8 Chapter 8: Ice and Fire P1

Aegon Targaryen jumped out of the rowboat closely followed by Rolly his first Kingsguard. Many rowboats made land under the cover of the night and their movements were shrouded under the darkness of the night sky. Besides Aegon, there was Jon Connington who was leading a hundred men into the secret tunnel leading to Storm's End. To ensure as less sound was possibly produced from marching a hundred men they decided to abandoned body armour for this mission. It was a risk that they had to take because this mission depended on stealth and speed.

The plan was to sneak inside the castle and kill the garrison as quickly as possible. Jon was his Hand and Aegon had to agree the plan was sound. His Hand knew the entire layout of the castle and all the watchtowers within said castle. With the skilled warriors of Golden Company supporting him, the proposed assault would succeed without any hiccups so to speak. A hundred men that made up the group was split into a company of ten each to keep their movements hidden.

Soon Aegon and his company were led by Jon Connington who traced their path to the tunnel and their true journey began. If it wasn't for the darkness of the night the guards stationed at the eastern wall of Storm's End might have noticed their movements. But arriving on rowboats had slowed them to slip past the notice of the garrison who kept a close watch on the seas for any enemy ships.

Aegon found traversing the tunnel was no easy task. It was riddled with large boulders and slippery stones. Each step had to be careful and measured lest he incurs any injury say a sprained ankle. Some parts of the tunnel were infested with rodents and whatnot which also added to their difficulty in navigating the tunnel. It took them almost an hour to crawl through all that mud and slime to finally reach a round gate made of thin iron bars. The gate was locked from the other side but the men were prepared to deal with this small hurdle.

Aegon watched as two men took a wet cloth and using a metallic pole they began to bend the iron bars. It was a tedious job but other men soon joined in to bend the bars. The whole time the company of men were careful not to make any sounds lest they attract attention from the castle garrison.

One by one they began to sneak in through the gap from the bent iron bars. Several men with crossbows took up the front and they continued the march until they found themselves before a staircase. Aegon heard the whistling sound of a crossbow bolt flying and a small grunt that followed. As he climbed the stair he saw a guard with a bolt sticking through his neck. Aegon had seen many dead people and he had killed a few of them himself in the Disputed Lands so it didn't bother him that much. A few more guards were guarding several doors but the crossbowmen were sharp in finding their mark. Without a sound, they quickly made it into the interior of the castle.

Just as Jon depicted when the plan was hatched Aegon noticed that the high walls of Storm's End had many watchtowers. According to Jon, there are twelve watchtowers. The gates to the south and west had two watchtowers each and it was where the bulk of the Golden Company was going to concentrate.

Aegon closely followed Jon to the western gate. He nodded to the archers in their group of thirty men to be ready. While the archers took their position and carefully picked out their targets Aegon and Jon silently climbed the steps with some men. As they took up the best possible spots without being noticed they waited and the archers down below unleashed their arrows claiming the lives of the guards in the two watchtowers.

Aegon took that as his cue running up the steps to reach the guard who was struggling to dislodge an arrow that was on his shoulder. A flash of steel saw to it that the guard was relieved of his struggle and Aegon quickly slashed through another guard's neck. The others were quick to follow his lead and the carnage began. Screams pierced through the otherwise silent night in the castle and the garrison was now aware of intruders. But, it was too late as the disciplined men of the Golden Company quickly overwhelmed the two gates.

Aegon raised a burning torch and waved from the watchtower to give the signal for the forces hiding within the woods. He threw the torch to the other side of the wall and quickly climbed down and smashed his shield right into the chest of a Baratheon guard. The guard fell down screaming and Aegon stabbed his sword right through the guard's neck.

He didn't get a moment's respite as he was swatting aside a sword that was aiming for his neck. He smashed his elbow straight into the nose of his enemy and smashed his shield right into the guard's throat. The guard went down with a crushed throat and he spared the guard no thought before he moved on to another.

The battle for Storm's End had started and he could feel his heart racing with excitement with every man he killed. He could hear the sound of hooves and a smile blossomed on his face as the rest of their forces arrived cutting a bloody swathe through whatever meagre resistance the Stormlanders could put up. He joined in on the carnage and began to cut a bloody swathe to the Lord's solar.

