ALL NOVEL Chapter 23: Chapter 23 – Reunion
To his surprise, letting Nyssa send some of the boys into Volantis alongside four of their men and woman was his greatest achievement other than surviving Valyria. Not only had they learned quite a few things that might or might not be useful for him, but they even managed to find where they could get cheap supplies for their ship.
If that wasn't all, his friends found themselves watched by children sometimes younger than them, and that made Konrad remember something that Tyrek told him about. A certain Master of Whispers was known to use little birds to find various information, but not many knew that these little birds were children. And while there was nothing wrong with using children as spies, the tales Tyrek told him and Andar about this Master of Whispers and his barbaric practice of cutting the little children's tongs out so that they wouldn't speak, was anything but wrong.
They tried to capture one of the kids and see why were they being watched but no matter how much they tried, these little birds would always escape, almost like they were vanishing in the crowd or dark alleys.
After seeing the failures their people had, Gendel stormed off of the ship and came back half a day later with a little girl on his shoulders. She was one of Spider's little birds, no doubt, and she looked terrified of what would happen to her. As for the chieftain…Gendel had a smug grin on his face as he walked past his clansmen and walked into Konrad's cabin.
"Look what I found, my lord," he said, dumping the girl on the floor. "One of the spy master's pets. She was following me around the city, but I managed to catch her."
Konrad looked at the girl, wondering if she would tell them anything useful. As for her, she was no older than ten, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore a ragged dress and had a leather pouch around her neck. And while she might not know who caught her, she was trembling and clutching her mouth, fearing her fate.
"What do you want me to do with her?" Konrad asked his sworn chieftain, unsure why the man brought the little bird to him.
"Whatever you want, my lord," Gendel gave him an ugly smile, one that scared the girl even more. "She might know something useful. Or you could have some fun with her."
Inwardly Konrad wanted to laugh at Gendel's suggestion. For all he lacks, Gendel was truly a smart man, one that Konrad would keep learning about the less pleasant side of life and its art of lying and plotting. Then again that also made him wonder just how did a chieftain learned such things since it was not from his clan.
"Leave us, and make sure no one disturbs me."
Gendel nodded and left the cabin, closing the door behind him, and as soon as the man left, Konrad approached the girl slowly, trying not to scare her.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," he said softly. "What is your name?"
The girl looked at Konrad in fear, wondering if he was telling the truth or not. She didn't answer his question but instead pointed at a parchment and a quill that were on his desk. Konrad understood that she wanted to write something, so he handed her the items and waited for her to communicate.
She quickly scribbled something on the parchment before showing it to him.
I am Lora. I work for Lord Varys. He sends us to watch people. We do not talk. We only listen and write.
Konrad frowned, not sure what to make of this. After all, he thought that the spider was more inclined to take people out than only listening, then again, Tyrek did mention that the spider was harmless unless at odds with you.
"Who are you watching? And why?"
We watch for a pale boy, younger than me with white hair and red eyes. He is from Westeros. He is important. Lord Varys says he might get in trouble.
Konrad felt a chill run down his spine as he realized that she was describing him. But for what purpose, he didn't know. Clearly, the spider had some desire or agenda, otherwise, the man wouldn't have sent his precious little birds on a wild-goose chase.
"Where is Lord Varys now? How does he contact you? How many of you are there?"
Lord Varys is in King's Landing. He sends us messages by ravens. There are many of us. We are everywhere.
"Listen, Lora. I don't want any trouble with Lord Varys or anyone else. But it seems that someone wants me dead. Can you please stop watching me and my friends? Can you please tell the Spider to leave us alone?"
For a second, Konrad swore he saw her face morphing into shock before quickly turning into a more neutral one, almost as if she was hiding her feelings.
I cannot do that. Lord Varys will know. He will punish me. He will punish you too.
She then tore off a piece of parchment and wrote something on it.
This is for you. It is a warning. Beware of the Littlefinger. His fingers are coming.
He was about to shout for Gendel, to come and take the girl away, when he realized he could use her to his advantage. If she worked for Lord Varys, then she might know something about his uncle and Tyrek's whereabouts and condition.
