151 The Royal Tour I
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-Pov of Jon arryn seventh moon 286 AC
The issue of the serfs took some time, but finally, in the last few months, it had calmed down a bit, as migration ceased towards The Reach and instead headed towards the Riverlands, where they had begun to develop industry jointly with the Prussians. The problem had shifted from being a kingdom-wide issue to being a regional problem that Lord Hoster would have to solve or not, as the most affected were the banner-men who were not loyal to him during the rebellion, and it could be another form of punishment so that next time loyalty became an issue, they would think twice before choosing sides.
Meanwhile, another problem arose with the Prussians' power over the Stepstones. Much of this was discussed in private, and no one could intervene in the fact that the islands came under Prussian administration, and this was swept under the rug. However, Pycelle lost several documents containing all the information about the income from the maritime toll that the Prussians charged merchants, and the information leaked throughout the castle, revealing that Lord Hohenzollern had another gold mine, which seemed to continue growing, as trade, now that the pirates are gone, is on the rise.
This led several Septons to try to persuade the king to change his mind and grant the islands to devout members of the Faith of the Seven. However, there was one small detail, and it was that Lord Hohenzollern was doing nothing to prevent the Free Cities from continuing their slave trade. Obviously, Robert was present at the audience, but he didn't pay the slightest attention.
The reason was simple: our Prussian friend couldn't control all the ships passing through the area if he had to watch them all to make sure they weren't carrying slaves, and that's why he doesn't do it. The Septons seem quite serious about changing the governor, but now that there are cities on the islands and a strong Prussian garrison in the area, expelling him would be impossible without collaboration, and I doubt anyone would collaborate in having a prize taken away from him that he himself earned.
These new Septons were much more critical than the Septons who used to live in King's Landing. Anything the Prussians do receives complaints from this group, but beyond making their speeches on the steps of the Sept of Baelor about all the evils that the Prussians have brought to the Seven Kingdoms, they usually don't do more than that.
As much as I try to make the Protestant religion coexist with our religion, it seems that the fire is growing stronger every time, and there is little I can do without benefiting one side in particular. Because if what Varys says is true, the Prussians once again have the largest army in the Seven Kingdoms. If it was difficult to work with Lord Hohenzollern before with his control over certain vital products, now he has the muscle to support his policy.
For that reason, any moment we could win over the Prussian was necessary to attend, and not attending what will be the wedding of the century would be stupid. Literally, Lord Hohenzollern is investing such a large amount of gold in this that it would make any other wedding ceremony in the Seven Kingdoms seem like cheap ceremonies.
The number of guests would also be staggering, as it was expected that all Prussian nobles would attend, as well as all those seeking to win favor with the young lord and those who don't want to be on bad terms. Therefore, everyone is invited and everyone attended, but Maximilian said that for some mysterious reason the invitations for the Ironborn never arrived.
An obvious way of saying that they didn't want them near them, considering that the Prussians have had several battles against these raping pirates in their waters. Considering the huge increase in wealth of the coastal towns of the Prussian Lands, that should have attracted those raiders like flies, and obviously it has strained relations between them.
The whole castle was preparing for the trip, but Robert and I, along with some more nobles, will travel a few days earlier to make a royal trip to know the Prussian possessions. Since the Prussians have more men in the field, all the information that reached my ears stopped coming, so it was the best opportunity to justify our presence in Prussian territories and look with our own eyes at the information that had arrived.
Our journey began on the first day of the seventh month, and we headed down the Roseroad to one of the cities where Varys' spies simply disappear: Tumbleton.
The royal family traveled by carriage, although Robert occasionally rode on horseback, and we were followed by a large group of knights and courtiers who took this opportunity to try to gain favors with Robert.
Meanwhile, I traveled in my carriage, since recently the Prussians had improved the carriages with a type of metal piece that makes the carriage's rough movements much smoother, and the journey by carriage is much more comfortable than before.
We immediately knew that we had entered Prussian territories when the road became much more uniform, as it had been made with their liquid rock and perfectly cut cobblestones, and a small tower with guards who gave us documents to identify ourselves in the Prussian cities that will be necessary for our journey.
Throughout the journey, extensive fields of crops with equally extensive irrigation canals could be seen, along with hundreds and hundreds of small people working in the fields that feed the kingdom. On several occasions, we encountered Prussian patrols guarding the roads, presumably the new Prussian soldiers maintaining regular control over them. After several minutes of travel, we encountered a procession of the famous Finnish wolf-headed men.
"Greetings, Lord Arryn. I hope King Robert's journey has been peaceful in my lands. Otherwise, I would like to know," said the Finnish man with a wolf's head, adorned with white wolf skins and golden circles strapped to his chest.
