56 a party to remember I
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Jon Arryn POV
Lord Hohenzollern had invited us to a party for his name day, something strange, something I understood about lord Hohenzollern's personality is that he hates parties and social relations and especially jousting, but now we have the biggest tournament in the last years organized by the person who hates them.
All these clues make me think that something else is being planned by Lord Hohenzollern, but I don't know what it is as Varys has proven to have no ability to have information about Lord Hohenzollern's domain and with the last time less and less information is coming in with each passing day Varys claims that the effectiveness with which they liquidate their little birds is increasing.
The only information we have had from Varys is that at some point almost 20,000 soldiers who had been trained by to replace the personal army of Lord Hohenzollern disappeared, but no one knows where they went, they simply disappeared without a trace, and one day they were reunited and the next day no one knew where they were.
With the new information, we had with the Prussian trading fleet that arrived at the king's landing loaded with spices Varys and I could understand where they could be, we believe that Lord Hohenzollern sent them to the summer islands, for what?, we do not know at the moment, we only know that Lord Hohenzollern is the richest man in the seven kingdoms.
There was a terrible chaos the day of the arrival of the Prussian fleet, rows and rows of merchants buying spices in the ports, for 3 days the Prussian sailors were in the king's landing selling spices as if the world was ending and their enormous ships seemed that their holds were endless.
Only from the sailors Varys was able to get information that the Prussians had sent a trading expedition to the summer islands, establishing a permanent trade with them.
After that, the ships set sail for the free city of Pentos
and a few days later we received an invitation to the biggest party in the new town of Lord Hohenzollern.
Convincing Robert to go to a banquet was not the most difficult mission in the world, he accepted immediately and wanted to go as soon as possible when the invitation arrived.
I actually did not plan to go, since I should continue to rule the kingdom because Robert has not the slightest interest in ruling, but Varys insisted that we should go, there is too much secrecy in the reach and neither of us liked it.
There were many things we should know, like how they built 100 galleys in two moons, Stannis is furious about that, as Robert rubbed it in his face, the fact that Stannis' work would take a couple of years, the Prussians completed it in 2 moons, newly built ships and arrived even before the extremely short date they gave us
Besides looking for information on where Lord Hohenzollern's missing soldiers were.
We packed our gear and set off with a huge retinue of lords of the crown lands and the lords of the storm lands led by Renly and headed for Neu Danzig, the great Prussian fortress city.
To our good fortune we had obtained many of the wagons with a suspension system that the Prussians sell, which made the journey I had to make in a carriage much more comfortable, as my body no longer resists such long journeys on horseback.
After 1 day of travel arriving at the reach territories a huge change was felt in the quality of the roads because every once in a while there was a usual jump in the carriage, but during the Prussian roads the jumps were reduced 0
''So these are the Prussian roads that the merchants in the capital demand so much'' I said looking at Varys.
''That's right my lord hand, the Prussians use a mixture of liquid rock that allows them to achieve these constructions in a short time with an almost enviable precision'' Varys said
''How do you think they make this liquid stone'' I said doubtfully.
''Unfortunately, I don't know my lord hand, whatever they use to generate this building material is made inside the fortress and as you already know none of my little birds have come out of that trap alive'' Varys said with his serene voice.
''Wow, that's complicated, Lord Hohenzollern has too many secrets, do you think it's dangerous for the stability of the kingdom?'', I asked Varys.
''We don't know what he wants, so we don't know if it is good or bad for the kingdom, but so far, I think you are making sweet accounts with the increasing flow of taxes that Lord Hohenzollern offers'' Varys said serenely
''yes, from the sales tax on the spices we get a good amount of golden dragons'' I said contentedly.
After finishing our conversation, we continued advancing along the roads until we met one of Lord Hohenzollern's governors who offered us supplies to continue our journey and prevent us from going to ask for them to local villages, a gesture of how prepared they were for our arrival.
After several hours of travel we arrived at an inn with the heraldry of Lord Hohenzollern, this was a good inn, clean floors, hot food and good alcohol to accompany the food and very good quality beds, the problem that many could not sleep in this inn, as the rooms were limited minor lords had to camp on the outskirts waiting for us to resume our journey.
Continuing our journey meeting several governors who offered us help, guidance and supplies, we arrived at one of the places Varys wanted to visit, the Prussian military training camps held at ciderhall to find more information on the missing soldiers.
But our short investigation was fruitless, as Prussian officials claimed to know nothing about missing soldiers and the locals also had no idea of the fate of the soldiers who once trained in these camps.
''It seems we had no luck'' I said looking at Varys.
''On the contrary, my lord hand, it is certain that his men were warned that this might happen or be so loyal to their lord that they decided to lie'' Varys said smiling
''But it still worries me 20,000 men don't just disappear overnight'' I said annoyed.
''We were lucky they let us into the training camps, many lords have tried to copy the Prussian way of fighting without much success'' Varys said looking out the carriage window.
''Explain yourself'' I said looking at the spider.
''There are some lords who have been training their men-at-arms in the Prussian way but without success, as their training is kept secret, much fail due to lack of discipline and the ability to control so many men at the same time, so they have been looking for Prussian officers to train their men, but they have not been able to convince even the lowest rank of Prussian officers, so many lords are only content to have pikes and crossbows separately and not fighting in the same unit''Varys said in his serene voice
''I understand, so the loyalty of his men has been tested many times'' I said scratching my chin.
We continued to advance along the roads and everything went smoothly, many Prussian governors kept waiting for us to offer us help with our advance, and we also met many Prussian patrols that were responsible for guarding the roads.
It was when we arrived at Highgarden, and we could see the beautiful white walls of this castle, but the third wall was destroyed, apparently the Prussians have not yet repaired the damage they did to conquer the castle, and I am not sure if they will repair it in the future.
Already on the sixth day of our journey we were finally close to our destination, we had already sent messengers to inform of our arrival, but it is certain that the Prussians already know that we are arriving, and their constant patrols should have informed them of our arrival.
''How much longer until we arrive Jon'' asked King Robert.
''Not much Robert, we should arrive today at lord Hohenzollern's castle'' I said serenely
''Great, I already want to get to lord Hohenzollern's city, he must have prepared a huge banquet for us when we arrive, we can eat and talk about his battle stories'' said Robert very happy while he was riding.
''just remember to control yourself with the alcohol Robert lord Hohenzollern is not the person you would like to offend, he is a vital part of keeping your reign stable'' I said reminding him of his duties.
''it's ok Jon, I won't drink that much, I just hope the tournament is entertaining, maybe I can participate in the melee'' said Robert scratching his head.
''that's worse Robert for the seven think a little, those things are dangerous, you can die in close combat in the tournament'' I said angrily.
But our conversation was interrupted by the sight of Lord Hohenzollern's men waiting to greet us.
''I am Friedrich von Roon, sent by the king in Prussia and paramount lord of the reach to guide his honored guests to their rooms, so they can rest before the start of the festivities'' said the knight.
I got off the carriage and mounted my horse to go out to greet our guide.
''In the name of King Robert, we thank you for the hospitality offered by Lord Hohenzollern'' I said proudly.
''Well, if you have everything ready, please follow me, as the main entrances of the city are lined up for the checking of the cargo brought by the merchants and small folks''.
The knight turned around and started to lead the way to an empty gate, I approached because I had something to talk to him about
''Excuse me with the question Lord Roon, but is Lord Hohenzollern available to have a meeting with me right now?'', I asked our guide.
''it depends on what you want to discuss with the king in Prussia'' said lord Roon.
''it is private, lord Roon'' I said to our guide.
''everything that is discussed with the king in Prussia can be said in my presence, since I am his administrator and regent when he is absent'' lord Roon replied seriously
''it is to renegotiate a contract signed by King Robert a few moons ago and to offer some deals on construction and dealing with pirates'' I answered seriously
''matters of importance, uh, the king in Prussia is available to speak with you, as soon as he arrives I will make sure your meeting will be soon, so you won't have to wait
''Thank you, Lord Roon, I appreciate the gesture'' I said with a serene tone.
We entered the city and unlike king's landing, there are no terrible smells, only the pleasant aroma of the sea breeze and the perfumes emanating from the street of perfumes where the famous Prussian perfumes are produced and sold as essential goods to the nobles of the capital.
I was very struck by the giant tower in the center of the city, as it indicated what time of the day was much more specific than a sun clock.
After arriving at the second wall we were directed to a walled complex where there were many mansions ready for us all our retinue of lords began to be distributed among the mansions that the Prussians prepared and apparently, there were many.
Leaving the other lords, I went with Lord Roon's company to the fortress where Lord Hohenzollern resided.
We quickly crossed the third wall and entered the fortress and walked quickly through the corridors which were guarded by many Teutonic knights
until we arrived at Lord Hohenzollern's personal chamber.
''it is here, let us notify you of your arrival'' said lord Roon as he entered the room.
After a few seconds, lord Roon came out again
''you may enter the king in Prussia, he is waiting for you'' said lord Roon as he invited me in
entering to lord Hohenzollern's room I noticed there were almost no decorations, everything was simple
''Lord Arryn it is a pleasure to see you again, I thank you with all my heart that you could make time in your busy schedule to come and celebrate my name day, but tell me what you want to talk to me about now'' said Lord Hohenzollern with a friendly tone.
