A Song of Ice and Fire Cut Short by Dust (RWBY in Westeros)

[Starfox5]

Just got done binging through this story. Fantastic work! Loving the continual ongoing culture clash.

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Thanks!

Ha gotcha greenbeak!

Seems like there's no more need for the Birb Counter since we have a straight up confirmation.

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Yep.

 

[Tager Joseph]

As if their reputation wasn't messianic enough. After this, so much as getting a frown from any member of RWBY is going to be grounds for being declared a heretic.

 

[wtungsten]

Absence of evidence wasn't evidence of absence

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Well, akshually: it's not proof of absence, but it totally is evidence...

 

[Starfox5]

As if their reputation wasn't messianic enough. After this, so much as getting a frown from any member of RWBY is going to be grounds for being declared a heretic.

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At least in King's Landing.

Well, akshually: it's not proof of absence, but it totally is evidence...

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Yeah, but the saying uses evidence twice for stylistic reasons.

 

[ATP]

As if their reputation wasn't messianic enough. After this, so much as getting a frown from any member of RWBY is going to be grounds for being declared a heretic.

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Good,thanks to that they do not need to kill more people.Becouse nobody would be stupid enough to fight both them and Faith.
So,they would found most but it gave me idea.
@Starfox5 ,what about blaming Varys for not discovering wildfire? he was master of spies in Mad Kibg times,after all.THen, take over his muted children,and check his documents.Not enough to kill him,but enough to kick him out as Master spy.

 

[Starfox5]

Good,thanks to that they do not need to kill more people.Becouse nobody would be stupid enough to fight both them and Faith.
So,they would found most but it gave me idea.
@Starfox5 ,what about blaming Varys for not discovering wildfire? he was master of spies in Mad Kibg times,after all.THen, take over his muted children,and check his documents.Not enough to kill him,but enough to kick him out as Master spy.

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People will be questioning Varys about this next chapter, but there's a lot of blame to go around, and RWBY aren't the kind of girls to use that as a pretext to get proof of other crimes - and it would feel a bit too much like the usual GoT to them.

 

[Spartan303]

I haven had much to comment on as it feels the story is getting a bit bogged down. Everything kind of at a standstill, city wide fire not withstanding. The writing is still good, but just...not much is moving along.

 

[ATP]

People will be questioning Varys about this next chapter, but there's a lot of blame to go around, and RWBY aren't the kind of girls to use that as a pretext to get proof of other crimes - and it would feel a bit too much like the usual GoT to them.

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Sadly,true,but if Blake "accidentally" found home full of mute children...then they would be safe,and Varys would last his tools.

 

[Starfox5]

Chapter 34: Lingering Embers

'The majority of the primary sources of the event agree that the Ruby Order was responsible for saving King's Landing from a wildfire-fuelled blaze. If not for their quick action in ordering fire breaks to contain the fire, the flames would have quickly spread through the densely built poorer quarters, causing panic and terrible loss of life. Indeed, although the claim that the entire city would have perished cannot be supported; while there is no doubt that the wildfire was placed by the Mad King Aerys II to burn down King's Landing should the rebels storm it, various studies have sufficiently demonstrated that the city would have suffered greatly but would have survived, countless people owe the Ruby Order their lives, something the smallfolk at least were quite aware of, and which greatly strengthened their position at court, if not to quite the extent modern readers might suspect; at the time, smallfolk had little to no influence in politics. Their quick reaction also prompted rumours to appear that they had set off the blaze in order to play the saviour, but all but the most biased sources dismiss such claims as fabrications. In any case, fiery conflagration did shock many who realised how close they had come to dying and was an important factor in the realm's political development during the rest of the year.'

• A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

One moment, Lancel Lannister had been running towards the fire - towards the wildfire, he could see green flames just reaching above the rooftops blocking his line of sight - and dodging panicking smallfolk running in every direction, one fat man almost trampling him before a guard struck and beat him away.

The next moment, he froze in the middle of the street. Water was forming an arch above the city, from the river to… the fire. He gaped. That was… impossible! Magic!

No, he realised. Not magic - it was a miracle! The water was shaped and guided by the holy glyphs of Lady Weiss. And the wind surrounding the waterspout… He had seen that before, at the Battle of the Maidens! That was Lady Ruby moving so fast, she formed a whirlwind! The Four Maidens had come to save them all!

"By the Seven Above!" he whispered.

"It's a sign!" someone next to him yelled.

"It's a Miracle!"

"Praise the Seven!"

The people who had just a moment before been rushing away from the fire and smoke had stopped to stare at the water arcing over their heads.

"Praise the Maidens!"

"Blessed be the Seven!"

"Blessed by the Seven!"

Some were falling to their knees, praying. Many were crying with relief.

Lancel among them. He had obeyed the orders to fight the fire, of course. He couldn't disobey Tywin - always Lord Tywin, never Uncle Tywin. Even though he had known that he couldn't do anything, not with the pitiful bucket of sand he had been carrying. Even though he knew how dangerous it would be to fight wildfire - Cousin Tyrion had been quite clear about that once the news about the Mad King's legacy had broken.

