~~~ High road, Vale ~~~
Tyrion Lannister POV
"The boy improved the roads, it seems. At least my ass would not have to suffer the pain of bumps. Haaaa haaa," Uncle Gerion chuckled, as cheerful as ever.
"Come on, nephew, why are you so serious?" he asked, looking at me.
"Because we are going to the Vale," I said with a sigh.
"And how is that a bad thing? When I was your age, I was making love across the realm. As the saying goes, you are not a real man unless you have popped cherries from all the Seven Kingdoms," he added with a chuckle.
"Why haven't I heard about it then?" I asked, eyeing him narrowly.
He has always been the one to brag.
"Well, if you go and fuck a real woman rather than whores, you will understand," he replied, grinning.
"What is that even supposed to mean?" I asked, confused by his weird thoughts.
"Leave it. You are young. Once you mature, you will understand," he spoke.
"And don't worry, the Vale is not some scary place. It has high mountains, waterfalls, fertile valleys, the Knights of the Vale, and the women of the Vale."
And somehow Father calls me lustful.
"It's not the place I am worried about. It's Artys Arryn that worries me so much," I said, irritated by my uncle's bad humor.
"Artys? He is just a lousy young boy. What is there to worry about?" he said, ignoring the concern.
I should have realized he was not always the one with the most brains in the family.
"For the past five years Father has been sending spies to monitor his movements, get the recipes for all those rums and wines, and details of his trade and the coffers of House Arryn," I explained in a low voice so only we two could hear.
"And what do you think happened?" I asked.
"I don't know. He got them perhaps? That's why he has been spending hundreds of thousands of gold dragons on making giant factories and roads too," he replied, not sounding sure whether he was right or wrong.
"No, Uncle. He failed, and terribly. That is one of the reasons he is angry these days, and I am pretty sure those investments worth hundreds of thousands of gold dragons are failing spectacularly, unable to compete with the products of the Vale," I explained the situation to him, not that I hoped he would understand much.
We have gold mines. Why is Father so desperate to replace Artys' trade income?
"Why? What happened to the spies he sent?" he asked. "Did the boy manage to outbribe the lion?"
"They got caught, I guess?" he guessed.
"Worse. They disappeared as if they never existed. And it's the same for everyone. The spies, the maesters Father arranged to send from the Citadel," I said, looking my uncle in the eye, trying to explain the danger of the young boy.
"He was mad beyond mad," I added.
It's reasonable. After all, Father usually gets what he wants. Only this time he is not getting it.
"So what? He is good at catching spies. It's not like we are spies," he again dismissed it.
"Yes, we are not, and he would not dare kill us openly. But as rumors say, Artys hates the Crown Prince and the Queen, who is my sister and your niece. What stops him from arranging an attack on us and putting the blame on hill tribes?" I said, trying to show a different possibility.
"Hill tribes are now under control. They have bent the knee to Arryn," he again dismissed me.
"Yet they say a few still hide, though others claim he is using it as an excuse to keep training the men. We can't be sure. Why do you think Father sent two hundred men with us?" I replied.
"Holy shit," Uncle Gerion said in shock, his jaw dropping.
What is it now? I know he is not expressing shock because of our conversation.
I followed his gaze and looked at the little castle built in the middle of the road.
---
"Is this the famous Bloody Gate?" I asked slowly, looking at the structure in front of me.
It was like a small castle. Two stone knight statues at least ten meters tall stood around the gates. The gate itself was iron, and around it the pass was narrow, allowing only three horses to pass at once.
The pass was between steep valleys, and all sides were covered with different archer towers.
No wonder it took dragons to conquer them.
"It is not the Bloody Gate. I remember, nephew. It looked like something else," my uncle said, still shocked by what he saw.
We slowly moved forward until we reached the gate, and as we approached, I could see the archers taking aim at us as if they were enemies.
"Who wishes to pass through the Bloody Gate?" a loud shout came from above.
"Gerion Lannister and Tyrion Lannister of House Lannister!" my uncle shouted in reply.
"Are you sure this is not what the Bloody Gate is?" I asked my uncle, observing the men on the walls pointing their bows and crossbows at us.
Any command from their commander would unleash death upon us.
"No. The gate was much narrower and it was bland and simple, still impossible to attack, but this is completely different. Not to mention, judging from the men, they are at least triple what used to be stationed at the Bloody Gate," he said with amusement.
