S03E06

## A Brewing Storm

### Summary:

Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish tasks the courtiers with shoring up the rebel cause against King Robert and treachery from within.

### Characters:

Fiyona, Hamza, Rook

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## A Brewing Storm

It had been two long weeks in King’s Landing. The city was being run well, but the alliance of the Eight Future Kings was barely holding together.

Prince Doran of Dorne was holding part of The Reach in the name of King Robert. Barrish Cherrane, the Future King of The Reach was still missing. Tywin Lannister held The Westerlands with 40,000 troops. Queen Gabrelle of The North had left King’s Landing to go reason with Ned Stark and the remainder of his army. And Stannis Baratheon had a hidden armada, ready to strike King’s Landing at any time.

## Littlefinger Suspects Treason

While at breakfast, Fiyona, Hamza and Rook heard a knock on the door of their private office. It was Petyr Baelish, known as Littlefinger, mastermind of the Eight Future Kings and architect of the rebellion.

“We need to talk quickly,” he said, “lest people notice that we are coordinating. Despite our victories in battle, things are bad for our cause. I have taken a job with Jon Arryn, King Robert’s chief advisor, keeping his books. I think I can keep the Baratheons at bay by mismanaging their finances, but I’m afraid there is another threat from within.

I have good information that one of the Eight Future Kings is turning the rebel army to his cause and will use it to seize King’s Landing. It could be King Gerold Grafton of The Vale, King Ronnel Penrose of The Stormlands, or King Balon Greyjoy of The Iron Islands. I will need to dig deeper to find out which one.

In the meantime, I need you to shore up our defences. There are many important people here in King’s Landing, and bringing them to the rebel cause is our only hope. We all need to do our part, and your part right now is to build a diplomatic alliance.”

## The Kingslayer

Rook thought about it and realized that it may be a long shot, but Jaime Lannister might be swayed. He remembered that during the Tourney of Aldford he distinctly noticed that Jaime, the king’s personal bodyguard, and King Robert did not get along. It would be difficult, as his father Tywin Lannister was holding the Westerlands for the Loyalists against the Rebels.

The group found Jaime practicing his swordsmanship in the gymnasium of the Kingsguard barracks. When they approached, Jaime immediately recognized Fiyona.

“You’re from Lannisport, aren’t you? You’re a friend of my brother Tyrion?” he asked.

Fiyona said, “Yes, I am.” She had made friends with Tyrion Lannister because he was a frequent customer at her bordello. In fact, it was Tyrion who had asked Fiyona to build a brothel in Aldford, which got her mixed up with the Glenbains in the first place.

“You were kind to my brother,” Jaime said, “that goes a long way with me. But just because I slew one king, doesn’t mean I’ll slay another for you.”

The group explained that they didn’t want him to kill a king, simply to defend the city, whether from Baratheon invasion or betrayal from within the Eight Future Kings. Jaime heard them out, and was tempted, but felt that they were a lost cause. King’s Landing was too difficult to defend and they had too many powerful enemies.

## A Friendly Snake

Then Hamza noted that Oberyn Martell was staying at the Dornish embassy here in the city. Oberyn’s brother, Prince Doran, was holding part of The Reach in the name of King Robert, but perhaps Oberyn felt differently. Hamza even remembered that they had met once when they were young.

When the group met Oberyn, he was lounging in a comfortable room full of revelers. He vaguely recognized Hamza, and had heard news of Hamza’s duel with his brother Symon Santagar.

“You should visit my brother in Sunspear,” Oberyn told Hamza, “the Prince will certainly give you back the title of House Santagar.”

The party asked Oberyn if he would support the rebel cause. He explained that he could not go against the wishes of Prince Doran, but he did have control over the Dornish garrison in King’s Landing. It was in his power to use his troops to defend King Robert, or not.

He said, “Let’s leave it up to the gods in a game of chance,” and had a deck of playing cards and three glasses brought to him. The three glasses were each filled up, one with poison. Oberyn then drew one card for himself, a nine of spades, and dealt four more cards face-down. Rook tried to sneak a peak at the cards, but Oberyn was too quick to be fooled.

Then he said, “The game is simple. You turn over one of the cards. If it is higher than my card, you win and I don’t interfere with your cause. If it is lower than my card, you must drink to choose another card.”

Hamza chose first, revealing a seven of diamonds. He looked at the three drinks, determining that one of them smelled differently. He took one of the odourless drinks and downed it – water.

Then Fiyona flipped a card – the three of clubs. Hamza handed her the other odourless drink. She drank it and found that it was water as well.

Then Rook turned over another card. It was the five of hearts. Rook, Fiyona and Hamza looked at each other nervously. Hamza took the last drink and downed it – it was harmless vinegar.

