Chapter 87

It took you a moment to refocus and think about what else you needed to know, as what was most likely your master felt quite plainly insane, or he would have if you still had any confidence in what did and didn't make sense after the previous day. And even just the thought that such a monster could actually be created by a human at all, and especially within such a short amount of time, was so absolutely terrifying that you had actually failed to keep up the smallest amount of appearances as you simply stated what you needed.

On one side, you genuinely wished to praise your conditioning for making sure you hadn't found yourself paralysed by the terror of the possibilities alone, but on the other side you continued to be bothered that you had apparently managed to slight your master in that shocked state of yours. There had been little in the way of backlash to your show of mistrust, considering the massive difference in standing and the fact that the messages were written and erased on your companion with apparent ease. Yet you couldn't help but wonder if your master's words contained more hidden scorn that someone of your birth just couldn't catch up on, it really felt like life had it out for you this year.

"Well, you certainly have my thanks for indulging that little whim of mine, I just can't take these abilities of yours alone as proof since I was never actually informed of them, so I hope you will bear with it."

"You have proven yourself competent enough for me to say that it's fine for now, Ayna, let's just finish what we started, so tell me what else you still wished to know, there might be plenty of time, but that doesn't mean we should waste it."

"Yes, you have my thanks once more, so, the most pressing concern I have is where the mountain sized titan has vanished to, and of course what your plans with him are since you apparently have no intention to unleash him on the Arryns with how their host down there is still around."

"I didn't have much use for my little brother beyond dealing with the Mountain Clans, so he hadn't actually gone anywhere, I simply ordered him to collapse the remains of the camps into the chamber left behind after his creation before I sent him off to create me a net of tunnels for this part of the Vale."

"And as for the Arryns, while the Mountain Clans have fallen out of favour with House Lannister, that doesn't mean the Arryns have magically become our allies, but since we're no longer interested in replacing the order of the Vale in its entirety with that of the Mountain Clans deploying my little Brother wouldn't do."

"At this Point we're simply trying to salvage whatever can still be salvaged to create a balance between the Mountain Clans that abandoned their faith after the fanatics were wiped out, and the great houses of the Vale which as far as House Lannister is concerned still very much so requires the disposal of the Arryns."

"With how things were going not too long ago I suppose that I will just count myself lucky that all of the already expended supplies and effort weren't spent in vain, though that being said, how do the Starks and Baratheons fit into these plans of yours, how much collateral damage can they suffer?"

"I would consider it absolute madness to lie to my own specialist, and I for all intents and purposes promised you some answers as far as I'm concerned, so despite how annoying this is to admit, I had not the slightest idea that either of them had a presence in the Vale."

"To my knowledge there were a few dozen knights of both the Starks and the Baratheons in the Vale to ensure the safety of Lord Arryn's wards, but that both had already sent entire companies over is as new to me as it is to you, so I don't want you to get rough with them."

"The focus should remain on the Arryns as much as possible, and I will make sure that your supplies will be replenished with the same ship that will deliver the new armour to make sure that you have what you will need."

"It shouldn't take too long to finish since the original armour he had on him was essentially just a prototype that we have already managed to improve upon, combined with the fast currents of the Riverlands I would estimate you can unwind on the shore for about three weeks."

"That's an awfully long time to just waste by sitting around, is there something else you need us to do on the southern shore?"

"There's currently nothing House Lannister would need you to do down there, so I suppose you could just use one of the chests with captured coins to have some fun on their markets if you write down how the economy copes with all the chaos and bloodshed in return, as that might become useful later on."

"Certainly preferable to just sitting around, my thanks, though I still need to ask for one more clarification before we will be off."

"Out with it then, Ayna."

"Yes, well, I already saw that House Lannister had several knights similar to my companion here, and putting that together with your claim of creating that titan, I found myself wondering how long this can remain a secret."

"Or more plainly, while a three-meter tall knight might be a great asset to have, once people know that House Lannister is the one employing them it might become problematic that such a three-meter tall figure appeared and vanished around the same time the good Lord Arryn finds his end."

"This would indeed be quite problematic, especially with the Starks and Baratheons around to testify his presence later on, but I will take care of that once the time comes, there's after all no point in planning out every detail months ahead with something so volatile that it could change each day."

"Though I can tell you already that you won't need to hide your allegiance to House Lannister when the time comes to infiltrate the Eyrie as the loot of the Mountain Clans held two treasures far more precious than simple silver and gold."

"They are so priceless that I'm most certain that returning them will guarantee us the friendship of the great lords of the Vale, which considering their usual vows of loyalty and honour will make sure that we will be untouchable."