Untraveled Roads and Downtime

In my free time before my departure from Raventree Hall, I went searching for this castle's Magical Dungeon, and soon enough found it near the River, go figure.

After dealing with an undead capable of casting spells like fireball at the Red Keep, then cutting through a literal Zombie Apocalypse on Harrenhal that had some dishonest Shadows, it was a little bit boring having to clear this one.

Although the stream of water up to my knees was a little annoying at first, but by using Alter Self to give myself webbed feet, it did little to prevent me from making small work of the hordes of armored zombies.

A combination of layers of armor, Rage, Action Surge and the occasional use of Ki was all that I needed to cut through all of these foot soldiers.

Even practiced some of my maneuvers against crowds of enemies, my favorite combinations being both risposting with disarming and pushing with tripping.

They really hyped me up for the wars to come.

Unfortunately, my Wild Shapes couldn't compare to how broken my Twin Valyrian Steel Gladius were with Radiant Effect.

And Shadow wasn't mobile enough to be of use in this environment.

Once I made halfway past the usual distance in this dungeon, I finally realized that the noxious odor was slightly off.

Focusing on my Divine Sense, I noticed that amongst these lowly undeads, I was finally about to cross paths with a fiend.

(?) A fiend was an evil creature from one of the Fiendish Planes, also called the Lower planes in some cosmological models. They were not just evil, but born of evil; primal malevolence was one of the roots of their nature, and the evil essence of the fiendish planes permeated every part of their bodies.

'Thanks, Game System.'

Since it was already too late to hide my presence, I pushed forward, intending to not appear immediately hostile.

And my plan seemed to have been successful, since instead of being immediately rushed at or ambushed, I was greeted with the visage of something I wasn't expecting to find lurking in a place like this.

A woman, not the prettiest one that I've ever seen, but neither was she hard on the eyes.

Though her attire revealed either that she wasn't that much into elegance or that she had seen better days.

"Please, my chivalrous Knight." I heard her calling for my attention, limping over in my direction, seemingly struggling with the muddy ground. "I've been trapped here for god knows how long. It's so lonely here, I'm hungry and I miss my home."

If I wasn't already alerted to the fact that I fiend skulking around, I might've genuinely fallen for this act.

That is, if I was stupid enough to allow her to come close enough without using Observe on her.

{NIGHT HAG, MEDIUM FIEND}

{LV - 50}

POW: 54

MOB: 45

END: 48

INT: 48

STL: 35

DEF: 0

HP: 2000

SPEED: 30 ft.

CONDITIONS IMMUNITIES: CHARMED.

DAMAGE RESISTANCES: COLD, FIRE, NON-MAGICAL BLUDGEONING, PIERCING AND SLASHING.

SENSES: DARKVISION 120 ft.

LANGUAGES: ABYSSAL, COMMON, INFERNAL AND PRIMORDIAL.

[INNATE SPELLCASTING: She can innately cast spells that allow her to sense alteration in the weave of magic and launch glowing darts of magical force at her foes. Also, twice a day, she can cast black beams of enervating energy that sap her target of its strength and send others into a magical slumber.]

[MAGIC RESISTANCE: The hag has the advantage of resisting spells and other magical effects that aren't directly causing damage to her.]

[CHANGE SHAPE: The hag magically morphs into a female humanoid, or back into her true form. Her statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. She reverts to her true form if she dies.]

[ETHEREALNESS: The hag magically enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. To do so, the hag must have a heartstone in her possession.]

[WARNING: For specific circumstances, this creature is unable to transport herself to a different plane of existence.]

'Hell no! Fuck this shit!' I said, retrieving my Dragonbone Crossbow loaded with an obsidian-tipped bolt, and shot her almost at point blank while accepting the penalties of my Sharpshooter Perk.

Double tapping, thanks to Extra-Attack and Crossbow Expert, with Precision Attack maneuvers making sure that I got one in the heart and the other in the head.

"Wha…" The Hag managed to mutter before the two projectiles reached her at ludicrous speed.

*BOOOOM!

[0/2000 HP]

My Crossbow Bolts pierced her skin and muscle tissues, loudly shattered a few bones and dislocated her limbs with massive concussive force, rendering the Fiend into a bloody mass.

The poor monster didn't even have the opportunity to cry in pain before dying.

"Urgh." I remarked in disgust, noticing I just got covered in muck and that the few still discernible remains of the average looking woman morphed into pieces of a hideous creature.

From the pieces that remained intact, it looked like a crooked crone, wrinkled and withered women of unsightly appearance with blotchy skin marred by warts and moles.

Her long, skinny fingers were tipped by talon-like nails as tough as steel and as sharp as blades, and her mouth was filled with sharp, blackened teeth and noxious stench.

Long, frayed hair ringed her creased face, but even though her face was heavy from the massively painful experience she just went through, the glimmer of sly villainy could still be seen in her eyes.

Though, surprisingly, she was the first monster I've killed in a Magical Dungeon that dropped some loot.

Breaking down her body inside my Inventory, I gained several components.

Such as Monster Blood, Bones, Hide, Claws, Ears, Eyes, Hair, Saliva, Tongue and Teeth.

Sadly the Brain and the Heart were beyond salvation, though that might be the reason why I managed to kill it so quickly.

But the biggest reward were two magical items the Hag had with it.

First was a dark gem resembling a heart.

[HEARTSTONE]

[This lustrous black gem allows its wielder to become ethereal. The touch of a Heartstone also cures any disease, but it produces cracks on it. Crafting a Heartstone takes 30 days. While on the Ethereal Plane, one can magically touch a sleeping humanoid on the Material Plane. Abjuration spells casted on the target prevents this contact. As long as the contact persists, the target has dreadful visions. If these visions last for at least 1 hour, the target gains no benefit from its rest, and its Health point maximum is reduced by a tenth. If this effect reduces the target's Health point maximum to 0, the target dies, and if the target was evil, its soul is successfully extracted to be placed on a magical trap. The reduction to the target's Health point maximum lasts until removed by an abjuration magic with restorative properties.]

[WARNING! THE CURRENT LOCATION IS WARDED AGAINST THIS MAGICAL ITEM'S EFFECT!]

'Huh, so something is really blocking conjuration effects down here, that would explain why I've been having a hard time teleporting.' I mentally remarked. Although, finding a way of visiting the Ethereal Plane this early is very surprising.'

What else? A gross looking bag.

[SOUL BAG]

[When an evil humanoid has its soul extracted, the wielder of a Soul Bag catches the soul in this black sack made of stitched flesh. A Soul Bag can hold only one evil soul at a time, and only the Night Hag who crafted the bag can catch a soul with it. If the Night Hag is slayed, that ability is passed down to the one that killed it. Crafting a Soul Bag takes 7 days and a humanoid sacrifice (whose flesh is used to make the bag).]

'A pity I didn't acquire the Hag's soul. But I was already taking enough risks by taking these items that by all accounts would've been cursed.' Focusing on my Divine Sense, I could only feel that it had been made from foul means, but I didn't notice any lingering hex.'

Storing it all in my Inventory, I pondered for a moment. 'All things considered, finding a creature capable of speaking was very intriguing. Did the game create it and had it attempted to fool me with a fake story of not being from here?'

Saving that thought for later, I cleaned myself with Thaumaturgy and moved on.

Finally at the end of the underground tunnel, I gained access to the treasure room and confirmed my theory, Harrenhal was indeed the key to unlocking fast travel.

As for my loot, no potion, no Valyrian steel, just more golden coins and…

[WALL OF BASIC DIVINATION]

{WOULD YOU LIKE TO ABSORB THE KNOWLEDGE IT POSSESSES?}

[YES/NO]

Guess the Northerners do have an inclination for greenseeing and scrying.

Works for me, I like to be a jack of all trades any way, it's just up to me to become a master of them all.

"Oh heavens, YES!"

[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!]

[DIVINATION MAGIC - Lv 20 (0%)]

{HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ARCANE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCHOOL OF DIVINATION.}

[Divination Magic is all about gathering information. It is widely regarded as one of the weaker schools of magic because it doesn't have spells as flashy as the ones the other schools have. Specialists of Divination magic are known as Diviners and they are the ones you go to when your future is a bit foggy or you want to uncover the truth about something. At its most basic, divination magic allows the caster to sense the nearby bends and twist in the weave of magic, effectively allowing one to sense and locate the presence and use of spells. Divination magic also gives one the ability to read the surface thoughts of certain creatures, and communicate with them, even if you wouldn't normally be able to due to language barriers or physical inability of speech. At its pinnacle, Divination magic gives you the ability to see right through any disguise and across other planes, even briefly gazing into the future in order to react accordingly. … The counsel of a diviner is sought by royalty and commoners alike, for all seek a clearer understanding of the past, present, and future. As a diviner, you strive to part the veils of space, time, and consciousness so that you can see clearly. You work to master spells of discernment, remote viewing, supernatural knowledge, and foresight. …]

"Page, make a new chapter for Divination Magic and run analysis for a suitable spell out of its concepts." I said while establishing a mental link again with my Grimoire, sharing most of the knowledge I just gained.

"Here are some of the options I've been able to decipher. Two feasible formulas have been prepared. They are both waiting to be put to practice." Page immediately announced, having learned from her previous mistake.

"Thanks my dear."

{DETECT MAGIC Lv- 1 (0%)}

{DIVINATION CANTRIP: For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 10 meters of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, while also being capable of discerning its density around you, enabling you to pinpoint its source. And you also learn its school of magic, if it has any that you have knowledge of. Additionally, if you touch one object you learn whether any spells are affecting the item, and if the item was created by a spell that you have knowledge about, you learn which one created it. If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting, you learn what spells, if any that you have knowledge of, are currently affecting it.}

CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS

DURATION: CONCENTRATION, UP TO 10 MINUTES

TARGET: SELF

RANGE: 10 METERS

COMPONENTS: VOCAL, SOMATIC

Excellent to use alongside both my Observe skill and Divine Sense feature, working in synergy to improve my Mental Map!

And might give me an edge once spellcasting becomes less rare in the world.

And…

{GUIDING ARROW Lv- 1 (0%)}

{DIVINATION CANTRIP: You create a Tiny incorporeal arrow of shimmering light in an unoccupied space you can see within range. The arrow exists for the duration, but it disappears if you teleport or you travel to a different plane of existence. When the arrow appears, you name one major landmark, such as a city, mountain, castle, or battlefield on the same plane of existence as you. Someone in history must have visited the site and mapped it. If the landmark appears on no map in existence, the spell fails. Otherwise, whenever you move toward the hand, it moves away from you at the same speed you moved, and it moves in the direction of the landmark, always remaining 2 meters away from you. If you don't move toward the hand, it remains in place until you do and beckons for you to follow once every 5 minutes.}

CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS

DURATION: CONCENTRATION, UP TO 8 HOURS

RANGE: TWO METERS

TARGET: SELF

COMPONENTS: VOCAL, SOMATIC

My personal GPS.

