Post by The Stranger on Nov 18, 2009 10:26:52 GMT -5
Two hooded men walked along the dark, cobbled streets of King’s Landing, rain drizzling down on them from the black overcast sky. They turned in to the winding alleyways of one of the rougher districts of King’s Landing, making their way through the maze of thin paths that snaked all around the area. After almost an hour, they stopped, and looked at an inn with a small, weather beaten sign. It wasn’t much of an inn from the outside, the door seemed to be just squeezed in between two different buildings, barely noticeable. The sign was just barely legible enough to read the name of the inn; The Choice Whisper.
The men entered the dimly lit inn and approached the bar. Ser Robert Redfort began speaking to the barkeep from under his hood. They had agreed he would do the talking, Prince Maekar wanted to remain as disguised as possible in this venture. He knew a place like this would be crawling with men working for the Beetle or Thatcher.
Robert asked for two ales, then laid his hand on the bar and spoke to the barkeep, "it's said this is a place one comes to employ a man of certain skill, is this true?" he asked, lifting his hand back up and leaving several gleaming silver coins there.
The barkeep takes the coins, and pours two ales.
"Aye, that's true enough, as it happens, whose asking?"
"That would be telling," Robert smiled. "We need a man who hears and sees all, and is heard and seen by none. Is there anyone here today we should speak with?"
"Hears and sees all?" the barkeep repeats, "I hear tell that a wise man believes only half of what sees, and none of what he hears. And anyway, I don't know you fellas. You have the look of the Sons about you. Or maybe Beetles."
"And despite this, a wise man will still try his best to hear and see all, and go on not believing it. Funny how that works,” Robert responded. "I'm not asking for who you work for, innkeep, because I don't need to know. A kindness we'd like to see returned."
Prince Maekar decided more gold would be needed to loosen this man’s tongue and he then withdrew his hand from his sleeve and placed a pouch of coins on the bar.
The man took the coins, and put them below the bar as well. He poured two more drinks.
"Either of you two boys interested in doing some whoring," he said, changing the subject, "Got a sweet girl upstairs, just right for one or both of ya."
Robert looked at Maekar, Maekar nodded.
"Yes," Robert said, "my associate might just take you up on that offer. I'll just sit here and enjoy the atmosphere of this fine establishment."
"As you want. Top of the stairs, pay the man two bits, then door on the left," the bar keep says, He pours the first man another ale, even though he never drank the first two.
Prince Maekar rose and walked up to the staircase. He followed it up into the even darker upper floor. Robert watched him, sipping his fresh ale and absentmindedly feeling for the short spear beneath his cloak.
At the top of the stairs the man there was a huge hulk of a man, holding a stick, with a leather bag of what was probably scrap metal attached to the end. He took the money and waved the man into the room.
"Take your hood off," said a womanly voice, behind a screen featuring the imprint of a dragon, in the dimly lit room. There was slightly sweet, sickening smell of incense and sex in the room.
Prince Maekar did not like the immediate command. He knew if he was going to be in charge of one of these slippery people, it would have to be from the very start. She would be the one to reveal herself first.
"Come out from behind the screen," Maekar said from beneath his hood, his eyes looking at the imprint of the dragon.
The woman made a tsk tsking sound. "Are we going to do this all day milord? Seems like a waste. I promise, I'll show you mine, if you show me yours."
"And I promise the same. But this arrangement requires my trust of you, not the other way around, so the first move is yours."
The woman laughed a musical note, and then stepped out behind the curtain. She was completely naked.
She had a good looking body, with long brown hair, which formed little curls as it reached her shoulders. She had a fair face, a nose that was slightly too small for perfection.. As she smiled, there was a gap in her teeth, that on a more humble looking wench would have been unattractive, but instead it came across as rather girlish and cute.
"milord," she said, doing a curtsy.
If Maekar was affected by the woman's nudity, he made no sign of it as he pulled down his hood revealing the silver hair that left little doubt as to his birth.
He looked the woman up and down, more like a farmer inspecting cattle than a man inspecting a naked woman, though. "Yes, you'll do," he said finally.
"I require someone to be my eyes and ears in this city when I return to my keep. While I had imagined a man in this position, perhaps a woman is more a fit for this kind of subtle work," he said bluntly.
The woman sniffed the air as if every word Maekar said offended her senses of smell, "What do you know about subtle work?"
