Pre-Chapter A/N:I think at this point, we just have to accept that I will inevitably show up with two chapters a week. As for when those chapters show up, I think it's best I not make any particular promises. If you haven't already, I recommend turning on notifications for my stuff so you can see when new stuff drops right as it drops. A More chapters on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)— same username as here and link in bio.
"Arghhh," I screamed as I felt the wood of his lance shatter against my shield as mine failed to make contact. I kept riding, turning at the last moment to see that my opponent had done the same.
I gestured to the boy who had taken the role of page for me, and accepted another of the special lances. "Hya," I roared, spurring my horse into motion. Right as we were about to clash, I pulled on that link Igneel and I shared. This time, I felt my eyes sharpen and it seemed the world itself slowed down as we approached each other.
I could see that the aim at my left was a feint and his muscles were tensing to attack the right. I left my shield there, not falling for the feint, and aimed my lance straight for his shield. His lance shattered against my shield and I barely even felt it. Mine practically exploded against his shield, shooting Ben off his horse and to the ground.
I turned right back around right after we hit, checking on him to see if he was alright. And he was. He was rolling with the impact, pushing himself up to his feet already.
"Another win for you, my lord," he said. I nodded.
"That makes what now?" I asked, feeling an arrogant smile creep its way onto my face.
"Oh you know exactly how many that makes it," Ben said, taking it in good humor. He was taking well to losing to a sixteen-year-old all things considered. Well, I wasn't even sixteen yet. We still had a few moons until that was the case.
"Nephew. May I?" I heard a voice in the distance, right behind the crowd that had formed to watch Ser Ben and I clash lances.
"Uncle Vaemond. Are you sure?" I asked, not certain I wanted to joust with the man.
"Are you scared, nephew?" he asked, already saddling his horse. I shrugged. His funeral then.
A few minutes later, we were thundering at each other from opposite ends of the field, and seconds after that, he was on the floor. He had missed with his thrust entirely, and mine had got him straight in the breastplate. He rolled on the ground with the impact, managing to make it to his feet with little delay.
"Swords," he called, drawing his blade and holding it out towards me. I shook my head. Was there any need to take this so far? Still, I accepted the challenge. Did I have any other choice than to take it? I drew my sword and dismounted my horse, tapping it towards the page I had recruited to handle my things. He swung first. I ducked backwards, allowing his blade to kiss the sand. A second later, he froze still.
I had taken advantage of his imbalance to close the distance between us and place my sword at his neck.
"I yield, nephew," he said.
"Good. Now mind telling me what the fuck that was about?" I asked him, lowering my voice as I did so.
"I simply wanted to test something. Corlys was not a martial man. He had been named a Knight more because of his last name and age at the time than because he had any special skill at arms. On the other hand, you were named as the youngest Knight in a generation. I just wanted to see it for myself. Clash lances and blades with you. Sadly, it seems I've let myself go somewhat. That didn't even qualify as a clash," he said somewhat despondently.
"At your age, it's impressive you managed to survive that fall even. Chin up, Uncle. You did well. The glory of the elders is in passing their burdens on to the younger generation. Rest easy knowing I am ready to deal with what may come," I said, and that made him straighten up somewhat. He nodded at me, and I nodded back before we clasped arms.
XXXX— ONE MONTH LATER
"And how many of these can you make in a day now?" I asked as I turned the newest product of Driftmark around in my fingers. I hadn't expected to make it so far so quickly. In truth, I had underestimated the potential for exponential growth in just having people who had been doing something together for a while working together on it for even longer and longer.
"The woodwork is somewhat difficult. We are not carpenters, my lord. And the carpentry division is busy on other projects so at present we can make about two a day," he said somewhat sullenly. I could tell he wanted me to say his work was more important and so the carpenters could drop whatever it was they were working on. If only I could.
"The carpenters are making essential pieces for completing the ships sent over from Driftmark," I said, watching the way his face fell. At least he understood that the ships were the most important thing. It meant he had some sense of awareness of things, at least. Driftmark was working at 100% capacity, making ship after ship. We were importing wood from Yronwood, the Reach, and even exploring options to the North for more wood. We were burning through the stuff quick as we could get it in.
"I might be able to have a single carpentry apprentice reassigned to your division for the next two sennights. Let's see if we can get up to six a day with his help. That should make about forty-eight, enough to ensure all the Captains on patrol have one for doing their jobs," I said, and he nodded, clearly excited.
"Continue on with the other projects now that the binoculars are complete," I said. He nodded again, head moving up and down excitedly.
I turned to walk away, making it to the door before I turned around to look at him.
"And Thoren?" I called back.
"Yes my lord?"
