Game of Thrones the wheel spins

[blueayes]

The taste of finely seasoned pork filled Ned's mouth, as the burst of flavor spread as he took his first bite.

"What do you want?" Ned asked the queen.

She just kept on eating and didn't even bother to acknowledge his question, finally after drinking some wine she turned to look at him.

"Weren't you listening, I just told you what I wanted." The queen said to him before she contained eating, however, this time rather than continuing to eat the actual food, she had switched to eating a piece of cake.

"... There's something you're not telling me" Ned said, as he watched her stuff her face.

"Of course there is, will I tell you. No, why?, I simply don't care to" she said to him in between bites.

Ned just watched the woman as she continued to stuff her face. "... What's stopping me from telling the king right now?" Ned asked her, both fearing the answer and wanting to know, if she truly had him in a corner or not.

"You won't make it that far" Cersei said to him before placing her hand between his legs and gripping his midsection.

"Winter is almost upon us and soon your son will be the head of the house, while the many houses of the north hid from the cold. Tell me when will they hear about your death, while they are busy fucking one another or after the people of the south have taken the lower lands." Cersei said to Ned, as she tried to show him he had no way of warning the North should he die.

Ned just kept quiet and weighed his options before closing his eyes and rising from his seat, he had admired defeat and whether he liked it or not, neither he nor his daughters were anywhere near safe at the moment.

As he walked away Ned heard the voice of the queen as she called out to him. "Lord Stark choose which daughter will remain and send the other one away." There was a long pause after that and as Ned was about to finally leave she spike again.

"Keep one and send the other away immediately, you have two days." She said and Ned could no longer stand being in the same room as the woman, so he walked away, leaving her behind, until the only sounds he could hear, were the moans of the starving men that were forced to watch the queen eat, as they were chained to the walls.

His only hope now was reaching his old friend before the queen could fulfill any of the threats, however as things stood, for now, he was forced to play the queens little game, like it or not his youngest daughter wouldn't last as a prisoner.

No, the girl would act like the child she was and would quickly cause her captor's anger to grow, until they either killed her or broke her.

Ned didn't even want to think of the implications of what that might mean, so his eldest would have to do, she was well versed in the makers of a lady and even if the queen married her off to some lower person, he spat that last part. The girl's manner would keep her safe from any harm, so like it or not for now, his eldest daughter would have to stay behind, at least until he could rescue her.

Slowly Ned walked down the castle halls until he found the kings armory, this was the room, the king and those before him, kept their weapons and armors. Ned was hoping to find his old friend and to his despair he found himself looking at an empty room, sure the weapons were there and the armors were in their place, but his old friend was nowhere to be seen.

Ned just stood there as the last candlelight inside the room burned out.

(Arther/Arturia)

Her personal guard had gathered one by one, perhaps it was the hand of fate making its presence known, the lower floors wanted blood, some blamed the adventurers for the ever-growing unease, yet try as they might they failed to find any form of aggression that the adventurers might have done.

At the end of the day, the adventurers hadn't done anything wrong, they had just kept to themselves and stayed away from literally everyone else.

What crime had they committed, walking into an upper floor and simply defeating the floor guardian, according to the shadows, the people on the other side didn't even care about the area the players were currently in, no, they were too busy living on top of their wall.

Somehow she had been able to keep the lower floors under control, but they still wanted blood and should something happen, there would no way of stopping them and a war will be unavoidable.

Still, right now her most trusted knights were gathered, as they were watching the events unfolding in front of Mordred, the darkness of the night had fully taken over and now the only light available was that that the sites the adventurers had light.

However, as they watched they could feel no sense of calm that under any other circumstances would be present, in fact even in times of war, the men could find small moments to relax and enjoy themselves.

The air around the adventurers camping site, had come of that, there was a growing feeling of dread, coming from every direction, every direction besides the cave itself, but nonetheless, it was growing ever closer.

The sounds of metal moving were now being heard as one after another the adventurers drew their swords, suddenly several men, woman and children walked up to the adventurers, their eyes hollow and filled with dread.

None of them cared for the fact that the people in front of them were armed, no they just cared that there was light nearby, one by one, or in groups, they sat near the fires no matter how small they were and stayed close never saying a word.

Merdred drew her sword, the feeling of dread was growing, so much so, that the few servants inside the throne room were forced to flee in fear.

Arturia watched and realized she had intimately moved her hand closer to her sword, she briefly looked around and found that the rest of the knights had done the same.

The screams of a woman could soon be heard, soon more and people could be seen, some with cuts, bites and even large patches of flesh missing from them.

Arturia watched as Mordred turned her head to see an all to familiar face use a stone to light up the area around him.

"Rats!" Klein screamed as he began to use the stone to shoot flames onto the ground beneath him.

Soon the rest of the adventurers began to do the same, either by using torches or by utilizing the magic stones, yet even the rats didn't seem to care, there was something in the air, something in a rural, something evil.

Then the light of the moon began to shine, as the clouds parted, Arturia could feel her instincts take over and her eyes harden.

In front of Mordred and stood the adventurers fighting off the waves of hungry and fearful rodents, but beyond them stood an entire legion of Orc, Goblins, trolls and what looked like a kind of giant snake being ridden by the leaders of the entire army.

"Send the call, we need reinforcements" one of the adventurers ordered, as the light of the moon started to fade away.

 

[blueayes]

Arturia watched the events unfold and slowly she began to hear a voice speak. "Many will die here tonight," the voice said.

As a man ran passed Mordred, as she remained hidden amongst the shadows keeping watch of the events happening in front of her.

Soon several men and women all of varying ages arrived to help the ever-weakening defenders, no that wasn't right, Arturia looked closer at the images sent by Mordred, both the men and women were young, not so young as for them to be in bed sleeping, hidden away from the dangers of the world.

But young as in the way, that each woman present could bear up to ten, maybe twenty children before she turned forty.

Arturia could hear Mordred breathing speed up, as he, no she crushed several rats that claimed onto of her armor and tried to force their way in. It was strange how she now had to remind herself, that the young man was, in fact, a young woman, when she herself was doing, exactly the same thing.

"His breathing is getting louder" said one of the onlookers.

"He wants to join in the fight" said another.

"What for, the main threat hasn't even moved and the adventurers are just trying to control the plague. His place is amongst the shadows, at least until a true threat shows itself." Said the eldest of the group.

Arturia listens to the men talk amongst themselves, the Knights of the Round Table, for the first time in weeks, they had all gathered together and she hadn't even called for them.

A blast of light shone dangerously close to Mordred's location, as the adventurers tried desperately to hold off the rat infestation, but the cold wind and snow, that were making their presence known made burning the pest, unnecessarily difficult, add to that the fact that the infestations size was impossibly lard and wat the adventurers had to stop, was an insane task.

A task that could only be accomplished by losing a significant number of people, yet which group of people would be lost, would it be the people that had died inside, while they themselves, may still be alive, in all manner of speaking, those peoples minds were gone now.

The likelihood that any of them would ever recover from what they had seen and gone thru was all but impossible.

Of course there was always the chance, that the adventurers would be willing to sacrifice some of their own, the actions of the adventurers in the past, certainly hinted that they would, but the truth was, why would they, no why should they, was a better form of the question.

These people, weren't anything to the adventurers and in fact, one would even go as far as today that there was no reason to keep them alive, but there was a reason to kill them.

Those people had brought the plague and the monsters with them and one could even say, that the adventurers were justified in sacrificing all of the people, just to save one of their own.

A scream soon reached Mordred's ears and as she turned to see what was happening, the lift of a torch burning to death several rats that had killed on top of a man could be seen, unfortunately, the man was dead now.

The rats had bitten thru an important vein and cut a hole try the man's neck, what Mordred had heard, was the man's last scream of life, as death took him.

"Many will die here" again the voice said and as the light of the moon began to show itself once more, the dark figure of a black dress began to make its presence known.

Slowly the form of a woman could be made out, only that when the light of the moon reached her head, everyone present knew, that wat the adventurers were fighting wasn't human at all.

She had a simple long black dress, pale bone white skin and her rat face had no hair whatsoever.

"Many will die here" the voice said once more, however, this time several adventurers had their heads turned towards its direction, all at once they lifted their hands and unleashed the firestones magic, bathing the unholy abomination in magical fire.

"Roor!" A scream from the distanced be heard as the stampeding forms of the monsters could be heard.

"Now!" A man's voice screamed from inside the cave, as several knights ran past the scouts and the cowering people, that stayed close to the fires, each one of the knights, swords, spears, axes, clubs and shields shined with a magical light as they met with the incoming horde.

