Secrets of the Dwemer:
Dragonstone:
Stannis, Alessia, Willas, Melisandre and Randyll all looked at Martin and the Dragons in shock. There were five baby dragons. One was larger than the others and had golden coloured scales which glowed in the light. Another which was slightly smaller than the golden scaled dragon had sparkling silver scales that twinkled in the light. The other three dragons were smaller than the silver scaled Dragon. One had sparkling sapphire scales; one had ruby red scales while the other had amethyst purple scales.
"Dragons" Alessia said finally after a short time of silence.
"Our King has helped give birth to dragons" Melisandre added "His blood allowed the eggs to hatch."
"No one has seen Dragons in Westeros since the days of Aegon III." Randyll said "I never thought I would see any with my own eyes."
Stannis looked at the dragons which were all cooing and the Sapphire dragon was nibbling on the sleeve of Martin's shirt while the golden one softly pecked Martin's ear "This could be a big help to us" Stannis said "Dragons could help beat our enemies."
"But they are still just babies" Willas protested "They'll never be able to help win our war. The Targaryen Dragons were all fully grown when they invaded Westeros."
"Even so they could be important influence for us" Alessia suggested "People were already claiming that Martin was chosen by the Gods. Martin giving birth to dragons will help prove that."
"Well I may not believe in Gods" Randyll said "But seeing these dragons does make me believe that our King Martin does have a future planned for him. And that he will be an important figure for the History of Westeros just like Aegon the Conquer."
"Well these Dragons may seem like the Gods have something planned for me" Martin said at last "But right now we have a war to win. And we must get ready to sail for the Stormlands. We will land in the Southern Stormlands and join forces with the Fifth Legion along with Houses Dondarrion, Swann, Caron and the other Stormlander Houses that have joined my side. Then we will deal with Renly."
North of the Wall:
In the deep snows beyond the Wall, Jon Snow along with the Dawnguard and the Night's Watch all walked in the freezing deep snows of the North as they walked along to the meeting point with the Halfhand at the Fist of the First Men.
"He's not here yet" Jeor Mormont spoke as he walked alongside Grandmaster Isran and Jon Snow "If he was he would have blown the horn."
"When will he come?" Jon asked
"The Halfhand does things in his own time" Isran spoke
"It's bloody freezing here." Agmaer complained "I'm glad I wore these thick robes but it's still cold."
"Well stop complaining and you might just get used to it" Edd said as he walked behind him with Grenn "I've been here several times."
Later, everyone had arrived at the summit of the Fist which was just a large hill that had the remains of an old First Men Stronghold. It was located next to the Milkwater River and surrounded by the Haunted Forest. The hill was quite dangerous as there was a huge drop if someone fell and the slope was steep at the North and West edges while just less dangereous at the East. The South had the only path to reach the summit. Everyone was doing their job to make the area a defence and they were using spades to move the snow and uncover the remains of the old stone wall.
"The Fist of the First Men" Agmaer spoke up "Think of how old this place is. Built by the First Men ages ago. Before the Targaryens invaded, before the Andals invaded."
"Please stop talking" Edd complained
"The stories say that the First Men stood here during the Long Night" Agmaer added "I've read the books in Maester Aemon's library "What do you think the First men were like."
"Stupid." Edd answered "Smart men do come to places like this where the snow covers everything up."
"I think the First Men were afraid" Jon said "I think they came here to get away from something. And I don't think it worked." Edd, Grenn and Agmaer looked at him but turned away when a horn blew.
"Wildlings?" Grenn questioned
"No" Jon answered "It's just one blast" after a few moments of silence "If it was wildlings then there would be a second blast. One Blast of the Horn is for Rangers returns. Two is for Wildlings."
"So you're just going to stand there watching?" Edd spoke "Wondering. One blast for friends. Two for foes."
"And Three for White Walkers" Agmaer added which caused Grenn and Edd to look at him "It has been 1000 years but that's the only time they blow the Horn three times."
"If it has been 1000 years how do you know that?" Edd asked
"Well..." Agmaer started but Grenn and Edd answered by snorting.
"I read it in a book" they said at the same time and then they turned away
"Look" Jon spoke up which got their attention again as they watched as a group of Night's Watchmen approached "It's the Halfhand."
"And we'll live to fight another day" Edd snorted "Hurrah"
Essos: Dwarven Ruin.
"YOL" Daenerys spoke to her young dragon Drogon as she sat inside the halls of the Dwemer Ruin. These Halls were something that she had never seen before. The halls were carved from stone which she had never seen before and they looked impressive. She had never seen anything like it. And there were large metal pipes across the room.
"These pipes were used by the Dwemer to transport Steam across their cities to power their creations" Calcelmo had told her.
"What kind of Creations?" Daenerys asked
"You will see" Calcelmo said
"Go one" Daenerys said back to Drogon as she placed a raw peace of meat in front of the baby dragon "YOLl"
Drogon looked at the raw meat. The baby was hungry but did not want raw meat but the dragon did not know what the Daenerys wanted
"I've got another idea" Farengar said as he pulled out a piece of parchment and a piece of charcoal. She used an old table nearby table and he drew what looked like ancient runes and place it in front of Drogon "Now try it."
Daenerys looked confused but tried to get Drogon to breath fire again "Yol" she said
Drogon looked at the parchment and the to the meat and he opened his moth as black smoke came out with sparks flying. Then with a screech, he said what Daenerys was hoping for "YOOOLLLLL" The dragon screeched in a dragon like voice and Daenerys clapped in approval.
"It seems that your dragons need to read the runes that make the dragon shout in the Dragon language to perform the shout" Farengar said "After a bit of practice your dragons will be ready for the next word of the Fire Breath Shout."
"Do you know all the words?" Daenerys asked
"Thanks to my studies I did learn all the words in the Fire Breath Shout." Farengar replied "YOL TOOR SHUL. In our language, they translate to Fire Inferno Sun."
"Well now that that is settled I'm afraid we must carry on" Calcelmo said as he approached them "The Research notes we found say that the research team went further in."
"Well we must carry on then" Jorah spoke
So Farengar, Daenerys and Jorah followed Calcelmo, Aicantar and Captain Aquilius deeper into the Dwemer ruin. They stopped when they heard a voice "Where did you hide it J'zar?" the voice demanded "You took it J'zar. You always take it."
"Looks like we found two of our missing labourers." Aicantar spoke and then they turned around the corridor and Daenerys got the shock of her life as did Jorah as standing before them was what looked like a giant walking cat on two legs standing above the bloodied body of another cat like person with blood flowing from its body.
"What's this?" the still alive cat spoke "Someone's has come. But they were not trapped with us."
"J'darr?" Calcelmo said "Thank the Divines you are safe."
But the Cat named J'darr did not listen "No!" he snapped "You're just here to steal it. Just like my brother before I butchered him" then he swung a woodcutter's axe at Calcelmo who ducked.
"Damn it J'darr stop!" Calcelmo shouted but J'darr did not listen but was stabbed in the side by Jorah.
"Seven Hells!" Jorah gasped as he pulled his sword from the cat's body "What is this thing?"
"It's a Khajiit" Aicantar spoke "They are a cat like people who were once citizens of the Septim Empire."
"I never thought that I would see a person who looks like an animal" Daenerys said
"You don't see them is Essos much" Calcelmo said "They live in Sothoryos though they can be seen in the area where I live. They travel in large merchant caravans selling their wares. Though they are often not allowed it the city due to their reputation. A lot of Khajiit turn to smuggling a thieving."
"Any idea about what happened here?" Farengar asked "What did this guy attack us."
Captain Aquilius looked around the bloodstained bedroll and soon found several empty small purple bottles "I think I have found out what happened." He said as he showed Calcelmo the bottles.
Calcelmo looked at the bottles and sighed "Skooma" he said "That explains it."
"What is Skooma?" Jorah asked
"It's a liquid drug that is often made by the Khajiit." Aicantar said "That is why they are often not trusted as they smuggle the stuff around. It is addicting and can kill you if taken in large quintiles. It is used to sooth pain and relax but it is illegal."
"The Khajiit brothers must have been addicted to the stuff" Aquilius said
"We must still find the others" Calcelmo said "We must carry on."
