Chương 151: A shady deal
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-Pov of Doran martell seventh moon 286 AC
We continued our journey with a very bitter taste in our mouths after receiving that Prussian welcome. It seemed like we were never welcome to begin with, as all the Prussian soldiers looked at us with terrible hatred.
We had hoped to be received in the Prussian castles, but it seemed they never intended to greet us with courtesy and hospitality, forcing us to seek out a village or tavern large enough to accommodate the large host that followed us to the celebration. Luckily, all these events had occurred quite early in the day, which would allow us to find a good spot.
Or so we thought.
We searched for hours through nearby villages, but what we found was empty and abandoned. Many of the lesser lords of the Dayne looked on, a mix of fear and surprise evident, as many of the villages they had ruled over were now deserted. Every village we were directed to by the locals led us to places with the same characteristic as the previous ones: no one lived in them.
Finally, we headed towards one of the largest villages in the area, where the lesser lords assured us that once ruled the area, there would be people. We traveled for hours until we could see a decent-sized village on the horizon.
The mansions in the area were quickly visible, giving us some relief as there would be a place for our entourage to rest. But as we approached this village, we found a pile of bodies scattered everywhere, and many birds of prey were feasting on the flesh of the dead.
People impaled, people hanging, everything indicated that they were not bandits or the like, especially because this happened in Prussian territories, where the Prussians are known for their control over their cities, and as it was evident, they were the preferred execution methods of the Prussians.
"How long have the dead been here?" I asked Oberyn, who had dismounted his horse and was inspecting some of the men who were dead with wounds on their bodies.
"No more than a couple of hours... no bloated bodies," Oberyn said, looking at some corpses.
"Have the rest of the entourage continue on the path and look for a place to rest," I instructed some of my guards.
"What do you think?" I asked my brother.
"A trap maybe, to frame us for some crime or something. This seems too suspicious," Oberyn replied.
"Do you want to investigate or just get out of here?" I looked at Oberyn, who was scanning the entrance of some of the mansions in the area where there were some horses.
"Are you afraid, Doran? They're dead people, they can't do much... come on, at least we should know what happened in case they try to blame us for this," Oberyn pointed to one of the mansions with many tied-up horses.
We approached the area and saw the massacre that had happened in the city. Although there were a great number of dead, it did not compare to what could have been in the city. There were many fewer possible inhabitants than the dead.
We moved through the silent village and arrived at the mansion followed by many guards. There was nothing that could allow us to identify to whom the horses belonged, as there was no heraldry.
Oberyn drew his sword and entered the mansion, and I followed him protected by the guards. To everyone's surprise, the hallways were empty. Since we expected more dead, we searched large parts of the mansion without finding anything. We lit some fires to see due to the lack of light.
But finally, we reached a large hall of the former owner and entered, filled with dead... some in their chairs, others seemed to have fallen from them.
In the center of this scene were three men with masks and wolf heads as helmets, seated in the seats of honor. They slowly lifted their heads and watched us.
"You finally arrived, Oberyn and Doran Martell," said the man sitting in the center and wearing white wolf skins. "Punctuality doesn't seem to be a Dornish virtue. We've been waiting for you for hours, it almost seemed like you were going to leave without even giving us a visit."
"What is the meaning of this? A trap, an attempt to eliminate you, or is it something to scare us?" I said, looking seriously at the same man who spoke.
"Oh, of course not. All of this is to send a very clear message from my king to you. We have some knowledge of why you so eagerly seek an audience with my king and, well, actions speak louder than words, so we decided to deliver the final blow of the hammer to the Dornish in Prussian territories," said the masked man in a calm and serene tone.
"What happened here?" Oberyn asked, tightening his grip on his sword as he slowly walked towards the masked men.
But when Oberyn was halfway there, the growling of dozens of dogs was heard, emerging behind the wolf-headed figures.
A whistle calmed the dogs, and they obediently sat, watching Oberyn.
"It's very obvious what's happening here," said the leader of the masked men cheerfully, spreading his arms and showing the dozens of dead.
"Does this mean that in all the empty villages we found along the way... they killed everyone?" Oberyn said, looking at them with resentment.
"Tsk... God... didn't you have any brains in your heads, Dornishmen? Are you all just lust? ... The Reach needs workers desperately. For the first time in centuries, we have more land than available workers, and by order of my king, we must achieve maximum efficiency in the worked land. Killing hundreds of thousands would be a rookie mistake... the mistake a novice ruler would make," said the man after almost laughing at Oberyn's words.
"So, what happened if they weren't killed? We found dozens of abandoned villages, and now this," I said, approaching them, but keeping an eye on the dogs.
"They were resettled... all forcibly if necessary. We divided them into small groups and distributed them throughout The Reach, preventing them from communicating and avoiding any possible rebellion. Right now, all Dornish in The Reach are minorities, surrounded by families that view them with suspicion, forcing them to adapt to our customs or suffer the oppression of the majority. Meanwhile, we brought settlers from other areas like Hornhill to inhabit these lands, as their hatred for the Dornish is almost as strong as that of the Prussians. We repeated this process multiple times until there was no longer any town with Dornish culture as its main culture."
"While here... as I said, it was the final nail. This city was the headquarters of the organized resistance of the Dornish to forced displacements, but we did our job. We denied them supplies, eliminated their men, destroyed their morale, and when they gathered to make a desperate attempt to attack a river fortress to cross into Dorne, well, this happened... the first bite of their food must have tasted like heaven... the second led them to the court of god to be judged," said the man with the white wolf head.
