The Eminence in GOT-Chapter 26: The Rise of the Twilight Dome. Part 3. Dark Nights

500 gems = bonus Chapter

Advanced Chapters at:

patreon.com/posts/eminence-in-got-125798646

***

279 A.D.

Twilight Dell

The night.

So dark... mysterious... frightening. Full of unsolved riddles and secrets, it has stirred the minds of people since their appearance in the world. For some, the night was a horror, hiding in its uncharted depths darkness, vices and eternal evil. The abyss of darkness that follows the disappearance of the sun.

But for Barristan and me, it became a good friend, hiding our intentions from prying eyes. A chance to pull off a plan that could save an entire city from pillage. In the darkness, after getting close to the city wall, and overcoming it with the help of cats, and passing through the thin line of city slums, we found ourselves at our first destination, the old godswood.

"Or rather, what used to be the old bogorosha." - I thought, helping Selmy jump over the three-meter high fence and climbing through after him.

Our plan was as simple and reliable as a Swiss watch - to infiltrate the city at the darkest hour of the day, the Hour of the Wolf, get close to the walls of the Twilight Fort, climb them with the help of cats, use the servants' paths to reach the dungeon, and free the king. A small diversion by my bribed men will follow, and after stealing horses from the local stables, we'll ride through the open castle gates to the nearest city gate, where a small covering party of 16 woodsmen I've taken as bodyguards for the trip will be waiting for us. Right now, they're climbing the buildings along the main street after climbing over the walls and getting ready. They are the ones who will cover the monarch of the Seven Kingdoms from the overzealous archers of the Darklins, preventing him from leaving this world before his time.

The whole idea was made easier by the mantis tree growing in the north of Twilight Dome, long since feral and no longer a temple of the Old Gods. The mantis itself is a sacred place of worship to the gods and spirits of nature, a small patch of forest where prayers are offered, weddings are held, and the dead are buried. In the North, in all castles, gods' groves are located right inside the castle walls, in a separate courtyard, in the form of an isolated space, enclosed by walls with gates and wickets.

Many people in Westeros claim that hemlocks and hemlocks south of the Isthmus have been cut down everywhere, but this is not entirely true. Many lords of the West, the Vale, the Vale, the Vast, the Riverlands and the Stormlands, even those who are fierce believers in the Seven, retain the hemlocks for reasons of tradition and prestige, using them as a small garden. The only exception is Dorne, but there it is hard enough to grow a tree large enough to be called a heart-tree.

Twilight Forth had a slightly different, in its own unique way, situation. When Twilight Fort was being rebuilt after the Ironborn raided the castle, they wanted to expand it and used the hemlock as a free area. The trees were cut down, the land was dug up and construction began.

But misfortunes began to happen at the construction site - the whole shift of workers fell down with a white mare, then the scaffolding collapsed, burying several people under it, then a stone fell out of one of the numerous construction storks because of the wind and fell on the head of the maester-architect, sending him to the next world. As a result, all the workers, even despite the threats of the then Lord Darklin and the sharpened axes of the warriors behind them, refused to work here, saying that the ancient spirits were angry and did not want to see people here. Work on expanding the castle had to stop.

I don't know the real reason for all these events, but this place was left alone, surrounded by a high fence. In two thousand years the moor has completely recovered, turning into almost impenetrable thickets, and has grown so many superstitions and rumors that none of the locals would come here for any money.

Ser Selmy and I took full advantage of this, scrambling through the dense thickets toward the walls of the Twilight Fort, which were visible even from here.

Twenty minutes later, the stone wall appeared in front of us. It was made of cobblestones fitted together with a shitty mortar made of lime, eggs, and sand, not even concrete, and in the darkness of the night it blended with our black cloaks, ensuring that we wouldn't be seen by the guards on their rounds.

Nodding to let Selmy know that everything was fine, I watched as the Royal Guardian began to professionally spin the cat, whose sharp hooks flew inches from his face.

A clang...

The sound of the three sharp ends catching on the embrasure between the teeth was deafening. My palms began to sweat from excitement and my heart began to pound loudly, but seeing a forty-year-old man, without a shadow of doubt or worry, deftly climbing up the steep wall, made me grin ironically and climb after him.

"When did I become such a coward?" - I thought, trying to climb the fifty-foot wall quickly and silently at the same time.

At the top, I was surprised, and not a pleasant one at that: the convulsing body of a guard still bleeding from his throat, and Barristan standing nearby, wiping his dagger on the hem of his cloak with a practiced motion.

"What a monster." - I thought, feeling a herd of goosebumps slowly run down my back. - "To kill a man so silently and quickly without raising the alarm... I don't remember the other knights having such skills."

Quickly dragging the hushed body to the nearest tower, leaning it so as to mimic a man asleep at his post, we continued on our way.

The castle was asleep. Even the servants, ants running around their masters' castles, were now dreaming their seventh dreams. There was still plenty of time before the hour of the nightingale, so the two intruders didn't have to worry about being discovered. Still, even the guards do not use the service passages, for fear of getting lost in this web of passages and nooks and crannies.

Soon we reached the dungeon and realized that the whole plan might be a waste. In the gatehouse that guarded the entrance to the prison cells we could see the light of a burning candle and hear the laughter and songs of at least three men.

"Let's kill." - Said Selmy, showing an inter-world gesture by running his thumb across his neck.

"Two." - Indicating with my finger how many enemies I would take on. At the knight's skeptical raised eyebrow, all I had to do was point to my right hand, where a wrist-mounted two-shot Myrian crossbow was attached. It won't penetrate armor, but it can kill easily. Expensive, though-it cost me a hundred and thirty dragons. Customized.

With a nod to his thoughts, Barristan opened the unlocked door sharply, diving inward toward the nearest guard.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

I was lucky-my targets were sitting on a bed in a cuddle, directly across from the door, humming some kind of song, only ten feet from the entrance. The bolts, with only a fraction of a second's delay, sank precisely into the bridge of the first man's nose and the second man's eye. A quick and almost painless death. Ser Selmy was quick, too - the baselard professionally plunged between the third and fourth rib, piercing the heart and ending the life of the captain of the guards, judging by his clothes.

«Where do you get your quiet killing skills from, Ser Barristan? - I asked, reloading my crossbow and closing the door so a random guard wouldn't walk in at the worst possible moment and ruin everything.

«In war, if you want to live, you learn a lot. - A royal guard answered, helping me put the bodies on the beds. The later we're discovered, the better. - When you're thrown from your saddle and involved in a catfight, you forget about chivalry.

«But that doesn't explain where you learned to kill so quietly. - I continued to inquire as we made our way down the spiral staircase, the entrance to which was located in the corner of the gatehouse. - You don't learn these skills in training. It takes practice, lots of practice.

«Night assault on enemy camps, Felix. - Selmy answered slightly tiredly, walking ahead and lighting the way with a torch taken from one of the holders. - Most of the stands of the Nine-Grove Kings were well-fortified camps, the storming of which made up almost all of the battles. After the fifth attack, when I lost most of my lance (p.a. meaning a unit of knights from the same castle), I had to learn stealthy infiltration and silent assassination. No one wants to lose comrades. I didn't think I would need those skills again....

At that moment his voice became apathetic and very sad, filled with such intense longing that even I, an almost century-old cynic, was moved.

«I apologize, Ser Barristan, for stirring up these unpleasant memories.

«It's all right, Felix. - Almost instantly, the knight returned to his usual calm and firm tone. - And just call me Barristan. After this adventure, we can hardly be called mere acquaintances.

«Hmmm..." I hummed, easily surprised that one of the best knights in the Seven Kingdoms had recognized me as his friend in a straightforward manner. You can't refuse such offers. And he's a good man. - Very well, Barristan.

