Chapter 44: Hidden Blades
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Chapter 44: Hidden Blades
'Contrary to the beliefs of some people, both those in favour and those opposed to the notion, the Ruby Order, even though founded and led by four women, wasn't a bastion of equality between the sexes. As the founding charter makes it clear, the Ruby Order had a strict policy of only recruiting those who could pass their stringent tests. Whether man or woman, someone who couldn't fight wouldn't become a member. Even those originally recruited for their skills at crafting, finances or even bureaucracy were expected to learn how to fight - and Ser Gendry Storm was not the only example of such a recruit who ended up excelling at it. Unfortunately, the Order didn't keep track of how many applications were turned down on such grounds - and how many were turned down in general; we only know of those refusals that resulted in some scandal or political problem that made them noteworthy, so we lack any data that could be trusted for statistical analysis. Though from the Order's records, we know that the number of female recruits remained a fraction of the number of male recruits for a long time, and even now, long since firearms have replaced blades as the main arms of the Order, the male members outnumber the female ones. Although the popular view remains dominated not only by the Four Maidens themselves, but also by such noteworthy, exemplary members like Ser Brienne Tarth and Ser Arya Stark, whose deeds outshine all but the most famous male members of their time, so it is quite understandable that the popular depiction tends to favour female members more than history would lend credence for.'
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Jon Snow - Ser Jon Snow, now, he corrected himself; even days after the ceremony, it still felt a bit like a dream - walked from the stables, where he had tied up his horse, to the Tower of the Hand when he noticed a crowd forming at the entrance to the dungeons. Usually, the servants gave the doors there a wide berth, so what could draw them to the place?
His eyes widened for a moment when he answered his own question. Of course!
He quickly walked towards the entrance himself, Ghost matching his stride at his side. Lord Eddard could wait. If what he suspected was true, he had to verify it at once so he could report to the Four Maidens.
"What is going on here?" he asked, then had to repeat himself a bit more loudly when his question was ignored.
But as soon as the closest servants turned their heads to glance at him, this changed. "Ser Jon!" one of the maids called out.
"Make way!" another servant, this one a cook if Jon remembered his face correctly, yelled. "Make way for the Wolf Knight of the Order!"
Jon felt his cheeks burn as the crowd parted in front of him and straightened. He was wearing his armour - both for training and for safety, according to Lady Yang - but he knew all too well that it was merely plate and mail, not the intricate full plate other knights wore. But on his tabard, he wore his emblem - a white wolf on black ground. And around his upper arm, the band of the Ruby Order, all four colours gleaming.
He tried to ignore the whispers as he approached the guards standing at attention at the entrance.
"Ser," one of them, the older one, greeted him.
Jon nodded in return. "What's the reason for this?" he asked.
The two guards exchanged a glance, but before they could say anything, a voice rose from the back of the crowd: "The Master of Whispers is dead!"
Jon stiffened. Varys was dead? That was… not unexpected, but the Maidens would want to hear of this at once. "Is this true?" he asked, a bit too quickly, maybe.
The older guard clenched his teeth. "We don't know, ser. The Grand Maester has gone to check on the prisoner, but he hasn't returned yet."
"They said he was dead! I heard it myself!" someone else yelled.
Jon frowned at that, and the guard quickly said: "The Grand Maester has to confirm it, ser."
"I see." Jon didn't, not really. But he understood that all he had to do was wait, and he'd know if Varys had died or not.
So he waited. Judging by how nervous the guards seemed - the younger one was all but squirming, and Jon caught him glancing at him while he absentmindedly petted Ghost - it would probably be bad to leave them alone, anyway. He might have to bring it up with Lord Eddard; they might need more guards in such crucial spots.
He almost scoffed at his own thoughts, scowling instead. He, trying to lecture Lord Eddard? He had been knighted, but what did he really know? He could fight, he could maintain his armour and weapons, take care of his horse and Ghost, he could hunt, and he had been training and studying hard with the help of the Kingsguard, but he was still a boy.
And that was how Lady Yang sees you, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. Not a man, a little boy.
He knew it was true. But he wouldn't stay a boy forever. He would soon be a man grown. And then…
…Lady Yang will still only see a friend, not a husband, the same voice went on.
Jon clenched his teeth. He knew that. Had known it for months. And yet… his stupid heart didn't want to accept it. No matter how often he told himself that it was hopeless.
Ghost whined slightly and rubbed his head against Jon's hip. Jon ran his hand through his friend's thick fur, scratching his head between his ears, just how he liked it. "Good boy!"
Ghost chuffed in return, his tail wagging, and nosed Jon's hand.
A bit of time passed, and just when Jon was wondering if it made sense to wait any longer - he must be looking stupid, standing here, doing nothing, and he could feel the eyes of the crowd on him - the door behind the guards opened, and the Grand Maester stepped through, panting slightly - climbing the stairs must have tired him.
"Is the traitor dead?"
"Did the slaver die?"
"Is he gone?"
Voices rose from the crowd again. Jon saw the man scowl as he stepped into the yard, but when he spotted Jon, he was quick to smile. "Ah, Ser Jon. Waiting for the news?"
Jon nodded. "Is he dead?"
The Grand Maester sighed. "Indeed. I tried my best, but he succumbed to the poison he had ingested."
The crowd started murmuring and whispering so excitedly, Jon almost didn't hear Ghost growl.
He patted his flank. "Don't worry, Ghost. Varys won't hurt anyone ever again."
"We can but hope so, at least," the Grand Maester said. "I am about to inform the Lord Regent, if you'd care to accompany me, ser."
Jon shook his head. "I'll have to inform the Maidens first. And I think Father will be too busy now to see me."
The Grand Maester inclined his head, and they parted ways while the servants were already hurrying away, going back to work - and to spread the news.
Varys was dead.
"So, what do you think of my emblem?"
Jon smiled at Arya's question. She was holding up a decently made sketch showing a slightly-off grey direwolf head on red ground, surrounded by all four colours of Team Ruby. It wasn't poorly made, but it wasn't great, either, but he wouldn't say that, of course - Arya was still a bit sensitive about her relative lack of skill at needlepoint and similar crafts.
"It is nice," he said instead. At least, the colour matched the fur of Nymeria, who was resting her head on Ghost's belly in the corner. "But you only get to pick an emblem upon joining the Order. And it will be a few more years until you're ready."
Arya scowled. "I'll pass muster sooner than that, you'll see! I'll be the youngest knight ever!" That resulted in Bran frowning at her, but she seemed to ignore his expression. "And nothing says I can't make plans for my emblem!"
"I think Father actually said so, didn't he?" Jon asked, raising his eyebrows. He suppressed the slight urge to wince at calling his uncle 'father'. It felt wrong, even though he knew that if anyone were to find out about their actual relationship, the results would be catastrophic.
Arya's scowl deepened. "He said I couldn't join yet! He didn't say I couldn't join earlier than you."
Something Lord Eddard would be quick to rectify as soon as he realised his oversight, Jon knew. He didn't say that either, though.
"I'll be a knight before you!" Bran blurted out. "And I also have my emblem picked out already!"
"You copied me!"
"No, I didn't! It shows Hunter!"
Bran's depiction of his direwolf wasn't any better than Arya's, and the green colour on which it was painted was pretty off.
"Why did you pick boring green, anyway?" Arya asked,
"It's a colour no one else uses yet," Bran said.
"Pf! They will have knights using it before you can join!" Arya scoffs.
She was likely correct, but, once again, Jon didn't say it. He liked them too much for that. They might not be his actual siblings, but he would never see them as anything else. And as cousins, they were his kin anyway.
"So, what are you doing for the Order?" Arya asked after a last frown aimed at Bran.
"I was serving as a messenger for the Four Maidens," Jon replied.
Arya blinked. "That sounds boring."
"It doesn't matter if a task is boring or not, only that it is necessary," Jon quoted Lady Weiss.
Bran scoffed. "If you're not willing to work hard even if it's boring, you won't ever be a knight!"
"As if you will!"
"Please!" Jon spoke up, smiling at both of them. "If you keep squabbling, neither of you will become a knight."
"What?"
"That's unfair!"
He shook his head. "Order knights don't care whether they're first or last; they care about achieving their objective," he quoted Lady Ruby. "The order is not looking for those who seek glory, but those who humbly do what's needed."
"I am humble!"
"Me too!"
"And order knights do not fight each other, except in the training yard," Jon added.
Judging by the glare Arya aimed at the smirking Bran, she was considering dragging him to the training yard at once. But it was too late in the day for that - the sun was already setting. It would soon be time for dinner.
Which meant Jon needed to head back to the Order Headquarters. And buy some bread on the way - from a random baker, as Lady Blake had cautioned him. To think that he had to expect and be prepared for assassins was still a chilling thought. It was one thing to face enemies on the battlefield, but to expect a blade in the dark? Or a poisoned drink or food? But chilling or not, Jon had sworn an oath in the full knowledge of the danger it would cause, and he would not shirk his duties.
"Well," he said, getting up from where he had been sitting with his cousins, "I have to return to Headquarters now."
"Weren't you staying until father could talk to you?" Arya asked with a pout.
"Or until I was needed elsewhere, whichever came sooner," he gently corrected her. "And my brothers and sister expect me to bring bread for our meal." Besides, between Varys's death and the many, many duties of Lord Eddard as Lord Regent - he still had to find a new member for the Kingsguard to replace Ser Jaime, and that had been months! - Jon couldn't expect to see him at his own convenience.
"You can have some of ours," Bran offered. "We've got more than enough."
He was right, but… "We're supposed to buy from local bakers," Jon told him. Lady Weiss and Lady Blake had both stressed that the Order needed to support the local community, which meant they were buying food from the various shops in King's Landing. Something that, according to both, would foster goodwill among the people. Which made sense, of course, even though it felt a bit like bribing the smallfolk. But then, the Order had no lands to draw from, and no smallfolk owed them their loyalty, so such gestures were needed.
"Do you have to leave now?" Arya asked. "Shouldn't knights do some fasting?"
Jon chuckled at that and tousled her hair. "Would you like it if you had to go without bread so Bran could play a bit longer in the yard?"
Arya blinked, scowled at her brother, then suddenly grinned. "As long as I had lemon cakes instead…"
Jon chuckled again. Arya would never change.
But he had a mission, even one as mundane as buying bread, and he would do it. So he bid them goodbye and started towards the Keep's stable to recover his horse, Ghost at his side.
Halfway there, when they were passing one of the storage buildings lining the inner wall, Ghost suddenly growled, and Jon stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Ghost stared at the entrance to the small building, still growling, and Jon frowned. Ghost never acted like that. Not unless something was wrong… His hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
The door opened slightly, and a servant's head appeared in the gap. Jon recognised him. It was Murch, a stablehand from Winterfell - he had the same name as Murch, the best Hunter in the keep, and Jon had once mixed them up as a boy. "M'lord? What's wrong with your wolf?" he asked in a nervous tone.
"I don't know," Jon replied. "He never acts like this."
Ghost was growling louder, baring his teeth, as he stepped in front of Jon, glaring at Murch.
"Uh… Maybe he smells the blood? I killed a rat inside." Murch asked.
Jon blinked. Ghost had killed his fair share of rats, both in Winterfell as a pup and here, but he wouldn't growl like that at a rat. "I don't think that's the reason. I think…" His eyes widened. Ghost must be smelling a spy! Or an assassin! He opened his mouth to order Murch out of the building so they could search it without endangering the man when he had another thought.
Murch was nervous… What if he was held at dagger point by an assassin hiding behind the door or the wall?
Jon stepped closer. "Although… maybe there's a cat inside? Ghost hates cats." He didn't, and Murch knew that - he had seen Ghost play with one in Winterfell's stables.
"Ah… maybe. I think I saw one." Murch glanced to the side. At the space behind the door which he was holding.
Yes! Jon nodded - and then dashed forward, leg snapping up in that kick lady Yang had shown him, slamming into the door and wrenching it out from Murch's grip and into…
…the wall? Jon blinked, sword in hand. There had been no one behind the door. He whipped his head around to search the room, reaching for Murch to pull him outside to keep him safe when he caught a glimpse of a blade in Murch's hand - coming straight for Jon's throat. He started to dodge to the side, sword rising to parry, but the man was too fast, already inside Jon's reach!
But before the dagger could slice Jon's throat open, Ghost was there, his jaws clamping down on Murch's arm, tearing into the flesh as he pulled the man to the ground.
Murch grunted with pain, and his free arm drew another blade, but Jon was moving without thinking, his sword slashing down as he had drilled for so long. He felt it cut into and then clear of the man's wrist, and the dagger dropped to the ground in a shower of blood.
Even with one arm savaged by Ghost and the other almost cut at the wrist, bleeding out, Murch didn't scream - the man lashed out with his feet instead.
But Jon had been trained by Lady Yang and Ser Barristan. He blocked the attempted sweep with a kick of his own, stomping down on the leg, then moved the tip of his blade at the man's throat. "Surrender! You'll die otherwise!"
Murch laughed and muttered something Jon didn't catch - and then pushed his throat into the blade before Jon could react, cutting his own throat.
Jon blinked as the man bled out and died with a smile. How could Murch kill himself like that? Jon had known the man for years! He looked at Ghost, who had released the man's arm, though blood was still dropping from his maw. "You knew something was wrong, didn't you?"
Ghost barked, once, then bent his head down towards Murch's face, teeth bared again.
Jon gasped - was he trying to eat him? "No, stop! Ghost, don't…" He trailed off, gasping, as Ghost pulled Murch's face off, revealing another face beneath it.
And Jon finally realised what was going on.
"A Faceless Man…" he whispered.
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"Jon killed a faceless man?" Ruby Rose asked as they rushed - well, walked fast; she could have been there ages ago if she had used her Semblance - towards the courtyard.
"So we were told," Yang told her. Ruby heard the unspoken 'you were there' loud and clear.
She wasn't quite sure how to react to that. To Jon killing a Faceless Man, that was. Not to Yang scolding her, kinda. She knew to ignore that, of course. But Jon… On the one hand, he had been forced to kill someone. That was a big deal. Or should be, at least. Ruby knew how it felt to take a life. So did Blake and Yang. Maybe she'd ask Yang to talk to Jon about his experience. They got on the best.
On the other hand, Jon had killed a Faceless Man. A super-assassin who could take the appearance of someone else. Ruby was pretty sure that that was a big thing for anyone, especially one of the youngest knights in Westeros. He could be justifiably (was that the right word?) proud of that. Even though you shouldn't be proud of killing someone.
They reached the courtyard. Even if they hadn't been told where to find Jon, they wouldn't have been able to miss the crowd that had already gathered around the storage room in question. Well, it was just about dinner time, so most people in the keep would have some free time - Team RWBY had been about to head to dinner themselves when the servant Lord Eddard had sent had reached them.
Ruby licked her lips as they got closer. That was a large crowd indeed. Fortunately, someone spotted her and her friends, and amongst whispered 'The Maidens' and 'The Four Maidens have come', the crowd parted in front of them.
Ruby suppressed a relieved sigh. Asking people to make way for her was always a bother. But even when using her Semblance, she still needed free space to actually move through. Although… did she really?
She shelved the thought for later when she saw the bodies - two of them! - laid out on the ground. "Jon!"
He turned around, and Ghost followed his example. "My ladies!" He bowed his head.
Lord Eddard, who was standing next to Jon, nodded at them. "My ladies."
Most of the people were either servants in the Keep or belonged to Lord Eddard's household, Ruby realised. Her team must have been among the first to hear about this, and among the first to arrive.
"Two bodies?" Yang peered at them. "One is his victim, huh?"
Lord Eddard nodded once more. "Yes. The assassin killed Murch and stole his face. We found the body in a barrel nearby - he must not have had the opportunity to dispose of it."
Ruby glanced at the bodies and clenched her teeth when Yang knelt down and pulled the blankets covering them away. That was… Ew. Double-Ew.
"He literally stole his face…" Weiss whispered next to her.
Ruby was glad she hadn't eaten yet. She focused on the assassin's body. He had a mangled arm that looked like a beowulf had savaged it. And his other arm had been halfway cut near the wrist. And he had a hole in his throat.
"I put the blade to his throat and told him to surrender, but he pushed his throat into it. With a smile, my lady," Jon explained.
"He committed suicide?" Weiss asked. "That would fit a fanatic."
"Or someone who didn't want to suffer through an execution," Blake added.
Or torture. They might not have known that Team RWBY had put a stop to that evil practice, Ruby thought.
"The Faceless Men are said to worship a god of death," Lord Eddard said.
Ruby nodded. They knew that already. "So, why did he kill Murch?"
"To get closer to his target," Blake said. "But who was his target?" She glanced at Lord Eddard. "We didn't have much contact with Murch."
Ruby hadn't even known the man's name until his death, she realised with a bit of guilt.
"You think they were after me?" Lord Eddard's face was all stone-like.
"It is a possibility," Blake said. "But they could have just been gathering information about another target. Murch's disappearance would have served as a distraction once they had gotten what they wanted, leaving them free to kill someone else to get to their real target while you were looking for Murch."
That made sense. But it could have just been an attempt to get at Lord Eddard. Or his family.
"Well, if they are after you, we now know that your direwolves cannot be fooled by their stolen appearances," Weiss said.
Ruby nodded. Lord Eddard would be safe, so… Wait! He didn't have a direwolf. He would have to depend on his children's wolves. It wasn't funny, but she still had to struggle not to smile at the brief frown on his face.
"And Ghost will keep the Order safe," Yang said, beaming at Jon.
"Yes, my lady!"
"As long as you keep the wolves safe," Blake spoke up. "The next assassin might target the wolves first."
And there went the good mood. Ruby clenched her teeth again. Someone attacking the puppies? Over her dead body! Ruby would keep them safe!
And judging by the deep scowl on Weiss's face, her partner was with her all the way.
RWBY Order Headquarters, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and so, be on your guard - we don't know if there are more Faceless Men in the city, but we have to assume so to be on the safe side. We don't know who they are targeting. While circumstances would point at Lord Eddard the Lord Regent as their target, we cannot dismiss the possibility that they are after us or even the Order."
Ruby nodded at their friends once Blake had finished her briefing.
"We certainly have enough influence at Court to be considered an obvious target for anyone who wants to destabilise the realm - or launch a coup themselves," Weiss added. "And since we survived several assassination attempts, someone wishing us ill might decide that hiring this organisation is worth it despite their - as far as we know - ruinous rates."
Yang snorted. "I think we have made enough demonstrations to rate enough money so not every idiot can hire those assassins."
Ruby hoped that as well.
"They could also try to take your face to use it for their assassination," Blake added.
Ruby winced at that. Those people were sick! Killing innocents to take their face so they could go after their next victim? No one was safe from them!
"Fortunately, we found that direwolves can detect them - at least Ghost did." Weiss smiled at the white wolf lying on the ground at Jon's side. "We don't know if all dogs can do that, though if that were possible, someone should have tried it before."
"But if Ghost can smell them - or the blood on them - then any dog should," Jon said.
"There is likely a magical element to what they do," Blake said. "You can't just rip someone's face off and wear it like a mask."
Ruby winced at that image.
"Unless we discover that dogs can detect them, we cannot trust in such a security measure," Weiss said. "And even with Ghost around, we need to watch for any weird behaviour amongst our acquaintances and even strangers. Anyone could be a Faceless Man posing as someone else."
And that was a scary thought. You couldn't trust anyone. Ruby hated that. Sure, she could trust her team - no assassin could get them; she was sure of that - but anyone else? Their friends? Random people on the street?
"Are they in any way limited?" Brienne asked. "Can they… change their shape as well?"
"We don't know," Blake said. "It depends on how magical their… practice is."