At first sight it might appear of little to no importance, but besides underground mazes, this spell will help me travel and explore the world simply by collecting old maps.

Better yet, just like with my Game Windows, only I could see it.

—————————————————————

Traveling along the River Road through the Riverlands was an easy ride, the ground was level and the road itself well-maintained.

Grasslands and farmlands extended for several leagues on both sides of the road and river, all of which meant that I could see my destination in the distance while Tywin's retinue was still kilometers away.

I even got the time to attempt combining my Wild Shape with my Alter Self spell, in order to get more than natural weapons.

My main focus was primarily on stuff that would be subtle enough to practice while surrounded by watchful soldiers and a friendly Pia.

And with that I'm proud to say that I successfully unlocked Cat-like eyes that finally granted me nightvision, or as the Game System called it, Darkvision.

[DARKVISION: You can see in the dark within 20 meters of you. Perceiving dim light within the radius as if it were bright light, and Darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.]

With this pair of eyes I could constrict my pupils to see in blinding light or open them to see in near pitch darkness.

Not sure if it was optimal to hunt for the same types of Shadows that I've encountered in Harrenhal's Dungeon, nor if it would work in magical shadows, but it was more convenient than giving out my location to far away creatures.

By either using Minor Illusion to light up my surroundings or threading only in dim light environments so not to carelessly trip into something or someone.

My next step would be a combination of all the other Wild Shape forms I had unlocked already.

Feline anatomy would certainly make me more agile and flexible and a Mastiff's olfactory senses were sharper.

The porcupine and turtle defenses were a next step for my natural weapons, with great potential to be explored, just like with the snake/scorpion's venom and a spider's web.

And even if I wasn't much of a frog person, jumping longer distances would certainly help with my Van Der Waals spider crawling.

From there the sky was the limit, literally in my case, with combinations such as my Speech of the Woods feature and the pheromones of ants to reenact that scene from Indian Jones 4 with the Giant Ants in places like Sothoryos, become cold blooded in order to hide my heat signature, and regenerate limbs like lizards.

Hopefully I won't become a Spider Man villain with all of that.

But enough about it, back to our journey.

"Look my prince, another beautiful castle!" Pia told me rather cheerily, probably enjoy the time of her life.

Nodding back at her while acknowledging her enthusiasm, I turned to face our destination.

As was fitting for the seat of the Lords paramount of the Trident, Riverrun seemed to rise up out of the river itself.

Its curious triangular shapes sit nestled in the confluence of two rivers the Red Fork and the Tumbledown.

And as I approached, it was clear that the other side of the castle was protected by a massive ditch with sluice gates at either end.

At times of war and siege, these gates could be opened letting the rivers rush in, turning Riverrun into an island.

We could get to the castle by road I suppose, leading the horses over the drawbridge

and through the imposing barbican, but to really get a feel for this place it was best to approach it by boat.

And so here I was, in a ferry large enough to transport a group of the most influential people traveling with me since King's Landing, being rowed across towards the watergate.

Though with a little convincing, I got both Sandor and Pia to follow me, with Shadow resting on her own pocket dimension.

The sandstone curtain walls before me were marked by many arrow slits, and if I craned my neck upwards, I could see soldiers peering down from its crenelated (machiculatiooooons) top, their fish crested helmets and livery silhouetted against the sky.

Towers at each corner of the wall offer excellent views over the surrounding area and guard the shores of the river.

If an enemy got too close to the river's edge, they were in longbow aim and range.

This may not be the largest castle in Westeros, but it was surely one of the more easily defended.

From the little I got to speak with the Blackfish, he told me that the castle was always provisioned to survive a siege of up to two years and could be manned fully with just two hundred guards.

It was easy to see how it has never been successfully captured. Granted, it has been given over to enemies, but never stormed.

The Watergate itself was a large arch protected by a portcullis, the bottom half of which sank deep into the water down to the bed.

As it rose to let me and the others in, the sounds of the creaks of the machinery and the lapping of water against the castle walls, I could see that the bottom half of the portcullis was red, rusted by being in the water, and I was waved through.

Although this was called a gate, it is actually more of a docks under the castle.

As my eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom of torchlight, I could see several other boats here tied up to iron rings set into the walls.

Provisions were being unloaded from one of these boats and goods put on another presumably to be taken downstream to the Saltpans, or perhaps even Gulltown, and from there they could go anywhere.

Riverrun may be situated far inland, but the rivers connect it to the wider world.

This part of the castle was unarguably damp, probably aggravated by it being windowless, but I had no doubt that there were dungeons here that were even worse.

So heading up the water stair to the lower Bailey and into the castle proper, here I could see that despite the fortified exterior, Riverrun was actually quite a pleasant space.

It is not as large as the Red Keep, but there was a lot here.

The wheel tower next to me which sat over the tumbledown river had a large water wheel in it, which ensured that the castle's residents had a secure supply of flour for bread.

There was of course a Keep, which I would come to in a moment, and a Great Hall which stood separate.

This was where the Lord of Riverrun held his counsel and, I dare guess, feasts at harvest

and for special occasions.

Above the Great Hall was a smaller audience chamber for more day to day activities.

Perhaps the most tranquil part of the castle was the Godswood, through which I must pass in order to get to the keep.

While hearing Pia's remarks of wonder, I got the vacant idea of what Littlefinger's first impressions of this castle might've been.

It was more like a garden, with elms and redwoods spaced well apart to let the sunlight in, streams tinkle through the grass before disappearing back down into the ground, birds singing overhead and the air was filled with the smell of wildflowers.

Standing amidst all this it was hard to remember that I was in the middle of a castle at all, there was a weirwood tree of course, but it was slender and elegant rather than overgrown and disconcerting like the two others I have seen.

This was a place for family play and relaxing afternoons, not a place of veneration for

the Old Gods.

For the Tully's did not worship them.

Here, and in many other southern cities, the presence of a Godswood and a heart tree, whether or not it was actually a weirwood, was more of a statement of political inclusivity than religious adherents.

When the Andals invaded they rather wisely decided to keep the Godswoods in some of the key castles they captured like here, knowing that destroying them would only anger the First Men who still lived in the south.

House Tully was an ancient house, being descended from the first men, but this was not an

ancient castle, by Westerosi standards, being just a thousand years or so old.

And it was only with Aegon's invasion that the Tullys were elevated to being Lords paramount of the Riverlands.

So the Tully's were followers of the faith of the seven, and the Sept here which sat inside another garden was a real delight, made from sandstone with the traditional seven sides.

Inside it was a kaleidoscope of color, with light shining through multiple stained glass windows, casting yellows and blues and greens across the floor, paintings of the seven on the marbled inner walls complete the vibrant decor.

After spending a brief moment whispering a small prayer to the New Gods, informing them of some of my progress and future plans, my final place to see here was the Keep itself.

The outer castle's walls were triangular in shape, and so were the keep at the eastern end of the castle.

The Tully family's private chambers were here, decorated with leaping trout and other River based imagery, and at the top of the Keep reached by a spiral staircase, was the Lord's

Solar.

Triangular as well, and with a balcony that gives a view out over the river, as it flows gently away.

The evening sunlight fills the castle around us with a golden hue.

This time I felt more obliged to join the feast Lord Tully had prepared for us.

Not that I was against socializing with others, my Silver Tongue feature made sure no one had anything to complain about me, but it felt to be a certain waste of my time and attention.

Before leaving for the Westerlands, I took the opportunity to have some alone time with the castle's Weirwood Tree.

Soon enough, after a brief walk while everyone was asleep, I reached a small opening that represented the entrance.

There were no guards this time, and there was no gate, so I walked on through unhindered.

As I've mentioned before, it was a true garden, with flowers and fauna that were obviously well taken care of.

I walked through the well worn paths, taking in the sights on the way to the weirwood.

When I found it, I was eager to touch it.

There were only the white branches and red leaves of the weirwood in the vicinity.

Grass grew on the dirt around it, but other than that it was untouched by anything else.

There was no brush or anything like that to obscure any of the tree.

And in front of it was a single bench for someone to sit on.

I walked straight up to the tree, curious.

My eyes roamed the bark of the trunk until I found the face carved into it.

Reaching out and putting a hand on the tree, a familiar sensation took hold of me.

[TITLE "DRUID" HAS LEVELED UP!]

[TRAIT UNLOCKED: CIRCLE OF THE STARS!]

*The Circle of Stars allows druids to draw on the power of starlight. These druids have tracked heavenly patterns since time immemorial, discovering secrets hidden amid the constellations. By revealing and understanding these secrets, the Circle of the Stars seeks to harness the powers of the cosmos. Many druids of this circle keep records of the constellations and the stars' effects on the world. Some groups document these observations at megalithic sites, which serve as enigmatic libraries of lore. These repositories might take the form of stone circles, pyramids, petroglyphs, and underground temples; any construction durable enough to protect the circle's sacred knowledge even against a great cataclysm.

[FEATURE UNLOCKED: STARRY FORM!]

*You gain the ability to harness constellations' power to alter your form by spending one of your Wild Points to take on a starry form for 10 minutes, retaining your statistics, but your body becomes luminous; your joints glimmer like stars, and glowing lines connect them as on a star chart. Whenever you assume your starry form, choose which of the following constellations glimmers on your body: *Archer. A constellation of an archer appears on you. Your ranged attacks gain a luminous energy. The target receives additional Radiant Damage on top of your attack and mystical dim light glitters on it, betraying its location in the dark. *Chalice. A constellation of a life-giving goblet appears on you. Whenever you restore Health points to a creature, you or another creature within 10 meters of you can receive the same healing effect. *Dragon. A constellation of a majestic dragon appears on you. Whenever you are midair, you glide after performing a horizontal jump and hover if falling vertically until reaching the ground.

[TRAIT UNLOCKED: CIRCLE OF THE MOON]

*Druids of the Circle of the Moon are fierce guardians of the wilds. Their order gathers under the full moon to share news and trade warnings. They haunt the deepest parts of the wilderness, where they might go for weeks on end before crossing paths with another humanoid creature, let alone another druid. Changeable as the moon, a druid of this circle might prowl as a great cat one night, soar over the treetops as an eagle the next day, and crash through the undergrowth in bear form to drive off a trespassing monster. The wild is in the druid's blood.

[FEATURE UNLOCKED: COMBAT FORMS!]

*You gained the ability to easily use and dismiss Wild Shape without having to concentrate for a brief moment. Additionally, the rites of your circle grant you the ability to transform into more dangerous animal forms, but must still abide by the other limitations.

