Chapter 13: Chapter 13: The City Of Kings - Part 2
Arthur was, as I had repeatedly discovered him to be, quite right
Kingslanding smelled like something out of a nightmare. It was awful, and walking through the docks with my hand firmly gripped by his own hadn't prepared me for it, but as soon as we entered the city proper near the street of steel the smell became impossible to avoid. Wet and unsavory sewage, the smell in this part of the city was so strong it quite literally brought tears to my eyes.
"Gods be good" I gasped as I held my nose with my free hand as firmly as I could while he navigated us through crowds of people "How does anyone deal with this?"
Even Arthur was grimacing "Experience, and a great deal of it at that. I have forgotten it after so many years, but I assure you it becomes more bearable as time goes by"
I shot him a glare "Ar-Alaric, the idea of anyone getting used to this is horrifying."
He sighed then, before pulling us past another crowd "I am aware. But this has been the state of the city for many decades at this point. Following the conquest, the city grew too quickly, people from all across the newly conquered kingdoms flooding here"
I grimaced "Too many. You think they'd be weary of heading towards a fledgling city that not only was barely comparable to its counterparts but also guarded by dragons."
"It is precisely for that reason that many did. At that point, a good deal of Westeros was in turmoil, the newly conquered kingdoms settling, and no place was as safe as the conqueror's fledgling city. The dragons were deadly weapons to Aegon's enemies, but they also provided protection unparalleled. What army would march when faced with the titanic Vhagar and Meraxes? What fools would face the Black Dread on an open field? No, Aegon's dragons were as much reason to travel here as they were to stay away."
...Damn, but that made sense. I was a child in this world, and though it was dangerous I received the beginnings of a lord education and never had to fend for myself, and that was more than any of the smallfolk could say. The idea of being defended from the threats of this world by Balerion the freaking black dread would have been incredibly appealing.
Personally, it very much still is, but I was working on that bit.
"But surely Aegon or one of his advisors tried to implement a sewage system" I complained "It's essentially the backbone of building any good settlement!"
"They did, Jon. But the city grew too large too quickly, and Aegon and his descendants could hardly turn the smallfolk away. Add to that the beggaring costs and work required to improve the city, and here we are." Arthur sighed again "The people who come here adapt, and the ones born here know nothing else. As grim as it is, it is the way of things."
That wasn't a satisfying answer, and though this journey I'd set us both on was still in its opening act, I had a bad feeling I was going to have to get a good deal more.
Freaking Westeros!
We walked in silence for a good deal after that. The city also seemed to lack any great organization, but Arthur navigated streets and alleys with the grace only considerable experience could bring. It gave me a chance to shoot glances at the crowds we passed. Though many looked about as well off as they could be considering their circumstances, it still made me feel pangs of discomfort and guilt when I could see beggared men, women, and children dressed in what could only generously be described as dull grey rags trudging along pitifully or shifting through rotten food and the like.
This disparity was awful enough as it was, and coupled with the smell and lack of development, it was clear that for all it looked beautiful from a distance, Kingslanding was barely functioning as a city.
What had my ancestors been doing?
Isn't it obvious? A decent chunk of them had either been sitting on their asses, being spineless, bloodthirsty, useless, fanatic, or starting country-spanning civil wars through sheer stupidity. And that's discounting the unmitigated shitshow that was the Dance Of The Dragons.
For god's sake, I had my work cut out for me, and I haven't even started yet!
Arthur took a brief moment to shoot me an odd look when I began growling.
Suddenly, I caught sight of a man in brown but fine clothes, leering at me in a way that had dread forming a pit in my stomach. Before I could voice my concerns though, he pushed through a crowd and was gone. A glance up revealed Arthur glaring at the spot where he'd been with a look of fury, before tugging me forwards far faster.
We walked for a while longer before the crowds started thinning and the streets started expanding. We were out of the slums, near the more beautiful portions of the city, and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then I caught sight of it, and my jaw dropped. Huge and cavernous, the structure of yellow-brown stone towered over the simple structures surrounding it, the difference in size so extreme as to be comical. It was spherical, and I could see where the dome had collapsed, but I could barely imagine what it looked like at the height of its glory.
The Dragonpit, the destroyed and abandoned structure that had once housed the dragons of House Targaryen.
"Awe-inspiring, is it not?" Arthur asked softly "For all that your ancestors made mistakes, Gaemon, they also accomplished wonders."
.....Sly knight. I didn't miss the exceedingly rare use of my real name.
We set off with a purpose, then, our excitement pushed us forward. We stuck to the lesser populated alleyways and streets even then, but our destination was clear in sight now. It hardly took any time at all to climb to the top of Rhaenys's hill, abandoned as it was, and we had no guards or officials of any kind who could pose a problem.
The first step into the cavernous pit felt monumental, as If I was treading on hallowed grounds.
In a way, I suppose I was.
"You're sure it's this way?"
Arthur merely nodded. Man of few words, my knight was "Rhaegar discovered the passageway himself. He believed it was almost certainly commissioned by Maegor himself."
I raised a brow "Not that I'm doubting you, but why Maegor?"
"The Cruel started a war with the faith, something no other King in-then recent history had ever done"
The response was delivered somewhat dryly
"As a consequence, he made many, many enemies. A quick path to the dragon pit, to the Black dread at that, would've been very appealing to him."
I nodded and withheld a grin. I was still a geek and little trivia like that was fun despite the ridiculous danger of the situation we were about to embark on.
Navigating the abandoned structure, though, my grin dimmed considerably when Arthur guided as to a cavernous hole dug into the ground, a ramp of earth descending into darkness. I barely withheld a sigh when he pulled a dry lantern from the confines of his cloak and grabbed the timber and stones he needed to light it.
"I'm getting tired of traveling through old and very likely dangerous structures without a small army at my back."
"You've only done it once"
"And once that was enough"
"I couldn't agree more, but there was a great reward to the first journey, and perhaps yet another great reward on this one" He shot me a grin that was equal parts excitement, regret, and determination "If this mad gamble works, you'll have two Kingsguard at your back."
Then with a simple move, he ignited the lantern and held it aloft "Shall we?"
I sighed "Please don't let this become a trend"
And with that, we descended the ramp and into the darkness.
***
A/N: The next Chapter is an interlude (hmm, whose I wonder?), and things start getting dramatic and deadly, hahaha XD.
.... Wait, haven't they been like that from the start? Freaking Westeros!! XD!
As always, leave your comments and ideas and if you don't like it, please be courteous.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone