Mist of Shadows
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Dragon King Part 2
🕑 Added 2021-03-02 08:36:00 +0000 UTCMyst was more than happy to leave Varys and Elia to deal with the details of ending the war with the occasional question tossed in, mostly because his younger self hadn't caught most of the details so his memories weren't as much help as he'd like. He carefully fed threads of the death tainted magic covering the city into a Tome gacha wheel and let it spin while he listened to Varys and Elia discuss the war in the other room. 'Short term goals, survive the next couple of days. Slightly longer goals, make sure Viserys doesn't end up king and that my sister and Daenerys survive. I'm going to need to figure out a decent method to get everyone poison resistance and I'm going to need to boost our durability.'
'Assuming we survive the week, what then?' He mused as he caught the tome that dropped when his gacha wheel stopped spinning. 'Repair the dragonpit and figure out how to deal with the maesters and the church.' He scowled as he opened the tome and realized it was in another language. 'So much for everything being in English or something I can read.'
He set the book aside, reached out for more death tainted mana and started feeding the mana into the most expensive weapon wheel, hoping he got something better than a book he couldn't use or a trinket that would have killed most people that wore it. 'This would be a lot easier with some help,' he mused as the wheel started spinning.
"Your Grace, we found one of the pyromancers," Varys called out as the gacha wheel was starting to slow down.
"Good, don't kill him," Myst said as he caught the hilt of the rusted looking greatsword that dropped from the wheel, having to use both hands to make sure it didn't slip from his grasp, mostly because of the size of his fingers. He almost dropped the pitted and abused blade in surprise when a blood red mist started 'pouring' off the blade like dry ice in water. "Huh," he muttered as he looked at the blade with his upgrade ability. 'Yeah, that's a waste of a perfectly good enchantment, five percent life and mana drain on a cold forged iron sword.'
'Unless they were hunting fey then it actually makes sense,' he mused as he set the blade on the table, reasonably sure that he'd be able to fix the worst of the damage later. He walked out of the room and glanced between Varys and the nervous looking grey haired pyromancer that two of the guards were holding by his arms. He glanced at Jamie then looked back at the pyromancer. "I have a few simple questions for you, do you want to live?"
"Yes," the pyromancer answered quickly.
"Good, do you know where the other pyromancers buried the caches of wildfire?" Myst asked, hoping he knew at least some of the locations as he didn't really want the crap randomly exploding.
"I know several places where it was buried your grace," Garigus said smoothly, trying to be helpful.
"Let me guess, under the sept of the seven?" Myst asked, wondering how much the man knew.
"They were always troublesome, your grandfather wanted assurance," Garigus replied.
Myst snorted. "By that you mean he was fucking insane? I don't need some idiot with a candle setting my city on fire. You're alive because you presumably know how to destroy wildfire and possibly how to make something useful with alchemy that doesn't risk my city burning to the ground. Am I wrong?"
"The guild knows many secrets, your grace, including how to deal with wildfire," Garigus assured Myst, more than a little disturbed by the look in the king's eyes.
"So, if I asked for blades that wouldn't rust or a way to create Valyrian steel you could provide me with something interesting?" Myst asked, knowing the guild had no clue how to create Valyrian steel.
"We could try but magic isn't what it used to be," Garigus admitted after glancing at Varys, unwilling to outright lie as he knew the man would call him on any outrageous claims.
"If you can't do that, what good are you?" Jamie asked sarcastically.
"Before you say anything unwise," Myst cut in before the alchemist could reply, "take the next few minutes to silently consider ways that the alchemist guild can help the kingdom that don't include burning everything to the ground with magical fire."
"I suggest writing a list of all of the caches of wildfire," Elia suggested as she pointed at the desk. "It might be the difference between an axe and your continued employment."
"Of course," Garigus blurted as he rushed over to start making a list once his guards released his arms.
Jamie glared at the pyromancer then looked at Myst. "What do you want me to do with the rest of the guild?"
"Make sure the guildhall isn't looted, we don't need someone breaking something they shouldn't or killing people that might be useful," Myst replied as he glared at the pyromancer.
"I'll take care of it, make sure the pyromancer doesn't do anything stupid," Jamie ordered the guards then left, wanting to make sure his guards were on the same page.
Myst turned and looked at Varys. "Walk with me for a second." He walked back into the other room, not wanting to be overheard by the pyromancer.
Varys followed Myst, wanting to see what his new king would say.
Myst gestured for Varys to close the door. "Would you agree that there is a difference between reluctantly following a mad king's orders and gleefully helping?" he asked softly once the door was closed.
Varys considered the question for a couple of seconds. "One often does what one has to in order to survive."
"Is Garigus such a man?" Myst asked, reasonably sure the answer was no.
"If I might be so bold, I believe he wanted to see what would happen when the city burned," Varys offered.
"In that case, I'll have to find someone more reasonable to put in charge," Myst said thoughtfully.
"Does that mean you're intending to put the guild to some use?" Varys asked in a neutral tone.
"I have no use for a guild of pyromancers, a guild of alchemists that happen to be able to create wildfire if we ever run into something truly nasty, that I can appreciate and use. If nothing else, we need people around that know how to deal with wildfire in case someone gets creative," Myst argued.
"I've found pyromancers and the like often make promises they can't deliver," Varys pointed out.
"One problem at a time. I'm willing to invest some gold depending on results, if only to keep them from going elsewhere or doing something stupid until the kingdom gets settled. Once things are settled with the kingdom, we'll have time to revisit the issue," Myst promised him.
"Reasonable," Varys agreed after a few seconds of thought. "Just don't expect magic to solve all of your issues."
"All things considered, I doubt there's enough magic left in the world to solve all of my troubles, I certainly don't trust the guild to solve them," Myst assured the man. "At best, we might get something close to Valyrian steel from the guild but I'm not holding my breath. Either way, if you could keep an eye on the guild for a bit, I'd appreciate it."
"I'll see what I can find out," Varys promised.
"Thank you," Myst replied as he walked over and opened the door. He followed Varys out of the room then walked over to where the pyromancer was working on a list. He grabbed a stray hair off the man's robe when he was reasonably sure Varys wasn't paying attention. "Any luck remembering where your guild hid all of the caches?"
"There were a lot of them," Garigus admitted.
"Do your best," Myst ordered, wanting as much of the crap dealt with as possible. He spent his remaining mana to boost his mana regeneration. "It's going to be a long night, can I get something to eat?"
"I'll take care of it," Varys said as he headed for the door.
"Thank you," Myst said, glad that Varys was around even if he might prove problematic later. 'Worry about that later, you need to survive dealing with Robert's army,' he reminded himself as he opened his skillbook tab and looked at the skills/abilities he could grab from the pyromancer, skimming over the man's more mundane skills, 'Alchemy, Wildfire and High Valyrian (Language), at least I don't have to try to learn the language the hard way.'
Garigus held up his list of locations. "This should get us started."
"Let me see the list," Myst ordered, curious where they'd stashed everything.
Elia grabbed the list from Garigus, glancing it over as she walked over and handed it to Myst. "They were certainly busy."
Myst skimmed the list, a touch surprised that the Dragonpit wasn't on it. 'There's no way you missed something that obvious, so much for a quiet retirement.' He handed Elia the list then smiled at the guards. "Stick him in the dungeons until things quiet down and he can help dispose of the wildfire, make sure he's treated well, I don't want any accidents."
"Understood your grace," one of the guards said before grabbing the pyromancer's arm. "Let's go."
"Don't worry, we'll stick you in one of the nicer cells," the other guard assured the guy, correctly guessing that the king wanted his cooperation.
"Perfect," Myst said as the guards left with the pyromancer. "Hopefully the rest of the alchemists are worth the trouble," he said once the door was closed.
"We can hope," Elia said as she walked over and sat down on the bed. "You should try to get some sleep."
"I'll get some sleep after I get something to eat," Myst promised, trying not to think about how weird it was to have a mother that was younger than he remembered being. 'I just need to grab some food and boost my mana capacity as much as possible then boost my regeneration in the morning.' He glanced at the blank page his skill book menu was showing him then focused on the pyromancer's hair and smiled when all of the man's skills reappeared. "Don't worry, we'll make it through this."
"Only because you saved us," Elia said, trying not to show how worried she was about the next couple of days.
