novelraw Chapter 117: ' The Spider Queen '
Chapter 117: ' The Spider Queen '
Chapter 117: ' The Spider Queen '
POV: Tywin Lannister
Lord's Solarium, Casterly Rock.
Year 289 A.C., the 26th day of the ninth moon. Some twenty-one days before the True Queen of Westeros thanked a knight...
It was just under an hour before sunset. Soft orange glows filtered through the balcony. The trio never ceased working and discussing designs, negotiations, price and percentage negotiations, delivery times, construction schedules, and plans of action against the common enemy.
Now Tywin was certain. It was no longer a pipe dream; the West and the Kingdom could genuinely achieve a Golden Age.
Although the man was in his late forties, he continued undaunted without showing any sign of fatigue for four hours straight.
Tywin was bursting with energy, ready to explode at any moment.
He felt the strength and the will to wield the new Sword of Damascus and face a hundred enemies.
They had just finished discussing the renewal and expansion of the basalt road network. House Tallhart would lend the best civil engineers responsible for the Northern Network.
More than a thousand miles of basalt road. A material more valuable than the granite and quartz used in the North, though less resistant to cold and water infiltration, on the other hand, smoother, more malleable, and better suited to the climate of the West.
His standard-bearer Lord Sebaston Farman of Fair Isle, would soon receive a large order for black volcanic stone. An ore that would overflow to the beaches of his island.
The streets of Lannisport, on the other hand, would be replaced from the current typical pavement with the costly and shiny veined marble of the Vale.
If the Lannisters were to make their enemies believe that they were in open competition for pomp and grandeur against the North and Dorne. They should have spared no expense.
With the increase in the commercial and war fleet,
the concessions of facilitated crossings on the future route of the river Fever and access to the markets of Essos,
the rights to trade in the Sea of Shivers on a variety of Northern products (Mormont glass was the golden egg of the brood),
the construction of dozens of inns all along with the road network with new unique culinary recipes,
the new census registration and tax collection systems,
the implementation and improvement of fields and crops,
new training schools for handicrafts, commercial and criminal law, architecture and construction engineering, naval engineering, and numerous other trades helpful in increasing the productivity of the lands of the West,
all of these projects and improvements made the golden veins in Tywin's eyes glisten.
But the new gold mine of House Lannister would become the shiny new city of Lannisport.
The long battle to restore Castamere's mines finally came to an end...
"The debt of 1,081,700 gold dragons forgiven, 8% on the mining rights for House Tallhart and 5% on the treasures of House Rayne found to be bestowed upon House Manderly and the Clans. This is my final offer. Don't bite off more than you can chew, Great Lion.
We are the only House capable of draining the mines of Castamere without spending decades and millions of golden dragons.
I am well aware that the Casterly Rock mines will be depleted before long. You haven't found a new mining vein in over two years..."
Tywin eyed the disarming face of his younger brother. Gerion gave him a roaring look of [I didn't tell him anything, I swear!].
The enraged Lion gritted his teeth at how deficient his counterintelligence measures and safeguarding of absolutely Top-Secret information might be.
"Agreed... But it will drop to 5% if you fail to make the excavations on at least the first four levels of the mines viable within a year of today." The feline pretending to be dead, hurled the last claw treacherously.
If the builders of House Manderly and the Clans of the Northern Mountains had succeeded in that first feat on schedule, House Lannister could have returned their investment before the third year.
Tywin clearly remembered when the late last Lord of Castamere, Robert Rayne, boasted before the entire court of the West how bountiful of gold and silver the mining veins of the early levels were.
[House Rayne collects over 2,000 golden dragons a day from those first levels alone, my lord. And what of House Lannister, Lord Tytos? How much gold is left to mine from Casterly Rock?! Ahahaha!]
The Lord of Casterly Rock recalled that confident, arrogant voice at the banquet his father had called to celebrate his latest birth...
Tywin had not smiled in front of anyone in over sixteen years. Only the twins' first wails and Johanna's loving glances could break that adamantine curse.
But if he was alone at that moment with the gods as his only witnesses, who could say if those facial muscles in his stone face couldn't crack?
"Deal." Bloody Snow and The Great Lion nodded at each other, sealing and sealing the deal with a single glance.
"What about improvements on war strategies and militia training promised?" The ravenous Lion took advantage of the concession to snag the juiciest and most prized prey in the herd as best he could.
"You know the price...I want Jaime, Cersei, and Tyrion," the boy fired the three names for the second time without heeding the earlier warning roar.
That bloodthirsty Demon wanted absolute control over the fate of his progeny!
"Now you're pulling Lion's strings too much, boy! I warned you before!" roared Tywin fiercely, peering at him with hate-filled eyes.
