Chapter 9

I had little trouble entering the Red Keep now that I had Stannis' Invitation, but resolved to be on my guard. For all that Stannis had an office here and was in residence currently, this was still very much a Lannister stronghold, and I had still humiliated their Golden Boy. I was directed to the office of the Master of Ships easily enough and there were two guards in the colors of Dragonstone standing outside the door. I showed them the letter and they let me through.

I was let into a spartanly furnished waiting room. I knew Stannis had little enough love for creature comforts, and to be honest I had gotten used to a much poorer standard of living since arriving in Westeros than what was on offer here. I was told by a Page that Stannis would see me in a moment, no doubt he had some pressing business dealing with the fleet or some such. As I waited I reflected on the past few days. The Tournament had wrapped up nicely, with Ser Barristan Selmy winning the Tournament, as he had been the one this time to keep the Mountain From killing Loras Tyrell after Tyrell used the same trick he did in Canon to distract the Mountain's Horse. Ser Barristan managed to not only stop the mountain from killing Loras, but had managed to use what I recognized as a Mix of Wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu moves to hand Gregor his ass. Probably a good idea to Stay on his Good Side then. Tyrell bowed out of the final afterwards in gratitude. Fortuitously I had bet on Ser Barristan to win the second I saw him advance against Dondarrion, who had beaten Stannis to advance to the Quarter Finals. I had made eight times my bet of 20 Gold Dragons, which I had placed at a one of the gambling establishments I was certain was owned by Littlefinger. Between Bets on the Tourney, Dungeons, and Melee Winnings, I now stood at a cool 21,460 Golden Dragons, 130 Silver Stags, and 4 Copper Stars. It was more money than the Vast Majority of Westerosi would see in their lifetimes.

I had also absorbed both Skillbooks I had received from the Tourney, leveling them in Dungeons over the past week or so till they Were at level 10, or max level in the Case of Blunt Weapons Mastery. Blunt Weapons Mastery, it turned out, was the most useful skill against heavily armored foes, as Blunt Weapons were often made to crush or pierce armored plates. Battle Precognition took some getting used to, as it functioned a lot like Spidey Sense, it gave you a sense of danger and a direction and it was up to you to decide how to avoid it. I managed to get good enough with it that it was actually helpful in combat rather than distracting.

Lastly, I had spent 36 stat points, 2 each into STR, DEX, and VIT, bringing their base scores up to 30 and their adjusted scores up to 40, and 10 Each in INT, WIS, and LUK, bringing them all up to 30 base. This wiped out the Majority of my Stat Points, leaving me with only 16 left unspent, but gained me a new series of Traits for each stat, some of which affected HP and MP, giving me a 10% boost to their totals, which was nice, while the others gave boosts to skills or situations, and in the case of DEX, gave a boost to Acrobatics, a skill I didn't have yet.

As I finished my musings I noticed that the Page had said that Stannis was ready to see me now. It was time to go meet with the Man I was going to back for King of Westeros. I walked in and Stannis gestured to a chair across from him. I sat and he began the meeting with.

"I have had my men try to find records of your birth, but with the Sacking of Pyke during the Rebellion such are hard to come by. All we know is that you sailed with a Captain named Ulfryk the Grim as a Sellsail out in Essos until fairly recently. My men say you were involved in the Fighting between Myr and Tyrosh until some sort of contract dispute caused Ulfryk to leave Tyroshi Service. You made port in King's Landing last month and parted from his company. My question is why?" Asked Stannis.

"Ulfryk wanted to Leave Tyroshi Service. I disagreed. Tyrosh was winning the War, there was a very real chance that we could even push up to the Gates of Myr if things continued the way they were going. Unfortunately, Ulfryk wanted more money. I tried to tell him that we gave Tyrosh our Word and that if he would just wait a few more months he might get a chance to help sack Myr and then would get all the gold he could ever desire, but he wouldn't listen. He demanded more money, Tyrosh told us to piss off, and I left shortly after we made port." I shrugged, tapping into the Memories of what happened before I had been inserted into Robb Pyke.

"You left because your captain broke his word?" Asked Stannis.

"I keep my Promises, my Lord. If you should ever have cause to doubt that, go talk to Jaime Lannister and ask him what I promised him I'd do in the Melee. Ulfryk Gave his word to Tyrosh, and what's more, by being a member of his crew he effectively gave my word as well. He then made me a liar. If I ever see Ulfryk again, I'm afraid I'd be forced to do something. . .unkind to him for doing so." I replied.

"Interesting. I find myself in need of such honest men in these times. Your skill at arms is also a bonus. I would like to take you into my service. I have little coin at present, Dragonstone and the Narrow Sea is not the Wealthiest of Lordships, but I can do something better. I realize that as an Ironborn, Knighthood means little to you, but if you will swear to serve me, I can raise you up to a small lordship, it would be barely better than a Landed Knight's Status, but it would be a definite step up from your current position. There is a Ruined Castle called the Whispers in Crackclaw Point. It has been abandoned since the Rebellion, but the hills around it are rich in Iron and Stone for Quarrying, Forests for Wood and Game, and there is a port town that has grown up around a former smuggler's cove there. You would be Sworn to House Celtigar of Claw Isle, who in turn are Sworn To me. With your recent winnings, you would be able to renovate the Whispers and still have enough coin left over for other projects, provided you consolidate. What say you?" Asked Stannis.

I blinked and said, "My Lord, are you quite sure that you wish to raise me up in exchange for my service? After all, I am an Ironborn, the Son of a Former Enemy of Yours, in fact, natural born or no. People will talk and perhaps the conclusions they come to will not be to your liking."

"I will not mince words with you. You have shown ability, and you have shown a willingness to honor your word and keep to agreements. The fact of the Matter is that Crackclaw Point is full of Targaryen Loyalists, many of the Houses of the Point sent troops to the Trident to fight under Rhaegar. This has meant, in more recent times, that House Celtigar, who are Lords over the Point, has had trouble collecting the amount of taxes they are owed. Your presence in the Whispers will bolster house Celtigar's Power on the Point, and make it easier for them to collect the taxes they are due. So you see, I have my own reasons beyond the capabilities you have demonstrated for doing this. Now, do you accept or no?" Replied Stannis.

"How could I refuse? Of course I accept." I replied.

"Then you will need to finish your business in the Capitol Quickly, for we leave for Dragonstone in three days time. I will ennoble you there, in front of my assembled Bannermen." Said Stannis.

"Then I have much to do and not a lot of time to do so, by your leave, my Lord." I Replied.

Stannis nodded and I exited the Office. I was going to be an honest to god lord, true it would be a Minor Lordship and I'd be Sworn to House Celtigar of Claw Isle instead of directly to Baratheon of Dragonstone, but it was definitely a start. If I could get the Whispers and my lands in order before the end of the year, I'd even be able to enjoy it for a few days before war breaks out. My mind immediately went to what I would need to do to prepare for departure in three days. I didn't have much here, having my possessions stored entirely within my inventory. I could only think of one thing that I needed to do before I left.

"Welp, looks like it's time to go into the Dragonpit Dungeon." I muttered under my breath as I strolled out of the Red Keep