However, they did not make it far, as the a bone white hand reached out from within the magical waves of fire and sent a wave of deranged rats after them. The wave of rodents met a wall of lanes from both sides, but the nights were now forced to fight from both ends.

Soon the approaching hoard of monsters met the knights and the battle began, however, just as the a knight was about to land the killing blow, a large group of rats would strike, forcing him or her, to deal with them, allowing the monster to gain its breath.

So far no adventure had lost their lives, but Arturia knew that it was only a matter of time, at least that what she thought before four figures sted into the battlefield, a man that wore a deep blue armor that covered him from head to toe, a woman that wore a short black dress, that nearly exposed her buttery should she move to quickly, a knight that carried a create white shield, while his own armor was red and a man that wore a gray armor that looked like it had been made from stone.

It was but an instant and had she been a lesser person, Arturia would have missed the worries movements. It may have only been an instant, but in that one instant, the four have completely whipped out the rat infestation and dealt with the lesser dangers of the monster threat.

It was a well-coordinated assault, the man in blue armor had effectively held the rats in place, while the woman in black sliced them to peace, as for the other two, they dealt with the weaker goblins and their mounts.

Now all that remained were the true threats, yet as the adventurers turned to deal with the witch, a familiar figure made its presence known.

It's was nothing more but a sorcerers garment, holding a scythe, in the time it took one to see the being, it cut off the rat with her head and placed it on the necklaces it wore around, it's none resistant neck.

The guardian banished after that and soon after the adventurers made quick work of the monsters and the infestation, at least what remained of it, yet as the sun rose, Arturia's eyes hardened, for what sat around the fire, weren't the bodies of a fearful people, but the decaying forms of the those that had been long dead

 

[blueayes]

The adventures walked around looking at the corpses and as Arturia watched, she realized that something clearly wasn't right.

"Take a look at the names of each monster" said the woman wearing the black dress and immediately each adventurer seemed to stare directly at whatever monster was closest to them.

"Their names changed, this thing just said goblin before. Now its name is undead goblin...what the hell is going on?" One of the many adventurers asked.

"Guess this is why they were so easy to kill, their bodies were already starting to get stuff" Klein said as he held the head of an ogre.

"Enough, burn everything, we can't have any of the monsters coming back to life when the sun goes down again" said the man wearing the red armor, carrying the create white shield.

The man turned to look at his companion the one who's armor seemed plain in comparison to the smoother more colorful ones, of the people around him.

"We're being watched" the man said as he looked into the distance.

"Another assassin?" The man in the red armor asked.

"No, there are hints of green light every time it moves. We moved half our defenses just to provide reinforcements we've been gone far too long." The man said, hinting out that he didn't like the situation at hand.

Slowly half the adventurers began to leave back into the cave, only the woman wearing the black dress remained behind, she followed the others and waved at them goodbye, as they teleported away.

Soon she was the only one standing in place, there was a long silence after that and Arturia began to feel the hairs of the back of her headstand.

"You stink of blood and hormones, there's no point in hiding, I can sense you and the dead rats at your feet give away your position, not to mention that even is you're invisible, the blood on your hands isn't" she said, as she drew her sword and pointed it directly at Mordred.

There was no point in hiding anymore and Mordred emerged from her hiding spot. "I am Mordred knight if Camelot and member of the round table, I was tasked to find out what you and those with you are doing so close to the kingdom." Mordred said and as Arturia listed to the young woman speak, she found herself wondering how she made her voice sound deep, like that of a mans.

The woman dressed in black lowered her sword and spoke. "Makes sense, we're after all, just a few steps away from your kingdom. Your welcome to stay here, but that cave and the bridge now belongs to us adventurers."

"So if you want to make sure nothing gets to your kingdom, I suggest you start setting up defenses on your end. This lot won't be here any longer, something was clearly targeting us and it wasn't the rat woman." She said.

"So you're going to leave this place undefended?" Mordred asked.

"No, your going to defend it in case something gets thru, killing things on this side will be seen as an act of aggression. Killing things on your side is self-defense, we're adventurers and we live to fight monsters, last night, something gave us an invitation to fight, I intend to accept and make sure it never forgets what it did." The woman said as she walked past Mordred.

Like it or not Mordred couldn't go beyond her location, she had to wait for reinforcements to arrive and as Arturia, watched what she was seeing, she could tell that even if it was only the corner of her eye, Mordred was watching that man gather his things, alongside his commands and leave as he walked away.

(Tywin Lannister )

The castle was unusually hot, to think that a simple change in the form that the fireplace had could make such a difference, granted that it wasn't the entire castle and it was in fact only a few rooms that both he and the servants used, but none the less, to think that such a change could be done in such a short amount of time.

"Boom, boom, boom" someone was knocking at the door to his study and as the door opened, Tywin was surprised to find two of his grandchildren at the door. Immediately Tywin knew something was wrong, for the two of them to be here, meant that they had to travel in freezing weather and at full speed, never slowing down.

The two trembled with cold, as they ran to the fireplace and tried to warn themselves, Tywin turned his head and immediately a knight acted with ought him having to say a word. The man immediately returned and handed to Tywin everything his own spies had been sending back to him.

There didn't seem to be anything wrong, just some overspending and opportunist that wanted things that were clearly too big for them and then he stopped. Tywin made sure to read the words over and over again, the information before and after seemed to support the claims.

Tywin rose from his seat and looked at his armor that hung nearby, war was not far now, the North had taken his dwarf of a son as a prisoner and from what another document said, Ned Stark had threatened his daughter.

There was a cup in the way and it seemed like the North had their eyes on the iron throne, no wonder his two youngest grandchildren were sent away, whatever deterrent his daughter must have use, must have been rather weak and would soon break.

This wasn't good, winter had come and fighting a war now was not something that didn't favor anyone.

"Prepare a carriage, I will be headed to the wall and speak to the strangers. Send word to house Tully, House Clegane and House Fray. Tell them to prepare should a war start, tell them that their selves and their sons will be needed."

"I will speak to the strangers." Tywin said before turning his head towards his grandchildren, "prepare warm food and drinks, make sure, my grandchildren are comfortable."

 

[blueayes]

Tywin Lannister

 

[blueayes]

Before I start updating again please remember that in Aincrad it's still everyday business in there.

What happens outside really doesn't affect the people inside the Island/ mountain.

That is for now anyway

 

[blueayes]

(Rober Baratheon )

Rober Baratheon watched the hooded figure, its dark cloak made him stand out amongst the white snow and green leaves of the forest. His guards were carefully keeping watch for any more surprises it had been at dawn that the figure loudly walked towards their campsite, only to stop when it was a few feet away.

The man just stood there watching them until the light of day fully chased the darkness of the night away.

Finally, after the scouts and trackers were certain that the black cloths figure was alone did any of them dare to walk towards him.

"Robert Baratheon I bring words from the task you have sought...It has failed" the hooded figure said as he threw a persons head onto the forest ground.

Robert just looked at the man's severed head before realizing that the Targaryen girl would be a lot harder to kill then he had expected. Snow began to fall around him slowly and the hairs on Roberts' head began to stand, his instincts warning him about an attack that would soon be coming.

The guards sensing this as well already had their swords drawn. "The bank wants it due, they know you can't pay and so another payment is needed" the hooded figure said before throwing its self at Rober and his guards.

Like a serpent the man moved killing the guards just by simply passing them, the scout's arrows seemed to slow down as they neared him and Robert watched his would be killer dodge every attack, all the while killing those that tried to protect him.

Soon Robert Baratheon stood alone, he wished he had his hammer with him, or by the very least his armor, but armor was too loud for a hunt, he hated the fact that they had chosen the perfect moment the moment when he would be at his weakest.

Still, he was a Baratheon and he would be dammed if some random person would have the luxury of finally putting him down.

Robert picked up a nearby sword that one of his guards once owned and let his instincts guide him, there was no need for thinking, no need for planning both men knew what this was and that only one would leave here alive.

Robert felt his blood pump and his very being rise and just like that it was over, his would-be killer fell dead, his last act was cutting Robert with a small dagger. Robert looked at the man's corps and knew that this was far from over.

The iron bank wanted its money and they would do anything to get it.

The feeling of weightlessness began to take over and Robert turned to look at his right hand, just above the elbow was the cut the man had planted and Rober cut deep into the arm hoping to at the very least force out some of the infected blood.

He had been poisoned and had to make it back to the castle, if he was going to die he had to give his last words. He walked back to kings landing and bleed the entire way, if the poison didn't get him the lack of blood would.