Soon we descended into the castle dungeon, which is a small room of eight cells, an area of several square meters. Damp, with large rats scurrying across the rotting straw-covered floor and the horrible smell of decay and feces... not the kind of place a king should be.

Judging by the flushed face of Barristan, he thought the same.

Aerys found himself in the farthest and driest cell, sleeping on a filthy hide next to a small brazier that provided some crumbs of warmth and light in this dreadful place.

"He's been here for six months, hasn't he?" - I thought as Selmy unlocked the rusty grate with the keys he'd borrowed from the captain of the guard. It was the creak of the door unlocking that woke Aerys, and he jumped up instantly, cowering in the farthest, darkest corner of the cell.

One look was enough for me to realize we were too late. Even if the king returns to the Red Castle, he will not sit on the Iron Throne.

For he has no patience for broken and weak men.

But Aerys was broken, and it was visible to the naked eye. The incoherent waving of his arms, the loud cries of "Don't, don't, don't. Save me, stop!", not recognizing his own royal guard (!!!) and most importantly, his eyes. Running, unfocused, simultaneously empty, with flashes of broken intelligence. The eyes of a madman.

And the more I looked at this picture while Selmy calmed and brought the king to his senses, the more I disliked it.

"We must hurry." - I thought, as I and Barristan helped the recovered king up and headed out of the dungeon. - A state with such a monarch will not last long. We must hurry with the construction."

--- I'll have those Darklins mixed up in the ground. Beheaded, hanged, burned and sent to the dogs. All at once. - I tried to ignore Aerys's quiet whispers, making sure the crowned monarch didn't stumble. Until he turned to me and, breathing in the stench of a man who hadn't cleaned his mouth in a long time, turned to me. - Who the hell are you? I don't know you... A new member of the Royal Guard? But I'm the only one who can appoint people to the Royal Guard...

«My name is Felix Temper, Your Majesty. - A slight nod of the head was instead of the standard bow, since I can't bend my head if I want to.

«Temper? Temper! Temper... - When the king started repeating my last name, as if tasting it, I even had a little fear for my life. But when I took another closer look at his eyes, I realized I was a little mistaken-though Aerys Targaryen was not mentally healthy, but once he was in some semblance of safety, he began to come to his senses-even the tremors in his hands were gone. His next sentence nearly sent me flying down the stairs, though. - I don't remember that.

«Ahem...

But it even made Barristan laugh - he even tried to hide his laughter with a cough.

«You wrote me a letter six months ago and asked me to report to King's Landing. - I said, opening the door to the gatehouse and helping the king to sit on the nearest bed, pushing the corpse aside beforehand. - Really did not indicate the reason.

After sitting down and looking at me more carefully, he only said once more:

«I don't remember.

«Eh-heh-heh..." It was clear that it had been a momentary indulgence that Targaryen had long since forgotten. I had to rush all the way from Dorne for this? I hate royalty. - Barristan, we need to change the King's clothes.

«Why? - The knight looked at me in bewilderment.

«So we can take his majesty to the stables without raising an alarm. - I answered, going to the two guards I had killed - their wounds were small and the blood had hardly gotten on their clothes. - You will need to change your clothes, too. That way you can pretend that one sober guard is carrying another drunk one. I'll follow you across the rooftops and when you've grabbed the horses, I'll signal for you to start.

«Good idea. - Selmy replied, coming over and helping me remove the cuirass from one of the corpses.

I don't even want to remember how hysterical Aerys was when he was asked to wear the clothes of the dead, much less pretend to be a simple guard. It was only my hand gagging him and pouring a diluted mixture of belladonna, lily of the valley, mandrake, mandrake, and milk of poppy down his throat, knocking him out for eight hours or until the antidote was given, that saved us from early detection and subsequent slaughter. Of course Barristan, though he looked at me disapprovingly, took action, in half a minute putting on one of the dead men's clothes, which were frankly too small for him. Aerys, from his long time in captivity, was the exact opposite, hanging like rags on a scarecrow. It was a poor disguise, but in the darkness of night, it was enough.

