Playing the Game Ch. 23 (Game of Thrones) (Patreon)

A/N: Here's the newest chapter. Make sure to read the closing Author's Note BEFORE you vote!

In which the Mercenary Captain from way back finally gets a name...

-x-X-x-

“Are you absolutely certain of this, your majesty?”

Jon smiles, more than capable of appreciating Captain Jorio Dyniros’ caution. The mercenary had been with him since Braavos after all, the one dispatched by the Iron Bank to… secure their investment. Jon may have gone off the beaten path, but he had no desire to upset the greatest bank in the world. Still, there were some things that were more important than coin and wealth.

Not that the Iron Bank understood that. And Jon was well aware of that simple fact. He comprehended that his most powerful ally was in fact an institution that sought what was owed it above all else. That, by going in the opposite direction that they’d intended for him, Jon strained their relationship, just a tad. But he liked to think he’d more than proved at this point that he had no intention of forsaking them all. He would not forget those who had helped him rise so high.

So far, the Iron Bank had seemed rather pleased with the backwards-looking progress he’d made. Part of that probably came from Jon making the quite judicious choice early on to try and begin paying back his debts… preemptively, so to speak. Jon understood what the Iron Bank wanted from him. They wanted to put him on the throne of Westeros so that he could rule over the Seven Kingdoms and they in turn could be repaid the crowns they were owed to them.

Jon was perfectly fine with that arrangement, but there were things he had to do first. Saving Daenerys had been the most obvious, but after her, things had become a lot less obvious and a lot… murkier. He’d gone from saving Daenerys, to leading a Dothraki Khalasar, to leading the entirety of the Dothraki, to conquering Slaver’s Bay and outlawing slavery there.

Now, Braavos had been built on free men who had managed to escape their bondage and find a safe haven away from Essos’ rampant slavery. So an institution like the Iron Bank wasn’t going to be upset seeing slavery expunged from the continent. They certainly weren’t going to be upset when he was sending some of the massive amount of wealth he was accumulating back to them through the Great Grass Sea along routes that had not been secured and safe to travel for quite a long time.

Jon’s control over the Dothraki didn’t just give the Iron Bank material wealth, it gave them stability in a region that had never, ever been stable before. The Iron Bank could send caravans and merchants through the Great Grass Sea with his marking and have it be understood by any legitimate Horse Lords that came across them that they were under his protection. And they could charge a premium for such a thing as well.

So yes, all of this was to say, the Iron Bank was mighty pleased with Jon, even if he hadn’t gone in the direction they intended for him to go. And part of that came down to having one of their representatives with him in the form of Caption Dyniros. With the sheer amount of land between them and him, the Iron Bank had to trust in the Captain to be their eyes and ears, as well as their mouthpiece when it came to their needs and their desires.

And so, of course the man was coming to him now. After all, the announcement Jon had made… the Iron Bank likely wouldn’t be too happy to hear about it by the time it reached their ears. Of course, given how far away they were, he’d probably have either succeeded or failed in his latest endeavor by the time news reached their ears as well. Which was why Captain Dyniros was attempting to do his duty and step in.

“I am. But I am also more than willing to hear your concerns, Captain.”

Pressing his lips together thinly, the Braavosi frowns.

“I would think my concerns speak for themselves. Old Valyria has been a toxic, dangerous wasteland full of monstrosities and other horrors for centuries now. That’s not changed any time recently, as far as I’m aware. I’m not sure it’s in our best interest to be going on this expedition to the ruined peninsula. Not when there are other, better things we could be doing… such as Volantis.”

Jon smiles a bit at that.

“So you’d rather I have us press on through to Volantis then?”

They were already on the move, as it were. Going from Meereen, they’d made good time and ended up entering the ruins of Bhorash, a former border stronghold of the Valyrian Freehold just the day before. It was where they were making their camp now as they planned the next leg of their journey, which would take them on to Mantarys, and then south towards Oros.

That was where Jon needed to go. He couldn’t say how he knew, just that he knew. That voice in the back of his head that wasn’t a voice was telling him he needed to get to Valyria. And this was the best way there, as far as Jon was concerned.

“… I would rather have us not have entered this area at all, your Grace. Respectfully, I would rather we had taken the boats around the entire peninsula to Volantis and landed there to secure an audience with your supporters in the city, as soon as possible. I worry…”

Here, Captain Dyniros catches himself. Jon just gives him a raised eyebrow and smiles slightly.

“Speak freely Captain.”

“… Very well, I worry that we are marching to our doom.”

Jon smiles at that. Because in all fairness, under normal circumstances he would agree with the Captain. Old Valyria was an unknown place of horrors and untold danger that had swallowed up its fair share of treasure seekers. The most famous that HE had heard of was one of the Lannisters leaving on an expedition to try and recover the lost Valyrian Steel Sword of a Lannister King from long ago some years back. And he’d never returned.