Maekar felt a flash of annoyance. "That's what I should be asking you. A reliable person suggested this inn, and so I am taking his word for it. But don't misunderstand how this relationship works. I give you gold and authority within King's Landing, and you give me information. If you cannot keep your questions to yourself then I will have to find another who can."
The woman snickered, "and I let the word get out to the Beetle that you are moving around dens of ill-repute seeking assassins and other dirty work, and then they send you to the chop for treason. I've got two little jerk offs who didn't come through for me during a job last year, so I'd enjoy sacrificing them to sell the deception."
So it’s this game she wants to play, Maekar thought to himself. He raised his eyebrow. "Yes, you could be a pawn for the Beetle and hope he has reason to join in on some scheme to frame me for treason, and gain essentially nothing for all your effort. Or you could join me, and be a leading agent in a new network. It's your choice."
"Well, if you want to work with me, we have to have some understandings," the woman said, "One. Is no meddling. You are high profile, and you draw attention to yourself. I do a good job, and I don't want you nit-picking. Do this, do that, put an agent here, or a woman there. I wanna make those decisions, or you can get fucked." She smiled, "and not by me. And the second thing is everything goes between you and me. No intermediaries. I don't want to see some pock-marked fuck face in here telling me what to do."
"The job will be yours to do, I will trust in your abilities for now and remain separate from it. But I expect nothing to remain hidden from me. It will be my network remember, you just control it."
"The second condition is fine also."
The woman waved her hand as if she heard all this, and wasn't impressed, "I don't intend to go sniffing around for my own good. Try not to be such a prig. That's condition number three."
Maekar's face remained impassive, except for a slight narrowing of the eyes. "Would you like the job or not?"
"I already took the job, should we shake hands on it?" She winked.
Maekar inclined his head in affirmation and offered his hand to the naked woman.
The woman laughed and shook the Prince's hand. "We are going to have to work on loosening you up. In the whispering business, you have to remain supple. Too rigid, and you'll" She snapped her fingers, "break."
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
Allya, as it emerged the whore’s name was, was quick to get to work establishing a network of ears within the city. She decided to stick with what she knew, and target the prostitutes of the city for Maekar’s informants. A man would reveal much and more when he was lying in bed naked with another women after having fucked her, somehow it made them feel like they could tell them anything without fear of it being spread. The truth was the more forbidden and discrete the secret revealed was supposed to be, the faster the whore would tell all the others the moment the man left. Allya snorted at how stupid men could be sometimes.
Allya walked through the harbour of King’s Landing. She wanted to speak with a man she had met before, who owned half the whorehouses on the docks. Sailors were always a plentiful source of information, as everyone knew, and they were no less likely to reveal it between the sheets than any other men.
As she walked she began to become aware of someone following her. A cloaked man, obviously inexperienced in this line of work, he had given himself away very quickly. She gritted her teeth, knowing this must be one of Maekar’s men. He had said he wouldn’t become involved. She sighed, she supposed she couldn’t blame him for being suspicious, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him get his way. She turned into an alleyway, and began criss-crossing her path around the alleys of the harbour for a few minutes until she was sure she had lost him. She smiled at the ease of it, before continuing on her way.
She was walking along the harbour again when she saw two sailors dicing under the glow of light coming out from an inn’s window. Their faces darted up at the sound of her footsteps, their faces were scarred and weathered, old sea hands these men were. They looked lean and hungry, like they hadn’t had work on a ship for some time. Their eyes searched her as she walked, and she quickened her step to get by them quickly, knowing what men were likely to do in this situation. She felt for the dagger beneath her clothes.
One of the men whispered to other, and before she knew it they had both lunged at her. One grabbed her wrist, and the other grabbed her by the throat. She pulled out her dagger, but the one holding her throat smacked it away with his free hand.
“None of that now sweetheart,” he said, his breath stinking like a rotting carcass as he held his face inches from hers.
The other laughed. “How much for a bit of that cunny, bitch?”
“I’d make it cheap for your tiny pricks, but I still doubt you could afford it,” Allya spat back hoarsely, for the man at her throat had a strong hold.
They both laughed. “That there’s probably true, sweetheart,” said one, “since we ain’t got no money. But that doesn’t mean you’re not gonna get fucked.”
She struggled to free herself from their grasp, landing a kick into the groin of the man in front of her. He let go of her and cursed, and she fell backwards hitting the ground. The other man was quickly on her, she cried out as she felt his boot slam into her stomach. He followed it up with a few more kicks and punches.
