15. Life in King's Landing Pt 1

Author Note- So things have been busy at work as well as personal stuff, so releases will be affected until end of July. I will be releasing 2 chapters a week; mid-week and weekend.

Also, I posted a character sheet that will be updated as the story goes along.

Thanks again to all the readers, your enthusiasm motivated me, to continue posting after the first couple chapters, writing is hard, evening for a fan-fic. I spent 2 days just to figure out how to start this chapter and then to get time to sit down and type it.

And to those who have made it this far. Consider leaving a review if you have enjoyed so far, or a comment for the things you haven't. I read all comments, and consider valid points. I may not implement them right away provided that they fit thematically for what I am going for.

At the end of the day, you all also contribute to the direction of this story.

AC 253

King Aegon V Targaryen POV

This was indeed very concerning if the information was correct.

"Aegon, you mean to tell me that there is a possibility that a group of Robber Knights, have been attacking caravans in the Crownlands and surrounding territories for more than a year and a half?" Duncan said with an outraged tone. "How is that even possible and why are we only now finding out about this?"

"Its because they have been acting in a very disciplined manner, they attack a caravan and then move on to a different area. They don't leave witnesses and or take hostages. As far as I have been able to verify, there have been 6 caravans that have gone missing coming from or coming to King's Landing."

Duncan sat quietly thinking over what I had just said to him. "How do you know this if they don't leave witnesses?" Then realization came to him. "The attack on the Lannisters a year ago, when Tywin came to court, it's the same group?"

"Yes, and a week ago, coming from Tumbleton, a sellsword guarding a Tyroshi caravan that was attacked, managed to escape and made his way here. It was Tywin who brough it to my attention, the possibility that it was the same group. After the attack on their group a year ago, Ser Jason Lannister sent men to the Stoney Sept to follow up on the identity of one of the bandits, he and 3 other hedge knights left Stoney Sept around the same time the first Caravan went missing.

They came back to Stoney Sept about a month after that and splurged at every tavern and brothel, until their money ran out and then left and were never heard from again. Tywin brought it to my attention after I received the report of the sellsword. He pointed out the other 5 caravans that went missing and the attack on his own. He apparently has been paying attention, looking for the survivors of the group that attacked his own.

I tasked Ser Martyn Farring to make checks with owners or merchants who were expecting goods. He verified 4 of them and the details that Tywin gave to me, 2 of them were from the Free cities and the owners had already moved on."

"So, there is credibility to what Tywin has said? Not that I doubt the boy, it just, it would be…for a boy his age to be this dedicated to finding the survivors of a bandit group. I remembered the condition he was in when he arrived, one of his sworn swords had been killed as well. For him to go this far, I don't know if to be impressed or worried. Most noble heirs would have either become afraid of their own shadows after or become arrogant pricks. He killed 4 bandits himself, 4 men at the age of 10."

This caused me to laugh which drew the Lord Commander out of his musings. "Old friend, that wasn't the first time he killed, before he had left Casterly Rock, he had dueled some sailors and then executed them himself. They had raped and murdered a young servant. Tywin gave them a choice, duel him 1 on 1 or be executed.

He apparently carried out the execution himself after he fought each of them. I was widely talked about at Casterly Rock and spread around in the Westerlands. I too had been a little shocked at the information I received and when I asked him about it, he responded that it was only natural that men such as them be made examples of.

When I pointed out that it was Lord Tytos' duty to carry out the sentence, he said that one day he would inherit the Casterly Rock, he was simply assuring the smallfolk that when that time came, he would not allow crime to go unpunished." 

Duncan nodded with approval at my words. During our travels all over Westeros together, we had both seen our fair share of injustice and corruption. Lazy or uncaring nobles who allowed such crimes to go unpunished. I to had been impressed by his response. Hopefully he would do a better job than his father when the time came.

"He certainly has the right of it. Now what do you want to do about these robber knights?"

"Small Duncan should be returning in a week with his men, I want you to raise sufficient men and hunt them down. With the upcoming tourney, the roads will be filled in a couple of months, these men cannot be allowed to continue, you have my leave to execute them when you find them."

"I will see to it, I will take Ser Donald as well, he is still green and needs the experience. 200 cavalry will be enough if their numbers are in the 50's. I will see to it that they are properly taken care of, we will leave after the Prince and his men arrive and rested a few days."

"Sounds good, also, take Tywin with you, I want you to pay attention to him and give me your opinion of him when you return."

Duncan cocked his eyebrows and looked at me. "What exactly do you want me to look out for?"

"Any signs of instability, weaknesses or strengths that I will need to deal with. Tywin has proven to be very useful in the year he has been at court, if he can conduct himself well in the field, I will try to find a suitable wedding match for him. I am also looking at him for my small council.

He has the right attitude and is more than intelligent than most noble lords. I would hate to see a promising boy waste his talents or be led astray." 

"Yeah, but I hate to be the bearer of bad new 'Your Grace', you do not have any females to wed the boy to." Duncan responded barely holding back the impudence. "Unless Prince Jaehaerys changes his mind about wedding Aerys and Rhaella together."

"I know, my son is no shortage of headaches to me, but I am hoping to change his mind, there is still time. I also have options amongst the Crownland Houses, my sister's also have a few granddaughters in the Myr and Pentos, who will be suitable age."

"Fair enough, but I think that you will need to discuss with his parents. Even if the father will not protest, but you should at least let them know your plans." Duncan responded.

"Agreed, but all of those hinges on this little outing, remember, I am depending on you to watch him carefully. I will notify him later when I see him."

"Yes, Your Grace." Duncan gave a slight bow and then left.

'I am certain the boy will impress Dunk, but its always good to get his opinion. If there are any bad habits or short comings, it won't be too late to correct.'

...…..

Tywin Lannister's POV

Robar was out cold, as he sat in the corner. He had given a good effort but it proved to be too much for even for him. 'The Conquest of Dorne' by Daeron I Targaryen, he had started it a week ago but had gotten stuck in the middle. I couldn't blame him; our morning work outs had gotten more intense over the last year and now I actually won some of the exchanges. This forced him to work even harder.

 I too was also feeling the strain, it was almost midday and I could really use a pick me up. It was something I would solve soon. After coming through various books on plants and their effects, I had narrowed down to a viable candidate. A certain flower that grew in Dorne, a tea brewed with the roots would give a similar effect to coffee, however it would have a bitter after taste, even more than low grade black coffee from my previous life.

The problems were the supply and finding a suitable preparation and storing methods. I had Brayan experimenting with the limited supply we had and I had also ordered more about a month ago, I expected to get the next shipment within a week. This would be my next investment that I had high hopes for.

It was time to take a little break before I ruined my eyesight, so I decided to review my status.

____________________________

Name; Tywin Lannister

Age; 11

Blessings; Divine Guidance

Titles; Heir to Casterly Rock, Tytos Lannister's Son, The Young Lord of Casterly Rock, The Basilisk(new)

(The Basilisk- Grants additional intimidation to your foes when you or your followers use this name.)

Bloodline; (Inactive)

Status;

Attributes;

Vitality- 10/15, Strength- 11/15, Stamina- 11/15, Agility- 15/15, Mind- 15/15, Will- 11/15, Charisma- 12/15, Luck- 10/15

(Free Attribute Points 0)

Skills-

Proficient-

*Sword Proficiency (proficient-10/30),

*Dagger Proficiency (proficient-7/30)

*Archery (proficient-15/30)

*Shield Proficiency (proficient-2/30)

*Reading (proficient-15/30)

*Arithmetic (proficient-12/30)

*Observation (proficient -15/30)

*Sexual Performance (proficient-5/30)

*Controlled Breathing (proficient -22/30)

*Striking (proficient -5/30)

*Spatial Awareness (proficient -20/30)

*Intimidate (proficient -12/30), *Climbing (proficient -5/30)

*Fine Motor Control (proficient 18/30),

*Deception (proficient 6/30)

*Spear Proficiency (proficient12/30)

*Memory Recall (proficient 15/30) (*new; gained when 'mind attribute' reached 15/15)

*Inspire (proficient -12/30) Stealth (proficient-4/30) (*new)

*High Valyrian Language (proficient- 10/30) (*new)

Moderate-

*Riding Proficiency (moderate-7/20)

*Handwriting (moderate-3/20) *Alchemy (moderate-16/20) (*new)

(Free Skill Points- 10)

Quests;

*Slay 100 opponents in battle. (62/100) (rewards- 5 free AP on completion)

*Gain knowledge by reading 100 books. (56/100) (rewards- 1 Free AP)

*Increase 5 skill to the expert level. (0/5) (rewards- 5 free SP)

*Notice-

Most of my skills had reached 'proficient' level, however, my growth had stagnated. Which made sense, the law of diminishing returns. The higher my stats grew the harder it was getting to increase them. I wasn't worried as this was the results of my first year. If things went like in the books, the white walkers wouldn't become active until at least 40 years from now, however that was dependent on if my actions didn't speed things up. I had plans and I knew that they would mess with canon.

