NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25: 25. Ability
"I tell the truth, they're all dead, we were ordered by Captain Adaridos. He said that we can't take the chance to let them fall into enemy hands." The man begged pitifully; he was one of the several Westeros born sellswords who had survived. His tongue had immediately become loose as soon as he saw the small pile of heads that were under the tree not far from where we sat.
The King had already given Lord Commander Duncan, permission to carry out his justice, so I had a free hand to do as I pleased. Present sitting around the firepit was Prince Duncan, the Lord Commander, Gerald, Robar and 2 other knights. It was already getting dark and we had a fire going.
I had become concerned when I saw a cart filled with bloodied clothing in a corner of the camp but no prisoners. While searching the camp for anyone hiding, eventually on the steep side of the camp, we found a hollow where the bodies had been dumped. I had killed my fair share of people, (according to the system 96), but none of them were just normal people trying to make a living in this world. I had detested senseless slaughter but that was just the nature of this world; the strong preyed on the weak.
Part of me still held some hope to rescue any survivors if we could but that was quickly squashed. Captain Adaridos was a very practical man when it came to his trade, as we were finding out. We were already on the 7th prisoner. Adaridos rarely left witnesses or disclosed what their objective was unless he absolutely needed to. The only one who he confided in was his captains, according to the prisoner before.
I had intentionally started the first 5 with Myrmen who were lease likely to talk. I gave each of them the opportunity to talk and if they had satisfied me, I would let them return to Essos. Stubbornly they remained silent, so without a fuss I cut their heads off.
This was to increase the psychological pressure on who came after. The ones who came from Myr most likely had deep loyalty to their leaders but the ones from Westeros hadn't had that opportunity and would choose the path that led to a chance of survival. They didn't need to know that I had no intention of letting any of them live.
This prisoner #7 had already been with them for 6 moons and had made the last trip to Myr. "Did they take prisoners back last time with them when they went to Myr?" Was my follow up question. "Yes, but only the prettiest girls and a few young boys. The rest they handed out to the Myrmen, I didn't do nothin to them I swear on the Mother I didn't, my Lord I promise, my Prince please spear me, I didn't touch any of them."
To this I got up and kicked the man in his gut, he had the wind knocked out of him and was left wheezing on the floor, Robar grabbed him and pulled him back upright and back into on kneeling position on the ground. The Lord Commander and the Prince continued to look a little disturbed by my actions but I showed no concern as I returned to my seat and continued. They were both battle hardened warriors so I deduced that they were put off by my age and the way I hadn't held back in my methods.
"The next time you answer anything besides what I asked you and it is of no use to me. I will cut your cock off and make you eat it, do you understand?" The man who only after a short time managed to breathe again quickly nodded.
"Good, now where were we? Right, was there anyone important amongst them, or had you ever heard of any important persons they had captured before?"
"No, my Lord, only merchants and a few mummers. There was one time, I heard from one of the Myrmen, they had tried to attack House Lannister and they lost a captain and some men." He quickly shut up when he realized that he was about to say something useless. I could tell by the way he quickly stopped talking and looked down. He clearly didn't know who I was or he wouldn't have said what he did.
"Do you know why they attacked House Lannister?"
"No, my Lord. Only that someone had given them bad information, that the Lannister's had more men than they were supposed to. This was before I joined"
"Is the man you heard that from still amongst the other prisoners?" I asked. "No, my Lord, he was killed during the battle."
"How long have they been in Westeros?"
"I'm not sure my Lord, I just know that they haven't been here for very long. Mayhap a year or more before I joined, I'm not sure."
What is the name of this Sellsword Company?"
"The Red Scorpions, my Lord. It's named after..." he shut his mouth again realizing he was again about to speak out of turn.
"Go on, finish what you were about to say." I prompted him.
"Adaridos. He is a famous sellsword in Myr, he is a son of a Magister and was an officer in the Golden Company." He paused when he saw that I wasn't going to stop him he continued. "He and the other and founding captains were all officers of the Golden Company but they had a disagreement with Daemon Blackfyre and they left and started their own company. Captain Adaridos was the most famous so they named the company after him."
This caught my attention and from the noise both Prince Duncan and the Lord Commander shifting, they were interested as well.
"Which Daemon Blackfyre?" The Lord Commander asked from behind me.
The man perked up as this was the first time someone else had asked a question. It also helped that someone was the Lord Commander of the King's Guard.
"The Daemon Blackfyre who was killed by his cousin Maelys Blackfyre for command of The Golden Company." The man answered as if it was the most obvious thing. In truth it was only something that a sellsword from the free cities would be abreast of. Fortunately, it had come up a couple of months ago during a small council meeting.
The Lord Commander looked a little taken aback. I was aware that he had been embroiled in multiple Blackfyre plots in the past from the books and one had involved another Daemon Blackfyre. I could already predict what the Price and the Lord Commander would ask next but I quickly cut them off, they would bias his answers towards the Blackfyres if they steered the interrogation in that direction.