Some distance away, Ser Robert Redfort was still lost within the twisting turns of the harbour’s alleys, trying to find Allya. He was almost about to give up and go back when he heard a woman crying out. At a sprint he started make his way towards the voice. He came out onto the docks to find Allya on the ground, with two men around her, one giving her a hell of beating.
He charged them, pulling out his shortened spear he kept concealed beneath his cloak. The men had just enough time to draw their own weapons before he was on them. One of the men who was missing an ear swung at him with an axe. He ducked below the blow and sliced at the man’s shin, giving a deep horizontal gash across it. The second man brought his axe swinging down ontop of Robert, who rolled away from it only barely quick enough to stop it doing more than giving him a shallow graze down his bicep.
Robert was quickly on his feet again. He danced backwards as the men sent strikes flying at him. He shook of his cloak as he avoided them, then threw at one to distract him long enough to stab at the one-eared man. Extending his arm fully he managed to get good distance even with the short spear, and it ripped into his belly. The man screamed and fell backwards, blood gushing from his stomach. The other sailor roared and charged at Robert, swinging his axe into the side of his midsection. The axe found its target, but mail and bone stopped it from delving too deep, and his attack had brought him too close to his enemy. Robert growled through the pain and plunged his spear head through the man’s unprotected throat. The man crumpled dead, the spear still stuck in him.
Robert pulled the spear out of the man, then used it to end the dying coughs of the other man who lay beside him.
He walked over to Allya, who was just getting up.
She looked at him. “Well at least you’re better with a spear than you are at spying on people,” she said in a pained voice.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
It took several months before Allya had successfully established Maekar’s network amongst the whorehouses of King’s Landing. But reports were now coming in regularly from the docks, from the brothels near the castle where the servants of the rich went, and from some of the higher-class establishments also, where some of the nobles were known to frequent. Some of the servants and sailors who proved most reliable were even now on the payroll themselves, providing countless pieces of useful titbits of information that Allya composed together to create a recognisable picture of information for Maekar to grasp.
Results
Prince Maekar Targaryen increases to Noteworthy Political Intrigue
Prince Maekar Targaryen increases to Apprentice Persuasion
Ser Robert Redfort increases to Beginner Espionage
Ser Robert Redfort increases to Expert Spears/Lances
Allya sets up a spy network for Prince Maekar in King’s Landing
The men entered the dimly lit inn and approached the bar. Ser Robert Redfort began speaking to the barkeep from under his hood. They had agreed he would do the talking, Prince Maekar wanted to remain as disguised as possible in this venture. He knew a place like this would be crawling with men working for the Beetle or Thatcher.
Robert asked for two ales, then laid his hand on the bar and spoke to the barkeep, "it's said this is a place one comes to employ a man of certain skill, is this true?" he asked, lifting his hand back up and leaving several gleaming silver coins there.
The barkeep takes the coins, and pours two ales.
"Aye, that's true enough, as it happens, whose asking?"
"That would be telling," Robert smiled. "We need a man who hears and sees all, and is heard and seen by none. Is there anyone here today we should speak with?"
"Hears and sees all?" the barkeep repeats, "I hear tell that a wise man believes only half of what sees, and none of what he hears. And anyway, I don't know you fellas. You have the look of the Sons about you. Or maybe Beetles."
"And despite this, a wise man will still try his best to hear and see all, and go on not believing it. Funny how that works,” Robert responded. "I'm not asking for who you work for, innkeep, because I don't need to know. A kindness we'd like to see returned."
Prince Maekar decided more gold would be needed to loosen this man’s tongue and he then withdrew his hand from his sleeve and placed a pouch of coins on the bar.
The man took the coins, and put them below the bar as well. He poured two more drinks.
"Either of you two boys interested in doing some whoring," he said, changing the subject, "Got a sweet girl upstairs, just right for one or both of ya."
Robert looked at Maekar, Maekar nodded.
"Yes," Robert said, "my associate might just take you up on that offer. I'll just sit here and enjoy the atmosphere of this fine establishment."
"As you want. Top of the stairs, pay the man two bits, then door on the left," the bar keep says, He pours the first man another ale, even though he never drank the first two.
