Chapter 15 - The Old Whore

<287 AC, The First Daughter, Essos>

Volantis, often called Old Volantis and the First Daughter is the southeastern-most of the Free Cities, located east of the Disputed Lands. Volantis sprawls across one of the four mouths of the Rhoyne, where the river flows into the Summer Sea. To the north is the river Volaena. The cities Volon Therys, Valysar, and Selhorys are located directly northeast of the city and are ruled by Volantis. Volantis also controls the Rhoyne as far as the tributary river Selhoru and holds sway over the Orange Shore, west of the city. The ruins of Sar Mell lie northeast as well.

Yet for Konrad, the city was worse than anything he could ever imagine. If not for the smell, then for the simple fact that everything in this god-forgotten place runs on slaves. Men, women, and children were paid with blood so that their masters could live a good life.

Being on the road for the past three moon circles was for a lack of better words, a new experience for the young lord, yet despite the struggles and occasional skirmishes with bandits and surprisingly enough some savages on horses, nothing happened. When they were resting their horses, Konrad would be training with either his cousin or Ser Tyrek. As for his cousin, well, truth be told Andar, was in reality his uncle and while Konrad knew that Andar hated to be called uncle by Konrad, that didn't stop the younger boy from jabbing at him every time he got angry at his family. No matter how much both Tyrek and Konrad tried to explain to the stubborn future lord Royce that, Andar was adamant on being called cousin, using the "I grew up with you and by the old gods, I will not be called uncle by someone I consider a younger brother, even if that was my older sister's son."

Looking at another slave being used as nothing more than a living target, Konrad closed his eyes trying to calm himself down when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Everything okay, my lord?" Despite wearing a stoic expression, Tyrek was from being used to such things.

"I don't like this place," Konrad answered while trying to raise the cloth that he used to cover his face. Before they walked into the city, Andar had the genius idea of hiding his "cousin" appearance, since there was a good chance that the masters or the slavers would want to capture him and sell him for his unique looks.

"Neither do I, cousin, but this will be the best place to hide for a while. After all, what sane man would bring two boys in this city?"

Konrad rolled his eyes at Andar's remark and while he knew his uncle was trying to be optimistic, Volantis was far from being a nice place to live. Alas, most of the free cities that dealt with slavery were the same.

"Slavers, uncle. They would bring two boys into this god-forsaken city to sell them to the highest bidder. Especially one that is a knight like you and one that is looking so pale like me."

Andar grimaced at Konrad's response and even though he was right, that didn't mean Andar had to like just how smart his co-nephew was.

"Don't worry, cousin. You have Ser Tyrek and me to protect you. Besides, you aren't all that bad with a sword for a seven-name's day old yourself."

Meanwhile, Tyrek sighed as he listened to the two boys. He wished he could share Andar's confidence, but sadly, he was just more inclined to have the same fears as Konrad. Despite them having more than enough gold to live relatively a good life, thanks to the late Targaryen Prince, Volantis was a dangerous place, especially for them. They were strangers in a foreign land, with no friends or allies, with a price on their heads.

"Enough talk, boys. We have to find a place where we can stay for the night. Not to mention that we have to be careful not to draw attention to ourselves. Remember, we're here as merchants looking for trade, not as lords looking for trouble. Keep your hoods on, your mouths shut, and your eyes open. And stick close to me."

The next day, after resting in one of the inns that Tyrek had managed to find, Tyrek and Andar left Konrad alone in their room, before leaving to search for a place to buy and call home. One that was as far away from the harbor and the slave market as possible, where they could live more quietly and safely.

However, neither one of the two knights ever thought that maybe, leaving a boy, no older than seven name's days old alone, would be a bad idea. And so, after waiting for a few good minutes after Andar and Ser Tyrek left, Konrad took hold of his small sword, covered his face with the mask, and left the room too, going to explore a little bit of the area.

Once he was ready, Konrad left the inn and explored a little bit of the area. While he was far from being in love with the city, he still wanted to see more of Volantis, the oldest and largest of the Free Cities.

Yet no matter where he looked, Konrad could see the slaves trying to please their masters, at the cost of their lives. The fountains and the headless statues were the only places where no slave dared to be anywhere near them, something that made the young lord curious as to why was that a thing.

Just as Konrad approached one of the fountains, he felt a sudden tremor in the ground, making him look around, wondering what was causing the vibration. Then he saw it: a huge beast, larger than any horse he had ever seen, with a long trunk, big ears, and two ivory tusks. The creature was covered with a colorful cloth and had several men sitting on its back, mimicking a wheelhouse of sorts.