Even though the tears in his eyes had not been due to the smoke in the air, but the knowledge that he might die.

But he wouldn't die. And he wouldn't be branded a coward for fleeing wildfire, either.

He was saved. Saved by the Four Maidens.

He stared up at the water - and the sand - above him, moving as if it were a waterfall after a flood upriver, hitting the fire ahead.

And he prayed as he had never prayed before.

No one interrupted him. Not even the old man-at-arms who had led the guards with him (and Lancel, even though he was nominally in charge).

Everyone was praying.

Until Lady Yang appeared, her hair aflame yet not burning, and yelled at them to help the smallfolk who had been hurt by the fire or while trying to escape.

Lancel leapt to obey. As did the men with him.

You didn't disobey the Messengers of the Seven.

Later, when he was too exhausted to move, long after the sun had set, when the last flickering flames had been smothered and the bodies collected from the rubble left behind, when even the Four Maidens had stopped sifting through the ashes to find survivors and his body wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep in the warm mud covering the area, he walked instead.

Toward the Great Sept.

He was not the only one. Not even close.

The sept was packed.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"...and after Lady Ruby stopped the whirlwind, and Lady Weiss let the glyphs fade, I was busy helping to save people from the rubble," Lancel said. "I was…"

He swallowed the tale of how he had worked through the night with the help of the Seven when Lord Tywin gestured with his right hand while looking out of the window of his room.

"I see. So, they cannot control water as the old Rhoynar were said to do." Lord Tywin commented.

"A rather academic difference, I think," Tyrion added while glancing at his goblet before taking a sip from it.

Lancel cleared his throat. His tale had not been that long, especially with Lord Tywin cutting him off before he could cover most of the night, but his throat still felt the consequences of labouring all night in the middle of still-smoking rubble.

Lord Tywin ignored him, but Tyrion passed him a goblet of his own, although to Lancel's surprise, the wine was watered down.

Lord Tywin frowned at them both, though, when he turned his head. "It matters, Tyrion. It tells us the limits of those girls' powers. They cannot control water directly - or anything else. Nor could they simply snuff out the fire. They had to gather water and sand from the river to smother it."

Lancel hid his frown behind his goblet. The Four Maidens had smothered wildfire, and so quickly, the city had barely suffered any damage - less, if some of the gold cloaks he had met during the night could be believed, than an ordinary fire would have done.

"Well, yes, I suppose that is true," Tyrion said with a shrug. "However, does it matter whether they can kill all our guards with a wave of their hand or whether they have to use a blade and take a bit more time, as long as neither will pose a challenge? And we also learned that they do not fear wildfire."

Lancel cringed at the expression on Lord Tywin's face, and it wasn't even aimed at him. "They avoided wildfire," Lord Tywin spat.

Tyrion, on the other hand, seemed unimpressed. "They did, but they did not seem overly concerned either. I think it wouldn't be prudent to assume that wildfire can hurt, much less kill, them."

Why would they be concerned? The Seven had blessed them! Fire wouldn't hurt them any more than a blade would nick their skin!

"Every bit of knowledge about such a deadly threat to our family is important, Tyrion! Without such knowledge, we cannot defend ourselves."

A deadly threat? Lancel opened his mouth to protest - the Four Maidens were not a threat but a divine blessing! - and coughed when a bit of wine went down the wrong pipe.

"They aren't a threat to us, Father," Tyrion retorted. "Not unless you force the issue."

Lancel coughed and tried to nod, but both men seemed to ignore him.

"'The issue'? They killed your brother and exiled your sister, Tyrion!"

"Cersei did that herself, Father!" Tyrion snapped. "And it was she who lured Jaime to his doom."

Lancel nodded emphatically. The Four Maidens had done everything to spare them, and yet, Cersei's own hubris had doomed her and Cousin Jaime. A lesson that should be in the Seven-Pointed Star.

"No one forced them to do anything - it was their choice to move against our family."

"Against Cersei, and after months of provocation," Tyrion said. "Months during which they already knew about her fatal weakness, yet did not move."

"Exactly! They did not even attempt to use their knowledge to extract concessions from our family - they decided to strike at us instead." Lord Tywin shook his head. "And they showed their true colour when they moved to control Tommen."

"They don't 'control' Tommen, Father - they barely speak with him. I spend enough time with my nephew to know he is not under their control."

"Don't be naive! As long as they remain immune to the entire might of the realm, they control the realm, Tyrion!"

Tyrion didn't answer and refilled his goblet instead.

Tywin scoffed again. "And they are tightening their control. That is why they did this - create a danger for the city, then save the city from it. The smallfolk will think of them as their saviour, and the nobles have been shown just what will happen should they resist: Another tragic accident, just this time, the girls will be too slow to save the manor affected."

"Then let's hope the Court won't resist them - if they set off wildfire here, I fear most of the Red Keep will be gone and I live here," Tyrion said.

"They will not set fire to the Red Keep. As the seat of the King, it's too valuable. They need this symbol for their puppet to rule, or there will be rebellions."

