Chapitre 38: Chapter 38 (Revamped)
(Varys, Pentos)
A loud bang could be heard across the area as several trays of food and wine were haphazardly thrown to the wayside.
Illyrio's fury sent many servants into a flurry as they did their best to clean up the mess caused by their errant master without getting in hisway.
Varys watched it all with an apathetic expression as his old friend raged like a child. "You shouldn't have given him the Horn." He said. Freezing the furious cheesemonger in his tracks.
Turning his head towards the eunuch, Illyrio merely snarled before taking a handful of cherries and stuffing them into his mouth. One after the other, cherry pit after pit was spat out. Finally, as the last pit was spat, Illyrio spoke, "It was meant as a test, to see if it could work."
"It didn't." Varys pointed out. "Perhaps it was a fake?"
"Impossible, that was a genuine horn. No… No… No… the Valyrians must have played us all."
It wasn't a farfetched thought, an irritating one but not an unexpected one. Tales of Valyrian lords tricking many adventurers into becoming a sacrificial lamb for their dark magic had been widespread.
Though many were willing to take the risk, on the off chance that the horn actually worked and gave them control of such fearsome beasts.
Varys had initially been incensed when Illyrio first revealed that he'd sold one of the two Dragon Horns in their possession to the Kraken. It was a means to gain control of the only living Dragons in the world after all.
He had thought that the fat magister had gone mad with greed and short-sightedness and still harbored reservations about trusting him. In what he considered an act of willfulness, the man sought to test the horn's ability using the Greyjoy.
How exactly the fool would've wrangled the horn or the Dragons out of Greyjoy's control had it worked, remained a mystery to the bald eunuch.
Still, the move that had surprisingly paid off, his little birds having sent word of the horn's failure shortly after what amounted to the extinction of the Greyjoy line. Asha Greyjoy's whereabouts remained unknown and even if she was alive there was little of use she could be aside from popping children to any ambitious lord who could stomach wedding her.
A significant portion of the Houses that were loyal to the Greyjoys had also been wiped out in the process, with them being the most fervent believers in the 'Old Ways'. He doubted she'd even trust them had they survived, considering the coup they held against her father in support of her Uncle Euron.
That was another thing that baffled Varys, only an idiot would trust someone as questionable as Euron. What Balon was thinking in allowing his brother to retain a horn that supposedly gave control over some of the most dangerous creatures this world had seen, he had no clue.
It was remarkable how naive and foolish so many of these so-called Great lords could be. Then again it was one of the reasons he'd been able to manipulate them so easily in the past.
Jon Arryn and Steffon Baratheon may have meant well in the whole fostering debacle, an attempt at stabilizing the realm by better connecting the Great Houses, which ended up failing quite spectacularly in his opinion.
The current situation of the Iron Islands was odd. Erlend had declared that it was to be assimilated as a territory of the Riverlands, an obvious retaliation for all the times the Riverlands had to suffer under their rule.
It could be argued that he had no choice but to do so, seeing that most of the Noble Houses that once ruled it were now extinct, by his hand no less. There were just not enough purely Ironborn lords and ladies left to govern it themselves, regardless of how small it was.
There was also the fact that no one would trust any Ironman for decades if not centuries to come. Lands and titles were rewarded to those that had shown merit both among the nobility and rising gentry class. Which irked him, seeing as it gave Erlend another pool of loyalists he could rely on.
Making his job infinitely harder than it should be.
"What does Visenya have to say about all of this?" He was aware that his Sister had called Illyrio a court's jester when they first told her about the horn, much to his friends chargin.
"That we're both imbeciles and that of course the horn wouldn't work."
"Of course, she would say that."
"The Golden Company has been doing well quite recently."
"Naturally, with the Banners no longer around as competitors, they've been given the best contracts." Illyrio finally showed something other than anger.
The fat magister foolishly considered the Golden Company to be their personal army already, uncaring or unheeding of the fact that his Visenya now had a tight grip on the mercenary group.
Honestly, he wasn't confident at the assumption that she would hand over authority to Daemon once he came of age. Even now she showed nothing but annoyance when she laid her eyes on any of them. No doubt she saw them as pests, in all honesty she was nothing like their late sister.
An issue that was becoming genuinely worrisome as the days passed by. Varys was worried about how they would be able to wrest the Company out of her hands.
"The Three Daughters have come together… They've announced the re-emergence of the Triarchy." Illyrio put out.
"So they took advantage of the Mudd's distraction, not surprising."
"Yess… Volantis has also been complaining about it to anyone that would listen, they want to form a coalition to put them down for good."
"I thought they'd be more interested in dealing with Erlend Mudd."
"Bah… Mudd is no concern to them at the moment, he's a whole sea away from them. No, the Triarchy is by far their biggest threat at the moment."
It wasn't a ridiculous thought, since his crowning, more than a few free cities that held grievances with the Mudds had worried they might be cut off from trading in Westeros. It was a very lucrative market for them after all. To their surprise, Erlend did nothing, the man had completely ignored Essos altogether aside from the Twilight Isles. Allowing trade to flow as it normally did.
