Interlude: Victory Feast Part I
Otto Hightower was
vexed when you told him you were going to appoint whoever he suggested to the office of Inspector-General. It was an incredibly powerful offer, allowing him to pick the first leader of the Royal Toll Authority, basically shaping the fundamentals of what the organization would be, ensuring that the Lord Hand would have a lot of leeway in shaping something you had created. The naked confusion in his expression as you asked for a name was amusing to behold, if brief.
Otto quickly adopted a more cautious, if rather curious expression as he considered your offer. You could tell he understood some of what was going on here, that you wanted things from him and were willing to give considerable political concessions to get it. He didn't seem to grasp what you wanted just yet, but he knew there was a catch to this bribe. Still, Otto was not so foolish as to even really consider declining your generous offer.
He asked for a few days and eventually came back with a name, Martyn Hightower, his second eldest nephew. Otto explained that his nephew had trained at the Citadel in matters of coin and personal accounts, and had direct relations with many of the larger merchant families in the Seven Kingdoms, making him an ideal candidate for the role.
You had strongly suspected it would be a Hightower from the begining. Otto didn't seem to have much in the way of direct lackeys who he held that level of trust in. Isembard seemed to approve of the appointment, saying that while Martyn was certain to show overt favoritism to Oldtown in setting up the Royal Toll Authority, Otto's rivalry with the Sea Snake would ensure the authority wasn't going to be slowly hollowed out by Velaryon interests.
The Sea Snake himself made clear his annoyance at the tolls being handed over to Otto's nephew, but he still seemed largely appeased by his recent conquests. You suspected the only reason Daemon wasn't annoyed at you empowering Otto even more was he simply did not care one way or the other about the Royal Toll Authority.
To your surprise, not long after Otto had you name Martyn Inspector-General, the Hand's brother, Lord Hobert Hightower, sent you a raven. The man had been there when you were named heir, but you had barely spoke two words to the Voice of Oldtown. The letter was full of flattery and praise, thanking you for your 'wisdom' in turning to Otto for helping to select a leader for this most important post. He also praised you for the friendship you had shown house Hightower and how you've done so much to help his niece, nephew and now his second eldest son. It seemed that while Otto still had his reservations about you, House Hightower overall saw you as something of an ally.
You had pushed hard to give Gwayne and Alicent positions of prestige and authority in King's Landing. That you had done that entirely for your personal desire to keep Alicent by your side didn't change the fact that now three Hightowers of your generation had been empowered by you directly. Though you had dashed the Otto's chance to have a queen of his house, with this act, you had shown yourself to be the best friend the Hightowers had in the capital, at the moment at least.
House Hightower considers you Something of an Ally
Ser Martyn Hightower is Inspector-General of the Royal Toll Authority
Otto Hightower Owes You a Large Political Favor
Your Relationship with Lord Corlys Velaryon has Degraded
Daemon's feast was quickly turning out to be a rather curious affair even from it's first moments. Winter storms and Daemon's general reputation meant the affair was largely limited to those already in city or the Crownlands, but there were nobles from the Stormlands and the Reach already here, along with Prince Qoren and the Dornish Nobles who traveled with him. This lead to a feast that was clearly smaller than what Daemon had desired, but larger than what perhaps he may have deserved considering the fundamentally small scale of the war in the Stepstones.
The mood in the throne room was tense as you and your father entered, and not just because Dornish nobles were sitting a few tables over from Dondarrions and Tarlys, but also because at Daemon's request, several soldiers and officers of his and the Sea Snake's army were also invited to the feast. Most of them were the same men who had followed Daemon to Dragonstone after you were made heir. Heroes of the Stepstones, yet arguably traitors to the crown.
Thankfully, your father had the foresight to provide plenty of food and entertainment for the night, ensuring most of the crowd had something to distract them from their mutual dislike. By the time Daemon arrived, things were downright festive.
Your uncle arrived acting every bit the conquering hero, dressed in armor, a confident swagger in every step.
"One would think he conquered Dorne the way he preens," Qoren muttered under his breath as he sat besides you, earning him a barely suppressed laugh from you.
The king gave a grand speech, declaring his brother and Lord Corlys, along with all the men who fought under them, had done a great service to the realm, securing trade from pirates and keeping the Triarchy in it's place. Daemon beamed with pride at his brother's words and even the Sea Snake seemed grateful for your father's praise.
As Daemon took his seat by your father and Johanna, you began thinking of just how you were going to spend this evening. Personally, you wanted to just spend the night talking with Alicent, gossiping and jesting with someone you cared about, someone you know thought little of your uncle. But there were other things you could do tonight.
This would be your last chance to make an impression on the lords of Dorne until your own visit to Sunspear over half a year from now. You also had a chance to reduce some of the animosity that was building between you and the Stormlands and some of the Reach, not that you needed to of course. Thankfully, no one from House Peake had dared to come to King's Landing. This also would be your last chance to talk with the Velaryons and Princess Rhaenys before they returned to Driftmark.
Then there was dancing. Now that you were set to be married, the only men it was remotely socially acceptable for you to dance with was your intended, Daemon, and your father; who wasn't interested in dancing since Johanna was too far along to be doing anything like that. Of course, there was nothing stopping you from dancing with one of the ladies, probably wouldn't even cause any scandal since you were now set to be wed. Who knows, perhaps Alicent would be interested in a dance this time around?
Either way you had an interesting night ahead of you
Feast Actions (Pick Three)
[] Talk with
-[] Viserys Targaryen
-[] Johanna Westerling
-[] Daemon Targaryen
-[] Otto Hightower (This will not be the negotiation)
-[] Gwayne Hightower
-[]
Alicent Hightower
-[] Qoren Martell
-[] Obara
-[] Laena Velaryon
-[] Laenor Velaryon
-[] Corlys Velaryon
-[] Rhaenys Targaryen
-[] Harwin Strong
-[] Lyonel Strong
-[] Larys Strong
-[] Lord Dayne
-[] Lord Dondarrion
-[] Lord Tarly
-[] Tyland Lannister
-[] Write-in (Subject to QM Approval)
[] Dance with
-[] Qoren Martell
-[] Daemon Targaryen
-[] [Defiant]
Alicent Hightower
-[] [Defiant] Laena Velaryon
-[] [Defiant] Obara
[] Just try to relax and enjoy yourself.
[] Observe the crowd, see what the various lords and ladies are up to.
[] Write-in (Subject to QM Approval)
Please Vote By Plan
QM's Note: So, my intent is to keep this feast to only two updates so most of these are really just going to raise your approval with people and maybe do some information gathering or remove some stress.