"I guess the increase in numbers is thanks to the creation of the Order of Moon Knights," I murmured in response.
"Order of Moon Knights? What's that?" my uncle asked immediately with curiosity.
"It's an order of knights created by Artys specifically to guard the Vale. The rumors say each of them receives twenty gold dragons as their annual payment. The cost of horses, armor, food, and everything is already covered. Thanks to that, many hedge knights across the realm continuously come to join it," I explained as my eyes continued to scan the small castle.
Soon the gate opened and dozens of knights wearing full armor stepped out, with one carrying a golden falcon statue atop a silver-colored rod.
Impressive.
My father would approve of this.
"Ser Gerion, it's been a while. I think the last time we met was during the Rebellion," said the leader of the group.
"It is, Ser Lyn Corbray," my uncle replied coldly.
Shit.
It's that infamous Lyn Corbray, the short-tempered knight of House Corbray that the Arryn boy uses as his attack dog.
"We have heard about your valor on the road, ser," I said with a smile.
"Did you?" he smirked. "I am sure they were nice things."
I am not sure what he means by nice.
"So what are your golden shits doing in the Vale?" Lyn Corbray spoke with disgust.
"Mind your tongue, boy," said Ser Amory Lorch from behind, whom Father had sent along with us.
"Oh, Ser Amory Lorch is here. I am sorry, I didn't see you earlier," he said, looking at us with a smirk.
I have a feeling things are about to go south.
"Boys, meet Ser Amory Lorch. He is pretty famous."
The smirk remained on his face as he said that.
"The kidslayer. He managed to throw the three-year-old Lord Tarbeck into a well and even managed to kill a baby girl in King's Landing. All the knights of the Westerlands share such tales of the valor and bravery of Ser Amory Lorch," he laughed like a madman as soon as he finished his words, followed by the other knights around him starting to laugh.
"You little—"
Amory Lorch couldn't handle the insult, so he unsheathed his sword.
Followed by the other men Father had sent.
In response, those Arryn knights took out their swords, and I could see more and more men appearing on top of the walls and surrounding hills, taking up their bows and aiming at us.
"Oh, did I hurt your feelings, kidslayer?" the knight chuckled.
I looked back and noticed that the fool Lorch was about to strike.
"Gentlemen, I think there is no need for bloodshed. My father would not take it lightly, nor would your lord. Why throw two kingdoms into conflict over a mere insult?" I said, my eyes constantly observing the surroundings.
"Your father can do nothing here," Lyn Corbray said as he unsheathed his sword.
One wrong move from either side and there would be bloodshed. If that happened, Father would have to call his banners or at least go to King's Landing and create a huge fuss.
"ENOUGH!"
A loud shout echoed, and all eyes turned to a new man arriving and walking quickly toward us.
"All of you, put your swords back in your sheaths," he said, looking at the Arryn men and then at us.
Soon Uncle Gerion put his sword back, followed by the rest of the Lannister men.
"Tell me, Ser Lannister. You claim to come in peace, yet you have brought two hundred swords to the Vale," the newly arrived knight asked.
"It's for protection. The Vale has just gone through a war with the hill tribes, and since reports say there are still a few hiding, we couldn't take a risk," I explained with a smile.
"Protection, you say? You are in the Vale. Here we honor our guests. No harm will come to you," he shot back.
"Jasper, you are talking to Lannisters about honor?" Lyn Corbray interjected.
"We are here, as I said earlier, to buy weapons from the Iron Circle. That's all," I said, looking at the newly arrived man, who seemed to be their leader judging from the fancy armor he wore and the golden hilt at his side.
The man's eyes scanned the entire group.
"Fine. I shall escort you to Skyfall," he said as he turned around and started walking back.
"Skyfall? What is that? Isn't the Eyrie the seat of House Arryn?" Uncle Gerion whispered.
"It is, but I hear Skyfall has become the working capital. It's a small town Artys built near the Arryn silver mines," I whispered back.
"I look forward to meeting the famous Merchant Prince," I said softly.
"Well then, you are late. The little lord has already left for Essos," Lyn Corbray replied as he followed the lead knight through the Bloody Gate.
"Essos," I murmured.
What is he doing now?
POV ends.