From Westeros to Essos : The Crusader King

Chapter 22 – Land Ahoy!

< Close to Volantis, Konrad Arryn>

The trip to the Valyria was successful, to say the least. Not only had they found some high-quality weapons and shields, but the letter from that Valyrian Lord was invaluable for any maester. The simple fact that House Targaryen was the reason behind the Doom, was worrying, alas that didn't mean all of them were mad like a certain king.

Thinking about the last Targaryen king, Konrad couldn't help but remember his father, who had become the hand of the king, living in the King's Landing away from home. To be truthful with himself, his memories of his father were far too few and if not for Ser Tyrek and Andar's own stories, Konrad was more than sure that he would have forgotten entirely about his father.

As for his mother, may God bless her soul, Andar told him a lot of stories, both funny and sad, but above all, Konrad could see that his uncle truly loved his big sister.

Sadly, almost a moon ago, he lost his family and instead found a new one. Gendel and Nyssa were fun to be around for certain, but above all, Konrad loved spending time with the other children, teaching them how to use a sword or even what Nyssa taught him. For him, having children of his age to be around was something he didn't know he missed until he joined them.

Yet at the same time, it was, in a way, strange for Konrad to play with children of his age, and as much as he would rather not remember this, the first time he played with them it was awkward. But as the days passed, so did his awkwardness, and after a week of spending time with them, Konrad could happily admit that he joined being a kid for once, despite everything that he had to do and think about.

When he wasn't learning from Nyssa or playing with the kids, Konrad was training with Gendel. Truth be told, while Ser Tyrek and his older self's memories taught him how to be an honorable knight, Gendel's training was more about surviving in the middle of the battle. Strangely enough, as dishonorable as one might find this kind of fighting style, Konrad found himself learning more in a week about staying alive than he did while training with Tyrek or Andar after all a knight can become infantry in a moment.

"My lord, did you hear what I said?"

Konrad was brought up from his thoughts, by Nyssa's amused voice.

"I'm sorry, my lady, I was miles away. What were you saying?"

Rather than answering at once, Nyssa first rolled her eyes at her lord before smiling gently.

"Of that, I'm certain, my lord. As for what I was saying, we are close to the shore of Volantis. What do you want me to do? Anchor somewhere in the port or away from it?"

Hearing Nyssa's words, Konrad realized that this was an important decision, he dares to say might even decide how everyone will live their lives from this point onwards. Seeing how seriously her new lord took the choice she gave him, Nyssa decided to be quiet and wait for him to speak, and while she knew that this was a harsh choice forced on a seven namedays old boy, in the end, he was the boy who saved them all from a fate worse than death.

Stopping inside the port would have a disastrous result as the slavers would do anything to capture them as soon as the anchor in the port.

As for the second option… landing away from the city was probably their safest bet. However, as much as he wanted to say otherwise, the truth was that no place near any of the slave cities.

In the end, Konrad decided on the second option, and if God willed it, they wouldn't have to fight when the ship landed, so Konrad took a deep breath before looking back at Nyssa.

"My lady, I think we should avoid the port and anchor away from the city. I don't want to risk our people being captured by the slavers or worse getting involved in their acts of so-called goodwill for a lord of Westeros. We have enough troubles as it is."

As she heard his words, Nyssa nodded in agreement, knowing that Konrad had made a wise decision. She turned to the helm and steered the ship as far away from the city as she could, where they could hopefully land without attracting too much attention.

"Very well, my lord. I will do as you say. Let us hope that Volantis will be kind to us if wors come true, or at least leave us alone if God wills it."

A few hours later, they finally reached their destination. Nyssa ordered the crew to lower the anchor and prepare the boats. She then went to Konrad's cabin, where he was resting after a long day of studying and training. She knocked on the door and entered when he invited her in.

 "My lord, we have arrived. We are a few kilometers away from Volantis, in a hidden cove. There is a forest nearby, where we can gather some wood and food. Would you join Gendel to Volantis or would you remain here with me and the others?"

Without wasting any more time, Konrad quickly answered, feeling as excited as one could be.

"I'm going!"

Nyssa smiled at her young lord's enthusiasm, after all, while she and the others took care of him, her lord was missing his family more than anything.

Losing his nephew was a hard hit for Ser Tyrek, but for him was many times worse. While Ser Tyrek saw Konrad as his lord, Andar was the boy's uncle, and losing him over a stupid reason broke the young knight.

Over the last moon, he and Tyrek had killed more than fifteen slavers crew, and pirates using some sellswords as extra muscles. Thank the Old and New Gods for the late prince and the small fortune that he gave to Tyrek. With those gold dragons, it became quite easy to find where the pirates and slavers lived while not working and using, the sellswords made it possible for him and Tyrek to stay alive for Konrad.

And now, as he stood on the shore of Volantis, gazing at the sea with a mixture of hope and despair. He had not given up on his nephew, but he knew the chances of finding him anytime soon were slim. He had been captured by slavers more than a moon ago, and no one knew where they had taken him, or at least no one was dumb enough to talk.