"Good work," I said, and watched his face split in two with a smile that was all teeth. — "What do you have for me now, Parvella?" I asked, stepping into the warehouse set aside for cement manufacturing.
"No good news, my lord. Production continues in line with expectations, but the limestone from the Crete mine is beginning to dry up," she said.
"And why did no one bring this to my attention?" I asked, feeling my irritation begin to mount.
"The drop is barely noticeable. We can still produce in line with expectations like I said, my lord. But the last four shipments have been shorter than the previous shipments. The shortages are mounting as well. The latest shipment had more missing than the one before and so on," she said.
"And how does production continue at pace with the shortages?"
"Efficiencies in our process. We waste less and less in making the cement. Assuming present gains continue, we can expect that in a matter of months, we can use less than two-thirds of the limestone to achieve the same amount of cement," she said.
"Noted. But you should have still brought the shortages to my attention much earlier regardless," I said.
"Apologies, my lord. Shall I explore changes with the formula in case the shortages continue?"
"No need. I will be looking into it. Continue production as scheduled," I said. Parvella was unique among my department heads. For glass, I had promoted the most skilled Apprentice from Myr in the art, and done the same for shipbuilding. But Cement was a completely new material. And in truth, I had done most of the R&D personally with only a few aids so it was just a matter of appointing someone who could scale production efficiently, and so I'd taken Laena's advice and appointed a slave who used to work for the Rogare Bank of Lys. And of all the Division Heads, Parvella had been the standout performer by some margin.
"We're going to have to head to Crete," I said to Ben as we stepped out. My ever-present shadow easily falling into step behind me as we did so.
"To figure out what's wrong with the mine?" he asked.
"There's nothing wrong with the mine. If anything had gone wrong with the mine, I would have found out in hours. There's a reason Crete is one of the only islands with a complete tower and ravenry at this point," I said. He nodded.
"Someone is stealing from me, and we are going to find out who would dare, and why they would think it wise." — Igneel released a roar as we flew around the island, banking left and beginning our arc. Through his eyes, I could see those on the ground snap their heads upwards, looking at me as we began to reduce our altitude. We moved to land at the watchtower instead of at the mine so I could get a better idea of the scope of things right from the beginning.
"Welcome to Crete, my lord." I was welcomed by a long line of men the second Igneel landed. Good. They were quick and attentive at least. Now if only they knew better than to steal from me.
"Indeed, Stevron. It's good to see you again," I said, greeting the Captain of the Purple Seahorse, one of the largest warships in the Velaryon fleet, and the one I had placed in charge of this island.
"You as well, my lord. But it is a surprise to have you here. If you had sent a raven, then we could have prepared a more fitting welcome."
"Is that so, hmm? Well, it does not matter. I am only going to be here for a few hours at the most. It depends on how quickly I can get what I want," I said.
"And what is that, my lord?"
"The head of whoever has been stealing from me and assurances that it will not be happening again," I said, keeping my eyes open but watching them through Igneel's eyes. It was through Igneel's eyes that I noticed the flinch that Stevron hid admirably well. Interesting.
"Stealing from you, my lord?" To Igneel's ears, the words rang hollow.
"Yes. The shipments of limestone have been short lately."
"Oh. Perhaps an error in the accounting on the other end, my lord?" he tried.
"Perhaps. But I will see the mine, if you don't mind."
"Right now, my lord?" he asked.
"I said I'll be leaving in a matter of hours, Stevron," I said.
"Oh, oh, of course," he said, and then Igneel's head came closer, sniffing at the man. He smelt of nervousness and fear, I noted as he took a step back. That didn't mean he was the thief though. The fear could come from seeing a dragon right in front of him. Even Ser Ben with all the time he had ridden on Igneel with me still felt a massive amount of fear whenever we approached the dragon.
I had agreed not to mention it in public, but it would be a while before I'd let him forget that he'd peed himself a bit when Igneel had laughed at one of his jokes. Thinking about that made Igneel chuckle even now. Except that I was the only one who knew it was a chuckle. To everyone else, it seemed more like a threatening snarl than anything else.
Stevron took two steps back. The men at his side took a few more.
"I will ready horses to take you to the mine, my lord," Stevron said.
"I can ride Igneel just fine, thank you."
"Yes, my lord. But I assume you stopped here first so you could get a look at things from this end. We have the records for our shipments in the tower. If anyone has been stealing, the records would make it clear," he offered.
"Indeed. Now bread and salt before we step in, please," I pointed out.
"Of course, my lord," he said, gesturing to one of the men to go back in the tower.