The guards finally laid eyes on him and quickly rushed him into the castle, already healers were there waiting to tend to his wounds, the last thing Rober was able to see was his old friend standing over him with a worried expression.

Then the world went dark, as the blood loss and exhaustion finally overwhelmed him.

(Ned Stark)

The halls of the castle had become heavy and everyone from the lowest of servants to the members of the small council could feel it. The king still lived that much was certain, but what could they do?

They were aware of what had happened especially since scouts were sent to search for the place where the attack had taken place, but how did they stop something that they all knew needed to happen. The crown was heavily in debt, that much was certain, but so was everyone else and the time for them to pay was still far away.

The would-be killer had all the clothing and gear that a typical assassin of the Iron Bank, yet for all of his looks similarities, he failed to actually be one. No someone had set this up, someone that wanted something to happen or perhaps not happen.

The small council the most powerful men in all the seven kingdoms were quiet, they knew that if the king were to die or take a long sleep, then his firstborn would need to take the throne, it was at that moment the Ned felt his suspicion grow.

There was only one person that could gain anything by attacking the king and killing him, bud if his suspicions were true then how did the queen pull this off in such short notice.

Unless she was already planning to kill the king.

"His Majesty has awakened and is asking for his hand to be present!" A healer said as he ran into the council room, by the way he acted time was short, Ned knew what he had to do, before it was too late.

"Don't for the good of everyone don't do it Stark" Peter Baelish said to him. "Don't do it or else everything that happens after this will be on your head" the kings' coin said to him, but Ned just ignored the man, he knew what he had to do.

He couldn't just let a bastard take the throne, it was one thing if the boy was Roberts son, but from what Ned knew Robert wasn't his father and so his claim to the throne was invalid.

His footsteps seemed to echo through the halls, this was odd considering that that only happens when the halls were empty and yet there were people everywhere, some were here just to look and have something to gossip about later, others to guard the king and those that were left were either to heal the man or write down his lasts words.

Ned could feel his heartbeat change as he passed the queen who was standing by the door, too far for the king to be able to see her from the bed be laid on, yet close enough to be able to hear everything that was being said inside the room.

"Ned... Ned...I got to fight one last time Ned...I should have worn armor" Robert said as he tried to force moister to his mouth and every pause was an attempt to breathe.

"I need to tell you something" Ned said to his old friend, knowing that he would be taking from him one of the only few moments he would ever have of making peace.

"I know... that you want to leave...Ned...Write...This down..." Robert said to him, ignoring the fact that scrives were nearby.

"I..Robert Baratheon...leave...as...new King...my son..." Ned watched his old friends sleeping form, he hadn't died, but gone into a deep sleep.

The scribes handed him the kings last words and ned felt his heart speed up as he laid eyes on the queens smiling face.

"This shouldn't have happened" Ned thought to himself and as if something had taken possession of him, he walked out the door with the parchment in his hands, by the time he managed to reach the small council, they already had a copy of it.

The look in each mans eyes was different, yet they all shared a single common look amongst them when their eyes met with his own.

Pity

Quickly the sun began to set and Ned could only see snow falling as the last rays of light seemed to leave the Red Keep. His only release was that at least he had sent back his youngest daughter and that his old friend could wake up one day and change everything.

After a few minutes, the only one to speak was the master of whispers. "A warning for when he wakes up. Only tell him what you know, when you already have a replacement available because if you don't the consequences will be high."

The fat man looked at Ned like if he was suggesting something Ned had ignored, unable to bear the looks anymore Ned went back to his study and began to look through every book in there, the copies of everything the other members of the small council had and by the time he finished Ned wished he hadn't bothered looking.

It wasn't just the Iron Bank, but Kings Landing kwed a lot of money to the Lannisters and it was their gold that had been paying for what was being spent before, the Kings Coin had begun to borrow from overseas.

Had he gone through his plan all the Lannisters had to do was call in the dept, but at the same time knowing his old friend, he would have responded with something like.

"Dead people don't need gold"

 

[blueayes]

(Peter Baelish)

The sound of a pen scratching on parchment as a man wrote down the week's expenses and earnings were the only sounds heard within the study, Peter Baelish the Kings Coin or Coin of the King did his work, but his mind was elsewhere.

Too many things were happening all at once and yet they all seemed to be connected, if one ignored the strangers then almost every sign pointed to someone in the background wanting the houses to fight amongst themselves.

He knew this because he had planned something similar, but someone else had their hands dipped in the events that had occurred so far.

He stopped writing and tried to see any possible strings that he might have missed, a clue somewhere and yet try as he might he failed to find any hint of who the culprit or culprits nights be.

From what he gathered Cersei Baratheon the Queen had managed to get the imp of her brother set free by the north, by having the youngest daughter Stark girl handed to them, it wasn't an act of love or anything like it, no, the woman just didn't want a Lannister to live within the walls of the North.

Little finger as many referred to him as smiled to himself, at first the woman wanted the north under her control, now she completely rejected it. If the woman ever truly gained any real power then she would no doubt cause endless wars.

The room was getting colder, soon he would be forced to do his work in another room, there was indeed a fireplace inside his study, but having a fire inside a room filled with important documents was something only a fool would do.

Unlike everyone else seated in the small council, he had earned his place, by hard work and outsmarting e around everyone around him, those men seated with him either had someone with a position of power give them their seats, or they had gained them simply because they were born into a powerful family.

The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching reached his ears and he already suspected who it was, Ned Stark must have already discovered all of the meaningless spending and who the crown owed money to.

The moment the door slammed open he was prepared to avoid any attack the foolish man would do and yet again he predicted Ned Stark's move.

Ned grave him by his neck collar and somehow managed to lift him from his seat, however, this time the man had overstepped and he found himself having to release him as the guard drew their swords and pointed them at his bead.

"You forget that we're both important and you can't just attack me" he said to Ned Stark who just looked at him with eyes filled with rage.

Slowly then backed away not wanting to give the guard any more reasons to kill him.

"Tell me why the crown owes so much to the Lannister" Ned Stark demanded.

He smiled at this, it was so simple and the man couldn't even see it. "Did you forget his wife is a Lannister, since the first day that the gold began to run out, they had begun to lay for everything."

"Look around you, plenty of guards, servants and so on are paid in coppers that come from Lannister bolts. Who do you think paid for the kings whoring drinking and all of those parties he liked to enjoy."

"Money runs out Stark" He answered he would be killer and looked in satisfaction as the man understood that his old friend would have cared less about the consequences of his actions.

Little Finger decided to play his hand and see where the next peace fell, he may have not known all of the game pieces but at least he knew how to play the game, it was snowing and with a few days- nights or both it would soon be nearly impossible to contact the north, so why not case something's to happen.

"You're worried about the boy taking the throne, the kings alive Ned, you know the meaning of that, until the king dies, the boy becomes of age or if they were both to die, then you would be the one to lay claim to the throne until the kings brother arrives to release you of it." He said to Ned and watched as relief passed over the foolish man's eyes.

Ned Stark didn't say anything after that he just left, Peter just looked at the door after that and smiled Ne d Stark was a good man, an honorable man, but honor is something held in the point of view of the person that holds it.

Is it not honorable to save the lives of the kings family? but what if letting his family live plunges the kingdom into a hopeless war.

Is it not honorable to keep your word? But what if that word means you have to step aside and let innocent people die simply because that knew too much.

To put the kings eldest son was a grave error, the boy was a rabid dog on held by a few chains that could easily be broken, but he could be dealt with, by poison or an arrow that was misfired.

Ned Stark was an honorable man and it was his own personal point of view that will get him killed, if not by the Lannisters then by someone else.

For a brief moment, Peter touched the scar on his chest, a reminder of the time when he was powerless to do anything. The woman that married Ned was someone he loved, yet because he was someone thought a high position in life, he was found unworthy of being with her.

He tried to fight for her hand in marriage, back then she was to marry Ned Starks older brother and her what did that man do.

He took the black and headed to the wall in order to do the long watch and his love was passed down to the Ned Stark.

Peter learned his lesson back then, there is no such thing as honor, just conveniences, this was fine set in stone when Roberts Rebellion occurred, Ned Stark's own sister was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of men.

How many women and girls were raped either by the northern men or by the southern men. How many villages were stripped of their food and so on the list went, just because that stupid girl couldn't keep her legs closed.

Peter closed his eyes and Little Finger opened them, it was time to look in the direction of the south, it would only get colder from now on and anything that happened in the north was now something that could only be dealt with in the long run.

