone threatening her".
I sighed. I hadn't realised how defensive I was over my adopted daughter. Children have a way of sneaking into your heart.
"Can you dump his body in the Red Wastes near Qarth?" I requested "It should be night there so no one will see you".
Ciri didn't like it, but she did as I wished. I wasn't worried about Varys having told anyone he was meeting with me today, he was too secretive and there would be no corpse to find. But his disappearance could cause problems later as he was a member of the Small Council even if no one cared much about him.
If Magister Illyrio found out that I had anything to do with the Spider's death then he could make life very difficult for me. I wanted Illyrio alive and allied with me so that he could ship goods eastwards for me. It would be mutually profitable for us both if handled right.
"I hope you don't get many more guests" commented Natasha.
She didn't sound as if she approved or disproved of my actions, she was just concerned about security.
"I wasn't expecting to make contact with more than a few minor lords who have some desire for increased trade," I said to her "Lorch practically fell into my lap".
At least my time here in Kingslanding wasn't going to be boring.
I just hoped that someone came to visit to make alliances rather than to tie up in one of their webs as Varys had tried to do. I needed to spin more of my own webs not just destroy other people's.
Team Builder
Part 54
The Dreadfort. The North.
Thankfully after my murder of Varys the Spider, The Master of Whispers, and it had been murder even if I could justify it to members of my own group, none one else had come to bother me and no guards had come to attempt to drag me away to the black cells so that I could pay for my crime.
Not that their puny cells would have held me and there was little chance of anyone being able to capture me unless they sent an army, and even then Ciri could have simply used her powers to transport me away, still, it would have hindered my plans for this world had I been connected to the sudden and unexpected disappearance of Lord Varys.
The fact that no one even seemed to have noticed that the man had gone missing made sense as everyone in the Red Keep was rather busy with the tourney and Varys was a spymaster, as such it made also sense that he might disappear for a short time and then pop up again later. I didn't think anyone would notice his absence for a few days.
Varys would almost certainly have something in place to screw over his enemies should he die and while it was highly unlikely that this could somehow lead to my downfall, since I was new on the scene, it could really stir things up here in Kingslanding if Varys let certain secrets be spilt.
Such as the fact that the heir to the throne was not the son of the king.
If that happened I could see Robert killing his wife and even Joffery, before declaring war on the Lannisters.
I figured that he would go after them with all the passion he'd once dedicated to ending the Targaryen dynasty, and that was just one of the secrets that could use to destabilise the Seven Kingdoms.
Exposing such truths would result in a major shake-up in the power structure of Westeros, and that was something I could take advantage of, should someone find themselves in need of a wealthy backer.
With my group's skills, we could easily help direct a conflict between noble houses towards an ending that would give me influence over all of the Seven Kingdoms.
Since I could remove certain people from power easily enough I could claim to have agents working for me so as to explain how enemies just seemed to vanish.
I might even let slip to the right person that I was the one with the power to summon up a dragon that could lay waste to their enemies if it got me into a position of power here in the Seven Kingdoms.
With such a position I could much more easily start uplifting this world and I could easily deal with those lords who were foolish enough to get in my way once I began
That hadn't been my original plan as I didn't wish to stay in Kingslanding, but I needed to be adaptable if I was going to accomplish my long-term goals.
As to why I was here. Well, I wasn't worried about Roose Bolton getting in my way even if the North got dragged into a civil war due to Varys, because while he was a powerful lord here in the North, he wasn't a major player on the scale of the Seven Kingdoms, nor was he a lord I needed as an ally.
Sure I might need the aid of House Stark at some point, and I did need an agreement with House Manderly of White Habor so as to set up a proper trading relationship that would allow my goods could be sold here in the North, but the Boltons were not part of those plans.
Then while thinking about the future, I realised that if Roose Bolton used the chaos that I expected was ahead, to make a move against the Starks it could cause me problems with trading with the North, and that was something I couldn't allow.
Since Roose Bolton was an evil man who had been on my list of people to get rid of I'd decided to deal with him tonight. If nothing else it would save me the cost of paying the Faceless Men to handle him.
I'd not practised much the art of entering another's mind, but I had been trained in a method of doing so by Lord Elrond and I'd studied what little information Hermione had on the magical skill known as Legilimency, the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings.
Since my skill at this magical art was so crude it was good that Roose Bolton was not resisting at all due to being drugged by a potion. It was also good that Lord Bolton was paralysed by a spell, unable to call for help, and that no guards would dare to enter his chamber without permission being given as killing them would be a distraction from my work.
Natasa would have preferred to get information for me the old-fashioned way, however, I did need the practice and I didn't think Roose would have broken as easily as the child murderer called Amory Lorch.
Not that I wanted to enter this man's mind this was simply an opportunity to be exploited and in the future, I wouldn't always be sure of a person's guilt or innocence.
