The Redfish (Chapter 22) (Patreon)

The stink

Edmure POV

It was the stink of shit that greeted us first. As we rode through the streets of King’s Landing, I saw many faces. Desperate ones were most common, from children to old men begging on the streets for coins and food. But those were the most visible ones. The ones in the dark alleys, with faces of snakes, were the ones I was concerned about most.

Even gold cloaks didn’t worry me much right now. I knew they wouldn’t do anything, and I knew to who they belonged. The children were scary too, running through the streets playing with balls and sticks, but I wouldn't get close to them if I didn’t hear them speak. The whores endorsing their brothels were the easiest to spot.

I have bought a manor in the city. Hopefully, no one knows about it but my agents. I knew I didn’t have much power in this city, and it would be hard to get any hold of other influences. So I concentrated most on the merchants in the harbor. Getting some trading ships and a few safehouses, if there is a need for it.

Ned left for the meeting of the small council, and I took care to make the girls and household settle down in the tower of the Hand. The Red Keep was unknown to me. There were plenty of secret tunnels that I needed to check and secure if possible. So when the household was busy settling down, I went exploring.

We arrived in the early afternoon. After looking around till late evening, I only found one entrance to a narrow tunnel. I knew it couldn’t be the only one in the tower, but damn, it was hard to notice any inconsistencies in the rooms or the walls. The one I found was behind the fireplace. It was weird how used it seems when the sun is frying everyone in the city. Even if stone walls keep it cool inside, there was no need to use a fireplace, and in the past ten years, it would be the same.

So the fireplace was an obvious one, but other places would need to be researched more thoroughly. For today is was enough, and I had dinner with Ned and his daughters. When I entered the dining hall, I saw everyone already seated and waiting for me. On the left seat of Ned sat the steward Vayon Poole and right sear left empty, so I took that seat.

“You are late,” Ned comments.

“I was lost. There are many rooms and halls to get misplaced,” I respond and take a cup with wine. “A strong wine, you should watch yourself to no drink it much,”

“I had enough games for today, Edmure,” Ned grunts.

“Let me guess, the first meeting didn’t go well,” I probe him.

“False smiles, words without meaning, and eyes of snakes. All of them have at least one of those traits, if not more that I didn’t notice,” Ned fumes with dissatisfaction in his voice.

“Welcome, to the King’s Landing,” I reply with a smile. “What was so important to have you after just arriving?”

“The King wants a tourney,” Ned grumbles, “To make matters worse, the prizes are outrageous. Forty thousand gold for the joust winner, twenty thousand for runner up and melee winner, ten thousand for archery winner. This kind of gold would let a household in the North survive the winter. There the gold is thrown to the fanciest swords.”

“Well, it isn’t our gold that thrown,” I remark.

“And it isn’t the King’s,” Ned adds. “The Lannister will have to sponsor this tourney with hundred thousand gold dragons.”

“Wait, hundred thousand?” I ask. “Doesn’t all the prizes sum up to ninety thousand?”

“There are other expenses to consider, ser Edmure,” Vayon Poole answers.

“Still, it wouldn’t cost more than five thousand and are saying that the crown doesn't have even that in its vaults,” I comment. “It just not possible, with all the gold my own house paid in taxes last year, the vaults shouldn’t be empty. It wouldn’t be possible to spend all of it even if you feed all the beggars in the King’s Landing.”

“Are insinuating a foul play?” Ned ask.

“It is something worth inspecting, where all the gold is gone to or to whom,” I state. “But this isn’t the place to talk about it.”

“No, it isn’t,” Ned agrees.

After that, the dinner ended in moderate silence.

…

The walls of the Red Keep, as the name suggests, are red. A finely done job by a stonemason, the surface of the walls is smooth and polished. But that made it easier to see any stone that sticks out of the walls. But even then, the secret entrances are well hidden. In a couple of weeks staying in the tower, I only found two other tunnels. One under the stairs and another in the great hall.