So far only Braavos had tried something and that was to regain control over the Twilight Isles, something that was heavily disagreed with not only by the Mudd King but also by the Mudd loyalists within Braavos.
It was frankly an embarrassing situation for the Sealord, that showed just how deep the divide was within what many considered the most powerful free city in Essos.
Varys saw an ally of convenience within the Sealord, he knew very well that the present one like a few of his predecessors wanted to curtail the influence House Mudd had on Braavos or get rid of it altogether.
"I assume your fellow magisters have been making a fuss about the whole situation." This earned him a nod from Illyrio.
"Yes. We're surrounded by powerful enemies. Westeros to the West, Braavos to the North, and now the Triarchy to the South."
Pentos was vulnerable and weak, it had neither a standing military force nor the gold needed to compete with any of the three powers surrounding it. Let alone all of them.
There was a reason Illyrio and him were able to rise so high, Pentos was practically the perfect place to gain influence, though one was just as likely to lose it if they weren't too careful.
It was also what made it such a perfect city to hide Daemon in, with the ever changing political landscape, very few people had time to pay attention to what they assumed was just another dragon seed.
"I doubt you'll have to worry about anything coming from the South. The triarchy should know that any aggressive action it takes will see Volantis and Braavos falling upon it without hesitation." He ressasured his friend.
"If only it was as simple as that." Lamented Illyrio, "They're pushing for us to reinstate the slave trade, something that will earn the ire of both Braavos and Westeros."
"They're using Pentos as a distraction?" That was a surprise to Varys, no word had come from his little birds on the matter.
"It seems so, I assume that they're going to try and unite the disputed lands again. They're confident they can take Volantis, but Braavos scares them"
"Forget Braavos, Mudd isn't going to be happy about that."
"He doesn't have the time nor luxury to care. Developing the Iron Islands will take most of his attention for at least a decade, before he can set his sights on Essos again."
"There's also the discontent steered up by that Waynwood woman. She's been pushing hard for her cousin's claim since it came out that Erlend intended to grant it to his natural-born son by Lysa."
"Is she not afraid that he would do the same to her as he did to the Ironmen?"
"Stubborn as a mule that woman, but she's useful when pushed in the right direction." Varys shook his head at the thought of her, he had the displeasure of meeting her once.
"Did the lords of the Vale agree with her? We could use this to finally weaken his hold over the Vale."
"There is some discontent raised but it's largely been snuffed out by the betrothal he'd written between his natural-born son and one of Bronze Yohn's granddaughters. There's also the fact that his son will take up the Arryn name, many are looking forward to the return of that Great House."
"What kind of nonsense is that? Haven't those stuck-up bastards always been against bastards rising in status?" Illyrio complained.
"Nearly a quarter of them used to be bastards. You forget that a lot of lords died young during Robert's Rebellion, without leaving any trueborn sons and daughters. Their bastard sons or siblings had to be legitimized, in order to keep their Houses alive."
Not every noble house was blessed with a plethora of members and branches. Most, especially the minor ones, only ever had one main branch and that was it.
"This gives Daemon a chance, doesn't it? With so many bastard lords, most of them should be supportive of House Blackfyre."
"It's uncertain, Erlend had legitimized most of them and it's his word that gives them their authority. If they turn against him, they'll likely be ousted by their neighboring lords or distant kin."
"Then what's the use of all this news, if barely any of it is useful to us." Annoyance dripped the cheesemonger's tone.
(A/N: Obviously for the readers you pleb.)
"It seems so."
…
(Visenya 'Blackfyre', Lys)
She watched the fools that called themselves magisters, haggle their prices, demanding this and that. Her paymaster Gorys seemed apathetic with the whole negotiation, having already gone through this several times.
Perhaps she should have dealt with it, yet she had no interest in conversing with these groups of cowards more than necessary.
She could only listen to so much posturing, before she put a dagger to their eyes. Who knew being dead could make her so impatient?
"The Golden Company boasts the most disciplined army in Essos. We have some of the finest swords and have never broken a contract. " Gorys said disappointedly, "You insult us by offering such low standards." Silencing many of the magisters.
This rabble had been sanctioned by Triarchy to negotiate a contract with her Company. They feared Volantis would attack any day now, which wasn't an unfounded fear, Volantis had been raising quite a fuss over the reemergence of the Triarchy for now, even going so far as to send representatives to her beloved seeking cooperation with the young Conqueror.
Another reason to hate them she supposed. How dare those pesky flies try to involve her beloved in such a silly scheme.
The silence seemed to stimulate the tension in the room, they were worried about her, it's been like this since she had the last magister to leer at her, was castrated and fed his own cock.
He should've known better than to ogle her, this body belonged to one man after all. It took a few castrations, a bit of torture, and some very nasty public executions to really hammer that the idea in their brains.
Even the stupidest dog learned eventually.
Rolling her eyes at their wariness, she gestured for them to continue the farce, well aware that many liked haggling just for the sake of it. Gorys was one of them, the seasoned veteran was always up for ruining a magister's day.
An aged magister rose, looking somewhat hesitant. "Of course not," He spoke humbly. "We only seek to ensure the safety of our cities."
