56 The Small council reacts

King's Landing, Crownlands, the third moon of 281 AC

Kingslanding was in a semi-state of chaos; after a year and a half of prosperity, the threat of returning to what it was before didn't appeal to many people. The prosperity began with a trade deal between the Skagossi Lord and Prince Rhaegar; Kingslanding would be the middle man of any trade between The North and the rest of the kingdoms; it worked so well that half of the jobless people in Flea Botton now had jobs. When Skagos began selling their clear glass two times cheaper than Myr's, gold began flowing like a river; then those brandy alcohol came, then their new jewelry, a beautiful mix between the Lysseny and northern jewelry, became popular due to Princess Elia wearing all the time. For the first time since Jaehaerys, The Conciliator, and Daeron, The Good, King's Landing was prospering. It all stopped when the Skagossi began selling everything seven times more expensive than initially. The Skagossi merchants were mad at something; they would look at all southerners with disgust and rage; it was like the people of King's Landing had done something extremely wrong to them. It was only when a famous northern merchant went to talk with the Skagossi that the truth came out, someone had hired assassins to kill Lord Dovahkiin and his infant daughter, most probably from the south, as the Northerners despised assassins as much as they despised kinslayers. What surprised the people of King's Landing the most was that Lord Dovahkiin didn't order the increase in the Skagossi merchandise; the skagossi merchants were doing it themselves.

Varys POV

As he walked through the Red Keep, Varys wondered how someone could be so dumb to try to assassinate a man like Dovahkiin and the man's daughter. Dovahkiin was not someone to be trifled with; a powerful ally and a deadly enemy. It took Varys almost a moon to understand what was happening with the Skagossi; for him, it was almost funny, the smallfolk preparing to go to war by themselves, merchants raising their prices without being ordered to, sailors training at night all that without their liege lord demanding it; it was a rare thing to witness.

Varys entered the small-council room, knowing this session would be challenging, bringing the news that the man who commands a dragon, the self-proclaimed greatest sorcerer of all time, was preparing for war, or in this case, his people, would not be an easy quest. Varys hoped Rhaegar would sail to Skagos and fix that problem; as much as Varys hated magic, he couldn't let the opportunity to have Dragons for his cause escape, especially since killing Dovahkiin was not possible.

" All council members are present; let us begin this emergency session called by Lord Staunton and Lord Varys. Prince Rhaegar was asked to attend this meeting by Lord Varys." Tywin Lannister said calmly

" Out with it, Staunton! This better be important! What is so important that couldn't be discussed on next moon's council," said Aerys heatedly

" Y-your grace, This is an important matter; this concerns not only my office but the Master of coins as well." Lord Staunton, the master of laws, said

" Out. With. It!" Aerys said

" Your Grace, The skagossi merchants, and sailors have raised their prices by sevenfold. The glass, drinks, and jewelry prices all had gone up. Most smallfolk in the city lost their jobs." Lord Staunton said

" That makes no sense, my lord. I talked about this with Ragnar. This trade agreement between Skagos and the Crown was about selling large quantities of goods at a lower price, using King's Landing as a middleman; it would make no sense to raise the price of each item now. It would not be profitable, not for us and not for them." Prince Rhaegar said

" Why would that be my problem? The dragon doesn't care about what others think or do." Aerys said

" Your grace, the problem is that if we don't do anything, there will be riots all around the city. For some reason, according to the gold cloaks, they are blaming the crown for this problem!" Lord Staunton answered.

" Riots? That doesn't make any sense! They lived like that before the trade agreement! This is preposterous… It seems they need a reminder of why we are we and why they are the sheep." Lord Tywin said coldly and monotonously

" Would not it be better if we demand that Lord Dovahkiin return to the original prices? Isn't this the problem?" Lord Chelsted said

" Lord Dovahkiin doesn't set the prices, his merchants do. Lord Dovahkiin gives them the goods to sell, a time to go and return, as well as what he expects his revenues to be, he instructs them to sell at a specific price, but it is not a demand." Prince Rhaegar said and then looked at Varys.

" Lord Varys, Do you have any reports to give on why the skagossi have raised their prices?" Prince Rhaegar said

" Yes, your grace. It seems the Skagossi are preparing for war." Varys said calmly, with a flat face.