"Do you think they could even attempt to replace Cousin Tyrion?" Lancel asked, looking pretty pale.
"I think they would have to drink too much to keep up that appearance," Yang replied with a toothy smile.
It wasn't really funny, but it still earned her a few chuckles.
"So, we need to take Jon and Ghost with us when we leave the headquarters?" Gendry asked.
"Yes," Ruby told him. "At least until we know if any dog will work." Blake would hate it, of course, but keeping their friends safe was more important than her fear of dogs who couldn't hurt her if they tried their best.
"Or until Arya and Bran grow old enough to join," Yang joked.
Jon sighed. "They already tried to get Father to let them help hunting Faceless Men with their wolves."
"He shot them down, I hope!" Ruby blurted out.
"What?"
"My lady?"
Oops. "Sorry, figure of speech." She blushed a little. "I mean, he told them no, right?"
"Yes, of course," Jon said. "But he allowed them to guard the doors to the Tower of the Hand."
"And I bet they're now the most popular people to visit or invite to your quarters," Weiss added. "Since their wolves can detect those assassins - at least, so people believe."
"Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella would not mind more visits, I think," Lancel said. "And they might be the real targets as well."
Right. Ruby pressed her lips together. Because some people thought they were the children of incest and should die for it.
"It could very well be their plan to make us think Lord Eddard is the target while they strike at someone else," Blake said. "And the royal family certainly would be a target worth hiring those assassins."
"We need more wolves," Ruby muttered. "To keep everyone safe."
"I'm afraid direwolves are somewhat rare south of the Wall, my lady," Jon said.
Yang nodded at him with another grin. "Well, maybe we need to make having a dog around fashionable."
"That would likely lead to a lot of accidents and potentially fatal mistakes," Blake said. "Even if it turns out that dogs can detect those assassins when they are posing as someone else, they would need to be trained so they don't give false positives."
"False positives, my lady?" Brienne asked.
"So that they do not growl at someone who didn't feed them, for example," Blake replied, "leading to the person to be mistaken for an assassin."
"Ah, right." Brienne nodded.
"It would certainly take a toll on Prince Tommen's cats if that were the case," Lancel said with a weak chuckle.
It was a pretty weak chuckle, too, but Ruby laughed a little anyway. She had to keep up morale as team leader and order leader by default.
"But all this is just a safety precaution," she said. "We also need to find a way to deal with those assassins so they stop threatening our friends."
"That's… a tall order, my lady," Lancel said. "The Faceless Men have been around for centuries - they date back to the time before the Doom of Valyria. Before Braavos was founded, even."
"We don't want to wipe them out," Ruby told him. "We just want them to stop threatening our friends."
"If they are a business, they should understand that some contracts are too expensive to fulfil," Weiss added.
"But they are said to kill for their god, not for money," Lancel said.
Ruby knew this. But Weiss thought that money would be important to them anyway, or they wouldn't charge such high prices.
She hoped her partner was right.
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Weiss Schnee noticed the additional security measures as soon as she entered the Tower of the Hand. And as a diligent Huntress in a time of crisis, it was only proper to check if they were up to par. So, it was with her duty in mind that she approached the adorable puppy guarding the door - next to the squad of guardsmen, double their usual number. "Hello Lady! Guarding against assassins, yes?"
Lady barked once and then nosed her midriff, begging to be petted. Weiss obliged her and also sneaked her a few scraps of dried meat she had taken from the kitchen (and had Blake check for poison) beforehand. Good girls deserved treats, after all.
"Lady Weiss?"
Ah. Weiss slowly rose and nodded. "Good morning, Lady Sansa. I see Lady is diligently guarding the tower."
"She is, yes." Lady Sansa smiled. "She has never tried to leave her post."
"As diligent as her owner," Weiss replied.
Lady Sansa smiled. "Thank you, my lady. Are you here to see Father?"
"If he has time for a brief talk, yes." Weiss patted Lady's head one more time. "Though it isn't urgent. The Lord Regent's schedule must be packed." More than usual, now that his own household had been attacked.
"I can check if he's available." Lady Sansa was about to add something when she was interrupted by an exclamation.
"Lady Weiss!"
While Lady Sansa frowned, Weiss turned to greet her sister. "Lady Arya. Good morning."
"Arya!"
The girl smiled and pointedly ignored her sister. "Are you here to help us hunt the assassin down? Nymeria is ready!"
Said puppy appeared behind Lady Arya, tongue lolling as she looked around.
"Arya! Father forbade you to leave the tower without his explicit permission!"
"Sansa! He wouldn't deny the Four Maidens the opportunity to hunt down the assassin, would he?" Arya's smile reminded Weiss of Whitley's when he tried to pull a scheme a bit too clever for a little boy.
So she patted Nymeria's head - her fur was still marvellously soft, proving she was not yet an adult wolf - and cleared her throat. "We would need more clues and at least a decent trace to have her start tracking an assassin. At the moment, we're focusing on keeping everyone safe."
"And if they want to hunt the assassin, they have Ghost," Lady Sansa added.
"Two are better than one!"
"Two?" Lord Bran had arrived as well, trailed by Hunter.
"Three!" Lady Arya said.
"Bran! Arya!" Lady Sansa put her hands on her hips and scowled at both her siblings. "Lady Weiss is here to see Father on important business! Don't try to trick her into going against his wishes!"
Weiss chuckled. "Do not worry, Lady Sansa. Just as we wouldn't let children enter the Order, we wouldn't take children with us to hunt down assassins."
"But you took Sansa when you hunted down the dust thief!" Lady Arya complained.
"That was a hunt for a pickpocket, not an assassin," Weiss replied. And, in hindsight, they shouldn't have done that either. If the Dust had ignited in Sansa's presence… "And knowing what we do now, we wouldn't do it again," she added.
That earned her scowls from both Lady Arya and Lord Bran - but Lady Sansa was frowning as well. Ah, yes, she probably didn't like being included amongst the children even though she certainly wasn't of age yet - not by Westerosi nor by Remant's standards.
"However, we could use your help in figuring out if any dog can learn how to discern those assassins. Mind," she added when both children perked up, "we still need to find a way to safely test this." Weiss had had a few ideas, but they hadn't really held up to scrutiny. They just couldn't test for this without an actual assassin present, and that would be too dangerous. But the children would be mollified, at least for a while.
Or so Weiss hoped as she followed Lady Sansa up the stairs.
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"I must confess, I am a tad surprised at how the number of private meals has dramatically risen in recent months."
Weiss knew Lord Tyrion was waiting for someone to ask a leading question in order to draw them into a conversation - or to attract more attention; the table in the Great Hall at which they were seated for dinner was quite long, and even with fewer nobles present than usual, the level of noise was still high. Still, someone had to follow convention and prod the nobleman.
But before she could do so, Lady Margaery spoke up: "And why is this a surprise for you, my lord? With the number of poisonings at Court, many will be too afraid to dine in public, preferring safer venues."
Implying that she, of course, wasn't afraid. Weiss was familiar with that kind of rhetoric as well.
And so was Lord Tyrion, judging by his grin. "Why, my lady, it's because private meals are actually more dangerous, now that we are facing a Faceless Man."
Lady Margaery frowned. "Why would that be the case?" she asked.
Weiss had an inkling, but she would prefer to let Lord Tyrion state his reason first.
Which he did after draining his cup. "Oh, but as you certainly know, the Faceless Men kill for their god. They consider it a holy gift, death, that is. They aren't wanton killers. And while they do not mind murdering a few more people to get to their target, I doubt that they would poison an entire hall's worth of people to get one man - or woman. So, if their target were to isolate themselves, that would actually make it easier for such an assassin to strike at them with poison."
Lady Margaery blinked - briefly, and without losing her composure or showing surprise, but Weiss could tell that she was taken aback. She rallied quickly, though. "But it's much harder to tamper with the food if it's prepared in private."
"Unless you have already infiltrated the household staff, of course," Lord Tyrion shot back.
"But that's a known danger now. Surely, they would not attempt what had failed before and cost one of them their life?" Lady Margaery asked.
"I think exactly because we expect that, they would expect it to work since we'd expect them not to attempt it." Lord Tyrion refilled his cup and took a large swallow. "In your place, I would ask your grandmother how such people think."
Now Lady Margaery narrowed her eyes, all pretence apparently forgotten. "I think your father would be a better choice for such a question. After all, there's a rumour that he had Varys murdered with the help of the Grand Maester because Varys knew too much about his plots and deeds."
Weiss had heard that rumour as well - and she had harboured similar suspicions herself. She still made a point of looking slightly surprised.
Lord Tyrion laughed between two more swallows. "Oh, Varys certainly knew a lot of dangerous secrets. But do you honestly think my Father is as stupid as to have Varys murdered when everyone at Court was making plans to silence Varys and blaming him for it?" He shook his head. "Father knew he just would have to wait for someone to do the deed."
"If everyone thought so, Varys would still be alive."
"Oh, but Father is, while not as smart as he likes to think he is, smarter than most nobles in his position. Not that that is as remarkable as it sounds, given the competition, of course." Lord Tyrion beamed at Lady Margaery. "Though I admit that being smarter than your grandmother would be a much more impressive feat. She truly is a force to fear, and she gets along well with the Red Viper, doesn't she?"
"I'd like to think that my family gets along with everyone with honour befitting their station," Lady Margaery replied with a frown.
"Well, except for Lord Stannis. He never forgave your father for starving him during the Rebellion. Of course, holding feasts in view of the walls was a bit much, don't you think?" Lord Tyrion emptied his cup once more, but Weiss couldn't see a sign that the alcohol affected his wits yet.
"Father tried to get him to surrender so no more lives would be lost," Lady Margaery replied.
Lord Tyrion chuckled. "Tried, indeed. Your grandmother obviously wasn't present, or he would have tried something else."
And, Weiss mentally noted, Lady Olenna wasn't present here either - which meant, unless she was ill, and Lady Margaery hadn't mentioned anything about that, had actually kept remarkably silent about her grandmother, that she was eating with someone else. And plotting.
"Not all fathers can enter a keep under false pretences, aided by people whose loyalty they bought, to massacre women and children." Lady Margaery beamed at Weiss. "We can only hope your order will prevent such dishonourable acts in the future and serve as a model for truly chivalrous knights."
Weiss smiled, though she really didn't want to be dragged into this particular confrontation. "We certainly expect our members to do their utmost to protect the innocent."
"Indeed. My nephew and niece will be very grateful for your creed, my lady." Lord Tyrion raised his cup once more.
"If your order had been present the last time war had broken out in King's Landing, we would almost assuredly not have as many problems at court as we currently do," Lady Margaery said.
"Oh, we would have a vast range of other problems. Politics, especially at court, is never easy or safe." Lord Tyrion shrugged.
"Oh, yes. Although we probably would have managed to fill your brother's spot in the Kingsguard," Lady Margaery said, smiling toothily. "I've heard a few candidates, some of them chosen by your family, refused the honour, citing they might prefer to join the Ruby Order."
"Well, I cannot say I blame them. They would not have to give up on women in this case. Have you asked your brother about volunteering, by the way?" Lord Tyrion's twisted smile matched Lady Margaery's.
Weiss sighed - inwardly. To think she had bowed out of a meal with her friends and the order to keep an eye on the court.
But someone had to be present, in case there was another incident. Someone visible, she amended her thoughts - Blake was also in the keep, after all.
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Blake Belladonna leaned out of the small window in a privy that had fallen out of use and had been walled off - mostly; they had overlooked the secret passage passing through it - and checked. Candlelight illuminated the quarters of the Grand Maester. If he were out, the candles would have been snuffed out - they were too expensive and too dangerous to be left burning in this world. So, there was no point in making the lengthy and uncomfortable trip through the forgotten air shafts to spy on Lord Tywin's office again. That would waste too much time. Even though Lord Tywin and the Grand Maester were some of the main suspects for Varys's murder, she had to focus on the threat by the Faceless Men. They had already attacked Jon, and Blake couldn't ignore the possibility that they were after the RWBY Order - or her team. Of course, they might also have been sent after Varys, though given how slow communication and travel were in this world, that would have had to be ordered - or commissioned - long before his arrest. Still, Varys had made so many enemies, it was not a far-fetched theory.
She sneaked down a more commonly known passage after checking, with eyes and ears, for guards or spies.
Though would the Faceless Men use heavy metal poisoning? They didn't know enough about those assassins to answer that, alas. And the contaminated spice offered no clues - it had been of such low quality, it had apparently only been used for the prisoners. Blake hoped that was true; anyone who regularly used the spice would be in danger.
She ducked into a narrow passage with such a low ceiling, even Weiss would have been forced to bend over to walk through it, and quickly passed through in a crouch - after checking for tracks and traces, of course. While foreign assassins were unlikely to be familiar with the secret passages, that didn't mean it was impossible for them to be aware of how to enter and start mapping out routes.
Or, she added when she smelt blood, use them to stash bodies. Although given what kind of people tended to frequent these passages, anyone might have decided to kill a rival's spy.
And, she added in her mind when she found the corpse with a missing face in a side alcove, cutting off the body's face would be an easy way to lay the blame for a murder on the Faceless Men.
And yet… She bent down. The cuts were as smooth, almost clinical, as the ones on Murch. Same area as well. If this was a copycat, they had perfectly copied the Faceless Men's modus operandi.
She sniffed the air. Nothing… Wait. There was a hint of a chemical substance. And the body was very fresh. The murder must have been recent. Which meant someone was walking around with the man's face. Either carrying it with them or wearing it as a mask.
She studied the clothes on the body - their small clothes. The murderer must have taken the rest. Good quality, but nothing expensive. A noble down on their luck might resort to this, but the body looked a bit too haggard for a noble. A servant, then. A personal servant of a noble, she would say. Not a member of the Red Keep's staff. No sign of for who they had worked for, alas.
She tried to follow the tracks, but lost them in the main secret passage. Too many guards and spies were travelling through this passage to keep track of someone specific, unless they had a unique shoeprint or something.
Which wasn't the case here. She cursed under her breath. One murderer walking around. And she needed a good excuse for how and where she found the body to alert others.
She mentally chartered a course to the closest secret door that opened into a discreet part of the keep's hallways, but was known to practically everyone. That would have to do.
She went back and grabbed the body, then made her way to the door and checked for anyone nearby. No one and nothing. Good. She dropped the body in an alcove, checked if she had left any trace - she hadn't - then stepped into the hallway and called for the guards.
Time to start a manhunt.
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and the dead servant worked for the Lannisters - one of Lord Tywin's clerks. No one remembered having seen him yesterday evening. Although not many remember seeing him yesterday at all." Blake stifled a yawn when she saw the sun rise outside. She felt tired, and her friends didn't look any better. A night spent hunting a man without success would do that to you. "The last one who remembered him was a guard at the gate - he left before I raised the alert."
"So, he might just have used this face to leave the Red Keep?" Yang asked.
Blake shrugged. "It's a possible explanation. He didn't know I made him, in any case. Or he needed the face for something in the city."
"Possible corruption? He was a clerk." Weiss frowned.
Blake shrugged again. "We don't know what he did in the city, except for which taverns and brothels he preferred."
"Sounds corrupt, alright!" Yang had made better jokes. Of course, she was tired as well.
"Jon and Ghost tried to track the man using the scent of the dead body, but…" Ruby spread her hands with a grimace. "No luck."
Blake nodded. The Faceless Men would be aware of that weakness and take precautions. Of course, depending on what they did, that would open a new weakness… But not one they could take advantage of right now. "We need sleep," she said.
"If you're saying this, we better believe it." Yang's smile took the sting out of her words, and Blake nodded at her partner. "Yes. I'll take first watch."
"You want to post watches?" Weiss asked.
"With a confirmed second Faceless Man on the loose? Yes." Blake nodded. "I wouldn't put it past such a man to leave the keep and return wearing another face just so we would be looking in the city for them."
"But… should we have searched the keep?" Ruby asked, eyes wide now and no longer dropping.
"We did search the keep," Yang said. "Without success."
Blake nodded. "We really need a way to find those people. Something we can track." Something better than disappearances. If they used some specific chemical to prepare their atrocious masks… but they didn't have a forensic analyst to help them. Although… "We might ask Marwyn for help. They have to use magic."
"Good idea!" Ruby's beaming smile turned into another yawn.
"Let's do that later today - once we've gotten some sleep. Second watch is on me," Yang said.
"Third," Weiss said before Ruby, delayed by yet another yawn, could say anything.
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"I have to confess that I've never investigated the kind of magic the Faceless Men use. To my shame, that was mainly out of fear that they might react to such an inquiry with violence in order to protect their secrets and discourage spying - they do enjoy their reputation, as far as I know, not that they haven't earned it. Nevertheless, I think it wouldn't be amiss to examine the bodies we have - they might provide more clues." Marwyn chuckled. "I should have thought of that myself, I think. But I was a bit too preoccupied with the search for the magical ruins you seek."
Yang Xiao Long wasn't sure that Marwyn was telling the truth here. She doubted that anyone had ignored the latest assassination crisis here. But as long as Marwyn was going to help now, she wouldn't mention it, and neither would her friends.
Case in point, Ruby was beaming at the man. "Thank you! We need any help we can get if we want to stop those assassins."
"Though, speaking of the search for our way home…" Weiss cut in. "How are you faring there?"
"Well, one could say I have succeeded in further narrowing down the potential leads, my lady," Marwyn said with a wry smile. "But that would only try to make light of the fact that further leads didn't pay out."
Yang saw Ruby's face fall and frowned. Her sister wasn't the right audience for such jokes that raised her hopes. But again, Marwyn was helping them.
"Thank you!" Ruby said with a slightly forced smile.
"It's my pleasure, my lady."
Yang didn't doubt that - the man loved magic. So much, he refused to admit that Aura and Semblances weren't magic. But that was his problem. Yang and her friends' problem was finding the Faceless Men. And finding a way home. And finding a way to keep their friends and everyone else depending on them in Westeros safe after they returned home.
Which was a tall order, maybe too tall. Not that Yang would say so. That kind of pessimism was for Weiss and Blake.
Still, everyone felt a bit down when they left the library - after arranging for Marwyn to examine the bodies later today. Blake looked like she was blaming herself for everything - as if she were the only one who could do anything here. Ruby blamed herself as the team's leader. And Weiss probably blamed herself because her asshole of a father had raised her that way.
Yang still hadn't gotten the full story about that scar she had 'received while earning the right to attend Beacon' out of her friend, but she was pretty sure it wasn't a pretty story.
Not that Blake's past was any better. Yang wouldn't push her on that, of course, but she had caught enough hints to be sure that Blake had some issues with abusive environments herself.
She sighed - silently; she couldn't worry her partner with the cat ears. "So, while we wait for more information, how about we train some more with our friends? I was thinking about how to deal with surprise attacks and ambushes."
"Yes. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves against people who can masquerade as anyone," Weiss said.
"We also need to train to pay attention to not only how people look but how they walk and their general body language." Blake nodded in agreement. "If we want to spot them before they strike."
"Yes!" Ruby nodded. "And we need to see what Ghost can do."
Blake winced at that, but Yang knew Ruby was correct. The direwolves were their best bet to find those assassins.
She blinked. The Faceless Men knew that as well… "I think we need to look into butchers, guys."
"Oh?" Ruby looked at her, as did Weiss. And Blake's eyes widened.
Yang nodded. "If, as we suspect, dogs aren't going to help, then the assassins might try to kill off the wolves."
"No! We need to protect them!"
Yang blinked. She knew Ruby and Weiss worked well together, but to be so synced to say the same thing without any prompting? Blake and she would have to work harder to keep up! Couldn't let Ruby and Weiss show them up!
