Chapter 27: Meeting the Skaggs P1

It was a warm summer morning in the capital city of the Seven Kingdoms. Rare were the days when the city as a whole engaged in a festive mode. Thanks to the recent victory over the Ironborn, the people of the city had a reason to breathe a sigh of relief. Should the result has been anything else, there would have been chaos.

This was why Jon encouraged some small festivals and engaged in some charity work in the city. He had his entourage from the Vale spend some coin in the city to support the poorest of the poor. He had the lords of the Vale and the brave knights engage the populace in public by spending their coin on those who could not afford to buy bread. He wanted them to be seen doing charity and he wanted the people to know who they have to thank.

Robert may have won the war and put down a rebellion but statecraft required finesse. The populace must assume they were being ruled by able and generous rulers. This is the key to good statecraft. While the opinions of Smallfolk didn't matter that much, they did matter during wartime. After all, the lords raised their armies from the Smallfolk. Men tend to fight more passionately if they are led by honourable men. That's what he learned from the Ninepenny war and he saw that play out in Robert's Rebellion as well.

He had seen the ferocity with which the Vale cavalry and Northern foot crushed the Targaryens despite being outnumbered it helped Rhaegar lead his army into their trap but he'd attribute the victory to the men who fought for them in the field. This, when Robert took the crown it didn't feel like a victory for House Baratheon. It was a victory for everyone who fought against the tyranny of the Mad King.

Similarly, Robert's victory in the Iron Islands was a victory for all. If that's not how people felt, it was his duty as the Hand of the King to make it that way. Preserving a kingdom that was won over by war is hard but thankfully Robert and Stannis have done their part by quashing the Ironborn rebellion. The recent victory certainly sent the message loud and clear to Robert's enemies that the Baratheon dynasty was here to stay.

His job was to secure the peace and keep the kingdoms united for peaceful coexistence. And this means keeping an eye on growing developments in the kingdoms.

"My Lord Hand."

Jon came out of his musings to look at the first arrival in the Small Council chambers. It was Varys, the Master of Whispers.

"Lord Varys." Jon acknowledged the foreign eunuch with a nod.

Perhaps it was his prejudice against the Essosi people. He never trusted Varys and he would have replaced the man if it wasn't for his skills as a master spy. Try as hard as he might, Jon could not find a better person to replace the eunuch. The man was one of the Mad King's lickspittles but at least he knew for sure the eunuch was not Tywin's creature. That alone had stayed his hand and he counted on the man to remain impartial in the Small Council.

"You must have a matter of some concern for summoning a Council so suddenly, my lord." Varys tittered as he took his customary seat.

"Come now Lord Varys. Surely the Master of Whispers knows what this meeting is about."

"You overestimate my craft, Lord Arryn. No man can know everything in the world. My little birds sing me many songs and all I know is that you've received a delegation from the Iron Bank which has prompted you to call the Council." Varys said, flashing a simpering smile.

Jon doubted that but he was not going to argue with the Spider whose many webs remained concealed from his eyes. Before anything else could be said the rest of the Small Council members began to fill in.

There was Grand Maester Pycelle, whom he trusted sparingly. The man has some sympathies for Lord Tywin but he trusted the old Maester to be impartial when it comes to the matters of the realm. After all, no one could blame Pycelle for preserving Lord Tywin over the Mad King. The Grand Maester sat on Jon's left side facing Varys. Both of them were Small Council members from the Mad King's era but there was no love lost between them.

"Lord Arryn. Forgive me for my tardiness. The weather seems to have not agreed with me today." Pycelle wheezed out rubbing his grey beard to smoothen it out.

"Ah, yes. It must have been rather hot and wet last night. I pray that your bed be less warm now that summer is here." Varys said, a cheeky smile on his face hidden by his silken sleeves.

Jon looked between the two and he could feel this was some exchange of barbs between the two. He certainly did not want the tension to escalate so he addresses the final occupant of the council.

"Lord Eldon, welcome." Jon greeted the lord of Estermont castle warmly.

"My lord."

Jon appraised the Master of Coin. The only good quality of the man was he remains a dutiful lord. Lord Eldon was a man he could trust to stay loyal to Robert and give sound advice to the King. It also helped that the Lord of Estermont castle is the uncle of the Baratheon brothers. So, he could at least trust the man to raise his voice in the interest of his nephews.

"The Small Council remains small." Pycelle commented.

"Not for long. Prince Stannis should be on his way now that the war is won and the King's peace enforced in the Iron Islands. Ser Barristan should also return promptly as the tourney at the Rock has concluded." said Varys

"I'm sure we will be joined by our fellow Small Council members promptly. However, there are matters important to the Crown that needs to be discussed." Jon smoothly cut in to direct the Council to the matter at hand.

"I have received a delegation from the Iron Bank asking for the one million gold owes to the Starks."

"I don't follow Lord Arryn. Why would the Iron Bank be involved? Wasn't the agreement between the King and Lord Eddard?" asked Lord Eldon.

"It was but Lord Stark seems to have come to an agreement with the Iron Bank. If anyone wants to commission a Valyrian Ste artefact from Harrion Stark they shall bid at an auction conducted by the Iron Bank. It would seem House Stark has also agreed to allow the Iron Bank to safeguard the earnings from the bidding." said Jon, to the surprise of many in the Council.

Jon had to admit that even he was surprised by this decision by his former ward. He'd have expected Eddard to leverage the situation and use his son's skill to cultivate relations with the lords of the South. Handing over the power to determine the price and chance to buy a Valyrian Steel sword was a bad move politically. Then again, he should not have been that surprised. Eddard and Robert have a strange sense of distaste for the finer aspects of politics despite his strenuous efforts to instil them into his former wards.

"That will be a substantial amount of wealth hoarded in Braavos." Lord Eldon noted.

"Not to mention I'm the political ramifications this will have in Essos. It'll not be just the high lords of Westeros who are interested in owning a Valyrian Steel sword or an artefact of a similar make. We can expect Braavosi fleet to spread out into the known seas." said Varys, and for once the portly man was no longer sporting his usual simpering smile.

"I for one remain sceptical of Lord Stark's claims. It's preposterous to think that a young child who is still learning his numbers and letters managed to unearth the secrets of the Dragonlords of Old Valyria. Men of great wisdom have tried in the past and they have all failed in their task." said Pycelle, a frown hiding behind his grey beard.

"The King seems to have agreed with the rumours if he had given away a million dragons, the Gift and a royal decree for a hammer. It is a huge price for a normal hammer, is it not? King Robert must have found the weapon authentic and let's not forget Ser Barristan and Lord Gerion Lannister were also present when the King was presented with the weapon." said Varys.

"Perhaps it'd have been better if Lord Eddard had taken a Small Council seat. We could have learned much from Lord Stark and perhaps even influenced him to not depend on the Iron Bank." said Pycelle.

"His Grace insisted on leaving the post of Master of Laws open for Eddard. But, despite our best efforts Eddard insists on staying in Winterfell. Be that as it may, we will not interfere in the internal matters of House Stark. The Targaryens thought they could do as they please and look where that has got them." said Jon, putting any ideas of interfering with House Stark's business to rest.

Sure, he'd have preferred Eddard would not have struck a deal with the Iron Bank because of political and economic reasons. But, he was against interfering in such decisions. The whole point of the alliance against the Targaryens was precisely over their brazen interference into the rights of lords of Westeros. The Targaryens went too far during King Aegon the Unlikely's time and the ramifications of those times promoted a new alliance between the Great Houses of the North, Riverlands and the Vale to emerge.

Aerys, whom everyone hoped to bridge the gaps, only helped in widening it causing even his staunchest allies to break away and join the group Jon painstakingly built. He had his doubts when Steffon reached out to him. At the time, he thought it a ploy cooked up by Tywin Lannister.

"Speaking of the Targaryens, my little birds bring songs from the East. Ser Willem Darry has passed away." Varys reported.

"Truly? What of the children?" Jon asked excitedly.

If the knight was dead then there must be a chance to nab the dragons. If he could send Viserys to the Night's Watch and have the girl Daenerys t the silent sisters, he could avoid a war in the future.