The fighting continued under the cover of the night. Blood and gore smattered on the halls of Storm's End. When the sun rose the next day the many inhabitants of one of the nighest impregnable castles of Westeros had fallen to an enemy. Aegon watched with a profound sense of accomplishment as the Baratheon banners were thrown away and the Targaryen banners flapped proudly in the wind over Storm's End. 

'I just wish Robert Baratheon and Tywin Lannister was alive to see this.' he thought.

"Your grace, you are expected in the throne room." said Rolly who came to fetch Aegon on the Hand's orders.

"I better get into that throne room before Jon talks my ear out for being late." Aegon sighed. After casting one more look at the Targaryen banner he set forth towards the throne room where the Storm Kings of old passed judgement and held court.

Aegon walked into the hall and the men of the Golden Company parted making way to the raised dais where the throne sat. Rolly closely followed him like his shadow and took a position below the throne while Aegon sat upon the said throne.

It was no ornate chair to be proud of but the throne was made of a combination of stone and Weirwood. As he reclined into the throne and looked down upon the captured garrison before him he truly felt powerful. 

'I will not be content to take this throne. Soon I will take the real throne of Kings.'

"You are in the presence of Aegon of House Targaryen the sixth of his name, the rightful king of the seven kingdoms. Bend the knee and swear your fealty or face the consequences as a traitor to the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen." Jon announced making the surviving garrison look uneasily at each other.

"Your Grace, the garrison is here to surrender." said Jon in a whisper to which Aegon nodded and his eyes zeroed in on a knight with a turtle insignia on his armour.

"I believe you are Ser Lomas Estermont, the castellan of Storm's End." said Aegon and the knight moved forward and went on a knee.

"I am." Ser Lomas answered with his head bowed.

"You will address King Aegon as 'your grace'." Jon snapped at the knight making many in the garrison shuffle nervously.

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn but to my knowledge, Prince Aegon died in King's Landing at the hands of the Mountain. Seeing as you are here with the backing of the Golden Company I guess your real name would be Aegon Blackfyre, is it not?" Ser Lomas asked and that put many members of the Golden Company at unease and Jon Connington took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"I am Jon Connington, the former Hand to King Aerys the Second. I was also a good friend to Rhaegar Targaryen and I vouch for his grace's identity. Lord Varys the master of whispers himself smuggled the king out of King's Landing when he was a babe, Ser. His identity is not in question merely your loyalty is!"

"My loyalty is to House Estermont. As Castellan of Storm's End my loyalty is to this castle and all its inhabitants. As a Westerosi my loyalty is to this land. You say you vouch for this pretender Connington. You yourself was exiled by King Aerys and how will we trust the word of a man who was exiled by House Targaryen? If Varys really did save the prince then why did he not save the princess as well hmm? Was she not worth his effort?" Ser Lomas questioned and Aegon felt a cold creeping down his spine. For a time, the hall remained eerily silent.

"You don't have an answer do you Connington? I surrender the castle to you but don't expect me or anyone here to proclaim this boy a Targaryen much less a King. We will not suffer an Essosi pretender and your sellsword friends will get crushed as it happened in all the Blackfyre rebellions before." Ser Lomas proclaimed and stood up on his feet with his head held high.

"Give the command your grace and I will present this upstart's head at your feet." Rolly snarled as his hands tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"If we kill everyone that does not believe the King's identity or claim then we will be killing quite a lot of men. Ser Lomas is a knight and he surrendered Storm's End to his grace. While he doesn't believe his grace's identity that hardly matters. What matters is the recognition of Lord Elden Estermont, Ser Lomas's father. Your grace, I advise you to keep Ser Lomas a prisoner in Storm's End. Robert Baratheon's mother was an Estermont and with Ser Lomas's capture, we can force House Estermont to bend the knee. If a staunch Baratheon supporter bends the knee then other Stormlanders will be reluctant to fight you. Some may even join you voluntarily. Keeping Ser Lomas alive as a prisoner will be to our advantage." Jon advised

Aegon sat on the throne contemplating for some time but he saw the advantage in Jon's advice. Aegon intended to win the throne as quickly as he could and killing everyone that would oppose him on first meeting him would be a waste of energy and the epitome of foolishness. He had learned why the Rebellion started and he was not going to be like his grandfather who was a madman who saw enemies in shadows.