"Why did The Red Scorpions come to Westeros in the first place?"
"I don't know exactly, I heard it was about them hunting down a Merchant Convoy." The man answered reluctantly as he didn't have more to give.
"How many ships does the Red Scorpions have?"
"2 my Lord. They are near a small fishing village a day's walk East of Maidenpool along the coast. They are in a hidden cove so they can't be seen from the open sea. The headman of the fishing village has been collecting bribes regularly from the crew of the ships and even lets some of the crew stay in the village."
"Who else knows about the Red Scorpions being in Westeros?"
"I can't say my Lord, all I know is because of one of the Myrman who likes to talk when we drink. Adaridos and the other captains never really spoke with us recruits."
"You've proven yourself useful. I may need to ask you some other questions later."
I got up and approached one of the men who was pulling guard just out of earshot. "Take him back and get him something to eat, but make sure to keep him away from the other prisoners. But also, make sure they can see him while he's eating." He nodded and took the prisoner away.
As I came back and sat by the fire. "Why didn't you ask him more about the Blackfyres?" The Lord Commander Immediately questioned and I could understand why. "Because he is the first who has been willing to tell us anything that is believable. I don't want him to start lying just save his own skin. I will continue to question them separately until I have enough to start with the two captains that are alive."
I looked from the Lord Commander and then to Prince Ducan and they both seemed to be satisfied with my answer. "We'll go along with that then. Do you intend to question them all tonight?" Prince Duncan asked.
"Yes, my Prince, I want to get as much out of them as soon as possible before they have had time to settle from the battle. I want to weed out the ones willing to talk and get as many versions as I can. I will execute the ones who resist. From what the last one said, the captains are the ones who will have the most information, so I will work my way up to them."
"Very well Tywin, you proven yourself well today. Based on what the last prisoner said, unless you get new information. Tomorrow we will await Ser Donald and his reinforcements to get here. Once we are able to move the wounded, we will head to Maidenpool and there we will send the wounded back on a ship. We will then take the rest of the men and capture the 2 ships before they get word of what happened to their men.
Even if you can't break the 2 captains and get them to talk, its okay, we will be taking them back with us. I want to know everything they know about the Golden Company and Maelys Blackfyre." Prince Duncan said.
"I agree with Prince Duncan. We need to capture those 2 ships as soon as possible. Also, that village's headman will need to be thoroughly investigated for his involvement. We can also get some more reinforcements from the Lord Mooton in Maidenpool.
You are young and you might have a lot of energy, but take a break and eat something. Then you can continue interrogating the prisoners. Both me and the Prince have some other matters to deal with and then we shall return to for to hear the rest.
Also, you did well today, all 3 of you." The Lord Commander said before looking from me to Gerold and then Robar. "Gerald, you defended the Prince and supported him during the battle. Even for your age, you were in the middle of it and you did not faulter. I hear you took some hits and kept your head and swung back, well done." He nodded at Gerald and a pleased look could be seen on the young mans face.
"Ser Robar the Lion's Sheild, you also did well, you also protected your Lord as well. You also handled yourself well during the battle. I can say for someone as young as you are, you distinguish yourself well and the Heir to Casterly Rock is lucky to have a good knight as you.
Tywin, I cannot say anything more than you were simply exceptional today and I will need to speak to the King about what you had done today. I can truly say that I have great hopes for you in the future. All 3 of you in truth, I hope to see you all grow into great protectors of the realm " The Lord Commander finished off and for the first time I saw him give a wide smile.
It was such a warm smile that the others began to smile. It was then that Robar caught my attention when I saw him staring in amazement. "What's the matter with you, why are you staring at me?" I asked after finding it strange the way he had been looking at me.
"Nothing my Lord, its just. This is the first time I have ever seen you smile." He replied and as he did everyone also had a shocked expression as well.
......….
As I finished my meal, I closed my eyes for a moment and allowed my body to rest a little as I looked at my stats. And the ones that had the major changes were;
Skills-
Expert-
*Archery (expert-3/40)
*Observation (expert-1/40)
*Controlled Breathing (expert-1/40)
There was also something new that I had been expecting however I was still surprised when I saw that it had opened up a new category.
Abilities-
Time Perception – An ability derived from a high 'Observation' skill that has been continuously used in synergy with other skills. This skill allows the user to perceive time as if it is moving slower, even though the user themselves is not moving faster. The drawback is that this ability utilizes the adrenaline produced by the body to activate.
This made some sense as that this wasn't something that I would be able to freely train. It also meant that unless I was actively putting my self in some form of danger, I wouldn't be able to use this 'ability'. Even though this was something new and I would be sure to explore all of the possibilities that it brought with it. For the 2nd time tonight, I felt a smile creep onto my face, only this time there was no one to see it or make fun of me.
A/N- comment and let me know what you guys think about the 'Ability' category as well as 'Time Perception'.