Stark Camp:
Robb Stark watched as his men all prepared for his invasion of the Westerlands. Robb planned to first find the Lannister army at the town of Oxcross. People said that Tywin Lannister was secretly supporting Martin but Robb knew that he had to be careful. His top Bannermen GreatJon Umber, Rickard Karstark, Galbert Glover and Roose Bolton knew that they needed to be careful. Robb was at his tent with his Bannermen.
"Prince Martin gave us a mission to attack the Westerlands." Robb said to his Bannermen "While Tywin Lannister secretly supports Martin we must be careful of trusting him."
"That's true" GreatJon spoke
"Apart from the Lannisters the most powerful lords in the Westerlands are the Crakehalls, the Leffords and the Marbrands. These houses will not support us that's for certain" Galbert Glover said
"Well the Westerlings and Banefords do support Martin" Robb spoke "But with the Marbrands not far from them it won't be easy to get their support."
"Not to mention that the Third Legion is trapped at Fort Fellhammer" Rickard Karstark added
"We need to see if Tywin Lannister is telling the truth" Robb said "The Lannister army is at Oxcross though it may be a trap."
"Another problem is that we can't get past the Golden Tooth" Roose Bolton added "House Lefford will support Joffrey and we can't get past them."
Roose's son Domeric Bolton was also in the tent along with Torhen Karstark and Smalljon Umber. Domeric spoke up "There may be a way to avoid the Golden tooth" he suggested "I've travelled in the Vale and there were secret passages through the mountains there. There may be a secret passage through which will allow us to avoid the Golden Tooth."
"Well we must find one soon" Robb said "I'm sending scouts to try and find a passage but if we can't find one then we will have to lay siege to the Golden Tooth. Dismissed." All of the Lords left while Robb sent out scouts to try and find a passage through the Mountains.
Renly's Camp Bitterbridge:
The last contender for the Iron Throne of Westeros was King Robert's Youngest brother. Renly Baratheon. He had the support of the majority of the Reach and the Northern Stormlands. Though Mace Tyrell was angered that Lord Randyll Tarly had refused his call and he wanted to attack Horn Hill but Lord Mathis Rowan had convinced him not to saying that it would just waste time and that lord Tarly would come to his senses. Renly had made camp at Bitterbridge, a keep in the Reach that had a bloody history. And the seat of House Caswel.
Bitterbridge was once named Stonebridge and was named for the Timber and stone bridge that crosses the Mander River where the Mander meets the Roseroad. In the Age of Heroes, the Ironborn of Old would raid along the Mander as far as Bitterbridge. The Keep was not that big but the land it flat which make the keep seem taller. Bitterbridge was where the Faith Milliant fought against Maegor I army. The battle was savage and the Mander ran red with blood for twenty leagues and the keep was named Bitterbridge afterwards. During the Dance of the Dragons, one of the dragon seeds, Hugh Hammer, was named lord of Bitterbridge for his service in the Battle of the Gullet. Troops from Bitterbridge would take part in the First Battle of Tumbleton where Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White would betray Queen Rhaenerya Targaryen and both would attempt to claim the Iron Throne for themselves until they were killed at the Second Battle of Tumbleton. Also after the fall of King's Landing, Aegon II's men took his young Son Maelor to Oldtown but were attacked by a mob at Bitterbridge where Maelor was torn to pieces and his guard Ser Rickard Thorne was killed. Lord Ormund Hightower razed Bitterbridge in revenge, Lady Caswell hanged herself from the walls.
Renly was holding a grand tourney at Bitterbridge much to many lord's dismay. Many of the lords were growing tired of Renly not taking this War seriously. Renly spent more time holding Tournaments and many were having second thoughts. Renly had also created his own Kingsguard which he named the Rainbow Guard as each of his knights wore a different coloured armour. Renly's old friend Loras Tyrell was named Lord Commander and wore a suit of armour to show that he was the Lord Commander. Ser Emmon Cuy wore a suit of yellow armour. Ser Parmen Crane wore a suit of purple armour and Ser Guyard Morrigen wore green armour. Ser Cortnay Penrose, the old Castilian of Storm's end and an Old friend of Renly wore a suit of orange armour while Ser Bryan Fossoway wore a suit of Red Armour which went with his family sigil of a red apple. There was one place left for the Rainbow guard and that was the Blue Knight.
Renly was sat on top of a stage with his new wife Margery Tyrell sat next to him. Margery was the only daughter of Lord Mace Tyrell and his wife Lady Alerie of House Hightower and was the youngest of Mace Tyrell's four children; Willas, Garlan, Loras and Margery. The many Houses that had sworn fealty to Renly were there as well as the lords sat near Renly as their soldiers watched a Grand Melee. The Golden Tree of House Rowan of Goldengrove was there along with Lord Mathis Rowan. The flaming tower of House Hightower, the two different apples for each branch of House Fossoway of Cider Hall and New Barrel. The Three Oak leaves of House Oakheart of Old Oak and three castles of House Peake were also among them along with some Stormland Houses such as House Penrose of Parchments and House Buckler of Bronzegate.
Everyone cheered as the Grand Melee was down to two fighters. One was Loras Tyrell while the other was a mysterious knight. The two fought and soon both knights lost their shields while the strange knight lost his weapon. But then the knight found by hand and knocked Loras down.
"Yield!" he shouted "I yield."
Everyone cheered as both knights had put up an impressive fight and would be great for the battles to come. Renly also clapped "Well fought" he said "Approach" The mysterious Knight approached Renly and then kneeled in front of him "Rise. Remove your helm." The knight then rose up and removed his helmet. And was met with gasps of shock as it was revealed that the knight wasn't a man but a woman that was tall and had short blond hair, but it was someone who Renly recognised as he had met this woman a few times in the past. The woman was Brienne of Tarth, the daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth of Evenfall Hall. "You are all your father promised and much more" Renly added "I've seen Ser Loras bested once or twice but never in that fashion."
"Now now Lord Renly" Margery added "My brother fought valiantly."
"That he did" Renly said "But there can only be one champion. Brienne of Tarth, you may ask for anything you desire. If it is within my power I will grant it."
"Your Grace" Brienne said "I wish to have the honour of a place among your personal bodyguards. I will pledge to you and keep you safe."
There were many whispers with this but Renly smiled "Done" he said "And now I must withdraw to my tent to discuss plans with my lords."
Brienne of Tarth had been quite a lonely child due to her giant size which had resulted in other girls tormenting her. But at one ball Renly took pity on him and asked to dance with her to cheer her up. Renly did actually prefer the company of men and he tried to keep it a secret as the Faith of the Seven called Homosexual relationships as a crime against the Seven. So he had not actually lain with his wife yet.
Later, Renly gathered his most powerful lords in his tent which included Lord Mace Tyrell, lord of Highgarden and the Reach. His youngest son Loras was there since he was the Lord Commander of the Rainbow Guard. Mace's old friend Mathis Rowan was there along with Ser Baelor Hightower who commanded the Hightower forces, one of the Tyrell's most powerful Bannermen. Se Jon Fossoway was also at the meeting as well.
"My lords" Renly said "Now that my guard is ready, we need to decide what we do."
"We have the numbers" Mace said "We should march on King's Landing at once."
"But there is still the risk of your nephew Martin attacking us" Mathis spoke "our latest report says that he has been spotted sailing South with his uncle and most likely will meet up with the Stormlanders who refused our King's Call."
"Well we can't be attacked in the rear" Renly spoke up "We march south and we'll meet with my nephew, if he doesn't bend the knee then we will have our battle."
Resistance Base: Crownlands:
After the Resistance fled from King's Landing, they had found their new headquarters which they had been busy to make into a base of operations. Arya Stark wandered around the new Resistance base which was some kind of an old castle which Itius had said had once been a port town known as Anvil.
Anvil had once been one of the most important towns for trade during the time of the Septim Empire. Trade between the different parts of the Empire came to Anvil and was one of the Empire's largest ports. But during the Oblivion Crisis, Anvil was attacked several times and much of the city was left in ruin and during the Age of Heroes, Anvil was forced to submit to the rule of Duskendale and over time, the port was used less often as trade moved to Duskendale and eventually, the castle was left to crumble. The Resistance had made this their headquarters as the castle wasn't well known to the lords and the old bay was perfect to have a small fleet. Plus there was the old tunnels which could be used as an escape route.
