Braavos

Ragman's Harbor

Steigir

"Rise and shine, cunts!"

These were the first words Steigir heard as he was rudely woken by Hild the First mate. Well, him and every other man that was still sleeping on the Cog their Magnar had named the 'Hammer of the Gods'.

The thrice damned woman was banging her Waraxe against her metal shield making an unholy noise that woke up Steigir and the rest of the sailors that had been sleeping of the previous night. While they had been here for more than a moon, Steigir could not say it was an uninteresting or unenjoyable stay.

"For fucks sake Hild! My head is pounding!" One of the sailors named Torstig yelled towards the first mate in protest.

"I don't care you lout, what I do care about is if my drunken cunts that call themselves sailors are awake yet!" The bitch seemed to roar towards the now most definitely awake men and women.

"Good, Ragnar finished his business with the merchants that rule here!" This seemed to rouse the sailors more than Hild's shield. Everyone knew what that meant.

"If you have affairs in the city, have it sorted soon. We set sail at the end of the week!" Hild roared for the last time before walking back to the deck from the hull but not before giving a parting shot at her fellow sailors "Cunts!" And then proceeded to walk through the door at the end of the stairs that led to the deck.

"What is wrong with that woman?" Steigir heard one of his fellow sailor mutter.

"She hasn't gotten humped since we were home" muttered another.

"I'll hump the silly bint if it stopped her from being such a cunt" was another's snarky reply.

"At least we'll be home soon, though I will miss the wine and ale this City has" he heard another mutter.

"And the women" this one came from a spearwife whom Steigir knew frequented the brothels quite often during their stay. He could not come to her name, but he knew she was one of the rowdiest sailors on the Hammer.

Steigir was not surprised by the news that Hild delivered.

He was with Ragnar during every meeting he had with the bankers and Sealord. He knew they had finally reached an accord after much haggling and even some blood spilled. But if what their lord spoke was true and he managed what he promised the Braavosi, then Steigir knew it would be well worth it.

The Braavosi would not help them against the southerners as Steigir first thought their Magnar would request. But their Magnar did not ask for that. In return for a stable source of cheap and superior lumber as well as steel that held up in durability to even Valyrian Steel, Ragnar asked for something precious. Access to trade for food during winter and summer at a discount and more importantly skilled labour.

Enough to teach his men the building techniques the southerners used for their stone buildings, be they roads, bridges or forts. Future engineers for his army and cities. But he asked for something else as well. Something even more precious than the previous request. Something that the bankers could not even begin to negotiate about without the presence of the Sealord or be considered part of treason.

The bankers at first would not even consider the condition and refused to summon the Sealord. That was until Ragnar showed that while he had no conventional wealth, he had something to bring to the table. Steel. The weapons only Ragnar could make, by bulk it seemed. Whilst not as light as Valyrian Steel the Somber blades were as durable as Valyrian Steel.

This was confirmed by the bankers themselves, using their own stores of Valyrian Steel against the blade. Ragnar also said to them the blades never dulled.

It seemed to Steigir the weapons he and his fellow Norfolk were taking for granted were cherished by the easterners because the bankers summoned the Sealord after they confirmed the Magnars words, and he promised exclusive access to the weapons for Braavos should they comit to sharing the plans for the Arsenal along with the skilled labor.

"You must be the loudest spearwife this side of the narrow sea, Kridis" Torstig responded to the now named Kridis's remark about women.

"Aye Torstig, I am loud, and my screams are deafening but only for the lovely whores of Braavos. Never for you, old man" Kridis bit back at Torstig with a full belly laugh that seemed to infect everyone still recovering from their hangover.

"Besides I'm only following the lead of my Magnar. He got the prettiest one in the city" Kridis justified.

At the mention of Siranea Otherys, Steigir thought to the woman whom Ragnar had taken to bed. And the reason they were finally setting sail.

"You think that's why we stayed so long? So Ragnar could hump a whore?" Asked another sailor in the to hull asked Kridis it seemed.

"Probably, you saw her. Plump breast, massive arse, birthing hips, narrow waist, dark skin, violet eyes and dark ringlets" Kridis licked her lips lewdly as she described whom Steigir knew to be the Black Pearl of Braavos.

"I would stay a year between those legs, not just a moon." The spearwife told the other sailors.

Steigir found it funny that they thought they had been staying longer because of Siranea.

Once again Steigir felt fortunate to be more informed than his fellow sailors.

He knew her very presence managed to get the Magnar to stop the stalemate in negotiations he had faced against the Sealord.

"The Arsenal is Braavos most important asset. We may be a City of Merchants, but the Arsenal is not for sale. We can share our boat builders but not our secrets" The Sealord had flatly refused Ragnar.

"I do not ask for your secret without giving you a secret of equal value. I do believe in the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Whilst I'm a Prophet first in this playthrough, Alchemist is not a class I'm unfamiliar with" Ragnar replied to the Sealord.

"You overestimate the value of your secret if you believe this Norse Steel to be of equal value to the Arsenal. It is not even of equal value to Valyrian Steel!" The Sealord protested.

"You are wrong Sealord Essyris, you underestimate its value. The only correct part of your statement is that Valyrian Steel and Norse Steel are not Equal. Norse Steel is superior. It has a living manufacturer and I have not shared all its abilities " Ragnar calmly replied to the Sealord whom scoffed at his reply.

"And what abilities are worth The Arsenal of Braavos?" The Sealord asked to Steigir's Magnar.

"The ability to store magic" was Ragnars calm response to the merchants.

This started a whole new set of arguments and so much haggling that Steigir felt dizzy at the end of it. But despite all the back and forth not much had changed. The Sealord still refused Ragnar and the Magnar was dead set on having his own Arsenal in the North so another meeting was scheduled.