«I'm going to the roof. I'll cover you. - Before I slipped out of the gatehouse and ducked into the nearest dark corner, I said, and after a nod, I went outside.

"It's a good thing it's the hour of the wolf." - I thought as I slid slowly across the roofs of the castle buildings behind Barristan, who was walking slowly, dragging the king on his shoulder. - "If it were any brighter, I'd be spotted by any guard in the castle, occasionally looking out into the courtyard."

One had to walk carefully, tasting each tile with one foot beforehand to minimize the risk of falling through the roof, setting the entire Twilight Fort on its ear early. It was only to thank providence that most of the buildings in the castle courtyard were stone, giving them room to walk on more than just the girders.

Thank the gods the castle courtyard, certainly if it is the castle of a Grandlord, is a small place, and in five minutes Barristan was standing in front of the stables trying to explain something to one of the guards, while his colleagues were almost asleep at the entrance to the stables. And before we are revealed Selmy, in a barely perceptible movement, takes out a dagger and stabs it into the guard's chin, behold the body of the unlucky man settles to the ground, causing both guards to stir.

"Too late."

Phew-uh-uh...

Phew-yuh-huh...

The whistle of two arrows is almost inaudible in the night, unlike the two falling bodies and the dying wheezes. I hadn't spent much time practicing shooting, but I could hit an immovable target at twenty paces. Two shots reached their target, piercing the guards' throats.

"Lucky," I thought as I jumped to the ground and walked toward the stables, where Barristan was leading one of the stallions out.

But...

«Alarm! Napa-khra... - The shouts of a guard who had appeared at such a bad time, interrupted by a reflexively fired bolt, put an end to our secret penetration. A few seconds later, shouting and honking of alarm horns began to echo through the castle, signaling an alarm.

«Holy shit! - I swore, quickly pulling out an arrow wrapped in oiled cloth and putting it to the torch, launching it into the night sky.

Bang...

The explosion ten seconds later must have drowned out all the sounds in the castle and briefly distracted the agitated guards, giving Barristan and me a few extra moments to tie the king to his horse.

The explosion itself was arranged by the Chief of Customs, through smugglers who had received ten gold pieces, a letter, and a whole box of Wildfire from me, shipped from King's Landing for the siege of the city, and only available to me thanks to Prince Rhaegar. It will distract most of the guards for a long time, giving us time to escape.

«Well, well, well... Who do we have here? - Our hopes were not realized. From behind one of the buildings came a tall, fully armored knight armed with a large stick, leading a dozen guards. - Were they black rats, sneaking out in the middle of the night to rescue their king? I thought better of you, Barristan Selmy.

«Simon Hollard. - The king's guard gritted his teeth in hatred. - You will answer for the death of my comrade whom you dishonorably stabbed in the back, Gwaine Gaunt!

«I doubt that very much. - Hollard said anticipatingly, pointing his mace at us. - Get them!

Only seven of the ten Darkling warriors were able to rush at us-one was hit in the solar plexus by an arrow, another was hit in the eye by a second bolt from my crossbow, followed by an arrow, and the third was killed by Barristan with a dagger that pierced the loser's throat and drew his sword.

«Run!" Selmy shouted to me, rushing forward and slashing one of the attackers almost instantly. - I'll deal with them, and I'll be right behind you. Save the king, Temper!

It was foolish to object in such a situation, so I jumped on my horse and galloped out of town.

The castle gates were open, as Barristan had predicted, so I was soon in the streets of the town, which was beginning to look like a disturbed anthill. Heaps of people were rushing about, dispersing the night darkness by the light of torches, carrying buckets of water or sand in the other hand. All this, under the experienced guidance of the guards, was gradually migrating towards the harbor, where the explosion had set a not insignificant fire.