[KNOWN WILD SHAPE FORMS:]

**Ant, Baboon, Badger, Cat, Deer, Frog, Goat, Hyena, Jackal, Lizard, Rat, Squirrel, Otter, Little Valyrian, Scorpion, Spider, Weasel, Camel, Mastiff, Mule, Poisonous Snake, Pony, Turtle, Fox, Beaver, Boar, Constrictor Snake, Cow, Draft Horse, Elk, Zorses, Unicorn, Stag, Porcupine, Shadowcat, Riding Horse, Wolf, Ape, Black Bear, Crocodile, Warhorse, Brown Bear, Dire Wolf, Giant Spider, Giant Toad, Lion, Tiger.

Both Traits and Features were bloody brilliant!

Thankfully this truce between the New Gods and the Old ones was still going smoothly.

Starry Form was basically disguising myself as Alien X, with the added bonus of living in a world where one of the biggest religions was centered around a Seven Pointed Star.

Plus it made spending Divine Points on Smites and Channel Divinity on Spells redundant.

Give me one Valyrian Steel Sword in one hand and a Dragonbone Crossbow on another, I would be confident to have a rematch with those Shadows.

As for my other trait, I guess it was kind of inevitable with all my thinkering with Wild Shape.

Though it made me wonder what I would get from using my Wild Companion more often.

Having said that…

Dire Wolf form already?!

And what with this Giant Toad thing? Is it from my study of the Isles of Toads with its own Toad Stone?

Ok. Just awesome.

—————————————————————

The Magical dungeon under Riverrun was slightly tougher than the one on Raventree Hall, with the water level being enough to make me rely on my swimming skill for the first time.

The undead enemies however, relied on fishing me with nasty longbows and actual chained hooks from their boats.

Thankfully I've practiced assuming my Aquatic Form with Alter Self spell, otherwise I would be left only with my recently acquired Crocodile Wild Shape.

[-20 MP]

Sprouting gills and fins while also growing webbing between my fingers, not forgetting a jaw similar to the one of a crocodile for extra damage and octopuses' ink glands for underwater retreat, I took down one undead after the other.

Focusing my chomps on their heads after exposing them out of their head protections.

The taste of rotten flesh was awful, but I at least didn't get affected by Necrotic or Poison damage.

Eventually, before reaching the treasure room of this dungeon, I came face to face with the guardians of this place.

One, two, three… four ugly bastards.

{KUO-TOA, MEDIUM HUMANOID}

{LV - 20}

POW: 39

MOB: 30

END: 33

INT: 33

STL: 25

DEF: 0

HP: 400

SPEED: 30 ft. Swim 30 ft.

SENSES: DARKVISION 120 ft.

LANGUAGES: UNDERCOMMON.

[AMPHIBIOUS: The kuo-toa can breathe air and water.]

[OTHERWORLDLY PERCEPTION: The kuo-toa can sense the presence of any creature within 10 meters of it that is invisible or on the Ethereal Plane. It can pinpoint such a creature that is moving.]

[SLIPPERY: The kuo-toa has the advantage of escaping any form of grapple thanks to a layer of slime over its skin.]

[SUNLIGHT SENSITIVITY: While in sunlight, the kuo-toa has its attacks weakened, as well as its perception that rely on sight.]

*Kuo-toa are sadistic, degenerate fish-like humanoids that once inhabited the shores and islands of the surface world.

These guys weren't big stuff, their stats were similar to my base ones.

How about that? No damage and condition immunity.

Spreading my arms in a manner of defiance, I managed to bait all of them to attack me all at once with their spears.

Rushing at me like hungry piranha fish, I grinned at them with my reptilian mouth as a spark crossed my eyes.

Since I was immune to the damage of my lightning power even while submerged, I decided to be an off the charts humanoid Electric Eel, stunning all the monsters that were within my range.

Poor fellas, they were easy prey after that.

And much better lunch than the average undead zombie. Even stored a few pieces for Shadow to give her opinion on it.

Who would've guessed that all of these Dungeons would pose a bigger challenge than the one under the Red Keep did, with its fireball-launching damn undead battle mage?

Although, it was nothing compared to the waves of Walking dead rushing at me during my visit at Harrenhal or the Fiendish Hag that I met on Raventree.

But gotta give it to the Tullys, they had reserved a considerable challenge, one that without knowing Alter Self or having my Wild Shape forms, I have no idea of how I would've beat it.

Neither Valyrian Steel or Eldritch Blast were very effective while I kept myself underwater, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to understand new strategies and tactics in combat.

By the end of my dungeon delving, I was greeted with another chest filled with gold and unlocked another Great House castle.

Seven more to go.

Since I've brought up my evolution, let me review the progress of my spells thus far.

Starting with a bang, Evocation Magic.

With both my Careful Metamagic and wizardry skill of sculpting safe areas of damage for my allies, I just began to get the idea of how to increase their overall power with my Empowered Metamagic.

{ELDRITCH BLAST Lv- 20 (0%)}

I was now capable of invoking four impressive beams of pure magic, eight if I twined it.

Force Damage had proven its worth time and time again, though with Page in my hands I could work on transmuting its base damage into either Psychic and Lightning.

Before my Starry Form, spending my Divine Points was my only option to stack Radiant damage over the damage of each beam.

If the dungeons allowed me the line of shot, I could use the Distant metamagic and reach 120 meters, which basically made me a goddamn Sniper wizard in most scenarios, one-shooting any target before they could even notice me.

All of that alongside my Dragonbone Crossbow and its bolts imbued with my Arcane Weapon spell, were the perfect tool in dealing with hordes of the toughest undeads.

Which suited me just fine since I didn't have all day to explore Magical dungeons on castles that I was just traveling past.

{CHROMATIC ORB Lv- 10 (23%)}

Really hard to use, given how costly it was.

From grinding it I mainly got the excitement of blowing something up with the wrath of one of its six power types, especially by twinning it and evoking one on each hand.

Or better yet, send Page as my drone ahead of me, seek and destroy style.

Oh, after mixing some of my druidic insight with the components I've been working with, I had finally succeeded in coming up with a 2nd class evocation spell.

{STARBEAM Lv- 1 (0%)}

[SECOND CLASS EVOCATION SPELL: A silvery beam of pale light shines down in a 2-meters radius, 12-meter-high cylinder centered on a point within range. Until the spell ends, dim light fills the cylinder. When a creature enters the spell's area, it is engulfed in ghostly flames that cause searing pain, taking massive amounts of radiant damage. Any Shapechanger becomes weakened inside it, eventually reverting to its original form and can't assume a different form until it leaves the spell's light. After you cast this spell, you can move the beam 18 meters in any direction.]

CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS

RANGE: 36 METERS

TARGET: A 2-METERS RADIUS, 12-METER-HIGH CYLINDER CENTERED ON A POINT WITHIN RANGE

COMPONENTS: V S M (Several seeds of any moonseed plant and a piece of opalescent feldspar)

DURATION: UP TO 1 MINUTE

If Eldritch Blast could be both a sniper and shotgun shot and Chromatic Orb was a rocket launcher with many magical effects, then Starbeam was my orbital railgun.

Not yet on par with a small nuke, but still astonishingly destructive to bring upon any living creature, forget about undeads.

Moving on…Illusion Magic.

{MINOR ILLUSION Lv- 20 (0%)}

As a matter of fact, I've evolved it quite a bit.

Not only have I gained my first ranked level spell, Disguise Self, but also managed to get quite creative with it.

Instead of the 2-meter cube singular illusion, now only I could cast each visual illusion that could have its own sound, smell and even produce light, but also what appeared to be an infinite number of illusions in a 10 meter radius around me.

That was beyond amazing.

Not to mention what else I got.

Even though the illusionary touch was still reserved for my 1st class spell, Disguise Self, my minor illusions duration had expanded from 1 minute to 1 hour, without requiring the Extended Metamagic, which was both really good and really bad.

You see, the Cantrip actually only gained experience after taking its normal duration before being dispelled.

So, instead of the 1440 opportunities in a day, I now had only 24, 48 if I twinned all of them.

Added to the fact that my Wild Shape didn't dispel it immediately, I could manipulate it in order to have a mirror illusion of myself following me around.

Though the lack of touch made it not optimal for close quarters interactions, I had come up with a good alternative.

{DISGUISE SELF Lv- 10 (0%)}

Besides raising its base duration and making my disguises less frail, I did manage to combine it with my mirror images in order to make them interactive, albeit with the cost of making them even less frail.

A slightly tight handshake was enough to pop it like a balloon.

But still, I got my Shadow Clone jutsu, even if the mirror image didn't have a mental link with me.

As for my 2nd class illusion spell, it was actually the result of my reverse engineering my Detect Magic cantrip.

{MAGIC AURA Lv- 1 (0%)}

[SECOND CLASS ILLUSION SPELL: You place an illusion on a creature or an object you touch so that divination spells reveal false information about it. The target can be a willing creature or an object that isn't being carried or worn by another creature. When you cast the spell, choose one or both of the following effects. If you cast this spell on the same creature or object every day for 30 days, placing the same effect on it each time, the illusion will last indefinitely after that, until it is actively dispelled. *False Aura. You change the way the target appears to spells and magical effects, such as Detect Magic, that detect magical auras. You can make a non magical object appear magical, a magical object appear non magical, or change the object's magical aura so that it appears to belong to a specific school of magic that you choose. When you use this effect on an object, you can make the false magic apparent to any creature that handles the item. *Mask. You change the way the target appears to spells and magical effects that detect creature types, such as a paladin's Divine Sense or the trigger of a trap spell. You choose a creature type and other spells and magical effects treat the target as if it were a creature of that type or of that alignment.]

CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS

RANGE: TOUCH

COMPONENTS: V S M (a small square of silk)

DURATION: 24 HOURS

So what can you do with this spell? Is it as niche as it looks?

If you don't think this is amazing, then I guess we can't be friends.

Jokes apart, not only could I shield my magic from others that could sense it, like the Night Hag I faced in Raventree Hall, but also make something appear as magical forever.

At the top of my head…

I could mask the fact that my familiar is a fey, instead of a normal cat, walk into a location warded against intruders, change the information seen by my party members through their weaker version of Observe etc.

Besides, even with the 30 days of use requirement, the permanent effect just blew me away.

Next…Conjuration Magic.

{MINOR CONJURATION Lv- 20 (0%)}

Its initial limitations were:

A singular inanimate object, created in my hand, or in an unoccupied space within 3 meters. "Form" must be of a non magical object that I must have seen before. It lasted up to 1 hour, or until I created another object. Largest dimension was 1 meter, so no long coils of rope, maximum weight being 5 kg.

First, I still was limited to one conjuration per cast.

Second, I got the weight limit to double in exchange for cutting its volume in half.

