Chapter 11 - A Spider's Bird
Within a night, a raven flew into the window's spider web at King's Landing. They were the fastest birds they had as messengers. As long as the weather fared well and they were well fed, they could arrive within a day or two at most, and the weather was fair. Varys read the note it held from one of his little birds at Castle Black. Strange information lingered on the parchment, which frightened Varys. He wasn't sure if he should believe it, but he suspected that if it was true, magic was involved, and he knew magic all too well. The spymaster swiftly moved through the halls of King's Landing, note grasped firmly in hand. He had told Tyrion Lannister, Hand of the King, to meet him in a secret part of the castle, a part that not even Tyrion knew of.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were leading me somewhere to kill me," the little lion man joked. Varys locked the door behind him.
"Yes, I can see how this might come across as alarming, but I come with some strange news," he said quietly, taking a seat.
"Strange… how strange? Stranger than a young girl with three dragons?" Tyrion joked.
"Yes, stranger I fear," said the spider, leaning forward. Varys wore a nervous expression that the dwarf rarely saw. Tyrion grabbed a nearby bottle of wine and poured himself a drink.
"Well, this ought to be good… go on," he said, taking a sip.
"Good? Or bad? Or worse?" said Varys gravely, "Do you recall the Red Comet?"
Tyrion rolled his eyes. "Yes…"
"And how everyone believes it's some kind of omen or prophecy?" added Varys.
"And some people believe that if you cut off a rabbit's foot, it gives them good luck… how is this interesting?" said the dwarf, taking another sip, becoming bored.
The spider paused. "Well, I don't know about a rabbit's foot, but some people believe that it is the blood of our late Ned Stark, streaking across the sky. Three days ago, something fell from that very comet at Castle Black," said Varys, opening up the note he so desperately clutched and handing it to Tyrion. The half-man stopped drinking and took it. Upon reading the note, his face dropped. Suspicion kept his nerves at bay.
"They say it was a man that fell. A man cloaked in metal of red and gold," continued Varys. Tyrion looked up from the note.
"And does this so-called man have a name?" The dwarf asked fearfully and uncertain of what his friend might say.
Tony was fortunate enough to receive warmer clothes from Jon and Sam. He looked strange in the medieval garb; he didn't really care much for the leather. It was stiff and thick, hard to move in, but it hid the glow of his arc reactor, and the furs kept him warm. God, it was cold. Jarvis put his suit on low power, hidden beneath his stealth tech, which frightened and amazed Pyp. He seemed to be the only one who didn't mind the strange man's presence, other than perhaps Sam. Jon didn't like keeping him a secret. He didn't like lying; it felt dishonorable, but what choice did he have? Edd watched Tony as he explored around Castle Black, which he did not think was wise. Half the men who saw him eyed him hungrily while the others eyed him curiously or kept a distance out of fear. He worried they would challenge him or ask him questions. Tony didn't care; he needed to find a way home, which meant finding the safest and most efficient way to charge his suit. The forge seemed like the only useful place to him, but when he saw what they were making and working with, he shook his head feeling helpless.
"What's the matter, fallen man? Not good enough for ya?" dared one of the smiths. He was a bald, rough-looking middle-aged man in dark leather, filthy from his work. "Not nearly," he answered honestly.
"Then go find your armor and weapons elsewhere," snarled the smith, offended. "Okay…" Tony said to himself, but decided to press onward. He would need a forge at some point, but he would get nowhere with this one attending it. The Iron Man froze when he spotted the large white wolf roaming the grounds of Castle Black freely. Unfortunately, someone saw him flinch.
"Never knew a Stark to be afraid of his own house sigil," said a random voice from behind. Tony turned around. A grizzled man with a sword sheathed at his side approached. Edd kept a close watch.
"I'm not who you think I am," said Iron Man, smiling sheepishly. His side still hurt from the fall.
"Oh yeah? Then who are you then, Sky man?" the man continued. Tony snickered.
"Sky man? Is that the best you can come up with?" he mocked. A gross, grizzled man dressed in black approached with his sword.
"I heard… you are a Stark… which makes you a traitor to the crown," said the man. Edd looked nervous. Tony rolled his eyes, tired of these accusations, although it wasn't the first time someone blamed him for something horrible.
"Hey, 'Shakespeare in the park,' you heard wrong," he said in his usual nonchalant sarcastic way. Two more men approached, armed.
"Oh, I think I heard right," said the hostile man.
"I knew it… he's gonna get himself killed," muttered Edd and ran to get Jon.