"Listen, Lora I… thank you for the warning. But I need your help finding someone. Since you work for Lord Varys, I'm sure you know how was supposed to travel with me right?"
Lora's eyes widened when she realized that she was speaking with the boy she was supposed to watch. She quickly looked around, as if afraid of being caught before slowly nodding her head almost like she knew about Andar Royce and Tyrek Lannister, and where the two knights were right now.
They are in the city leading a small sellswords company. For some reason, they have been attacking slavers selling their ships, and freeing the slaves.
As soon as he read what she wrote, Konrad grabbed her hands. "C-can you send them a letter from me, please?"
Lora only nodded as Konrad quickly gave her the letter, and while it wasn't sealed, he knew that his uncle and Tyrek would recognize his writing.
As soon as she got the letter, Lora tucked it into her ragged dress, hoping it wouldn't get lost or stolen. She then looked at Konrad, waiting for him to let her leave, fearing that Littlefinger's men would get her too.
Tyrek was watching as the few men he managed to gather were training. Truth be told it was far from easy leading a sellsword company but right now that was the only thing, he could do that would help him and Andar find their little lord.
If only he hadn't asked Andar to follow him that day and have learned more about dealing with the smallfolk, then mayhaps, Konrad wouldn't have been kidnapped by slavers. But one thing didn't make any sense to him and that was why two different followers of the fire god approached him and Andar telling them two entirely different stories. The first one, a red-haired woman, told him that the boy they were searching for had been long dead and that they should return home, while the other priest, an old man approached him when he was lost, not knowing if he should believe what the red-haired woman told them. The old man, while far from being polite when Andar almost attacked him, did tell them that his red god showed him that Konrad was alive, but on board a slaver ship. Before he left though, he warned them of the woman who approached them first, telling them that she had her way of interpreting their God's visions.
"Still thinking about that day?"
Tyrek turned when he saw Andar walking towards him, followed by a man with a wolfish smile on his face. Before Tyrek could answer, Bronn made a joke at his address. "Still thinking about that day? Maybe you should have taken the red-haired woman's offer. She seemed to like you, in her own twisted way."
Tyrek gave him a cold stare, but not because of the joke. He was still angry at the red-haired priestess of the fire god, who had lied to them and tried to stop them from finding Konrad. Ignoring Bronn's remark he turned to Andar. "I'm thinking about our next move. We need to find out where the next slaver ship is heading, and how we can get on board. Do you have any ideas?" He asked his friend, hoping for some good news.
Andar shook his head, before turning to Bronn and nudging the man to tell what he had found. "Well, I did manage to get some information from a local smuggler. He said that there was a slaver ship leaving for Qarth in two days. It's called the Black Wind, and it's docked at the eastern port. He also said that it's guarded by some of the unsullied, so we'll have to be careful." Bronn said, looking at Tyrek expectantly.
Tyrek nodded, feeling hope for once. Maybe Konrad was on that ship, and maybe they could rescue him before it was too late. He was about to ask Bronn if he had a plan so that they could get on board when he noticed a little girl approaching them. She was dirty and ragged, and she had a letter in her hand.
Excuse me, sers. Are you Tyrek Lannister and Andar Royce?
She gave them a smaller note and as he read her question, Tyrek frowned, wondering who sent her and what she wanted. He glanced at Andar and Bronn, who looked equally puzzled, but both were already reaching for their swords, just in case.
"Yes, I'm Ser Tyrek. What can I do for you?" He asked her.
The girl smiled slightly, as if relieved before she handed him another letter.
I'm Lora, one of Lord Varys's little birds. He doesn't know I'm here. I came to deliver this letter to you. It's from Konrad Arryn. He's alive and he's on a ship outside of the city.
Tyrek felt his heart skip a beat as he took the letter from her hand. When he opened it, he immediately recognized Konrad's writing. As he and Andar read, tears filled third eyes. Neither of them couldn't believe it. Konrad was alive and he had contacted them.
"By the gods, it's him! It's really him!" Andar exclaimed loudly, ignoring the little girl who had just run away.
"Looks like I will finally meet the lord I'm paid to protect," Bronn said, grinning.
"Andar gather the men. Bronn… I need you to scout ahead and see if my young lord is truly there and if he's well."
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