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68.51% Game of Thrones: StormBorn / Chapter 148: Aurane 4

บท 148: Aurane 4

"Heave."

Aurane Waters, Valyrion bastard and conqueror of Bloodstone, or at least Salt-Town, smiled as he crossed the muddy trench which was even now being filled with sharpened wooden stakes.

He was not one for such things himself, but it was clear that the engineers of Dragonstone knew well what they were doing here, though the same could not necessarily be said of the soldiers under their command. Still, the battlements of the rising fort Saltspire were growing steadily enough. It was no castle to be sure, not yet at least, with logs cut from the forest further inland on the island serving as the initial walls of the structure.

The fort was to overlook the eastern side of the Bay of Salt-Town, to be matched by a sister at the western end some point in the near future, earth was being packed into a raised interior, to protect it against cannons, apparently, as the Prince did not think his monopoly on the devices would last forever. The fort itself would be packed with them ideally, though it's initial armament were apparently not the rifled devices the boats were provided with. Instead, it would be armed with the older smooth-bores which the Dragonstone foundries had produced in excess prior to the creation of newer models.

Aurane could find little distance between the two, both seemed perfectly capable of shattering masts and sinking vessels, but then, the Prince claimed that the distance was vast, and he didn't particularly want to argue with the boy who had forged all of this.

It hadn't taken long for the first three structures in the fortress to be raised. A command building, little more than a Hut truly, and he preferred his quarters on the water, was the first to arise, followed by a small chapel for the gods, and then by a prison.

It was awfully easy to outfit a prison in towns where the slave trade was so common, though now the cages were mostly occupied by their former owners.

Not all though, and that was why he was visiting the dingy building today.

"Up and at 'em, Sal." He said, gesturing for one of the guards to splash the man's face, even as Polly repeated his words in her croaking voice.

"Up and at 'em, up and at em."

He loved that bird sometimes.

The man on the floor was bruised, but still in better condition than most of the others in this place. Everyone knew he had been a pirate of course, but the folk in town spoke well enough of him that he didn't get the beatings that the slavers did, and most of the injuries he had picked up were from his drunken attempts to escape arrest the previous evening.

He seemed far soberer today, as he sputtered out the water.

"It's Captain Sal." The Man choked out, sitting up, before turning his eyes towards Aurane.

It was almost like a mummer's play how they widened in size as the man realized his situation.

"Aw hells, no disrespect meant… Captain…."

"Aurane. Aurane Waters and you are Sal-Kaeron, a fairly prominent pirate who had henceforth evaded my notice in this town."

"Evaded," Polly squawked "Evaded!"

"Quite."

The man had the sense to look bashful.

"Ah well, I wasn't trying to evade you, not exactly, I just wasn't particularly looking for you, thought I'd let things cool down a bit before I went looking for work, specially with the way you handled old Sam. Dumb as he was."

Aurane chuckled slightly, in a way his Mates told him was menacing. Bloody Sam and his officers had been lined up in the town square and shot one at a time by Aurane himself, then strung up in a pair of former slave-cages for use as gibbets over the edge of the bay to mewl and die like the wretches they were.

If anything would convince pirates that their time here was up, it would be the rotting corpses of men like them hung over the bay under the sight of the fortresses' guns.

"And why shouldn't ye be joining him? You're a well-known pirate yourself, albeit of a slightly better reputation, though I put little stock in that."

The man balked. "Only a little better ye say? Why Sam was a bloody tiger shark he was, looking to chum the waters, not make a living, my ships were raiders sure, but not loons." The man smiled, even in his drenched and bruised state. "Look, I have a ship in the harbor if ye haven't sunk it for sport already, and I know her in and outs, what say ye let me fight Fer you instead of doing something regrettable."

Aurane stared at the man for a long moment, before throwing his head back in laughter.

"Oh, that is a gutsy hand to play, but are you sure you can back it up with Yer cards?" Aurane blinked through his laughter. "That ship is Narrow Sea Company property now, acquired as pirated goods. If ye think y'll be some free sells ail sort then you are quite mistaken."

Before the man could object, however, Aurane did raise a finger. "Still, I'm afraid this is a tad above my station, I can't recruit you on my own volition. Regardless of my opinion." Aurane scratched at his stubble. "I'll have ye put on the ship to Grey Gallows, still in chains o'course. Ye can plead Yer case to the Prince when they go there to coordinate."

The man, Sal Kaeron, nodded sharply, his tired eyes sobering plainly.

"I can live with that."


บท 149: Arthur 50

293AC

"From the Office and hand of Prince Arthur Baratheon, founder, and first executive of the Kingdom of the Stepstones:

Notice of addition to the Grey Gallows civil code, specifically regarding fishing rights in the Harding coast area.

Due to the wealth of fish in the Harding coast region, there have been numerous violent disputes over its specific ownership amongst the surrounding villages.

In accordance with my intention of bringing prosperity and order to the region, and to avoid exhausting the fish therein I decree the creation of the Harding Coast Limited fishing area. Individual fishermen or companies will file for monthly permits to fish in the area north of Bitter-bite and south of Copper Rock. These permits shall be subject to the regulation of the Hunting office in Great Gallows.

All questions regarding this and other legislative actions should be directed to my office.