"WHAT?" Aerys shouted

" War? against who?" Tywin asked as flat-faced as Varys himself

" No one knows… yet, lord hand," Varys said

" Why did Ragnar call his banners? He certainly had nothing to war against the last time we talked." Prince Rhaegar said

" It doesn't matter; your grace! Call the banners! We must end this fiend once and for all." Pycelle said, " Send faceless man for his wife, and the Dragon will not be part of this war."

" That would not be possible. The faceless men don't take contracts for Lord Dovahkiin. They don't take any contracts for anyone in Skagos." Varys said, " as to why would Lord Dovahkiin call his banners? He didn't. He hasn't even hinted at war against anyone. The Skagossi smallfolk are preparing for war. Two moons ago, there was an assassination attempt on Lord Dovahkiin and his young daughter; both survived; Lord Dovahkiin was hurt, but with his magic, it was like nothing. The Skagossi merchants and sailors train every night on their ships. They want reparations against those who dared to try and harm their Lord and his daughter. They are out for blood… and Lord Dovahkiin didn't demand any of that. They are doing it by themselves." Varys said; he noticed Pycelle glaring at him but kept his face emotionless

" How do you know this, Spider? I thought your little birds didn't fly on Skagos." Pycelle said heatedly

" They don't… all this I got from their sailors and merchants in Kingslanding. They said the sorrowful men would be no more very soon. One captain claimed to know why retribution is taking so long, but he remained tight-lipped about it." Varys said

" Absolute and unshakable loyalty… something rarely seen south of The Neck. If Lord Dovahkiin hasn't called his banners or raised an army, what is he doing?" Tywin said

" The Skagossi said he captured the assassins… however, that would not yield any evidence; the assassins are probably unaware of who contracted their order… If I were to take a guess… Qarth will see ice and snow for the first time… very soon." Varys said

" Then why are these tree worshiping selvages blaming the crown for this? I'll burn them all for this insult! I am the Dragon! They will not blame me for anything!" Aerys said, his eyes glistening with madness

" The Skagossi aren't blaming the crown, your grace; they blame the whole south, from the Riverlands to Dorne, from the Vale to Casterly Rock," Varys said quickly

" That is a good question, Father; Mayhaps someone is plotting to bring war between Lord Dovahkiin and us by using these assassins as decoys. Mayhaps a person or a group of people trying to avoid the return of the firebreathing dragons to House Targaryen." Rhaegar said as his eyes went on Pycelle, then on Tywin, and finally returned to his father. "Lord Dovahkiin has confirmed your fears, father… something has been poisoning mother's belly so she would fail to give birth."

" WHO DARES! WHO DARES PLOT AGAINST ME!! WHO DARES!! BURN THEM ALL! RHAEGAR!!! YOU WILL SAIL TO SKAGOS AND TALK TO DOVAHKIIN ABOUT THIS! I DEMAND THAT HIS WIFE BRINGS HER DRAGON ON MY ENEMIES!!" Aerys ranted, and Varys couldn't help but feel sorry for the silver prince.

" Father… I will do so, but first, we must find out who is plotting against House Targaryen. Let Dovahkiin's wife go with him to Qarth so they can get to the ones who put the contract, whoever that is; they must be the same plotting against our House. We must be discreet about it, father… if they could get to Skagos, where no spy could… then they can get everywhere. Should they know we are aware of this conspiracy, then… then they will act hushedly." Rhaegar said, trying to reason with his mad father

" Yes… yes. Sail to Skagos under the pretense of fixing this whole price issue. Talk to Lord Dovahkiin about this conspiracy and demand that he uses his magic to find out the culprits of these acts," Aerys said, his voice breaking like the windows on the Dragonpit

" Yes, father… I will do so." Rhaegar said as he got up

Aerys nodded

" If this gets out, I'll have your heads… dismissed, and remember, should this leave this room, you will all lose your heads," Aerys said

Varys left the small council room as soon as she was dismissed. There are plans to be made, plots to shake, and possibilities to consider.

" For Serra," Varys said lowly

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A/N: That's it for today guys! Maybe tomorrow I'll update again… I feel very creative right now.

Some of you got close in your theory… but none got it right. Ragnar has talked about them before, they are out there, but not for long!

Thank you for your support