'Contrary to the beliefs of some people, both those in favour and those opposed to the notion, the Ruby Order, even though founded and led by four women, wasn't a bastion of equality between the sexes. As the founding charter makes it clear, the Ruby Order had a strict policy of only recruiting those who could pass their stringent tests. Whether man or woman, someone who couldn't fight wouldn't become a member. Even those originally recruited for their skills at crafting, finances or even bureaucracy were expected to learn how to fight - and Ser Gendry Storm was not the only example of such a recruit who ended up excelling at it. Unfortunately, the Order didn't keep track of how many applications were turned down on such grounds - and how many were turned down in general; we only know of those refusals that resulted in some scandal or political problem that made them noteworthy, so we lack any data that could be trusted for statistical analysis. Though from the Order's records, we know that the number of female recruits remained a fraction of the number of male recruits for a long time, and even now, long since firearms have replaced blades as the main arms of the Order, the male members outnumber the female ones. Although the popular view remains dominated not only by the Four Maidens themselves, but also by such noteworthy, exemplary members like Ser Brienne Tarth and Ser Arya Stark, whose deeds outshine all but the most famous male members of their time, so it is quite understandable that the popular depiction tends to favour female members more than history would lend credence for.'
- A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Jon Snow - Ser Jon Snow, now, he corrected himself; even days after the ceremony, it still felt a bit like a dream - walked from the stables, where he had tied up his horse, to the Tower of the Hand when he noticed a crowd forming at the entrance to the dungeons. Usually, the servants gave the doors there a wide berth, so what could draw them to the place?
His eyes widened for a moment when he answered his own question. Of course!
He quickly walked towards the entrance himself, Ghost matching his stride at his side. Lord Eddard could wait. If what he suspected was true, he had to verify it at once so he could report to the Four Maidens.
"What is going on here?" he asked, then had to repeat himself a bit more loudly when his question was ignored.
But as soon as the closest servants turned their heads to glance at him, this changed. "Ser Jon!" one of the maids called out.
"Make way!" another servant, this one a cook if Jon remembered his face correctly, yelled. "Make way for the Wolf Knight of the Order!"
Jon felt his cheeks burn as the crowd parted in front of him and straightened. He was wearing his armour - both for training and for safety, according to Lady Yang - but he knew all too well that it was merely plate and mail, not the intricate full plate other knights wore. But on his tabard, he wore his emblem - a white wolf on black ground. And around his upper arm, the band of the Ruby Order, all four colours gleaming.
He tried to ignore the whispers as he approached the guards standing at attention at the entrance.
"Ser," one of them, the older one, greeted him.
Jon nodded in return. "What's the reason for this?" he asked.
The two guards exchanged a glance, but before they could say anything, a voice rose from the back of the crowd: "The Master of Whispers is dead!"
Jon stiffened. Varys was dead? That was… not unexpected, but the Maidens would want to hear of this at once. "Is this true?" he asked, a bit too quickly, maybe.
The older guard clenched his teeth. "We don't know, ser. The Grand Maester has gone to check on the prisoner, but he hasn't returned yet."
"They said he was dead! I heard it myself!" someone else yelled.
Jon frowned at that, and the guard quickly said: "The Grand Maester has to confirm it, ser."
"I see." Jon didn't, not really. But he understood that all he had to do was wait, and he'd know if Varys had died or not.
So he waited. Judging by how nervous the guards seemed - the younger one was all but squirming, and Jon caught him glancing at him while he absentmindedly petted Ghost - it would probably be bad to leave them alone, anyway. He might have to bring it up with Lord Eddard; they might need more guards in such crucial spots.
He almost scoffed at his own thoughts, scowling instead. He, trying to lecture Lord Eddard? He had been knighted, but what did he really know? He could fight, he could maintain his armour and weapons, take care of his horse and Ghost, he could hunt, and he had been training and studying hard with the help of the Kingsguard, but he was still a boy.
And that was how Lady Yang sees you, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. Not a man, a little boy.
He knew it was true. But he wouldn't stay a boy forever. He would soon be a man grown. And then…
…Lady Yang will still only see a friend, not a husband, the same voice went on.
Jon clenched his teeth. He knew that. Had known it for months. And yet… his stupid heart didn't want to accept it. No matter how often he told himself that it was hopeless.
Ghost whined slightly and rubbed his head against Jon's hip. Jon ran his hand through his friend's thick fur, scratching his head between his ears, just how he liked it. "Good boy!"
Ghost chuffed in return, his tail wagging, and nosed Jon's hand.
A bit of time passed, and just when Jon was wondering if it made sense to wait any longer - he must be looking stupid, standing here, doing nothing, and he could feel the eyes of the crowd on him - the door behind the guards opened, and the Grand Maester stepped through, panting slightly - climbing the stairs must have tired him.
"Is the traitor dead?"
"Did the slaver die?"
"Is he gone?"
Voices rose from the crowd again. Jon saw the man scowl as he stepped into the yard, but when he spotted Jon, he was quick to smile. "Ah, Ser Jon. Waiting for the news?"
Jon nodded. "Is he dead?"
The Grand Maester sighed. "Indeed. I tried my best, but he succumbed to the poison he had ingested."
The crowd started murmuring and whispering so excitedly, Jon almost didn't hear Ghost growl.
He patted his flank. "Don't worry, Ghost. Varys won't hurt anyone ever again."
"We can but hope so, at least," the Grand Maester said. "I am about to inform the Lord Regent, if you'd care to accompany me, ser."
Jon shook his head. "I'll have to inform the Maidens first. And I think Father will be too busy now to see me."
The Grand Maester inclined his head, and they parted ways while the servants were already hurrying away, going back to work - and to spread the news.
Varys was dead.
*****
"So, what do you think of my emblem?"
Jon smiled at Arya's question. She was holding up a decently made sketch showing a slightly-off grey direwolf head on red ground, surrounded by all four colours of Team Ruby. It wasn't poorly made, but it wasn't great, either, but he wouldn't say that, of course - Arya was still a bit sensitive about her relative lack of skill at needlepoint and similar crafts.
"It is nice," he said instead. At least, the colour matched the fur of Nymeria, who was resting her head on Ghost's belly in the corner. "But you only get to pick an emblem upon joining the Order. And it will be a few more years until you're ready."
Arya scowled. "I'll pass muster sooner than that, you'll see! I'll be the youngest knight ever!" That resulted in Bran frowning at her, but she seemed to ignore his expression. "And nothing says I can't make plans for my emblem!"
"I think Father actually said so, didn't he?" Jon asked, raising his eyebrows. He suppressed the slight urge to wince at calling his uncle 'father'. It felt wrong, even though he knew that if anyone were to find out about their actual relationship, the results would be catastrophic.
Arya's scowl deepened. "He said I couldn't join yet! He didn't say I couldn't join earlier than you."
Something Lord Eddard would be quick to rectify as soon as he realised his oversight, Jon knew. He didn't say that either, though.
"I'll be a knight before you!" Bran blurted out. "And I also have my emblem picked out already!"
"You copied me!"
"No, I didn't! It shows Hunter!"
Bran's depiction of his direwolf wasn't any better than Arya's, and the green colour on which it was painted was pretty off.
"Why did you pick boring green, anyway?" Arya asked,
"It's a colour no one else uses yet," Bran said.
"Pf! They will have knights using it before you can join!" Arya scoffs.
She was likely correct, but, once again, Jon didn't say it. He liked them too much for that. They might not be his actual siblings, but he would never see them as anything else. And as cousins, they were his kin anyway.
"So, what are you doing for the Order?" Arya asked after a last frown aimed at Bran.
"I was serving as a messenger for the Four Maidens," Jon replied.
Arya blinked. "That sounds boring."
"It doesn't matter if a task is boring or not, only that it is necessary," Jon quoted Lady Weiss.
Bran scoffed. "If you're not willing to work hard even if it's boring, you won't ever be a knight!"
"As if you will!"
"Please!" Jon spoke up, smiling at both of them. "If you keep squabbling, neither of you will become a knight."
"What?"
"That's unfair!"
He shook his head. "Order knights don't care whether they're first or last; they care about achieving their objective," he quoted Lady Ruby. "The order is not looking for those who seek glory, but those who humbly do what's needed."
"I am humble!"
"Me too!"
"And order knights do not fight each other, except in the training yard," Jon added.
Judging by the glare Arya aimed at the smirking Bran, she was considering dragging him to the training yard at once. But it was too late in the day for that - the sun was already setting. It would soon be time for dinner.
Which meant Jon needed to head back to the Order Headquarters. And buy some bread on the way - from a random baker, as Lady Blake had cautioned him. To think that he had to expect and be prepared for assassins was still a chilling thought. It was one thing to face enemies on the battlefield, but to expect a blade in the dark? Or a poisoned drink or food? But chilling or not, Jon had sworn an oath in the full knowledge of the danger it would cause, and he would not shirk his duties.
"Well," he said, getting up from where he had been sitting with his cousins, "I have to return to Headquarters now."
"Weren't you staying until father could talk to you?" Arya asked with a pout.
"Or until I was needed elsewhere, whichever came sooner," he gently corrected her. "And my brothers and sister expect me to bring bread for our meal." Besides, between Varys's death and the many, many duties of Lord Eddard as Lord Regent - he still had to find a new member for the Kingsguard to replace Ser Jaime, and that had been months! - Jon couldn't expect to see him at his own convenience.
"You can have some of ours," Bran offered. "We've got more than enough."
He was right, but… "We're supposed to buy from local bakers," Jon told him. Lady Weiss and Lady Blake had both stressed that the Order needed to support the local community, which meant they were buying food from the various shops in King's Landing. Something that, according to both, would foster goodwill among the people. Which made sense, of course, even though it felt a bit like bribing the smallfolk. But then, the Order had no lands to draw from, and no smallfolk owed them their loyalty, so such gestures were needed.
