WILOW-Ch.365: Golden Tooth
On the Road to Golden Tooth
POV of Domeric Bolton
"Very well. I'll be coming to Yunkai tonight to make some improvements to the ships. When I'm finished, the ships will have enough capacity to carry everyone. Tomorrow, set out for Astapor to collect the remaining Unsullied and the freed slaves. Then return to Regalis Port as quickly as possible." Domeric said.
Muron nodded, and he cut the connection before letting out a sigh.
If he had not made the man sign so many magical contracts and had not made the man totally loyal to him, then he would really fear giving so much power to someone under him.
Especially someone like Muron.
Among his men, Muron and Bronn were the most ambitious.
Therefore, the magical contracts he made them sign were far more extensive than those of the others, and the Magical Mark they possessed bound them much more strictly.
Even the mere thought of betrayal would result in severe punishment.
But in return, Domeric was generous to them when the opportunity arose. As long as they continued to serve him faithfully, they would earn far more than a subordinate, and perhaps even become much richer than many lords.
Obviously, this would also curb their ambitions, and if they still chose to betray him, they deserved what would happen to them.
In this world and in this era, an oath of loyalty to someone carried weight, and betraying it had consequences.
If they wanted to be freed from this oath, they had to go to him and demand it. Betrayal wasn't a choice they could make.
He put the mirror back in his pocket and smiled at Ygritte.
"300 more ships." He said with a huge smile, "Once I've selected the captains and crew for them, I'll have more than 900 ships in my fleet."
Ygritte rolled her eyes at him, muttering something about 'boys and their toys.'
"Hey, I'll let you know that I take my Fleet very seriously." He said, half in jest and half seriously, "By the end of the Long Night, I'll have a larger Fleet than the Redwynes and become the man with the largest personal Fleet."
"Don't the Braavos have like 3,500 ships in their fleet?" Ygritte asked.
"They do." He replied with a nod, "But those ships mostly belong to individual merchants, with the wealthiest house having some 500 ships of its own. As of now, House Redwyne has the largest personal Fleet. And I aim to get that title from them sooner or later."
Ygritte gave him an unimpressed look and muttered something about 'men and their dick measuring contests.'
Much to his amusement and exasperation.
"Are you going to Slaver's Bay again?" she asked afterwards.
"Yes. But this trip will be short. I don't even plan on meeting with Muron. I'll place the Ward Stones into the ships and return. It will probably take 2-3 hours. I plan to go after the camp is set up in the evening and return before nightfall."
Ygritte nodded and said, "Still, be careful. And I'll be waiting for you, so don't be late."
"I won't," said Domeric with a smile.
"And also, there's no going around conquering a city and freeing slaves," she said in a scolding tone.
As Domeric continued riding his horse, he muttered that it had only been a 'one-time thing'.
It seemed it would take some time for Ygritte to forget about it.
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Near Golden Tooth, Westerlands
POV of Domeric Bolton
Another week later.
Domeric flew above Golden Tooth on his hoverboard. The camouflage cloak, as well as the dim light from the stars, practically made him invisible even if someone looked up at him.
He took notice of all the guards stationed on the walls.
It seems like some of the men who escaped the "Slaughter of Greenfield," as the bards were so eloquently calling it, reached Golden Tooth and informed the men about the surprise attack and their total defeat at the hands of the Bolton army.
Domeric didn't think the name was bad, and he might have used it in his newspaper if he didn't want the Lannisters to hear as little about these events as possible.
But he had no intention of revealing his moves until he captured Casterly Rock.
Once he had memorized the guards' pattern, he flew up to one of the towers. To the Bell Tower. The bell was used as an alarm to alert the garrison to an enemy attack.
The good thing was that only one man was standing on the tower. Safe in the assumption that no one would attack him.
Which was a reasonable assumption, as even the wyverns or their riders won't be able to reach inside the Tower.
But the man didn't take into account a wizard who could fly on a hoverboard. And this was normal, since he wasn't even aware of the existence of wizards.
He entered the tower, and the man was under his control before he could even understand what was going on.
"How many men are garrisoned in this castle?" he asked.
"300." The man replied.
He frowned.
That number seemed a bit too low for such a critical castle.
"How many men garrisoned in this castle before the war?" he asked again.
"1500." The man replied, and he nodded.
It meant that Tywin probably took a good deal of the men with him. Probably thinking that no one would be foolish enough to attack the castle.
Which was understandable.
The castle was built on top of a mountain, had high walls and large towers for raining down arrows upon any enemy army.
He could understand why Golden Tooth earned its reputation.
With the help of the walls, these 300 men could easily hold back an army of 10,000 men until more reinforcements came to support them.
'But so few men…'
'Hmm…'
Frankly, he didn't really plan to take this Golden Tooth castle. But with how few men were guarding it, he was sorely tempted.
"How many fighting men are there in this castle?" he asked.
"About 500." The man replied, "200 more came a few days ago after their defeat at Riverrun."
He nodded, "Where does Lord Leo Lefford live?"
"In the 4th room of the 3rd floor of the Main Keep." The man replied, "Lord Lefford has gone to Lord Tywin. Lady Alysanne rules in his absence."
He nodded and covered himself with the camouflage cloak before Obliviating the man and leaving the tower.
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The woman was sleeping in a large, furnished room. She was no one else but this Lady Alysanne Lefford that the guard told him about.
Using the Homenum Revelio spell to make sure that there was no one else in the near vicinity, Domeric closed the door behind him and cast a sound barrier around the room.
Then he walked up to the woman.
He reached her bedside and took out his wand… only to be surprised when the woman took out a dagger from under her pillow and lunged at him.
Even as surprised as he was, the woman's inexperience showed in her surprise attack, which was both slow and lousy.
He easily caught her hands, and with a twist and cry of pain, the dagger clattered to the ground.
"Guards! GUARDS!!! HELP!!!" the woman shouted, and he let out a sigh of relief.
If she had shouted the moment he entered the room, then the whole castle would have heard her.
But with the sound barrier in place, her voice wouldn't leave the room.
But that still didn't make it pleasant.
He pointed the wand at the woman and said. "Imperio."
The woman went silent, her expression returning to a calm one. "Are you Lady Alysanne Lefford?" he asked.
"I am." She replied.
"Are there any secret passageways underneath the castle?" he asked.
The woman nodded, told him everything about the secret passage, and answered all his questions afterwards.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.366: Golden Tooth Has Fallen
Ch.367: The Value of a Good Image
Ch.368: Another Day in King's Landing