At that point Steigir thought he was bound to live in the city for years faced with the stubbornness of both the Sealord and his Magnar. The Bankers it seemed was more than willing to negotiate but would not do so if it went against the Sealord's wishes wich was strange to Steigir since he had heard his Magnar say more than once that the bankers were the most powerful faction in the city. But it seemed to Steigir that they respected unity more than he heard his people usually say of merchants.

But that would change soon.

Ragnar Redmane's patience had ran out.

As they left his Magnar asked Steigir if he was going out with the men that night into the city. The men seemed to enjoy their stay by going to taverns and brothels at night. They had long since sold their load and the Magnar payed each sailor good. Good enough to whore, drink and feast. Not things Steigir usually partook in. Steigir replied that he was not when his Magnar gave him a command.

"Go with them" he said.

Which quite honestly confused Steigir till he heard hir Magnars next words.

"Go with them. And when you are drunk and merry let it be loudly known that the Black Pearl of Braavos sleeps on the Hammer of the Gods. That your Magnar has been keeping the Black Pearl to himself after he seduced her from her barge to his cog. Let them know he has been selfish with her presence for more than a moon" His Magnar commanded Steigir, who knew exactly what this would bring.

There was a reason they had not let it be known that Siranea was with Ragnar as drunk as his fellow sailors were.

These bravos had turned out to be more skilled than even Ragnar's tales made them out to be, but the Norfolk never backed down from a fight and gave as good as they got.

As skilled as these bravo's were they could not overcome the strength and superior armor and weaponry of the Norfolk. This led to mutual respect as more than one bravo lost his life after underestimating the northerners and more than a few Norse had to be dragged to the Hammer so that Ragnar had to heal them when they got cocky and let their guard down around "weaklings" only to find a limb lost or fatal wound at the end of a saber or rapier as these bravo's showed the price of underestimating them. Yet, at the end of the day they were rogues. Rogues who felt very possessive of the consorts who have their heart. And to be the Black Pearl of Braavos, is to have the heart of every rogue in the city.

"I will do as you say Ragnar, but are you that bored that you would challenge every bravo in the city?" Steigir asked his Magnar.

"No Steigir, I'm not bored. I simply wish to show the Sealord the value of my steel. I tire of Braavos. I have been gone long enough from Hardhome. I will show these bravo's the value of Norse Steel. That will conclude these damnable negotiations." Ragnar said to Steigir.

Steigir wanted nothing more than to sail home. Even though he loved the warmth of the sun in this city, even though he loved the strong ale that was so rare north but plenty here, even though he loved how alive the city seemed, even at night. He still loved Hardhome more.

He loved his mother and sister more.

So Steigir did as Ragnar comanded.

He drunk, he feasted and whored with his fellow sailors as they loudly let it be known in more than one alehouse that the Black Pearl was with the northern savage Ragnar Redmane. A client that seemed to be as possessive over the Black Pearl as any bravo would be.

They did not need to wait too long for a response from the rogues.

The very next night a group of bravos were at the dock.

Ragnar calmly walked from the Hammer over to the dock across the gangplank. He walked till he was ten feet away from the group of twenty bravos.

"So you're the westorosi cunt, that's been keeping the Black Pearl hostage?" One of the braver fools asked Ragnar.

He clearly believed that he was gonna be Siranea's 'saviour'.

"I don't have too much time to waste, so I think I'm going to slaughter all you little men at once. Like the worthless maggots you are" Was the crude taunt that Ragnar returned.

"Don't have too much time to waste westerosi? What makes you believe you have any time left?" Asked the same bravos, as him and all his fellows drew their swords at the Magnars challenge.

"Siranea gets needy if I'm gone too long, you see. There's only so much my poor cock can take at once, ya know" replied Steigir's Magnar with the brightest smile he had seen on the man's face till that point.

A smile that infuriated the bravos so much they charged the giant.

But Ragnar simply took his katana in hand and met them head on.

Steigir finally understood what his Magnar hinted at all those moons ago as he sees the man parry and riposte with his unaturaly long blade. Blade after blade came after him, but he evaded parried and countered so fast that it seemed he did it all at once.

Blow after blow evaded.

Blow after blow parried.

Blow after blow avenged.

It seemed to Steigir his Magnar was in rare ruthless form this time around as limbs and heads were strewn across the dock as blood seemed to paint the docks vivid red.

After losing four fellows, the bravos did the second smartest thing they could at this point. They disengaged the Magnar and surrounded him.

They timed their strikes to hit his vitals and blindspots simultaneously.

It helped them none.

The Magnar took his blade and spinned it overhead and a gale of an ethereal force knocked the men back.

As soon as the Magnar had space to do so he summoned another katana.

One Steigir did not know before this point but would never forget after.

His Magnar took the katana and jumped into the air into what he knew his Magnar had once told him was a stance.

But this stance was different. His Magnar seemed to be floating in the air for what felt like minutes but were likely seconds.

And in the next moment all that was seen by Steigir was the flash of steel cutting though steel and Ragnar moving so fast that it seemed there were more than one the man.

When Ragnar stopped there was only limbs on the ground and a red mist in the air where there were men before.

Ragnar sheathed his weapons and calmly walked back to the captains cabbin.

The men started cheering his name the moment he walked inside, and they managed to get over their shock.

But Steigir heard his Magnar mutter as he walked past him.

"Let me see that toad try and discredit my steel now" The man muttered aloud as he seemed to be lost in thought as he usually was.

That thought brought Steigir back to where he currently was, trying to get a last few good gifts for his mother and sister since they would be setting sail soon.

Mother

Igda

We'll see each other soon.

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