"My lord Hand gives wise counsel. Keep Ser Lomas a prisoner and treat him as befitting a knight of his stature. If the others refuse to swear themselves to me then keep them in the cells as well. After I have pacified the Stormlands and still they persist on being stubborn to not swear an oath of fealty then there is still the option of the Wall." Aegon proclaimed and at his nod the men of Golden Company took the garrison to the cells.

"You judged wisely my king. When a King is in the field of battle his weapons must speak for him. But when a king sits the throne his intellect and cunning must speak for him." Jon advised and Aegon listed to his lord Hand.

While Rhaegar Targaryen may have been Aegon's birth father he considered Jon as an honorary father. The man had taken care of him all his life and his counsel will always be held predominant in his court. He wondered how his aunt was doing in Mereen. With her, by his side, his claim would become stronger and House Targaryen would be restored to its former glory. He will just have to wait and clear the coast of Westeros for her inevitable landing. He would just have to trust the word of Magister Illyrio Mopatis to safely transport his aunt to Westeros and then the Seven Kingdoms will bow before him.

****

Tyrion found Ser Barristan and Grey Worm behind the high walls of Mereen preparing the three thousand Mereenesi and another three thousand Unsullied for battle. Being somewhat familiar with a siege Tyrion had to admit that the old knight knew what he was doing.

Grey Worm and the Unsullied were the first lines of defence Ser Barristan has prepared as any sane battle commander would do. The three thousand men under Ser Barristan's direct control were former slaves who aspired to become knights and they were charged with being the cavalry forces of the Queen. The Second Sons and Stormcrows were given the duty to defend the walls and being employed as archers. While the sellswords were gifted fighters their loyalties were in doubt and under such circumstances Tyrion appreciated Ser Barristan's foresight in assigning them the easiest jobs to keep them happy and away from the thick of battle - if there was one to begin with that is. His job was to prevent such a scenario and if that was not possible buy as much time as physically possible.

"You have not yet spoken to Ser Barristan have you?" Tyrion asked Varys as they climbed the steps to the top of the wall where Ser Barristan was inspecting the watchtowers.

"Not yet. The last I spoke to Ser Barristan was in King's Landing. I don't think he would be much happy to see me." said Varys and Tyrion could sense that his knowledgeable friend believed that wholeheartedly.

"You are not the only one he dislikes. Before my arrival, he disliked Ser Jorah Mormont. Now that I am here he dislikes me. I wouldn't be surprised if he disapproves of you as well. Men of honour hardly seem to like people like us."

"People like us are the reason the world still makes some sense and somehow goes on without breaking into chaos. Men of honour hardly seems to see the world as it is and ends up destroying themselves and everything around them." said Varys with a derisive snort.

"Seems like you have some experience in knowing one a little too well my friend. Was it Jon Arryn or Ned Stark?" Tyrion inquired

"I would say Ned Stark in this instance. Some new songs have reached me from the North. It seems Baelish had Sansa Stark delivered to Roose Bolton." said Varys casting a knowing look at Tyrion knowing that Tyrion would be interested in learning about what happened to his wife.

"Sansa? So it was Baelish that facilitated her escape from King's Landing. How is she doing now?" Tyrion asked curiously and with a sense of pain somewhere in his heart as he thought about his second wife.

"She had a rough time for sure with the Boltons. Roose Bolton's bastard married Sansa Stark and she escaped to the Wall when Stannis Baratheon attacked Winterfell. I do not know whether she safely arrived at her destination or not. I do know that Stannis Baratheon died in his ill-conceived attempt to siege Winterfell." said Varys with a shrug not at all bothered with the fate of Stannis Baratheon or Sansa Stark.