"Do you have to leave now?" Arya asked. "Shouldn't knights do some fasting?"
Jon chuckled at that and tousled her hair. "Would you like it if you had to go without bread so Bran could play a bit longer in the yard?"
Arya blinked, scowled at her brother, then suddenly grinned. "As long as I had lemon cakes instead…"
Jon chuckled again. Arya would never change.
But he had a mission, even one as mundane as buying bread, and he would do it. So he bid them goodbye and started towards the Keep's stable to recover his horse, Ghost at his side.
Halfway there, when they were passing one of the storage buildings lining the inner wall, Ghost suddenly growled, and Jon stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Ghost stared at the entrance to the small building, still growling, and Jon frowned. Ghost never acted like that. Not unless something was wrong… His hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
The door opened slightly, and a servant's head appeared in the gap. Jon recognised him. It was Murch, a stablehand from Winterfell - he had the same name as Murch, the best Hunter in the keep, and Jon had once mixed them up as a boy. "M'lord? What's wrong with your wolf?" he asked in a nervous tone.
"I don't know," Jon replied. "He never acts like this."
Ghost was growling louder, baring his teeth, as he stepped in front of Jon, glaring at Murch.
"Uh… Maybe he smells the blood? I killed a rat inside." Murch asked.
Jon blinked. Ghost had killed his fair share of rats, both in Winterfell as a pup and here, but he wouldn't growl like that at a rat. "I don't think that's the reason. I think…" His eyes widened. Ghost must be smelling a spy! Or an assassin! He opened his mouth to order Murch out of the building so they could search it without endangering the man when he had another thought.
Murch was nervous… What if he was held at dagger point by an assassin hiding behind the door or the wall?
Jon stepped closer. "Although… maybe there's a cat inside? Ghost hates cats." He didn't, and Murch knew that - he had seen Ghost play with one in Winterfell's stables.
"Ah… maybe. I think I saw one." Murch glanced to the side. At the space behind the door which he was holding.
Yes! Jon nodded - and then dashed forward, leg snapping up in that kick lady Yang had shown him, slamming into the door and wrenching it out from Murch's grip and into…
…the wall? Jon blinked, sword in hand. There had been no one behind the door. He whipped his head around to search the room, reaching for Murch to pull him outside to keep him safe when he caught a glimpse of a blade in Murch's hand - coming straight for Jon's throat. He started to dodge to the side, sword rising to parry, but the man was too fast, already inside Jon's reach!
But before the dagger could slice Jon's throat open, Ghost was there, his jaws clamping down on Murch's arm, tearing into the flesh as he pulled the man to the ground.
Murch grunted with pain, and his free arm drew another blade, but Jon was moving without thinking, his sword slashing down as he had drilled for so long. He felt it cut into and then clear of the man's wrist, and the dagger dropped to the ground in a shower of blood.
Even with one arm savaged by Ghost and the other almost cut at the wrist, bleeding out, Murch didn't scream - the man lashed out with his feet instead.
But Jon had been trained by Lady Yang and Ser Barristan. He blocked the attempted sweep with a kick of his own, stomping down on the leg, then moved the tip of his blade at the man's throat. "Surrender! You'll die otherwise!"
Murch laughed and muttered something Jon didn't catch - and then pushed his throat into the blade before Jon could react, cutting his own throat.
Jon blinked as the man bled out and died with a smile. How could Murch kill himself like that? Jon had known the man for years! He looked at Ghost, who had released the man's arm, though blood was still dropping from his maw. "You knew something was wrong, didn't you?"
Ghost barked, once, then bent his head down towards Murch's face, teeth bared again.
Jon gasped - was he trying to eat him? "No, stop! Ghost, don't…" He trailed off, gasping, as Ghost pulled Murch's face off, revealing another face beneath it.
And Jon finally realised what was going on.
"A Faceless Man…" he whispered.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"Jon killed a faceless man?" Ruby Rose asked as they rushed - well, walked fast; she could have been there ages ago if she had used her Semblance - towards the courtyard.
"So we were told," Yang told her. Ruby heard the unspoken 'you were there' loud and clear.
She wasn't quite sure how to react to that. To Jon killing a Faceless Man, that was. Not to Yang scolding her, kinda. She knew to ignore that, of course. But Jon… On the one hand, he had been forced to kill someone. That was a big deal. Or should be, at least. Ruby knew how it felt to take a life. So did Blake and Yang. Maybe she'd ask Yang to talk to Jon about his experience. They got on the best.
On the other hand, Jon had killed a Faceless Man. A super-assassin who could take the appearance of someone else. Ruby was pretty sure that that was a big thing for anyone, especially one of the youngest knights in Westeros. He could be justifiably (was that the right word?) proud of that. Even though you shouldn't be proud of killing someone.
They reached the courtyard. Even if they hadn't been told where to find Jon, they wouldn't have been able to miss the crowd that had already gathered around the storage room in question. Well, it was just about dinner time, so most people in the keep would have some free time - Team RWBY had been about to head to dinner themselves when the servant Lord Eddard had sent had reached them.
Ruby licked her lips as they got closer. That was a large crowd indeed. Fortunately, someone spotted her and her friends, and amongst whispered 'The Maidens' and 'The Four Maidens have come', the crowd parted in front of them.
Ruby suppressed a relieved sigh. Asking people to make way for her was always a bother. But even when using her Semblance, she still needed free space to actually move through. Although… did she really?
She shelved the thought for later when she saw the bodies - two of them! - laid out on the ground. "Jon!"
He turned around, and Ghost followed his example. "My ladies!" He bowed his head.
Lord Eddard, who was standing next to Jon, nodded at them. "My ladies."
Most of the people were either servants in the Keep or belonged to Lord Eddard's household, Ruby realised. Her team must have been among the first to hear about this, and among the first to arrive.
"Two bodies?" Yang peered at them. "One is his victim, huh?"
Lord Eddard nodded once more. "Yes. The assassin killed Murch and stole his face. We found the body in a barrel nearby - he must not have had the opportunity to dispose of it."
Ruby glanced at the bodies and clenched her teeth when Yang knelt down and pulled the blankets covering them away. That was… Ew. Double-Ew.
"He literally stole his face…" Weiss whispered next to her.
Ruby was glad she hadn't eaten yet. She focused on the assassin's body. He had a mangled arm that looked like a beowulf had savaged it. And his other arm had been halfway cut near the wrist. And he had a hole in his throat.
"I put the blade to his throat and told him to surrender, but he pushed his throat into it. With a smile, my lady," Jon explained.
"He committed suicide?" Weiss asked. "That would fit a fanatic."
"Or someone who didn't want to suffer through an execution," Blake added.
Or torture. They might not have known that Team RWBY had put a stop to that evil practice, Ruby thought.
"The Faceless Men are said to worship a god of death," Lord Eddard said.
Ruby nodded. They knew that already. "So, why did he kill Murch?"
"To get closer to his target," Blake said. "But who was his target?" She glanced at Lord Eddard. "We didn't have much contact with Murch."
Ruby hadn't even known the man's name until his death, she realised with a bit of guilt.
"You think they were after me?" Lord Eddard's face was all stone-like.
"It is a possibility," Blake said. "But they could have just been gathering information about another target. Murch's disappearance would have served as a distraction once they had gotten what they wanted, leaving them free to kill someone else to get to their real target while you were looking for Murch."
That made sense. But it could have just been an attempt to get at Lord Eddard. Or his family.
"Well, if they are after you, we now know that your direwolves cannot be fooled by their stolen appearances," Weiss said.
Ruby nodded. Lord Eddard would be safe, so… Wait! He didn't have a direwolf. He would have to depend on his children's wolves. It wasn't funny, but she still had to struggle not to smile at the brief frown on his face.
"And Ghost will keep the Order safe," Yang said, beaming at Jon.
"Yes, my lady!"
"As long as you keep the wolves safe," Blake spoke up. "The next assassin might target the wolves first."
And there went the good mood. Ruby clenched her teeth again. Someone attacking the puppies? Over her dead body! Ruby would keep them safe!
And judging by the deep scowl on Weiss's face, her partner was with her all the way.
*****
RWBY Order Headquarters, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and so, be on your guard - we don't know if there are more Faceless Men in the city, but we have to assume so to be on the safe side. We don't know who they are targeting. While circumstances would point at Lord Eddard the Lord Regent as their target, we cannot dismiss the possibility that they are after us or even the Order."
Ruby nodded at their friends once Blake had finished her briefing.
"We certainly have enough influence at Court to be considered an obvious target for anyone who wants to destabilise the realm - or launch a coup themselves," Weiss added. "And since we survived several assassination attempts, someone wishing us ill might decide that hiring this organisation is worth it despite their - as far as we know - ruinous rates."
Yang snorted. "I think we have made enough demonstrations to rate enough money so not every idiot can hire those assassins."
Ruby hoped that as well.
"They could also try to take your face to use it for their assassination," Blake added.
Ruby winced at that. Those people were sick! Killing innocents to take their face so they could go after their next victim? No one was safe from them!
"Fortunately, we found that direwolves can detect them - at least Ghost did." Weiss smiled at the white wolf lying on the ground at Jon's side. "We don't know if all dogs can do that, though if that were possible, someone should have tried it before."
"But if Ghost can smell them - or the blood on them - then any dog should," Jon said.
"There is likely a magical element to what they do," Blake said. "You can't just rip someone's face off and wear it like a mask."
Ruby winced at that image.
"Unless we discover that dogs can detect them, we cannot trust in such a security measure," Weiss said. "And even with Ghost around, we need to watch for any weird behaviour amongst our acquaintances and even strangers. Anyone could be a Faceless Man posing as someone else."
And that was a scary thought. You couldn't trust anyone. Ruby hated that. Sure, she could trust her team - no assassin could get them; she was sure of that - but anyone else? Their friends? Random people on the street?
"Are they in any way limited?" Brienne asked. "Can they… change their shape as well?"
"We don't know," Blake said. "It depends on how magical their… practice is."