"Without them, the Great Show won't be credible. Cersei detests me and Tyrion. Jaime is the best sword the West has seen in the last century!
All the North and Dorne, including House Tallhart, are betting their future on the table, heirs included!" So screeched the Demon in the same tones and looks.
"What makes you think that?" the woman asked.
"They don't make a single sound of footsteps. The fluid gestures, the guarded and confident eyes, no, we definitely wouldn't get out of here alive if they didn't want to....
The mansion hides countless unknown traps or passages hidden from view." Oberyn moved the Dornian's delicate chin in the direction of the wall with two fingers.
"Look... can you notice those indentations in the walls? A very deadly mechanical trap. I don't even know if I could neutralize the substance imbued in those, almost certain, poison darts.
My instincts suggest that not even the entire company of Second Sons led by a dozen Faceless Men could harm a single hair on the mistress's head." Ellaria's face changed from fear to wonder. The woman seemed to get excited by the danger.
It was one of the reasons Ellaria might be the only favored Goddess in his heart. Oberyn would have given up all his wealth for a chance to take her here and now.
And he would have if the fate of Dorne, his family, and their lives hadn't depended on that crazy, impulsive gesture.
But nothing stopped him from kissing his Goddess passionately.
Her tongue tasted like the sweet wine of summer... That spicy, tangy aftertaste, those warm fluids and soft mouth. No... she couldn't continue, or she'd lose control.
The lips parted and Ellaria caught her breath, pleading with her gaze for her beloved to continue.
"No, my beloved... Duty and anticipation make the hoped-for moment more sublime." Oberyn's hand caressed Ellaria's silky raven black hair.
"Yes, my beloved. You are right. I have been greedy and mischievous... I deserve punishment. You will have to punish me tonight. That's an order..." It was a good provocation.
Yes... the Goddess would suffer the pains of pleasure that night.
The doors opened and an old, fat man dressed in sumptuous light white robes with red streaks and flashy gold jewelry stepped out with a dark, frightened face.
Oberyn did not recognize the face, but the robes did. He had been a guest of the Magisters of Lys many times during his elysium.
A companion came out of the room after him. He gently pointed to the exit of the villa. The fat man snorted for a second but then bowed, showing a gesture of forced etiquette.
He didn't even seem to notice the presence of the Dornian guests at the corner of the antechamber for the discomfort he felt.
Then the old man with the haughty look noticed Oberyn's clothes and showed a signal of curiosity and surprise, turning with celerity to head for the exit.
'He recognized us... Could he be a threat?' reasoned the Viper calmly, thinking back to all his efforts to make this trip a secret one.
"Prince Oberyn Nymeros Martell, Lady Ellaria Sand, Madame Zishua Zhao Urat apologizes for the wait and is ready to receive you both." The man with Ghiscarian features in his fifties was well-proportioned, graceful and educated in manner, common language and tone of voice.
"No wait has ever been more hospitable and pleasant among all the free cities I have needed to visit. Praise and honour to every member of Madame Zhao Urat's Noble abode." Said Oberyn as he paid tribute to the twin servants.
The pair seemed to appreciate the compliment by giving a warm bow of thanks.
It was one of Bloody Snow's lifelines.
{Never show unwarranted discourtesy to any member of the estate}.
"This way, please." The Chief Steward pointed the way.
"Thank you... Ser?" Ellaria asked.
"You're welcome, my lady. I am not a Ser, my name is Barudh Gruz Rad. I am merely a Chief Attendant of Madame Zishua's estate at your service." Said the man, offering a bow.
"And I am not a Lady, Ser Chief Attendant Barudh. I will address you as Ser as long as you bestow undeserved titles and honours." Ellaria replied in a jovial and courteous tone.
"As you wish, Lady Ellaria." Barudh surrendered to the small but dignified defeat by bestowing a slight smile.
Oberyn and Ellaria entered with elegant and confident steps.
A bright room, simple but pleasing to the eye, elegant but not ostentatious, refreshed by the smell of the Bay's spring sea breeze, welcomed the couple.
Oberyn's long-awaited figure was less than thirty feet away from them. The elderly woman with partial traits of Volantis was engaged in embroidery depicting two yellow hawk eyes on black cloth.
The symbol Bloody Snow warned him about was more cautionary than a royal seal.
Only the students still developing and growing carried that piece of silk embroidered personally by the Spider Queen.
Nightmares, pain beyond imagination, affliction and death awaited any peasant or King in the Known World who dared to break the only Taboo of the Guardian of Love.
"Fear not, Prince of Dorne. The rude Magister of Lys will not go far after he leaves the bastions of the rights of the host...
Once before, I begged him to pay due respect to my associates.
Alas, wealth and influence are the banes of good manners."
End Chapter.
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