Arya Stark had gone with the Resistance when they left King's Landing and now they had a proper headquarters where they could plan operations and not get interference from any of Joffrey's soldiers. Arya had been called by the Resistance leaders as they said that they had a mission for her. Arya was looking forward as this would be her first mission with the Resistance. Arya soon found her way to where the Resistance leaders had gathered. The meeting room was the old great hall of castle Anvil. The Resistance leaders were all there. Itius Hayn was the main leader but there were leaders for each Resistance cell who led operations in areas of the Crownlands. Giovanni Civello, Adamus's former apprentice before his death led one of the larger Resistance cells. Other former city watch captains were there including Carmalo Truiand and Servantius Montrose.
"Arya Stark" Itius greeted as he saw Arya enter the room "We asked to see you because it is time to send you on a mission."
"These missions are critical to the Resistance and to the rightful King Martin" Giovanni added "So don't act recklessly."
"I'm sure she'll do fine" Carmalo said "Itius talked high of her."
"This mission will be critical to our plans" Itius said "You are to go with a force of Resistance fighters led by one of our top fighters to attack a Lannister caravan. You will also be taking your old friend Burd as well along with his top men Bor and Soren. Danus' 2nd in command Dion will be joining you as well."
"What is this caravan meant to hold?" Arya asked
"Gold" Itius replied "Gold and weapons. The weapons will be used by our soldiers and the gold is to be used to help build our fleet. House Bar Emmon of Sharp point has a small fleet and we plan to use the Gold to get the ships. Another cell is to attack one of Joffrey's patrols which has a man who once served House Bar Emmon before turning on them when they declared for Martin. He knows a secret way to get to the castle without getting caught. Sharp point is currently being watched by Lannister spies and it is too risky to walk up to the front gate."
"A couple of Prince Martin's rangers have been tracking the Caravan." Carmalo added "It was last seen preparing to leave Rosby. You are to track the caravan as it goes down the Rosby Road before it reaches King's Landing. Those weapons will be used by the city watch and the gold will be used to buy sellswords if Joffrey gets his hands on it."
"I understand Ser" Arya replied
"Well you need to meet the rest of your squad" Itius said "You should get to know them as they will be your comrades for the rest of your time with the Resistance."
Castle Pyke, Iron Islands:
Theon walked into the great Hall of castle Pyke where he saw a table with the map of Westeros on, his father had called him for a meeting and he could see that he was early. Theon was also worried about what his father was going to do, he remembered what Martin had said about his uncle Stannis being more harsh than Robert, he was worried that his father was going to lead them to ruin. Though he didn't see his sister Yara enter the room, when he turned, he jumped in shock "What are you doing here?" he demanded
Yara smirked "I live here" she replied "Brother"
"You lied to me in quite a foul manner you lying bitch" Theon spat
"It's not my fault you didn't recognised me" Yara smirked
"Recognise you?" Theon questioned "How could I have done, I haven't see you since fathers rebellion and when I did, you looked like a fat little boy"
"You were a fat little boy to but I recognised you" Yara smiled
"Why didn't you tell me?" Theon demanded
Yara laughed "I wanted to see who you were first. And I did."
Then Theon saw his father enter the room along with his brother Victorian Greyjoy. Balon Greyjoy had had several brothers but many of them had died in infancy. His brother Harlon had died of greyscale and another brother Urrigon had died of an infected would doing a knife game. Victorian and Aerion were two of Balon's surviving brothers. With Balon now quite old, Victorian led the Iron Fleet and Aerion was a Priest of the Drowned God. He did have one other brother, Euron Greyjoy but he had been exiled several years ago after he had slept with Victorian's salt wife and Victorian had wanted to murder him. Euron was now a feared pirate and Raider.
"The plans are made, it's time you heard them" Balon said and his children bowed in respect and Balon and Victorian walked over to the table "The wolf pup has gone south with his army. While he is fighting in the Westerlands, the North is ripe for the taking."
Theon widened his eyes his horror "You're going to invade the North, father that is madness"
"We have nothing to fear. The Starks have gone south and left their castles under guarded." Balon insisted
"We have nothing to fear?" Theon questioned "10 years ago you destroyed the Lannister Fleet at Lannisport and within a year, Prince Martin's father brought us to or knees. If you attack the North you will invoke the wrath of the Prince and this time we may not survive"
"By the time he learns of the attack it will be too late" Balon sneered "He won't be able to respond."
"And as soon as he finishes with the Lannister he will be able to respond" Theon tried to reason "Martin is not like his father he will decide to destroy us and will not accept you bending the knee like last time. Also there is still a good force of the First Legion in the North and some houses still have their men. We will never take the North."
"Then we will fight them on our own terms" Balon sneered "Victorian will take the Iron Fleet and take Moat Calian while Yara will take a force of 30 ships and attack Deepwood Motte."
"I always wanted a castle" Yara smirked
Theon couldn't believe his ears, his father and sister weren't paying attention. Martin was right, even if the Ironborn took lands they would never hold them for long "Father this is foolish, if you invade the North we will get a respond, most of Westeros view us as scum and they won't sit back as we attack the winning side of the war. We can join Prince Martin's side and attack the Westerlands, maybe he will allow us to keep the land we take. Invading the North won't allow that, maybe we will have early victories but we will lose our prizes."
"What are our words?" Balon asked and Theon looked at him confused so Balon asked again "What are our words?"
"We do not sow" Theon answered
"We do not sow" Balon replied "We are not slaves or subjects, we do not plough the field or toil in the mine. We take what is ours. Your time with the wolves has made you soft."
"Made me soft?" Theon snorted in anger "My time on the mainland had me reading about our history. During the time of the Ironborn of Great we held an Empire on the Western Coast but those days are over, back then we raided small settlements and outposts. And our raiding is what caused our Empire to collapse. And we take what is ours, just what is ours, their land? We invade someone's land and claim it as our own, then we claim the people as Salt Wives and Thralls, to many people that is little better than Slavery. Did you take what was ours during your last Rebellion. We destroyed the Lannister Fleet and took Fair Island and then we were crushed. How King Robert crushed us?"
Balon glared at his son and tried to slap him but Theon saw this coming and he placed his arm in front of him and caught the slap. Yara stared in worry as now her family was begin to fight each other. But Theon didn't care about that anymore. He was tired of his family looking him down and making a plan which would most likely not work. "I am your son" Theon hissed "I spend nearly 10 years away from home and when I get back you treat me like I'm not even wanted! I'm trying to stop you from destroying our people. I may have grown up in another part of the kingdom but this is my home and I don't want to see it destroyed because someone won't listen to reason."
"Think about who your loyalties are to Theon" Balon hissed and he began to walk away with Victorian "Do your loyalties lie with your blood family, or the new family you have made?" Balon then left with Victorian while Theon just glared in anger.
Yara looked at her brother "You would have us all bow down to your Prince friend?" she sneered
"I never asked anyone to bow down to anyone!" Theon hissed at her "He is going to get us all killed because he can't forget about the past. If you want to invade the North then go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you if the plan fails! But I plan to live a good life and I won't be executed as a traitor!" Theon then stormed out of the room with Yara watching in worry. Unlike some she was actually happy that her brother was back, she was just teasing him before but her brother had changed and now she was worried about what her brother was going to do. And now she was beginning to question about her father's plans and what Theon said.
"By the drowned God" Yara hissed to herself "I hope we all make the right choice."
Kings Landing: Small Council Meeting room:
Tyrion Lannister sat at the Small Council Meeting room along with Joffrey, Cersei, Lord Rosby, Varys, Pycelle, Andens and Lord Brune. They were all talking about their latest topic.
"My little birds report that the Resistance has abandoned King's Landing." Varys said to the council
There were a few smirks from the queen regent and the king "So the cowards have fled" Joffrey sneered
"Your Grace" Andens said "Not to be rude but with the Resistance gone then it will be harder to track their operations. When they were here we count track their hideouts and destroy then but now we don't know where they are."
"Well we could sent out scouts" Lord Brune offered "That will surely track them"
"Too risky" Lord Rosby spoke "The Resistance could move to a new location and then we will be back to where we were."
Tyrion then decided to keep up appearance "Well what we need to someone who can counter their operations" he suggested "Someone who can lead the Crownland troops against the Resistance. Our reports say that our traitor Martin has sailed to the Stormlands so now the Baratheon brothers will fight each other so we can deal with the Resistance."
"Just contact father, he can sent a commander" Cersei spoke up
Tyrion shook his head "All of our best commanders are fighting in the Riverlands and father can't spare any more men. The Starks and Vale forces are preparing to march on the Westerlands and the commanders are needed to help fight the Starks."