Signed Prince Arthur Baratheon."

I sighed as I finished writing the order, placing it in the pile with the other ones on my desk. I had six months to add legislation to my new kingdom entirely unopposed by local interests, at least from a legal standpoint. Presuming no major disruptions, like being called into Essos, I thought that I might just pull it off.

I was a fucking moron.

I had thought running an army was hard, but multiplying that out over multiple Islands? All populated by vastly different people who held vastly different preferences, and each of whom was normally fairly divorced from the others, and in a general state of anarchy?

It was like trying to play whack-a-mole on six machines simultaneously. And there wasn't even pre-existing statute to fall back on. Mostly they just killed each other to resolve problems out here, and that, of course, had half of the villages and towns hating each other, a problem I hadn't even foreseen with all my research of the geography and culture of the region.

Even my captains, theoretical future governors some of them, we're constantly asking for clarification, despite the time I had taken educating them of their roles back in Dragonstone.

On top of this, my dreams were full of a very interesting but thus far largely useless undersea city, which seemed to be utterly incapable of holding its shape long enough for me to meaningfully interact with. One which I was extremely interested in but for which I had no method to expand my contact.

And, of course, above it all, my heart still ached dully and unnaturally for Arianne. The memory of her happy words at sea and her cheerful laughter, and undeniably the memory of her wonderful body as well, they all coiled around in my head like a thundercloud, raging at the edges and waiting to burst.

I drained my cup of tea (another thing I had to have imported from Dragonstone) in a series of heavy gulps, downing the bitter liquid in the hope that it would relieve me slightly.

It didn't. I placed it down perhaps a tad too harshly, for Maena nearly jumped out of her skin.

Even now she was terrified of me I could tell, but whether it was loyalty, fear, or awe I saw in her eyes when she looked at me, her quintupled salary seemed to keep her attached, and most importantly, mouth shut.

After a moment of awkward silence, she finally spoke in a small voice.

"Would you like more tea, your Grace..?"

"Ye-no… and I'm sorry if I scared you Maena. It is only that behind a desk is not where I belong, not for thirty-four hours in a row at least. But then, it is my responsibility, my duty, and one that I willingly sought out no less." I chuckled, looking down at my hands before turning to face the meek woman. "And Duty, Responsibility, these things are the greatest good in the world. They are the good that comes from power, and of those who seek to wield its intoxicating majesty and yet remain righteous. I hope dearly that I can stand amongst that number. Would you close the shutters please, I am going to recharge myself."

The woman's eyes went wide, and she hastily nodded, rushing to her task with a rapid fervor.

The greatest benefit in my mind of taking her on as a personal servant was that I didn't have to attend to such things myself. She saved me precious minutes that could be spent building the foundation of future progress instead.

When all was done, I called on that bubbling storm once again, taking its energy to refill myself. Roiling lightning crackling beneath my skin, sparks shuddering out from my form.

Having one who knew that I did this and kept it secret in turn was a great relief on my spirit. And I certainly appreciated Maena's presence in these silly rituals as well, even if the occasional look of worship I got from her eyes was not entirely what I intended.

Or was it?

Would it be so bad to be worshipped, elevated as a god? That would have benefits as well. Though the negatives were obvious as well. It was too easy for a mistake to break a god.

Still, those concerns were for another day, and I had a nation to build.

Even as the last crackles of lightning diminished back into my skin, I rose from where I had sat on my bed, drawing my riding cape over my shoulders and buckling the brooch to my uniform.

Even with my energy resurgent, I needed to leave this small room, and the surveyors had reported some favorable sights for my new capital, especially around some river valleys on the Mountainous north side of the island.

"I am going to go out with a party and survey the potential sites for my future capital. You are obviously on leave from your service to me until I get back."

"A-as you wish, Your Grace."

I felt a little bad for the woman, working with me for eight hours a day and then returning to her apparently large family at home. I might be able to avoid sleep for days at a time, but she rather obviously needed more of it than she was getting, especially since the Stepstones lacked any sort of real weekend.

Hopefully, this would serve as a relieving break for her as well. She couldn't ride anyhow.

I snatched up the new legal codes from my desk. I would need to take them down to the office proper so that my men under Ser Riverham could carry each of the decrees to its appropriate destination, or send it to the printing press I had set up underneath the newly founded Fort Stannis.

The knight was an invaluable asset to me on the logistical front, organizing my internal post-office back on Dragonstone, and here as well. Especially important for getting news from Essos around, now that siege on Myr had intensified.

He was also entirely unsuited to the rank of knighthood, being a man fat enough to crush most horses spines, and greasy as a hog, but when he could get the mail where it needed I couldn't care less about his weight.

Altogether it took about an hour and a half to rustle up the survey riders and Jaerys for a three-day ride around the north side of the island, and we trotted out of the gate of Great Gallows around eleven am, advancing into the wilder inland of Grey Gallows.

Of course, the island was willing to prove itself quite dedicated to its name, and a few hours later clouds began to gather overhead. The bulging belly of the sky popped the seal off of its trillion gallon jug and took to pouring out a diurnal night. It spewed cold and grey and ceaseless rain, right down on our heads, turning our trails to mud and our clothes into sopping messes.

But then, I always did think riding in the sunshine was boring.


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