Prince Maekar rose and walked up to the staircase. He followed it up into the even darker upper floor. Robert watched him, sipping his fresh ale and absentmindedly feeling for the short spear beneath his cloak.
At the top of the stairs the man there was a huge hulk of a man, holding a stick, with a leather bag of what was probably scrap metal attached to the end. He took the money and waved the man into the room.
"Take your hood off," said a womanly voice, behind a screen featuring the imprint of a dragon, in the dimly lit room. There was slightly sweet, sickening smell of incense and sex in the room.
Prince Maekar did not like the immediate command. He knew if he was going to be in charge of one of these slippery people, it would have to be from the very start. She would be the one to reveal herself first.
"Come out from behind the screen," Maekar said from beneath his hood, his eyes looking at the imprint of the dragon.
The woman made a tsk tsking sound. "Are we going to do this all day milord? Seems like a waste. I promise, I'll show you mine, if you show me yours."
"And I promise the same. But this arrangement requires my trust of you, not the other way around, so the first move is yours."
The woman laughed a musical note, and then stepped out behind the curtain. She was completely naked.
She had a good looking body, with long brown hair, which formed little curls as it reached her shoulders. She had a fair face, a nose that was slightly too small for perfection.. As she smiled, there was a gap in her teeth, that on a more humble looking wench would have been unattractive, but instead it came across as rather girlish and cute.
"milord," she said, doing a curtsy.
If Maekar was affected by the woman's nudity, he made no sign of it as he pulled down his hood revealing the silver hair that left little doubt as to his birth.
He looked the woman up and down, more like a farmer inspecting cattle than a man inspecting a naked woman, though. "Yes, you'll do," he said finally.
"I require someone to be my eyes and ears in this city when I return to my keep. While I had imagined a man in this position, perhaps a woman is more a fit for this kind of subtle work," he said bluntly.
The woman sniffed the air as if every word Maekar said offended her senses of smell, "What do you know about subtle work?"
Maekar felt a flash of annoyance. "That's what I should be asking you. A reliable person suggested this inn, and so I am taking his word for it. But don't misunderstand how this relationship works. I give you gold and authority within King's Landing, and you give me information. If you cannot keep your questions to yourself then I will have to find another who can."
The woman snickered, "and I let the word get out to the Beetle that you are moving around dens of ill-repute seeking assassins and other dirty work, and then they send you to the chop for treason. I've got two little jerk offs who didn't come through for me during a job last year, so I'd enjoy sacrificing them to sell the deception."
So it’s this game she wants to play, Maekar thought to himself. He raised his eyebrow. "Yes, you could be a pawn for the Beetle and hope he has reason to join in on some scheme to frame me for treason, and gain essentially nothing for all your effort. Or you could join me, and be a leading agent in a new network. It's your choice."
"Well, if you want to work with me, we have to have some understandings," the woman said, "One. Is no meddling. You are high profile, and you draw attention to yourself. I do a good job, and I don't want you nit-picking. Do this, do that, put an agent here, or a woman there. I wanna make those decisions, or you can get fucked." She smiled, "and not by me. And the second thing is everything goes between you and me. No intermediaries. I don't want to see some pock-marked fuck face in here telling me what to do."
"The job will be yours to do, I will trust in your abilities for now and remain separate from it. But I expect nothing to remain hidden from me. It will be my network remember, you just control it."
"The second condition is fine also."
The woman waved her hand as if she heard all this, and wasn't impressed, "I don't intend to go sniffing around for my own good. Try not to be such a prig. That's condition number three."
Maekar's face remained impassive, except for a slight narrowing of the eyes. "Would you like the job or not?"
"I already took the job, should we shake hands on it?" She winked.
Maekar inclined his head in affirmation and offered his hand to the naked woman.
The woman laughed and shook the Prince's hand. "We are going to have to work on loosening you up. In the whispering business, you have to remain supple. Too rigid, and you'll" She snapped her fingers, "break."
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
Allya, as it emerged the whore’s name was, was quick to get to work establishing a network of ears within the city. She decided to stick with what she knew, and target the prostitutes of the city for Maekar’s informants. A man would reveal much and more when he was lying in bed naked with another women after having fucked her, somehow it made them feel like they could tell them anything without fear of it being spread. The truth was the more forbidden and discrete the secret revealed was supposed to be, the faster the whore would tell all the others the moment the man left. Allya snorted at how stupid men could be sometimes.