"If Sansa managed to reach the Wall then she will be protected there. Her bastard brother would protect her from the Boltons. He is of a good sort—a bit rough around the edges perhaps but more Stark than all of Ned Stark's trueborn children." Tyrion mused as his mind went to his visit to the Wall. It felt like a lifetime ago and his life was so simple then. All he had to worry about was wine and the whores in his bed. Now, he woke up every morning completely sober and plots to keep his head on his shoulder.

"Jon Snow may not be that lucky to survive the might of House Bolton my friend. But should the Starks still stand when the Queen sails to Westeros she can pull them into her circle of allies. The Northern houses can be pulled into the fray by helping the Starks retake Winterfell from the Boltons."

"All good plans. First, the Queen has to sail to Westeros." Tyrion pointed out

"True. So who will be explaining our plan to Ser Barristan?" Varys asked as they reached the top of the wall.

"I think I will explain the crux of the plan while you support me to explain the Blackfyre matter." said Tyrion as he screwed up his nerves to an unpleasant conversation with the Lord Commander of the Dragon Queen's Queensguard.

"I was of the mind that you would have let the explaining bit to myself. I am thankful that you are taking up the slack but I can't imagine why you would be eager to attract the ire of Ser Barristan." Varys looked at Tyrion curious to hear his reply.

"Because I have balls and you don't." said Tyrion with a smirk

"You and your eunuch jokes." Varys rolled his eyes in exaggeration.

"I enjoy our banter Varys. Let's hope Ser Barristan won't be cutting you down to my size." said Tyrion and together they moved closer to the old Knight hoping that the knight was merciful enough to let this slide.

After a few minutes of explanation and the shouting match that followed Tyrion let out a breath of relief that so far he had managed to keep Ser Barristan from executing Varys on spot. It was a close thing too. Saying that the old knight was wroth with Varys would be an understatement and even now the knight was berating Varys for his idiotic plan. Maybe idiotic according to the knight but brilliant in its own way, he thought looking at the spymaster.

"It's hard to understand you Lord Varys. Exactly what were you hoping to achieve from passing off a Blackfyre as a Targaryen? Nothing good has ever come out of a Blackfyre, ever!" Barristan shouted and Tyrion lightly flinched at the volume.

"What would you have me do Ser Barristan? Viserys Targaryen was an exact replica of Aerys Targaryen even from a young age. The Targaryen loyalists were scattered and I had to turn to unsavoury allies. When Ser Willam Darry took Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen to Braavos I had hoped that the Blackfyre plot would not be needed if the good knight was able to somehow stabilize young Viserys. As you know that plan didn't pan out as exactly as I hoped. From then on I actively guided the Targaryen children to different safe houses across Essos. Do you know what happened? Because of Viserys Targaryen and his madness they were kicked out within two days of stay. If you expect me to support another wannabe Mad King then you are solely wrong Ser. I saw and heard what the Mad King did to pass time. I saw what sense of justice Aerys Targaryen had and I will not support a person who I was convinced to be a madman on the Iron Throne." Varys shouted back plunging the room into an uncomfortable silence.

"I hoped with a union between Aegon and Daenerys the bad blood between the two houses would come to an end. But Illyrio played his hand when he succeeded in marrying Daenerys to Khal Drogo. What was I supposed to do? I have no armies. I have no sworn swords or immense wealth to shield the princess. My only ability was in successfully keeping assassins and cutthroats that went after her life. Why do you think that Robert Baratheon was unable to hire skilled assassins to kill a penniless Targaryen princess and prince all these years? I actively protected them to the best of my abilities and they lived all these years because of my efforts. You may call me a traitor or whatever names you desire Ser Barristan but while you were guarding the Whoremonger king who was ruining the kingdoms I was the one that protected the last Targaryens."

Before Ser Barristan could respond to Varys he thought it was time for an intervention.

"Now I am sure you all have your reasons and arguments that want to be heard but this is not the time. If you both haven't noticed we have to deal with an army outside the gates of the city who very much like to put our heads on a spike. We must set aside our differences and face the enemy outside the gates of Mereen because that is our duty as the supporters of Queen Daenerys." Tyrion said starting hard at both Ser Barristan and Varys.