"Well are there any other things to discus?" Joffrey asked board.
"Not at the moment yet" Tyrion said "Except for the fact that father has sent a caravan with a supply of weapons and Gold. We can use the gold to buy the service of Sellswords to help us fight. That will be all men"
Martin's Town, Cloud Ruler:
The Mountain that Rides, Ser Gregor Clegane road his horse over the hills towards the town that Martin had organised to help build. Beside him road Amory Lorch, Krev the Skinner and Vargo Hoat. They all grinned when they saw the town and the mines that held silver. They smirked at the thought of getting rich and having fun with the women of the town. With a snap of the reins, Gregor forced his horse forward after he drew his sword and then the raiding party charged into a gallop.
Inside the town, Skjor and Aela were watching from the stone walls of the town with the rest of the Companions and the Silver Blood forces all hiding. All of the smallfolk of the town had been taken towards Cloud Ruler Temple to keep them safe and the Vale Forces led by Lyn Corbrey were all read to act as the Vanguard and attack the raiding party in the rear. Skjor then signalled from the gates as he spotted Gregor Clegane "Here they come" he spoke
"Everyone into positions" Kodlak ordered and everyone all hid in the places so they could ambush the raiding party.
Gregor Clegane and the rest of the party all road their horses through the open gates and laughed as they thought that the guards had all turned and ran for it. Clegane ordered the doors to be knocked down so they could search the houses so they could find the silver and women. Hoat and Krev dismounted their horses and started to knock down houses. Be to their shock, there was no one in any of the houses. As soon as all of the raiders were spread out, Kodlak gave the signal "NOW!" he shouted which caught Clegane and his raiding party's attention. Then the companions along with the Silver Bloods soldiers all charged into battle led by Atar. The raiders and soldiers clashed with each other. Aela and several archers all gave cover fire from above which killed several of the raider's horses which prevented them from fleeing.
After a while of fighting, Vilkas and Vargo Hoat spotted each other. "You're one of the high ranking companions" Hoat smirked
"And you are a savage man who rapes and murders" Vilkas hissed back
"Once I take your head, your companions will lose moral" Hoat laughed
"Not if I take yours first!" Vilkas growled and then the two engaged each other in a duel. Vilkas swung his big two handed sword while Hoat used his axe. Hoat was not much of a fighter and his armour was made of linked coins. Hoat was better at torturing his enemies than fighting them.
"You're tougher than you look" Hoat mocked "Maybe I'll fuck your mother when I meet her."
"You'll never meet her!" Vilkas growled and then he jumped back and as Hoat charged at him, he jumped aside and then slashed his sword sideways and impaled Hoat in the side. Hoat gave a blood curdled cry as blood came out of his mouth before Vilkas removed the sword and Hoat fell to the side dead.
Kodlak looked around to see that the Companions were doing well. Skjor had just started a duel with Krev. Vilkas had killed Hoat and Lorch was facing multiply enemies which made it difficult for him to concentrate. Kodlak knew that now was the time so he turned to the Wall "Aela, send the signal!" he ordered
"On it" Aela shouted back and then she lit one of her arrows and then she fired it in the direction of Cloud Ruler Temple.
On the Hill where Cloud Ruler Temple was located, Lyn Corbray was with his force of Valemen who were loyal to him. They were on the path which went up to Cloud Ruler Temple. Lyn saw the flaming arrow and he knew that this was the signal for him to charge. But he had other ideas, he turned to one of his squire Mychel Redfort "Sound the retreat"
"Wait what about our orders" Mychel protested
"Do as I command!" Lyn ordered
Mychel looked conflicted but eventually did as he was ordered and he order the Vale men to leave. Lyn smirked at the town and then at Cloud Ruler, he had someone on the inside who he had order to retrieve something important for him.
Essos, Dwemer Ruin:
Daenerys stood back and watched as Farengar, Calcelmo and Jorah all fought against several Dwemer contraptions. She was shocked at what she saw. Calcelmo and Aicantar had explained to her about the different Dwemer contraptions.
First there were the Dwemer Spiders which were spiders made of metal. Most only had metal clamps and were quite easy to destroy. Though Calcelmo had explained that some had a magical gem placed in them which allowed them to shot out lightning. Then there were the Dwemer Spheres which were warriors that could become a ball and roll around. They were armed with a sword and crossbow. Dwemer Balliistas were rare and they were large walking giant crossbows that could fire a shot that can penetrate even the thickest armour. But the most dangerous were the Dwemer Centurions which were massive and were armed with a massive axe and war hammer. Daenerys watched as Calcelmo and the others were able stop the remaining Dwarven Spheres and spiders.
"Well those have been taken care of" Jorah said
"I just hope we don't have to face a Centurion, those things are tough." Aicantar commented
Daenerys then found something on one of the tables. Daenerys picked the object up as she was curious to what this was. It was some kind of cube but it looked like you could change the sides on it. Calcelmo saw what Daenerys had picked up and looked at it "That my lady Daenerys is a rare item. It is a Dwarven Puzzle box. Not many of those exist now though their uses are unknown. But they have become collectible and can be quite valuable. Since you found it you take, you could sell that to a collector for a good price. I've already got one but there would be a collector looking for one."
Daenerys smiled and she placed the cube into her bag but her smile fell when she heard a banging noise "What was that?" she wondered and Aquilius went to look around and they heard the banging noise again.
"That doesn't sound like the Dwemer machines" Aquilius said.
Jorah then noticed a small passage going under the floor near a staircase "It's coming from inside that passage." He said
"We should be careful" Calcelmo spoke "It could be a trap but then again, it may be one of our missing expedition members" Calcelmo went first and was followed by Aicantar, Farengar, Aquilius, Jorah and Daenerys went last. They went down the narrow passage and came to a turning but then they quickly heard the sound of sword being drawn and everyone drew they weapons. But then Calcelmo sighed and he put his weapon away.
"Thank the Divines, it Yag" Calcelmo spoke
Yag came into view and Daenerys was shocked to see that this Yag was female with green skin, pointy ears and tusks in her mouth.
"Yag here is an Orc" Aquilius said to Daenerys when he saw her look of shock "They're a warrior race that tend to keep to themselves. Yag here was meant to be the person who kept the workers in line and prevent the machines from attacking."
"That was until Sulla betrayed us" Yag spoke in a rough voice "He took Umana and left us all to die. We were then captured by the Falmer and imprisoned. Endrast and Valie were taken but I managed to rescue them but we lost sight of Valie while fleeing."
"The Falmer, what are the Falmer?" Daenerys asked
"They were once residents of the land known as the North in Westeros my dear lady" Calcelmo spoke "They were once known as Snow Elves. But in the time before the Septim Empire, the humans went to war with the Snow Elves and won which drove them from their home. Legends say that the war started when the Snow Elves attacked a human settlement in fear that the humans would destroy their kingdoms. When they fled they made an agreement with the Dwemer but were betrayed and blinded and they became Slaves. The Snow Elves are believed to be extinct except for the savage Falmer that remain. Centuries of Slavery have turned them into mindless creatures."
"Where is Endrast?" Aicantar asked "Is he alright"
Yag sighed "I'm afraid not" she said "He was shot by a Falmer arrow while we were escaping. The wound hasn't healed and there's nothing I can do for him. He is dying but he is still alive."
Yag them led them where a young elven man was giving deep breaths as he rested against a wall. A grey arrow had been pulled from his shoulder and the wound had been covered up but the wound was now infected.
"He's been poisoned" Calcelmo sighed "The Falmer are known for this"
Endrast managed to look at Calcelmo and gasped "Calcelmo, you came, I just knew you would" he barely managed to say
"Just rest Endrast" Calcelmo said softy "Save your strength, we're going to get you out of here, just hold on."
"No, it's too late for me" Endrast coughed as he coughed blood up and then he gripped Calcelmo's hand "Just promise me one thing, make sure that Sulla pays for his betrayal. For leaving us to die."
"I promise you Endrast, he will pay" Calcelmo promised
"Thank you" Endrast said and then his eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limb.