"Of course, you're family," Myst replied as he started working on creating a High Valyrian skill book.
0o0o0
Myst woke up feeling both rested and not when he heard voices from the other room. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that it was just Varys and his mother talking quietly. He glanced at his sister who was using his arm like a teddy bear then looked at the clock on his HUD. 'So much for getting a reasonable amount of sleep.'
He glanced at his mana bar. 'Just over half for a couple of hours of sleep which isn't all that bad considering I boosted my capacity a bit with the bracelet. Now the real question is, do I take a chance playing with the gacha wheels or do I just buy more regeneration?' he mused as he opened his gacha menu and looked at his available wheels. 'Coins, Gems, Weapons, Trinkets, Schematics and Skill books?'
He quickly spent the lion's share of his mana on the skill book wheel. 'Worst case, I toss the book and use the bracelet to make up the lost mana.' He reached up when the wheel started slowing down, grabbing the book when it dropped. He stared at the title in disbelief, not sure how to feel about the strange book. 'Conjure Slime Mount?' He opened the book and read through the details before hitting accept. 'Conjures a bouncing slime for a mount, yeah, there's no way that's native to Westeros which means it's pulling things from elsewhere or this world is a lot stranger than the books or the show.'
'Probably for the best,' he thought as he closed his eyes and tried to meditate or at least relax on the off chance he could grab a bit more sleep.
"You awake?" Rhaenys asked.
"No," Myst replied softly.
Rhaenys stuck her tongue out at her brother, copying something she'd seen him do when he was feeling silly. "Food?"
"We can try," Myst replied as he tried to extract his arm. "Can I have my arm back?"
Rhaenys let go of his arm. "Are we safe?"
"I'm trying," Myst assured her as he rolled out of bed and grabbed his leggings. "Worst case, we'll head to Dragonstone," he explained as he pulled his leggings on.
"More scary people?" Rhaenys asked nervously.
"No more scary people," Myst assured his sister, fairly sure he was lying but unwilling to break her heart or scare her considering the last couple of days had been horrible. "Let's get some food," he suggested as he headed for the door.
"Okay," Rhaenys said as she climbed out of bed.
Myst opened the door and walked out, glancing between Varys and his mother. "Rhaenys is hungry."
Elia smiled as she gestured towards the platter of fruit on the stool in front of her. "Have some fruit, breakfast should be ready in a bit."
Myst glanced over the fruit with his upgrade ability, making sure none of it was poisoned then walked over and grabbed a couple slices of something that looked vaguely pear like and a small slice of some type of cheese that he didn't recognize. "Thank you."
Elia smiled at Myst as he stepped out of the way for his sister. "Such the charmer."
Myst gave his mother a smile then took a bite of the pear and mystery cheese combination, barely able to avoid spitting it out or making a disgusted face. 'Yeah, that's an acquired taste that I don't need to acquire.' He swallowed the nasty yet apparently completely safe cheese and looked at Varys. "Any pressing trouble?"
"Various nobles expressed concern about calling off the war," Varys explained.
"House Tyrell?" Myst asked, in concern.
"No, they're happy to let the matter drop now that your grandfather is dead," Varys assured him. "It's mostly some of the minor nobles that wanted to expand their lands."
"Assure them that their contributions won't be forgotten, I'm sure we'll have a chance to reward anyone that was loyal to my father in the coming years, someone is bound to do something stupid," Myst suggested.
"I'll try to be slightly more diplomatic, your grace," Varys replied with a smile.
"Thank you," Myst replied then turned to look at Elia. "Did you get word back from Grandmother?"
Elia nodded. "She is quite content to stay in Dragonstone and wishes you the best of luck."
"She also sent two hundred soldiers to help keep the peace in the city," Varys offered.
"Good. Any word from Stannis Baratheon?" Myst asked.
Varys nodded. "He has agreed to end the war as long as the charges against his family are dropped, same with Jon Arryn. I can only assume Eddard Stark's letter helped in that respect."
"With any luck Eddard can deal with Robert. Do we still have a Master of Coin?" Myst asked.
"I'm afraid he was killed while attempting to flee with a sizable amount of gold," Varys admitted.
"Which leaves the small council a bit short," Myst said thoughtfully.
