บท 24: An Unlucky Encounter with Prince Joffrey
"Kneel, you scum!" Big Waldo roared. "This is none other than Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, and the Hand to the King Robert Baratheon."
Kai kneeled.
The rest of the sellswords had already vanished. The older sellsword had protested. I did as I was told, he had said. Why is this pretty thing getting selected? Let me have at it with him then. I can cut him in half in one stroke.
As the Hand and Big Waldo exchanged a few words, Kai stared down at the notification.
…
[
Side Mission: Get chosen by Jon Arryn for the job
Side Mission Status: Success
Side Mission Rewards: 100 Mission Credits
…
Main Mission Timer is triggered
]
…
"OK," Jon Arryn said. "Now leave us. I will have a word with this boy."
"No, my lord," Big Waldo said, rejecting the order vehemently. "I won't leave you with him alone. The boy is still a sellsword. And sellswords have no more honor than a sheep."
Kai's lips twitched upon hearing that. "He is right, my lord," one guard said. "It will be a grave mistake to be alone with him. Let me stay with you at least."
They are not making any sense, Kai thought.
As if sensing Kai's thought, the Hand asked, "Are you hearing yourself?" The old man pulled down his hood, making Big Waldo and the guards flinch. "Haha!" he chuckled. "This young man is supposed to be my shadow for the coming week. If I can't trust him now, then better put an army around me. Enough. Leave us."
Kai could feel the stern gaze of the guards on his back as they backed away. Big Waldo left along with them, closing the fence behind him.
"Stand up," Jon Arryn commanded. "Big Waldo has told me enough about you. You have good instincts and sharp eyes. But he didn't tell me your name."
"Arlen, if it please you my lord," Kai replied, standing up, and giving the old man's face a good look. "Big Waldo has said the truth. I am all that, but even he doesn't know my true worth."
As the Hand looked at him, Kai observed the old man back. For an old man, Jon Arryn seemed strong with his broad shoulders. Half of his teeth were missing, and his eyes were blue. Under his aquiline nose was a long, healthy beard. What hair was left on his head shone almost gold under the noon sun.
"Is that so? You are too courteous for a sellsword, I'll give you that," Jon Arryn said, smiling amiably, but then his face became grave suddenly. "Arlen, I hope Big Waldo has told you the severity of the service I require of you. I am in danger, and that means you will be in danger, more than you can think of, given your age. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I have never been more sure, my lord," Kai said. "Assassinations or direct assault, I can handle anything."
"That's good then," Jon Arryn nodded, approaching Kai and putting a hand over his shoulder. "Do you know what your duties will be?"
"Yes, my lord," Kai answered, following the old man out of the stable. "I am to act as a Page, and as you have said, your shadow the most."
That made the old man laugh.
Heh! Kai sniggered. Laugh all you want, old man. For the next week, you can't die even if you want to.
*
*
Kai followed the Hand's litter on a mare.
The moment he had neared the non-magical beast, his Glitch had awakened. If he wanted to, he could devour the mare. Even I am not that desperate, Kai thought, staring at the sweat-drenched people on the streets.
By now, Kai had learned a few things about his location. Not to be found as abnormal, Kai had to ask in a roundabout way. He was in the largest city of the Seven Kingdoms, King's Landing, the capital. Even while riding the mare, Kai could see three hills rising towards the sky.
Aegon's High Hill… Kai remembered the name. It was the hill he was bound for. But Kai was more fascinated by the beast surmounting the hill.
The Red Keep!
Kai was no stranger to gigantic structures. Compared to the Wall he had seen in the Primordial World, this castle was nothing. But it had its charms. Like the red fingers of the demon, the towers of the castle were reaching out of the hill, trying to snatch the entire sky in one grip.
Kai had even changed his attire.
He was wearing a blue doublet over white breeches. His armor was under his jacket, and the guards had given him a simple longsword. The sword had no Stats, but it looked almost the same as his Castle Forged Longsword that he had lost.
The castle kept becoming larger and larger as Kai neared it.