Calcelmo sighed and he turned to Farengar "I think that you should help give him a proper send off" he said and Farengar nodded before setting Endrast's body on fire using his fire magic. Daenerys watched as Endrast's body burnt and noticed that her dragons all looked at the fire
Cloud Ruler Temple:
"Where the fuck is Lyn and his men?" Skjor yelled as he duelled against Krev. Even though Aela had sent the signal arrow there was no sign of Lyn's Vale force. Now both sides were evenly matched but the Mountain's men still had some tough warriors. Farkas was fighting against Lorch with help from above from Aela. Lorch was described as a pig faced man. He was known to be cruel and it was said that he threw the Last Lord Tarbeck, a young 3 year old boy down a well during the Reyne-Tarbeck Rebellion. Lorch was also the man who brutally murdered Princess Rhaenys Targaryen during the sack of King's Landing by stabbing her 50 times. While many others would want Lorch dead Martin had ordered him to be captured alive as he had plans for him.
Lorch had been tired out by the fighting and had slain several of the Silver Blood men but now he was facing a veteran of many fights. When Lorch went to wide on his swing, Farkas took his chanced and slashed his sword, severing Lorch's sword hand. Lorch cried in pain as he fell to the floor and Farkas' foot to his face knocked him out. Farkas grinned at his victory but it soon came to a look of horror as he heard a scream and turned to see Krev the Skinner impale Skjor on his sword. Skjor cough up blood before he fell silent.
"Skjor!" yelled Kodlak and he charged at Krev. The two fought each other while Krev grinned
"So Companion, did you like seeing your friend die?" he mocked
"You will pay for that!" Kodlak yelled "You and your Silver Hand are no better than the Mountain's men. You are just a bunch of raiders who prey on the weak. It's men like you who deserve nothing more than to be put down like the vermin you are!"
Vilkas joined in and soon Krev was surrounded on both sides and Kodlak stabbed Krev before Vilas removed his head with a swing from his sword. Kodlak grinned as it looked like they had won. But then Kodlak's face turned to one of horror and he shoved Vilas out of the way just as an axe was thrown which impaled itself in Kodlak's chest.
Everyone turned to see that it was the Mountain, Ser Gregor Clegane who had thrown the axe. He had been knocked down in the fighting and had lost his large shield and sword. Atar had gone over to restrain him for Martin when Gregor had managed to get up and shove Atar into a wall and then shoved him again several times and break his neck. Gregor had then picked up an axe and thrown it at Vilkas while his back was turned. Seeing that his plan had failed, Gregor quickly got one a horse and then road off as fast as he could. Aela fired several arrows at him which a few hit but soon Gregor was away into the distant.
The Companions and the remaining Silver Blood men cheered, the Mountain had been beaten and his raiding force was destroyed. Hoat and Krev were dead and Lorch was captured and while the Mountain had escaped, he would no longer be much of a threat. Today had been a victory but at a great cost.
King's Landing: Red Keep:
Tyrion Lannister was in his chambers as he sat at his desk and did his paper work. It was a hard job being acting Hand of the King especially one who was hated by almost everyone in the kingdom and it was an even harder job when your loyalty was to someone else who was in open rebellion. Tyrion knew that he would have to play this carefully. The Resistance had said that they had gotten information from someone in the Red Keep and it wasn't him. But that could make his sister suspect that he was sending information to his enemies so he needed to be careful. He had to help get more support for Martin and help eliminate Joffrey's allies. And he had a plan for that though he wasn't sure that someone involved in his plans would.
Then his door opened and Tyrion smiled to see his Niece, Myrcella enter with her Jaguar Midnight who had grown since Tyrion had last seen her. While Midnight's fur was yellow her eyes were as black as night and that was while Myrcella had named her midnight. "You said that you wanted to see me Uncle?" Myrcella asked
"I did" Tyrion sat as Myrcella sat down on a chair opposite him "Now as you know, your older brothers are fighting"
"I know" Myrcella said sadly "Father named Martin as the heir but Joffrey took the throne anyway because of mother."
"Well there is a way that you can help Martin take his throne" Tyrion smiled "But there is a problem. You see I have a plan that will help bring more support to Martin and allow me to eliminate a threat to Martin and to me. You see Grand Maester Pycelle is telling the Queen Regent private information which is not allowed if the Hand says so. I have a plan to expose him and put his in the Black Cells. However the plan involves you doing something that you may not like the idea of."
"And what is that part?" Myrcella asked
Tyrion sighed "The plan is to marry you off to Prince Trystane Martell of Dorne to secure an alliance meant for Joffrey but is in truth meant for Martin. Martin already has plans to hand the Mountain and Lorch over for Elia Martell's murder. I will tell Pycelle the truth but tell the other council members something else. So when your mother confronts me on the matter I will be able to arrest Pycelle."
"Will the Dornish then assist Marin?" Myrcella asked
"Not immediately I'm afraid" Tyrion admitted "It will take time to gather their forces and join up with Martin and by that time Martin may have already have finished the war. But it would still bring Political assistance as it will help unite the realm more. Now you don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"I'll do it" Myrcella grinned
"You mean you won't even through an argument?" Tyrion gasped "I know that girls sometimes hate being married to someone they don't even know. And the fact that the Lannisters are hated in Dorne."
"I will have Midnight with me" Myrcella grinned "She will protect me. And I know that Martin would never let me marry someone who would abuse me. Also, would you look after Tommen for me, he needs someone to help look after him"
"I will Myrcella." Tyrion said "Now remember, we never talked about this but if anyone asks, I talked to you about marriage to help the crown but say nothing about helping Martin."
"I will uncle" Myrcella said and then she left the room with Midnight while Tyrion went over to see Pycelle.
Crownlands: Rosby Road:
Arya Stark hit behind a rock with the rest of her Resistance group. Burd and his two men, Bor and Soren were with her along with her group leader Danus Artellian and his 2nd in command Dion. Burd had been a captain in the city guard with his two men being his top men. Before the war, Danus had actually been the Captain of the guards at Rosby that protected the Lord of Rosby while Dion had been in charge of the guards of the town of Rosby. Both had a sense of justice and refused to fight for a King who murdered children so they had joined the Resistance. Since Danus and Dion knew the road since they had travelled on the road during patrols, they were selected to lead this patrol to attack the Lannister Caravan.
Dion soon came back from his scouting missing as he had gone ahead to spy on the Caravan as they were heading down a bumpy section of road. "What is the situation Dion?" Danus asked
"Well we are in luck" Dion smiled "The Caravan has just had a little accident when a wheel broke going over a hole now the Caravan has stopped to mend the wheel. They have set up camp around the Caravan and they have two men looking out but they are not in sight of the others so we can take them out easily. Also the caravan is near a small rock formation which is a good place to launch an arrow strike."
"Good so let's get moving" Danus ordered and then the Resistance group went down the road and soon Danus stopped "Alright, I see the two lookouts. Arya, when I give the signal, use your bow to shoot the one of the right, Bor will take the one of the right." Arya and Bor drew their bows before placing an arrow in them and waited until Danus gave the signal "Now" Danus ordered and Bor and Arya drew their bowstrings back and launched the arrow. Both arrows hit the Lannister scouts and they fell dead on the spot. "Now strike the caravan" Danus added and then the entire group charged at the Caravan. Then men were sat down eating and drinking that they did not have time to react and the Lannister soldiers were quickly overrun and defeated.
Arya then smiled as they took the Lannister weapons and armour "These will come in handy for the Resistance" Dion spoke "Well crafted and they will serve us well and will help in undercover missions." They took the Horses as well saying that they will come in handy for messengers as well. Then Danus approached Arya
"Now we will need your help with this chest" Danus said to her "The chest is locked and there is no key, it seems that only the false King has the key. You know how to pick a lock from your time with the Thieves Guild, can you pick the lock?"
"I'll do my best" Arya replied and then she got a small lockpick out and a small dagger meant for Lockpicking. She carefully adjusted the pick until it was in the right position and then she unlocked the chest when they heard a click. Arya then opened the led and widened her eyes at what she saw. Inside the chest were weapons of high quality and several small chests filled to the brim with Gold Dragons and Silver Stags.
"Gold and fine weapons from the Lannisters" Burd smiled "I doubt Tywin Lannister will be happy when we take these."
"I don't know whether he will be more cross with us for stealing the weapons and gold or at his idiotic grandson for failing at ruling" Dion smiled
"Remember" Danus spoke "These weapons are for the Resistance to use and we have plans for the gold."
"My I ask what the gold is for?" Arya asked
"Well Arya" Danus said "All I am going to say is that we have plans to secure a small fleet for the Resistance. A way to help move our operations around more."