"Do you think they could even attempt to replace Cousin Tyrion?" Lancel asked, looking pretty pale.
"I think they would have to drink too much to keep up that appearance," Yang replied with a toothy smile.
It wasn't really funny, but it still earned her a few chuckles.
"So, we need to take Jon and Ghost with us when we leave the headquarters?" Gendry asked.
"Yes," Ruby told him. "At least until we know if any dog will work." Blake would hate it, of course, but keeping their friends safe was more important than her fear of dogs who couldn't hurt her if they tried their best.
"Or until Arya and Bran grow old enough to join," Yang joked.
Jon sighed. "They already tried to get Father to let them help hunting Faceless Men with their wolves."
"He shot them down, I hope!" Ruby blurted out.
"What?"
"My lady?"
Oops. "Sorry, figure of speech." She blushed a little. "I mean, he told them no, right?"
"Yes, of course," Jon said. "But he allowed them to guard the doors to the Tower of the Hand."
"And I bet they're now the most popular people to visit or invite to your quarters," Weiss added. "Since their wolves can detect those assassins - at least, so people believe."
"Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella would not mind more visits, I think," Lancel said. "And they might be the real targets as well."
Right. Ruby pressed her lips together. Because some people thought they were the children of incest and should die for it.
"It could very well be their plan to make us think Lord Eddard is the target while they strike at someone else," Blake said. "And the royal family certainly would be a target worth hiring those assassins."
"We need more wolves," Ruby muttered. "To keep everyone safe."
"I'm afraid direwolves are somewhat rare south of the Wall, my lady," Jon said.
Yang nodded at him with another grin. "Well, maybe we need to make having a dog around fashionable."
"That would likely lead to a lot of accidents and potentially fatal mistakes," Blake said. "Even if it turns out that dogs can detect those assassins when they are posing as someone else, they would need to be trained so they don't give false positives."
"False positives, my lady?" Brienne asked.
"So that they do not growl at someone who didn't feed them, for example," Blake replied, "leading to the person to be mistaken for an assassin."
"Ah, right." Brienne nodded.
"It would certainly take a toll on Prince Tommen's cats if that were the case," Lancel said with a weak chuckle.
It was a pretty weak chuckle, too, but Ruby laughed a little anyway. She had to keep up morale as team leader and order leader by default.
"But all this is just a safety precaution," she said. "We also need to find a way to deal with those assassins so they stop threatening our friends."
"That's… a tall order, my lady," Lancel said. "The Faceless Men have been around for centuries - they date back to the time before the Doom of Valyria. Before Braavos was founded, even."
"We don't want to wipe them out," Ruby told him. "We just want them to stop threatening our friends."
"If they are a business, they should understand that some contracts are too expensive to fulfil," Weiss added.
"But they are said to kill for their god, not for money," Lancel said.
Ruby knew this. But Weiss thought that money would be important to them anyway, or they wouldn't charge such high prices.
She hoped her partner was right.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Weiss Schnee noticed the additional security measures as soon as she entered the Tower of the Hand. And as a diligent Huntress in a time of crisis, it was only proper to check if they were up to par. So, it was with her duty in mind that she approached the adorable puppy guarding the door - next to the squad of guardsmen, double their usual number. "Hello Lady! Guarding against assassins, yes?"
Lady barked once and then nosed her midriff, begging to be petted. Weiss obliged her and also sneaked her a few scraps of dried meat she had taken from the kitchen (and had Blake check for poison) beforehand. Good girls deserved treats, after all.
"Lady Weiss?"
Ah. Weiss slowly rose and nodded. "Good morning, Lady Sansa. I see Lady is diligently guarding the tower."
"She is, yes." Lady Sansa smiled. "She has never tried to leave her post."
"As diligent as her owner," Weiss replied.
Lady Sansa smiled. "Thank you, my lady. Are you here to see Father?"
"If he has time for a brief talk, yes." Weiss patted Lady's head one more time. "Though it isn't urgent. The Lord Regent's schedule must be packed." More than usual, now that his own household had been attacked.
"I can check if he's available." Lady Sansa was about to add something when she was interrupted by an exclamation.
"Lady Weiss!"
While Lady Sansa frowned, Weiss turned to greet her sister. "Lady Arya. Good morning."
"Arya!"
The girl smiled and pointedly ignored her sister. "Are you here to help us hunt the assassin down? Nymeria is ready!"
Said puppy appeared behind Lady Arya, tongue lolling as she looked around.
"Arya! Father forbade you to leave the tower without his explicit permission!"
"Sansa! He wouldn't deny the Four Maidens the opportunity to hunt down the assassin, would he?" Arya's smile reminded Weiss of Whitley's when he tried to pull a scheme a bit too clever for a little boy.
So she patted Nymeria's head - her fur was still marvellously soft, proving she was not yet an adult wolf - and cleared her throat. "We would need more clues and at least a decent trace to have her start tracking an assassin. At the moment, we're focusing on keeping everyone safe."
"And if they want to hunt the assassin, they have Ghost," Lady Sansa added.
"Two are better than one!"
"Two?" Lord Bran had arrived as well, trailed by Hunter.
"Three!" Lady Arya said.
"Bran! Arya!" Lady Sansa put her hands on her hips and scowled at both her siblings. "Lady Weiss is here to see Father on important business! Don't try to trick her into going against his wishes!"
Weiss chuckled. "Do not worry, Lady Sansa. Just as we wouldn't let children enter the Order, we wouldn't take children with us to hunt down assassins."
"But you took Sansa when you hunted down the dust thief!" Lady Arya complained.
"That was a hunt for a pickpocket, not an assassin," Weiss replied. And, in hindsight, they shouldn't have done that either. If the Dust had ignited in Sansa's presence… "And knowing what we do now, we wouldn't do it again," she added.
That earned her scowls from both Lady Arya and Lord Bran - but Lady Sansa was frowning as well. Ah, yes, she probably didn't like being included amongst the children even though she certainly wasn't of age yet - not by Westerosi nor by Remant's standards.
"However, we could use your help in figuring out if any dog can learn how to discern those assassins. Mind," she added when both children perked up, "we still need to find a way to safely test this." Weiss had had a few ideas, but they hadn't really held up to scrutiny. They just couldn't test for this without an actual assassin present, and that would be too dangerous. But the children would be mollified, at least for a while.
Or so Weiss hoped as she followed Lady Sansa up the stairs.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"I must confess, I am a tad surprised at how the number of private meals has dramatically risen in recent months."
Weiss knew Lord Tyrion was waiting for someone to ask a leading question in order to draw them into a conversation - or to attract more attention; the table in the Great Hall at which they were seated for dinner was quite long, and even with fewer nobles present than usual, the level of noise was still high. Still, someone had to follow convention and prod the nobleman.
But before she could do so, Lady Margaery spoke up: "And why is this a surprise for you, my lord? With the number of poisonings at Court, many will be too afraid to dine in public, preferring safer venues."
Implying that she, of course, wasn't afraid. Weiss was familiar with that kind of rhetoric as well.
And so was Lord Tyrion, judging by his grin. "Why, my lady, it's because private meals are actually more dangerous, now that we are facing a Faceless Man."
Lady Margaery frowned. "Why would that be the case?" she asked.
Weiss had an inkling, but she would prefer to let Lord Tyrion state his reason first.
Which he did after draining his cup. "Oh, but as you certainly know, the Faceless Men kill for their god. They consider it a holy gift, death, that is. They aren't wanton killers. And while they do not mind murdering a few more people to get to their target, I doubt that they would poison an entire hall's worth of people to get one man - or woman. So, if their target were to isolate themselves, that would actually make it easier for such an assassin to strike at them with poison."
Lady Margaery blinked - briefly, and without losing her composure or showing surprise, but Weiss could tell that she was taken aback. She rallied quickly, though. "But it's much harder to tamper with the food if it's prepared in private."
"Unless you have already infiltrated the household staff, of course," Lord Tyrion shot back.
"But that's a known danger now. Surely, they would not attempt what had failed before and cost one of them their life?" Lady Margaery asked.
"I think exactly because we expect that, they would expect it to work since we'd expect them not to attempt it." Lord Tyrion refilled his cup and took a large swallow. "In your place, I would ask your grandmother how such people think."
Now Lady Margaery narrowed her eyes, all pretence apparently forgotten. "I think your father would be a better choice for such a question. After all, there's a rumour that he had Varys murdered with the help of the Grand Maester because Varys knew too much about his plots and deeds."
Weiss had heard that rumour as well - and she had harboured similar suspicions herself. She still made a point of looking slightly surprised.
Lord Tyrion laughed between two more swallows. "Oh, Varys certainly knew a lot of dangerous secrets. But do you honestly think my Father is as stupid as to have Varys murdered when everyone at Court was making plans to silence Varys and blaming him for it?" He shook his head. "Father knew he just would have to wait for someone to do the deed."
"If everyone thought so, Varys would still be alive."
"Oh, but Father is, while not as smart as he likes to think he is, smarter than most nobles in his position. Not that that is as remarkable as it sounds, given the competition, of course." Lord Tyrion beamed at Lady Margaery. "Though I admit that being smarter than your grandmother would be a much more impressive feat. She truly is a force to fear, and she gets along well with the Red Viper, doesn't she?"
"I'd like to think that my family gets along with everyone with honour befitting their station," Lady Margaery replied with a frown.
"Well, except for Lord Stannis. He never forgave your father for starving him during the Rebellion. Of course, holding feasts in view of the walls was a bit much, don't you think?" Lord Tyrion emptied his cup once more, but Weiss couldn't see a sign that the alcohol affected his wits yet.
"Father tried to get him to surrender so no more lives would be lost," Lady Margaery replied.
Lord Tyrion chuckled. "Tried, indeed. Your grandmother obviously wasn't present, or he would have tried something else."
And, Weiss mentally noted, Lady Olenna wasn't present here either - which meant, unless she was ill, and Lady Margaery hadn't mentioned anything about that, had actually kept remarkably silent about her grandmother, that she was eating with someone else. And plotting.