"Then cease attempting to pay lower than the standard rate," said Gorys. "Our Company has never broken a contract and won't do so anytime in the future."
"This… This…," another stammered. This one had a beard as rare as it was, though his cowardice was irritating. A dagger could fix that. "We have employed the company for decades now, surely that means something."
"We're here aren't we," Gorys pointed out. "Had it been any other city, we'd have refused them already."
"Volantis is but a march away." Visenya interrupted, finally drawing their eyes to her, only for them to quickly avert it upon realizing it. "We shall stand against whatever force they can scrounge up. Provided you pay the standard rate."
"If they attack, they will seek to take Myr first." A myrish Magister spoke, his jewelry clinking as he adjusted himself. "Should it fall, Lys would follow, and finally Tyrosh."
"All the more reason to keep the standard. The Golden Company will fight whatever Volantis and its conspirators decide to throw your way."
Rolling her eyes at the man, did they expect her to fight for less than what they were owed? These merchants, even when their lives are at stake, still sought to squeeze out as many benefits as possible. It frankly disgusted her.
Had it not been for the usefulness of maintaining the Company with their gold, she'd never have cared a wit for them. Unfortunately, the company was necessary to fulfill her beloved's goals. She was sure he'd be pleased with having another army gradually being educated to be loyal to her and Erlend.
So far, only the higher up's among the company were aware of the truth, their loyalty was maintained through the immense benefits granted by having the secret backing of Erlend and runic symbols being engraved on their arms to avoid treachery.
She didn't particularly care for any of the free cities. Many of them, especially Volantis likened themselves to Valyria, yet they always fell short. Those deformed inbred lackwits would get their due soon enough.
No. What she cared for was the thrill she had in cutting down lesser men with Blackfyre, hearing them cry out in agony and disbelief as they lost their limbs.
It wasn't as pleasing as it would've been with Darksister, but it would do for now.
Foolish men who thought they could have her. Their deaths told a different tale.
The meeting continued as the magisters tried to squeeze out whatever benefit they could from the contract. Gorys, being experienced as he was in handling these merchant princes, rebuffed their moves smoothly.
The pay was decided and now the fools were clamoring to gain concessions for their cities.
Word of what had occurred in the Iron Islands had long since reached her. As expected of her beloved, he was none too merciful with those savages. Aegon was a fool to allow them to continue existing after the conquest, another stain to add to his questionable record.
No doubt that dickless fool and his scheming cheesemonger were up to their old games again. She had warned the idiot not to go out so late in the dark, his mistake cost him his cock after all.
Their sister wasn't any better, falling for the fat imbecile. Honestly, how far has her family fallen to produce such stupidity? It didn't help that the main branch was no better.
She knew at a different time, that neither she nor her beloved existed. Her many times grandnephew had made a mess of things and his sister was a fool drunk with power. It was disgraceful and unbecoming of a member of the House of Dragons, with Valyria's legacy reduced to nothing but a kinslaying exile who had been played by his own maternal blood.
Eventually, the negotiations concluded. She swiftly signed her name on the parchment offered after getting confirmation from Gorys. They would receive a third of the payment upfront, the rest would be sent once the contract was completed.
The magisters immediately began subtly mocking each other as soon as the signing was over, the united front that they had presented collapsing once everything was done and over with.
No wonder they collapsed so easily in the past. They were their own worst enemies.
It wasn't just between those from different cities, they were doing the same with those who came from the same ones too. To magisters, there were no permanent alliances, just benefits and how long it would last.
As soon as they had the first payment, she immediately chose to leave. "Make sure it's secure. Not a single coin should be missing." She ordered Gorys.
Gorys nodded towards a group of heavily armored company men. Two of them carried the chest, while the rest surrounded them as they made their way back to the camp.
Since she had taken control of the Company, Visenya had made sure to discard any filth. She wanted an army loyal to her and her beloved. Only the best and whose loyalty and skill were unquestionable were allowed to remain.
It had taken years to ensure it.
"Send word to Lysono," She said. "I want to know what the Cheesemonger is planning and if we have to counter it." She knew Varys and his friend would be up to something.
The paymaster frowned at the mention of the fat Magister, having been cheated in a deal by him previously. "You think they're up to something"
"They're always up to something."
"What of Volantis?"
"It will take a while for them to shore up support before they can make any moves."
"Maybe they'll get the support of Braavos."
"Braavos has been divided since word got out that the Sealord attempted to seize the Twilight Isles." She'll find a way to punish the bastard later, how dare he attempt to seize Erlend's lands.
If it wasn't for the Mudds, this version of Braavos would never exist.
"The threat of a united Triarchy should have been more than enough to force them to work together." Gorys pointed out.
"You think someone from there had a hand in all of this."
"It wouldn't be far-fetched to assume one of the players decided to plant the idea in the heads of the magister."
He was right… presenting a potential external threat would force those within Braavos to play nice and let go of the matter at hand. She didn't know if it was worth it. Those idiots had created a dangerous enemy for themselves within the Triarchy.
Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, she benefited from it. She was sure Erlend's imprints would make him aware of the contract soon enough. Maybe enough to convince him to make a personal visit for another tumble.
She felt aroused at the thought of what was to come.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone