Chapter 78: Ambush the Mercs

Over the next several days the situation within Kings Landing grew more bloody and intense.

"How goes the mapping of the tunnels under Kings Landing? Has the route into the Red Keep been found yet?" Aegon asked as he sat at a table within the Dragonpit which had been converted into a command post for the war, Barristan and Gerold at his sides looking over several maps.

Ned Stark stood before him across the table that had several documents and reports of the battle they had been fighting.

"Not yet, but they should be close. The main issue is the disrepair in the sewage systems, it is making the investigation much more difficult. It's no wonder the smell of the city worsens as the years go by." Ned responded with a sigh.

Kings Landing didn't always smell of shit and piss, it had a large network of sewage tunnels that ran under the city that helped keep the city clean and kept the city from flooding during heavy rain. Over time the the city grew larger and more people migrated to the capital, but the Targaryens never expanded or even maintained the system under the city due to many reasons, mainly because they had other priorities.

Many of the nobles and council members began using the tunnels, which connected to the sewers for clandestine meetings, so they stopped paying people to enter the sewers to keep them cleared and maintained. They wanted to keep these tunnels as secretive as possible, not wanting to risk someone learning of passages into the Red Keep.

Should the wrong person learn of such a hidden path, it could be used as a means against them, or sold to some rebel who wished harm on those within the castle.

"You can cancel the search, I have other ideas on winnining this war. Make sure our men are carefully inspected for any open wounds before entering and as they exit the tunnels, the last thing we need is a epidemic to break out amongst our men." Aegon replied after some thought.

"Aye will do, although we haven't found the path to the Red Keep we have mapped out paths leading to several key locations across the city. Ser Arthur, Ser Jaime and Prince Aegon have been able to secretly take over sections of Fishmonger Square and parts of the commercial district along the Road of Steel. They can lead an attack from the rear flank at any time." Ned responded, his voice carried a hint of pride as he spoke.

"I had thought you not utilizing those stashs of Wildfire was unwise in the beginning, but it seems to have paid off in the end. The people are no longer as loyal to that Blackfyre as they once were. You have a keen mind for battle, your grace." Barristan chimed in, amazed by the progress their forces have had in taking sections of the city.

"Use what you have available to the best of your ability, I knew Daemon would secretly request Wildfire be produced by the Alchemist Guild, knowing how the populace feels about that stuff, I knew it would work better against him this way rather than us using it directly. That's why I had the men clean the bottles to make them look fresh. Now that the people think that the new Wildfire is being used in such a way, of course they wouldn't want such a man to rule over them." Aegon replied with a large grin that soon faded as he felt a pull from his connection to one of his birds.

Seeing one of his eyes turning white, Ned and the others remained silent, knowing that Aegon was using his ability to connect to one of his bonded animals.

It didn't take long for his eye to return to normal, Aegon then brought forth the map of Kings Landing and began to ponder on his next move.

"The several ships are about to make dock near the Mud Gate, reinforcements from Essos for Daemon, a few thousand men from what I could see. This is our chance to win this war. We need to ambush them as they travel up Muddy Way Road and onto The Hook Road that leads to the castle, that will be the best location to do the most damage and create enough chaos for my plan to work." Aegon stated as he pointed out several locations on the map.

He could tell from just seeing the men aboard the ship that they were experienced battle hardened men who have seen much combat, unlike most of the City Watch currently who have mainly dealt with thieves and small time criminals.

It was the reason that they had been able to hold off the Gold Cloaks from retaking Flea Bottom, though they do have some good commanders, the men were inexperienced and easy to get confused in the middle of battle.

A few hours later the ships containing the reinforcements from Essos began to dock at the harbor outside the walls of the Mud Gate which was at the southern part of Kings Landing. Just outside the gate was a large commercial district called the Fish Market, made up of small stone buildings, tents, and wooden stalls where merchants bought and sold goods.

Fishmonger Square was a plaza just inside the gates and was made up of much larger buildings that would act as warehouses to store large amounts of goods. Unlike Flea Bottom which carried a heavy stench of livestock and leather production, it smelled of fish and salt.

The mercenaries all disembarked from their ships with a confidence that caused all the merchants to back away in fear. These merchants could feel the blood lust flowing off the many mercenaries that left the ships, so to keep from falling prey to such men, the merchants quickly moved out of the way.

Seeing this only made the mercenaries even more arrogant as they scanned the crowd of people within the port.

"Where the fuck are the whores? A whole bloody month of sailing with not one nice pair of tits was too much." A large man with brown leather armor and a scar that ran across his face said aloud after he observerved the bustling port.

"You'll get your fare share of whores Duncan, I hear the Commander even has a Queen we can use as much as we like as long as she isn't killed." The man in the front of the group said with a smile.

"Fuck that, you know how I love to see the bitch squirm in fear as she realizes that I will be the last cock she ever gets. Their cunts really start to convulse around your cock as you tear into their flesh." Duncan replied back with a sadistic smile.

"Well I'm sure you'll be able to find yourself plenty of fun in this city, but before that we will need to see the Commander, so make sure you gather the men so we can head to the castle first." Kyle, the man in front, said as he studied the surroundings feeling that things were awfully quiet for a war to be happening within the city walls.

Kyle Rivers was a descendant of a bastard knight of the Riverlands who had followed the Blackfyres when they left for Essos. He was a loyal subordinate to Daemon, one of his most trusted and ferocious generals.

Seeing a short slightly overweight bald man in yellow robes flanked by two men in armor and golden yellow cloaks, Kyle walked up to the man with a smile.

"Ah Varys, good to see that your position hasn't gone to that head of yours. Still drowning yourself in perfumes I see." Kyle responded with a sneer as he approached and smelled the flowery scent of the man before him.

He wasn't a fan of Varys very much since he never fought battles up front, instead he had always worked in the shadows, never getting his own hands dirty. He only respected those that fought by his side.

Varys ignored the man's attitude and simply responded, "Good seeing you too, General Kyle. The King will be glad that you and your men are here, perhaps the situation can turn for the better. Do make sure your men behave within the city walls, the last thing King Daemon needs is additional problems with the civilians."

Varys knew these men well, many of whom were more accustomed to the culture in Essos where slaves were the predominant population within a city, giving them free reign to just grab women off the streets to exact whatever cruel tendancies they may have at any moment with no repercussions besides costing them some coin.

"Then make sure my men have plenty to distract themselves with, only that way can I guarantee they won't just grab the first woman they lay their eyes on." Kyle said with a smirk in reply.

"Well you can tell your men the army we are facing have women warriors amongst them, so if they truly wish to enjoy themselves to the fullest, then they can capture them from the enemy. This is a direct order from King Daemon himself. The Targaryen army is already trying to turn the people against him as it is, we don't need your men adding to the rising tension. Once your ready I will escort you and your men to the castle to rest for the day." Varys said with a cold expression.

"Ha, still fiddling with children I take it, you always did prefer those little boys over women. Even if I lost my cock I'd still prefer a nice grown woman. I'll keep the men in line but make sure you deliver some whores that won't be an issue if they don't return to their owners. Wouldn't want any more issues with these common folk. Tell me Spider, what is the situation?" Kyle asked as he was curious as to what has been going on and the exact situation within the city.

As the two men discussed the situation the rest of the men were leaving the ships and gathering behind Kyle, waiting to head into the city. After a few hours the mercenaries began to make their way thru the city, they weren't too happy to hear that they would have to curb their desires while in the city, but were excited to hear they would have free range to do as they pleased against the enemy.

Usually they fought against the Dothraki who had nothing but men in their armies, so knowing that their were women amonst the Targaryen forces excited them. As they made their way thru Kings Landing, unaware of the ambush that they were walking into, their attention was mostly on the several common folk that were staring at their group with fearful expressions.

These men looked nothing like soldiers, or even Westerosi people. They were mostly all foreigners which didn't sit well with the people of Kings Landing.

After Varys and Kyle Rivers had made it halfway to the Red Keep, behind them was a long procession of mercenaries that followed after them, both men were startled by several sudden shouts and the distinctive ringing of metal on metal clashes.

"What the hell is going on back there!?" Kyle shouted loudly as he turned around to try to see what was happening.

'I told these fuckers to behave, when I find out who started this mess, I'll have their fucking head.' He thought as he saw a man running forward with a pale face.

"Sir, our forces are under attack. Solders came from both sides of the street and ambushed us at various points all at once. By the time we realized what was happening, they retreated and we were hit again from another section." The man said between breaths as he had ran as fast as he could to reach the front of the convoy.

Kyle looked to Varys who had a frown of worry plastered on his face. Seeing this Kyle quickly issued out orders, "Turn around and show these fuckers what happens when you fuck with the Golden Company!"

Kyle and his men rushed back down the hill as fast as possible towards the sounds of the fighting. He knew they were at a serious disadvantage along this narrow road, especially if they were being attacked from both sides.

Varys had a sudden realization, shocked by the thought that the Targaryen army was able to slip past their lines to make it to the opposite side of the city, he rushed towards the castle to inform Daemon that the situation was much worse than they had originally thought.

As Kyle and his captains made their way back towards the fighting, a sudden feeling of danger swept thru his mind causing him to leap backwards. Just as he leapt back a sword had swept thru the air where he once was, then a rush of men came from several buildings along the side of the road.

Aegon had set up several ambush points along the road, purposely allowing the convoy of mercenaries to pass by most points to take them by surprise. This would cause the most damage and create chaos amongst even the most experienced of armies.

The Golden Company was completely taken by surprise, add to the fact that most were exhausted from sailing, they suffered heavy casualties within moments. Kyle, angered by the ambush, gave a battle cry and entered the fray.

After cutting down a few men, Kyle noticed a man with exquisite armor, the symbol of a three headed dragon etched on his arm and long silver hair that flowed down just bellow his shoulders from under the helmet.

'Fucking Targaryens. I will see to it that your house falls.' Kyle thought as he dashed forward towards the man.

Egg was using his Valyrian steel sword to cut thru the mercenaries with ease, his sword was cutting thru the mercenaries own weapons and armor as if they weren't even there thanks to him injecting his magical energy directly into the blade.

As he cut down one after the other, he felt the cold chill of killing intent rushing towards him at a rapid pace. Just as he turned his head, he saw a large blade being slashed towards his neck.

Quickly raising his arm to block, the sword was easily deflected away and swung harmlessly to the side. Taking this chance, Egg stepped towards the assailant and used his shoulder to slam into the chest of the man who attacked him, causing the man to stumble backwards several steps.

As he moved in for the kill, the man rolled off to the side, avoiding his swing causing him to miss. Egg ducked under another attack that came from his side, sweeping the attacker's legs out from underneath him causing him to crash to the ground, hindering several others from getting close.

Using this gap, Egg summoned a large fireball into his left hand, after pressing his hand forward towards the group that tried to swarm him, the fire ball launched forward towards the shocked group.

A massive explosion erupted in the middle of the street, causing several mercenaries to be blown backwards. Those who were targetted by the fireball didn't even have time to scream before they died, their burning corpses slamming into their allies and catching others on fire.

Seeing the man use magic Kyle grit his teeth in both shock and anger, his mind raced to make a decision as to whether he should press the attack or retreat. Before he could make a decision himself as to what to do, he soon had no other choice but to fight.

Egg pressed forward towards Kyle, knowing he was a commander, he wanted to make sure Daemon's forces couldn't add a highly experienced commander on their side. So after creating a large gap between himself and the other men, he focused back onto Kyle.

The two entered to a sword dance, Egg with his superior training had an edge, but Kyle had more experience in sword fighting. Kyle focused more on defense in an attempt to allow his men to try to take the Targaryen man by surprise.

"So the Targaryen King has some balls to fight on the front lines." Kyle commented as he dodged to the side to avoid a thrust.

"I'm not the king, I'm his older brother. Not that it matters, since your dead anyway." Egg responded with a smirk.

Just before Kyle could comment back, Egg used his left hand and made a pulling gesture which caused all the hairs on Kyle's body to stand all at once. However it was too late, a sudden force slammed into Kyle's back as a heavy wind carried him forward towards Egg who had his sword at the ready.

Kyle's eyes widened as he witnessed Egg's sword begin to catch fire, unable to dodge Kyle tried to block the sword slash, sadly for him the flamming sword cut through his own and the next thing Kyle saw was his vision topple.

For a moment he watched as he sailed above the crowd, he just barely caught a glimpse of his headless body falling to the ground as he began to sail back down into the crowd of men fighting for their lives. As his vision faded, the last thing he saw was his vision tumble across the road as his head was kicked around like a ball as the men fought hard to survive.