As tempting as it was to simply end this man I had to be totally sure he'd actually done stuff to be worth executing for and would if left alive go on to do harm to others. The truth was inside Roose Bolton's mind.
If I had somehow come to a version of this reality where Roose Bolton is somehow a decent lord, at least by local standards, then I would have Ciri bring Hermione here for a bit of memory wiping. Already I didn't think that it would be necessary to involve her.
From his memories, I saw that Roose Bolton practices the mostly abolished tradition of the first night. The custom states that when smallfolk marry, their lord or king has the privilege of bedding the bride on the first night. Bolton does it despite knowing that it is not legal here in the North.
He gets away with it because he is discreet with his activities and he hides his other amusements in order to avoid the wrath of Eddard Stark who would at least exile Roose Bolton if he found half of what his bannerman had been getting up to.
"So do I need to dump another corpse in the Red Wastes?" asked Ciri.
There would be no need for the to do that this time and I didn't wish for my witcher to start thinking that her only real value to me was getting rid of dead bodies and transporting me places so that I could murder people after we arrived.
"Not this time," I said.
Once I was done confirming what I found in the man's putrid mind, I decided to share my findings with her.
"This man has done some horrible things," I told my companion "Some years ago he raped a young miller's wife and hanged the miller for not gaining his approval for their marriage. When the woman later presented a baby to Roose, he only spared the bastard boy's life because he had the same eyes as his father".
He would have killed his own son if the lad had his mother's eyes.
"Bolton granted the mill to the woman, sent her annual supplies and funds, and then had the tongue of the miller's brother cut out to prevent Lord Rickard Stark, the father of the current Lord Paramount, from learning what had happened".
Ciri cursed, saying something that I didn't understand the meaning of even if I did get the sentiment behind it.
"That was just one of his crimes" I went on to say "He's had people killed simply for speaking out against him, and he's raped a few women on their wedding nights, none of them ever presented him with a child".
Ciri didn't lash out and kill the man, something I was grateful for since I had a method of death selected for this man. I put him back into his bed and then used magic to drain the life out of him. It should look as if he'd suddenly died from some illness, and given how unpopular the man was I didn't think anyone would question it.
Even if they did there was nothing to connect me to Roose Bolton, and even if there had been I was known to be in Kingslanding at this time, and the Dreadfort was hundreds of miles away from the city. I would not be connected to this.
"Come on we have a library to check out," I said.
I used the Detect Life spell to make sure there weren't any guards about and then we made our way to the Dreadfort's small library.
I'd seen this place from the outside when scrying so I knew that the Dreadfort was a tough fortress, with high walls and strong battlements. It has thick stone walls and massive towers.
The Dreadfort is ill-omened according to books that mentioned the place, for it is said the Boltons keep torture chambers and a special room where they hang the flayed skins of their enemies, including several long-dead Kings in the North.
With the Boltons all being buried beneath the Dreadfort and the ghastliness of the castle, I could see why the locals thought it cursed in some sense and while my own sense of style could be dark, even I found this place to be creepy.
When we got to the library I saw that there wasn't much here, some records on taxes, farm yields, that sort of thing, and a few books on noble houses that were of no interest to me.
"Not going to loot the treasury?" Ciri asked me.
There was little point in doing so.
"House Bolton isn't wealthy" I answered "They have some coins in their treasury, but I can get money from plenty of places and they don't have any heirlooms worth taking".
I'd considered laying waste to this castle and taking what money the Bolton's had, it was just that it wouldn't aid my plans if the Seven Kingdoms became too unstable.
After all, I wanted the noble lords to buy my good and maybe accept a few ideas to advance their technology. I didn't want them all fighting wars over who got to rule what bit of land. Not when I had better uses for their money.
This was why I'd allowed Bolton to die peacefully. It would be better if Lord Stark appointed some regent to look after these lands until Roose's heir, a legitimate son called Domeric Bolton, could take his father's place.
According to his father's, memories, Domeric was a peaceful young man who like to read history books, play the harp, and was an excellent horseman.
What mattered most is that Roose knew that Domeric hadn't inherited the sadistic streak that Ramasy had. It was as if Roose's evil had been taken by one son and any good in him had been manifested in the other.
His sons weren't my concern. Ramasy was too young for me to kill and without his father's protection, I suspected he'd be hanged by a lynch mob if he started taking after his sire.
I grabbed a couple of books on the history and culture of the North, the kind of stuff that Hermione liked being able to add to our growing collection of books and then I requested that Ciri take me back to my Manse in Braavos.
My intent was to get some sleep in my own bedroom before the tourney started. I would need some rest if I was going to win all that prize money and start again a reputation here in the Seven Kingdoms.
My weekend was dull so I decided to do some more writing.
Team Builder
Part 55
Tourney Grounds. Outside of Kingslanding.
"These are strange days," said Tyrion Lannister "Sea monsters, strange storms, the loss of dragonstone, the Iron Throne just vanishes, and now even odder things are popping up out of the woodwork".
The half-man as he was known looked like a young Peter Dinklede, Dinklage, or whatever the actor's name was, rather than the malformed monster he's described as in the books, and he wasn't the only one who looked like his show counterpart.
Tywin Lannister was also here and he looked like Charles Dance, only bald and with big mutton chops. I couldn't help thinking that Tywin looked like someone who would throw orphans into the street without delay if it served his needs.
I hadn't seen the Kingslayer, the queen or their children, at least not yet, so I couldn't speak for the rest of the family. I had seen Roose Bolton last night when I'd removed him as a potential problem, and while he'd somewhat looked like the actor who played him in the show, that was only a superficial resemblance.
"What do you mean?" I asked the half-man.
Since I was no lord or knight I was required to fight in some qualifying matches in one on one combat using blunted blades. It was boring and beneath a warrior of my skill, but I was a foreigner in this land as such it would be an uphill struggle to earn any respect from the locals.
While preparing for a match against some sellsword who was no doubt trying to make a name for himself or to draw the attention of some lord who would pay well for his services, I'd gotten talking to the smallest Lannister.
Tyrion Lannister had sought me out earlier in the day, on behalf of his father who was nearby, perhaps looking for some fresh talent since he'd recently lost of his butchers who dared call himself a knight.
The half-man had been sent to me by his father, as Tywin Lannister wouldn't lower himself to dealing with a merchant if he could send a member of his family to handle it, however, given that I was holding a new Brigthroar it seemed odd that the Lannister Lord would send his dwarf son.
Didn't Tywin worry that I'd be insulted? Maybe he just thought the Lannister name and promise of gold would be enough to win me over, and for any other merchant lord, it would be.
Not that he really needed to talk to me so as to acquire the new Brightroar as I'd entrusted the Iron Bank to get me a good price on the sword, and to handle the negotiations for me, but Tywin wanted to secure both of the magical swords that I was offering to sell.
He was one of the few people in this sword who could afford them as even if the gold mines were starting to run dry the lions of Casterly rock had been granted a long time to build up a massive stockpile of gold.
It wasn't hard to guess what the Lion of Casterly Rock wanted with two Valyrian steel swords. He could gift one to a potential ally to win them over or be the only noble house with two such swords.
He would want his eldest son Jaime Lannister to have one, and he might even offer the other to King Robert in exchange for Jaime Lannister being honourable discharged from the Kingslanding. Tywin cared more for securing his legacy than he would for any amount of gold.
I was loath to sell both of the swords to one noble family as I might be able to get a better price from the Tyrells whose wealth could eclipse that of the Lannisters since their source of income came from selling food rather than gold mines that could be running dry.
As for the Imp, he was more interested in arranging a supply of vodka to go with the chilled fruit drinks that we were both enjoying. I suspected that he would become one of my biggest customers before long.
I might even offer him the chance to make his own as long as he didn't sell to any of the kingdoms I hoped to start buying my vodka.
"There are rumours from the Iron Islands of fishing villages being emptied of people and ships going missing" I was told, "I suppose the Ironborn might have seized the ships and sailed off to the Stepstones so that they can keep being raiders, but that doesn't feel right. They seemed rather attached to the rocks they call home".
That was odd, and I should look into it as I knew that there was at least one monster in those waters and there could be more. Those Ironborn might have been dragged down into the ocean by a Kraken.
I'd read the legends of the Deep Ones. They were supposed to be the ones who made the Seastone Chair that I'd stolen for the ROB. I didn't think it was a mere chance that the sea monster had turned up just after the Seastone chair was taken away.
"Then there are the riders in black I've been hearing about," said the young Tyroin.
I did not like the sound of that. I'd heard the Nazgul being referred to as riders in black, but they would have faded away when the One Ring was destroyed and Sauron's spirit was sent into the void.
They had been spirits bound to Sauron via their Rings of Power and all of the magic rings in that world aside from those made by me had become nothing more than trinkets once the Dark Lord vanished.
Sauron hadn't been called the Lord of the Rings because he had a successful wrestling career.
"What have you heard about these riders?" I questioned.
Tyrion seemed amused by my question.
"Next you'll be asking me about grumkins and snarks" he joked "The Smallfolk always have stories about such creatures. Sure people talk more about them these days, but they are simply stories".
Just because some people are uneducated and poor that doesn't mean that they are all stupid. Westeros is a big place and sparsely inhabited given its vast size.
Besides, the Children of the Forest do still exist in small numbers as do the giants, so who knew what else was out there, and I might have woken some things up when I forged my Ring of Power.
I was reminded of how Talion in the Shadow of Mordor games forges a Ring of Power that causes one of the Balrogs to return to Middle Earth or at least to stop sleeping deep underground.
