[interlude]powerful friend

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POV of Randyll Tarly eleventh moon 285 AC

"Alright, with this, the budget for the city's next fiscal year is approved. I remind you all that next week we will discuss the distribution of guards for the city, and everyone must be present," I said to all the nobles who had angry faces because almost no one got what they wanted.

For quite some time now, I've been orchestrating conflicts among the former rulers of The Reach to control the last stronghold that survived the Prussian conquest: Old Town. In this city, all the dynasties not destroyed by the Prussians ruled jointly, and now the wealth generated by the city was distributed among them.

The problem lies in the fact that there are several political blocs in the city: one led by the Tyrell witch, another by my father-in-law, another by the Septon of the Starry Sept, and finally, the one I lead, which is the most influential.

Taking advantage of the current circumstances in the city, I've ensured that the blocs opposed to Prussian interests lose power constantly. It's well known that the city of Old Town is slowly dying.

Since Old Town belongs to Prussia, it's an autonomy; therefore, the Prussian king hasn't invested a single gold coin in these lands, causing many people to decide to emigrate from the city to one of the rich and prosperous Prussian cities.

Initially, I thought it was odd, only when I traveled to the capital for the tournament did I realize that even Old Town, the city considered one of the cleanest and best-built in the Seven Kingdoms, paled in comparison to the quality of services and houses offered by Prussian cities, in addition to the wide range of jobs.

Due to that, the city has been losing gold every day, as many people leave, and we've had to debate monthly budgets instead of annual ones due to the constant change in income. Old Town had to be autonomous and continue paying the tax to its lord.

This allowed me to create rifts in the alliances that had formed, weakening groups, making them fight each other for control of important positions in the city.

I earned the title of the lapdog of the Prussians, as I openly collaborated with them. Honestly, it doesn't bother me because those idiots forget that we made an oath to our new king. House Tarly served well as faithful vassals, following the Gardener until their death, obeying the Tyrells, even if there were houses with better claims in The Reach. Even with that woman Olenna Tyrell who took advantage of her son's weak will to rule in his name, we served well and faithfully. Now, a new lord rises, and as my ancestors did, we will serve him well and faithfully.

Although I lost my lands and the ancestral home of my family, I have the promise that they will be returned to me for my loyal service. Also, I was allowed to keep the most important thing of House Tarly, my Valyrian steel sword. Besides, I find the company of the Prussians more pleasant than that of my own people.

In all social gatherings, I was always isolated, only looked at for political marriages. When Helmuth integrated me into the Prussian groups, they welcomed me with open arms. They didn't care that I spoke their language poorly or even that I didn't follow their religion, as they hoped I would see the light. They treated me as one of their own and referred to me as the Prussian born outside of Prussia. Because we shared many Prussian characteristics—adoration for martial skills, unwavering loyalty to their lord, and a taste for training.

Moreover, the new king was much better than that old Olenna, who relied on intrigue to rule, using her son as a puppet. Wilhelm proved to be an extremely competent warrior and commander, making him ideal to protect The Reach.

I might have said that I've gotten used to this new life, but there's only one problem: Helmuth disappeared more than a year ago. Since we returned from the tournament, he vanished into thin air, and no one knows where he is. The city could have fallen into the hands of Olenna due to my inexperience in politics if Helmuth hadn't been wise enough to leave me with several advisers who helped me in everything.

It was a group called Evocatus, veterans who completed their military service and stayed by Helmuth's side. They weren't Prussians; they were from an external culture loyal to the king in Prussia: the Finns, the same culture as the man who single-handedly conquered my castle.

This group supported me in everything: diplomacy, administration, controlling the port, and, above all, espionage. I never thought Helmuth would have such a comprehensive espionage system at his disposal. In just four days, I received complete reports of what all the other nobles in the city were doing. But I also discovered that Helmuth had almost all his spies focused on Leyton Hightower, and that was my only clue as to where Helmuth might be, because there was nothing known about him since I asked everyone about his whereabouts, and either they don't respond or don't know.

I boarded a ship and headed to the tower where all the administration was since I had to review this month's commercial revenue.

As I was reaching Helmuth's room, I heard a strange sound inside.

I entered with my sword drawn, as no one should be inside, and I found Helmuth with his mouth full of a wine bottle,while he had his dog chewing on his fingers

"Damn it, Helmuth, I thought we had a spy... where the hell have you been?" I said annoyed, sheathing my sword.

"Planting grapes," Helmuth said after removing the bottle from his mouth.

I needed to grab onto the chair to keep from falling at that response.

"You disappeared for a year to plant grapes?... I thought you had been assassinated or something," I said, sitting in the chair.

"If they had killed me, be sure that you would have Finnish commandos and Teutonic knights to investigate my death... Are you referring to Leyton?" Helmuth said, almost laughing, and after taking another sip from his bottle, he continued speaking.

"Yes, I thought the investigation failed or something like that," I said, a bit calmer.

"Bah, don't worry. I was intrigued by the books that man had. It seemed like he was researching magic, but my spies didn't find anything, so either he stopped or, without the books, he can't continue his work," Helmuth said, opening another bottle and pouring me a glass of wine.

"Thanks... I still don't understand... Why did you leave... just for grapes? And what about your duty in the city?" I said, a bit upset.

"Well, at the tournament, I spoke with the king, and he acknowledged part of the debt that the Prussian crown owes to my family, a debt for the purchase of swords and armor, a lot of gold involved. And well, Arbor has its own governor, but I managed to get the king to pay me a large part of the debt with the right to use the land of Arbor. So now the whole island is dedicated to producing wines for me, and, well, he had to make a personal visit to make sure I improved the quality since it wasn't the best. It just happened that I had some grape seeds saved."

"And well, that's how I traveled and dedicated myself to training vintners from Arbor and preparing everything for the coming years. So, in the next four years, I'll give you a wine that you'll find exquisite. Not to brag, but I have over two hundred years of experience in this," Helmuth said with a smile.

"And your duty? Olenna fought a lot when she found out about your absence in the city because that witch almost got the better of me several times," I said with a serious voice.

"My duty is fulfilled; the city follows the interests of my king and is calm. My job is done since I left someone trustworthy... to put him to the test...Come in," Helmuth said, getting serious, and a man with a wolf's head entered.

"How did Tarly perform?" Helmuth asked the man who had just entered.

"Herr Tarly fulfilled his duty, committed no wrongdoing, there was no embezzlement of funds, no abuse of power, kept all his rivals at bay, and kept an eye on all the nobles. As for whether he listened to his advisers, he did, and rarely made decisions without first hearing opinions from his advisers," the wolf-headed man said.

"Anything to add, Tarly?" Helmuth asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"No... I fulfilled my duty as a vassal," I replied, looking directly at Helmuth.

"Well... Tarly... Tarly... Would you like to be the governor of Hornhill?" Helmuth asked.

"Of course, I would like to. They were my lands, and there is my ancestral home. But the law is clear: only Protestant Prussians can be governors," I replied confidently.

"True... very true... Tarly... Would you be interested in being my son?" Helmuth said, showing me a paper.

I opened my eyes wide and stared at Helmuth, who was very serious.

"I'm married, and as far as I know, you don't have daughters, Herzog Helmuth."i said

"I have many daughters and sons, only they are not here. What I'm offering you is to adopt you, with no blood ties, under Prussian laws, you would be my son. Being the son of a noble automatically grants Prussian citizenship due to our obligation to serve in the army," Helmuth said seriously.

"But... but... wouldn't that be frowned upon?" I said very surprised.

"Woe to the fool who tries to say something about that. In Prussia, it doesn't matter if a son is legitimate, a bastard, or adopted; all are children and must be cared for equally... Isn't that right?" Helmuth said, looking at the wolf-headed man.

"Certainly, Herzog Helmuth, I adopted five children whom I adore just like my children born of my wife. I'll kill anyone who tells me they're not mine," the wolf-headed man replied.

"And what about my religion? I'm not sure yet..." I said, looking at Helmuth.

"I don't care as long as you openly profess to be a Protestant. In your home, you can worship whoever you want," Helmuth said, shrugging.

"Do I have to take your last name?" I asked another question.

"Yes, by tradition, but if you want to keep your name, that's fine... Randyl Tarly von Bock... almost says itself and sounds good... so Tarly, are you interested?" Helmuth said, handing me a paper that said adoption.

"Would I be stupid if I don't accept, right?" I said, reaching for Helmuth's pen and inkwell.

"I don't like playing with people I respect, but yes, it's a unique opportunity, Tarly. You would be Herzog Helmuth's son. He has no sons in the Seven Kingdoms and no interest in having more... you will be my heir to all my titles and wealth in the Seven Kingdoms since my son and heir in Prussia has probably replaced me," Helmuth said, keeping a serious face.

I was a bit perplexed when Helmuth said I would be his heir, and I finally decided and signed the paper with my name.

"Excellent decision. Send it to herr Roon, and request it as a favor to be quickly approved," Helmuth said to the wolf-headed man.

"Will there be no problems with Roon? He doesn't like Westerosis..." I said, putting away the pen.

"but he does like you, you're the exception. So he won't avoid anything. Now you'll have a bright future, my son..." Helmuth said, smiling and raising his bottle.

I drank from the glass Helmuth gave me. It was Arbor Gold, but it was much better than other vintages I had tasted. I could see Helmuth was expecting my reaction, and upon seeing my reaction, he smiled.

"Just wait four more years, and you'll taste the best wine. I made this one with this year's grape harvest while the seeds I planted are growing," Helmuth said, smiling.

"Now do I have to call you father?" I asked Helmuth somewhat intrigued.

"Ha, ha, ha... no... let's avoid problems... I'm your political sponsor... nothing more. By the way, you have to go to the capital, and you must leave in three days at most since I got the king to baptize you. So there will be fewer doubts that you still profess the faith of the Seven, and by next year, you'll be the governor of Hornhill. But remember, when you pretend to be a Protestant, speak like a fanatic, act like a conciliator, that's the trick. It worked for my friend Lothar for years... unfortunately, it became a reality," Helmuth said, smiling, and then he looked sad.

"I thought all Prussians are very devout in their faith," I said somewhat surprised.

"And they sincerely are. When you're over two hundred years old, many things stop mattering so much. It's just that my friend Lothar was a crypto-Catholic. He knelt before the Pope and was loyal to the king in Prussia, who was Protestant. Throughout the religious war, he was the voice of reason for the war to end, taking advantage of the initial success, but he wasn't listened to. With the death of his three children and the subsequent suicide of his wife, he truly began to hate Catholics to the point of madness and became the most fanatical of nobles," Helmuth said, making faces.

"NEVER BECOME THAT, TARLY!" Helmuth said in a tone he had never used,even his dog got scared

I nodded to his words. Several uncomfortable minutes passed when Helmuth started drinking wine again and speaking.

"And tell me, how's my grandson?" Helmuth said again, smiling.

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Give me your stones of power