Turning to Ser Barristan he further added, "You may doubt the loyalty of Varys but consider this. He could have kept the Blackfyre plot as a secret and stood by his original plan to let Aegon Targaryen take the Iron Throne. If he and Jon Connington vouched for the boy then our Queen would even believe the identity of Aegon. He didn't do any of that and instead, he came clean to us and warned us of the threat. So please let Varys explain himself and let's put this behind us right in this tent and show a united front against our enemy outside the gates."

Saying that Tyrion nodded to Varys and reclined back into his seat.

"Do you know why I am supporting Daenerys Targaryen? It is not because she is a trueborn Targaryen not is it because she has three dragons. It is because she has the right heart. Do you really think anyone in Westeros would have bothered to free the slaves of Yunkai, Astapor and Mereen? Do you think any king or queen that sat in the halls of power of the Red Keep would have given up the chance to sit on the Iron Throne and would rather stay in Mereen to rule? Daenerys could have sailed away after she took the ships, the army and the wealth she needed to invade Westeros but she didn't. That was when I knew that she had compassion in her heart. She may be young and know very little about ruling but that can be learned. She cared more about the people rather than her ambition or her dream. She set aside her wants for the sake of a people she owes nothing. She did the impossible and she tried and tried to do right as best as she could. She made mistakes but she still tried."

Tyrion looked at Varys in a new light as the eunuch spoke. He felt as if this was the most honest conversation that he had heard from the spymaster.

"I served two kings and I learned about the others that sat on the Iron Throne before them. I learned and observed the other lords of Westeros and none of them would have chosen the path that Daenerys took if they were in her place. They would not have freed the slaves and rather they would have sailed to Westeros thinking it an impossible task. She didn't and she accomplished all of this with very little help. Imagine what she could do with better education, better allies and better advisors! That's the reason why I decided to support the Dragon Queen. I grew up in alleys, gutters, abandoned shacks in my younger days. When I look upon Daenerys Targaryen I see a ruler that saw the same that I saw and was willing to fight for those who remained oppressed. Too many men have sat on the Iron Throne and too many of them were unworthy. Only one woman had the chance to sit the throne however brief it may have been but it's time that the throne once more be sat by a woman. The right woman!"

There was a pregnant pause and Tyrion took a glance at Ser Barristan who looked quite surprised at Varys's outburst. Ser Barristan was not the only one because he himself was quite flabbergasted by Varys. He had never imagined that the Spider could speak in such a way Tyrion had thought Varys to be a fellow cynic but perhaps he judged wrong. Beneath all that blubber, ruthlessness and cunning Varys was perhaps the more idealistic of them all.

"Well, there you have it. You have just heard the honest thoughts of Varys. I don't know how else he could convince you of his intentions." said Tyrion breaking the comfortable silence and the staring match that was going on between Barristan and Varys.

"I will not be the one to judge you Lord Varys. You will say what you have told me to her grace when she returns and she will judge you." Ser Barristan finally conceded

"Brilliant! Now we can circle back to the plan at hand. Do you have any objections or suggestions with the plan we have suggested for the negotiation with the Tattered Prince?" Tyrion asked the old knight.

"If you want to offer him Pentos and make him cooperate with us by somehow convincing him that the Blackfyre boy in Westeros is the son of Magister Illyrio Mopatis then, by all means, go ahead. But this meeting between the Tattered Prince and yourself will have to happen tomorrow not today." Ser Barristan proposed

"Why?" Tyrion asked

"The scouts report that their siege engines are almost ready. If the battle starts then I intend to ride out into the ranks of our enemy and fight them. Every day that you can delay an attack is a day where I can train the men and hope that our queen returns preferably with her dragon."

Tyrion was about to comment on that but paused as a small boy rushed into the tent and went straight for Varys. He folded his hands and looked on curiously as the small boy whispered into the Spider's ear. He, however, noted that Varys's face changed into one of dismay and horror in a blink of the eye.

"What happened?" Tyrion asked dreading this was some news about the queen's whereabouts.

"Quentyn Martell is dead. It seems he tried to play with the dragon as you did and got burned for his actions." said Varys looking at Tyrion who understood the implication of this incident. They had just about lost the support of Dorne with this single affair.