"Wow... so there are no Dornish left here, right?... Our visit was expected, so you want to talk," I said, looking at the masked men.
"Finally, a Dornishman with a brain that isn't clouded by personal desires. This makes things easier... Well, due to my king's grand wedding, it will be very difficult to meet with you without arousing suspicion, as the Master of Whispers will be in the area and we prefer to avoid even the slightest rumor of such a secret meeting... I am here representing him on your behalf," said the leader of the group, pulling out a letter and showing it.
"Alright, just to confirm, will everything discussed here be valid? Do you have the power to make it happen?" I asked the mysterious man.
"Oh, absolutely. I am the king's shadow , the best spy, the best interrogator, the nightmare of his opponents, the killer of his enemies, and someone referred to as a friend. But if you're asking if I have power among the Prussians, I can give the order to have you and your sister killed if you have any doubts. My men will obey and kill all the Targaryens if that's enough proof for you to see that I have the power to enforce what is discussed today. Haha," said the man, laughing in a macabre manner.
I could see Oberyn's face fill with rage, but if what this man says is true, we are facing someone who has the absolute trust of the Prussian lord, and any harm against him would mean we wouldn't leave The Reach alive.
I approached Oberyn slowly and made him lower his sword.
"Alright, I suppose we can negotiate what is obvious... the return of the rightful king to his throne," I said, looking at this masked man.
"Of course... everything can be negotiated, but the question is, what can you offer us that King Robert cannot?" said the Wolf Head leader, staring intently.
"Robert's rule is destined to fall due to his incompetence and disinterest. It's a matter of time before the collapse, and that will come when his Hand dies, and that won't be long. Arryn is the one keeping the realm running. Without him, all the nobles will fight for power, and Robert will do nothing, causing great conflict. The best option is to support the rightful King Aegon, who is currently in Braavos... If the Prussians support us with this, we will grant them a royal pardon for their previous actions. We won't punish them, but they must return everything to how it was before the rebellion," I said sternly to my counterpart.
"It seems your proposal is too... little. Merely changing sides comes with pardon, as much as Robert is incompetent, he has the loyalty of the North, which has never broken an oath. With the Tullys following them, the loyalty of the Lannisters due to their marriage, and Lord Tywin won't let fall the man who will put his grandson on the throne. You have almost all the great lords against you, and you only offer us a pardon. Furthermore, having to return lands on which we have invested in construction. I'm afraid I'll be the one setting the terms," said the masked man.
This man took out some sheets he had in his clothes and read them.
"Well, if considering changing sides, any proposal must include a public pardon in an open ceremony at the ascension of the new king, confirmation of the conquered Dornish territories... especially because the local population hates the Dornish. Now it will be a headache to govern them, so we'll spare you the trouble. And we want a marriage with the sister of your claimant king, where there will be a divorce with the Tyrells so that my king has the Targaryens as family, confirmation of my king's foreign titles, and when the Lannisters are defeated, we want the lands of the Westerlands as the personal domain of a Prussian noble who will rule independently. That's the minimum you must offer if you want The Reach's support," he said after reading the sheets.
"So that's why they moved all the Dornish from here!" Oberyn said, shaking his head.
"A people without an external enemy tends to look for one internally, so everything was part of Prussian propaganda to unite the peoples on the basis of Prussian culture of honor, diligence, and loyalty, against Dornish sins of lust and decadence... So tell me, Doran, do we have a deal, or do you want to try to conquer the Seven Kingdoms alone with Dorne's troops and Eastern mercenaries?" said the masked man.
"This is too soon to negotiate. We need to confer with my sister and the queen..." I tried to say.
"Pardon? Confer? With women? You mean you'll order them, and they'll obey. Are you telling me you came here without even being able to validate the negotiation?" the Wolf Head said, visibly irritated.
"You see, in Dorne, women..." I tried to explain again.
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR TRADITION! Do you or do you not have the capacity to accept my king's terms? YES OR NO. Because if you're telling me a woman has more decision-making power than you, you better leave The Reach," the leader of the Wolf Head interrupted, shouting.
"I'll speak with them and..." I said, but once again I was interrupted.
"YOU'LL ORDER THEM!" the masked man corrected me, losing patience.
"Yes, I'll order them... those terms I'd like to negotiate about..." I attempted to speak again, but I was cut off once more.
"Those terms are non-negotiable. If you don't accept them, there's no deal... We might ask for more in the future, depending on how much we have to fight... And no matter how fiercely you glare at me, Oberyn, you don't scare me. With just one order from me, I can have all your bastard daughters killed... So keep your hand off your sword or we'll have trouble," the envoy of the Prussian lord said angrily.
I turned to look at Oberyn, who was trembling with anger, glaring at the man seated in his chair.
"Those terms seem acceptable to me... We'll continue negotiating when the time is right for the return of the rightful king," I responded to the Wolf Head.
"Very well, with that said, I'll take my leave. Refrain from speaking with the king at his wedding or his tournaments... As a gesture of goodwill, I'll withdraw my assassins from Braavos. Pray to your gods that we never have to meet again," said the white Wolf Head as he stood up. He whistled, and all his dog-men followed him into the darkness behind him.
We left that mansion, and Oberyn was flushed with anger. When we exited the place, we found that all the horses that were tied up had disappeared. So we simply decided to find a place to camp.
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