Going North I

- 276 AC -

(Robert Baratheon POV)

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me? I'm sure you'll be welcomed. And if you're not, we'll just stay anyway. What are they going to do?", I tell Stannis as we were drinking something in one of our rising restaurants. It was another of our business ventures. Restaurants were a rarity in this world. Inns, sure those exist but a proper restaurant ... not like this at least. 

"*Sigh*, no Robert. I'll stay here and take care of the things we talked about. Now that I have help, I'm sure it will work out fine.", Stannis says. 

"Aye, there shouldn't be any problems now. With the PB things will work out fine. Ain't that right Thomas?", I shout to Thomas who is sitting at the other end of the room eating something with his brothers. 

"Right you are, Robert.", Thomas tells me. 

"Say, Rob ... did you ever ... give me some of your blood? To make me loyal?", Stannis asks me after some contemplation.

"What do you think?"

"..."

He doesn't answer me and just looks at me thinking about whether or not I would do that. 

"Nah, I don't think you did.", he says eventually. 

"Of course not. It doesn't work unless it's pure. I can't dump it in some mug of ale and trick you. Otherwise, I would have long done that when we were in Kings Landing. It doesn't work like that. But you knew that already."

"Aye, I thought you wouldn't ... But should I take some?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

"You never know in this world. There may come a time that I can't think straight and that would be a terrible thought."

"Are you afraid of destroying what we built? That you would lose control?"

"Aye, something like that."

"I trusted you from the moment we welcomed you to this world, Stannis. I'm not going to stop doing that now. I won't stop you if you truly want to drink it. Contrary to what you might believe, should I go mad and you have ingested my blood before, it doesn't count as betrayal if you try to stop me. Think about it a bit more, brother. But don't ever doubt my trust in you again, alright?"

"Aye, I won't."

"Very well then, I'll see you guys in a few moons. You'll never know what might happen.", I say, standing up to bid my family goodbye. The situation in Storm's End was taken care of for the moment. I could finally go North and pick up Ned at the Eyrie and then travel to Winterfell. 

.

"Take care, Robert. And make sure to write.", Mother tells me. 

"I will Mother, don't worry.", I say and then ride away.

I chose to travel by boat and land this time. No use riding all the way North on horseback. So my group, which consists of a couple of well-trained soldiers, will sail north on the Narrow Sea to Maidenpool where we will continue our journey on foot. 

The Martells left the next day without a marriage contract but with a promise I would visit them in Sunspear. I agreed with them of course. Elia Martell is a lovely woman and not at all like some of the stuck-up noble ladies I met during my time in the Eyire. She probably won't change as much as Cersei Lannister will. But Elia is her own person and has the freedom to develop however she wishes, while Cersei will have to become what her father wants her to. 

I keep in contact with Cersei and have promised to write to Elia as well. No matter what I decide in the future, it is always good to have someone in a powerful households who tells you things they don't realise are secrets. But that isn't my main reason for writing them. I'm sure Cersei will be a bomb in the future and depending on her character, she would be a good match.

Elia already is a bomb and her mother... if I was 16, I would have bedded her, no questions asked. What? I'm only human. As a man with enough testosterone to drown Westeros, I have my needs as well. There is only so much my arm can grow until someone notices .…

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A/N Don't worry you horny shits. We'll get there soon enough 

.

Jokes aside, I enjoyed my time with Elia and her Mother. Andros, well I forgot he existed after our initial meeting. He will probably be replaced with another consort of paramour of whatever. I'll make sure to visit Dorne at some point. Although the Stormlands are not really the best friends with Dorne, that is none of my concern. I befriend who I want. 

And from what Elia told me about Oberyn, he could be a fun guy to have around. He seems even more chaotic than I am. 

.

We boarded the ship and sailed north. The journey was taxing as with every journey in this world. Cars couldn't come soon enough. I might enter horse breeding and breed some superhorse that can run fast enough to cross Westeros in a few days. 

The men I chose to come along were skilled fighters I chose myself. They were part of the security guild. The security guild was not really a guild as much as they were a police force. I chose a chief of security who was the most skilled and smartest man among the soldiers. The leading soldiers all had to drink my blood to stay loyal to me and our house. The power I would have given them otherwise was far too high. Same with the leaders of the merchant and the builders' guild. They were all loyal to House Baratheon. I was not going to risk anything.

After arriving at Maidenpool, the sailors travelled back to Storm's End with the ship, while our group travelled North-West, towards Darry. From there we took the King's road to cross the river and travelled north until we reached Crossroads Inn, where I had already spent a night the year prior. Since we had a long journey behind us, I decided to let everyone rest for the night before we continued our travel. 

"My Lord, there aren't enough rooms for all of us.", Gregory told me.

"It doesn't matter. You don't have to have women in the rooms tonight. Send three who sleep in my room as well.", I wave him off.

"B-but my Lord, it's not proper!"

"F*ck that. If there are not enough rooms then there aren't enough rooms, no need to cry about it. We will shed blood and drink together, so we can share a room as well.", I say and then move inside to get some proper food.

"Aye, my Lord."

I move towards a table that one of the soldiers has already reserved for us and sit down. 

"Any news?", I ask and he shakes his head. I taught my soldiers, who undergo special training if they want to join the soldier's guild, to always have an open ear. Do not go after rumours actively but just try to stay informed. 

"Not much, my Lord. The realm is excited about the birth of Prince Viserys Targaryen. But other than that, nothing."

"And what are the people's thoughts about it?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, my Lord."

