Bouquet garni

Togg started laughing after finishing his words. I knew the people who did these kinds of shady business had some weird sense of humour, not that I minded it. He can empathize with such men, these kinds of men have seen so much death and blood that the mundane life has become boring for them.

Living at the edge of a blade has become too mundane for them. They are trying to find something amusing and interesting amidst their dull world. My actions must have amused him. I remove the dagger with a swift stroke, eliciting a gasp of pain from the man. I wipe my hands and the dagger with a silk cloth. As we climbed aboard the ship, I saw him properly, a man covered in pelts who looked like dwarves in lord of the Rings.

Togg: Welcome aboard M'lord, what can I do for you?

Altair: I want to see your merchandise. However, before we go on let us keep our men on board. Andar you also stay here, keep the coins with you. Payment can be done after we come back up from the inside.

Andar: M'lord I am entrusted to ensure your safety by lord Arryn. You must also be careful….

Altair: Don't worry Andar, I am sure Togg here has no intention of doing us any harm. If he wanted to, we would already have been poisoned and dead by now… isn't that right Togg?

Togg bursts into laughter again as a snake crawls out of his pelt and wraps around his neck.

Togg: you have a very keen eye M'lord. However, my senses give me the reason to suspect that you would have still survived.

Altair: let us not dwell on these trivial matters. I want you to take me and show me your merchandise.

We moved below the deck as our men remained on the deck. A few men inside were also moved to the deck on Togg's command.

The whaler ship has a huge compartment inside able to fit even young leviathans inside. This ship had a specially modified interior filled with racks and shelves. He made a blueprint of the ship while going down from the deck.

These ships were extremely sturdy and made to even withstand the assault of monstrous leviathans. The hull sealed with tar and natural resin led to its unique smell. When combined with blueprints of Swan ships, Altair can come up with monstrous battleships.

The insides of the main compartment were filled with shelves of pickle jars of various sizes filled with weird and different creatures pickled and preserved. There were also wooden boxes and crates with tiny holes in them. You can hear hissing, rattling and crawling through these tiny holes.

**( Andar POV)**

The young lord is inside with that weird Ibbenese merchant. The young lord is an enigma to me, his actions are ruthless and many say he is a bloodthirsty Madman.

He is just two name days old, yet he can speak coherently, he has also grown fairly taller since his sickness has settled after he was one name day old. Many call him Monster and others Mad, yet he has always been kind and trustful of me.

He is very smart for his age, he has scoured dozens of books since the day he overcame his sickness. He can even speak languages from the regions that I don't know anything about. However, he never showed off his knowledge or spoke more than he needed to speak.

However, I can tell that he has wisdom beyond his age, his sky-blue eyes observing people as if stripping them bare and seeing through their hearts.

However, I don't fear him, I believe he will become a great knight and lord in the future. He has the qualities of a great warrior as I saw him pierce a man's hand with my dagger without even a twitch on his face.

His eyes and body leaked no malice, no madness, no twitch of a muscle before he took action. He was able to shed blood while being as calm as the mountains of vale. I am sure he can shed blood without a hitch on a battlefield while staying calm and level-headed amidst the slaughter.

Although his skill with the blade remains to be tested, I feel that after his newfound health, he will be able to master the art of combat like how a falcon learns to fly.

Many fear his madness, while some doubt his sanity. There are even rumours of him being a monster and eating the maester alive. However, I feel there is some reason or hidden purpose behind his madness. He always looks at people in their eyes with piercing gaze. Many feel uncomfortable at his silent gaze.

I don't fear him though I have nothing to hide from the lord. We of House Royce have always been loyal to the falcons of Arryn.

Over time as I get to know him more I realize that at times there is some hidden meaning in his words. There are times when even the rudest of remarks have some advice in them. I feel he doesn't despise me and so in the coming days, I will try to speak to him more often.

When he came back it had already been evening as Sun was a few hours away from sinking into the sea. Many guards wanted to go and check the well-being of the lord. I stopped them as I could see that he wanted his dealings to remain unseen.

if I didn't know him well, I would have personally gone inside to check for his well-being. Now, I know that his orders are absolute and he doesn't like people acting on their own.

He came back out while talking with Togg who was carrying a wooden box with small holes in his hand. Through these holes, I can hear the faint sounds of something crawling inside.