The ragged-looking people had been replaced by patrolling armored guards. Their gold cloaks fluttered behind them as they watched Kai and others.
Suddenly, a dozen horses came galloping towards them. Before Kai could tell what was happening, the nearest guard said, "Are you unlucky, boy?"
Huh?! Kai could barely open his mouth, confused.
"You must be," the guard said, shaking his head. "Otherwise, why did the prince decide to come out now?"
In a haste, along with the guards, Kai dismounted, still utterly confused.
Arlen had told him that Luck dictated Random Encounters, as much as it dictated Random Items one could obtain from the Loot.
If it was his Luck that had brought about this encounter, then this meant nothing good for him, Kai knew.
Kai felt it then.
The distance must have been too large, and his Perception too low, for him to not feel it immediately. Now that the six enormous stallions were closer, he could feel it like the blows of a rainstorm.
Danger!
The only thing Kai could find was that it was coming from the Prince's escort.
In the front were two black-armored and gold-cloaked guards.
On his right was a red-cloaked guard in red-black-gold colored armor. Two more of these red-cloaks were on Prince's rear, following him with a trot.
All came to a halt with a sharp command from the prince.
The danger had become a tight grip around Kai's throat. He looked at the prince then. A golden-haired, tall boy, in what seemed to be red and gold doublet over white breeches and hard red-leather boots. He's a prince alright, Kai thought, seeing the scowl on the prince's face.
The prince wasn't the source of that danger, though. Kai adjusted his eyes, moving them to the prince's left. There it was! Dark stallion, darker aura. The guard was cladded in a dark armor, had a dog's helm, and an olive-green cloak billowed behind him. Even from this distance, Kai could tell he was no match for this thing. Kai licked his lips, and what happened next made him jolt.
Thrumm!
A vibration! Or an excited roar?! It was hard to say, but Kai sensed it as plainly as his breath. It wasn't anything on him, or outside in the real world. This sudden shaking had come from his Inventory. From an Item within it.
From the Book!
The Tales of Beedle the Bard was quaking so much that Kai could feel it in his bones. The will to devour something alive. The madness! And he knew what it was looking for.
Kai also noticed how the Book had shown none such shaking when he was with Jon Arryn, the Hand. Even then, he could tell this old man was a significant figure in this world. Yet, the Book hadn't responded to his presence.
There was a hint hidden in all this, Kai knew. His hands itched to take out the Book, to open it, to try out the Item for which had risked his everything.
"Kneel before your prince!" one red-cloak guard said.
The guards besides Kai kneeled at the command, and Kai followed them. "Don't look up," the guard close to Kai whispered. "No matter what, don't talk back to the prince."
Kai nodded.
"Prince Joffrey," Kai heard the old voice of Jon Arryn. "You will forgive an old man for not stepping out and kneeling I hope."
"Heh!" the prince grunted. "Who is this white-haired boy? Some Targaryen bastard?"
Kai didn't like where it was going. He knew little about the world, but from the prince's tone, he could infer this word Targaryen wasn't some good thing. Why is my Charisma not working on this prince? Kai asked himself. It worked fine on the Hand, though.
"Haha!" the Hand laughed. "There are no more Targaryens in Westeros, your grace. He is my new Page, Arlen Stone. His father had done me great service in the war. Just today, the boy arrived."
"Page?!" a heavy, hoarse voice thundered in Kai's ears. "Isn't he too old for a Page?"
It was the taller guard who had asked. Kai shook even more. It's him! he exclaimed. The Book wants his tale.
"Clegane," Jon Arryn addressed the black guard, "the young ones don't suit my needs anymore. I need a quick mind and strong shoulders around me. The boy is just what I need…"
The Hand would have spoken more if it weren't for the Prince's sneer. "Hah!" Joffrey breathed out. "So a bastard he is, then. Who knows, he might have some Targaryen blood in him? Capture him and send him to dungeons. A good whipping will bring the truth out of his mouth soon enough."
What the…? Kai couldn't believe what he was hearing. Is he crazy or something?
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