"Angai, would you like to become a member of the Clegane family? Lord Gregor's personal guard needs an outstanding warrior like you," Sweet-Talking Raff asked with a smile.
"I'd be delighted!" Angey, even when lying, possessed an endearing charm, speaking as if it were the truth. "Knight, you surely know I'm penniless right now, and it would be shameful to go home without making a name for myself… Miss, could you please lower your crossbow…" Julie then lowered the crossbow, which secretly relieved Angey. "I would be delighted to become Lord Gregor's bodyguard, and it would be even better if I could become a knight like Sir Ralph in the future!"
"Get in the carriage. A sharpshooter like you, if you swear allegiance to Lord Mountain and perform well in the future, Lord Mountain will surely knight you!" Sweet-talking Raff, in the dignity of a knight, eagerly lifted the curtain for Angay.
An Gai's lips tasted bitter, so he had to first take the longbow off his back and then get into the carriage.
Even the entire city's garrison couldn't save him here. Capable commoners were recruited by nobles as guards or to other positions. It was only natural that they could travel freely among the seven kingdoms, just like finding a job during a university vacation after crossing the Demon Mountain.
The Demon Mountain sent his men to pick him up by carriage and offered him a job that An Gai needed.
The only difference is that when the king, prime minister, and nobles extend their greetings, they do so with polite words, while the Mountain adds Julie's short crossbow and Polliver's nail-like gaze to the otherwise polite invitations.
Given that the Mountain's invitation was more sincere than that of the King and the Prime Minister, and that he was more eager to recruit talent than the Duke of Renly, the Knight of Flowers, and others, Anguiel made a very wise choice.
Recruiting talent also requires the right approach. Sending a captain of the guard to offer a perfunctory greeting, like Prime Minister Eddard did, and appealing to emotions and reason is clearly a far cry from the simple and brutal approach of the Mountain.
*
Night. Prime Minister's Tower. Study.
Prime Minister Ed's thoughts were interrupted by a light knock on the door.
"Come in!"
The guard, Harwin, entered and said, "Sir, someone wants to see you, but he refuses to give his name."
"Oh!" Ned was in a bad mood, but he nodded patiently.
Harwin, who was already obese, seems to have gotten even fatter. Damn it, doesn't he know he should train harder? However, the warm southern climate certainly whets the appetite.
The visitor was burly, wearing muddy, tattered boots and a heavy brown robe made of extremely rough material. His face was covered by a hooded cloak, and his hands were hidden in the layers of sleeves.
"May I ask who you are?" Ned asked.
"I am your friend," the masked man said in a strange, low voice. "Lord Stark, we need to speak alone."
Ned assessed the danger level. He could tell that although the other person was tall, he was not carrying any weapons. If he was, they would be close-combat weapons such as daggers and short swords: "Harwin, you step back."
"Yes, sir!"
Harwin withdrew and closed the door. He stood outside, ready to enter the room at a moment's notice from Lord Ed inside. The door closed, and the visitor lifted his cloak.
"Lord Varys?" Ned was surprised. "How did you get in through my outer guards and the guards on the stairs? They wouldn't have let you in if you hadn't given your name."
"Lord Stark," Varys said politely, taking a seat, "there are secret passages in the Red Keep known only to ghosts and spiders." Varys smiled apologetically, "I won't bother you for long, my lord, but there are some things you must know. You are the Hand of the King, but the King is a complete fool."
"Dressed like this, I probably wouldn't recognize you even if you were right under my nose," Ed said incredulously. He had never seen a eunuch wear anything other than silk, velvet, and the finest brocade. Eunuchs were always known for their lilac scent, but this man reeked of sweat.
"I will take your words as a compliment. This is a secret. If I am recognized, I will be dead."
"So, what brings you here, sir?" Ed's tone turned sharp.
"Prime Minister, I have come to seek allies! Before the martial arts tournament, I did not know if you were my ally. After the tournament, I know that you are my only ally."
"Stop keeping me in suspense, sir," Ed said coldly.
"Well, Northerners always seem to lack a bit of patience, just as they are inherently lacking in a sense of humor. Lord Ed, our king is a donkey, isn't he? Although he is my king, I still have to say it. He is a donkey, someone is in danger so much that he doesn't even realize it, he will soon be finished unless we join forces to save his life."
Ed was seething with rage: "Lord Varys, you are the King's chief intelligence officer. Now that you know someone is threatening the King's life, why don't you take action? Why are you trying to sweet-talk me?"
"Prime Minister, you're mistaken. My men are spies, not sword-wielding warriors. If I utter a single wrong word or give the slightest hint, within a day, a drunkard will be walking down the street and stab me in the stomach with a dagger, then slit my throat. Who will I complain to then? Have you ever seen a eunuch with guards or wearing armor when he goes out? Even if I give the wrong look and arouse suspicion, I bet I won't live more than three days in King's Landing. I'll either choke to death on a steamed bun or fall down the stairs, break my head, and bleed to death."
