No mercy

Edmure POV

It was late into the night as we gathered in the dungeons, and Daenerys looked at the captive I captured. He spilled the beans to the Queen as he did to me. He was telling about the hideouts where they gathered. He knew of three, each having about thirty men hiding inside. So, about a hundred men in total. It was a significant number that managed to smuggle themselves into the city.

"This is a proclamation of war," Jorah said.

"No, they are only preparing for war," Daario replied. "The proclamation will be an attack."

"What should we do?" Daenerys asked. "Attack them, and Aegon will deny they are from Golden Company and spin a tale of me killing innocent. Leave them be, and they will smuggle more and more men into the city until I won't be able to contaminate them."

"It is better to defend against rumors than swords, Your Grace," Ser Barristan said.

"For us, it is," I replied. "But for Her Grace, rumors will push her people against her. She will start losing allies and earn enemies."

"We can't leave them be," Daario said.

"We can," I replied to the baleful stare from the rest of them. "But the Sons of Harpy definitely can't."

"What do you mean?" Daenerys asked.

Instead of answering, I picked a mask from my bag and showed it to them. It was an ordinary mask you could find anywhere in Meereen. But that was enough for my plan. It would be enough to convince most if we wore the mask and left the mark of harpy drawn in blood on victims. After all, it was no secret how the Sons of the Harpy operated.

"Let your enemies fight each other," Tyrion commented. "I will start spreading rumors among the higher-status people about the shadow war between the Golden Company and the Sons of the Harpy."

"A week," Daenerys said. "I will allow it to happen for a week. Then I will use all my men to hunt and kill all that is left."

"A week will be enough to get Aegon and the Harpy to leave their hiding," I said. "Then it will be your time to strike, your Grace."

"I hope you are right," Daenerys replied.

"So do I," I said. "And you should remember why I am doing this. I am helping you so you can help Astapor and end this war."

"I will do everything I can to end slavery in the Slaver's Bay."

That was enough for me once I was done with this. I will reveal who I am and leave for home. I was gone for too long, and who knows what kind of enemies against Jaehaerys have sprung out from my absence. I was concerned, but I believed in Arianne and Jason Mallister to keep order in the Seven Kingdoms. All I had to do was bring Euron's head back with me.

…

The night was dark, even with stars in the sky. The streets of Meereen were quiet and filled with shadows. I walked in those shadows with four men beside me. The Tattered Prince was with other of his three men. We were covered in dark cloaks and masks and armed with daggers and swords. Another ten groups of five moved to the location from a different direction.

The first location was a warehouse between the harbor and the marketplace. I waited until everyone gathered and surrounded the hideout. There were two entries into the warehouse, so we split up and drew our swords. I looked around me at the men gathered. Most consisted of the Windblown Company and the Strom Crows.

"Remember," I said, looking at twenty men behind me. "No mercy."

They nodded, and I went for the warehouse. There were two sentries outside the entryway. Before they could even react to me, I threw my dagger at one, piercing his neck, and jumped on another, thrusting my sword into his heart. They had to pretend to be nobodies, so they wore no armor, only a few blades. So, there wasn't much of a sound when they fell to the ground.

Listening to the inside and finding no sound, I relaxed momentarily, took a deep breath, and pushed the wooden gates open before the men inside could realize the sound of the wooden gates opening. I sprinted with my blades ready. Half of them were sleeping or resting. The other half were talking with each other and had no time to react when our blades cut them down.

One after the other, I cut down. Blood from their throats soaked my sword and mask. In a few moments third of them were dead or dying. Before the rest could counterattack, the doors from behind opened, and men ran into the warehouse surrounding them and cut down their escape route. It was a massacre that ended in a couple of minutes. Only a few screams of fear and pain were heard from the warehouse.

Once the deed was over, I took my dagger and drew blood from the nearby corpse before starting to draw harpies on the walls and the floor. I left a few masks around the warehouse and then went with my men outside before we scattered. Daario and Jorah were probably finishing their hideouts by this time too.

In the span of a night, about a hundred men were killed. The morning will bring many ripples into the city of Meereen. Walking through the shadows, I shed the cloak and the mask, leaving only my covered in bandages face. I soon sneaked inside the Great Pyramid, with the guards letting me pass without questioning. I only rested for a couple of hours before the sun rose.

…

As expected, the following day, the courtroom was filled with people. A hundred men were found dead in various places. People were afraid and disturbed. Hizdahr zo Loraq wanted to know what happened. Almost outing himself as one of the Sons of the Harpy when he declared it wasn't them who did it, claiming that nothing like that ever happened in Meereen.

Daenerys asked who the men that died were. Nobody answered. Aegon looked furious, but not at Daenerys but at Hizdahr. Hizdahr looked confused. It was the second time someone used the Sons of the Harpy to kill someone, and the implications were clear. By waging the shadow war, the shadows have turned against them.

