Chapter 88 - Artican Trade in Westeros 15 (Journey to the West 02!).

[Chapter Size: 2700 Words.]

---------------------------------------

Thrid Person POV

Westeros, 295 AC.

---------------------------------------

In the sea ahead of Dorne, the massive fleet divided, with a quarter of it turning north with 40 carracks and 10 warships, galleys, heading back to pass through Stepstone. The fleet was much smaller now, and this could attract many greedy eyes wanting to attack the fleet. However, they would only underestimate the arcane power, and anyone who tried their luck would be surprised by a huge kraken in the sea before their ships were destroyed by it.

Jon had loaded many items he acquired in Dorne, including the sand from Dorne, along with hundreds of scholars. The captains leading those 50 ships carried scrolls with orders from their king to start utilizing everything they carried for Artica.

Meanwhile, the other fleet was cutting through the deep waters heading south, aiming for their next stop across the continent. Jon intended to unload the gold and goods before loading new products that the Reach could provide.

"Hey, Jon, what are you thinking about...?" Arya approached after her training on the deck, seeing her brother looking north from the rear part of the ship.

"Nothing much, just thinking..." Jon spoke calmly, and Arya didn't believe him, but seeing that her brother wouldn't talk, she let it go.

"Let's go to the cabin, I'm hungry, I'd like to eat with you and Seryna." She said, and Jon nodded, moving away from the bow of the ship and heading inside, but not before taking one more look back.

He wasn't exactly thinking about his woman who left him, but rather the crows as they headed north. Jon had never had such a long connection, so he wanted to stay alert in case he lost contact with them, but so far, they were not out of his reach.

The group of 3 crows continued on their opposite course, following the instructions of their new master without stopping for the last 3 days. They flew high above the blue waters, passing by coastal cities and crossing the border of Dorne, entering the Stormland and continuing along the coast, only stopping to rest a bit and feed before continuing their long journey, with days passing and the crows moving from one coastal city to another.

Another week had passed, and they finally crossed the second border, entering the Crownlands and heading towards King's Landing, which took only a few more days. Finally, seeing King's Landing, the grand capital of the Seven Kingdoms, one morning.

Jon, finally seeing through the eyes in real-time without losing the connection despite the enormous distance, saw the capital for the first time not through green sight. He had to admit that when he was there, it was a bit different, to begin with, the smell was much more horrible than before, after all, the green sight could not have accessed it 15 or 16 years ago.

The crows flew over the city walls while some guards patrolling there, known as the City Watch of King's Landing, were just watching the walls while noticing the trio of crows passing in the sky, but none paid it much attention as they continued with their activities.

It was the early hours of the day, and at that moment Jon was in his bed with his naked wife beside him, so he just lay in bed watching all those scenes while the ship cut through the south of Dorne.

'This city, even seeing it through the eyes of these crows, I can feel how heavy the atmosphere here is...' He murmured as he continued over the red rooftops, a bell of the great sept ringing at that moment, seeming like the High Septon was going to speak something to the people at that time, but Jon guided the crows towards the largest structure, but not without passing by one of the most iconic places in the capital, the Dragonpit in the middle of the city.

Its history always intrigued Jon, with the people themselves coming together more than 200 years ago to kill the dragons chained there during the dance... Jon didn't know what to feel about it, since he had mixed feelings. He really didn't appreciate the idea of killing a caged animal in such a cowardly way, but it was total war and times were different.

Jon could also see in that space where dragons used to dance in the sky in their time, the Blackwater, which stretched from the city's harbor to the open sea with many ships coming from these and other parts of Westeros entering the harbor, while an equal amount were leaving.

The crows also flew over the poorest part of King's Landing, Flea Bottom, where people were not hygienic at all, sewers cut through the streets while the people themselves defecated in the middle of the place, its streets were infested with beggars, and low-standard prostitutes looked for clients while children ran around looking for food.

"This is totally different from Artica..." Jon couldn't help but think, not even in the North with his father, was there so much poverty.

Turning his attention back to the city, as he flew over the pit and looked at the abandoned and quite destroyed place, he followed to the Red Keep in the middle of that atmosphere boiling with intrigues and power games, where one wants to gain advantages over another, where one wants to kill another, where one wants to set one against another, all to have power in their favor. After all, Jon used to say to himself while visiting King's Landing at various times, when it comes to the game of the Iron Throne, regardless of who you are, either you win, or you die.

Turning attention to the streets below the crows, in an even richer neighborhood, there were numerous merchants circling the streets, some pickpocketing children fled from guards trying to catch them, there were much more patrols here than in other neighborhoods, some nobles also walked through the streets being surrounded by guards with the coat of arms of their house.

Seeing the last streets, Jon finally saw himself entering near the gate of the Red Keep, as he guided them to circle the place, his piercing gaze watched the comings and goings of courtiers, soldiers, servants, and one or two white cloaks. Jon could say he was looking at the place with his eyes while focusing on everything he watched in his brain.

The Red Keep was an imposing structure, with its towers reaching for the sky like spikes, but nothing compared to his castle in Artica which will be even bigger. Jon decided to split them and the crows quickly departed in 3 opposite directions. The first went to the gardens, landing in a large place, where there were many nobles, mainly women, talking about things Jon did not pay attention to because they were useless, as they were gossiping about Prince Joffrey and the king. The others continued mapping the fortress, the second followed behind the fortress and saw a large window on a wall, there was the Baratheon symbol affixed to the place and seeing one of the entrances open, he decided to explore, passing through the hole, Jon saw himself in a place he did not believe to find so soon... which was the Iron Throne in a huge place that could accommodate more than 100 people in an audience or trial.

The crow landed gently on the continent's most desired chair and it startled a servant by the side, seeing a crow approaching.

"Are you alright?" Said a servant girl approaching the one who had fallen.

"Yes... they left the window open, now there's a crow on the Iron Throne." He said sarcastically.

"Shoo!" The woman tried to scare the crow away, making Jon fly upwards. There were many servants cleaning the place before the day officially started.

Jon tired of staying there and although he put his claws on the Iron Throne, he was not seeking a throne, but rather the knowledge of his possible spies and what they seek, the crow left the servant still trying to scare him off and again passed through the open window and continued gaining altitude by the fortress, going to the higher windows, with the intention of catching an important room.

He continued to the highest and found the crown prince, who was picking up a crossbow and shooting at an apple on the other side of the room smiling every time he hit it. "I don't like that smile..." Jon looked at the boy and had the impression that that boy did not have a good personality.

Leaving the prince aside, he moved to the next window, where there was a younger boy playing with some objects innocently. "This must be Tommen Baratheon, the youngest."

Leaving the second prince, he found Princess Myrcella, combing her hair by the window, who soon saw movement that morning, "Hm?" She noticed the crow and was surprised by it as it landed in front of her, tilting its head like a curious bird.

"Who are you, little friend?" She said softly.

"Caw!" The crow simply emitted its normal sound in response.

"Do you understand me?!" The girl seemed fascinated by this thought.

Jon was laughing in his bed, wondering if it would be alright to deceive a child with a bird. "Jon, why are you laughing?!" Seryna beside him placed her chin on his chest and looked confused at her husband laughing alone early in the morning.

"It's nothing, just guiding those crows in King's Landing, I got there, you know." Jon said and although Seryna was curious, she knew her husband was in the middle of a task and just stayed silent, feeling his body heat.

Meanwhile, the crow, under Jon's mental command, nodded its head, leaving the little girl enchanted by it, but before she could say anything, the crow took off, flying to another side of the Red Keep, leaving Princess Myrcella a bit sad about it.

Jon continued exploring each of those windows, trying to mark where each of its residents stayed. Most of their rooms were empty, except for one large room with 3 women sleeping in it, which must be where the king slept and those women would be prostitutes.

"Where is everyone there..." Jon wondered as he moved to the rooms below, he did not limit himself to seeing if there was a resident, the crow entered the room and saw scrolls on top of the tables, reading all of them with maps and some quite compromising things, but nothing so important to Jon. He entered rooms where there were also visitors, listening to their conversations and whispers.

His question of where the residents of the main rooms were was answered by the last crow, exploring the central part of the castle, while there were many open areas like courtyards, small gardens, the crow found something quite interesting, in an open area but protected so no one could approach, there was the council chamber.

It was in this place where the main decisions of the Seven Kingdoms were made, where the people closest to the king should discuss important matters with him, but it seemed that Jon had a very ideal view of what it should be because this king was not as responsible as he imagined, seeing that his father saw him as a friend even though he had offended him.

The first thing the crow heard as soon as it landed was the king himself in a bad mood, entering the place thundering, the crow perched in a spot near the ceiling unnoticed, and the place seemed already filled.

"Why was I pulled from my fun before even the first meal?! I was sleeping with my whores!!" he roared, clearly annoyed at being pulled away from his carnal pleasures as always. His demeanor was that of a man who preferred the company of wine cups and prostitutes to the responsibility of the throne. "Is there something that justifies this interruption, or was it just to ruin my day?" He growled.

Cersei, the queen of the Seven Kingdoms, with the Lannister appearance that the crow was seeing, trembled at the mention of prostitutes, as Jon could perceive, seeming to not appreciate the humiliation and her husband boasting about sleeping with paid women.