"No! They do not want to rule!" Lancel realised he had blurted out his thoughts, unasked, when both Lord Tywin and Tyrion turned to frown at him. But he steadied himself and straightened. This was for the Four Maidens. "They didn't do this because they wanted to strengthen their 'control' or rule anything - they did this because it was the right thing to do!"

"Hold your tongue, Lancel, when we talk about things you do not understand!" Lord Tywin sneered at him, and Lancel couldn't help but cringe again in the face of his uncle. And yet, he knew he was right about this.

But Tyrion looked surprised as well.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"The city could have burned down!" Lord Eddard was angry. Not angry enough to hit the table with his fist, though, Ruby Rose noted. Though he wasn't the type to do that, anyway. But he was talking more loudly than usual, and he was openly scowling, and his eyes were a little bit squinting in a glare.

Not at her or her team, though. Which would have been weird, anyway, since they had saved the city. But he was glaring at the others in the room, where the small council was meeting today. And her team, on his request.

"The city could still burn down - I doubt that that was the only location with wildfire stored." Lord Renly didn't look very angry, but he didn't seem to be as secretly-but-not-so-secretly amused as he usually did, and he wasn't smiling at all, so he was definitely angry as well.

"I doubt it as well." Lord Baelish (the pimp) nodded. "We need to prevent the smallfolk from looking for more wildfire before they set another part of King's Landing ablaze. They are panicking and won't listen to reason. If we don't do anything, they'll set off another such storage. The gold cloaks need to enforce this."

Now Lord Renly was frowning. "The city guard is already strained just keeping order when half the smallfolk are trying to flee the city, and the other half is trying to loot it. We cannot spare more men to look for wildfire, or for attempts to find it, or there will be no city worth saving from fire left."

Ruby frowned. That was… not a nice view at all.

"I am confident that the gold cloaks can look out for those who would rob their neighbours and those who would look for hidden wildfire depots at the same time while they patrol the streets," Varys commented. "There cannot be too many of those caches hidden, or one would have been found before. I expect they were placed at locations which could be accessed without witnesses, and large basements to store the wildfire. Even in a big city like King's Landing, there shouldn't be an abundance of such locations."

"There shouldn't," Lord Eddard agreed. "Of course, creating and hiding so many jars of wildfire would not have been simple. As we all have unfortunately found out, merely transporting wildfire is highly dangerous. However, transporting so many of them, in secret? In a city in the middle of a rebellion against the Mad King? How could you miss this, Master of Whispers?"

Ruby quickly looked at Varys. The man wasn't startled - he slowly nodded. "My little birds were busy looking for traitors to the crown; as you have said yourself, the king was mad. Yours wasn't the only family he had brutally harmed, and there were many who would have gleefully struck against him given the opportunity. I did not send them to look for those few who still were, amongst those who had remained in the city, enthusiastically doing his bidding. I confess I did notice that the Alchemists' Guild was producing more wildfire than the King demanded for his cruel spectacles, but I assumed, in hindsight, wrongly, he planned to use it against his enemies, not his own city - I had to step very lightly or I would have risked being burnt alive myself." He spread his hands. "I have missed this plot, this is true, but I dare say everyone else would have missed it as well - has missed it, in fact."

Ser Barristan slowly nodded in grim agreement, Ruby noted. He had served the Mad King as well, she knew that.

"You are the Master of Whispers, though," Lord Baelish said. "Finding and exposing threats to the crown is your duty. All of us have other duties."

Lord Stannis nodded at that. "And you failed yours."

Varys seemed unfazed. "I did, yes. Although I am merely a man, whereas it took someone blessed by the Gods to discover this - and even the Four Maidens didn't realise the extent of this plot before they found the second cache." He glanced at Blake, Ruby noted. "If you expect a Master of Whispers to display such powers to do their duty, I fear you will have scant candidates who will make the cut. The most obvious would be Team Ruby, of course."

"We're not going to replace you!" Ruby blurted out. Really! Neither she nor her friends wanted to deal with spies and all those plots! Or mutilated children spies.

"Then I think we should focus on the crisis at hand. King Aerys's madness was truly beyond belief," Varys said. "It took madness that beggars belief to amass so much wildfire."

"And what did he intend with it?" Lord Baelish asked. "Was it merely to see more people burn?"

"He could have been planning to use it should the city fall, to destroy the rebel army sacking it," Lord Stannis said. "It would have struck a heavy blow against our host. Though it does not explain why he planned to destroy the Red Keep as well."

"Well, it would have killed the Lannister army looting the city," Lord Renly said with a chuckle. "The rest of us would have been fine. And the King was mad - he probably wanted to die."

"Or he thought the death of so many people at his orders would be enough to grant him fantastic powers," Varys added. "Other Targaryens who were not nearly as mad as he was had done similar things, if not on such a scale."

Ruby frowned at that. That sounded like…

"You think he had planned to use sacrificial magic?" Lord Stannis asked.

The Grand Maester frowned but didn't comment.

"You are quite familiar with the term, my lord. No doubt thanks to being acquainted with Lady Melisandre," Varys said. "It is merely speculation. Nothing that would have indicated an attempt at magic was found following the Mad King's demise. Although, as he was mad, he might not have understood the need for such - or had yet to prepare it when Ser Jaime killed him."

He didn't look at Ruby and the others, she noted. Weird.

"That was when the Lannisters were already sacking the city," Lord Renly pointed out. "One would think he had realised that the time to use his despicable ploy had come."

"He wouldn't have been prepared since he believed Lord Tywin had come as an ally," Varys said. "Ser Jaime might have killed him before he realised the truth."

"I was there. Lord Tywin seemed surprised at Ser Jaime's actions," Lord Eddard said. "And neither he nor Ser Jaime said anything about having coordinated such a betrayal."

"Well, I doubt they would have announced that they had planned to betray the king together," Lord Baelish said with a shrug. "That is not something people wish to make known, not even when they did it to a mad king."

"Uh…" Ruby tried not to blush when everyone turned to look at her. "Shouldn't we focus on how to avoid another fire?"

Lord Eddard nodded. As did the Grand Maester.

"Finding out who we can trust is essential for that," Lord Stannis said, glaring at Varys. "We cannot trust a crucial task to someone who will not do it, whether it be due to malice or incompetence."

"If you do not trust my little birds to watch out for criminal or careless smallfolk, even though their own - and mine - survival depends on it, I will not insist, although Lord Renly did mention that the guard is already struggling," Varys replied. "And as far as I know, although he didn't mention it, that was with the help of the guards your house and others brought to King's Landing already accounted for."

Everyone was scowling deeply at that.

Ruby clenched her teeth. She had to remain polite, she reminded herself. Telling the most powerful noblemen of the realm to shut up and focus on saving the city wouldn't help. It was immensely stupid, but they wouldn't listen when their pride was hurt. Or annoyed. Or slightly poked. So, she smiled. "We'll be patrolling as well, and we'll tell them not to look for wildfire." Blake would hopefully smell the wildfire if she came close enough.

"That will help," Lord Eddard said.

"Indeed. The smallfolk might not listen to the Court, but they will hopefully listen to the Gods' own messengers," Lord Renly said. He sounded honest, but his smile didn't quite fit.

"We might also prepare enough sand to smother another fire in advance at strategic locations inside the city," Weiss added. "So we can intervene quickly."

"Yes." Ruby nodded. "That shouldn't take too long."

"Here are some locations I picked out based on their distance to the river and the heights in the city." Weiss unrolled a map of the city.

Everyone leaned forward to look at it. Well, except for Ruby, Blake and Yang - they already knew the map; they had prepared it together. Not that it was a good map.

"That sounds… It will take a lot of men to transport so much sand. Can't you just transport it yourself if you need it?" Lord Renly asked.

"We can, but it's easier and faster if it's already prepared," Ruby told him. At least, she was pretty sure she could. Weiss would have to create a few more glyphs to cover longer distances, but Ruby knew her partner could do it.

Still, it would be easier if they could just grab sand from prepared locations. And when lives depended on something, easier was better.

"With that settled," Weiss spoke up after everyone had agreed on half a dozen such spots, "why is no representative of House Lannister here? They represent a sizeable force and were quite active in fighting the fire last night."

"This is a small council meeting, and currently, House Lannister has no representative here." Lord Eddard said.

"We're here, though," Ruby said, gesturing at her friends.

"You're a special case," Lord Baelsih told her with a smile. "And, if I may be so bold, your presence not only greatly helped in fighting the fire last night but also helped us here focus on the task at hand."

"And as prickly as Lord Tywin is, I fear we would not have achieved any agreement should he have been present," Lord Renly said with a slightly smug smile.

"Nevertheless, I think we need his cooperation," Weiss pointed out.

"Do you think he would refuse to help save the city?" Lord Stannis frowned some more - had he ever stopped frowning? Ruby didn't remember.

"I would hope not," Weiss replied, "but if he is so easily provoked, then it would behove us to be more careful not to make the current situation even more volatile."

She heard Yang chuckle at the probably unintentional pun, but Ruby focused on the noblemen. Lord Eddard nodded in agreement. As did the Grand Maester, Ser Barristan and Varys. Lord Baelish too, if a little late. But the two Baratheons didn't say anything. Lord Stannis kept scowling, and Lord Renly pouted.

Ruby managed not to shake her head. The city was in danger of burning down, and the nobles were still playing their games.

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Blessed be the Maidens!"

"My Lady! Thank you!"

"My Lady! Please bless us!"

Ruby's smile had been frozen since she had started her patrol. The people were far too… worshipful. Was that a word? She didn't know. But she knew she didn't like it. But she had a job to do - like a mission. A very important mission. If she failed, people would lose their homes and probably their lives.

So she kept smiling, waved, and called out: "Thank you! We're here to protect you. But remember: Don't go looking for wildfire jars - leave that to those trained for this. And if you stumble on some, leave them be and tell us, we'll handle them!"

"My lady!"

"Thank you!"

"I will!"

"Praise to the Seven!"

"Praise to the Maidens!"

She nodded and used her Semblance to vanish down the street. Maybe she shouldn't have said that about telling them, that might encourage some people to look for wildfire… Well, it was better if they looked and didn't touch than looked and touched.

But it would be even better if her team had found the jars still hidden in the city. So far, they hadn't - not even Blake, who could literally smell the things. And Ruby felt pretty useless, speeding through the streets and looking if people were looking, or looked like they were looking for wildfire… She was a bit tired of looking, too.

But she finished her patrol before she made her way back to the Red Keep - by roof hopping. Just to do a bit of training even today, not because she didn't want to meet more worshippers on the street. As Uncle Qrow had taught her, you had to keep training every day.

That was her story, and she was sticking to it.

She reached the gate to the Red Keep. It was guarded by more guards than usual. She briefly wondered if she should say something about them being more useful in the city, but…She shouldn't try to, as Weiss called it, micromanage things. Especially since she didn't know the reason for the stronger guard here (even though she suspected it was because half the Court didn't trust the other half… or anyone).

So she just nodded at the guards, ignored how many of them made some praying signs or whispered something that sounded like the kind of things the people in the city yelled, and stepped into the Red Keep. Judging by the sun, she had a bit of time until dinner. It felt selfish to take a break, but she had been working hard all day, and not even Weiss would scold her for it. (Weiss would probably scold her if she didn't take a break.)

But as soon as she had stepped into the main hall, she heard someone calling out to her. "Lady Ruby!"

Oh. It was Prince Oberyn. And his 'paramour'. "Prince Oberyn. Lady Ellaria." Oh, that wasn't the correct title - Ruby must be a bit more tired than she had thought.

"Were you looking for more wildfire caches?" he asked.

Well, duh, that was obvious - who wouldn't look for more potential fire bombs that could burn down the entire city? She didn't say that. She nodded instead. "Yes."

"To think we were living above such a danger…" Ellaria shook her head. "Who could think of something so mad?"

"The Mad King," Ruby replied. "At least, that's what people think." And they seemed pretty sure about it - her team agreed as well. Meaning, Weiss and Blake, who had the most experience with such things. Like, politics and terror attacks.

They winced at that - right, the Mad King's son had been married to Oberyn's sister. Ruby winced a little; she should have been a bit more polite about it. But she was tired and a bit hungry, and Prince Oberyn was keeping her from her break. "Anyway," she went on, "The Keep should be safe now." Yang had helped with that. "The Great Sept is next, and when we've got that done, then we should have found the rest of the wildfire."

"Disposing of all that wildfire will take a long time," Prince Oberyn said.

Ruby nodded. Couldn't drop it into the sea since it was lighter than water, burning it would burn a lot of land or take a long time… "The Guild is planning to bury it, I think, and then burn it under controlled circumstances."

Both Prince Oberyn and Ellaria grimaced. Ruby wasn't too sure about that plan either, but the Alchemists were the experts - and Lord Eddard had made it clear, or so she had heard, that it was their responsibility and he would hold them accountable.

"You know, when I saw the water rise above the roofs, I thought the Rhoynar's magic had returned," he commented. "They were said to control water like that."

"Oh, that wasn't magic!" She smiled, genuinely. "It was applied Semblances. I sent it up using my Semblance, and Weiss directed it with hers."

"And what is the difference between Semblances and magic?" Ellaria asked.

"A semblance is the expression of your soul," Ruby said. "It comes from within. Magic is something from without." At least, that was how Grand Maester Pycelle and Weiss had worded it, though Marwyn had disagreed.

"That seems a bit academic," Ellaria commented.

Ruby nodded. "Yep. It was an academic discussion." She looked through the open door - the shadows had grown a bit longer. "So… I really need to, ah, check on stuff before dinner."

"Oh, we wouldn't want to hold you up," Prince Oberyn said.

Ellaria smiled as she nodded.

"Alright!" Ruby nodded again and then used her Semblance to reach her team's quarters without letting anyone else stop her.

She really needed that break.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"...and this is why the more power you have, the more careful and merciful you have to be," Weiss finished her - quite succinct, Ruby's opinion didn't count - explanation.

Prince Tommen nodded, though she wasn't certain if he had truly understood what she had intended to tell him.

Judging by the frown on Lord Tywin's face, the nobleman clearly had, though.

"So, since a small gesture for us is a huge thing for the smallfolk, we need to be very careful about our actions and their consequences." As had Princess Myrcella.

"Correct." Weiss nodded at her and was rewarded by a beaming smile.

"Mercy can make you weak, though, and if you are weak, you cannot protect your family. People will exploit your generosity for their own gain. In the end, you will lose the very power and position that allowed you to be so… generous," Lord Tywin said. "My father was almost bled dry by some treacherous bannermen of his because he couldn't find the will to do what was right instead of what was easy."

Tommen nodded to him as well, and Weiss hoped that he hadn't understood too much of that very biased attempt to teach the boy the wrong lessons.

She smiled politely at Lord Tywin - why couldn't Lord Tyrion have attended this lesson instead? - and shook her head. "Being generous also makes people loyal, and loyal people are more trustworthy and generally far more productive. If people fear you, you will have to fear them as well." If her father hadn't made the Schnee Dust Company into an exploitative employer, preying on those who could not get better jobs, the White Fang wouldn't have gone after the company and her family.