Last but not least, I finally got them to become permanent, I just had to focus for an entire minute to make it so.

Do you have any idea of how absurd that was?

No, I couldn't just summon an inherently magical material like a block of Valyrian steel, nor could I summon other valuable materials such as gold and jewelry.

Instead, I could summon an unlimited amount of common materials such as stone and wood.

I know, I know, it looks pretty underwhelming.

But just think about everything people have accomplished in Minecraft.

Enough said.

{UNSEEN SERVANT Lv- 10 (91%)}

My loyal, mindless and invisible lackeys.

They still weren't able to deal damage, but I could at least swap places with them and have them take the damage from a powerful attack in my place.

Better yet, their usefulness proved invaluable once I got them to incessantly cast Minor Summon and store the permanent items in my Inventory.

Turning a crippling restriction of one minute per use into a inconsequential hindrance with these two constantly doing their job.

Alongside my twin servants with their own floating disk, I also had my Legerdemain Hands to work on those types of matters while I was busy.

Even if I didn't have that many spectral arms to call myself a Diclonius, especially since mine weren't capable of doing actual damage in comparison to their "Vectors", no one could deny their usefulness.

And with a little bit of testing on Shadow's Pocket Dimension, I got this…

{ROPE TRICK Lv- 1 (0%)}

[SECOND CLASS CONJURATION SPELL: You touch a length of rope that is up to twice your height. One end of the rope then rises into the air until the whole rope hangs perpendicular to the ground. At the upper end of the rope, an invisible entrance opens to an extradimensional space that lasts until the spell ends. The extradimensional space can be reached by climbing to the top of the rope. The space is large enough to easily fit eight people with the size of an average adult human. The rope can be pulled into the space, making the rope disappear from view outside the space. Attacks and spells can't cross through the entrance into or out of the extradimensional space, but those inside can see out of it as if through a 1-meter-by-2-meters window centered on the rope. Anything inside the extradimensional space drops out when the spell ends.]

CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS

RANGE: TOUCH

COMPONENTS: V S M (Powdered corn extract and a twisted loop of parchment)

DURATION: 1 HOUR

Yup, I just got my own pocket dimension.

Not worth much besides a safe space to rest for an hour and recharge all of my features, alongside my health, stamina and mana bars.

Extended Metamagic made the spell last for two hours and twining it merely doubled the overall size of my extradimensional space.

But I just got this spell, so imagine what I might get with it with enough practice.

Anyway…Abjuration Magic.

{ARCANE WARD Lv- 20 (0%)}

This one synergized very well with my Draconic scales, but besides turning it into a passive that was always up, I just learned to share it with others, mainly my Wild Familiar Shadow.

{MAGE ARMOR Lv- 10 (11%)}

Extra toughness that stacked on top of my Runed Bronze armor, which could be focused into a thick shielding wall to brace for a massive impact and absorb elemental damage.

The only worthy addition to that was to have that same wall form a dome over me, which apparently seemed to maintain its overall durability intact in all parts.

{ARCANE LOCK Lv- 1 (0%)}

[SECOND CLASS ABJURATION SPELL: You touch a closed door, window, gate, chest, or other entryway, and it becomes locked for the duration. You and the creatures you designate when you cast this spell can walk past the barrier normally as if nothing stood in its place. You can also set a password that, when spoken within 2 meters of the object, suppresses this spell for 1 minute. Otherwise, it is impassable by others until it is broken or the spell is dispelled or suppressed. While affected by this spell, the object is considerably more difficult to break or force open by picking any locks on it. Alternatively, another use of it without material cost is choosing an object that you can see within range. The object can be a door, a box, a chest, a set of manacles, a padlock, or another object that contains a mundane or magical means that prevents access. A target that is held shut by a mundane lock or that is stuck or barred becomes unlocked, unstuck, or unbarred. If the object has multiple locks, only one of them is unlocked. If you choose a target that is held shut with someone else's Arcane Lock, that spell is suppressed for 10 minutes, during which time the target can be opened and shut normally. When you cast the spell this way, a loud knock, audible from as far away as 90 meters, emanates from the target object.]

CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS

RANGE: TOUCH

TARGET: A CLOSED DOOR, WINDOW, GATE, CHEST, OR OTHER ENTRYWAYS

COMPONENTS: V S M (Gold dust worth at least 25 Gold Coins, which the spell consumes)

DURATION: UNTIL DISPELLED

By far the most costly to cast, which would make grinding it much harder, but still it was great to have another with technically permanent duration, that would make a loud noise, alarming me if someone managed to force their way past it.

Besides, this made any lock or blocked path available to me.

Let me see what else…Enchantment Magic.

{MIND SLIVER Lv- 20 (0%)}

I was thinking of Professor X from X-Men, with his ability to use pure mind energy to harm another creature's mind.

Really hard to find test subjects for it, since both Undead and animals weren't so open about their symptoms.

I initially attempted some sort of vicious mockery against some lowly criminal, with both Thaumaturgy and Minor Illusion backing it up, as I either taunted or frightened them.

Soon enough, I got the hang of it.

Unexpectedly, all thanks to my Gibberish skill I had considered useless up until now, only leveling it up for the laughs I got from it.

The damage was more about dealing excruciating pain, if I wanted to, and breaking someone's mind defenses, momentarily lowering their Intelligence stat so I could exploit their moment of weakness with more enchantment spells.

My Hypnotic Gaze being the prime example of the benefits I gained by playing around with it, and the thing that gave me the high ground while dealing with Tywin Lannister for the first time.

By this level, the only thing I unlocked was that charming others became second nature to me.

{SLEEP/AWAKE Lv- 10 (34%)}

Didn't use it as much as I would have liked, but the potential was still there, since charming someone could only lead me thus far.

The latest attribute I unlocked from it was the fortunate option to choose if my targets would awake from their slumber either fully rested or exhausted.

Great for allowing Pia to keep up with my pace without making her a Party Member.

{PARALYZE Lv- 1 (0%)}

[SECOND CLASS ENCHANTMENT SPELL: Choose a Humanoid that you can see within range. The target is paralyzed for the duration.]

CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS

RANGE: 20 METERS

TARGET: A HUMANOID THAT YOU CAN SEE WITHIN RANGE

COMPONENTS: V S M (A small, straight piece of iron)

DURATION: CONCENTRATION, UP TO 1 MINUTE

Short and concise, albeit somewhat limited, just like how I like it.

Hopefully I could get it to affect not only humanoids, but beast and monsters as well.

Finally…since both Necromancy and Divination were works in progress… Transmutation Magic.

{THAUMATURGY Lv- 20 (0%)}

Extended its duration from 1 minute to one hour, which carried the same implication to its grinding potential as Minor Illusion.

Not only could I now magnify my voice up to five times, but also change it to appear either more angelic or demonic, heavily inspired from my audience with the gods.

Open and close all unlocked doors in a ten meters radius and even cause small tremors, capable of damaging grounded objects, whether through a loud noise or unseen waves.

Dry any creature within range, light or snuff out multiple small sources of fire, clean or soil object, chill/warm/flavor non-living material, and 1 meter cube trinket.

I know, a stupid amount of stuff.

But I don't call it my Swiss army knife for nothing.

Besides getting the mending effect casting time from 1 minute to instantaneous, I got two new uses out of it.

One, was that I could restore objects that had been affected by either rust or corrosion, adding even more use to this cantrip.

And two, reconstruct objects that have no more than one fifth of it missing, which was thanks to my better understanding of Transmutation that I succeeded in 'creating matter out of nothing'.

Not to mention the possibilities of abusing this.

As for its communication feature, I got its range from 35 meters to 100 meters.

Great way to threaten a target from afar without letting anyone else know, or just throw my voice and make them alerted to an attack that will never come.

To say nothing that I was actually a telepath now and could exchange mental images through it, but I was not content with only that.

As for my Minor Alchemy feature, it worked in similar fashion to my Minor Summon cantrip, though I had yet to make the changes permanent or independent of my concentration.

{ARCANE WEAPON Lv- 10 (49%)}

Even a regular dagger pierced everything but the best plate armor as if it was made out of butter, so just imagine the amount of damage a sword of better quality could do.

Another example was a castle steel forged Warhammer that I picked from my Inventory dealt a motherfucking punch against an unlucky undead, which was sent flying against the wall.

And that was without using my Rage feature.

Such is the power of magical weapons, regardless if they were made of Valyrian Steel or Dragon Glass.

Even some force imbued pebbles I threw seemed capable of denting steel plate armor.

Sadly, neither my Valyrian Steel blades nor my Dragonglass Crossbow bolts seemed to get any sharper than they already were.

Though at least I got a reliable way of mimicking my Twin Gladius inscriptions, actively testing all types of magical damage I got from it.

In exchange, my swords learned new damage types.

{SELECT MAGICAL EFFECTS}

{KNOWN MAGICAL EFFECTS: LIGHTNING/THUNDER/ RADIANT/ NECROTIC/ ACID/ POISON/ ICE/ FIRE}

First two were the results of my sorcery origins, with weapons either becoming charged with electric current or shaking like vibroblades.

Radiant was like having a shining lightsaber that cleansed the cursed nature of the undeads, and Necrotic being just like Murasame, the one-cut-killer teigu from Akame Ga Kill.

Acid and poison were very alike, with both making my swords covered in each substance.

As for Ice and Fire, similar to wielding both Radiant and Necrotic effects in each weapon, it was another great combination because of its thematic flavor.

{ALTER SELF Lv- 7 (99%)}

Sadly no Aerial Adaptation yet, but the transformations were indeed getting smoother to both control and maintain.

And if the sudden trick I got from casting Disguise Self on my Minor Mirror Images was any indication, this second class spell had plenty of room to grow.

Good thing I had my Wild Shapes to give me more experience with transmuting my body.

—————————————————————

The back of the large wagon that I've been traveling was getting a little too overpopulated.

With both Bryden Tully, who had accepted my formal invitation to join, and Cleos Frey, plus two other Freys, adding to the group of five grown men alongside me and my uncle Tyrion.

Suffice to say that it was getting hard to entertain them all.

In the end, since the rain didn't seem to be going anywhere, we decided that some friendly banter would do wonders to help fill in the tedious waiting of the trip.

"Men have fought over the Riverlands since the Dawn Age, but that's to be expected of things that rest below the Neck." Bryden was recounting a little about the history of the Riverlands, to Tyrion's clear satisfaction. "Doesn't help that the Riverlands are between everything and everything else. The Westerlands' gold, the Reach's grain, the Vale's rock and the North's…"

He stopped for a moment, trying to think about what the North had to offer.

"Snow?" I joked.

