Capítulo 205: Arthur 4 295 AC
I watched as Ariane departed into the night alongside her father and his company. Her troublesome cousins had been after her at the feast and I had no doubt at all they'd be picking her brain soon enough.
Hopefully, they would refrain from doing anything too reckless.
As she departed I felt that somber creeping vine that grew in my stomach try to rear its head once more, no longer restrained by her presence, but I brought my heel down upon it before it could rise. I'd just find other things to work on while she wasn't around.
Now was no time to question myself. Guilt could wait and rear it's head when I didn't stand in a nest of vipers.
I glanced up at the storm above, comforting as its low hanging bulky towers spiraled up to heaven above the wretched city below.
Well, it wasn't that wretched, I was to be married here after all.
"Brienne," I said, alerting the knight that I intended to move soon, her posture straightening minutely. "We will be making our trip to the office as planned. The acolytes should have it mostly set up by now and I want to check their work."
"Yes, your grace. I'll have the unicorns brought up at once."
"We'll walk I think, the docks are close by, and I don't think mine likes me."
I had sparse time to bond with the creature, and whatever mind the mystical animals had was not kind to strangers. The Great white stallion I had ridden in on was pretty to look at, but it was at least a third as proud as I was. Needless to say, we didn't get along.
Brienne might have some concerns, but she held her tongue, god bless her, and after speaking quickly with the guard we departed into the streets, thunder rumbling comfortably overhead, though the storm itself had yet to break.
It was shortly out of the gate before Brienne placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "We are being followed."
I nodded, I wasn't exactly inconspicuous, nor did I expect to be. Both of us stood almost a head taller than most of the denizens of the Landing, and Brienne was wearing her full harness, as she often did.
It was a functional set, but plain by my standards, if the plan went through-
'No, not if.'
When the plan went through, I would replace it along with the rest of my finest knights and vassals.
It was only natural.
"Stop them if they try to attack obviously, but don't bother trying to get rid of them. The city is full of spies, now more than ever, and I knew damn well that I was going to have everyone's attention from the moment I landed."
Brienne nodded slowly, but let it drop, keeping her visor up and continuing to scan the area as we progressed, her blue eyes sharp.
We marched through the darkened streets, our path occasionally illuminated by lightning until we arrived at a three-story building, one of the only ones at the docks, built out of sturdy timber and coated in a well kept white plaster that stuck out like a sore thumb in King's Landing, and indeed my company did in most of the places where such offices were established. The company sigil was clearly engraved on a wooden plate, swinging above the door.
Inside, the lights were still on. Not electric as they had been on my ship, as I did not trust such things not to be stolen in this city of spies, but the warm glow of oil Lanterns from Dragonstone hung about the place instead.
I knocked on the door only once, firmly, and was greeted by an obviously tired but immediately deferential young man.
"Ah, your grace, we had expected you sooner, please come in."
The central hall of the office was large, with a deliberately raised ceiling so as to demonstrate the status of the company and the acumen of my ever-expanding corps of engineers and architects. It was decorated with some minor artwork and exotic details from around my trading sphere, furs from the north, and from Ibben, glass sculptures from the summer isles depicted tropic trees in one corner, and a painted shield decorated with a Harpy of New Ghis was hung on the wall.
"You've come to inspect the device then? The acolytes have been tight-lipped about it."
"Yes, please show me through."
"Of course your grace."
The man pushed through into a far less lavish backroom, dug down a bit in rows so that large freight could be moved in and out of the large rear doors of the building on wagons, in one of the indents several men climbed over a large wooden chest, which sat on the back of one of the Wagons.
Clad in baggy black Jumpsuits of a sort, and with yellow lightning bolts above their heart, they were at once recognizable to those who knew my kingdom as my Acolytes of the Storm, They originally were Gerald's apprentices and to some extent my own. I had made responsible for the development and maintenance of my electrical networks in Dragonstone and Storm-Sky, as well as the creation of new uses for technologies. Currently, there were around a hundred of them, with more in training. Most were engineers or foundry workers who showed an aptitude for creative thought, and after a thorough background check received magical training.
I kept no secrets regarding my understanding of electricity and the magic I wrought with it from them, and I was well rewarded for it. Case in point…
"The Camera will be ready for the wedding I hope?"
The men turned to look at me, and several immediately bowed, the senior leader, a man I recognized as Garet Storm, one of Gerald's first batch, nodded sharply after bowing.
"Yes your grace, it survived shipping better than we hoped. It could be used now if necessary. We've just been going over its weatherproofing."
"It does seem likely we'll be needing that yes." I smiled slightly, gesturing upwards. "We seem to have brought the weather with us from home."
The man let out a barking laugh, deep and hearty.
"Yes well, I for one was hoping for a nice long transfer to New Myr to see the beaches when your grace's wedding is done. I've had enough of this weather building your throne. No offense meant of course."
"None taken, I know not everyone likes the clouds. I'll let Gerald know to have you sent over when your work's done."
"Yer too kind your grace."
I nodded, my eyes tracing the camera. It was a large thing and boxy, designed to feed off of tree small vials of wild lightning at its rear that would break if it were forcibly opened, a theft prevention measure. That all fed a flash of light which was reflected through the pinhole onto a thin alloyed sheet that absorbed the image, retaining it.
It was utterly primitive, rushed, and certainly not in color, but it would get me a picture of our wedding.
A picture that I would have copied and printed en masse through my newspaper. If you were going to introduce photography to the world you might as well do it in style.
As my mind turned once again to Ariane I felt that little vine creep up again, and once again crushed it, as was routine by now, instead turning once again to smile at my band of industrial wizards, giving the lot of them my best grin.
"Tell you what, If this goes off without a hitch I'll see you all on paid leave in New Myr for half a month, how does that sound?"
My grin only widened as I heard the long whistle one of them let out, and observed the shared smiles on their faces.
If that wasn't enough encouragement to make sure our wedding went perfectly, I didn't know what was.
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