Game of Thrones: Paladin of Old Gods

Chapter 7: ‘Debts to be Contracted and Paid’

Year 281, AC 9th day of the 5th moon. Eight days after Duncan's visit.

POV Captain of the Guard Tom;

The captain stood there in silence in his lord's room.

He had had his most loyal and capable men check several times to see if there was even the slightest chance that a spy could eavesdrop on the voices in the room. As far as he knew there were none.

Helman Tallhart was reading some papers for future work, waiting for his brother Leobald's daily report.

A knock was heard on the door.

"Your Brother mylord," said one of Tom's two chosen guards respectfully.

Leobald entered without complying with the formalities, and closed the door again.

"It is confirmed brother, Golbarth is a Lannister spy." Said the man holding a scroll in his hand stained with a few drops of blood.

Helman read the scroll, scrutinising every detail. Finally he clenched his fist, crumpling the paper.

'Duncan is truly blessed by the Old Ones...' Thought a concerned father. Helman trusted his son, with all his heart, he would have already torn Golbarth apart the morning after his visit if his brother and Tom hadn't calmed him down and talked some sense into him. He still had to make sure of that before he condemned the man who had served his family for over 10 years.

"That boy Henry hit the bird with a shot from almost 200 feet away, never seen anything like it...I had a small bag of silver coins ready to reward him, but in the end I gave him 2 gold dragons. Congratulations on your choice Tom." Said Leobald still slightly incredulous.

"That guy is shit in the mix, but give him a bow, 5 arrows and 5 married men armed with swords and there will be 5 more widows in the world. "* Replied the captain with a small grin of satisfaction.

*[Author's note: If any of you are wondering "If he's so good. Why doesn't the archer go to some tournament and win an archery competition and make millions and live the rest of his life in booze and whores, instead of serving a lord for pennies." It's not that easy, for 3 reasons:

1 Normally tournaments are only for knights and Nobles with a few rare exceptions (e.g. King Anguy's First Knight Tournament the archer won 20,000 G.D.).

2 The lords (cunning) would not allow a common person in their service, with such a high talent, to win a large sum and escape from their hands.

3. Common people without a nobleman or armed men to protect them are practically condemned to death when they merrily prance around with a bag full of gold on their shoulders. In this world, if a commoner accidentally drops a gold coin from his pocket in the street and picks it up, he will find his throat slit at night...let alone a full purse, in 99.99% of cases, at least one lord in the audience will send his men dressed as bandits to hunt him down].

Helman nodded in approval.

"I want your honest advice on the proper course of action. Tom?" asked Helman.

"My lord I believe that before we make a move against Golbarth, we should

wait for winter to pass. He is currently the only one in the castle with true Healer abilities. I also recommend postponing the production of this 'Soap' until early spring. We are already selecting men and women of unquestionable loyalty. Preparing a suitable location that meets your requirements will take more time." Said Tom sincerely.

The Torrhen Square Master nodded at his right arm and turned his gaze to his brother.

"As much as I want to choke Golbarth with his own entrails, Tom is right. Sure we could threaten him, keep him under control and send false information, but the point is, if we need him and he feels his back is against the wall, he might make a bold move. A man who has nothing to lose, especially one who holds another person's life in his hands, is a dangerous man." Said Leobald reluctantly and went on to say:

"Regardless of the fact that I don't want a nephew forever traumatised. If the Maester disappeared now because of an 'accident', the boy in the near future would realise that it was his fault and consequently it would be a blow to his growth."

"On the second point I am on the same line, better to take time and also secure a good supplier with steel contracts in the meantime. We need to enter into a commercial contract with suppliers before they know of our success." Said Leobald.

Helman greatly appreciated his brother's advice. Leobald had always been more talented at negotiation, logistics and history than the sword.

Helman pondered for a few minutes, then looked up again.

"So brother what are your orders?" asked Leobald curiously.

"We will wait a few months before taking action against Golbarth, but we will not stand still." Answered the brother.

"Tom I need your son Ronan (12 years old), I want him to attend classes with Duncan from now on and keep an eye on the maester. If I am not mistaken he is more attracted to books than swords right?" The lord asked already knowing the answer.

"Aye my lord, lucky for me. I already have two sons who can't wait to go die in battle." Tom replied sighing slightly.

"And how many men-at-arms do we have whose loyalty is ironclad?" Helman.

"Forty that I would vouch for with my life. Another two hundred who would not run from a battle without an order to retreat." The captain replied, thinking for a moment.

"The best six of the first group will ensure from now on that Duncan is undisturbed in his experiments and future visits to God's Wood."

"I want Chief Steward Paul to go to Old Town and seek out a Maester Qyburn and personally invite him here as our esteemed guest. Give Paul the gold needed to sweeten the request if needed and the men needed for the escort." Said Helman thinking of the new birthday present his son had requested. His father had insisted after learning that he had sacrificed his previous gift for the good of House Tallarth.

"Leobald you will go to Braavos to find the suppliers and deal with the Iron Bank. Our grandfather had opened an account there, there should be more or less 5,000 golden dragons, use them and apply for a loan for what we will need. I leave it to you to negotiate. Also use their services for the guarantee of the business contracts you will enter into." Said Helman without hesitation.

"...Yes my lord." Leobald replied, abandoning his youthful cockiness. This was the most important assignment his brother had ever given him and he did not want to disappoint him.

"Tom I want you to go with my brother. You will have a different assignment, I want you to hire the best weapons master you can find to take care of Duncan's training. No matter how much time or gold it takes. Get Leobald to help you with the money. Take as many men as you need so that you both return safely."