"Heh. Yes, I believe that might be the case." Bryden laughed alongside some of the other men. "House Mudd once ruled as the Kings of the Rivers and Hills, but after a thousand years, their line was exhausted and fell to the Storm Kings, who fell to the Ironborn. I suppose after years of drowning at sea, our rivers looked pretty attractive to that race of pirates and rapists."

"I suppose the Westerlands share that history." I spoke, looking at Tyrion, reminding the history of my uncle's homeland.

"Aye. But never mind that their monstrous castle, Harrenhal, was too large to staff and garrison. It turned out the Ironborn would not be there long enough to bother. Aegon Targaryen landed to our south and, as had many before him, liked the look of the Riverlands." The Blackfish spoke, boring the Frays, since they probably have heard that tale several times during their lives.

"Ah yes, we had beheld the result of their showdown." Tyrion said, referring to Harrenhal.

Bryden nodded before continuing. "My ancestor Edmyn Tully led the desertion of Riverlords to his cause and was rewarded by getting to watch King Harren burn in his own tower."

He laughed alongside the other Riverlanders in a rare moment of comradery.

"Unfortunately, that's not all Edmyn got. House Tully was named the Lord Paramount of the Trident, which means we had to keep in line all those lords who hadn't governed themselves for thousands of years. We were now responsible for aiding the Mallisters at Seagard against the pouting ironborn, whenever they got cheeky."

And that same moment of comradery was gone.

Hearing that Brynden Tully considered the title of ruling the Riverlands a bother, the Freys snickered, prompting the Blackfish to raise an eyebrow.

But he decided to ignore them for now.

"For settling Harrenhal on families stupid enough to think its curse would skip them, after devouring all previous families." He remarked in a monotonous tone. "For keeping the Blackwoods and Brackens from wiping each other out, and giving us two more castles to deal with."

Bryden Tully made a pause, turning to the Freys and said. "For keeping the Freys in their place and out of others' pockets."

This comment was answered with an awkward silence from the three Freys present, since they weren't important enough to speak against the brother of their liege Lord, or risk bothering me.

"For marrying off our sons and daughters wisely enough so that we didn't follow House Mudd into, well, the mud." The veteran Knight recalled the infamous disagreement he had with his brother, which resulted in him calling himself the Blackfish. "Yet under the Targaryens, the Riverlands knew a peace we hadn't had for centuries, if ever. But like all good things, sooner or later, it all goes to shit. And our shit had a name. Aerys Targaryen."

Everyone on the wagon had heard enough tales of the Mad King, and how he earned his name.

Some had actually fought in the war that resulted in his family's destruction.

Bryden turned to look at me, remembering for a moment I was the actual Crown Prince. "Westeros has had its share of Mad Kings, but usually, they had the sense not to bully more than one powerful house at a time. Aerys soon blundered into a triple alliance. The North with the Starks, the Stormlands with your House, and the Vale with the Hand's House rose against him."

"Westerosi wars are much larger, and if you forgive this one, messier than the ones at the Summer Isles." Jalabhar Xho remarked, reminding about the obstacle keeping him exiled from his homeland.

"So I've heard." The Blackfish agreed before returning to his story. "But of course, where do you think most of the blood was spilled? My brother Hoster guaranteed the answer to that with the marriage of my niece to Eddard Stark, the Warden of the North. At least Hoster didn't send her to Robert."

The three Freys smirked, having already heard about how desperate their liege Lord was in forging new alliances, and somewhat sympathizing with how Walder Frey ruled the Twins.

"So, the Riverlands joined the war against the Mad King. And it was on one of our rivers that Prince Rhaegar died, sealing the fate of his dynasty." The Blackfish said. "During centuries, armies have marched, again and again while the Riverlands burned. If Westeros is not careful, pretty soon our people will grow some sense and abandon this place for a safer realm, like the Dothraki Sea." He laughed, prompting almost everyone to follow. "I joke, of course. The Riverlands are our home and gods help us, we love it. Still, as they say, 'the king eats and the hand takes the shit'. The same is true of the Riverlands 'the Seven Kingdoms piss and the Riverlands change clothes'."

This gained a few nods from the Freys.

After that, we continued sharing stories, Jalabhar spoke about his homeland and the Freys about their lives on the Twins.

"My Prince, is it wise to have this mercenary around you?" Syrio suddenly questioned in a respectful manner, drawing Bronn's attention. "How can you be sure he won't attempt anything against you?"

"You've got a problem with me, fencer?" Bronn spoke out, showing that he did recognize Syrio's accent. "I don't dance well enough for you?"

Syrio merely smiled and shook his head. "Only that you creep around whenever we set camp like a bandit looking for things to steal."

"I take it that I didn't creep silently enough then." Bronn admitted with a sly smile, earning an amused chuckle from one of the Freys.

Having Shadow draw their attention with a growl and a hiss, I began speaking. "It never hurts to ask." I immediately settled down their argument. "I trust he will behave because I've paid him quite handsomely." I told them before handing a piece of fish to Shadow. "And will continue to do so if his skill proves true."

"Yeah, baldy, give the man a chance to prove himself." Thoros spoke, for the first time after waking up from his nap, to his fellow Essosi before turning to the Sellsword. "But one thing I've been meaning to ask, I think it's about time you introduce yourself?"

I turned to Bronn, with a neutral expression. "Do you mind?"

"Not really." The oblivious Reyne shrugged. "Some call me an insolent black-hearted rogue. Others call me a wanderer, which isn't completely wrong, since I've been to many places. But I prefer to be called Sellsword. It pretty much sums my life up. A poor man with a sword, seeking a rich man needing a man with a sword. We exchange gold. If a poor man like me knows how to use the sword, maybe I will become a rich man, one way... or another."

"Oh, I can see that you are very attached to your… profession." Tyrion remarked, closing his book. "Care to share some tales about it?"

Bronn shrugged. "I'm sure sellswords have a long and illustrious history, but if you meet a sellsword who knows it, best hire someone else. A sellsword should be good at one thing: getting paid to kill people."

Lothor grunted at that, probably his way of showing amusement, while Bryden actually laughed.

"It's not an easy job, mind you." Bronn made his case to everyone. "Most people try to kill you back, and at least a few of them know how. The ones that don't, well, they often come in enough pretty armor to ruin an afternoon." Bronn revealed, knocking on Thoros breastplate before looking at me. "A lot of high lords turn their noses up at sellswords. They say they can't trust a man who sells his allegiance to the highest bidder. I don't blame them, it's much cheaper for them to own an army from birth, either by people being on their lands or by their ancestors swearing a few oaths."

"Indeed." I agreed with his point, to the surprise of everyone.

"But here's the thing…" Bronn leaned forward, facing everyone as if he was telling a secret. "…no sellsword has ever fled from the winning side. If your hired companies are running away from you, it's because you're not on that side, and you didn't pay them enough to die with you." The Freys chuckled alongside Thoros. "Not that you could. Sellswords don't get rich dying for their lords."

"Sellswords don't really get rich." Jalabhar remarked after storing the arrow he had spent a while sharpening with a wheatstone.

"Aye." Bronn conceded to the Summer Islander. "Some of the eastern companies on Essos do fine. The Golden Company, the Second Sons and the Windblown for example."

That caught the attention of both Sandor and me.

"Always a bit of fighting to be had in the Free Cities, even if those merchant princes can be as tight as an old man's cunt. But then you're stuck in the heat and dust, hoping some dumb rich prick doesn't try to hire your company to fight Dothraki, because your dumb, greedy captain would probably take it." Bronn revealed, prompting the young Clegane to nod his head with a grunt, probably having come up with the same conclusion once.

Cleos snickered, drawing Bronn attention. "And here I thought you were some accomplished Hedge Knight."

Although Cleos Frey's stats proved that he was awful with both fighting and thinking, he was more of a means to an end.

And had Royce blood through his grandmother, just like Alysse, which intrigued me if it was worthy of something.

Though the other Freys Cleos brought along were somewhat competent.

The first was Black Walder Rivers, bastard son of the eldest son of Lord Frey, who had good stats for stealth and deceit, always carrying some small knives concealed within his clothing while constantly speaking through half lies and half truths.

At least, that was what my Detect Lie skill kept telling me.

He was a wiry man with a black beard, who had earned his nickname due to his irascible temper and stern attitude, inspiring terror in those around him.

As for the other Frey, Hosteen, sixth son of Lord Walder Frey, had stats that at least showed he was somewhat competent with combat, though not very bright.

A husky man with a square face. Hosteen was brawny, on account of his Crakehall ancestry, with a jut of jaw and arms thick with muscle. Being constantly compared to a bull, slow to anger but implacable when aroused.

A seasoned soldier and the fiercest fighter of Walder's brood.

While he favored his mother's family and was considered the strongest of all the Freys, uncle Stannis would one day judge him to be dim and stupid during the future war.

"Ha! Hedge knights, now, they are a different breed." Bronn said with a laugh as if he had just heard a great joke. "Take a sellsword and remove the sense. They get their name from where they sleep: under the hedges, ditches and stables of the Seven Kingdoms."

"How appropriate." Tyrion remarked with a sly smile.

"They don't have the family name or the purse like real knights, so they spend all their money on armor, horse and riding tourney after tourney in the hope of impressing some lord or winning some prize." Bronn told us while gesturing with his hands to bring more weight to his words. "One loss, and a lot of them are ruined. They can't ransom back their armor. Even if they win, think what a knight's good for: killing men. You know how you train for killing men? By trying to kill men, not prancing round with a blunted stick bowing and waiting your turn."

Lothor grunted again, this time a little displeased about Bronn's comments.

But surprisingly enough, this time Sandor seemed to be the one in agreement with the sellsword.

"Maybe you think I'm just insulting the competition so others hire me instead. Well, of course I am." Bronn turned to look at me. "So don't hire me. Hire the sellsword with educated airs who tells you all about the great battles he's heard of, or the hedge knight who's won a few tourneys starting to build his name."

"But let me guess…the man I'll be fighting against will be hiring you." I told him with a small smile, caughting Bronn by surprise.

"I-I… yeah." He stuttered a little before cursing. "Dawn, I was building up to deliver that line."

Everyone laughed at his response.

Bronn joined in with the laughing. "Alright, now it's your time, red priest."

"Sure." After taking a large gulp from his wineskin, Thoros indulged Bronn's curiosity, lighting a small candle just because he wanted. "I was born the youngest of eight in Myr, across the Narrow Sea, so my father gave me over to the Red Temple." He blew the candle and drank again. "In their wisdom, they decided to make me a priest instead of a warrior or a temple prostitute like other children."

"I've been meaning to ask you about your faith." Jalabhar remarked with genuine interest. "Like the dominant Faith in Westeros, it's somewhat confusing."

"Well, I can tell you that it was not the path I would have chosen." Thoros admitted with a shrug. "Sure, I prayed the prayers and I spoke the spells, but I also led raids on the kitchens. And, from time to time, they found girls in my bed." He and Tyrion chuckled. "Such wicked girls. I never knew how they got there."

"I'm sure you don't." Uncle Tyrion nodded with a smirk.

Thoros thanked the small Lannister trust and continued. "Then again, I did have a gift for tongues. And when I gazed into the flames, well, from time to time I saw things."

He stared at me for a brief moment, not enough to make me worried, but enough to make me notice.

"Even so, I was more of a bother than I was worth." Thoros admitted. "When the High Priest foresaw your father's ascension, he sent me to turn the rebelling Stormlord to the Lord of Light. Thinking that when Robert seized his crown, we'd take all of Westeros from the Seven in a single stroke."

"How naive of him." Tyrion remarked. "Perhaps they thought Robert would listen to a kindred spirit."

"Or perhaps celibacy had addled the High Priest's brain." Thoros concluded, drinking again from his wineskin. "I didn't know, I didn't care. I. Was. Free!"

"We never are, my friend." Syrio spoke. "All men must serve."

"Whatever, I did my duty as I saw it." He turned to look at me again. "Drinking and whoring and waving my sword around, the only gods your father cares about, anyway."

"Seems reasonable." I nodded in agreement, knowing well enough about my father from both lives to see plenty of truth in Thoros' words.

"Aye, and the rest is history. Years passed, Robert became king, I became a joke, soon enough we will both grow fat. I even won some glory in the previous Tournaments, fighting bands of men and all. Though this last one was an oddity." He chuckled. "It's amazing what boldness a full bladder can inspire."

"I don't know." Bronn remarked to the Red priest. "Fighting drunk might be one of the quickest ways to never appreciate drinking again."

"Heh, perhaps." Thoros agreed with the Sellsword. "But Robert had stopped listening to my sermons a long time ago, even if I had still bothered to give them."

A silence took place amongst the group for a moment.

"I sound like a dried-out old woman, I know." Thoros said before noticing he had just gone out of wine, and the fire of his candle had just been snuffed out. "I think I need another drink."

"I share your misfortune, my friend." Tyrion told him, shaking his own empty wineskin.

"What about you, Ser Brune?" I suddenly spoke, drawing the freerider's attention.

"I'm of low birth, my Prince. Being a distant, poorer cousin to the main branch of House Brune." He admittedly without showing shame or guilt. "After my father's death, I went to the Brunes of Brownhollow in an attempt to form a family bond, but they said I was no kin of theirs." He stopped for a moment, probably recalling his life. "And I've learned what I know of arms the hard way."

"The only way, if you take my advice." Bronn declared, showing sympathy for the freerider.

"Quite the family relation, I see." I remarked to him, but the man merely shrugged.

"It taught me how to fend for myself." Lothor said coldly, with his gruff voice. "No one will see me complaining."

"A commendable attitude." I told him.

"Only a reasonable one." Lothor said, crossing his arms again and going silent.

"And you, Clegane?" I turned towards my Sworn Shield. "What's your story? Any tales about your chivalrous achievements?"

"Nothing special, my Prince." The Hound remarked. "I don't want to bore you with it."

"C'mon mate, we are all sharing our stories here." Bronn said while picking a blunt knife to clean his nails, not really caring for the swings of the wagon.

Sandor turned to look at me, expecting to see if I ordered him to do so.

"Speak your mind, Clegane, if you feel comfortable enough." I informed him with a neutral expression.

Shifting his seating to get more comfortable, Sandor sighed and began speaking a little about him.

"Honor. Glory." The Hound began with a face of disgust. "Lies to make idiot boys want knighthood, and idiot girls spread their legs for it."

"That's a way to interpret it." Tyrion remarked. "Admittedly a little too cynical."

"Silence." I said, drawing authority to my voice, and probably reminding the young Lannister of his own father. "Go on Clegane, you've made me curious."

Sandor nodded and continued. "Let me tell you what makes a knight: killing." He turned to Bronn, who seemed to be amused by his words. "Either enough men, or the right man. House Clegane should know. We're very good at both."

This time Tyrion remained silent, but his expression showed that he acknowledged what Sandor was saying.

"Most families claim some great ancestors so far back that nobody can prove them liars. Not us." Sandor revealed while looking through the wagon's backside. "My grandfather kept the kennel for Lord Tytos Lannister of Casterly Rock, your great grandfather."

I nodded, remembering the origins of House Clegane.

"Forgive me, but Lord Tytos was a weak man who didn't know it. One day while hunting, he stumbled on a lioness." His tale caught the attention of everyone. "Instead of embracing the man who wore her on his banners, she tried to tear out his throat." Cleos grimaced at the idea of being face to face with such a beast. "Luckily for him, my grandfather came up with the dogs and drove the big cat away. And as a reward, the Cleganes got lands and a keep and a son to squire for the Lannisters. We took the three hounds who died for them as our new sigil."

"I see." I remarked, showing to him that I was paying full attention to what he was saying.

"When your grandfather, Tywin Lannister, became Lord of Casterly Rock, he wanted more from his former kennelmaster than fealty. He bet that training hounds to kill wasn't far from training boys to kill. In just two generations, my brother Gregor and I proved him right. I gutted my first man at twelve."

"A late bloomer, I see. I got mine around half that age. Even took out a woman who tried to take my head with an axe." Bronn remarked but I quickly silenced him with a stare.

Sandor grunted before continuing with his tale. "Years later, servants started disappearing in our keep, and even a sister I don't remember. But nobody could prove anything against Gregor or dare if they caught him at it." Sandor continued to speak, probably forgetting that he wasn't alone. "For my father wanted a knight in our family and thought he'd found one in Gregor, who at thirteen towered over enough men that they called him 'The Mountain.'"

Syrio looked at me.

I've been constantly compared to such a man, but the Bravossi had only heard some hard to believe rumors about the man before the Tournament, and he so rarely interacted with anyone that wasn't traveling close enough to me.

But now hearing some of them being reproduced by the man's own brother, that caught his attention.

"Sure, Gregor looks quite the champion from a distance, but a mountain can't cleave a man in half in one blow, and won't break a wench's face if she talks."

Most of the men made surprised expressions upon hearing that, Bronn being one of those who didn't.

"Through Lord Tywin's influence, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen kindly anointed my brother personally. A great honor for our family, everyone said." Sandor chuckled dryly. "One year later, Ser Gregor chivalrously sacked the Prince's city, supposedly even brained the Prince's baby, and raped and murdered the Prince's wife, winning our family yet more honor from the new king and queen."

As the Hound made a pause, the air suddenly became awkward, until I spoke up.

"I see you didn't remain with your brother, serving as one of his men."

Sandor nodded, scratching the burned half of his face. "Aye. Soon after my father died, they say, in a hunting accident. The same day that Gregor became Lord of the Clegane lands, gold, and anything under his roof, I left our home to take service at Casterly Rock." He turned to face Tyrion. "Lord Tywin was not like his father, under his rule, the man who serves the Lannisters will never lack for killing."

"So that's why you don't believe in Knighthood." I concluded, acknowledging his cynicism.

"Probably. I'll guard you, such as you are. Gregor will kill the other ones, such as he does. When we're done, we'll see how many people still believe in songs and fairytales."

"I'll keep that in mind." I told him while scratching Shadow's head.

The trip continued for another day until we stopped, giving the horses time to rest, and the man to stretch their legs.

I spent some time entertaining Pia, who had been traveling separately with the other servants, with some of my songs, which she obviously found lovely.

Believe me, I'm growing on this girl.

—————————————————————

While the caravan that I spent almost a month traveling with divided itself, since most of the men wished to ride a horse for a while, I took the opportunity to get more acquainted with my 'Grandfather'.

Tywin was a tall, slender, broad-shouldered man in his late forties.

His arms were thin but muscled and he had kept his head shaved ever since his golden hair started going bald, but he grew out bushy golden side-whiskers.

He also had pale green eyes flecked with gold, befitting of a true Lannister.

His steel plate armor was enameled in deep crimson and highlighted with gold, and its rondels were golden sunburst.

Tywin's heavy cloth-of-gold greatcloak was clasped with gold miniature lionesses, and his greathelm was decorated with a roaring lion with ruby eyes, also owning a thick ermine cloak.

Tywin's Castle-forged steel longsword had a gold pommel.

His personal charger was a stallion with its own gilded armor.

The destrier had a blanket with enameled crimson scales and gilded crinet and chamfron, as well as crimson silk bardings decorated with the lion of the Lannisters.

{TYWIN LANNISTER, THE GREAT LION OF THE ROCK.}

LV: 40

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: HOUSE LANNISTER

PWR: 28

END: 29

MOB: 28

INT: 40

STL: 20

DEF: 40*

{Tywin Lannister is Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, and Warden of the West. The head of House Lannister, Tywin is one of the most powerful lords in Westeros, and he is known as the father of Queen Cersei, Ser Jaime of the Kingsguard, and Tyrion. Tywin is a calculating, intelligent, politically astute, ruthless, and controlling man. He dedicates his life and efforts towards maintaining the Lannisters' prestige, and ensuring House Lannister is respected, or at least feared. Tywin is a proven battle commander who leads from the rear, and he has a powerful presence combined with an intimidating gaze. He is harsh with betrayal. According to his sister Genna, Tywin mistrusts laughter because of how his father, Lord Tytos, had been laughed at; Grand Maester Pycelle was amazed that his late wife Joanna was able to make him laugh three different times. Though ruthless, Tywin Lannister is an able and shrewd ruler who brought great prosperity during his tenure as the King's Hand. He is especially talented at the raising of funds, leading to a persistent jest that he must "shit gold". Tywin is more respected than loved in the Westerlands, and he is remembered in King's Landing for the Sack. Tywin loves his elder children, Queen Cersei and Ser Jaime, but despises Tyrion. This is partly because Tyrion is a dwarf, but also Tywin blames his youngest son for causing his beloved wife Joanna's death during his birth, as well as for shaming the family name with his frequent whoring. Tywin often relies on his brother, Ser Kevan Lannister. Genna's husband, Ser Emmon Frey, is terrified of his brother-in-law. Tywin finds prince Durrandon interesting, if not a little terrifying, though strangely enough that makes him respect him as well.}

"May I accompany you for a moment, my Lord?" I asked Tywin Lannister, who looked very much like Charles Dance, from outside his carriage.

Don't judge me, but I was having a hard time trying not to fanboy about how awesome he was.

Thank the Gods I had bought Player's Mind, otherwise my threats wouldn't have carried the same weight as they did.

And my stoicism seemed to surprise him, convincing himself I was more Lion than anything else.

Well…at least whatever amount of surprise he could muster after learning that magic was real.

"Of course, my Prince." Tywin said, pretending to be busy reading something on the scroll on his hand.