"I didn't calculate the quantity." - I thought, flying towards the main city gates unimpeded, because no one paid much attention to me. Everyone was too busy saving the port, where most of the city's food was stored and most of the citizens worked.

Luck left me near the gate - fifty guards with spears blocked the road and were not going to let anyone through.

«Hey, who are you ta-khar-ooy... - One of the dozens of guards addressed me, but before he could finish, one of the arrows launched from the roofs of the buildings hit him in the throat.

It was followed by a rain of steel.

Phew-yuh-huh...

Phew, phew, phew, phew.

Pew-pew-pew-pew.

Pew-pew-pew-pew.

Fu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-uh.

«Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! Where's the gunfire coming from! - There was the first cry of despair, followed by cries of pain and fear:

«Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! My arm!

«My leg! K-h-ar...

«Where are they shooting from!?

«I don't know!

«Stay calm! Maintain formation! Shields up! Prik-bha... - One of the commanders even tried to organize the panicked soldiers, but he stood out too much and got an arrow in the back - arrows were flying from the wall too.

"The woodsmen did it" - I thought, watching fifty men turned into needle pillows in one minute. Of course, some managed to escape, but my guys didn't have the goal of killing them all.

«Open the gate! - I shouted, getting as close as I could to the huge wooden gate, padded with good gunmetal steel and closing with a huge wooden bolt. Only four woodsmen, with their combined efforts, were able to lift it.

Soon the gate was open. Selmy and I had almost completed our mission.

"By the way, where's Barristan?" - I thought, turning my head only to curse unkindly. The wolf hour was coming to an end, but it was still pitch black outside, and I couldn't even see my own hand.

«Okay. - I turned to one of the woodsmen. - Half of you stay here. You follow the rooftops to the castle and look for Ser Selmy. If you don't find him by nightingale hour, go to Old Bogorosha and hide there. In the next few days, Darklyn will surrender and I'll come for you. Is that clear?

Seeing only affirmative nods, I slapped the reins and galloped toward the distant lights of the besiegers' camp. I didn't fear the threat of archers from the wall - my Highlanders had slaughtered everyone near the gate, and in the night gloom I was impossible to aim at or see. And most of the soldiers were probably in the harbor now, having forgotten that the alarm had sounded before the explosion.

There was a delegation of lords, members of the Small Council, Prince Rhaegar, and the Hand of the King, surrounded by guards, waiting for me as I approached the camp. They must have been awakened by the recent explosion.

As I approached the line of tense red cloaks, I threw off my hood and black cloth mask, revealing my face to them all. The commander of the Lannister Guard must have recognized me, because almost instantly there were orders and swearing, quickly creating a small corridor to the most powerful men in the Seven Kingdoms.

"I want to sleep" - I thought, jumping off the saddle and remembering that Morpheus had visited me almost twenty-four hours ago. The ensuing untying of the King's bale from the horse's rump and carrying it to the bewildered lords, who did not understand what I was doing, was not the best of thoughts. - "Normally on such occasions a beautiful young girl should be lying in my arms, not an old, smelly and crazy man. What's all this for?!"

As soon as it became clear to everyone WHO I was carrying, the Grand Maester and Prince Rhaegar came rushing toward me, and for the first time in my memory he was showing any emotion other than his perpetual apathy and sleepiness. He loved his father, though, and was worried about him.

«Why is his majesty unconscious? - Quickly examining the king and making sure he had a pulse, Pycelle shouted. They had expected to see either the king's corpse stabbed with arrows, or Aerys spouting threats and curses, who would still have to be calmed down to prevent him from causing trouble, rather than the sleeping monarch, who would be carried in his arms by one of the grief-stricken rescuers.

It wasn't a good idea to say I'd drunk the king with a tincture of unhelpful herbs, so I got off with just one word:

«Sleep.

Which made even the Great Lion's eyebrows raise in surprise.

***

Don't forget to gift stones

And subscribe at:

patreon.com/FanFictionPremium