Whatever happens needed to be dealt with, that much was certain, but it was better to deal with things that were close by and request immediate attention, less than become even bigger problems later

 

[blueayes]

The sound of embers cracking as the fire burned keeping the cold away, Little Finger looked through each parchment he made sure to keep any loose ends carefully hidden, for every ten coppers spent, he would make sure that at least one went to his pocket.

He stopped writing for a moment and looked towards the dagger his spy managed to retrieve for him, how the man had managed to get it back to him so quickly he didn't know, it was something he would have to learn.

To be able to move from the south to the north and back in only a few days was something he could use.

He lifted the knife and held it, Ned Stark hadn't done anything yesterday he had just gone back to his study, most likely to plan things out and to cover his vases, unfortunately for him, it was already too late.

As Little could see, only a few moves could be done, kill the queen and her firstborn, then deal with the king's anger if he ever woken up, send the two away in order to keep them from causing any problems and putting his own guards to secure the kings' safety.

The last one was something Little Finger didn't believe Ned Stark was even capable of coming up with himself, kill the queen, her son and by the hand of fate the king does in his sleep, this not only opened up room for someone better suited for the throne, but also removed any further threats that may come in the future.

He began to spin the small dagger/knife on his table, it was a wonder that the thing never seemed to lose its sharp edge, he was aware that someone had given a foolish man his knife and ordered the man to kill the second youngest Stak.

But that was the thing a Valerian knife was equally or even more rare than a Valerian sword and those things only existed here and there, so it was easy to assume that the imp has sent the assassin.

But one just had to look deeper and he would understand that, this assumption was wrong, first the knife itself was too carefully crafted for just anyone to own, that alone dismissed everyone below a certain class.

The fact that the knife was an incredibly rare one, dismissed any of the lower houses, so that only left one of the main houses. Yet the main houses hire assassins that already have their own weapons and tools, so why was someone without any training using this thing.

The only conclusion Little Finger could come to was either one of two things, someone wanted to cause problems between the south and the north, or some fool overstepped their boundaries and did something stupid, both possibility's were equally acceptable at the moment.

Whatever they had planned was stopped for two reasons, one winter could last for more than a year at times and there was no way of knowing how long this one would last, so starting any wars right now was foolish, for one the men would all freeze to death and there would be no way of feeding any of them.

The second was far more complicated, right now everyone in the north was gathered and that meant that entire armies were either spending the winter in one castle or another, or they were somewhere the cold wouldn't kill them, whichever was the case, the armies of the north and their commoners were right now at their strongest, at least defensively speaking.

Yet Little Fingers eyes stopped looking at his knife and instead looked at the parchments in front of him, things weren't making much sense, for example the Lannisters were paying their tax on time but somehow had begun to pay the Iron Bank at the same time and from what his informants had to him, it was no small amount that they were paying.

The interests really did a number on those that lacked the means of paying back their debts, Little Finger knew that the Lannister gold had begun to run out, it was one of the reasons he allowed them to pay for Robert Baratheon's spending.

He knew that the Red Keep would never be able to pay back that amount, at least not while the king ruled.

Yet somehow Tywin Lannister had secured the funds to pay off what he owed the Iron Bank, each document was had something written or in writing that needed to be found by him and from Little Finger could see was a pattern.

Somehow someway Tywin Lannister had succeeded in making the strangers pay an absurd amount for one thing or another and they like fools did so, perhaps it wasn't just overcharging either. From what he could see, while everyone else tried to save whatever harvest they could or bought from the Martells as much as they could.

Tywin himself hadn't, in fact, something else had happened, he had made sure to only buy certain things wheat, oils and things used by those that live near areas with lost of plants and insects, there were far too many to list but they were all used to keep pests away from the food supply.

The sound of marching boots reached his ears and Little Finger decided he could use a break, might as well see what the Stark had decided to do.

He placed the knife on the table and was about to walk out the door only to stop and take everything back to the main room for safekeeping, the number of people that would want their hand on those documents was rather large after all and anything copied down before he was finished with them could prove disastrous for him, for one reason or another.

He walked out of his study and followed the sounds of people arguing, he stopped for a brief moment and looked directly a young face. Sansa Stark was the very image of her mother, red hair and all, perhaps one day he would enjoy the girl, whether that was willingly or not depend if she was offered to him.

She would have no say in the matter after all and even if she wasn't, well who cared about that, whores show up and vanish all the time.

"What's going on?" He asked the girl, her eyes were filled with fear and she didn't even try to look at him.

"My father is doing something crazy" she answered him.

Little Finger let his smile show, he already knew the personality of the girl in front of him, she had grown up believing that knights were heroes that rescued the princess and that there was a happily ever after.

The reality of the world would break her from that.

One by one the knights guarding the king walked out and soon all of the guards standing ready to fight began to leave, Little Finger walked up to the door to the king's room and immediately understood what Ned Stark had chosen to do.

Men of the north stood guard around the kings sleeping form and when Ned Stark laid eyes upon him he didn't even bother to hear him speak.

"Come with me" Ned Stark ordered him, as he headed towards the dining room, it was there that they found the Queen and her son eating a carefully prepared meal.

Little Finger watched as The Hand of the King sealed his own fate. Ned Stark took a deep breath and began.

"For your immediate protection, I'm having you and your son escorted out of Kings Landing and back Casterdy Rock."

"We haven't found who friend do have the king killed and if they were able to reach this close to the and attempt to kill him, then it's only safe to assume that they have already infiltrated"

Little Finger watched as the rest of the small council began to walk in, followed by several guards, it would be at this moment that either the guards and the small council killed Ned Stark for treason or they took the chance to stop someone who should never sit on the Iron Throne from ever managing to do so.

The guards were about to draw their swords, only for the small council to stop them, they simply lowered their hands ordering the men to stand down.

Both the queen and her son were about to argue, but it was her brother a member of the Kings Guard, that prevented them from doing so. None of them said anything and instead of going to their rooms to pack their things, they were instead led to several carriage's already waiting for them.

"So this was the reason why Stark hadn't said anything since yesterday, he was secretly parking their things up" Little Finger thought to himself.

The only who's things weren't packed was the queen's brother, but he was someone that expected to stay behind and yet the man called for a horse in order to escort both his sister and his nephew to safety.

Before he left he ordered a servant to fetch a bag from his room and when the servant returned, the man handed the girl a gold coin. Members of the Kings guard were allowed to have whatever they wanted, but in the end, they usually got rid of everything and only had a bed and clothes in their rooms.

After a while, the minimalist lifestyle was something they would grow to prefer, so all of their spare funds were ideally kept in their rooms, they had more, of course, bet this was what they were given just to spend on random things.

"Bad move Stark" Little Finger said as he looked at the carriage slowly leaving the Red Keep "Once they reach a good distance either kill them or make sure to knock them out and put them on a ship going somewhere far away" he thought to himself.

The castle was uneasily quiet after that and everyone walked as if they were to step on a thorn at any moment, as the sun went down Little Finger could hear the wind blowing with such strength that it could freeze the bones of a man or beast.

Little Finger closed his eyes and Peter opened his, in an attempt to relax, soon Peter would have to close his eyes for a long time and Little Finger would have to be the only one awake if wanted to live past what was to come.

(Tywin Lannister)

 

[blueayes]

"Ting...ting...ting" the sound of the sword hitting the stone beneath it, its sheath was firm enough to keep the sword itself from hitting the stone floor, but it was thin enough for the metal of the sword to react each time it went down and struck the stone floor.

"Ting...ting...ting" Tywin listened to the sound and allowed his mind to wonder, each impact made his mind shift from one thought to another, in one move the entire field had changed, even now the rivers had become almost completely useless.

Ice was forming on the waters quickly, soon it would be too large boats to move in, but too thin for people to walk on, depending on how long winter lasted this time, the people would at some point begin to eat the animals that froze to death.

Even now despite the heat of the fire, the cold temperature was filtering through Casterly Rock. "Ping" he remembered his wife and children, for a brief moment he smiled back then the world seemed to have some warmth even for him.

"Ping" he thought about the strangers and how he could manipulate them into his favor.

"Ping" Tywin felt his eyes harden as the memory of Roberts Rebellion rushed in, like a stamped of vermin that refused to die away.

His mind shifted towards every road-town- village, minor and major house that stood in his way or by the very least had the potential of standing in his way. The fire in the room made the burning wood crack each time the wind blew into the chimney, he was alone now, free to let his mind wander and plan.