King's Landing: Red Keep:
Tyrion Lannister was putting his plan into action. He was now in Maester Pycelle's study with the Grand Maester. He was currently having Bowel issues so while he got help from Pycelle, now was his chance to start his plan. Pycelle handed Tyrion a small bottle of blue liquid "Ahhh, thank the Gods" Tyrion smiled "I haven't had a proper shit in six days"
"I've encountered this situation before my Lord" Pycelle smiled "the stress of power often have this effect. Just add two drops with water daily."
"I'm so grateful to have a man with your knowledge on my side" Tyrion smiled and now he was playing the Game of Thrones since he knew that Pycelle reported to his father and sister.
"Oh well, thank you my lord" Pycelle said to him as he sat down on a chair.
"I can trust you can I not Grand Maester?" Tyrion asked
"Why yes, of course my lord" Pycelle lied which Tyrion clearly could see but he did not show it
"These are perilous times and the crown must forge new alliances" Tyrion said "And these Alliances are sometimes made by marriage. I'm trusting the council with these plans but the queen regent mustn't know about them. I can have her meddling in affairs that could determine the fate of the Realm. There's is too much at stake."
Pycelle began to splutter "Oh yeah indeed. I shall be silant as the Grave."
Tyrion then told Pycelle his true plans "I'm brokering an Alliance with House Martell of Dorne. Princess Myrcella will marry Prince Doran's younger son Trystane when they both come of age. Which will ensure their loyalty and their army should we need it."
"Myrcella sent away to Dorne?" Pycelle questioned "The Queen will not be too happy about that."
"Which is why she mustn't know" Tyrion said
Later:
Tyrion was now with the Master of Whisperers Varys. He was another major threat of exposing him but Tyrion like Varys better than the other Council Members since he cared about people. "And remember the Queen mustn't know"
"Oh the queen mustn't know" Varys repeated "I love conversations that begin this way."
"I plan to marry Princess Myrcella off, to Theon Greyjoy." Tyrion replied
"To Theon Greyjoy?" Varys questioned "Robb Stark considers him a brother."
"Even a man like him could not resist a Princess for a bride" Tyrion smirked "And it will gain us the Iron Fleet to counter Stannis."
...
Then he spoke with the new Master of Coin Gyles Rosby and Lord Bennard Brune. Gyles was not much of a threat since he was an old man and he could hardly walk or talk and he coughed a lot. Bennard was also not much of a threat either. "And how are our finances?" Tyrion asked as he kept up his act.
"Okay at the Minute but it is only because of the Lannisters that we have the gold" Gyles replied "If your father can't send us more gold then we will soon run out of money for our supplies"
"And what is the state of the city?" Tyrion asked Bennard the Master of Laws.
"The People are restless" Bennard replied "Even with the Resistance gone we are still having riots all over the place and there are people speaking out against the King. If this keeps us, all it will take is a spark and we will face a revolt."
"Well maybe a new Alliance will help" Tyrion said "In order to win this war we need to secure the aid of the Free cities. The city of Tyrosh is one of our main helpers and is the cloesest to the shores of Dorne. They have strong walls, navy and army. Just the people we need for an Alliance. I'm planning to secure a Marriage Alliance with Tyrosh. Princess Myrcella will wed the Archon of Tyrosh's son when she comes of age which should help secure their army if we need it."
"Myrcella sent to the Free Cities?" Gyles questioned and Tyrion smile in response.
Essos: Dwemer Ruin:
Daenerys and the rest of Calcelmo's group carried on the journey and had been joined by Yag. They destroyed a few more Dwemer spiders and Spheres and soon they came to a large chasm.
"I remember this place" Yag commented "This must have been some kind of old shaft which went deeper into the old Dwemer city. There was an old lift to bring people down but the lift had collapsed. We were at the bottom of this shaft when we were ambushed by the Falmer and captured. This was where Sulla abandoned us."
"Well we should be very careful going down this shaft" Calcelmo added
"Agreed" Farengar added "This doesn't look very secure."
The first part they went down was a small ramp which led to an area of the floor. But when they got to the floor, they heard growling and screeching noises. "What was that?" Daenerys wondered
Calcelmo and Aicantar widened their eyes along with Yag "Falmer" they gasped and Calcelmo went over to the next ramp that went down and then jumped back, narrowly avoiding several dark grey arrows that were fired at him.
"Khaleesi get back!" Jorah gasped as he drew his sword. On several of the lover floors, Daenerys saw what looked like nests and she saw several of those Falmer creatures jumped from the nests. They looked like mutant elves with white skin all wrinkled and their limbs held at an angle.
Calcelmo sighed when he heard the sound of claws scraping against the floor "Great" he muttered "They have a Chaurus Reaper"
Jorah and Yag used their swords to fight the Falmer along with Aquilius while Calcelmo, Aicantar and Farengar used their staff's to throw the Falmer over the edge. The fight was not easy as they were at risk of falling off the floor they were on and falling to their deaths since it was a long way down. The fight was hard but they were able to take care of all of the Falmer. But then Daenerys spotted when she thought was the Chaurus Reaper. This was some kind of large insect that walked on many claws and had some kind of tongue and had sharp pincers on his claws. Then Daenerys watched as the Chaurus opened its mouth.
"Watch out" Aicantar yelled and she pushed Daenerys out of the way as a stream of liquid shout from the Chaurus' mouth and nearly hit Daenerys. "That is poison and it could kill you."
The rest of the group attacked the Chaurus but its scaly hind was tough and their blows just deflected off its hind. But then the Chaurus pinned Aicantar to the ground and tried to bite him. Though Aicantar held him back but the Chaurus was too heavy for him. But then the weight was lifted when Yag charged into the Chaurus and knocked it off him but they came dangerously close to the edge of the floor. When Yag kicked the Chaurus, the teeth attached itself to her leg and pulled her down and over the edge before anyone could react.
Aicantar ran over to try grab her hand but was too late and he watched as Yag and the Chaurus hit the ground and Aicantar knew that no could have survived a fall like that. After the fight the group made their way down the shaft using each platform one by one until they came to the bottom and saw large nests. Calcelmo turned to Farengar.
"Old friend we should destroy these" he said to him "These are Chaurus Hunter eggs. When a Chaurus reaches the end of its life, it goes into one of these eggs and a flying Chaurus Hunter emerges. We don't want to be attacked in the rear." Farengar agreed and used a Fireball spell to destroy the eggs.
Then they carried on where they encountered more Falmer and they killed them. Though Daenerys gasped at what she saw on a stone table. It was a woman with long blond hair. She wore a ragged robe that had been torn and her body had cuts and bruises all over it. This woman had been tortured to death as she wasn't breathing.
Calcelmo sighed when he saw her "It's Valie" he said "Poor dear, the Falmer must have tortured her after they captured her. There is nothing we can do but carry on now. We must get to the end of this ruin and find Sulla and make him pay for what he has done."
Lordsport: Iron Islands:
After his argument with his family. Theon had taken a horse and ridden to Lordsport, the seat of House Botley. He had found the Spearhead, the ship that Captain Kaleen sailed, the woman who he had met when he had first arrived on the Iron Islands. Kaleen herself was standing on the deck along with two others. The first was a dark skinned man while the other was a woman who almost looked like Kaleen only she had a dreadlock hair style.
Kaleen then noticed Theon "So the young Greyjoy has returned" she greeted "I would like you to meet my top men, Jakarn and Lerisa."
"Nice to meet you" Jakarn greeted
"You look like you are having family issues" Lerisa added
"I am indeed" Theon grumbled "My father and sister won't listen to me. They believe that invading the North will bring glory to the Ironborn but it will just bring destruction on us. Now I don't know what to do, whatever I do I will be called a traitor either by the North or by the Iron Islands. This was where I was born but it doesn't feel like home."
"You need to make your own choices young Theon" Kaleen said to him "Years ago I sailed as a privateer in services to the Free Cities, mainly Myr, Tyrosh and Lys. I attacked their enemies and brought wealth to me and my crew. Some people loved me while others hated me. But I never raided a ship in times of peace as that would break my contract and brand me a pirate which I was not. That was until I receive a contract to eliminate a Pirate hideout in the Stepstones. The whole mission was a disaster as my enemy Headman Bhosek ambushed my ships and killed most of my crew. Only my Flagship, the Spearhead made it out and then I had no choice but to raid with the Ironmen to regain the wealth I lost. This is not the life I wanted. All I have wanted was to go back to the Captain I used to be."