"If your bannermen can insult you without consequences, they will soon lose whatever respect they had for you and your house and will attempt to topple you. No one respects weakness," Lord Tywin said.

"If you cannot afford to be generous, you are not powerful to begin with," Weiss retorted.

"Yes." He nodded. "That's when you need to rebuild your power. Before you lose everything." He looked at Tommen. "Do you know what happened to the last Targaryens?"

"Uh…" Tommen blinked. "They fled to Essos?"

"They became beggars living on alms from others. Prince Viserys even married his sister off to the Dothraki in an attempt to gain power. Would you like it if you were forced to sell your sister to someone far beneath her station? Forcing her to live in the wilderness amongst savages?" Lord Tywin glanced at Myrcella, who cringed.

"As opposed to marrying your sister off to some noble because they offer you an alliance?" Weiss scoffed.

Lord Tywin glared at her. "That's how things work, Lady Weiss."

"That doesn't mean that this is how things should work, Lord Tywin," she retorted. "People shouldn't sacrifice their happiness to empower others."

"That's the duty of every noble toward their house!"

"Be unhappy and make others, including your family, unhappy?" Weiss shook her head. "What good is all the power you have if you cannot even keep your closest family happy?"

Tommen nodded at that, she noticed with a faint smile. Good. He and Myrcella shouldn't have their lives ruined by their family.

"I don't want Myrcella to be unhappy," Tommen said. "As her brother, and as the King, I have to protect her and keep her safe. And happy."

Weiss disagreed with some of the implications - Tommen was obviously already immersed in Westeros's patriarchal culture - but his intentions couldn't be faulted. "No one should. Family should love and care for each other."

Lord Tywin scoffed at that. "To protect your sister, you need to be strong. You cannot show any weakness since that would invite attacks on you and your family."

"If you do not show any mercy, you breed resentment, hatred and, ultimately, rebellion. As the Mad King demonstrated."

"I knew Aerys. I was his Hand." Lord Tywin scowled at her. "If he had been strong, he would never have fallen. But he grew weak. He trusted the wrong people, he failed to control his heir, and he had no power left to defend his throne. His entire family, but for two children, were killed because he was weak."

"By your men," Weiss snapped.

He scoffed once again. "They acted on their own. You cannot control your forces during a sack. Any man who has seen war knows that."

She snorted in return, but refrained from calling out his lies. "If Aerys had been generous and kind toward you, would you have turned against him?"

Another glare. "If people had respected him, the Defiance of Duskendale would not have taken place - the Darklins would never have dared to voice their demands."

Weiss didn't know enough about that event to contest his claim, but it was obvious that he avoided the question. Unfortunately, she couldn't push him too far, not with the children present. They wouldn't understand. Not yet.

But they would in the future. Weiss wouldn't let Lord Tywin mould Tommen into another Whitley.

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Blake Belladonna would have preferred patrolling at night, when she could slink through the shadows and avoid witnesses (or worshippers). But that would risk exposing just how much better her senses were than a human's, and she had already taken a risk by telling people she had smelled the wildfire in the Great Sept. Fortunately, one person smelling something another didn't wasn't uncommon. But doing it twice and at night? That would be too much.

So Blake would finish her last loop in the evening, before the sun set. Early enough not to miss dinner; the kitchen staff would fix her a meal if she asked - probably a feast, given how many people were literally praying to her team - but Blake wouldn't exploit the situation. She was better than that - and she knew how it felt to be oppressed and exploited by the upper class; her time in the White Fang in Atlas had taught her that.

Still, just because she was getting hungry wasn't a reason to cut her route short. Another thing her time in the White Fang had taught her. This was important; lives depended on finding those wildfire caches, and she would not fail.

Though she would have preferred doing this without a tail, she amended her thoughts as she spotted the child trying to remain hidden in the scant shadows provided by narrow side alleys. They weren't new at this - they were part of a team of three, alternating so she wouldn't spot them easily - but Blake had gone up against Atlas' security. After dodging patrols, drones and electronic surveillance, and learning how to fit in, spotting a tail in Westeros was child's play.

She snorted at her unintended wordplay - Yang would love it - and headed down the next alley. She had nothing to hide right now, so letting them track her might just lull them into a false sense of security that could be exploited later. Not that she would assume she would manage that; those kids were working for Varys, and after the loss of face the spymaster had suffered in the last small council meeting for missing the wildfire caches, she doubted that he would tolerate any slacking. And as long as he didn't know she had made the spies, he had no motive to get rid of them.

She nodded at a man in rags who gasped a hasty prayer before she checked a bunch of broken boards that could have been an old entrance into a cellar but turned out to be merely the rotten wood of a collapsed barrel. In Mantle, this would have been taken and used as fuel by those who couldn't afford Dust, and she would have expected the same to happen here, but maybe the area wasn't quite that poor. Still, there was nothing here - which left one more alley to check…

She managed to keep walking despite catching a whiff of wildfire. It wouldn't do to let the spies observe her sniffing out a cache. So she acted as if she was merely carefully looking around, as before, while she tracked the smell to an old, dilapidated-looking house. It was inhabited - or had been until the fire; she saw signs of a hasty flight - but someone had broken the door down and ransacked the interior.