They revealed the fourth card, an eight of spades. Oberyn laughed at his rigged game. He said he admired their courage and agreed not to interfere with their cause.

## The Queen of Thorns

Next, the group decided to speak to Olenna Tyrell, the mother of Mace Tyrell, Warden of The Reach. Mace was technically the leader of The Reach, but it was common knowledge that Olenna was actually in control. She was a feared and respected woman, often called The Queen of Thorns.

They found her enjoying the afternoon sun in the royal gardens. Fiyona improved their chances with a gift, a rare desert from the Summer Isles that cost her a small fortune. Olenna was impressed, but not swayed. She explained that she was in a difficult position. Prince Doran had invaded her lands in the name of king, pushing her to oppose King Robert. But the Eight Future Kings had named Barrish Cherrane as king of The Reach, not her son Mace Tyrell. So, she didn’t see a place for House Tyrell on either side.

The group thought long about the predicament. Barrish Cherrane was a first cousin of House Glenbain, and Hamza’s employer. At the same time, he had abandoned them. And never treated them with respect in the first place. They toyed with the idea of a marriage exchange, that they would wed young Margery Tyrell to Maxir Glenbain and wed Margery’s brother Willas to Maxir’s sister Katryna. The only problem being that Katryna was already married to Zholos Rha, a noble from the Eastern city of Volantis. And Katryna had been captured by the Cult of R’hllor and taken to their Red Temple, her body forced to store demons for them.

So, they decided that they would name Mace Tyrell the rightful king of The Reach instead of Barrish Cherrane in exchange for House Tyrell’s support against the Baratheons. It still took a lot of negotiation with the Queen of Thorns, but she eventually agreed to the deal.

## The Small Council

Lastly, the group decided that their greatest allies might be the remainder of King Robert’s Small Council. Varys, the Master of Whisperers, Pycelle, the Grand Maester, and Ser Barristan Selmy, Captain of the Guard, were powerful, influential men and their support could go a long way.

The party found the councilors enjoying a fine meal at a posh restaurant. They were invited to dine. The mood was friendly and academic. The debate was simple: whether the city would be better served if everyone supported King Robert or the Eight Future Kings.

There was much discussion with many good points made. The argument for King Robert lost significant ground when Pycelle, attempting to allure Fiyona Riser with the power of his mind, inelegantly passed gas at the table. It let out a loud, rude noise and he was frightfully embarrassed. Eventually it was agreed, the former Small Council should support the Eight Future Kings. They had taken King’s Landing by Right of Conquest and were there to protect the good of the people of Westeros.

## Attacked at Home

The party returned to their private home after a long day of arguing and manipulation. Retiring to their rooms, they found themselves cornered in a hallway by three thugs with drawn swords.

The attackers weren’t trained fighters, and were quickly defeated. But Fiyona and Hamza, who were cut by their swords, found themselves groggy and sedated by some kind of poison. And in a fit of desperation, one of the thugs threw a vial of acid into Rook’s face. Rook was badly burned, so injured that he lost consciousness.

After the fight, Fiyona and Hamza interrogated the attackers. They explained that they were just dockworkers from the poor Fleabottom neighbourhood of the city. A man with a deep voice, wearing black robes and with a purple veil over his face had approached them. The dockworkers could tell that the veiled man was an accomplished sailor from either The Stormlands, The Reach or The Iron Islands. They were given three gold dragons each with the promise of seventeen more when they had done the job. Each of them was given a sword and a bag of white powder to coat the sword with. They were to wait in the courtier’s private house, kill them when they came home and flee as quickly as possible. They didn’t know anything else.

Fiyona and Hamza quickly sent for a healer to tend to Rook and a maester to identify the poison. There was a healer just downstairs, tending to Wilfred Hill. She had seen acid burns before, blacksmiths often used acid in their trade. She explained that Rook would be healthy, but have extensive scarring all over his face. It took longer for a Maester Thall, the junior maester in all of King’s Landing, to show. He was fascinated by the white powder, but couldn’t identify it. He explained that he would need at least week of tests before he could be of any help. Meanwhile, Hamza and Fiyona felt sicker and sicker.

Soon after, Littlefinger arrived, having heard the news from a servant within the house. He agreed to take the attackers to his finest torturers for questioning. And though he thought the attack was a serious setback, he was glad of the progress they had made that day. He was still investigating the traitor within the Eight Future Kings, but they were on the right track – as evidenced by the fact that someone wanted them all dead.

## Experience

Fiyona, Hamza and Rook each earned 13 XP, 2 Glory and 350 Silver Stags

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