"I'm afraid Ser Willem has been rather crafty, my lord. He has cultivated some powerful friends in the Free Cities and currently, Viserys Targaryen and his sister are on the way to Norvos." said Varys.

Jon frowned as he rightly worried about the remaining Targaryens. His efforts to get the children expelled from Braavos had met with abject failure. The Sealord had given his requests excuses but he knew the Braavosi were keeping the Targaryens as leverage. Now, another Free City giving them sanctuary did not agree with him.

"I want to know who their benefactors are. We need to keep an eye on those who offer aid to the Targaryens. Perhaps, they might come to an arrangement of sorts with us." he ordered.

"As you wish my lord."

XXXXXXX

"Slowly. You need to be more careful." Harry yelled the boat lurched a bit as it lowered to the ground.

"Forgive me, little lord. I've never flown a boat before." came the sarcastic reply from Mance Ryder.

"You need more finesse while handling the landing lever." said Harry, as he decreased the speed of the boat by turning the speed knob to near zero.

Thankfully, the boat managed to hover just above the ground despite a few bumps. Looking out through the glass they were being surrounded by Skagosi men wielding sticks, spears and axes. Most of the weapons were made of stone while some had obsidian blades at the tip of their spears. He could even hear some panicked screams coming from the people surrounding them.

Harry pulled a lever down that made the landing gear come out of the hull and plunge into the ground. The boat now came to a standstill with the landing gear digging into the rocky terrain of Skagos. Runes on the control board lit up inside the cabin as the boat began to absorb magic from the ground to replenish the power reserves. If people knew that he was using Valyrian Steel as landing gears and as a magic battery of sorts, they'd declare him mad.

Harry'd say this boat was one of his best creations using magic. Obviously, there was still work to be done. The flight stabilizing and control charms used on brooms are quite hard to replicate using runes. Therefore, the boat has too many levers for its different functions and movements. So, there ought to be more improvements in the future when he has the time to build a proper airship.

"I don't think the Skagosi are happy to see us." Benjen commented, looking worriedly at the unfriendly faces he was seeing outside.

"Maybe we should wait for Lord Stane before stepping out. After all, the Skagosi are not known for their friendly nature." Mance suggested.

"Waiting is not an option. What happens if the people just climb inside the boat?" asked Harry, as he prepared to go outside the cabin and greet the audience.  

"No, wait!"

"I have this handled." Harry said, as he made for the door of the cabin.

"No, don't! They're dangerous."

Harry ignored his uncle's warning and stepped outside. Fortunately, Harry had the presence of mind to put a magical shield before him because he was immediately pelted by stones.

"A demon!"

"Sky demon."

"The Cold gods!"

People were shouting and screaming as they threw whatever they could get their hands on. Most of the projectiles were stones but some were spears. Thankfully, Harry's shield repelled the foreign bodies making it impossible to harm him or anyone on the boat.

"Stop! We are from the Night's Watch!" Mance and Benjen screamed at the crowd to no avail.

Seeing this was not going anywhere Harry's eyes flickered to the power ring on his index finger. The ring was made for situations like these. Pointing the dragonhead of the ring at the crowd he channelled a substantial amount of magic into the ring.

'Expelliarmus.'

 There was a bright red light that lit up the whole shore and when the light dimmed down the Skagosi were disarmed and had fallen on their backs.

"Told you I have it handled." Harry said, as he jumped out of the boat into the rocky terrain of Skagos.

The Stark guards were quick to disembark from the boat brandishing their weapons and began to form a protective perimeter around Harry. Jon was also by his side as their uncle insisted on dealing with the Skagosi without their shenanigans. In the distance, the sound of hooves was heard as if the sky was rumbling.

"Pale green banners with a tree painted on top. The banners of House Stane of Driftwood Hall." Harry muttered as he watched the banners flapping in the wind.

The more interesting bit was the strange hairy creatures the men of House Stane were riding. They had the build of a horse but his eyes could be playing tricks on his mind. As the riding party came close he abandoned such silly notions. Those animals were definitely not horses. Those creatures had long single horns growing out of their heads.

'Fascinating.'