That is precisely what I wanted. Let them panic. That will push them into the light. Aegon already considered Hizdahr the one responsible, his anger clouding his judgment. Euron's presence by his side didn't help him to calm down. Euron didn't care what happened to the Golden Company. He only cared about getting to the dragons; the more chaos the city was in, the better chance he got.

That would serve me too. Chaos is going to happen when Aegon is not able to control his temper. He wasn't as bad as Joffrey but was like every other arrogant boy from a noble family. The pressure from the Golden Company and his supposed name didn't help him. Everything around him was falling apart, and he didn't know how to take control.

The court ended without anyone answering any questions and leaving everything unresolved. It wasn't Daenerys they blamed, but each other. This time an unknown group of men killed an unknown group of men. And Daenerys played her part right, pushing the responsibility to others and proclaiming to double the patrols over the city.

…

"You ready?" The Tattered Prince asked, concerned.

I looked at myself and minimal armor, a mask, a dagger, and a sword. Ready? I think I was. It was just beginning, yet, the Tattered Prince looked concerned. For me? I didn't know. Letting out a tired sigh, I turned to him. It was some time since we spoke alone. He was old but still acted my age, while I felt too old for this shit.

"Is there something you wanted?" I asked.

"I see you dismissed your shield," He pointed out.

"It slowed me down," I replied. "There is no use for it to me for now."

"If you say so," He didn't bring it up anymore. "So, whom do we strike tonight?"

"You do nothing," I replied.

"We made a deal, I help you, and you give me Pentos."

"And it will be done," I said. "Do you know Magister Illyryo Mopatis?"

"Enough to form an opinion."

"I believe he is the one behind Aegon," I said. "I will bring the full force of Westeros on him on Pentos to uncover the truth. When I am done with him, someone will have to take control of the city."

"Very well," The Tattered Prince seemed satisfied. "Then I leave it to you but be careful. Please don't die on me after all the promises you made."

"I will not die," I said. "Not until I have my revenge."

I dismissed the concerned look of the Tattered Prince as we separated into different paths. I walked into the dark city while he turned to the Great Pyramid. Using the disguise, I moved in the shadows to the harbor. It was time to strike some of Euron's men. He kept reserved for too long. I will have to cut down some of his men and find Varys. He had a lot to answer.

I hoped to sneak into Silence while most attention was gathered on the Golden Company and the Sons of the Harpy. From what Asha said, it seems that Euron started to stay close to Aegon, but she didn't try to get more information. She stood on the fence for too long, it was time for her to take a side, or neither Euron nor Daenerys could trust her.

It didn't matter. She had provided enough information for me already. And all of this will end soon. Then she can come home with me. I will keep my promise if she doesn't step over the bounds. I had more pressing things to think about anyway. I had to work out how to defend the Wall from the White Walkers and prepare for the winter.

When I reached the Harbor, I slowed down and took a deep breath. I looked carefully around and moved to the ship I had my eyes on. Without mercy, I killed anyone who noticed me cutting their throats open and watching them drown in their blood. I moved the bodies to the shadows and drew a harpy in blood on the walls.

Moving past the sentries and climbing on the ship was challenging. But the crew of the Silence was silent, and they couldn't warn anyone when I killed them one by one. I pushed their bodies into the water but didn't throw them. The splash of water would announce my presence. I slowly lowered them into the water and let them sink.

I knew of the ship a little when I was captured and escaped. I memorized the ship partly and knew where Varys might be. The nightmares reminded me of every detail I had seen of the ship, even if I didn't want it. I moved into the lower deck. Without Euron, the ship deserved its name. I could only hear my footsteps.

Checking one cabin after another, I killed a dozen men before finding what I was looking for. I saw a bald man in a small cabin lit by a few candles. Varys has lost some weight, but he is still the spider I remember him to be. He wrote notes as I moved to him and put my dagger to his neck. He didn't let out any sound or even react and continued to write.

I moved closer to his face and saw his hollow eyes. It shouldn't have surprised me what Euron did to Varys. And it was probably deserving. I grasped his jaws and turned his face to look at me. I asked him many things, but he kept silent. He was a broken man who couldn't speak or register anything before him.

Part of me was furious that I couldn't get the answers I wanted, but part of me was delighted to see Varys be what he did to his little birds. I stabbed him in the heart, and he fell to the ground. He didn't let out any sound as he slowly died. I took notes of what was written and started to read through them. There was information on every man of the status of the city.

What got my attention was information on the Sons of the Harpy and the Golden Company. Routes through the streets to the Great Pyramid were written in fine detail—patroling times and routes that even I didn't know. It was too much for me to go on now, so I took everything I could but stopped when I saw a note addressing the Warlocks.

In the note, it was written that everything was prepared. The Warlocks were in position, and the horn was ready to use. The flames of the marketplace will indicate the start of the attack. I read through it many times, but that was as much as I was able to get. I left quickly. And moved away from the ship. A fire got my attention, and I looked toward the now-ablaze Marketplace. I ran to the Great Pyramid and hoped I wasn't too late.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to five advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852