Then all of a sudden the darkroom he sat in, next to the fire that was his only light was changed in an instant, the door of the room slammed open violently and Marcella along with her brother Tommen broke the silence of the room.

Despite both of their ages, they chased each other around all the while laughing, Tywin closed his eyes and let this moment set itself into his memory, the many books-scrows and so on that were kept on his walls were now visually because of the light that came by the open door.

He felt himself begin to smile again as he listened to their voices of joy, his back was turned to them at the moment and his grand chair made it impossible for anyone to see if someone was seated on it, the coves below certainly helped in that matter, it was because of those pieces of cloth that no one behind him could see his feet.

For the brief moment that the two played in this room, he allowed his mind to stop and enjoy the right here and right now. He smiled at the sound of their feet moving like horses galloping, their voices showed no hint of the fear they had when they first arrived. He was pleased with that.

He could hear them running away and their footsteps leaving until they were completely gone and again he found himself alone, there was light inside the room now, they had forgotten to close the door, yet Tywin didn't seem to care at the moment.

He looked at the fire and noticed he didn't feel the cold anymore, nothing had changed yet the world didn't seem as harsh as he remembered it.

"Ping" the sword hit the stone one last time and Tywin rose to his feet, despite being an old man and despite having the light from outside shine into the room, his shadow seemed to belong to that of a giant.

Perhaps it was the light of the fire behind him, but Tywin would have sworn he saw his own shadow like that of a lion, but that was impossible because he just blinked and it was the shadow of an old man.

He began to walk leaving the room behind and tried to clear his mind, two nights of winter storms made it impossible to travel, unless there was somewhere a person could find shelter, only a fool would risk a long distance journey.

It was that very reason that he hadn't gone to see the strangers or sent any messengers at the moment, yet perhaps he was thinking things in the wring matter, perhaps it should be one of them that should visit him.

Winter tended to last several months and even a year if things went bad, there was even a story that his own father told him about how there had been a winter that lasted more than two years, all of this meant that there was plenty of time to form good relations.

As things stood he indeed had three ways to go, further inland, go north or head south, but for now that needed to wait, no matter what happened right now he couldn't afford to attack anyone and he knew that no one else could attack him at the moment, that much was certain.

No, right now was the time to wait and see, judging from the past it would be at least a few weeks before the weather settled.

For the moment being, the players had to move their first piece.

A servant ran in front of him heading towards the door of his castle, then another and another each one was carrying blankets and what looked like pots hot water, by the time he reached the end of the hallway there was a large group of servants gathered around two people.

The moment a maid moved Tywin felt rage grow within him, but it was only his years of experience that allowed him to keep it under control.

There standing at the entrance of the door was his daughter, her oldest son and his son drinking hot water, covered in blankets placing their hands and feet into pots filled with hot water.

"Make sure the other two don't see any of this" He said to a maid that was passing by him, the woman looked at him with a frightened expression before her eyes settled and she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

"There was no point in worrying children" Tywin thought to himself, before pausing and forcing himself to change his train of thought.

"No, they weren't children anymore. Despite the way they may have acted, both were at marriable age and like it or not, one could get pregnant and the other could impregnate"

Tywin would never know it, but the servants that knew him for years could see the pain in his eyes, despite being busy attending to his already fully grown son and daughter, they knew that Tywin was forcing himself to think like a lord, rather than a person.

There was nothing they could do for him, not unless they were alone.

The wind outside began to blow again, another storm was coming, yet before the servants could close the door another person managed to walk in. Tywin felt his eyes harden, it was the imp of his youngest son, dressed in the clothing of those from the north.

The first piece had been moved and it had almost been lethal, in a single move three members of his house would have been killed, the person responsible would have just said that it was rhe weathers fault and not their own.

Sadly for them, his children had lived and Tywin found himself holding onto three of his pawns

 

[blueayes]

The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.

Albert Camus
There are people who do what they believe is right, but as they say, 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.'

Aja Naomi King

 

[blueayes]

The light of day began to flee from the cold winter weather, the thick clouds were like a wall that separated the day from the night, the only light now was that that of the many fires inside the castle, there was barely any warmth now, no light anywhere, not beyond the fires.

It had been two maybe three years of spring and summer, that meant that by the very least they would have to worry about three or four years of winter, that wasn't good, for anyone, if the cold didn't kill people the lack of food wood.

The lack of money would, like it or not people no matter how important they may be either are preparing themselves to buy whatever they may need, be it food-clothing or a place to live.

Luckily he had managed to move around that for the moment, the money he owed the Iron Bank wasn't too large, neither was the interest, the only reason he had even paid them at the moment was both to get that headache out of the way and to eliminate any form of excuse the Iron Bank might have to try and kill him.

Tywin watched the snow fall outside through one of the castles many windows, there was no light outside, at least not from anything wasn't from a fire from one house or a barn, that was being used to keep people and animals warm.

The servants had stopped running around, they had prepared a hot bath for his son, daughter and grandson, the water was bordering on the line of boiling, there was nothing the healers could do for them, they had to fight off any illness now.

Tywin didn't a low himself to feel anything, why would he, right now it was up to them to fight to live and if they lost then that can't they didn't want to live anymore.

Soon he would have to start contacting the minor houses and see what supplies they had managed to save, but this point there was hardly if anything at all that could be saved, whatever was left on the fields was now lost.

That was at least one harvest lost, when the weather calmed both his men, the lower houses and the little people would have to no one together to find everything that has frozen to death, the meat would still be good, at least some of it. The animal's fur, fat and whatever else could be salvaged would be used to keep the people alive.

The sound of someone coughing reached his ears. "Good, that means you want to live" Tywin though to himself, knowing that at least those three didn't just close their eyes and die.

"Father" Tywin heard the voice of the imp behind him.

"Explain" was the only thing he said to his mistake, he never turned to look at the man that never grew in size.

"The north captured me thinking that I had tried to kill the second youngest of the Starks, they only released me when the youngest daughter returned to them. However, on my way to Kings Landing instead of heading there I was instead escorted to your lands." His son said to him everything he knew.

"I see" Tywin said as he gained an image of what might have happened, no spies could move right now, so the only information he had at the moment, was what his children had

"What do you think?" Tyson asked his son.

"What do I think" Tyrion related as if not be living what he had just heard, he stopped for a moment and quickly began to speak again knowing how his father hated hesitation.

"I believe the new had has overstepped his place, Robert would have killed my sister and her children and my brother would have stepped in to stop him. Everyone else would have done things more discreetly and made sure to cover their ground as to avoid suspicion."

Tywin let the imps words set in, right now he had no place to be a father, right now he was the Lord of Casterly Rock and as such he didn't have the luxury of thinking like a father. He turned to look at the boy, now a man, who he had failed miserably.

"When the storm ends, head towards the mountain and had this letter to the people on the wall, take any servant that knows what mountain I'm referring to and wait for the people's answer" he said to his son.

As a boy, the man wanted to see dragons, now he would get the chance to do so. The letter's contents were simple but effective, it was a simple invitation for certain individuals to come and live for sometime with him and his granddaughter.

The girl being who she has hardly had the chance to unwind and make friends, yet for some reason the time spent with a certain girl seemed to have affected her greatly and so he Tywin was hoping that the girl and some other people would take his offer to accompany his granddaughter for a little while.

It was a thin lie one that could easily be dismissed and even if it was, politically speaking if the strangers selected it, it would be of poor relations for them. Yet again what did they have to gain by pleasing outsiders anyway?

Tyrion took the letter and looked at him, Tywin hardened his heart, his biggest mistake was the son he failed, all the boy's life he was forced to be a lord instead of a father and so the boy's life was harsh, yet the man learned to use the harsh upbringing and build himself up from it.

The boy would try to make his stay on the wall last to the point he outstayed his welcome, just trying to get a glimpse of the strange creatures on the side of the island. The man would try to get the people on the other side, to do certain things that benefited him or his house in the long run.

The wind began to slow down finally, the sun had begun to come out, Tywin turned around and looked out the window, his face showed no expression whatsoever, not even the smallest one the servants used to know how he felt.

The land below has changed, despite him seeing the green plants, grass and stones below just the day before none of that was left, only a blanket of white snow remained.

"Father" Tyrion said behind him.

"What is it?" Tyson asked his son.

"I was told to deliver this message to the king, if from those that keep watch up north. They need more recruits, they say that those beyond the wall are headed south and that there are strange things that move in the cold." Tyrion passed down the message to him.

Tywin just looked at his son "...In the past I would have considered this as nothing more than the words of fools. Now, I know I would have been wrong, there's a chance that the ancient enemy is returning, but at the same time someone sits upon a throne that does not belong to him" Tywin said to Tyrion.

