Upon an Anvil of Discord
Sixth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC
You had not planned on visiting Kelasi this month, but you are not one to turn away an unexpected opportunity from your door. Thus, when Tacrit invites you to dinner that you might discuss 'varied business opportunities' you graciously expect. You could always use more allies, though not at the cost of stumbling into a conflict you have only the vaguest understanding of, and now you have the chance to correct the lack.
"I'll speak to the chamberlain to offer felicitations and seek an audience for... next month?" Lya half asks, glancing towards the palace and its milling crowds of functionaries and guards.
A long way from those first hesitant steps into Braavosi high society, you think, a small smile forming on your lips without thought.
"Early next month sounds excellent. The most pressing matters should be well done by then," you reply, not wanting to hint at what those matters are lest the Kelasi merchant balk at involving himself and his master the Emir in the quarrels of the dragon gods.
To be fair, Tacrit seems anything but wary of recounting Emir Ramsin's woes. He all but waxes lyrical upon the innocence and kindness of the young prince and princess, whom the dragon had snatched away from their kith and kin, and the general wickedness of Galzerai for imposing a tyrannical yoke upon the trade currents, enforced by ships that are little more than bloodthirsty pirates.
As someone who has actually enlisted former pirates in peace and in war, the latter part sounds like little more than imposing tolls on passing merchants, with and admittedly draconic sense of reparations from those who refuse to pay said tolls or try to slip them past them by guile. If nothing else, the wyrm is respecting the laws he set down in stone and made known far and wide, rather than snatching anything that catches his eye. He is a ruler rather than a bandit by that measure, no matter how little his neighbors may appreciate him.
Thus you turn to the matter of the hostage taking itself. That Galzerai had chosen to raid the palace after Kelasi troops headed out to raid the Deep Ones, ultimately keeping the Emirate out of the war, hardly paints a kindly picture, but the emir's reaction is far from ideal in your eyes also. Rather than seeking to negotiate, or commit himself to battle if negotiations were impossible, Ramsin al Kelasi had decided that the reasonable course of action was to put a bounty on the dragon's head and send a never-ending stream of sellswords, bounty hunters, and assassins to his door. And then you find what the promised reward is in full...
"He promised the princess' hand in marriage to whoever kills the dragon?" you ask for confirmation, not bothering to keep the surprise out of your voice. "The same princess that is currently imprisoned by said dragon? That does not sound like a sensible way to obtain marital alliances..."
or happy marriages, you think but do not say. The skill and luck needed to kill an elder wyrm is not a measure of anything beyond personal prowess. You would be more understanding if the Emir were at least making some effort to select which of the would be dragon-slayers would set out upon their quest, but this is an open bounty. Anyone could claim it, no matter their character, their skills, or their allegiance.
"It is a fitting offer for one who would strike down so foul a foe," Tacrit shrugs. "The princess would no doubt be grateful to be freed from durance vile."
No doubt, you echo sardonically in the silence of your own mind, causing Varys to chuckle faintly from per perch on your shoulder. Still, the politics of Kelasi's royal house are ultimately of little importance to you. An alliance against the Deep Ones is the boon you seek, though before that there is one more answer you must have. "What of this anvil Galzerai claims was stolen from his hoard?"
"Miser's lies," the merchant scoffs. "The Anvil of the Lawsmith was fairly sold to the Emir's grandfather and no dragon forged it. I have seen this treasure with my own eyes and I tell you it was forged in Axis before the Sundering of the Spheres, for their marks are upon it."
Interesting, you muse, perhaps the anvil itself might hold lore for Lya to unravel. In any case, you would wager Althazi's pay twice over that there is more to the tale than that, but alas that is all the envoy knows.
What do you do next?
[] Travel to Kelasi to learn more
-[] Write in
[] Try to contact Galzerai to learn his side of the story
-[] Write in
[] Remain in Mardja and try to find more mercenaries
-[] Write in
[] Write in
OOC: Just to be clear the merchant does not know Viserys is a dragon yet, but he has guessed he's some kind of powerful adventurer. Not yet edited.