"The Master of the Ships is at Dragonstone and the Master of Law is dead which is just as well considering he was no friend of your father. Ser Gerold Hightower is or at least was guarding Lyanna which means that he should be back here in a week or two."
"Do we have anyone that can replace the old Master of Laws or Master of Coins that isn't a Frey or a Lannister?" Myst asked.
"I'll come up with a list," Varys offered, knowing the sooner they got things settled the better.
Elia smiled at Varys. "Thank you for your help."
"It is my pleasure," Varys replied. "If you'll excuse me, I should get started and I need to talk to some people."
"Of course," Elia replied with a smile, hoping her brother arrived before anyone else decided to try to kill them. She waited until the door closed before she turned to look at Myst. "The various lords are going to assume you're weak."
"I'm five," Myst replied with a shrug. "I have a feeling most of the nobles will spend the next couple of months being happy that I'm not insane like Grandfather. That should give us plenty of time to make sure everything is running smoothly."
"With any luck," Elia said, trying to stay positive.
0o0o0
Elia smiled at Myst as he walked out of his bedroom. "Is she asleep?"
"She fell asleep halfway through the story about a sleeping princess," Myst explained as he walked over to the table so he could see what his mother and Varys were working on.
"Thank you for keeping your sister distracted while I worked," Elia said, making a mental note to ask him about the story when she had time.
"It helped keep me from worrying about Robert's army," Myst admitted.
Varys looked up from the letter he was reading. "I have some good news, Lord Baratheon sent most of his forces back to Storm's End."
"Most?" Myst asked warily.
"He kept a dozen of his best knights and went after Lord Stark," Varys explained.
"With any luck, he won't catch up until they're already back in Winterfell," Myst said, hoping Ned could keep Robert from doing something drastic.
"I've found that luck is often a fickle thing," Varys said thoughtfully.
"Sort of like the wind," Myst replied, not seeing a point in explaining his luck. "I'll feel a lot better once we've dealt with the wildfire and mother can take over."
"You're doing fine," Elia assured him with a smile. "My brother should be here with some help within a week which might solve the Master of Coins problem, at least in the short term."
"Sounds good to me," Myst replied as he opened his Upgrade menu and spent his remaining mana to upgrade his mana regeneration.
"I should be able to keep track of things for a week," Elia pointed out.
"The less people that see the books the better," Varys said. "On the back is the list of people that would make a decent Master of Ships."
Myst flipped the list over and scanned over the names. "Is there a reason Stannis Baratheon is on the list?"
"It would go a long way towards healing the kingdom and he is certainly capable, if harsh," Varys explained.
Elia took a breath then let it out as she considered the suggestion, trying to see past the fact that his brother had killed her husband.
Myst noticed the look on his mother's face. "Thoughts?"
"Varys is right, we should at least make the offer," Elia admitted reluctantly.
"If nothing else, it lets everyone know that the matter is settled," Myst said as he set the list on the table. "Releasing Jaimie Lannister from the Kingsguard should keep Tywin from doing anything rash as it gets him what he wants."
"I imagine he's going to be upset about the coin you're trying to extract," Varys pointed out.
"Not if he manages to negotiate it down to something more 'reasonable', he gets to walk away with his reputation intact and his son," Myst argued.
"It's possible," Elia admitted. "Most of the damage was limited to merchant stalls and shops, nothing we have to replace though it would certainly help with public opinion."
Myst shook his head. "All things considered, I'd rather spend the gold, we could use the good will."
"You have a point, your grace," Varys agreed.
"Is there anything else that needs to be dealt with or can I get back to my studies?" Myst asked with a smile, wanting to play with his gacha ability a bit before grabbing some sleep.
Elia glanced at Varys then looked back at Myst. "We'll tell you if something comes up."
"Thanks," Myst replied as he headed towards the bedroom, hoping they weren't making a terrible mistake with Stannis.
"Shall we work out the details?" Varys asked once the door shut, not sure what to make of the new king.
"That would be appreciated, I'm not quite sure how to convince Stannis Baratheon that the offer is genuine," Elia admitted.
"I have some ideas," Varys offered.
Comments
Robert Buniff
I'm excited to see where this goes.