Allya walked through the harbour of King’s Landing. She wanted to speak with a man she had met before, who owned half the whorehouses on the docks. Sailors were always a plentiful source of information, as everyone knew, and they were no less likely to reveal it between the sheets than any other men.
As she walked she began to become aware of someone following her. A cloaked man, obviously inexperienced in this line of work, he had given himself away very quickly. She gritted her teeth, knowing this must be one of Maekar’s men. He had said he wouldn’t become involved. She sighed, she supposed she couldn’t blame him for being suspicious, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him get his way. She turned into an alleyway, and began criss-crossing her path around the alleys of the harbour for a few minutes until she was sure she had lost him. She smiled at the ease of it, before continuing on her way.
She was walking along the harbour again when she saw two sailors dicing under the glow of light coming out from an inn’s window. Their faces darted up at the sound of her footsteps, their faces were scarred and weathered, old sea hands these men were. They looked lean and hungry, like they hadn’t had work on a ship for some time. Their eyes searched her as she walked, and she quickened her step to get by them quickly, knowing what men were likely to do in this situation. She felt for the dagger beneath her clothes.
One of the men whispered to other, and before she knew it they had both lunged at her. One grabbed her wrist, and the other grabbed her by the throat. She pulled out her dagger, but the one holding her throat smacked it away with his free hand.
“None of that now sweetheart,” he said, his breath stinking like a rotting carcass as he held his face inches from hers.
The other laughed. “How much for a bit of that cunny, bitch?”
“I’d make it cheap for your tiny pricks, but I still doubt you could afford it,” Allya spat back hoarsely, for the man at her throat had a strong hold.
They both laughed. “That there’s probably true, sweetheart,” said one, “since we ain’t got no money. But that doesn’t mean you’re not gonna get fucked.”
She struggled to free herself from their grasp, landing a kick into the groin of the man in front of her. He let go of her and cursed, and she fell backwards hitting the ground. The other man was quickly on her, she cried out as she felt his boot slam into her stomach. He followed it up with a few more kicks and punches.
Some distance away, Ser Robert Redfort was still lost within the twisting turns of the harbour’s alleys, trying to find Allya. He was almost about to give up and go back when he heard a woman crying out. At a sprint he started make his way towards the voice. He came out onto the docks to find Allya on the ground, with two men around her, one giving her a hell of beating.
He charged them, pulling out his shortened spear he kept concealed beneath his cloak. The men had just enough time to draw their own weapons before he was on them. One of the men who was missing an ear swung at him with an axe. He ducked below the blow and sliced at the man’s shin, giving a deep horizontal gash across it. The second man brought his axe swinging down ontop of Robert, who rolled away from it only barely quick enough to stop it doing more than giving him a shallow graze down his bicep.
Robert was quickly on his feet again. He danced backwards as the men sent strikes flying at him. He shook of his cloak as he avoided them, then threw at one to distract him long enough to stab at the one-eared man. Extending his arm fully he managed to get good distance even with the short spear, and it ripped into his belly. The man screamed and fell backwards, blood gushing from his stomach. The other sailor roared and charged at Robert, swinging his axe into the side of his midsection. The axe found its target, but mail and bone stopped it from delving too deep, and his attack had brought him too close to his enemy. Robert growled through the pain and plunged his spear head through the man’s unprotected throat. The man crumpled dead, the spear still stuck in him.
Robert pulled the spear out of the man, then used it to end the dying coughs of the other man who lay beside him.
He walked over to Allya, who was just getting up.
She looked at him. “Well at least you’re better with a spear than you are at spying on people,” she said in a pained voice.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
It took several months before Allya had successfully established Maekar’s network amongst the whorehouses of King’s Landing. But reports were now coming in regularly from the docks, from the brothels near the castle where the servants of the rich went, and from some of the higher-class establishments also, where some of the nobles were known to frequent. Some of the servants and sailors who proved most reliable were even now on the payroll themselves, providing countless pieces of useful titbits of information that Allya composed together to create a recognisable picture of information for Maekar to grasp.
Results
Prince Maekar Targaryen increases to Noteworthy Political Intrigue
Prince Maekar Targaryen increases to Apprentice Persuasion
Ser Robert Redfort increases to Beginner Espionage
Ser Robert Redfort increases to Expert Spears/Lances
Allya sets up a spy network for Prince Maekar in King’s Landing
Hope you all are well and happy.