Being someone who had never seen just a thing, Konrad was stunned by the sight of the strange creature. He had never seen anything like it before and truth be told, he was quite curious to get close to the creature, but alas that was just a wishful thought, after all, he was but a dwarf compared to it.

Oblivious of the boy watching him, the beast passed by the fountain, making a loud noise with its trunk before its long trunk went for the fountain. Fearing that it would hit him, Konrad tried to back away only for him to lose his balance and fall backwards, dropping his sword. He closed his eyes, expecting to hit the ground hard. But instead of feeling pain, he felt a pair of tender arms catch him.

When Konrad opened his eyes, the first thing that he saw, was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, red eyes, and fair skin, wearing a red robe smiling at him.

As someone taught how to be a proper knight and lord, Konrad was about to thank her for saving him, but before he could utter a word, she placed a finger on his lips and shook her head.

 "Don't thank me, young lord. There is no need."

 She said softly, in a language that Konrad recognized as High Valyrian. However, what surprised him greatly was the fact that was understanding her, then again, thinking for a second about it, High Valyrian did seem to be somewhat familiar to him, maybe something to do with his older self-memories.

The woman then gently set him down on the ground and smiled. "I am Serra, a priestess of God."

While she didn't explain further, Konrad was far from sure that she was a priestess of the same God he was following, and that made him weary of her intentions, after all, her sudden appearance behind him was anything but a coincidence.

"Nevertheless, my lady, I have to thank you, after all without your help, I would have fallen to the ground."

"As I said, young lord, it wasn't necessary for you to thank me for doing my duty to you."

"I don't want to sound rude my lady, but what duty to me? For all I know, I'm not a follower of R'hllor, nor do I have any desire to become one."

Instead of answering him, the priestess just smiled before turning around and heading to God knows where leaving Konrad perplexed by her motives. As soon as her figure disappeared into an alley, Konrad didn't waste any more time and left the area, fearing that she or her fellow followers of the Flame God would come after him.

Sadly, for the young lord, today was anything but an uneventful day. Just as he passed by one of the shops with a chopped hands-on display, Konrad felt a sharp pain in his back before he hit the hard pavement. Supporting himself off the pavement, Konrad slowly got back on his feet only to be greeted by the ugly smile of a burly man with a scarred face. The man was holding a whip in one hand and a dagger in the other and behind him, Konrad could see a group of boys and girls, no older than him, with shackles on their hands and legs. All of the children looked terrified and hopeless, almost as if they had given up on life.

Before Konrad could react, the man used his whip and slashed at the young lord, hitting him in the chest before knocking the boy once again on the pavement. Despite the pain, Konrad tried to reach for his sword, but the man was faster and kicked it away.

 "You're coming with me, you little brat!" the man shouted, grabbing Konrad by the collar and dragging him towards the group of children.

 "You'll make a fine slave for the pleasure houses. Maybe you'll even learn some manners there."

As his world was slowly but surely turning darker, Konrad saw the other kids looking at him with pity, something that he could understand. Mayhaps that priestess set him up, or mayhaps these were the men of that bastard named Littlefinger.

Nevertheless, one thing was for sure, he shouldn't have left the room earlier today. The last thing Konrad saw before his world went black was the worried face of a dark-skinned boy who grabbed him…

<Volantis, Tyrek Lannister>

Searching for a home in this place wasn't as easy as many would have thought to be. For once, money didn't solve anything and since neither nor Andar had any kind of reputation, no one wanted to sell anything meaningful to them.

"Let's get back to the inn. I reckon, your nephew must have died of boredom by now."

Andar gave him a smile as both of them quickly made their way through the rather busy streets. It didn't take them long to reach the inn, but as soon as they walked inside, they found the owner looking strangely at them.

 "Where is your nephew? He's not in his room. Did you take him with you?"

Both knights looked at each other before Andar dashed towards their room leaving Tyrek to deal with the owner. Seeing that one of the armored men ran up the stairs, the owner backed away slightly fearing for his life, not that it was his fault in the first place, but who would dare to argue with a man with a sword?

"What do you mean he's not in his room? We left him there. He was sleeping."

"Well, ser… he's not there now. My wife didn't find anyone in the room when she cleaned the room."

"Seven hells!"

Ignoring the scared owner, Tyrek walked outside trying to think where could Konrad be, and judging by everything, he knew about the boy he raised, it became clear as the sky that finding the young lord would be a harder task than defending the king.

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