While Ned was questioning Grand Maester, I was looking around the Tower of the Hand. I didn’t dare to investigate outside it, as I wasn’t entirely sure if I was safe in the tower, not speaking of the rest of the Keep. The servants and guards belonged to someone else, and I am sure everyone will know if I went sniffing around there.

Once Ned finished with his duties as the hand for the day, I was done looking around. We met in his chambers. Before he started to talk to me, I went to every wall and checked if there weren’t any holes to spy on us from or hallow parts to eavesdropping. Only when I was sure there weren’t any did I turn to Ned.

“Let’s not raise our voices. The walls there have ears everywhere,” I tell Ned. “Have you find out something?”

“Jon Arryn died quickly and unnaturally,” Ned informs me.

“You believe it was indeed poison?” I ask.

“Yes. Jon was investigating something before he died,” He replies.

“Do you know what?” I ask already know the answer.

“No, but Stannis might know more. It seems that both of them were close, that Jon even proposed for his son to be fostered in Dragonstone,” Ned informs me.

“Interesting. When I wrote to Lysa to ask my nephew to be fostered in the Riverrun, she refused. Stating that the boy was promised to Tywin Lannister and refusing him would be disrespectful,” I tell him of my latest interactions with my sister.

“Damn it all. So many contradicting things happening, and there is no way of telling was is true or not. It feels like someone is purposely creating chaos to falter any investigation,” Ned grunts, frustrated. “What do you think of Lord Baelish? Isn’t he a friend of Lysa?”

“I genuinely don’t know him much, but I don’t think he has any goodwill to Starks after what your late brother has done to him,” I answer.

“He was brought here by Jon Arryn. He’s the only lead I have right now,” Ned responds. “Him and this book.”

“Baelish is master of coin, isn’t he?” I ask and take a look at the book. “He is suspicious, making the coin gone. I wouldn’t trust him.”

“There no evidence he is doing that, and Robert himself admitted that he spend a lot of coin to whores and wine. The Queen modest in buying silks and jewelry,” Ned informs me.

“If you say so, but I still would look into it if I was you,” I reply to him. “In the meanwhile, I will look at what Jon was doing before he died. See some of my informants if someone bought some kind of poison,”

“Very well, the tourney will take most of my time as it is,” Ned agrees.

“Oh, and I secured a sword to protect your daughters,” I inform Ned. “He is from Bravos and will teach your daughters some self-defense while keeping an eye for them.”

“Is it necessary?” Ned asks.

“We both won’t have much time to watch over them. And the girls should learn how to defend themselves before it’s too late. This city is filled with vicious snakes and ruthless bastards. As the Hand of the King, you might step on some lord's toes, who know if he isn’t petty enough to have some sick revenge on you or yours,” I explain to him.

“Damn, I shouldn’t have accepted his position,” Ned complains. “Fine, I trust you on keeping the girls save and protected,”

“Leave it to me, and focus on your own job,” I tell him.

…

The following day Samwell and I went to some merchants that I had contact with before. I tried to play it as just visiting and admiring some sights of the city. The spies were everywhere, and I could feel being watched. For now, I need information, and not being suspicious about it would be great. The last thing I wanted was to put someone on edge while my nieces and I were in the capital.

It was a small shop not far from the harbor, where all kinds of trinkets were sold that I entered first. The shopkeeper was an old man from Essos. Seeing me, he quickly stood up and greeted us. I bid for Samwell to look around if he wanted something while I went to the old man.

“Welcome to my humble shop, my lord,” The shopkeeper welcomes me with a sly smile. “I have everything from magic tomes from shadowlands of Asshai to golden statues, which brings good fortune from Yi-Ti.”

“Then might have poisons from Lys or Myr?” I ask, not amused.

“Poison, my lord?” He asks me back, insulted. “I wouldn’t dare to have something some vile in my shop,”

“Listen there, old man. You shouldn’t be blind to not see the color of my hair and eyes. The insignia on my shirt, so you should know who I am,” I tell him getting too close for his liking. “I will ask one more time, do you know anything of the poison sold in the market.”