Theon looked at her "Prince Martin might be able to help with that. He could use a capable captain to serve him."
"So you think he would accept the services of a Captain who once raided ships?" Lerisa asked
"Well I'm sure he would see you as a way to help" Theon said "But I will need your help. I have to get back to the North to warn them that the Ironborn are coming. This is clearly not my home as they have rejected me. I will fight for the people I call my family. I need to get to Torrhen's Square."
"My ship sails with the Iron Fleet in a few days" Kaleen said "Since I'm not Ironborn I will be at the back, I can smuggle you back to the North during a night."
"Then do that" Theon said and he handed her a small sack of gold "You'll get more when we get to the Mainland. But right now I need to hide so that no one sees me."
King's Landing: Red Keep:
Tyrion returned to his chambers where he was greeted by his sister. He knew that his sister would be coming and this was the time that Pycelle would be exposed. "You Monster!" Cersei growled "Myrcella is my only daughter, do you think I will let you sell her like a common Whore!"
"Myrcella is a Princess, some would say that she was born for this" Tyrion reasoned
"I won't let you ship her off to Dorne the way I was shipped off to Robert Baratheon!" Cersei snapped and Tyrion managed to resist the urge to smirk as Cersei had done what he wanted and exposed Pycelle.
"The war you and your son started will soon come to King's Landing and the safest place for Myrcella is in Dorne" Tyrion explained
"Are you mad?" Cersei hissed "The Martells loath us."
"That is why we need to seduce them" Tyrion argued as he kept up appearance "If you want Joffrey to remain as King then we need all the support we can get."
"She'll be a hostage!" Cersei snapped
"A guest" Tyrion replied "They may hate us for our what happened to Elia Martell but they would never harm an innocent girl. They would earn the hatred of the entire kingdom if they did that." Cersei then started to cry and she sat down on a chair "Just how safe is Myrcella in this city, Martin would never harm his sister but there are fanatics who support him and there are those who believe these rumours about her going around. She'll become a target of your enemies."
"Get out, just get out!" Cersei sobbed and Tyrion sighed as he left the room.
Later:
Tyrion was with Bronn who were on their way to arrest Pycelle for revealing secrets to the Queen. Tyrion had been thinking about his sister, it was true that they never got along but he didn't mean to upset her like that.
Tyrion and Bronn eventually came to Grand Maester Pycelle's chambers and Bronn kicked the door down which caused Pycelle to jump. The old Grand Maester was lying in bed with a naked prostitute. The Grand Maester had also broken his Maester vows since it was forbidden to lay with a woman.
"What is the meaning of this!" Pycelle demanded as the woman jumped out of bed, then Bronn grabbed him and shoved him towards Tyrion "No no, please!"
"You disappoint me Grand Maester" Tyrion smirked
"I am your loyal servant!" Pycelle spluttered
"So loyal that you told the Queen about my plans to send Princess Myrcella to Dorne" Tyrion smiled as he sat down in a chair
"No never!" Pycelle begged "It's a lie, I swear it, it wasn't me" Then a smile came to his lips "Ahhh, it was Varys the Spider."
"I seriously doubt it was Varys" Tyrion casually said "Because I told him that I was offering Myrcella to the Greyjoys and I told Rosby and Brune that I was marrying her to the Archon of Tyrosh's son. I told no one that I was offering her to the Dornish, no one but you."
Now Pycelle was in trouble "Varys had his little birds everywhere, one of them could have informed the Spider." He said desperately "Please my lord, I have served this realm faithfully, since the days of Aegon V. I served him, his son and grandson the Mad King and then King Robert"
"How many Hands have you betrayed Pycelle?" Tyrion asked as he stood up from his seat "Eddard Stark, Jon Arryn."
"Lord Arryn?" Pycelle questioned "He knew, he knew the truth about the queen. And how to planned to act... to tell King Robert."
"So you poisoned him?" Tyrion stated
"No!" Pycelle snapped "Never, it was Lady Lysa you all know that, she poisoned her husband. It was proven."
"But you let him die" Tyrion hissed "You made sure he secumbed to the Poison which was stolen from your supplies!"
"Lannister I serve House Lannister" Pycelle begged
"Get him out of my sight!" Tyrion snapped "Throw him in one of the Black cells."
"No no," Pycelle begged "No please let go of me, I serve the kingdom. You can't do this to me." Bronn roughly grabbed his shoulder and then he dragged him away to be thrown on one of the Black cells.
Tyrion smiled as he had taken out a threat to him and Martin and he walked over to the Woman Pycelle was sleeping with and handed her a gold dragon "For your troubles" he said and then he left smiling that his plan had worked
Narrow Sea: Martin's ship:
Martin sat near the stern of one of the Ships that were travelling to the Stormlands. His five new baby dragons were all near him. They were still quite young and fragile so Martin had no intention of taking them into battle yet. Though he had examined them and it was clear that the Golden scaled dragon was the largest and was also the only male of the dragons. The others were female but the Silver one was the largest of the females. He still had to decide on the names of the dragons but they had grown a bit since they were born. Though they still hadn't learnt how to breathe fire yet but Esbern had told him that dragons were like people when it came to food. They did not like eating raw meat so he had some smocked meat that had been brought for food supplies fed to them and he also personally caught some fish which he cooked for the dragons. Martin had learnt fishing from his Grandfather Lord Tywin Lannister; it was a shock that a ruthless man like Tywin enjoyed fishing which he said sometimes would help him relax in times of stress which he was often in when he worked as Hand of the King for the Mad King.
"We will be reaching the Weeping town within the next week" Stannis said as he walked up to Martin. The Weeping town was the only major town in the Stormlands since the old traditions of the Storm Lords prevented major cities developing and instead focused on grand fortresses. "When we reach the Weeping Town the Fifth Legion and the Stormlords who support us will meet us there to discuss our plans."
"My hope is to convince Renly to stand down and stop this madness." Martin said "Renly is a good man but he is not fit to be king. He is a child when he comes to ruling. I hope my dragons will show people that I have been chosen but I'm still having doubts about that myself."
"Well the vision you told me about does say something" Randyll Tarly spoke as he walked over "I don't usually believe in superstition but after seeing the dragons being born, I believe that you have been chosen and so have many of the men."
"I still don't understand how I hatched dragons" Martin confessed "Only the Targaryens could do that and I'm not a Targaryen"
"Well you do have a bit of Targaryen blood in you since your great Grandmother was the daughter of King Aegon V" Stannis confessed "But still it is amazing about how you hatched dragons."
"We will see what happens when we reach the Stormlands" Martin added "I hope to avoid battle but it may be necessary if Renly doesn't give up his fantasies about being King."
Dwemer Ruins: Essos:
Daenerys and the rest had travelled further into the Dwemer ruin and she was sure that she was getting closer to the end. Eventually they came to what looked like a great Hall of the Ruin which Calcelmo guessed was where grand meetings of the Dwemer would be held. There were a few Falmer they had to take care of first and a locked gate to get through.
But then Calcelmo stopped them and he looked at a giant metal statue "Careful, that's a Dwemer Centurion and it's been activated. The massive Statue was locked in place and it was nearly the size of Farengar and Calcelmo standing on top of each other. The Centurion had an axe as one and a War hammer as the other hand. "That Centurion can easily kill us all, not just with that axe and hammer but it's head can also prey red hot steam which will burn us alive." Calcelmo added and then there was a clang as the Centurion was released from its stand.
"It's Sulla" Aquilius shouted "He know we're here, he released the centurion"
Then the Centurion spotted then and marched over to them "Take Cover!" Aicantar yelled and then everyone dived out of the way just as the red hot steam was released from the Centurion. Jorah and Aquilius drew their swords while Calcelmo and Farengar got their staffs out. Then the fight with the Centurion began which was difficult as the metal kept deflecting the strikes from the swords and fire had no effect on the Centurion and actually made the metal hotter. Aicantar narrowly avoided being cut in half by a slash from the Axe and then had to roll to avoid be smashed by the Hammer. This distracted the Centurion which allowed Jorah to jump onto its back and then he managed to cut off one of the shoulder pieces of the Centurion. The Centurion tried to shake him off but a spell from Calcelmo hit the Centurion in the chest which broke the chest and revealed the core of the metal monster. Jorah saw this and took his chance, he jumped off the shoulder and thrust his sword into the open chest and then he used his sword to break the core from the cables that powered the Centurion and then the core discounted from the Centurion and rolled to the floor. Then the Centurion fell to its knees before falling forward, luckily, Jorah managed to jump off.