"Father?" Tyrion asked not understanding what the old man in front of him was saying, the expression he had made this abundantly clear.

"It's better if you see it with your own eyes" Tywin said to his son before pointing at the door telling him that his time with him was over.

Tywin let his mind wander again, another piece of the puzzle had just been given to him, a broken piece, but a piece none the less. What would the north do when they heard that the Stark was now acting as king, while Robert Baratheon slept.

What would Stannis Baratheon the king's brother do when the news reached him?

Then there was the way that those in the east were acting, it wasn't strange by any form of the matter, yet at the same time, it seems like the way things were being done wasn't planned like if things were being performed in a reckless manner.

It seems like the strangers would have to leave their little island soon enough, if what the imp had just told him was true that the ancient enemy of man was moving once again.

Right now all of that was for later, first thing was first keeping everyone alive, no messengers could travel any significant distance, so everyone was now isolated at the moment and so relations had to strengthened.

 

[blueayes]

What makes a man, a man? What separates him, from the boys and fools, was it power?

No, it couldn't possibly be that women have power over men all that they had to do was spread their legs and they could rule an entire kingdom. Yet the moment that same man found a younger more pleasing woman her power would disappear.

Perhaps it was when he gained the understanding of humility?

No, how many men of high birth had stood amongst those they ruled over only to be killed by those very same people, while many would have been pleased with the way he did things, the filth would always cause trouble and as such it was them that ushered in the tyrant, the man that didn't have any humility at all and the one that would have the filths severed head on spikes as a reminder to everyone that tried to cross him.

Tywin sat amongst the heads of the lower house, he had chosen a nearby section between all of their lands to call forth a meeting one that would be both kept secret an entirely open for even simple commoners to listen to.

Had he been younger and less experienced he would have allowed himself to smile, each head wore a garment made from one strange beast or another and somehow acted as if the cold weather around them was none existent.

Had he been younger and less experienced, he would have allowed his eyes to wander towards the socs on the men's feet or the furs that they wore over their bodies, had he been younger he would have gloated about how it was only because of him that any of them had gained any of it.

Yet he wasn't and so he didn't.

Each man held a hot drink and hot plate of food as he spoke to those around him, Tywin watched every mans movement and noticed that if the men didn't stiffen or react in one way or another, either their guard or the person next to them would. Already the wors of war were being spoken amongst those present.

Behind every smile and bite of meat, behind every drunken mouth full of hot water, wine, juice or whatever, there was the hint of fear and uneasiness, each man present knew that the food was scarce now and that if they didn't eat their fill, they would most likely regret it later.

"Good, let the fear set in and let the desperation pass until they have no other choice but to calm down and gather their thoughts'' Tywin thought to himself as he took his bite of food.

Once in a while, the men would turn their heads and smile towards him and he, in turn, would keep a hard expression only to soften it when their eyes met.

The men talked about their families, the lost livestock, the fears of those that they ruled over for how they would survive the winter and so on, that was until the conversation began to die down. where exactly could they all gain large amounts of food and warm cloathing?

Right now as things stood ships would be unable to move because of the rapidly forming ice in the sea and so importing things from the east was either out of the question or would be so slow that by the time the stuff they paid for arrived they would all have died long before the first box was lowered on to the port.

Perhaps they could purchase as much as possible from the Tyrells, yet for how long that was an option no one knows, right now everyone was turning their eyes towards the bread basket of Westeros and that meant that soon enough they too would be running out of merchandise, or they would soon be selling it at an exaggerated amount.

''Then the answer is obvious, we simply buy as much as possible and when the warehouses begin to run dry we sell what we can to those around us.'' Tywin said to the various minor lords.

Every man present stayed quiet as they digested both the food and his words.

''What would be stopping them from invading us?'' asked one of the minor houses, the man held such a small position that Tywin didn't even bother remembering the man's name.

That would change soon enough, the man was foolish enough to question him, yet brave enough to point out an obvious flaw within his admittedly simple plan.

''Desperate people do desperate things'' Tywin silently reminded himself.

''Simple only well-fed men can fight and starving masses are only good in numbers. By the time anyone makes any significant distance for an invasion, both the men, animals, armor and weapons, will have been frozen by the cold, or sic, because of it''

Again everyone fell silent and soon one more minor house spoke again. ''Well my lord, with your permission, we do know of one other place we all can continue to gain food from. It's the same place no one else can get to, without crossing through your lands sir''

Tywin watched the small house speak, the man had a point but he was already too dependent o the strangers, yet he had to admit their lands were something to be considered.

Tywin allowed his expression to soften and the man leat a wide smile of relief show on his face.

''Everyone eat, it will soon be dark'' Tywin said to everyone present, this included both the families and the servants of each of the minor and small houses.

Instantly servants opened large pots that had been cooking long since the meeting had begun. there wasn't kindness behind his actions, nor was there cruelty either. Tywin was feeding everyone simply to strengthen relations so that no one would so much as think of betraying him.

Few men can consider how much small acts shape peoples thought of him and even fewer can comprehend that with grand displays, men often end up being alienated by those they are trying to help.

Soon someone or something would start things and the war would begin, but for the moment being it would not be him or anyone around him.

Tywin was well aware of this and so he continued to put every piece of the puzzle in the spot it was meant to be in, so when it was his turn to move, he would do it in such a way, his opponents would believe they had lost long before they have started attacking him.

 

[blueayes]

[Two months later]

The sound of crunching snow being ground underneath the hooves of horses and the wheels of wagons, he had wanted to send Tyrion to the strangers long ago, but other matters needed to be done long before that could happen.

Primarily what was going on in the land far away on the other side of the sea, Tywin hated having to act this way but these were strange times so who could fault him for acting in a way he normally wouldn't have.

So he put the dwarf and everyone that could be of any use to work, and to his surprise, they brought some acceptable results. Several houses were heavily in debt, large sums of gold were owed to the Iron Bank and by the banks' action, it had already demanded payment.

It was a simple matter of dangling false hopes in front of them, House Lannister would pay off their debts, however, daughters and sons would be handed over as collateral, at least until their houses could pay, and it wasn't just one or two, no. they would have to hand them all over.

They reluctantly accepted.

Those that could pay back their debt to House Lannister, handed over their heirs and daughters with defiant looks, while those that couldn't knew that their daughters would be made into whores, wed to some lowly peasant or useless house.

To pay for all of this Tywin was forced to dig into what gold his house still owned and to what he was getting from the strangers, none of this was out of the ordinary and in fact, several lords had done this same act long before him.

No, his one-act was asking for a loan from the strangers, promising to pay up within the year, like fools they agreed, saying that they had seen how he had helped everyone, so they wouldn't charge interest and now the lines are set.

The sound of armored boots rapidly approaching reach the outside of his study and with little warning, the doors open, the man on the other side stood tall over his guards, as well as Tywins.

"You know why I'm here hand over what you ow." The man demanded

Tywin just looked at him before slightly moving his head, The man followed the inclination of Tywin's neck and found several chests filled with gold and silver already waiting for him.

He turned to look at Tywin and his guards began to carry away the chests filled with the precious metals, however, he kept his eyes locked on Tywin who inturn just looked at him before reaching into his shirt and bringing out a key.

The wan swallowed hard, knowing full well that the life of his loved ones and his own was now hanging by a thread.

"A month and several days ago, someone tried to kill me. They wore your paid snakes clothing, another tried to kill the king." It was more of a demand rather than a statement of a question.

"Kill me and" The man began only for Tywin to raise his hand.

"The bank will do nothing, all that matters s for the payment to arrive, now answer."

The man began to step back but the feeling of a guards hand on his shoulder told him there was no escape.

"As far as I know, the faceless men aren't sent out, at least until after someone refuses to pay." The man answered, his voice only growing with the feeling of fear.

Tywin just looked at the man, who was on the burg of pissing himself. "Let him go, and if you ever walk back here with such a high and mighty attitude, ever again...'Tywin didn't bother finishing his words, his intentions were heard all too clearly by the swine that fled, before his eyes.

No one likes to lose an investment of that he is certain, now the strangers have a reason to keep house Lannister alive, even if its joust in name and as things are, those that ow his house have begun to purchase from the supplies the strangers have sent in.

Food, money, soldiers and trust/resentment, now it was time to see what were the consequences of his actions.

[Change Ned Stark]

Snow began to fall once again, he waited for word to reach, no better to say he was waiting for word from the north to reach him, the men of the north would soon have to march south.