"Not all fathers can enter a keep under false pretences, aided by people whose loyalty they bought, to massacre women and children." Lady Margaery beamed at Weiss. "We can only hope your order will prevent such dishonourable acts in the future and serve as a model for truly chivalrous knights."
Weiss smiled, though she really didn't want to be dragged into this particular confrontation. "We certainly expect our members to do their utmost to protect the innocent."
"Indeed. My nephew and niece will be very grateful for your creed, my lady." Lord Tyrion raised his cup once more.
"If your order had been present the last time war had broken out in King's Landing, we would almost assuredly not have as many problems at court as we currently do," Lady Margaery said.
"Oh, we would have a vast range of other problems. Politics, especially at court, is never easy or safe." Lord Tyrion shrugged.
"Oh, yes. Although we probably would have managed to fill your brother's spot in the Kingsguard," Lady Margaery said, smiling toothily. "I've heard a few candidates, some of them chosen by your family, refused the honour, citing they might prefer to join the Ruby Order."
"Well, I cannot say I blame them. They would not have to give up on women in this case. Have you asked your brother about volunteering, by the way?" Lord Tyrion's twisted smile matched Lady Margaery's.
Weiss sighed - inwardly. To think she had bowed out of a meal with her friends and the order to keep an eye on the court.
But someone had to be present, in case there was another incident. Someone visible, she amended her thoughts - Blake was also in the keep, after all.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Blake Belladonna leaned out of the small window in a privy that had fallen out of use and had been walled off - mostly; they had overlooked the secret passage passing through it - and checked. Candlelight illuminated the quarters of the Grand Maester. If he were out, the candles would have been snuffed out - they were too expensive and too dangerous to be left burning in this world. So, there was no point in making the lengthy and uncomfortable trip through the forgotten air shafts to spy on Lord Tywin's office again. That would waste too much time. Even though Lord Tywin and the Grand Maester were some of the main suspects for Varys's murder, she had to focus on the threat by the Faceless Men. They had already attacked Jon, and Blake couldn't ignore the possibility that they were after the RWBY Order - or her team. Of course, they might also have been sent after Varys, though given how slow communication and travel were in this world, that would have had to be ordered - or commissioned - long before his arrest. Still, Varys had made so many enemies, it was not a far-fetched theory.
She sneaked down a more commonly known passage after checking, with eyes and ears, for guards or spies.
Though would the Faceless Men use heavy metal poisoning? They didn't know enough about those assassins to answer that, alas. And the contaminated spice offered no clues - it had been of such low quality, it had apparently only been used for the prisoners. Blake hoped that was true; anyone who regularly used the spice would be in danger.
She ducked into a narrow passage with such a low ceiling, even Weiss would have been forced to bend over to walk through it, and quickly passed through in a crouch - after checking for tracks and traces, of course. While foreign assassins were unlikely to be familiar with the secret passages, that didn't mean it was impossible for them to be aware of how to enter and start mapping out routes.
Or, she added when she smelt blood, use them to stash bodies. Although given what kind of people tended to frequent these passages, anyone might have decided to kill a rival's spy.
And, she added in her mind when she found the corpse with a missing face in a side alcove, cutting off the body's face would be an easy way to lay the blame for a murder on the Faceless Men.
And yet… She bent down. The cuts were as smooth, almost clinical, as the ones on Murch. Same area as well. If this was a copycat, they had perfectly copied the Faceless Men's modus operandi.
She sniffed the air. Nothing… Wait. There was a hint of a chemical substance. And the body was very fresh. The murder must have been recent. Which meant someone was walking around with the man's face. Either carrying it with them or wearing it as a mask.
She studied the clothes on the body - their small clothes. The murderer must have taken the rest. Good quality, but nothing expensive. A noble down on their luck might resort to this, but the body looked a bit too haggard for a noble. A servant, then. A personal servant of a noble, she would say. Not a member of the Red Keep's staff. No sign of for who they had worked for, alas.
She tried to follow the tracks, but lost them in the main secret passage. Too many guards and spies were travelling through this passage to keep track of someone specific, unless they had a unique shoeprint or something.
Which wasn't the case here. She cursed under her breath. One murderer walking around. And she needed a good excuse for how and where she found the body to alert others.
She mentally chartered a course to the closest secret door that opened into a discreet part of the keep's hallways, but was known to practically everyone. That would have to do.
She went back and grabbed the body, then made her way to the door and checked for anyone nearby. No one and nothing. Good. She dropped the body in an alcove, checked if she had left any trace - she hadn't - then stepped into the hallway and called for the guards.
Time to start a manhunt.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and the dead servant worked for the Lannisters - one of Lord Tywin's clerks. No one remembered having seen him yesterday evening. Although not many remember seeing him yesterday at all." Blake stifled a yawn when she saw the sun rise outside. She felt tired, and her friends didn't look any better. A night spent hunting a man without success would do that to you. "The last one who remembered him was a guard at the gate - he left before I raised the alert."
"So, he might just have used this face to leave the Red Keep?" Yang asked.
Blake shrugged. "It's a possible explanation. He didn't know I made him, in any case. Or he needed the face for something in the city."
"Possible corruption? He was a clerk." Weiss frowned.
Blake shrugged again. "We don't know what he did in the city, except for which taverns and brothels he preferred."
"Sounds corrupt, alright!" Yang had made better jokes. Of course, she was tired as well.
"Jon and Ghost tried to track the man using the scent of the dead body, but…" Ruby spread her hands with a grimace. "No luck."
Blake nodded. The Faceless Men would be aware of that weakness and take precautions. Of course, depending on what they did, that would open a new weakness… But not one they could take advantage of right now. "We need sleep," she said.
"If you're saying this, we better believe it." Yang's smile took the sting out of her words, and Blake nodded at her partner. "Yes. I'll take first watch."
"You want to post watches?" Weiss asked.
"With a confirmed second Faceless Man on the loose? Yes." Blake nodded. "I wouldn't put it past such a man to leave the keep and return wearing another face just so we would be looking in the city for them."
"But… should we have searched the keep?" Ruby asked, eyes wide now and no longer dropping.
"We did search the keep," Yang said. "Without success."
Blake nodded. "We really need a way to find those people. Something we can track." Something better than disappearances. If they used some specific chemical to prepare their atrocious masks… but they didn't have a forensic analyst to help them. Although… "We might ask Marwyn for help. They have to use magic."
"Good idea!" Ruby's beaming smile turned into another yawn.
"Let's do that later today - once we've gotten some sleep. Second watch is on me," Yang said.
"Third," Weiss said before Ruby, delayed by yet another yawn, could say anything.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"I have to confess that I've never investigated the kind of magic the Faceless Men use. To my shame, that was mainly out of fear that they might react to such an inquiry with violence in order to protect their secrets and discourage spying - they do enjoy their reputation, as far as I know, not that they haven't earned it. Nevertheless, I think it wouldn't be amiss to examine the bodies we have - they might provide more clues." Marwyn chuckled. "I should have thought of that myself, I think. But I was a bit too preoccupied with the search for the magical ruins you seek."
Yang Xiao Long wasn't sure that Marwyn was telling the truth here. She doubted that anyone had ignored the latest assassination crisis here. But as long as Marwyn was going to help now, she wouldn't mention it, and neither would her friends.
Case in point, Ruby was beaming at the man. "Thank you! We need any help we can get if we want to stop those assassins."
"Though, speaking of the search for our way home…" Weiss cut in. "How are you faring there?"
"Well, one could say I have succeeded in further narrowing down the potential leads, my lady," Marwyn said with a wry smile. "But that would only try to make light of the fact that further leads didn't pay out."
Yang saw Ruby's face fall and frowned. Her sister wasn't the right audience for such jokes that raised her hopes. But again, Marwyn was helping them.
"Thank you!" Ruby said with a slightly forced smile.
"It's my pleasure, my lady."
Yang didn't doubt that - the man loved magic. So much, he refused to admit that Aura and Semblances weren't magic. But that was his problem. Yang and her friends' problem was finding the Faceless Men. And finding a way home. And finding a way to keep their friends and everyone else depending on them in Westeros safe after they returned home.
Which was a tall order, maybe too tall. Not that Yang would say so. That kind of pessimism was for Weiss and Blake.
Still, everyone felt a bit down when they left the library - after arranging for Marwyn to examine the bodies later today. Blake looked like she was blaming herself for everything - as if she were the only one who could do anything here. Ruby blamed herself as the team's leader. And Weiss probably blamed herself because her asshole of a father had raised her that way.
Yang still hadn't gotten the full story about that scar she had 'received while earning the right to attend Beacon' out of her friend, but she was pretty sure it wasn't a pretty story.
Not that Blake's past was any better. Yang wouldn't push her on that, of course, but she had caught enough hints to be sure that Blake had some issues with abusive environments herself.
She sighed - silently; she couldn't worry her partner with the cat ears. "So, while we wait for more information, how about we train some more with our friends? I was thinking about how to deal with surprise attacks and ambushes."
"Yes. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves against people who can masquerade as anyone," Weiss said.
"We also need to train to pay attention to not only how people look but how they walk and their general body language." Blake nodded in agreement. "If we want to spot them before they strike."
"Yes!" Ruby nodded. "And we need to see what Ghost can do."
Blake winced at that, but Yang knew Ruby was correct. The direwolves were their best bet to find those assassins.
She blinked. The Faceless Men knew that as well… "I think we need to look into butchers, guys."
"Oh?" Ruby looked at her, as did Weiss. And Blake's eyes widened.
Yang nodded. "If, as we suspect, dogs aren't going to help, then the assassins might try to kill off the wolves."
"No! We need to protect them!"
Yang blinked. She knew Ruby and Weiss worked well together, but to be so synced to say the same thing without any prompting? Blake and she would have to work harder to keep up! Couldn't let Ruby and Weiss show them up!
*****