Chapter 107: 107
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115 AC
The Vale
Malt
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"Did you find him?" Jaggot the new leader of the Stone Crows asks and I grunt while shaking my head.
"No." My response earns me a disapproving glare but I know Jaggot still needs me around after defeating Gel and his loyal supporters.
I am one of his best fighters after all, without me he would not even be the new leader and would have failed in his challenge against Gel. That gives me some room to move around without worrying about being beaten to death in my sleep. Far better than under Gel who I more than once caught sending people to sniff around my hut looking for any of my earnings.
"So he got away?" Jaggot growls out and I nod making him slump back on his stone 'throne'.
Gel's men might have been killed but Gel himself made it out alive after turning craven and abandoning the challenge to make a run for it. Even after spending the better part of a week, I could not find a single sign of him anywhere.
"He is lost to the wind if I had to guess." Not that I actually believe that, he is laying low waiting for someone to challenge the new leadership and then Gel will return to try and gain support once more.
It's how he managed to become the leader of the Stone Crows in the first place, his Father passed it to him and he lost it that same day. Then he later came back after a big fight with another clan and gained enough support while the current leadership was weakened to take back his 'birthright'.
"Damn him!" Jaggot curses and tosses his horn of prized ale to the side which causes it to clatter across the floor.
Flap.
Flap.
Flap.
Turning to the right looking out of the Vale that the Stone Crows have lived in for nearly a decade I frown. A distant echo reaches my ears and from my years of experience, I can tell its from downstream.
"You hear that?" I speak up but Jaggot is busy gritting his teeth at the disappearance of Gel.
Turing once more to look downstream between the huts I spot more than a few people looking downstream as well. Others seem to have heard it as well, this is enough to confirm to me that I did not imagine the sounds.
"Jaggot." I slap his knee and stand up after having just sat down to avoid a returning blow from the angered man.
"What?!" He hisses and I nod toward the source of the sound.
"I heard something." He snorts dismissively.
"That's what your ears are for... not that they did you any good in finding Gel." I grit my teeth with thoughts of attempting a challenge myself running in my mind.
But before I can even turn back toward Jaggot a shadow passes overhead that almost makes it seem like night has returned early inside of the vale we live in. I quickly look toward the sky and feel my knees buckle as a large black beast glides overhead like a bird with its wings spread floating on the breeze.
"What in the blazes is that?!" I stumble back as a mighty roar leaves the beast's maw, my hand going for my bow and quiver of arrows.
"A dragon..." Jaggot mutters as he stands up with a look of fear on his face.
What is a dragon doing here?!
I thought the dragon riders lived down south in their fancy red castle.
"There is another!" Jaggot points higher and I narrow my eyes as I spot movement above the black dragon.
There is another, only this one seems half the size or smaller if I had to guess.
"What is the big one doing?" I nock an arrow with a bad feeling starting to brew in my guts.
The black dragon flaps its large wings making itself come almost to a stop in the air with its tail lashing out with the leathery flaps along it helping it stay in place. Flapping above the Vale looking down at us the large dragon seems to be looking at the settlement with noticeably green eyes even from this distance.
The only sound that is heard is the heavy flaps of the beast's wings as it looks down upon us with unknown intentions. But as a shout soon echoes through the area the bad feeling in my guts turns into a storm as the dragon lowers its head and seems to attempt to land down inside of the Vale.
"Dracarys!" A man's voice, meaning the beast has a rider.
"It's going to attack!" Jaggot shouts loudly causing his voice to carry over the nearby people and potentially even down to where the large beast just landed near the stream that provides the clan with our water.
Gods help us, I think he is right.
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115 AC
Stone Crows Settlement
Daeron Nymeros Martell
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"Why did we land?" Jeyne asks with a bit of fear in her voice, I adjust myself to make sure I am blocking her body with my own after noticing an arrow fly overhead.
Whoever shot that has some skills, he got pretty close.
"This Vale is too small to fly low over top of them, if we tried to burn them out the flames would spread too far from too high up and it would be mostly smoke that hit them." I have tested the 'range' of my dragon's flames hundreds of times at this point and I have a pretty good idea of what he is capable of.