So yes, to most, Valyria and anything to do with it was a fool’s errand. But Jon knew better. He could feel it in his very bones. As if to confirm it, a dragon’s cry suddenly splits the air before Jon can even begin to respond, causing the young man’s smile to spread even further across his face, even as the Braavosi Captain flinches just a tad.

“Do you hear that, Captain? That’s how I know we’ll be all right.”

Looking somewhat unsure, Captain Dyniros frowns.

“With all due respect your majesty, your dragons are very impressive but still only half-grown. They aren’t even fit for riding yet.”

And that was true, while the dragons had grown to about the size of a large stallion apiece, they still weren’t really ridable. They couldn’t support a human’s weight and fly just yet, but Jon had hope. Soon… soon he would get to experience the joy of flight. It was honestly something he was very excited about.

Still, in regard to the Captain’s words, Jon just shakes his head, chuckling ruefully.

“No, I’m not relying on my dragons to see us through Valyria safety. You’re right, they aren’t quite ready to go into battle just yet. I’ll leave our safety to my Dothraki Horde and my khaleesi’s Unsullied.”

While they ultimately answered to him above all else, there was no denying that the Unsullied they’d freed in Astapor had imprinted more on Daenerys than anything else. As the Mercenary Captain continues to look unconvinced and worried, Jon continues on.

“Do you know how I know that we’re meant to go to Valyria, Captain? It’s a feeling. No more, no less. But it’s the same feeling that prompted me to go to Daenerys and put a stop to her wedding to Drogo rather than staying in Braavos or traveling immediately to Westeros. It’s the same feeling that prompted me to use the sacrifice of Viserys Targaryen to hatch those dragon eggs in the first place and give birth to the first dragons anyone has seen in hundred years.”

Jon quirks the side of his mouth up and gives the Mercenary Captain a helpless shrug.

“My instincts or whatever the hell this is… it hasn’t led me astray yet now has it? And so, I will continue to follow the call. Old Valyria calls for me, it calls to my blood… and so I will answer it and we will see what we may see. Though if you wish to turn back, I will not blame you nor hold it against you. This is beyond what you’ve been paid to do, I understand that.”

For a long moment, Captain Dyniros sits in silence, assimilating everything Jon has just said. In the end, he shakes his head.

“No… no, my place is at your side, your grace. It is abundantly clear that I cannot persuade you to take a more cautious path, so I will do my duty and keep you safe to the best of my ability.”

Jon makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat at that. He would have expected a Mercenary Captain to be… well, more mercenary then that. After all, his Dothraki would likely follow Jon into the jaws of death itself after how he’d proved himself to them. For them, the idea of glorious unknown battle excited more than terrified. Meanwhile, the Unsullied had their freedom but were too broken to know what to do with it. They neither feared nor hoped for battle and were merely eager to support Jon and Daenerys in whatever they did.

Captain Dyniros though… it was rather touching that he would stick around as long as he had. It certainly wasn’t worth the pay, so perhaps he had some other reason, some loyalty beyond coin.

“… Tell me you at least know what to expect in Mantarys, yes?”

Lifting an eyebrow, Jon smiles slightly.

“I’ve heard some things. Why don’t you tell me the rest, yes?”

And so the good Captain does. Apparently Mantarys has quite the ill reputation. It’s allegedly a city of monsters. Founded by the Valyrian Freehold, it was too close to Valyria itself to have self-rule. Although it was purportedly quite wealthy and altogether glorious, it was Valyrian men sent from Valyria itself who ruled it in the name of the Freehold. Hence, it had never been counted among the ‘Free Cities’.

From what the Mercenary Captain had to say, Mantarys was not a place to be traveled lightly. Jon couldn’t help but be a little curious, after all, it sounded like Captain Dyniros had personal experience with the city. But no, according to the Captain he had only seen a few of the horrors in his travels, such as more exotic courtesans in certain Free Cities. From two-headed girls to girls with… other features, it all sounded fairly fantastical.

But then, everything Jon knew about Old Valyria sounded pretty fantastical, didn’t it? He would just have to wait and see, in the end…

There was a choice ahead of him though, both figuratively and literally. Based off of the good Captain’s descriptions, Jon had to make a decision. Did he use Mantarys as little more than a stop along his journey, hurrying through without truly pausing to ‘smell the wildflowers’ as the saying went? Or did he stop and see what the apparently sinister city had to truly offer?

-x-X-x-

(This is a bit of a stop-gap chapter, I wanted to give you guys a choice here. Basically, ‘Hang around Mantarys for a little while’ means I add Monster Girls to this mess. I’ll try to keep it fairly Game of Throne-sy still, but yeah, we’ll see about getting some snake girls or cow girls in. Also happy to take suggestions on what sort of Monster Girls we should see.

However, if “Pass through Mantarys quickly” wins the vote, then I will not include Monster Girls in this story. We’ll just gloss over it and head further down the peninsula towards Valyria. Leaving it up to you guys, the voters!)