Don't get me wrong, he was a good actor.

But after spending years with the likes of Varys and Pycelle, who actually managed to fool plenty of people with his act, I ended up developing a good eye for spotting those sorts of things.

"I've been meaning to ask further about your… gifts." He questioned while putting the paper away. "That is, if you don't mind talking about it."

"Not at all." I smiled and shook my head. "But I would like to ask a couple of my own questions first. Depending on your honesty, I will feel more inclined to be more open about my secrets."

Tywin stared at me for a moment, probably thinking about how to proceed, but eventually nodded in agreement. "Very well, seems fair enough to me."

"Have you told anyone about it?" I asked bluntly.

"Not one word." He replied and my Detect Lie skill assured me of its veracity. "Besides, I'd be a fool to think that others would believe even if I tried. The world isn't in shortage of old men going mad."

"I thought the Lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of the sheep." I replied amusedly to the older man, who assumed I had learned it from my mother.

"He does when it risks making itself look weak." Tywin admitted contradictingly, not willing to argue much with me.

"My last question for now would be…when the time comes, and my… abilities are revealed to the world, will you consider betraying me?"

That prompted the old Lion to consider his answer.

He knew nothing if I had an actual reliable method of spotting his lies through magic, so he decided to not risk it.

"Perhaps." He replied boldly. "If you prove yourself incapable of wielding such power with more wisdom than the Targaryens did with their Dragons."

I stared at him for a moment, respecting his straightforwardness.

"Sounds reasonable." I pondered for a moment before continuing. "I'm satisfied for now, ask away what you've been meaning to."

Barely thinking for a second, Tywin asked. "Who else knows?"

I raised an eyebrow at that.

Instead of risking himself to appear desperate and ask if anyone could wield magic, he took the pragmatic approach and decided to know who else was aware of my power.

"You are the first major Lord of Westeros to know of it." I began explaining, reassuring what I knew was his biggest interest with this question. "Neither my father nor my mother knows, nor does Pycelle or Ser Barristan. Perhaps even the Master of Whispers doesn't suspect it."

I made a pause, noticing how Tywin remained silent, expecting me to continue elaborating on my answer.

"I've revealed it to some allies in King's Landing, though like you, they are expected to continue serving my orders." I replied with a tone that revealed it was all he would get from me at the moment. "Anything else?"

Tywin pondered for a while and finally asked. "How did you come to learn that you were capable of doing… what you do?"

Chuckling for a moment, I reminisced about my made up excuse of half truths and told it to him.

"When I was very young, around my first name day, I noticed how fast I was growing, not only physically, but mentally as well." I started with something Tywin could very much attest, having received countless letters about my unheard quick development. "Then, as I began to learn scientific studies with their actual practicality, I began to wonder if magic was once used in the same way as we currently use stones and metals."

I used Minor Conjuration and produced out of thin air an apple-size rock and a coin of metal, displaying it to Tywin to prove my case.

Crushing the small rock with one hand before immediately mending it with my Cantrip, while making the small piece of metal shine with a radiant aura with my other hand, I continued after storing both items in my inventory.

"Time went on, and as my body began to grow stronger, I grew more daring." Taking my iron dagger from my inventory, I made a small cut on the palm of my hand, which healed itself in seconds without the use of my magic. "Bruises and cuts never seemed to stay longer than a day, I felt surges of energy whenever I tired myself out after vigorous exercise and tales of magic always seemed to fascinate me, beyond what was expected to be normal."

As he looked me in the eyes, I subtly casted Alter Self and changed my eyes to resemble the ones of a cat, with vertical slits pupils.

"Fascinating." Tywin remarked while I casted a mirror illusion of myself besides him, making it physically real thanks to stacking Disguise Self on it.

"I believe you have witnessed my skill as a marksman and a fighter during the tourney." The illusionary clone said morphing through both my Bard and Knight disguises, while my original body took a Wild Shape.

Taking the form of a big Lion on the seat opposite to him as the Carriage tilted under my weight, I was impressed to see that the old Lannister didn't flinch as most would have, had they been in his place.

"Every day I learn something new." The illusionary clone told him as I stared directly into his eyes as a real Lion, seemingly ready to rip him to shreds.

"What have my House done to earn your favor?" Tywin finally realized that I favored his house over my father's own and wondered why. "Before long, you won't need an army to rule, so why have you petitioned to become my ward?"

"As you might have already become aware of, my terms do favor House Lannister, but I will let you know that my reasons are my own." I acknowledged his doubts, but didn't feel I owed any explanation to him. "In time, I might consider sharing my motives, but for now, just assume that I do care for the blood of my blood. By the same token, any move against my father's House will be punished severely."

Tywin nodded, trying his best to hide his frustration, clearly not being used to being denied. "Very well."

"As for why I opted to become your ward…" I shaped back into my human form and dispelled my illusionary clone. "…I've been working my way around divination magic, which enables me to learn secrets long forgotten, interpret dreams, predict the future, to find hidden things or foil deceptive moves against me. And what I got was… that the Ironborn will soon rebel."

As I finished my sentence, Tywin's eyes widened in surprise. Having no reason to doubt my words and powers, he quickly came to the realization of what such an event would lead to.

"The late Lord Quellon Greyjoy, desired to strengthen the ties of the Iron Islands with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. However, his successor and eldest son, Balon Greyjoy, rejects his reforms and desires independence for the Ironborn. And he is well aware of his advantage, since House Greyjoy had remained neutral for most of my father's Rebellion, they did not suffer heavy losses like the other Great Houses." I told him, well aware that Tywin had remained neutral until Robert's war was already won. "Balon believes that my father's rule is still insecure, that he lacks support amongst the nobility and would not be able to muster a host against him."

"How long, my Prince?" Lord Lannister asked, with seriousness and respect clear in his tone.

"I would assume in the next couple of years." I told him. "The harsher and frequent winters have posed a problem and are severely slowing down their efforts to bolster their naval potential and attain widespread support from the other houses of the Iron Islands."

"I'll notify my forces and strengthen the Westernlands' shores." Tywin quickly replied, knowing how catastrophic rebelling Ironmen would be to his Kingdom, given how close his shores were to the Iron Islands.

"Do that, but without warning them of it." I ordered him.

"May I ask why?" Tywin questioned somewhat defiantly. "The excess of caution might make our defenses not available in time to push them away effectively when the time comes. In the best case, it would simply make the Ironborn confident that they can take us on through war."

"You are right about that." I agreed to his reason, taking him by surprise, again. "But would you really let this chance pass?"

Tywin raised an eyebrow in confusion, but remained silent.

"You see, I've already eliminated their advantage of surprise by informing you of their intentions, and I'm sure you have your own sources that can keep you updated on their progress." I told him, and the Warden of the West nodded. "Besides, this rebellion, contrary to my father's, is a stupid one fated to failure. House Lannister would benefit greatly with such an excuse."

Tywin kept listening to my words, impressed by my pragmatism as I detailed how the war would develop.

"Crush their raids on your shores when the time comes, and be the first to launch a retaliatory attack against them." I informed him. "I'm sure there are some worthy spoils you can claim as yours. If I recall correctly, House Drumm has a Valyrian steel sword named Red Rain."

Tywin winded his eyes in realization of what I was suggesting.

"You must have no idea of what Valyrian steel weapons are worth, otherwise you wouldn't be offering it to me." Tywin spoke honestly.

"I'm well aware of your previous attempts on buying one for your House." I simply smiled at his attempt to lecture me, quickly spawning my twin Valyrian Steel Gladius out of my Inventory. "But you would be mistaken to believe I don't know its value."

The old Lion stared at my magical short swords in silence.

"Take my advice, claim Red Rain as yours and make the Ironborn the next example of why House Lannisters is a house to be feared." I told him before storing away my weapons. "Meanwhile, as you prepare for war, I will be traveling around the Westernlands."

"You are aware that winter is coming, are you not?" Tywin Lannister pointed it out, somehow not noticing he had just spoken the Stark's Words with a straight face.

"Of course." I merely signaled for the carriage to stop and told him before leaving. "Oh, and a word of advice. Do mind your food and drink whenever you find yourself in the same city as the Red Viper."

My next travel companion would be my uncle Tyrion, I'm sure he would appreciate my remarks of his homeland much more than Tywin.

—————————————————————

Spending time to OBSERVE the group of men I've managed to convince to follow me, I got a better understanding of how stats worked for regular people that weren't part of my party.

Tyrion was a dwarf with stunted legs, stubby fingers, and a jutting forehead.

Similar to me, he had mismatched eyes, although his were green and black, and rumors spread that he had an "evil eye".

Tyrion's thin hair was fair and flaxen, so blond it could appear to be white.

He had some strands of black hair, however, and if he grows a beard it would be yellow, white, and black.

No wonder why Tywin always doubted if he wasn't his son. Perhaps recalling how disrespectful the Mad King had once been to his own wife.

{TYRION LANNISTER, THE IMP.}

LV: 25

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: HOUSE LANNISTER

PWR: 15

END: 13

MOB: 15

INT: 35

STL: 29

DEF: 9* (Padded Clothes)

{Tyrion Lannister is a member of House Lannister and is the third and youngest child of Lady Joanna Lannister. His older half siblings are Cersei Lannister, the queen of King Robert I Baratheon, and Ser Jaime Lannister, a knight of Robert's Kingsguard. Tyrion is a dwarf; because of this he is sometimes called the Imp and the Halfman. Tyrion's unique stare was said to make people uncomfortable, which he tries to use to his advantage. He is intelligent, well educated, and a ferocious reader. The young Lannister is sharp of wit and tongue. Even though he is no warrior, he has been trained at arms and can display great bravery in battle, even if he isn't aware of it. Tyrion has stated that what he lacks in size and strength he makes up for in mental acuity. Tyrion generally receives little respect and is often mocked. His deformity is the cause of many problems and persecution, although mitigated to some extent by his high social standing and his family's wealth and power. He craves for love and respect from his family, but does not have a good relationship with all his family members. His deformity and the fact that his mother Joanna died at his birth are two of the reasons that his father Tywin and sister Cersei despise him. Tywin has never forgiven him for Joanna's death. Unbeknownst to Tyrion, Cersei also despises him largely because of a prophecy made to her when she was a young girl. The prophecy claimed that a valonqar (High Valyrian for "little brother") would eventually end her life. Cersei has always identified Tyrion as her valonqar and has thus been determined to rid herself of him ever since. Tyrion's older brother Jaime was the only one who ever treated Tyrion with love and affection and for this Tyrion believed he would forgive his brother for anything. At a young age, Tyrion married Tysha, a commoner, but eventually Jaime told him the girl was a whore he had paid to take Tyrion's virginity. Tyrion was crushed, and the memory of her has long haunted him. Believing that no girl could ever truly love him for who he was, he began to seek his pleasure with prostitutes. Tywin felt this brought more shame on their house, further deteriorating their relationship.