Tywin Lannister was on the move and had succeeded in turning many of the houses to his side, somehow that man had paid off their debts and began to resupply the much-needed storages of food, considering that the sudden snowfall had ruined most of the crops.

Those things alone were worrying, how the man had done that in a month, was nothing short of a miracle.

Soon it would be time to march, with or without the men of the north.

 

[blueayes]

The snow fell quietly they were almost like dandelion seeds drifting aimlessly in the wind.

"Observing a familiar sight" The sound of Little Fingers voice reached his ears.

Ned didn't bother turning to look at him, no he just continued to look at the snow.

"I've finished the investigation you asked for and I know why the Iron Bank didn't demand their payment immediately. The Lannisters have paid most if not all of many houses debts, they took their children as collateral." Little Finger told him, however, Ned didn't react, he just listened, knowing that the man next to him still had things to say.

"You're not going to like what I have to say, but for you, to understand Ill have to jump from to place to place."

"Do you remember the stories of your childhood, the ones we all share, from nobles to little people... When the First Men arrived, they fought with the Children, when the Andals invaded they fought the First Men, when the White Walkers came, they fought both the Men and the Children of the Forest."

"When the Targaryen's came they fought those that were left after the Long Night and now we have a new batch of strangers that have arrived, except they don't want anything to do with us." Little Finger said to Ned.

Ned felt himself shift as he heard the man's tell his story and not explain why this had to do anything with the Iron Bank.

Little Finger noticed his weight shifting and seemed to almost enjoy his ever-growing frustration.

"Ned Stark Kinng of The Seven Kingdoms, doesn't understand what's right in front of him." Little Fingers words were filled with mockery, yet the man continued to talk.

"You can see the wheel turn, each time someone new arrives, they fight with those that were there before and the winner takes all, only that this time the new arrivals refuse to set foot on Westeros."

Ned finally had enough and spoke what he had to say. "The King lies unconscious do to an attack from some cowardly assassin." Ned said before Little Fingers smile grew.

"And because of that the Hand of The King has taken the throne, he's chased off the Queen and her children, not to mention that his Daughter was once Engaged to the Prince."

"Any onlooker will say that the one that had the most to gain in all of this was you." Little Finger said as the realization began to set in Ned.

"I've done nothing wrong, all that are here can attest to that." He tried to defend himself.

"Can they? a member of the Kings Guards was Sent Away, because of you. Anyone that sees this would be you getting rid of the witnesses without killing them, especially because of that weather that occurred the same day they left." Little Finger easily dismissed his attempts to defend himself.

"Enough of this tell me what I have to know." Ned ordered Little Finger who just shook his head, his arrogant smile was still present.

"Why it's simple, by taking the heirs of all of those houses Tywin Lannister has assured their alliance during the war that will come, and it will come Stark you know that as well as I do."

"Yet what of the strangers, how would they react when their closest neighbors are being attacked and losing people?"

"How will they react to losing any way of ever being repaid for that huge loan they gave the Lannisters?"

"Why would Tywin pt his own house in debt. The answer is at the start of our conversation, he knows that when the strangers enter Westeros and they will, things will change and he wants to secure the existence of his house." Little Finger finished explaining to Ned.

Ned didn't say anything all he could do is put everything together, still, despite things appearing grim they weren't completely lost. The Lannisters army was still small compared to his own and if the Northern Lands entered the war, victory would be certain.

The sound of running reached Ned's ears and a boy handed him a letter, it had the insignia of Ned House and as he opened it Ned smiled, the North would soon be marching south and when it arrived the Lannisters and their allies would be no more.

"If you excuse me" Little Finger said as he turned around and walked away his mocking smile turning slightly predatory, from the corner of his eye he noticed the boy leaving the hands side and he quietly let out a silent laugh.

[Change]

The escort marched down, they didn't bother hiding, not this time, with her marched some but not all of the most capable and powerful knights and soldiers of all the kingdoms.

They had passed several Adeventurer controlled lands, yet none had so much as bothered to hinder them, yet none had bothered to so much as offer a simple cup of water to her men.

Finally, their destination was in sight, a city on the lowest floor guarded by giants made of magical stone, no doubt capable of their own movement should the city be attacked.

The walls themselves looked like a mixture of magic stone, crystals and a kind of material she couldn't quite point out.

The doors to the city opened and a single knight wearing green armored walked out.

"We've been expecting you, please leave your horses out here." the knight said as he waited for her and the mounted cavalry to dismount their horses.

They soon followed the knight into the city, the men that had marched at their side were called to enter aswell, this alone was troubling.

The only reason anyone would allow this to happen, was simply because this was a trap or the adventurers were so confident in their victory tat they hardly saw them as a threat.

If it was the either she would make certain that they would regret their decision, still it was hard to believe what she was seeing.

The people were plump, not overweight, but none of them looked like if food or clothing was anything to fear of not having, the people wore smiles on their faces that were not forced and yet these were the same people that were inva...

These were the ones that were counter-attacking those from beyond the mountain.

Finally, a group of knights stood waiting for her and her escorts, each of them wore different armors and sigils, she walked up to them and stood before the one that looked to be in charge.

"I have come to ask and demand your assistance in the crusade against those from beyond the mountain.' Arturia declared, her eyes letting out a glow as her energy began to surge, next to her men allowed their own strength to surge.

Yet the adventurers didn't move, they simply looked at her and her men before their eyes began to glow and their power matched her own as well as that of her escort.

"Then Negotiations it is." Said the knight wearing the red armor and large white shield.

 

[blueayes]

The pressure of their presence only increased and the men were already straining, the locals near them were already breaking under the Players and her knights and her presence.

Arturia closed her eyes and slowly calmed herself and began to seal her strength away, the men next to her felt her presence slowly dwindle and so they did the same.

The Players/ Adventurers did the same and began to walk into a large mansion that was nearby.

Arturia could see their backs turned to her and her men and despite her belief that by doing so was foolish, she nonetheless knew that the adventurers must have assassins watching from the shadows and soldiers ready to deal with her and her men, should it be needed.

She began to follow them, the sound of her and her men's armored feet mooving alongside the feet of the adventurers, resembled coins falling on to one another.

Arturia watched as servants served cups filled with wine and each of the adventurers took a drink from each cup before the cups were given to her and her top escorts.

No one bothered to take a seat and one of her men brought up a bag filled with papers, she reached in and began to take out several sheets of paper filled with drawings of things her spies and the shadows had seen.

The pages were handed to separate adventurers, however, none of them reacted to the images in front of them.

[Change Little Fuinger}

He dropped several gold coins on top of one another as the means of his tools practiced nearby.

For a brief moment he was tempted to lower his guard and let Peter out, but to do that left him exposed and if he was exposed something might slip thru and prevent his plans.

Another coin fell and he smiled, Ned Stark didn't even know what was going on and he foolishly believed everyone thought the same way he did. He believed himself to be honorable, but honor is subjective, one can argue about that as much as they want, but all they have to do is look at their forefather and mothers.

Men claim to fight for honor, yet they take the life of other men and bys. Women claim obe honorable for opening their legs and taking children, yet it's their very action that drives other women to suicide.

these things alone may seem like him taking small parts of human actions and spreading them to make others look bad, but one simply has to look and these two examples are more than enough.

A Stark girl went missing taken by one of the men from beyond the wall, only to later be abandoned, her womb carrying his child.

Where was the Starks honer when the boy killed his own father, it didn't matter that the Starks had raised the boy. No, the fact of the matter is, that the man that boy or was it, man, killed his own blood.

Where was their honor then?

Robert Baratheon raised his houses banners and the banners of many others, to fight for a woman that never wanted him.

Yet when it was all said and done, that war left many women, mothers, sisters, and children crying, they had all lost someone or gained someone during all of the fightings.

Where was both houses honer when it was all said and done?

Where was Ned Starks Honer when he hid the fact that his supposed Bastard, is, in fact, his nephew, born thru the union of a prince that thought too highly of himself and a spoiled brat, that opened her legs to a man that simply looked good.

Where was Rober Baratheons honer, when he confessed in a moment of drunken stupidity, that he was aware of the fact, but chose to see the Northern side of the boy, simply because of his old friend, and the woman that never card for him?

Honor?

No there is no such thing, it doesn't exist, just like the coins in his hand its worth is only subjective to the individual.

What good is gold to a man that's unable to buy anything? Put a king in an ocean, and watch as he gladly trades his entire fortune for a single glass of water.

What good is honor to all of those that paid with their lives, they were not the ones remembered by song, nor did they leave anything behind, to be remembered by.