"I'm sure there are people who will swear that dragons are nothing more than creatures in tall tales," I said "In my experience, there is always something real behind such stories even if the truth is rather mundane".
The young Lannister lord considered my words.
"You have a point," he said, sipping the cocktail I'd made for him "Very well, the riders in black are a story that comes from reports of large men in black armour on horseback who are attacking travellers and small villages all over the Seven Kingdoms".
Random attacks are the style of the Nazgul they are generals and agents of the dark lord, not Wildlings or orcs.
"The few things that the different stories agree on is that the riders wear ghastly black armour, have fine horses, and they don't always will kill people, sometimes they will take them somewhere, but no one has been able to track them back to a camp".
I suddenly felt cold in a way that had nothing to do with the weather as it was actually pleasantly warm here.
"They sometimes have a few strange-looking hounds with them, but always in small numbers," said Tyrion Lannister "Oh and they aren't men, they look like men, but have pointed ears".
I almost choked on my drink.
"Did you say pointy ears?" I asked.
That was what I'd heard.
"Yes, one story I heard says that a man hiding in the woods when his village was attacked saw one of the riders take off his helm. The rider had potioned ears. My father thinks they are sellswords running amok and scaring the smallfolk. No more than a dozen riders, enough to terrorise a village, but not enough to threaten a town or even a small holdfast".
While that could be the case I doubted it. They sounded like the Wild Hunt, but that organisation didn't exist any more. Their king was dead, and hadn't the Witcher made a deal with the elves or at least a high-ranking one? I'd have to talk to Ciri about it and do some scrying just to be sure.
I wouldn't rule out the possibility of some stragglers riding about looking for Ciri so as to get payback, and the elf with who the Witcher made a deal might now have plans of his own.
Heck for all I knew this was one of the worlds the Wild Hunt raided for centuries and it was just that with magic getting stirred up they were raiding more. From their perspective, they might not even know about Ciri yet. Who knew if time followed at the same rate across the multiverse?
"Anyway we should discuss my father's offer," said the Imp "He wants both swords and he's not a man to take no for an answer".
I would look into the monsters after the tourney, and maybe do something about them if I saw a reason. Although if villages were being attacked because of me perhaps I should do something about it.
Given that the balance of power in the Seven Kingdoms might soon shift I didn't wish to sell the second sword to the Lannisters. I figured it was best to delay and distract until I saw how things worked out.
"I'd rather let the Iron Bank handle the sale," I said to Tyrion Lannister "But if your father is interested I have designs for new ships that he might be interested in. If he's rebuilding the Lannister fleet why not take this chance to build the best fleet in Westeros".
Tywin Lannister might go for purchasing designs for superior ships because he was always looking for ways to advance the position of his noble house and he was going to have to spend a fortune anyway to rebuild the fleet.
"I'll mention it to my father," promised Tyrion Lannister "And that you want the Iron Bank to handle the sale. He won't like it, but I can see him being interested in new ship designs if it gives him an advantage over the other high lords".
Before we could discuss that further I was called into the fighting ring. I was to go up against some youth who looked as if he barely knew how to hold a sword.
"This won't take long," I said.
Natasha and Cir were over in the stands with some of my guards as you needed to have a penis to actually hang around the fighting rings. I waved at them before the match began.
The youth charged at me, and I moved to the side while sticking my leg out so that the kid tripped over. I then poked him with the tip of my blunted sword.
"Come back when your balls have dropped, kid" I advised.
He didn't give up easily and when he got up he screamed before charging at me. I just punched him in the face. Given his armour and sword, I guessed him the bastard or third son of a somewhat wealthy lord who was trying to prove himself. Against any of the others here, he might have stood a chance.
"Wear a helmet" was my next bit of advice "You aren't a main character, your not even a supporting character".
Tyrion Lannister gave me an odd look when I left the ring.
"Main character?" he asked "Supporting character? Were those mean to be insults of some kind".
I changed the subject as I had no easy way to explain that comment.
"I'd like to offer you the chance to go into business with me," I said "How do you feel about producing and selling vodka in the Westerlands, maybe the Reach and the Riverlands as well".
That would leave me able to focus more on the North, the Vale and the Crownlands. I wasn't sure about the Stormlands as I didn't know much about the trade going on in that kingdom.
If he died in the coming troubles, I could always make the offer to someone else. There were noble houses that needed to increase their incomes.
"I'm much better at spending money than making it," said the half-man.
He was underestimating himself.
"Your father won't be around forever and he doesn't want you to inherit Casterly Rock, going into business yourself might be the best way to secure your own future," I told the half-man.
The Imp finished his drink.
"I'll give it some thought," he said as he left.
Hopefully, I would find some rich lord who was willing to take a risk and start making whiskey while I was here.