"It shall be done my lord." The two men to whom Helman would entrust his life replied in unison.

End POV:

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POV Duncan;

Year 281, AC 19th day of the 10th moon.

About five months after Tom and Leobald's departure....

"Seraphine, in te influat fidei vis. Gratias agimus tibi propter divina officia tua, fili et magni patris servi! Seraphine, in te influat fidei vis. Gratias agimus tibi propter divina officia tua, fili et magni patris servi!...I think that's enough for today uff I'll only have to do it another 412 times* and the debt to Seraphinus will be paid." I got up from the ground, observing for a moment the almost completely melted snow.

It had now been over a month since winter had passed. The days became warmer and warmer, the roads were safe again.

My father had responded to Lord Whent's invitation to the Harrenhal tournament, apologising for his and Leobald's inability to attend.

I was almost tempted to ask my father if I could attend. I would get to see for myself, Raeghar and Aerys Targaryen, Barristan Selmy, Arthur Dayne and all the greatest knights and lords of Westeros!

Calming my emotions and excitement eventually came reason.

I couldn't risk changing even a flap of my wings at that event. The butterfly effect scared me considerably.

Who knows, maybe standing in the spectator stands Raeghar might get distracted by my unusual appearance and get unseated by Ser Barristan at the last fight!' I thought, it was a bit of forced and improbable reasoning but it was still possible.

*Author's note [When Matthew (Duncan) had asked Seraphinus for his contract of employment for a change he had crossed out the number '1' of a prayer for each hour of service and added '4'. He was originally only supposed to pay 144 prayers, but had chosen to pay Seraphinus one prayer for each time he had fallen in battle fighting for him i.e. 576 (4 x 144= 576)].

I looked at the temple's heart tree once more before leaving.

I was becoming more and more resistant to the pain I felt when I touched it. I had gradually assimilated a lot of knowledge but there was still a long way to go before I could recover all that was due.

I still hadn't acquired the knowledge of the lost art of Damascus Steel. Not that I was in a hurry... it was certainly the most dangerous knowledge I possessed. A steel that would put the other lords' metal to shame. It was second only to the steel of Valyria.

Why was it the most dangerous?

The First Men were able to conquer most of Westeros because they had weapons made of bronze compared to the obsidian weapons of the Children of the Forest.

The Andals invaded the First Men and conquered six of the seven kingdoms because they had steel....

The big news of the last period was that I could finally use the magic trick of the Druid class!!!

When I touched the tree about 3 weeks ago, I felt that I could assimilate a spell and what I wanted was there!

I had no doubt about the choice: 'Druidic Artifice'*.

Unfortunately I could only try it at Gods wood for the time being...

*Author's Note [Spell Effects: By whispering to nature spirits, caster creates one of the following effects within range:

- The caster creates a tiny, harmless sensor that predicts the weather at his location for the next 24 hours. The sensor might manifest as a golden orb in the case of clear skies, a cloud in the case of rain, a cluster of snowflakes in the case of snow, and so on. The effect lasts for 1 round.

- The caster instantly causes a flower to bloom, a pod to open, or a sprout to open.

- The caster creates an instantaneous and harmless sensory effect such as a pile of flying leaves, a puff of wind, the sound of a small animal, or the faint smell of a skunk. The effect must be no larger than a cube with an edge of 1.5 metres.

- The caster instantly lights or extinguishes a candle, torch or small campfire.

A trick can be cast indefinitely under optimal conditions].

I walked out of the temple and met my Uncle Leobald outside, who was waiting for me.

Uncle Leobald has been back from Braavos for over a month but Tom hasn't...' I thought a little worried.

"'Greetings Uncle, today will you finally tell me what happened to poor Tom? And if above all I will ever see him again?" I asked a little angrily.

"Don't try us nephew, your father has been clear on the subject. Tom is on a mission for your father and no one can know where. Don't worry he knows how to look after himself." Replied Leobald playfully.

"Don't give me that angry bear pout I am not Lady Myra. I won't give in to your 'cuteness' haha!" He said pinching my cheek.

"But I have a little present for you that I think you'll like, of course only if you pay your debt..." he waited for a reply.

I looked at my uncle for a minute, staring into his eyes and trying to win the staring contest. Finally I gave in, and with a sigh said aloud...

"LEOBALD TALLHART IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, STRONGEST, MOST SIMPATIC, MOST COURAGEOUS AND MOST INTELIGENT UNCLEANTS EVER WISHED FOR!!!" my uncle broke down laughing and enjoying the moment. Half the castle looked in this direction, many whispered and some laughed.

Last month my uncle, who had just returned from Braavos, brought me a gift of a game called 'Cyvasse'. He explained the rules to me and pretended it was his first time too. We started with a small bet of a penny. I kept winning game after game and my uncle was 'frustrated' by losing each time and doubled the amount. Until he brought up this stupid bet...and it wasn't until I lost miserably that I realised he had me in the bag from the start.

"Ahahahah enough I can't take it anymore my tummy hurts!" Uncle took a couple of breaths.

"Alright enough the debt has been repaid, come on nephew." Leobald turned around and I followed him.

He led me into the solarium of the castle and there I saw two men talking, one was Paul the chief attendant and the other a thin old man in his fifties wearing a black robe and a large chain made of dozens of different rings.

"Nephew this is Maester Qyburn from the citadel!" Said his uncle loudly.

'Oh! Now that's a fine present! At last we can get a certain 'Lannister' to pay back his debts.'

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