"Sometimes it is more important to find out what others think about a topic than what is actually true. The truth is relative after all.", I explain. 

The rest of our group sit down at the table as well and we order something to eat and drink. The food and drink are on me, but as long as I pay, they don't get more than one glass of ale. I can't use drunk soldiers after all. 

"Could you explain further, my Lord? I don't think I understand what you mean."

"No? Then let me give you an example. How much is a Gold Dragon worth? Let's say in Silver Stags?", I ask everyone.

"210, my Lord."

"Right, but from where do you know that?"

"???"

"I mean who told you that one Gold Dragon was worth 210 Silver Stags?"

"Your parents, friend, colleague or someone else right? The point is, someone told you and you took it as the truth. But how can you know that it is the truth?"

"..."

"Everyone says so.", one of them says. 

"Exactly. Everyone believes this to be the case and therefore it has to be true. It was established ages ago and now we take it as the truth. But what if one Gold Dragon is actually worth 211 Silver Stags? Or 200? Or 20 ... do you understand? The truth is relative and as long as enough people believe something, it becomes the truth."

"F*ck me ... you're right, Lord Robert. I never thought about it and simply accepted it as the truth."

"That's exactly why rumours can be so powerful and why knowing what others believe about a subject can be just as informative as knowing the truth."

.

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(3rd Person POV)

The next day, the group took the high road through the Mountains of the Moon and made their way towards the Bloody Gate. The atmosphere was good and everyone was exchanging banter with one another. Robert was involved as well of course. He enjoys respectful subordinates but understands that a strong bond is invaluable in life and death. Something that would prove to be correct.

Robert holds up his hand and orders all of them to stop. Something feels off. He looks at the trees surrounding us and feels they are being watched. 

"What is it my Lord?", Gregory asks him.

"We are being watched."

"An ambush?!"

"Most probably. Prepare yourselves.", Robert orders. 

They wait for a while and after a few minutes, men appear from all around them. From behind the trees warriors armed with swords, axes and clubs reveal themselves. The Vale Mountain Clans, it would seem. Some of them ride small horses with bows and arrows. And one of them stands out from the rest.

"You are surrounded Lowlanders ... give us everything you have, or die.", the tallest of the men yells. 

"And with whom do we have the pleasure of talking?", Robert asks. 

"I am Thrain son of Thrann. We are the Sons of the Tree.", the man answers.

"Thrain son of Thrann, my name is Robert Baratheon. What is it you want with us?"

"We are here to take all you have."

"Well, what a pity. Should you choose to fight us, you will all die. So those of you who wish to live may go. This is my only warning.", Robert says. 

"Kill them all!", Thrain screams and the clansmen attack. 

"ROOAAAAHHH", the clansmen scream their battle cry. 

"Wait for it.", Robert commands his men. 

The clansmen run towards them and approach. But Robert's soldiers, while nervous, are not running away or defying his orders. They have at least some trust in Robert as their lord. They are loyal to him, but that loyalty will change in this battle. 

"Attack!", Robert shouts and the fight begins. The knights use their high positions to fight the clansmen, but it is made difficult by the three archers who sit on horses of their own. Robert on the other hand, has a big smile on his face. His battle lust has just awakened and now nothing can save these clansmen. 

He jumps down from his horse and intercepts the first man who attacks him. The man swings his sword at him in a wide overhead slash, trying to kill him with one strike. Robert doesn't have a weapon of his own, since he hasn't decided on what to use in battles yet. He enjoys heavy weapons but knows how to use anything to kill. 

Robert ducks underneath the arm of the attacking clansman and sends an upper cut towards the man's elbow joint. He hits the joint and a painful crunch is heard. 

*Crack*

"AAARGH", the man screams as his arm is bent 90° the wrong way. 

Robert grabs the sword in a fluid motion and impales the man with it, causing them both to fall to the ground. With a marvellous show of flexibility and strength, Robert rolls off the man and is standing again, ready to kill the next person. 

He is confronted by three clansmen at the same time. 

*BANG*

Robert's shin impacts the first man's neck as he performs a roundhouse kick, either killing or paralysing him. A loud crack is heard as it happens. The man is flung to the side and doesn't move. In the same movement, Robert turns to the second man and delivers a front kick to his chest, breaking the man's sternum.

*CRACK*

Robert ducks underneath the third clansman's swing of his club. He grabs the man's hand and kicks towards his inner knee, breaking it.

*CRACK*

"AAARGH!"

Robert, still holding on to the man's arm, turns around and breaks the arm, allowing him to easily take the club off his hands and defend the attack from another clansman. He dodges to the side, allowing a sword swing to pass by harmlessly. He moves the man he has been holding on to the entire time in front of him and uses him as a human shield to block arrows which were shot at him. 

*Thud thud thud*

"Ackkk..."

He finally lets go of the man and swings his club in an upward motion, hitting a man in the chin and breaking his jaw.

*BANG*

He moves to the side dodging the same swordsman from a moment ago and moves behind the man. He reaches forward, grabs hold of his neck, and then clenches his hand as hard as possible.

"AKKK ...*Crack*"

*SWING SWING SHING*

He moves through a series of attacks aimed at him and retaliates. He swings the club at one of his attacker's arms and breaks it. Before the man's sword can fall to the ground, Robert grabs it and blocks an axe coming his way. 

*BANG*

He smashes his club into the man's head and slashes another one, killing them both. 

____________________

Finally some confrontation. Don't lie, you were also waiting for it.