Game of Thrones Tales: The Ultimate Game:Book I-Back to the Throne Room

Game of Thrones Tales: Back to the Throne Room...Part XVII

Game of Thrones Tales: Back to the Throne Room...

Summary: There's only one solution when Tyrion and Sansa have found the new King as mad as the Mad Targaryen and cynically evil, once on the throne, as Joffrey. So evil he's happily allowed the world to be invaded by unspeakably hideous creatures from some little planet out on the spiral rim of the Galaxy, to secure his reign of terror.

Part XVII...

"Thanks as always..." nod to the cow.

She had to admit, to herself, Arya thought, after four days' stay with "Mistress Hanuk", the Dirter was good. Not perfect, by any means, but very good. She'd given a grand performance as a slightly lost, but warm-hearted young woman living in a land she was rather unfamiliar with...Clearly making good use of her true isolation and alien nature. They might say the Dirters never bothered with subtlety but their intelligence services seemed excellent when they chose to focus.

Pie still had his doubts, she knew, though he loyally followed her judgment. It wasn't so much the skill of her performance as his simple disbelief that a Dirter would bother to go to such trouble. Their instruments could detect a flea move or study its heart beat...He'd seen a demonstration of both. What need did such people have of spies and infiltrators? And what was there to learn here at the edge of the near North?

"Not so much what she seeks to learn as what she may seek to protect, Pie." Arya'd noted when they were out in town shopping for supplies...The only place she now felt safe to speak openly. For she had to assume if she could detect "Mistress Hanuk's" game, her own was equally open to the Dirter, at least to the extent of arousing suspicion.

Indeed their ostensible stories were so close as to be ludicrous. Still, for now, all seemed well. They were actually doing quite a fine job of getting the farm in shape, largely thanks to Pie who seemed to have as natural a flair for managing a farm as he did for cooking, which to everyone's relief, Mistress Hanuk had wryly noted after trying his first supper, he'd largely taken over. He'd even quickly established a barter arrangement with other local farmers to share equipment among them, currently being off on the delicate negotiations involved in borrowing a good plow horse for the next two days.

Arya hoisted the newly filled milk pails and with a kind word to the obliging cow, poured them into a large jug on a pull cart. She closed the jug with a clampable cover and pulled the cart out of the open barn door, the top unlatched from the lower half and swung back.

Four days and as yet nothing beyond that exchange on "cell" phone...And it would be a few days before her request for what information might be available on the lady, passed on to the contact in town during their first journey there for supplies two days before, would produce results if any were to be had. For now, nothing to do but watch and wait and gather whatever her eyes and ears could tell her and what Pie could learn. He did have a knack for getting to be friendly with people, charming even the most tight-fisted of farmers and farmers' wives into his barter system.

At least her network seemed to be functioning well from her brief contacts in town, the Faceless agents all about the North well inserted into the general population, a mix of solid citizens, ner'dowells, ex-soldiers, former servants and ladys maids out of jobs. Naturally she had no idea the full number let alone the specifics but the branches she was aware of suggested the final leafing was substantial. Still, best not to be overproud of the Brotherhood's abilities...The Dirters were hardly going to be overturned because there were a few well-placed spies in most every corner, they hadn't been enough to overturn the Lannisters let alone protect Robert Baratheon. Interesting that old Robert, Father's friend, for all the denunciations of his reign as a time of sheer debauchery and disorder had been shrewd enough to balance Lannister influence with a contract with the Brotherhood. Pity he'd underestimated the true threat in that vicious bastard Littlefinger and his treacherous ally...And survivor, Varys. And even Varys was able to evade the Faceless, protected by his "little birds", his puppet Queen/President and her half-brother, and their godlike allies. No, damned foolish to be smug at the idea that the Faceless could plant a few people about without detection...Hell, what did the Dirters care if the local savages played their little games of spying and so on, so long as they got their resources, labor, and...What else?