He can feel the warm hands of one of the girls wrap around him, her smell is that of flowers. It almost makes him forget, that she could never count just how many men have spent their time with her.

It's true that he could have left Ned Stark alone and watched as he desperately tried to understand the lands of the south, even as the little people rose around him and strane]gled him and his troops under the weight of heir numbers.

But by doing that he would leave himself exposed.

So now Ned Stark hade no choice but to learn quickly, for even his allies are beginning to turn against him.

Some say that it was too convenient that the moment the Lion was chased out by the wolf, winter had suddenly arrived, almost as if northern magic was in play.

Others talk about their debts and how Tywin Lannister could help them pay off their debts and how the crown was its self completely broke and to think that the hand was naive enough to not realize what he had started by sending the letters north.

Rather than calling those that would be immediately affected by a war between the Lannisters and the Hand, Ned Stark had called to his friends in the North.

While true it took the north longer to gather, right now they were all in one place, happily having their way with each other.

The allies of the crown noticed this immediately and began to wonder what the hand-planned, perhaps he wanted to replace them or set up situations for the men of the north to take more control.

Still, all of these things were things he had to plan for, and it was time to enjoy his latest investment, she was rather young, but...he would enjoy her none the less.

The voices of the women grew as they giggled to themselves, they would all watch as he enjoyed Ned Starks oldest daughter.

Sansa Stark resembled her mother, in fact, she was the very image of her...Oh, how he had loved her and how he hated the fact that he had lost her to the Starks.

The wine was doing its job, he noticed her dress was slightly off from her rightsholder.

Her uncle nearly killed him, when he demanded him to leave Cattalin alone and leave her to him and that man, simply passed her down to Ned Stark after he had nearly killed him and had his fill of her.

Little finger could swear that the memory alone made his scar burn.

He slowly neared the girls' bright red lips and planted his on them, all of the women giggled..

What good was honer?

Was it honorable that he took revenge on the man that enjoyed himself with the woman he loved so long ago, by doing the same to that mans precious niece?

Was it honorable, that he avenged the only person that ever cared for him, by doing the same thing that was done to him, by the hands of the mother, of the man that was now the hand of the king?

No, there was no Honor in any of this, and still, they will all claim there is, after all, they all have their reasons for doing what they did

 

[blueayes]

Change]

"I'll get straight to the point, we stand next to each other and as a direct result, next to the incoming invasion by those beyond the wall."

"My men have followed and in occasions fought alongside your scouts." Arturia said as the pictures handed to the adventurers showed the various dungeon, towers and battles her spies had seen.

"There are creatures that you and I have never seen before, beyond the mountain and people whose language is strange but can at least be understood"

"Already men flock to your scout's side and to the side of those I have already sent thru, the stories told about their valor and the various battles alongside the protection they provide is only growing."

"...Yet that wall is made of magic stone and various magic carvings, meaning that whoever built it must have a greate Kingdon and even greater army."

the players looked at the drawings and recognized a lot of familiar things, the zombie hordes, the magical dead that could poison everything they touched, the lizardmen and their different kind s of magic arrows.

"Your asking for a lot, right now the scouts are searching for towers, dungeons and trying to map out everything. The reason they're doing this is, that we could, no we will be attacked from both sides the moment we head towards that wall." One of the Players said however Arturia didn't bother to look at who had spoken to her.

"Then perhaps a compromise." Lancelot stepped forward.

"We know that the villages on our side of the wall, are primitive tribes, and only now that the camps of those that have fallen under your scouts or our own scout's banners, have begun to rebuild their ruins and move forward."

"How about this, because of the bridge bones is the only way thru the mountain and we control the exit to our side, we both agree to trade the magic stones your miners have dug up, as well as the products the people on the other side make."

Lancelot said before Arturia began to speak, this extends to those on the other side as well, one side is yours, one side is ours and if possible we will build a third with both mixed in." She said hoping that the players would accept her terms.

"Defenses and materials will be an issue, even now we are still fortifying our defenses, then there will be those that want to see what's on this side of the mountain." Asuna said to Arturia, remembering that her village didn't even have any true walls around it, and the people had to keep killing monsters that wandered to close to it.

"Mercenaries will gladly give their lives for gold or silver" Agravain said as he placed several names in front of the players, names they all recognized.

The room grew quiet and the tension grew "What's really going ? Heathcliff asked Arturia.

"...There have been attacks by shadows and assassins that move in ways that cant be normally detected, they happened long before your scouts passed thru the mountain" Arturia said as a shadow lifted itself next to her and the form of a man kneeling was left.

None of the players moved but their collective eyes hardened.

"From what we learned they can copy the skills of those they have killed.' She explained to the adventurers.

"Deal" They all said at once before the leader of the army began to speak.

"I know how this will sound but this is how we do things, all adventurers are only really loyal to themselves or their guild, so marrying someone to that player, really won't make everyone your ally."

"We won't stop you from having slaved, God knows were already dealing with two wars on the horizon and to add another one is too much of a problem"

"So if they make it to our side they automatically belong to us." he said and no one bothered to argue, they could only retrace the words two wars on the horizon.

The sun began to go down and rooms were offered to everyone, guards tasted and inspected everything to given to them and the king, as well as her guard.

Arturia removed her helmet, finally alone she let her hair fall, she could smell it now, sent of blood, betrayal, but overall death was on the horizon, the problem was she could smell it coming from both the north and the south and yet she could feel it rising from the eat, and the west.

She could hear the winds of winter move and yet for some reason, she could swear that the smell of iron and blood was mixed in with it.

[Change Tyrion Lannister ]

The smell of cheap wine mixed with the smell of cold air, Tyrion watched as his brother attempted to lift his sword, the cold had done a number on him, not to mention his sister, even that spoiled prick of his nephew was nowhere near strong enough to complain about anything.

Still, their heal was returning quickly and they would all soon be ready to make their all to expected pubic appearances.

A servant helped his brother to his seat and Tyrion watched as his older brother struggled to move before a fire in his eyes burned and allowed him to for a brief moment move like if cold hadn't affected him at all.

Yet just as fast as that fire came, it went away.

"Care for a drink." Tyrion said to Jaime as a cup made of glass was filled with hot milk, the milk itself was brown and smelled sweet.

Jaime raised an eyebrow before taking a drink and burning his tung, with the hot milk.

"Apparently those within the mountain discovered that by putting chocolate in milk instead of water ended up with better results, one has to wonder why none of us thought of it before."Tyrion said to Jaime before his brother smiled.

"I would like to see you drinking this with an oversized cup and me with one just as big, it would be like old times." Jaime said to him before the memory of the two sneaking into their father's wine room and drinking themselves to sleep passed by Tyrion's mind.

The two of them began to laugh at the memory of them both thinking that the giant cup in the room was for drinking their fathers' special wine when instead it was used to see the color and used to mix different wines.

Slowly Jaimes smile vanished. "Father wants me to take over...The land...everything belongs to you by right." Jaime told him.

Tyrion could only drink, it was times like these that he was grateful that Jaime was his brother and the two of them could speak to one another without either of them plotting against each other.

"I know, he wants me on the wall, not the one on the north but the one dividing the island from us." Tyrion answered Jaime.

Jaime looked into his eyes the strong man that was known through the seven kingdoms was now gone, what was left was only a sic man.

"I'll do it, you endured fathers" Jaime began but Tyrion stopped him before he could finish.

Tyrion swallowed the last of his wine loudly, and rudely shutting up his brother, and looked back into his elder brothers eyes, as he lowered his cup.

"I've endured more than you can imagine, from father, but you have endured more than I could ever begin to understand from everyone else. People insult me to my face, why they insult you while your back is turned, yet I have taken to bed more woman than you ever could and if you were to ever catch up, you would find that I had already laid even more on my bed."

"What I'm trying to say, brother is that Ill endure and so will you." Tyrion said to Jaime as the voices of their nice and younger nephew reached their ears, the two were loudly laughing with one another.

Jaime closed his eyes knowing what was to come, and Tyrion could only harden his look.

"As long as I'm on that wall they have a place to escape to" Tyrion said as his brothers' eyes had the firelight once more.

'It's going to be a pain finding a wife." Jaime said as a smile grew on his face.

"That's certainly true, you need a wife, a mistress, several attractive servants with attractive daughters and a nice goat to end it all with." Tyrion said to Jaime as he ducked under the table to avoid his brother's hand, the two passed the rest of the day joking with one another, remembering their time as children, and trying to keep the memories of what had recently happened away.