He finds prince Durrandon interesting and is willing to befriend him. He is busy reading the book that had been lent to him by the prince.}

I'm supposedly just as smart as him, but I'm sure that I've memorized several topics he hadn't even studied upon.

Regardless, next in line was my Sworn Shield.

Sandor was a huge and heavily-muscled man, with grey eyes, large and hooked nose, and long dark thin hair.

One side of Sandor's face was gaunt, with sharp cheekbones and a heavy brow, while the other side was a burned ruin of scars.

Slick black flesh was poked with craters and deep cracks that oozed red and wet, his ear was only a hole with a stump, and a hint of bone showed on his jaw as the scars extended down to his throat.

He had a twisted mass of scars around his eye, which was still good, not harmed by the fire, but he had no lips on that side.

Sandor brushes his hair so that it covers his burned side, since no hair grows there.

Sandor speaks in a rough, rasping voice, and had a laugh like the snarling of dogs in a pit.

The burnt corner of his mouth twitched whenever he spoke.

He was taller than my father, King Robert, and uncle Jaime, but supposedly shorter than Hodor and Lord Jon Umber from the North.

The Hound regularly wore an olive-green cloak over plain, soot-dark armor, and a distinctive helm sculpted into the shape of a snarling dog's head.

Tobho would certainly be able to craft one better, but it was still of good quality.

He also sometimes wore a brown roughspun tunic and studded leather jerkin, or wore a red woolen tunic with a leather dog's head sewn on the front.

The young Clegane liked to wield a longsword, a warhammer, and a dagger, and could wield an axe when the situation called for it.

Interestingly enough, his stallion was a heavy courser named Stranger.

Sharing a few words with his horse allowed me to understand that although he could be cruel with humans, Sandor was very gentle with beasts.

Clegane also had one squire named Theo, that I barely saw around him.

Probably too scared to be around him more than he needed to, which seemed to suit the Hound just fine.

{SANDOR CLEGANE, SWORN SHIELD OF THE CROWN PRINCE.}

LV: 35

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: House Lannister/ The Crown Prince

PWR: 38

END: 37

MOB: 29

INT: 16

STL: 10

DEF: 40*

{Sandor Clegane is a member of House Clegane and is the younger brother of Ser Gregor Clegane. Sandor is nicknamed the Hound for his fierce nature and unquestioning obedience to House Lannister and for the three dogs featured in his family's arms. As a child, Sandor received gruesome facial burns when Gregor shoved his face into a brazier. He has come to loathe fire, his brother, and the hypocrisy of knighthood in general. The sworn shield of Prince Durrandon Baratheon, Sandor is considered one of the most dangerous fighters in Westeros. He gambles and patronizes whores and winesinks. Sandor hates and fears fire, but will carry a torch or light a campfire when needed. And he loves killing people. Sandor has a positive opinion about the Crown Prince, whom he had sworn to defend from harm, but he still doesn't consider him a friend. He is feeling bored.}

"All priests preach about the seven hells. What do they know? Only a man who's been burned knows what hell is truly like." Sandor berated Thoros, who still insisted to befriend him.

"Aye, you might be right Clegane." Thoros of Myr agreed. "Some of my peers claim to see the future in the flames, but more often than not they are slowly roasting themselves alive without knowing."

At that Sandor went silent with wide eyes. The poor Clegane hated Fire worshipers as much as he feared them.

Speaking of Thoros…

The red priest was a tall, fat but not yet morbidly obese man in flapping red robes and armor. He shaved his head and had a smooth face.

{THOROS OF MYR, RED PRIEST.}

LV: 38

RACE: MYRISH

ALLEGIANCE: Himself/ Faith of R'hllor

PWR: 34

END: 30

MOB: 30

INT: 20

STL: 15

DEF: 40*

{… He likes the Crown Prince and will defend him with his life. Thoros is feeling bored.}

"Ah, I finally remembered!" Syrio said to him, having not spent enough time socializing with anyone besides me. "You are the Myrish priest are you not? The red wizard!"

"The pink pretender, rather. I'm afraid I'm a bad priest and an even worse wizard." He replied.

Now for my Water dance tutor.

A bravo from Braavos, a master fencer and former First Sword of Braavos.

Contrary to what the Tv series had him depicted, he was a slight, bald man with a beak of a nose.

Though the shortness was still very accurate, being even shorter than Lord Baelish, Littlefinger.

On my sixth name day, I was almost at his height.

{SYRIO FOREL, WATER DANCE MASTER.}

LV: 39

RACE: BRAVOSSI

ALLEGIANCE: Crown Prince Durrandon

PWR: 27

END: 30

MOB: 37

INT: 30

STL: 30

DEF: 15* (Padded armor: Piercing/Slashing/ Bludgeoning +25% Damage Resistance)

{…Syrio respects the Crown Prince and will fight at his side if the need arises. He is feeling intrigued.}

"Same thing could be said about you, Bravossi. I would like to learn more about your water dance." Jalabhar admitted.

The exiled prince has the dark skin and extravagant feather cape typical of Summer Islanders.

The feathers of his own cape are green and scarlet. And he also owned another splendid cape of feathers, a plumage so extravagant and fantastic that he seemed to be ready to take flight.

He spoke both the Common Tongue, albeit with a noticeable accent, and his native Summer Tongue.

{JALABHAR XHO, EXILED PRINCE OF THE RED FLOWER VALE.}

LV: 30

RACE: SUMMER ISLANDER

ALLEGIANCE: HIMSELF

PWR: 27

END: 32

MOB: 31

INT: 22

STL: 20

DEF: 20* (Brigandine armor: Piercing/Slashing/ Bludgeoning +30% Damage Resistance)

{…Having no other place to seek refuge, the exiled Prince of the Red Flower Vale accepted to follow the Crown Prince. Jalabhar likes the Crown Prince and is hopeful that he will be the one that will help him earn his home back.

He is currently bored.}

Even with higher stats than the average person, I had yet to see how he fared in battle.

Like the undead that could shatter wood with a punch while barely going past 10 in their Power stat, it seems I couldn't compare myself with the others.

As I compared their skills the gap became even greater.

Not to mention some active skills that made me even more dangerous, like Rage, which served as a great multiplier of force, and Action Surge, a multiplier of speed.

Now a quick glimpse around everyone else.

{LOTHOR BRUNE, FREERIDER.}

LV: 29

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: Himself

PWR: 27

END: 29

MOB: 28

INT: 23

STL: 19

DEF: 35*

{…Lothor finds the Crown Prince interesting and that serving him is the best alternative. He is currently bored.}

Not bad.

{BRONN REYNE, SELLSWORD.}

LV: 31

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: HIMSELF

PWR: 25

END: 26

MOB: 34

INT: 25

STL: 29

DEF: 30* (Chainmail armor: Slashing +75% Damage Resistance)

{…Bronn finds the Crown Prince interesting, if not a little too smart, though he is willing to follow him wherever and do his bidding as long as he continues to be paid. He is currently bored.}

The guy was pretty competent in combat and had a good head over his shoulders.

{CLEO FREY, KNIGHT OF HOUSE FREY.}

LV: 23

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: House Frey/ House Lannister

PWR: 18

END: 16

MOB: 17

INT: 15

STL: 19

DEF: 15* (Padded armor: Piercing/Slashing/ Bludgeoning +25% Damage Resistance)

{Ser Cleos Frey is a knight of House Frey and the eldest son of Emmon Frey and Genna Lannister. He is married to Jeyne Darry and has two young sons, Tywin and Willem. His personal coat-of-arms is the twin towers of House Frey and the golden lion of House Lannister, quartered. He finds the Crown Prince interesting and is willing to serve. He is currently bored.}

This one however was a little too incompetent compared to the others.

Sure, better than a peasant, but not by much.

{HOSTEEN FREY, KNIGHT OF HOUSE FREY.}

LV: 30

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: HOUSE FREY

PWR: 37

END: 36

MOB: 25

INT: 12

STL: 15

DEF: 35* (Plate armor: Piercing/Slashing +75% Damage Resistance/ Bludgeoning +30% Damage Resistance)

{Ser Hosteen Frey is a knight of House Frey, the sixth son of Lord Walder Frey, the first one born of his third wife, Amarei Crakehall. He is married to Bellena Hawick. He finds the Crown Prince interesting and is willing to serve. He is currently bored.}

All brawn and no brain.

But still, having someone as tough as Clegane around wasn't a bad thing.

{WALDER RIVERS, BASTARD OF HOUSE FREY.}

LV: 30

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: Himself

PWR: 24

END: 25

MOB: 33

INT: 24

STL: 28

DEF: 30* (Chainmail armor: Slashing +75% Damage Resistance)

{Ser Walder Rivers, also known as Bastard Walder, is a knight and the eldest of Lord Walder Frey's bastards. He is married to a lady of House Charlton and has two children, Walda and Aemon. Walder's personal coat of arms is a silver-grey castle in blue (the colors of House Frey reversed) beneath a sinister red bend.

He finds the Crown Prince interesting and is willing to serve. He is currently bored.}

Bronn better watch out, this guy is almost as good as him.

And now, last but not least…

{BRYDEN TULLY, THE BLACKFISH.}

LV: 40

RACE: ANDAL

ALLEGIANCE: Himself

PWR: 37

END: 34

MOB: 35

INT: 34

STL: 30

DEF: 35* (Castle-forged steel Chainmail armor: Slashing +100% Damage Resistance)

{Ser Brynden Tully, also known as Brynden Blackfish, Brynden the Blackfish, or simply the Blackfish, is a knight from House Tully. He is the younger brother of Hoster Tully, Lord Paramount of the Trident, and the uncle of Lady Catelyn Stark, Lady Lysa Arryn, and Ser Edmure Tully. The Blackfish would have continued to serve as the Knight of the Gate for House Arryn, but was convinced that he could use the adventure before growing old and decrepit. He finds you interesting and is willing to follow you. He is currently bored.}

So experience does make a difference.

With stats like those, I definitely want him to work for me.

—————————————————————

(13/10/2021)

(13/10/2021)

(02/05/2022)

*Hope this chapter is of your liking.

Anything you wish to ask, feel free to do so.

Check out my auxiliary chapter if you still haven't.

Thanks as always for your attention and please be safe.

Any problems with my writing, just point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.

** So, as some of you have already guessed, I'm taking quite a lot of inspiration from D&D, more specifically the fifth edition.

Classes, monsters, spells and plenty of other features.

To some of you the lore of both D&D and Asoiaf might not appear compatible, but besides using 'it's a multiverse' card, I will say that I'm working on homebrewing a lore that isn't that much confusing.

No promises though. 😅😓