52 The Search Begin's

Thornir's chaotic endeavors in the Free Cities caused the Iron Bank to become more determined to identify who was sabotaging their interests in Essos.

A lot of money and influence had already been lost due to their trade routes being assaulted. Now even sites within the Free Cities were being attacked. The bank put a significant amount of resources into trying to uncover who was attacking them, yet they never managed to obtain any leads.

The assailants would eliminate everyone at the scene before mysteriously vanishing. On some occasions it took days or even weeks for the Iron Bank to learn that their personnel had been slaughtered, as the attackers executed their murders stealthily.

Because of this the top shareholder's in the bank decided to hold a meeting at the Iron Bank in order to come up with a solution to the problem or at least find a way to stop the attack's which would give them enough time to track down the attacker's.

As the shareholders gathered in the opulent conference room at the Iron Bank, tensions were high. They were all powerful figures in their own right, yet they felt powerless against the unknown assailants who had been wreaking havoc on their trade routes and sites.

The head of the Iron Bank, a stern man in his sixties with a prominent scar on his cheek, cleared his throat and began to speak. "Gentlemen, we are facing a serious threat to our business. Our losses continue to mount and we cannot allow this to continue. We need to take action."

One of the shareholders, a portly man with a thick beard, spoke up. "But what can we do? We don't even know who these attackers are."

"Exactly," the head of the Iron Bank replied. "And that is why we need to hire someone who can find out. Someone who is skilled in the art of espionage and sabotage. Someone who can infiltrate our enemies and bring us the information we need."

The room fell into a hush as the shareholders considered the proposition. The head of the Iron Bank continued, "I have a person in mind. He's a mercenary, highly skilled in covert operations, and has a reputation for getting the job done."

"But what about the cost?" another shareholder asked.

"I assure you, the cost will be well worth it if it means protecting our interests in Essos," the head of the Iron Bank replied.

After some deliberation, the shareholders agreed to hire the mercenary. The head of the Iron Bank nodded in satisfaction and left the room to make the necessary arrangements.

The mercenary arrived in Braavos a week later, ready to take on the job. He met with the head of the Iron Bank in a dimly lit room, where he was briefed on the situation.

"I need you to find out who is attacking our trade routes and sites in the Free Cities," the head of the Iron Bank said, his voice low and

hushed. "We need to know who is behind these attacks and put a stop to them before any more damage is done."

The mercenary nodded. "Consider it done. But I warn you, this won't be easy. I'll need access to your intelligence network and any other resources you can provide."

The head of the Iron Bank nodded. "You'll have it. We need results, whatever it takes."

The mercenary set about his task with a single-minded determination. He scoured the Free Cities, gathering information from anyone who might have even the slightest clue about the attacks. He spent long hours in taverns and brothels, buying drinks and talking to anyone who would listen.

Slowly but surely, he began to piece together a picture of the attackers. They were a group of people not even from the free Cities but from Westeros.

The information the he had been receiving from people where the attack's happened had helped him to come to this conclusion. The only problem is where from Westeros were they from.

He would need to gather more information and possibly go to Westeros to find out this information but until then he reported to the Head of the Iron Bank of what he had found so far.

The head of the Iron Bank listened intently as the mercenary presented his findings. "So, they're from Westeros," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "That narrows it down, but it's still a vast continent. Do you have any idea where they might be hiding?"

The mercenary shook his head. "Not yet, but I have a few leads that I'm following up on. I'll keep you updated as I learn more." The first thing he was thinking of was the Free Folk Kingdom since they had been very quite since the Iron Bank had first attacked them and even after attacking the second time they did nothing.

The Head of the Iron Bank was beginning to think that the King of the Free Folk Kingdom must be incompetent or that they just couldn't find out that the Iron Bank did it. But these recent incident's the Head of the Bank didn't believe that it could be them instead it had to be some other organization or something.

What ever it is they will find out and destroy them from the source.

"Very well," the head of the Iron Bank said. "But time is of the essence. We can't afford to lose any more resources to these attacks."

"I understand," the mercenary replied. "I'll do everything in my power to stop them."

With that, the mercenary left the room and began to plan his next moves. He knew that if he was going to find the attackers, he would need to go to Westeros and gather more information. He also knew that he couldn't do it alone. He needed help from someone he could trust.

He thought back to a contact he had made during his time in the Free Cities, a skilled fighter and expert in espionage. He contacted the man and arranged to meet with him in a nearby tavern.

As they sat down to discuss the mission, the mercenary laid out the situation and his plan to go to Westeros to find the attackers. The fighter listened intently, stroking his beard as he considered the proposition.

"It won't be easy," he said finally. "But I'm in. I owe you one, after all."

The mercenary smiled. "Good. We leave in the morning."

With this the two of them set out to Westeros the next day to try and find out more information about the attacker's.