He turned his head and saw Tyrek Lannister, organizing the sellswords for another attack. They had stumbled across a slaver's crew that was unloading some captives from their ship, and they decided to strike. Yet Tyrek's ruthlessness and fearlessness in his quest for vengeance, made Andar worried about his sanity. Tyrek had lost more than his lord, he had lost a son in all but blood. For both of them, their mistake would always follow them as a reminder of what happened when they were not careful.

Letting out a sigh, Andar walked over to Tyrek and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

Tyrek nodded, his green eyes burning with determination. "Aye, let's go. Maybe we'll find some clue about our young lord among these bastards."

Andar hoped he was right, but he doubted it. They had searched dozens of ships and camps, but as much as it pains him, they had found no trace of his nephew. Closing his eyes slightly, he prayed to the gods that Konrad was safe and happy somewhere, even if he never saw him again.

Them killing slavers wasn't all that welcomed by the triarchs of Volantis but, no one dared to attack them yet, and so the two knights led the sellswords towards the slaver's ship, which was docked at a small pier near the city walls. They had scouted the area many times in the past and found a good spot to ambush the slavers from a hill overlooking the pier. Using the same tactics once more, they waited until the slavers were busy unloading their human cargo, before giving the signal to attack.

Tyrek ordered some of the sellswords to use their bows and arrows, and rain death from above. While he and Andar, along with the rest of the sellswords, charged downhill towards the ship, swords, and axes in one hand and shields in the other, they caught the slavers by surprise, and quickly closed the distance.

Even though the slavers weren't outnumbered by Andar and the others, they were outmatched. They wore only leather and cloth, while Andar and his men wore steel armor and helmets. The slavers had no time to grab their weapons or shields and were cut down like lambs at the slaughter. Some of them tried to run away, but they were shot by the archers before they could even make a few steps.

Andar fought like a savage, slashing and stabbing at any slaver who crossed his path. He was looking for any sign of his nephew, hoping to find him among the captives. He searched every face, every body, every piece of clothing, but he saw no trace of his kin.

When he reached the ship, and climbed aboard, to his dismay, he found more slavers inside, trying to defend themselves or escape, all thanks to the slaves rebelling against their captors. The few that managed to free themselves from the slaves, ended up killed without mercy, at the hands of an angry knight. Yet despite searching every cabin, every chest, every corner of the ship, Andar didn't find his nephew anywhere.

Once again, he failed, and once again his frustration increased as he was slowly drifting into despair. Even though he did a good deed and killed more slavers, he did not find his nephew.

Just as Andar's mind started imagining dark thoughts, he heard Tyrek's voice behind him, calling his name. turning around, he found him standing on the deck, covered in blood and sweat, with a grim expression.

"Andar, we have searched the whole ship. Another bloody failure."

Andar felt a lump in his throat as he remembered his earlier thoughts.

"Come on, let's go back to our camp. Maybe we'll have better luck next time."

Andar followed Tyrek off the ship, feeling numb and hopeless. He looked at the sea one last time, wondering if Konrad was still out there somewhere, or if he had already met his fate.

Just as the two knights walked past the now freed slaves, a woman in her sixties grabbed Andar's hand bringing the young lad from his thoughts.

"Thank you, thank you, my lord. You are the breaker of chains, the savior of the downtrodden. You have come to free us from the slavers, just like the prophecy said. You are the white snow lord, the chosen one of the true faith. He will lead us to a new dawn, a new era of peace and justice. He is the one we have been waiting for."

Andar was confused and startled by the woman's words and because of that he tried to pull his hand away, but she held on tightly, almost like her life depended on it. Turning to look at his friend, Andar saw Tyrek shrug and shake his head, he too had no idea what she was talking about.

"Let go of me, woman. I am no lord, no breaker of chains, no chosen one. I am just a knight, looking for my nephew."

The woman shook her head vehemently, before jumping towards his legs.

"No, no, you are not him. But I have seen you in my visions, my dreams. You are his kin, his blood. He is alive, he is alive. He is the white snow lord, he who shall unite the tribes. He will come back to you, he will come back to all of us. He will break the chains of all the slaves in this world. He will bring judgment to the slavers and their masters. He will restore the true faith and the true king!"

Andar felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the woman's words. She was talking about Konrad, there was no doubt about it. But how did she know him? How did she know he was alive?

He opened his mouth to ask her more questions, but before he could say anything, he felt a tug on his arm. When he looked to his side, he saw two men pulling him away from the woman. They were also former slaves, but they looked scared and nervous more than anything else.

"Forgive her, m'lord. She is crazy, she has been saying these things for a long time. She is not well in the head. Please do not be angry with her or with us. We are grateful for your help, for saving us from the slavers. Please do not harm us or her, m'lord."

Feeling overwhelmed, Andar turned around and made his way as far away as the slaves, not knowing what to think about what the old crazy woman said. But a small of him wanted to believe the woman. If by chance his nephew was alive and well …

< Just change "3" with "e" Patr3on Link : https://patr3on.com/meatbunkun>