I waited for the bread and salt, thinking things through as I did so. Was he the thief? Probably. But I had no proof or evidence, and beyond that, I wasn't sure enough to push on regardless. Would I torture a man for my suspicions? Possibly, but not one sworn to me and having advanced so high as to become a captain. I was keen on giving my people some rights and having a better setup than the average Westerosi Lord. It was part of my plan of luring more and more of the smallfolk over from there. So torturing a possibly innocent man with no evidence was probably going to run counter to my goals.
But once I got a hold of those papers, though, and got to speak to a few people at the mine, I was going to get to the bottom of things one way or the other. The numbers would never lie, and the people here were not so good at numbers as to be able to fake it while keeping things believable. These were sailors and former slaves in the end. Parvella was a rare find. For the most part, the Triarchy were more than comfortable keeping their slaves as ill-educated as possible.
When the bread and salt arrived, I took a healthy helping and waited for Ben to do the same before he stepped after them walking into the tower. I looked along the exterior as I did so. I had been there when the tower was built so there was nothing particularly surprising about it. It was a relatively unsocial thing, the tower itself. Its main notable factor being its height. It stretched up into the sky so it could both be seen from far away—and thanks to the new binoculars being produced, see far away.
The inside of the tower was sparsely decorated. There was a courtyard that made up the ground floor with an opening up to the top that allowed the sun's rays to reach the bottom. To either side were stairs that led to the few rooms the place had on the way to the top. I walked into the courtyard heading towards the stairs when I heard the sound of unsheathing steel. Ben was already practically throwing me forwards to avoid whatever was brewing behind me. I heard the sound of steel clashing and turned around to see my own men surrounding Ben as he and Stevron exchanged blows.
"What is the meaning of this?" I screamed at the top of my voice. Neither man answered me as they kept up their duel.
"Ben. Withdraw," I ordered in the sharpest tone I could. And to his credit, he stepped back, avoiding Stevron's next slash and stepping back to me.
"Now I will know the meaning of this," I said, turning to the men who had their swords out.
"My lord? The meaning of this is that you shall surrender yourself into our custody now that you have delivered yourself into our hands."
"You would betray guest rights?" I asked. I didn't truly care all that much for the concept of guest rights in the first place— beyond their use in giving me an additional defence for if things had the potential to get dicey.
"Things like that are for little lordlings like you, my lord. The gods don't care what we sailors do, do they?" Stevron asked, smirk on his face.
"So I think it's fair for me to assume that you were the one stealing from me," I tried, fishing.
"Surrender, my lord. I will spare your life. This I swear on the love I held for your father as my Captain and the fondness I hold for your uncle. We will leave here, and I will take you to those who have requested your presence and you can live a life of luxury in house arrest where you shall cause no more trouble," he said.
"And who's requested my presence?"
"That is for me to know, my lord. You shall realise once we arrive at our destination," he said.
"Yeah… no," I refused, drawing my blade and taking my stance.
"There are nine of us to your two, my lord."
"Stevron, you are a competent sailor so perhaps you have not had cause to realise this for true. We are Knights. You should have brought more if you wanted to have a good shot."
"Don't kill him. We need something to prevent that dragon from roasting us the second we step out," Stevron ordered as his men rushed at Ben and I.
We met their charge. I pulled at the bond I shared with Igneel even as I felt his rage begin to tempt him to just smash the tower open. Of course the risk that the tower would collapse on me as he did so was too high for me to not temper such urges. Besides, I was going to be enough for this. Igneel eagerly supplied his power and I felt my body respond, heating itself up in response to the power that flowed through me now.
The first man that met my charge aimed a blade at my head in a straight slash. I wasn't wearing armour, but I had my sword on me and that was all I needed. I ducked underneath the swing, and just as I did so, I spun, lashing out with my blade. It kissed the back of his knee, sending him stumbling forwards. I left him behind me as I faced the next two.
They held their blades, waiting for me to attack first. Foolish. I swung my blade at the first one, body boiling with dragon strength. He blocked the attack, but he stumbled backwards from the force. He was too shocked to do anything as I kicked out, smashing his knee in the other direction before I stabbed him straight through the neck. His fellow tried to attack while I was occupied. I danced backwards, allowing the attack to miss before I lashed out with my sword again. He was too slow to even react as his head was separated from his body. Three down.
Ben was fielding attacks from three at the same time while another lay on the ground. Stevron and the two closest to him watched with shock visible on their faces.
"I will have your surrender now, Stevron," I said, picking up the sword of the man I had just killed so I was dual wielding.
"That is not possible, my lord. Declan, take the left. Mors, take the right." I waited, blades in hand, as they took their positions.
"I told you, Stevron. I am a Knight. Even with a dozen more of your fellow lowlives, you could not take me," I taunted, and they attacked.
A/N: Growing pains.. Did we really expect to not have to deal with any 'corporate espionage'? Next six chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early.