The King of Winters

Andrew Stark

The streets of Braavos were well known to him and Andrew knew each of the ways through the city of Braavos. He knew which was the shortest one, which was the longest one, which was the crowded, which would have less eyes to notice you, which is the busiest and used by the common people and which was used by the wealthiest ones, which bridge would take you where and which walkway you should use in order to take out someone without getting seen by others. 

Andrew took notice of everything as he passed through to the Ragman's Harbor. The Ragman's Harbor was poorer and dirtier and noiser than the local Harbor of Braavos, the Purple Harbor. The Ragman's Harbor was crowdier than the Purple Harbor as well. The foreign ships which arrive in Braavos will be docked at the Ragman's Harbor while the locals and the ships of the Iron Bank were shipped in the Purple Harbor. So Ragman's Harbor became a good trade centre for the likes of porters, mummers, rope makers, sailmenders, taverners, brewers, bakers, beggars, and whores. They all made their living around the Ragman's Harbor which only added the noiseness and the dirtiness of the Ragman's Harbor. 

The Harbor was seriously active that day with the arrival of two ships from Pentos and Myr. Braavos was economically a greater city and it was the banking centre of the modern world. The Iron Bank of Braavos is the most powerful banking institution in the known world, richer and more powerful than the banks of all the other eight Free Cities combined, and it had a fearsome reputation when collecting debts. When princes or kings default on their debts or if they were foolish enough not to honor their agreements with the Iron Bank, new princes and kings appear on their place with the Iron Bank's support. These new princes and kings then honor the previous debt along with paying back the money the bank loaned them in claiming their new power, lest they suffer the same fate as their predecessors. "The Iron Bank will have its due" is a common saying among Braavosi. The Iron Bank of Braavos had customers from almost all part of the world and it even had extended its roots to his homeland, Westeros. 

The streets of Braavos were cobbled with stones and the streets were crowded with all the crew of the docked ships, the whores who tried to catch their eyes in order to earn some coppers for their living. The children ran through wildly, without even watching what is in their opposite. One of the boys running, tripped over the shop of a fisherman and sent all the oysters, clams and the fishes he had to the ground. The fisherman tried to catch the boy but the boy managed to slip away from him and vanished into the crowd, which lead to the mutterings and the shouting of the fisherman. 

Andrew couldn't help but smile at that as he himself remembered the mischiefs he'd done back at his home, when he was still with his parents. Throwing snowballs at his father's guards, stealing biscuits and sweets without the knowledge of Gage the Cook. Stealing into the kennels without the knowledge of Farlen to see the the newborn puppies of the hounds. All would earn his father's scolds but his mother had been there for him always. Thinking about the past or his dreams would only seem to trouble him so Andrew tried to ignore them. He had a work to do and his thoughts of past would only get in the way from doing it. 

Illola had asked him to get the money back from one of the common customers of the Foghouse, their Inn, Ballos Aenen. Aenen was a guard to a high official in the Iron Bank of Braavos and he was a good one at that. He was a good man and used to enjoy his black beer and sea foods whenever he comes to the inn. And he would cause no trouble other than throwing some ribald and bawdy comments. And he was an old friend of Syrio and himself as well. So the job would not be of much trouble, thought Andrew. 

He cut through the bridges and took the one which would take him to the northern side of the city to the Purple Harbor, near the Sealord's Palace. 

The Purple Harbor was neat and quiet compared to the Ragman's Harbor. The Braavosi vessels were neatly docked and were rocking gently in their respective places. The ships belonged to the Iron Bank were dominated the numbers.