The base of Casterly Rock was a maze of sea caves. The tide crashed against the stone echoing like the heartbeat of the mountain.
The Dreadwolf was anchored dangerously close to the rocks.
On the narrow strip of beach Andar's engineers were working with canvas hoses. They had connected the ship's high pressure steam valve to a massive iron hopper sitting on the sand.
"Load the mix," Andar ordered.
Soldiers wearing thick leather gloves dumped sacks of yellow sulfur powder and dried red peppers into the hopper.
"Connect to the outflow," Andar pointed to the rusted iron grate where the castle's sewage emptied into the sea.
The hose was clamped onto the grate. They sealed the edges with wet clay.
"We are ready," Jory said his voice muffled by the strange mask he was wearing. It was a leather snout filled with crushed charcoal.
"Put on your masks," Andar told Robb and the Greatjon.
"I look like a pig," the Greatjon grumbled tying the leather straps behind his head.
"Better a live pig than a crying lion," Andar said.
He signaled the Dreadwolf.
"Engage the blower! Full pressure!"
On the ship the steam engine roared. A turbine fan spun up screaming like a banshee.
It blasted a jet of superheated steam into the hopper. The steam vaporized the sulfur and the capsaicin oil from the peppers. It created a thick yellow red fog.
The pressure forced the fog into the sewage pipe.
"Now we wait," Andar said checking his watch. "Thermodynamics will do the rest."
Inside the Rock
Casterly Rock was not just a castle. It was a vertical city.
The ventilation system was a marvel of ancient engineering. Shafts cut through the solid rock allowed fresh air to be drawn in from the sea and hot stale air to vent out the top. It was designed to keep the mountain cool.
But today the system was working in reverse.
Daven Lannister was eating supper in the Stone Garden a lush courtyard located halfway up the mountain inside a cavern.
He sniffed the air.
"Do you smell that?" Daven asked. "It smells like... rotten eggs?"
"And spice," his lieutenant added rubbing his eyes. "My eyes are stinging."
Suddenly a wisp of yellow smoke drifted out of a ventilation grate in the floor.
Then another. Then a cloud.
"Fire!" A servant screamed dropping a tray of wine. "Fire in the lower levels!"
"Seal the vents!" Daven shouted standing up.
But as he stood he inhaled deeply.
The capsaicin hit his lungs like broken glass.
Cough. Hack.
Daven fell to his knees retching. His throat closed up. His eyes streamed with tears so heavy he was instantly blinded.
It was happening everywhere.
The "Devil's Breath" rose through the shafts. It filled the barracks. It filled the kitchens. It filled the armory.
Because the Rock was a closed system the gas had nowhere to go but up. It concentrated in the upper levels where the nobility lived.
Panic ensued.
Thousands of soldiers ran blindly through the tunnels. They trampled each other trying to find fresh air. But there was no fresh air. The mountain had become a chimney of poison.
"Surrender!" Soldiers screamed clawing at their own throats. "Open the gates! Let us out!"
Daven Lannister crawled across the floor. He could not see. He could not breathe. He felt like he was drowning in fire.
He found the bell rope.
He pulled it.
Gong. Gong. Gong.
The Great Bell of the Rock rang out. It was the signal for surrender.
The Lion's Mouth
At the base of the mountain Andar heard the bell.
"Cut the steam," Andar ordered.
The screaming turbine spun down.
"Open the gates!" A voice boomed from the walls above. It was a desperate plea.
The massive bronze gates of the Lion's Mouth groaned open.
A flood of Lannister soldiers poured out. They were not fighting. They were vomiting on the ground rubbing their eyes gasping for the clean sea air. They dropped their swords and collapsed in heaps.
The Northern army marched past them.
Robb Stark wearing his gas mask led the way. He walked through the tearful groaning wreckage of the Lannister garrison.
They ascended the wide stone stairs. Up and up into the heart of the mountain.
The air inside was still hazy and spicy but clearing slowly.