Hopefully, that would be enough to justify her checking it out. She stepped over the broken remains of the door and looked around. Her ears picked up footsteps behind her - the spy was trying to sneak a peek. So she made a point of carefully checking the room's furniture, then entered the kitchen; the cellar was often accessed from there since it served as a storage room.

As was the case here. She climbed down into a small room - smaller than the house's ground floor would allow. So… She knocked on the wall across from her, and it rang hollow. She could break down the wall easily, but that might cause a jar to break, and that would be bad.

Instead of breaking through the wall like her partner broke through houses, she carefully started to loosen bricks with the edge of Gambol Shroud, then pulled them out once she had enough of a grip.

After the first, the smell grew so much stronger, anyone could smell it, and a glance through the hole showed her dozens of jars.

Time to inform the others and seal off the house.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Another meeting of the small council. Granted, they were in the middle of a potentially catastrophic crisis, but Blake could have done without attending another meeting. She trusted Weiss to keep them informed. But Lord Eddard had invited the entire Team RWBY. At least she could keep an eye on Lord Baelish and Varys that way.

"So, we've found three more wildfire stashes. It truly seems that the whole city was supposed to burn," Lord Eddard said.

"I think we drew this conclusion after the wildfire was discovered under the Great Sept," Lord Baelish commented. He was smiling, but seemed slightly on edge - Blake didn't think he would take such a shot at the Regent otherwise; he usually was quite cordial with Lord Eddard.

"It was now confirmed," Lord Stannis said. "Now that we know their locations, disposing of them is merely a question of time."

"Provided we don't suffer an accident that sets the whole thing ablaze," Lord Renly pointed out.

"I am sure Team Ruby will be able to contain the blaze in such a case," Grand Maester Pycelle said.

"We will." Ruby nodded solemnly.

They would, but not before people died. Not with the size of the caches Blake had discovered. But everyone was aware of that. And, a small, snide voice inside her head added, the nobles don't care about a few smallfolk deaths.

"As long as the fire doesn't spread further than the last, the damage to the city should be minimal and the losses easily replaced."

Not unless it involved their income, Blake corrected herself after Lord Baelish's remark.

"Except for the dead," Varys objected.

Lord Baelish nodded. "Of course. Every death is a tragedy," he said - with a subtle glance at Ruby, Blake noted. She had seen less blatant attempts to influence people.

"Indeed. Every death counts," Varys said. "We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent."

"Such as you were when you missed this plot for over a decade?" Lord Renly raised his eyebrows.

"With everyone involved dead and the substance hidden, even the best spies would have missed this," Varys defended himself.

Blake wanted to say that children, mutilated children, weren't the best spies, but she couldn't risk tipping off Varys about their investigation; he was already wary of them. If she started needling him, he might become desperate or paranoid enough for a drastic decision.

Best to keep silent and play along, she told herself as the meeting covered evacuations and schedules for moving the wildfire to the Guild.

And pay attention to how Lord Baelish and Varys both stared at Team RWBY when they thought they were not under observation. Lord Baelish sometimes subtly smirked, but Varys… He tried to look unconcerned, but she could see him occasionally trembling.

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Careful! The slightest drop can set it off! And you don't want to be burnt to ashes!"

Yang Xiao Long didn't think anyone working with wildfire wouldn't know that by now - it had been days since the 'Night of the Fire', as she had heard it called. Or the 'Night of Flying Water', even though it had been mostly sand. In any case, if a worker didn't understand how dangerous the jars were, they probably would have caused a mess and killed themselves already.

On the other hand, it didn't hurt to repeat it regularly. Some people were just that stupid or oblivious. Sometimes even without having any Aura. She shook her head at some of the antics she had seen back at Signal and Beacon and picked up - carefully! - the next two jars. "Watch out, coming up!" she called out before starting to climb the stairs leading to the ground floor.

Upstairs, the workers hired to transport the jars to the Guild's headquarters were backing away from her, taking the rest of their lunch with them. Good. They knew just how dangerous this stuff was - if Yang tripped, which she wouldn't, it could set off the stuff. And with a wagonload of jars close by, that wouldn't end up pretty, whether or not the stuff was covered in wet sand.

"Watch out!" one of the workers nearby called out. "Wildfire coming!"

She snorted as she approached the wagon. Two holes were left in the sand that filled the wagon which would take the two jars she carried. She carefully lowered the jars into the holes, one after the other, then called out: "OK! Cover them up!" to the Guild member waiting at the cart.

"Finally!" one of the workers moving towards the wagon commented. "Let's get this to the Guild!"

"Don't rush things!" another cautioned him.

"I don't want to spend a moment longer than I have pulling this!" the first worker snapped. "It's bad enough we aren't allowed to use oxen to pull it!"

"Don't be daft! One spooked ox later, and the things would explode!"

"Oxen don't get spooked! They ain't horses!"

"We're not going to take a risk just because you don't want to push a cart," Yang told the man with a frown.

