Chapter 71

As the Days go by, your little Party of two continue to encounter Disruption after Disruption, as the Low-lives of the region were apparently unable to understand that attacking the three-meter tall Knight clad in blackened Armour was a terrible Idea. But you understood that none of those Bandits could genuinely be called sane as they continued to rob the good People of the Seven Kingdoms while the Armies of the King and the Great Houses who have finally managed to deal with the Ironborn Uprising have yet to be disbanded.

It genuinely felt like these Men have gone insane, as only someone truly mad would risk sticking out while the Crown and the Great Houses have been thoroughly drained of all their Patience and Self-restraint by the War. You don't even want to think about what the King's Troops are said to have done to the thousands of Ironborn that failed to flee the Mainland in time. A simple death through the Sword really isn't the worst Fate one can expect for messing with the Crown these Days, and yet these absolute Morons keep on springing up in the dozens.

You would guess that their Stupidity was the main Reason for why you cared less and less about what happened to them as your Journey continued, and these Troublemakers just kept on coming. There were some People in the World that were apparently just beyond saving, and you most certainly won't risk your Life by stepping between the Monster and its Prey, as you already knew what he could do. And you could imagine what would happen to you if you tried, seeing as even the normal Knights that were actually still willing to talk with you weren't all that fond of the beautiful Assassin that tried to take their Lord Hostage.

But all Jokes aside, you could very much so do without adding a Personal Guardian of the Lannisters to your List of Enemies as you watch him stomp a grown Man to death as if it was nothing. Yeah, stepping on his Toes doesn't really strike you as that great of an Idea if it means that he would be stepping on you in the near future as well, especially seeing as you were quite happy about the intact state of both your Rib Cage and Head. And that Conviction to not do anything about what you were seeing further deepened as the normally passive Knight seems to become even darker and a lot more brutal as the Days continue to go by.

You were witnessing a Spiral of Violence that was getting more and more disturbing with each new Ambush, till the second half of your Journey was finally coming to an end as you and your Companion reached the Outer Mountains of the Vale. Though, the Display of Strength left you wondering why the both of you were sent to the other Side of the Continent together if the Knight was clearly uninterested in Stealth. You had an Idea of what you were here to do, but you couldn't say the same about the gory Knight behind you, it seems like a massive Waste to deploy him here if the Lannisters weren't trying to start a War with the Arryns.

It didn't make Sense, no matter how much you thought about it, the best you could come up with is that he could help you against the Mountain Clans that once dwelt in the Region. Though as far as you knew that also wouldn't make much Sense as the Arryns didn't march their Armies against the Ironborn, meaning they're all still guarding the Vale, and no amount of Tribes can win against the Heavy Knights of House Arryn. Your Companion remained quiet about the whole matter as you asked him, only pointing upwards to a small destroyed Path on the nearest Mountain, presumably once created to take the Vale when the Ironborn still had their own massive Realm on the Continent.

This was more than you usually got from your nameless Companion, so you swiftly began to follow after him as he began to walk towards the Mountain he had just pointed at. You were surprised that most of the Path wasn't nearly as old as it looked from the Road below, but you both still had to stop your ascent when Darkness claimed the Vale after a few exhausting Hours. It surprisingly didn't seem to bother him all that much despite the Speed he had set for the both of you, but you supposed that following a safe Path that provides a great View of the Vale would calm everyone after the Madness of the Reach and the Riverlands.

Mayhaps he does have some kind of Limits after all, or perhaps he's just letting you rest, you would be happy with both Propositions as this really wasn't what you had originally expected when the Letter sent you off to infiltrate the Vale with your Companion. But that being said, you still very much so enjoyed the Silence and Safety as your dark Companion was standing silently behind you like usual, it shows that there is a positive Side to everyone and everything, even someone like him.

And at least you finally understood why the Knight was here now as you quietly observe the Flames and what remains of the Vale in the Distance. Yes, perhaps having a three-meter tall Knight with you isn't such a bad Idea, even if he won't be of much use when it comes to the Infiltration Mission itself. You certainly had no Intention of finding out if those countless burning Villages would be held by the Knights of the Arryns or the Tribes of the Vale in the Morning, nor did you wish to find out how they will feel about you.

So you could see that the suddenly very nice looking Knight now standing to your Right was always required for your survival, as an Assassin or proactive Agent as they called it can't really travel on the Roads from Village to Village while a War like this is going on. The only Way for you to get into Arryn controlled Territory without rising some kind of Suspicion will require you to travel through the Woods, as Messages would fly way too fast if something happened.

And seeing as you're thinking about traveling through the Woods filled to the Brim with Bandits and the currently raiding Mountain Tribes that do who knows what to their Prisoners, you have to admit again that the Monster in gory Armour to your Right looks really quite nice right about now. Though what worried you even more than the Tribes now that you think about it was that the Lannisters had an awfully large Amount of Knowledge about what you would need to fulfill their Mission in this not very natural feeling Madness, it seems like your new Lords like to gamble.