Jon then looked to the oldest man in the place, he seemed the calmest of all and quite disappointed with the king in some way. Then it was easy for Jon to realize that this was the Hand of the King, a man who was supposed to control the kingdom after the king.

There were many other people, but Jon first paid attention to the main ones, in fact, he was quite disappointed with what he was seeing, it was the first time he saw the king of Westeros and the man already had a belly, nothing compared to the stories of the rebellion against the Targaryens or the Greyjoy rebellion.

Jon could see that this man was nothing like the ideal of a king he aspired to be in Artica; first, Jon didn't even have a Hand of the King to delegate decision-making responsibilities for the kingdom.

Another thing was seeing how the Hand seemed more like someone trying to balance Robert's extravagances rather than the kingdom's needs, with the king himself not even wanting to be there, preferring to stay in his room with prostitutes than to discuss kingdom affairs, according to his own words.

The older man cleared his throat, shifting his face from disappointment to one of seriousness, responding to his king's inquiry. "Your Majesty," he began, with a calm voice that sought to soothe the monarch's fury, "we have urgent news from the south that demands your attention."

Robert gave a disdainful look to the man in front of him, still clearly reluctant to exchange immediate pleasures for state affairs. However, the mention of the south seemed to pique some interest.

"What news are these that cannot wait until I am properly inebriated?" Robert questioned, crossing his arms, appearing irritated and resigned while waiting for a satisfactory answer.

The Hand of the King sighed before continuing. "Reports have arrived from Dorne, Your Majesty. It seems that an ancient icon from the north has returned and made significant moves in the region, involving trade alliances and even reports of witchcraft," he said.

"What are you talking about, witchcraft? An icon from the north. Jon, spit it all out at once," Robert seemed even more irritated by this strange conversation.

"The fleet that all the ports are talking about, where you yourself wanted to know who they were and what their objective was heading south with 200 large ships..." He began, and now Robert appeared to have a keen interest in the matter.

"Continue," he said, moving to a table and grabbing wine, after all, this was something he wanted to know, in case they were enemies, he would face them, having fought against 500 ships of the Ironborn many years ago...

"First, we didn't know what their flag meant, but a few days ago, we discovered they are the same flags that appeared in the north and Winterfell. We confirmed this with our spies coming from the south, that fleet belongs to Ned's son, Jon Snow. The boy has returned with a formidable force after spending years north of the Wall, and our master of whispers can say incredibly unbelievable things about what he did in the south," Jon Arryn spoke with a heaviness, not knowing whether to believe everything he heard.

"What!!??" The king exclaimed in surprise. "Ned's son has returned?! After he had taken his sister north of the Wall?! Why didn't you tell me all this before, now tell me everything!! Your king commands!" He shouted, immediately setting aside his drink and turning to Varys with an intense look.

Jon, from a distance, listened attentively. 'This is going to be interesting...' He thought, paying close attention to that last crow to hear the entire conversation that would follow and how Westeros would deal with Jon and his fleet.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝

I deeply appreciate your support since the beginning of this exciting journey!

I hope each chapter has provided incredible moments. If you like my work and would like to support the continuation of this fanfic, consider becoming a patron with plans starting at $2!. As a token of gratitude, I offer access to more than 165 extra chapters with 8 active fanfics at the same time, along with other exclusive benefits on my profile, such as images and significant decisions for the stories.

Even if you are not a patron, I am making chapters available a few hours earlier here, so become a free member on the platform!

🌟 RaccoonLeague | Patreon🌟

Visit our Patreon for more: https://www.patreon.com/RaccoonLeague

Extra Content Already Available:

🌀 Naruto - Light Ninja! 20 extra chapters! (Complete fanfic for any subscription level.)

🏴‍☠️ One Piece - I Am a Different Luffy!: 30 extra chapters!

🔮 Danmachi - Infinite Mana System!: 20 extra chapters!

👑 Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic!: 20 extra chapters!

🌀 Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI!: 30 extra chapters!

🗡️ The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! 20 extra chapters!

⚡ Harry Potter - Shadow Monarch! 20 extra chapters!

👑 Game of Thrones: DragonBorn! 10 extra chapters!

🛸 Star Wars - The Gray Jedi! (New)

🧙‍♂️ Harry Potter - Ancient Magic! (NEW)

🌃 Cyberpunk: V Reborn! (NEW)

Except for One Piece with daily chapters and DragonBorn once a week, all fanfics are updated 3 times a week, there's just a pause in updating in the week, only to create drafts for the week's chapters.

In addition to the extra chapters, daily chapters are posted and 25 chapters per week!

Your support is very important and makes all the difference in keeping these stories alive.

Thank you very much for being part of this journey! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and that it brings even more joy to your life!

Visit our Patreon for more!!

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