For starter, I had concluded that I would need to make some power plays. I would be taking control of Casterly Rock sooner than in the books, even if I may not end up being the hand, that was alright, I had set my sights higher.

I had already made moves behind the scenes of the underbelly of King's Landing. I had secured several properties, both through the help of The King and through other means and had already started to develop them. Even a plan for dealing with the House Tarbeck and House Reign. House Frey would have to wait just a little bit later. Slowly I was making progress.

Even while my eyes were close and I was plotting, I hadn't stopped paying attention, someone was approaching the door. "Robar!" and with that his eyes shot open and I signaled him to the door. A few seconds after and it swung open, I quickly stood at attention and Robar followed suit.

"Your Grace!"x2.

"So, I've spoken with Lord Commander Duncan and he will be mobilizing by the following week. You will be going with him to hunt down the bandit group." The King said to both me and Robar as he entered his study.

It was only a month after I had arrived in King's landing that I had become quite close with King Aegon V. I had simply show interest in the topic about dragons and then, literally begged him to access to the books in his private study which he happily granted after playing hard to get after a few days. I suspect that he wanted to see if I was being genuine.

Of all the people I had met at court, both he and the Lord Commander Ser Duncan the Tall, had been the some of the hardest to manipulate. I gave up on Ser Duncan from early but the King was easy; I had just showed a similar interest into dragons.

He was obsessed with them and it was apparent as I remembered about the Tragedy of Summerhall that would take place in less 7 years from now. Even if I didn't read the Dunk and Egg novellas, the Tragedy of Summerhall was commonly talked about on other forums.

King Aegon was a quite competent man, worthy of a true ruler but when it came to dragons, they were his weakness. How many times had I heard him say "if only we still had dragons", but I sympathized. I too wanted dragons, but not only dragons, magic, real magic. So, when I figure out his weakness, I latched on to it.

Apart from attending him at court, being his cup bearer at Small Council meetings, I volunteered to go through every book he had in his study. I had also impressed him when I learned High Valyrian in 3 months, I wasn't fluent but I was good enough to translate and hold my own in a conversation, and I only kept improving since.

I had been combing through every text he had and we had even had conversation about sending me to the Citadel to raid their library on anything related to the subjects. He had even shared that he had 7 petrified dragon eggs, which only peeked my greed. I wanted those eggs and I had come up with a scheme to get them. For now, I would help him find a way to hatch the eggs while finding leads on magic.

Even if it was 4-5 hours a day, 6 days a week, I still hadn't brows all of the book in the library, as well as I was only half way through my 2nd quest for 'Gain knowledge by reading'. I could have completed the quest a long time if I had focused on easier books but had chosen to read the ones that had real value or insight. I had the feeling that I would be able to unlock new skills or even find a way to unlock my 'Bloodline'.

The King continued after looking at both me and Robar, "I assume both of you will be up to the task?"

"Yes, Your Grace!" Robar responded before me.

"Definitely Your Grace! They killed our friend Ser Garrand Prester. If it wasn't for his quick action that day, more certainly would be dead." I responded.

"Well make your preparations, the Lord Commander will send word the day before they are ready to move. If you intend to carry any more men, they will have to be mounted, you will have to move fast if you want to capture all of them. For any other details, you can seek out Ser Duncan. Ser Robar, I am certain that you will protect your charge at cost!?" King Aegon finished off as he looked at Robar.

"Certainly, Your Grace." He replied without waver.

"Now, you two should go get something to eat and take rest, there will be a Small Council meeting later this evening, you will serve me Tywin."

"Yes, your Grace." I responded, as a result of me 'ingratiating' myself in the manner that I did, King had taken to calling on me for most Small Council meetings. 

Both me and Robar left the library and made our way to get lunch and probably a power nap, after I had tracked down Mya.