Ed stared at Varys: "Then who wants to murder the king?"
"My lord, I don't need to say more about who is plotting to harm the king, I'm sure you understand!"
"Lannister?"
"I never said that, my lord! However, you have saved the life of that stupid donkey king once, and it was because of your intervention that I realized you are my only ally. I also understand why the queen is so afraid of you and sees you as a thorn in her side."
"When have I ever saved the king's life?"
"You prevented the King from participating in the tournament," Varys said. "It was a group tournament with over sixty participants. The arena was in such chaos, with the Mountain swinging his spiked hammer and knights falling one after another. If someone had accidentally touched His Majesty, could you call it premeditated murder? Once the King was dead, the murderer would certainly have put on a show of unbearable grief. But that dignified and compassionate widow would surely have taken pity on him, and what could our kind-hearted King Joffrey do but forgive him then?" The eunuch made a mournful gesture. "Or perhaps he would have Ser Ilyn behead him. To kill someone to silence them, to betray them after they've served their purpose—there's no doubt the Lannisters are capable of such things."
"Is everything you're saying true?" Eddard's fist clenched under the table. The Lannisters' audacity filled him with fear, anger, and a burning desire to fight. Eddard had always believed that courage stemmed from fear, and now he felt that fear. "Varys, you must come with me to see the King. You must tell the King what you've said to me."
"No, no, no, Your Excellency, where is our evidence? Do you expect me to confront the Queen? To make my little bird an enemy of the Queen, the Kingslayer, the King's own brother and his entire court, and all the forces of Casterly Rock? The Mountain hasn't even left King's Landing yet; his gang can kill and burn as easily as eating a bun. Why don't you just have Ser Ilyne cut off my head? That would be easier. If I go with you, how do you think the King will judge this in the King's Council? The Lannisters want to assassinate the King during a tournament—where is the evidence?"
Ed was speechless!
"If what you say is true, the Lannisters will only take action again."
"That's for sure!" Varys said. "I'm afraid their next one isn't far off. Lord Eddard, the King only listens to you. If it weren't for your intervention in the group duel, the King would already be out of the ring, and the consequences… I shudder to think what they would have done! Your Excellency, you've given the murderers sleepless nights. If we join forces, perhaps we can save the life of that stupid king—just the two of us." He stood up and pulled his cloak over his face. "That's enough for today. Next time you see me in court, please don't forget to use that same contemptuous attitude you always have."
Ned's heart skipped a beat: "Varys, how did Jon Arryn die? Tell me?"
"That thing is called 'Tears of Rhys,' and it's extremely rare and expensive. Its taste is as sweet as water, leaving no trace. I was in this room at the time, pleading with Lord Erin to arrange a taster for the food, but he wouldn't listen."
Who poisoned it?
"He was a close friend of his, someone who often dined with him. Everything he had was given to him by Jon Arryn, but when Arryn's widow, Lysa Tully, fled back to the Eyrie with her family, he chose to stay in King's Landing and quickly rose from stable boy to knight. He wore that gleaming new armor and that crescent cloak at the tournament. It's just a pity he was more foolish than our revered king; he challenged the Mountain in the jousting..."
"Sir Matthew," Ned connected all the doubts, "Jon Arryn has been Hand of the King for fourteen years. What did he do to force the Lannisters to kill him?"
"I think Jon Arryn, like me, also sensed the Lannisters' plot to murder the king. With the king dead, Joffrey would ascend the throne, and since Joffrey was still a child, power would naturally fall into the hands of the Lannisters."
*
Eddard slowly sat down, Varys' words echoing in his mind. The Lannisters, in order to murder the King, first murdered the Hand of the King, and now they themselves are the King's Hand of the King.
Varys had vanished from the Prime Minister's Tower like a ghost; he didn't leave through the main door or go down the stairs, he simply disappeared without a trace.
Varys, the Lord Inspector of Intelligence, resides in the Red Keep to the right of the Red Keep's main gate watchtower, close to the Red Keep's high walls. To the left of the gate lies the Throne Hall. South of the Red Keep walls, past some simple, low stone buildings, is the White Sword Tower, where the Kingsguard resides.
Click click click!
In Varys' bedroom, the stone bed rose slowly from the ground without human intervention. Finally, the heavy stone bed stopped, and a figure emerged from beneath it.
Click click click!
The stone bed slowly returned to its original position.
Varys removed his disguise, and suddenly his whole body stiffened. In the dark corner opposite, a person was standing against the wall, breathing evenly.