If we flew low enough to be in range I fear he would clip the side of one of these cliff faces with his wing. I would rather not have an emergency landing in an area with an unknown amount of bone and stone-wielding pissed-off savages.
Feeling Jeyne tightens her grip around my waist I sigh and let go of the saddles handles to grab her hands and move them behind me. I had to move her behind me after we got close as I only have my own armor with me and I am not going to have her wear it and go in without any myself. I thought I would be able to do 'fly-by' and after passing over this place a few times I knew we would have to get a little closer and within the range of their bows.
It would probably be 'best' if I had landed and passed her off to Rhaenyra but I am already here now and she has not spoken up about wanting 'off'. In fact, she has shown no hesitance and only a bit of fear once we actually landed so she is probably fine. My goal here is to do her a personal 'favor' and also show her the power of the dragons firsthand. News of this will spread and when she no doubt ends up telling stories about it people will once more be reminded of the power of dragons. Sure it might be a bit overkill to keep 'flaunting' the dragon's power in battles, I mean I did just do some pretty destructive things in Essos not long ago.
But the opportunity presented itself in the form of an old grudge in the heart of Lady Arryn and I am leaping on it to once more to show people dragons can and will burn shit to the ground.
I just hope my Good Father does not freak out...
"Dracarys!" Once more I shout out at my mount as he 'stomps' forward carefully over the rugged terrain and toward the 'village'.
This big brute is anything but graceful that much is for certain.
Poor Lady Jeyne is once more clinging onto me even though I have moved her hands twice in fear of her catching an arrow in the arm. But I also need to hold on now so if she wants to risk her limbs that is on her, I tried to body block for her, if her arm gets hit she can't complain to me afterward.
A sharp wave of heat almost slaps me in the face as green flames jet out of Gaelithox's mouth and turns an approaching group of shield-carrying men to ash. Multiple huts covered with tanned leathers blow to pieces or simply evaporate in baleful green flames as they roll over the ground and through the packed-down walkways like a wave. Arrows fly by and also chink off of scales as Gaelithox makes his way through these people's living space.
"Seven hells..." Jeyne mutters as she looks over my shoulder, her body noticeably trembling against me.
"Do you regret it?" I ask as I peer over my shoulder and into her blue eyes that lightly glisten even with the heat cooking the air around us.
Tears... it's a bit too late for those if I am honest.
Am I a psychopath?
I honestly think I might be at this point.
"The Stone Crows killed your Father and Brothers." I speak up seeing her go silent with a storm of emotions in her watery eyes. "They would kill you too if given a chance... probably rape you first as well." So would a lot of men around the world but at this point I need her to resolve herself to this as it's already happening.
I expected her to feel bad once the smell of burning flesh filled the air, it's only natural. I have experienced it multiple times and I don't think I will ever forget the scent of my first experience of smelling it.
"I don't regret it." I hum and turn back forward taking her at her word as I refocus back on the task at hand.
Spotting some men climbing up higher on the cliff face beside us on a narrow pathway I cringe and prepare to command Gaelithox to adjust and spit his flames at them. But a shadow passing overhead and another bright source of flames coming down upon them before I can even speak up causes me to swallow my command.
Syrax the sweetheart has been 'blooded'.
I suppose that means Rhaenyra now has been 'blooded' as well.
If you count melting people into nothingness as 'blooding'.
Watching Syrax land a bit higher up on the cliff face on my left I feel a strange stirring inside of myself as I spot Rhaenyra's silver hair. It looks to be made of molten silver as the bright yellow flames burn a bit beneath her, a sight I never knew I wanted to see but am glad I have now.
She loves the stories of Queen Visenya, she even braids her hair like Visenya was said to do.
Right now though... She looks the part herself.
Syrax might be the wrong color but Vhagar was much younger and smaller when Visenya rode her into the Conquest.
Maybe I should attempt to paint this scene to give Rhaenyra for her name-day present?
I think she would like that.
""Follow them!"" I shout turning from my Wife to see many of the Mountain Clan running down various paths that lead to different 'stairs' out of the Vale we are currently sitting in the bottom of.
I can worry about that later, for now, I need to finish what I started.
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