“My lord, like I said before in my shop….” Before he could finish, I put my knife to his gut. “There was one man who asked me if I knew about some poison that could be sold in the market.”

“Who it was?” I ask.

“I don’t know, but I think he was from Red Keep, an acolyte to Grand Maester,” He replies quickly.

“You see, it wasn’t so hard,” I tell him while patting his shoulder. “Next time, you should remember that not only can I kill you, but I could also destroy your enterprise too. After all, if not for my generosity to merchants from another side of the Narrow sea, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Yes, my lord, my apologizes,” He replies with sweat coming from his forehead.

“I want to have your ears and eyes peeled. If there anyone else who wants to buy or sell any kind of poison or ingredients to make it, are we clear?” I ask, putting a pouch of gold in his hand.

“Yes, all you wish, my lord,” He answers eagerly.

After buying some wolf and trout statues made of colorful metal, I went back to the Red Keep. The stink of the city following me behind.

…

The longer I spent in the King’s Landing and Red Keep, the more I noticed the people watching me. Or the powers of the city wanted to keep watch on me more and more as I spent my time with Ned. But children playing in the gardens, the maids coming and leaving the Tower of the Hand, was hard to not notice.

I didn’t like how Ned questioned everyone he suspected and sought answers with people he shouldn’t indulge with. Well, who I am to forbid him to do so? As he was disturbing the players with his bluntness, I was looking for leads at many other things happening in the Seven Kingdoms.

The wealth of the Ironborn was most concerning to me. I did everything to limit the Iron Islands of their wood, iron, and food, so for them to prepare a new fleet out of nowhere was very disturbing. The most obvious culprit would be Littlefinger, with his contracts and gold, probably stole from the Crown. It wouldn’t be hard for him to support the Ironborn.

The question is, to what extent is he involved, and what is he conspiring to do? Without Cat for him to manipulate, I wonder what his next move will be. He will definitely start a conflict, but even Ned doesn’t let himself be dependent on Littlefinger. So who and how will he use to make some chaos?

While questioning the methods of someone like Littlefinger, I made moves to influence his most powerful force, gold cloaks. I knew I walked on the thin ice with them, but they had the most information and influence in the city. So here I am, sitting in a dark corner of a dirty tavern waiting for a city watch member to meet me.

“You are the one who wanted to talk with me?” A young man asks when he sits in front of me.

“Yes, I heard that you and some of your colleagues' are unsatisfied with the path your order is going,” I tell him.

“We were supposed to be put order to the city and protect the citizens, but what we are doing is nothing but take gold and serve the lords while others have to suffer,” He complained. “I grew up in this city. After the sack of the city by Lannisters, the gold cloaks become nothing but well payed and well-armed thugs. I joined them because I thought I could protect my family and neighbors, but I had to watch as my own colleagues' things that I promised my family I would protect them from.”

“Why haven’t you stopped them?” I ask the agitated young man.

“How? My seniors who tried to stand against it went missing or just left on their own,” He explains to me. “We don’t have any say in it. The lords like how my superiors can order do to their dirty jobs.”

“So you keep quiet about it?” I continue to inquire of him, wanting to understand him better.

“Yes, but sometimes I just can’t let some things go, so I was made an example and put in the bottom of the order,” He grumbles.

“I see. If I supported you and your like-minded friends, would you stand against your superiors?” I ask.

“I am not going to lie. I don’t know who you are. But there are just a couple of hundreds of men with my mindset. The rest don’t care or, worse, likes how things are,” He explains to me. “I don’t even know why I come there in the first place.”

“You came here because you care. Because you are looking for something to do than just to watch,” I tell the young man and pass him a note. “These are names of merchants who will help you with it. When Lannisters and other lords cross the line of morality, it will be up to you and your friends to help your families and neighbors.”

“Why? Aren’t you a lord too? Why help us smallfolk?” The young man asks, confused.

“To tell the truth, I don’t. But when next time I come to this city and smell the stink of blood in it, I don’t believe I would be able to sleep anymore,” I answer and leave him.