He flinched at her glare. "Yes, my lady!"

"Besides, if you don't want to handle the wagon, I can do it," she added. It would be boring - she wasn't Ruby, but going so slowly was still annoying - but she could do it.

"No, no, my lady! We'll do it!" the other worker blurted out.

"We need the money!" the first added.

Well, that she could understand. Even Huntresses didn't work for free - well, they wouldn't ignore Grimm when they found them, or anyone who needed help, but they expected to get paid for missions. She grinned. "It's an honest living!"

The men chuckled and relaxed. They didn't look as afraid as they had been at the start, yesterday, either. Heh, Team RWBY was probably doing as much for the city by calming people down as they were by handling wildfire.

She dusted her hands off. "OK, let's get this on the road!"

"But it's already… Oh, alright, my lady!" The second worker nodded.

"But be careful! Too many vibrations and the wildfire can spontaneously combust!" The guild member meant well, but he probably didn't spend much time with the kind of workers here.

"That means it could start burning if you jostle it too much," Yang translated. "Now get going - we're already the last of the sites, we don't want to be dead last!"

"Of course not, my lady!"

"But be careful!" the apprentice alchemist or whatever he was - he looked a bit young to be a master - called out.

"We're always careful!" The first worker snorted. "We've done this before! Without burning!"

"We can see that." The alchemist scoffed. "You've heard the Maiden - start pulling!"

The men - four now - moved to the wagon, two gripping the rear end, two the front.

"Heave!" one of them yelled and pushed with his shoulder against the wagon.

"Watch out!" the Alchemist yelled. "Don't push too much!"

"The sooner we're there, the sooner we're done!"

"Yes, well-done!" another joked.

The workers laughed loudly at the weak joke.

"Heave!" one yelled again.

Yang frowned. They were a bit too eager. This was wildfire, not some dung cart. She was about to remind them when the first worker, the loud, brash one, stumbled. He tried to recover by gripping the wagon's front, but tripped the other worker at his side, and both fell down.

The wagon was heavy, loaded down with wet sand, but the street wasn't quite even, and the workers behind it had let go - and the wagon quickly started rolling down the street.

"Watch out!" Yang yelled and started running. If the cart went too fast, with those cobblestones… Or missed the turn ahead and crashed into the house…

She reached the cart and grabbed the rear end with both hands, slowing it down. Yes! That would…

The wood she was holding on to broke off. Sand started to fall off the wagon. She rushed past the wagon. Once in front of it, she turned and spread her hands. Careful, can't stop it at once, she reminded herself as the wagon reached her.

It wasn't that heavy, and she managed to slow it down to a stop without setting off anything.

Except for her temper. She narrowed her eyes at the workers who had fallen back. "Get over here and take over!" she yelled.

"Yes, my lady!"

"At once, my lady!"

They rushed towards them - and one stumbled again, falling down, and almost tripping another.

What the…?

The alchemist apparently shared her surprise. "What is wrong with you?" he called out as he reached the fallen worker. "Are you…" He gasped. "Are you drunk?"

"Only had a few beers!" the man replied as he got up.

"Must be a lightweight, then," Yang muttered - the man was unsteady on his feet now. But he had been quite fine before…

"Hold the wagon!" she snapped. "And let me check that beer!" They had been drinking beer with their lunch, like everyone in this kingdom. Weak beer, and they had shared one jar between them, but…

She walked over and picked up the jar, then sniffed and took a sip.

Her throat burned slightly. As if she had drunk some liquor instead of beer.

"Someone's spiked the beer!" she called out. "Where did you get this?"

"'Twas delivered for lunch, my lady!" one of the workers yelled back.

Oh, really? She narrowed her eyes. Now, who could have done this?

She didn't know yet, but she and her friends would find out.

And then I'll have a few words with them, she thought as she cracked her knuckles.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

I haven had much to comment on as it feels the story is getting a bit bogged down. Everything kind of at a standstill, city wide fire not withstanding. The writing is still good, but just...not much is moving along.

Click to shrink...

Stuff is moving, but the POV characters aren't yet aware of it. But things will start tocome down, so to speak, pretty soon - a number of balls that have been juggling for very long are getting disturbed.

Sadly,true,but if Blake "accidentally" found home full of mute children...then they would be safe,and Varys would last his tools.

Click to shrink...

They would have to be convinced that abandoning Varys would be to their advantage first.

 

[ATP]

Stuff is moving, but the POV characters aren't yet aware of it. But things will start tocome down, so to speak, pretty soon - a number of balls that have been juggling for very long are getting disturbed.



They would have to be convinced that abandoning Varys would be to their advantage first.

Click to shrink...

True.Maybe ask them,where are older children which worked for Varys before them?

 

[eager slacker]

Seems like Tyrion is really starting to actually understand what the team means by doing the right thing.

 

[Starfox5]

True.Maybe ask them,where are older children which worked for Varys before them?

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I was actually thinking about that question being asked for a future chapter.

Seems like Tyrion is really starting to actually understand what the team means by doing the right thing.

Click to shrink...

Tyrion, realising that Tywin is set on doing the wrong thing: Oh fuck!