They reached the Golden Gallery.
This was the seat of House Lannister. The walls were covered in gold leaf. The floor was a mosaic of lions.
Robb pulled off his mask. He took a deep breath. He coughed slightly but stood tall.
He walked to the high seat. The chair where Tywin Lannister had plotted the destruction of the Starks.
Robb sat down.
The Greatjon ripped off his mask and laughed. A booming sound that echoed off the gold walls.
"We took it!" The Greatjon roared. "We took the Rock! By the Gods we took the mountain!"
Andar walked to the balcony. He looked down at the burning fleet in the harbor and the occupied city.
[Quest Complete: The Smoking of the Rock]
[Target Secured: Casterly Rock]
[Casualties: Minimal (Enemy Incapacitated)]
[Loot Acquired: The Gold Reserves of the West]
[Legendary Achievement: The First to Conquer the Rock]
"Search the vaults," Andar ordered Jory. "Tywin keeps his personal reserves here. Not the bank's gold. The family gold."
An hour later Jory returned. He looked stunned.
"My Lord," Jory said. "We found it."
"How much?"
"Millions," Jory whispered. "Ingots. Gems. Ancient plate. It is... it is more wealth than the Crown possesses."
"Load it," Andar said. "All of it. We are going to strip this mountain until it is just a hollow rock."
King's Landing
The victory feast for the Battle of the Blackwater was in full swing.
Tywin Lannister sat at the high table. He was the Savior of the City. The Tyrells were feting him. Joffrey was boasting.
Then the doors of the Throne Room banged open.
A messenger ran in. He was dusty and exhausted. He wore the sigil of House Lannister but his clothes were torn.
He ran straight to Tywin and fell to his knees.
"My Lord Hand!"
"Get up," Tywin said coldly. "Why do you interrupt the King?"
"The West My Lord," the messenger gasped. "It is gone."
The music stopped. The room went silent.
"Gone?" Tywin narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean gone?"
"The Wolves," the messenger cried. "They have taken the Golden Tooth. They have taken Oxcross. They have taken Lannisport."
Tywin stood up. "Lannisport has walls. The fleet..."
"The fleet is burned My Lord. And... and..."
The messenger looked up tears streaming down his face.
"And Casterly Rock has fallen."
A gasp went through the court. Cersei dropped her wine goblet. Tyrion looked up from his cup his eyes wide.
"Impossible," Tywin said. His voice was a whisper but it carried more weight than a scream. "The Rock cannot fall."
"They smoked us out," the messenger sobbed. "They pumped poison into the mountain. Daven surrendered. Robb Stark sits in your hall My Lord. And the Black Sorcerer... he is emptying the vaults."
Tywin Lannister the most powerful man in Westeros felt a cold hand grip his heart.
He had won the battle for King's Landing.
But he had lost his home. He had lost his gold. He had lost his power base.
"Robb Stark," Tywin hissed.
For the first time in his life the Old Lion looked old.
Casterly Rock
Andar stood on the highest tower watching the sun set over the Sunset Sea.
He held a telegraph wire in his hand. His engineers had just finished running the line up the mountain connecting the Rock to Lannisport and back to the main grid.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A message came in from the North.
W-I-N-T-E-R-F-E-L-L.
S-E-C-U-R-E.
N-E-W.
T-H-R-E-A-T.
Andar frowned.
W-A-L-L.
B-R-E-A-C-H-E-D.
W-I-L-D-L-I-N-G-S.
M-A-N-C-E.
Andar lowered the paper.
Mance Rayder. The King Beyond the Wall. He had blown the Horn of Winter? No he had just overwhelmed the Night's Watch.
"The war of kings is over," Andar whispered.
He looked North.
"Now the war for survival begins."
He turned to go downstairs. He had to tell Robb. They had the gold. They had the victory. But now they had to save the world.
And for that Andar needed a new weapon.
Something bigger than a cannon. Something that could fly.
...
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'm releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
25 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!