"Our journey has been extremely peaceful, Lord... um... Governor," I said, looking at the Finn and his group of men, who were dressed similarly to him.
"It is good to know. Here, we do not appreciate crimes. We are a few hours away from Tumbleton, the city where I safeguard the lands granted to me by my... king. If you are willing to travel with little light, we could arrive today at my city and offer you all the hospitality that is possible for me. Otherwise, we should seek one of the inns on Rose Road for the merchants, but I doubt they would have accommodations fit for a king," said the Finn, staring at me intently.
I spoke with Robert about what we should do, and like me, he considered that taking a slightly longer journey but having a roof for everyone was the best option.
"We will undertake the journey to your city, if there is no problem," I said with a smile to the Finn.
"Of course, there is no problem, Lord Arryn. We have been expecting your visit since you... decided to visit the territories of my... king. So, we have been preparing the cellars so that King Robert can have a banquet upon his arrival at my home and enjoy the hospitality of my people," said the Finn without blinking throughout his dialogue.
"Alright, we will be grateful. Please, lead the way," I said to the Finn, who was already making me nervous with his mannerisms.
I returned to my carriage and looked at Varys, who observed the entire conversation with interest.
"What do you think of them?" I said, looking at the Master of Whisperers.
"My opinion is based solely on what I have seen in the capital since information about Tumbleton is non-existent. None of my little birds sent there have returned. They are extremely loyal men, almost with a religious fanaticism towards the figure of Lord Hohenzollern. Additionally, they are extremely silent. They speak multiple languages to avoid being overheard, or they speak in code among themselves so that no one knows what they are talking about," said Varys, not taking his eyes off the governor of Tumbleton.
"Interesting. We know little about them," I said as I settled in to continue the journey.
Everything continued normally. We encountered Prussian patrols, while the landscape was only fields of crops with some mills between them. The only change in scenery was a field used for livestock breeding, but shortly after, it returned to being farmland.
We came across one of the inns on Rose Road, and it was much different than I had expected. According to our friendly guide, Lord Hohenzollern had ordered the construction of several inns along the road so that merchants would have quality resting places, thus attracting more merchants to their territories through amenities on all the roads.
But we decided to continue since the inn wouldn't have the capacity to accommodate the entire royal entourage of nearly a thousand men accompanying us. It was already quite late when we were about to reach Tumbleton, and we observed that in the eastern part of the city, there was an enormous mine that was still operational even at this hour.
Apparently, our guide noticed my curious gaze and began to speak.
"This is one of the most important possessions of my people. This coal mine produces around forty percent of all the coal used in Ashford to keep its forges operational. This is where my king's enemies meet their end, as well as where a significant part of the city works under suitable labor conditions. But those who work in the most dangerous places are the idiots who thought they were above the laws my king establishes. Brainless idiots, criminals, spies," said the Finn, looking coldly at Varys when he said his last word.
"It's good to know. We didn't know there was a mine here. Was this declared in Lord Hohenzollern's taxes?" I said, a little nervous.
"Of course it was. Everything here operates according to the laws," replied the Finnish governor.
The conversation ended, and we entered the city of Tumbleton, which had grown a lot in recent years. But the city felt... dead. People had fear in their eyes and looked terrified at our guide, and others simply avoided even looking at us.
Our entourage passed through the central square of Tumbleton, where there was a golden cup right next to the city's fountain.
"This is the ultimate proof that there is no crime in the city. This cup has been here since the day after the city came under our control and remains there so that those who need it can quench their thirst with water from the aqueduct. But stealing it means a direct trip to the mines... although that has never happened. People know well what happens if they break the rules," said the Finnish governor cheerfully.
We arrived at the fortress of Tumbleton, where we were received with a banquet. Although the vast majority of our entourage were enjoying themselves eating and drinking what our hosts offered, the only strange thing was that at the banquets of these Finns, they brought their dogs, or worse, wolves, which were trained, but the majority of them had injuries, missing limbs, disfigured snouts, or missing eyes, but they seemed to be well cared for as those animals seemed very tame compared to others we had seen on the outskirts of the city.
Some felt they were being watched at all times, even when they slept, they couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching them. And the worst was Varys, who no matter what he did, was always followed by the Finns at all times, which was making him nervous with the ability our hosts had to be obsessive about the security of their city.
For two days, we stayed in Tumbleton trying to inspect the city, but Varys and I could no longer bear the extreme surveillance we were experiencing, so as soon as we could, we continued our journey south, leaving that city behind and with a bit of luck, never to return.
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