After the fight, Jorah was breathing heavily and Calcelmo walked up to him "That was impressive Ser Jorah" he said "Taking out a Centurion like that is very difficult"
"Well that was very hard" Jorah admitted "I never thought that a race could create such creations like that, what happened to these Dwemer."
Calcelmo looked at him "No one knows" he admitted "The Septim Empire and the Dwemer cities did have wars with each other but then the entire race of Dwemer just disappeared at once. No one knew what had happened to them even in those days. Some say that a disease wiped them out others said they left to a new land."
Aicantar walked up to the remains of the Core "Uncle" he called Calcelmo over "I think that we should take this core with us, it is still intact and may help our research into the Dwemer contraptions."
"A good idea" Calcelmo agreed "But we still need to find Sulla and Umana. We must be getting close now."
The group carried on up the staircase and through another gate and that was when they heard voices.
"Sulla, let's just go now, hasn't there been enough death" a female voice called
"Oh of course you want me to leave" a male voice replied "Just waiting for me to turn my back so you can have the glory to yourself."
"Sulla we caused the deaths of good people here." The woman added "Calcelmo won't forget this and neither will King Fahara'jad"
"I came here for riches" Sulla sneered "Riches to make me a king, but it seems there is no treasure here, and I can't let you tell everyone what really happened here. I will return and say that you all died in an accident." Then Sulla stabbed his sword through the woman's chest and she fell dead to the ground "I'm sorry Umana, but I can't let you go."
"And you won't be leaving here either" Calcelmo growled as he and the others came out of their hiding place "Sulla Trebatius, you left my workers to die and you betrayed everything here. You murdered a good woman and you tried to kill us all. Surrender and maybe King Fahara'jad will show you mercy."
Sulla laughed "I would rather fight than lose my chance at freedom" and then he charged at them though he didn't last long as Sulla was a poor fighter and Aquilius knocked his sword to the ground before swinging and slicing his head off.
Calcelmo then searched his body and found a cube of some sort "This is a Dwemer Lexicon" he gasped "These devices are what the Dwemer stored their knowledge on. I have to take this back to study."
"Uncle, what is this thing?" Aicantar pointed to a strange device in the middle of the room which had runes and lights crafted on. It looked like many circles which were all jumbled up. There was some kind of a keyhole in the device.
Calcelmo was able to translate the ruins "By the Divines" he gasped "This is a doorway into the ancient Dwemer city of Fal Zhardum Din or better known as Blackreach. A Dwemer city that connected several cities together. It's a shame we can't get in here, it would take months or even years to open this doorway without the key." Then Calcelmo looked at Daenerys, Farengar and Jorah "You three really helped us here. It is sad about the people we lost but I will make sure their memories live on."
"So what happens now?" Daenerys asked
"Well you helped me so I have to keep my promise" Calcelmo said "I said I would take you to the city of Sentinel where you may find the help you need. Though your Dothraki may not be as welcome. I can put a good word in for you but that is all I can do."
"We're grateful for any aid you can give us" Daenerys replied
"It's not up to me now, but your fate is in the hand of the King of Sentinel" Calcelmo said and he turned to a device behind him. "Now we should leave, this Dwemer Elevator is still in operation, it should get us back to the surface and then it will be a long ride to Sentinel."
Oxcross: The Westerlands:
Ser Flement Brax and Raynald Westerling looked among the Westerland troops that were being raised to fight for Prince Martin. They had received word that Robb Stark and the Northmen were entering the Westerlands and they had to keep up appearances that they were fighting for the crown. Stafford Lannister was preparing his men to fight in the name of Prince Martin. Even here in the Westerlands Prince Martin was loved and some had saw him as a man who might become the new Lord of Casterly Rock after Tywin Lannister. The military defeat at Dragon's Bridge had been Tywin Lannister's first military defeat but now the men were ready. Many houses had their soldiers here such as the Braxs, Westerlings, Banefords and Yews" There was an army of 15,000 men here and many of them would soon be fighting for Prince Martin though both Raynald and Flement knew that some would be loyal to the Queen and her prick of a son, Prince Joffrey.
Then Flement noticed something. The commander of the army, Lord Stafford Lannister was walking through the camp with two people Flement did not trust. The First was his power hungry uncle, Rupert Brax. It was known that Andros and Rupert hated each other and Andros had everything Rupert didn't, power, wealth and a family. The other man was Reginald Lannister. He was a Lannister but not a close relative of Tywin; he was distant kin, a Lannister of Lannisport and the lord of Lannisport. Like Rupert he too was power hungry and desired the power that the wealth and power that the Lannisters of Casterly Rock had.
"Raynald did you see that?" Flement asked Raynald when they saw the three of them enter Stafford's tent."
"Aye I saw it" Raynald confessed "We should go see what is going on."
Inside Stafford Lannister's tent, Stafford then stood behind his desk. Rupert and Reginald had asked to have a few words with him and he decided that he needed to see what they wanted. He had a few of his Lannister guards stand with him "So what is it you needed to speak to me about."
"Who do your loyalties lie with?" Rupert asked
"Why my loyalties lie with my cousin Tywin Lannister of course" Stafford explained "He saved me when I was a squire after being kidnapped."
"But what about the King?" Reginald asked
"I take my orders from Tywin Lannister who takes his from the King" Stafford confessed
"Yeah but which king?" Rupert asked "If Tywin happened to be working with the enemies of the crown would you still follow him?"
"Well I would" Stafford confessed "My loyalties are with Tywin Lannister not a King who I've never even met."
"Well that's what I thought you would say" Rupert smirked and then out from nowhere, Rupert drew a dagger and stabbed Stafford with it "If you are working in the name of the traitor Prince Martin then you are an enemy of the crown." Stafford the collapsed and had to support himself using his desk.
"We know what this army is really for" Reginald sneered "We were to fight for Robb Stark and then make it look like we have betrayed Tywin Lannister who is really fighting for Prince Martin. We have known and as soon as this war is over Tywin will be revealed to be the traitor he is and I will be the new Lord of Casterly Rock and Rupert here will be one of the most powerful lords in the Westerlands. Oh we have known for some time."
"And your guards can't help you" Rupert sneered "They work for us and now all our men loyal to us will be slaughtering the traitors including my nephew."
Stafford coughed up blood before he collapsed onto his back, he coughed up more blood as he felt his life leave him, he looked at his tent entrance and saw Flement Brax and Raynald Westerling, he gave then a look to say 'go now before it is too late' then Stafford's head hit the ground as the life left him.
Flement then turned around at the sounds of fighting and he saw more men loyal to Joffrey rise up and began slaughtering the army. Flement gasped and now saw that the army was being attacked from the inside. He turned to Raynald "Raynald, take your men and get out of here now, we must find Robb Stark and well him what has happened. But Reginald Lannister and Rupert Brax will pay for this"
Raynald nodded and he went off to find the Westerling men while Flement when over to another part of the camp to rally the Brax men. As he ran, he watched as men loyal to Reginald and Rupert began setting the camp on fire and killing the men to fight for the Northmen. "I'm sorry Lord Stafford" Flement said to himself "I'm sorry that I failed you but I promise, one of these days, you will be avenged and I will see that Reginald Lannister and Rupert Brax pay for what they have done" Flement then ran for it as the slaughter at Oxcross began so that he would fulfil his duty.
Chapter End:
Notes: This chapter took a while and was difficult to write since there was so much of my own content to write. The next chapter will take a long time before it will be published as I am planning to rewrite chapters 2, 3 and 5 as I am deleted something from them and also extending Martin's adventures when he was younger so they will have more detail. I now have names for the Gold, Silver and purple scaled dragons but I still need names for the Blue and Red, and one dragon has something different about it which you will see. Also to the guest review, I'm afraid that I can't use the name Saphira since it sounds like a sapphire and it sounds too much like the dragon from Eragon but I will think about your other suggestion. There will be a whole new kingdom coming up soon and I am gathering ideas for a spin off story from this which will focus on the Resistance and a cell from the Resistance. Also on my next chapter, there is a new created character being introduced so I wonder what you will think of my next created character. I'm also going to work on The Wolf Awakens and the Divine Empire as well as my Fictionpress stories.