By Harsh Paths
Twenty Eight Day of the First Month 294 AC
You meet Belfir, Lord of House Malthor, not in a study surrounded by fine furnishings and the treasures of his house, but in a courtyard where a fountain carved in the likeness of twin dolphins burbles quietly to the high walls and the patch of sky visible overhead, the sun pale and wan as the face of the ailing lord. Though he cannot have seen more than fifty years, he moved to greet you with a hesitant step and not just because of trepidation at your true identity and those of your companions. In a land that that counts a great virtue the strength and hardiness of the warrior, he was not granted much respect, you gather as much from what he does not say as from what he does.
He tensed when Tyene offered to heal him, but eventually accepted. Kinship, however distant, gained her that much trust. When the magic proves her true to her words, he is much more at ease in your strange and unexpected company, and much more happy to talk of trade and the potential profits it might bring.
Talk of a more direct relationship once the Imperium has established more formal relations with Norvos are met with seeming incomprehension to the implications.
The instincts of a cautious man. You can respect that, even when it is not in your favor. Ultimately, you did not come here to lay the foundation for the conquest of Norvos, but to find out who the hells thought it was a good idea to seed sedition and banditry in your realm.
As it transpires, you barely have to go through the full account before Belfir spits, "Harrowers, only ones mad enough to try, I'd stake my right hand on it."
"Who or what are Harrowers?" Dany asks, frowning faintly.
To his credit, the Norvoshi lord does not take being questioned by a child poorly, beyond a single bemused look. "Fanatics who think a Second Harrowing is coming, or perhaps the end of days." He pauses, obviously taking in the lack of understanding. A touch awkwardly, he continues, "The Doom of Valyria, the Century of Blood, we call it the Harrowing of the Lord of the Long Axe, when the true metal was parted from the dross, the righteous following the Path of Iron, and the wicked like those who follow the Beast of Qohor falling into the flames. The Harrowers are those who think it is happening again and you are, er..."
"Valyria come again," you interject raising an eyebrow in askance. "I will admit to the dragons, but those were hardly unique to the Freehold. One would think the end to slavery might be some indication that I do not intend to make the Freehold's mistakes."
"That does not make you more pleasing to the Harrowers, Your Grace," Lord Malthor shrugs. "They say you are a creature of the Red Devil, come to rain down their fire on us all. Madness of course. What else are you do do but leave them be. If you would drive them from their temples, your cities would be ablaze in a fortnight." From the way he speaks of R'hllor, it is clear he has no great love of the Red God, even though he does not fear Him as much as these 'Harrowers'.
"There is no god held above another in Sorcerer's Deep," Garin offers, speaking for the first time. Among all of you, he alone had not given his full titles in greeting and so he had not been much in the lord's eye, just as he preferred. All the better really; the title of 'High Inquisitor' may gave the wrong impression.
"Ah, but you see that only makes you more akin to Valyria of old, a way to deceive the decadent heathen magisters before they are fed into the flames," Belfir scoffs before taking another long drink of the Dornish Red he brought out in honor if Tyene. "A fertile ground for deviltry they call it. How the Lawgiver can favor such fools with his miracles I shall never know..." the words, the near blasphemy, are spoken so softly that merely human ears would have struggled to hear them.
A brief conversation by brazier with Golden Shores confirms that the mages who worked against you indeed consider themselves 'Heralds of the Second Harrowing', which leaves you in something of a conundrum. On the one hand, you could speak to the Voice of the Lawgiver, the head of the cult, about the outrage perpetrated upon your realm and ask that he censure his followers. On the other, you could take your complaint directly to the First Axe of the City and current leader of the Harrowers, but from what you hear of his reputation, he is unlikely to take any challenge from heathens well. This is also the man responsible for persecuting the Red Faith in Norvos. You do not mistake the reason Dany wants to meet the man.
"Do they have trial by combat in Norvos? I'm betting I could beat him," she confirms your suspicion.
"Warrior's balls," Sandor curses under his breath, drawing a laugh from Waymar.
What do you do about the knowledge that a public and politically influential faction in Norvos helped sow dissent and banditry in your lands?
[] Speak to the Voice of the Lawgiver
[] Publicly confront the First Axe
[] Write in
OOC: And here we are, one piece of the puzzle you were missing because your inquisitors are not exactly well read on current Novoshi religious factions. Not yet edited.
