Unexpected foe
"After discovering the cause of the deaths, we began to investigate in each place Maester Umbert lived people who died in similar conditions." Tom rubs his temples in stress.
Doran needs no explanation, he knows what made his spy so upset.
"How many?" But he needs to know, he needs to know how bad the situation is.
"Hundreds of innocents in the last ten years." Doran clenches his fists as his spy continues with his report. "But worst of all, Maester Umbert is not the only Maester to kill innocents using this method, we managed to discover 14 other Maesters doing the same thing."
"How did you discover them?"
"Knowing what to look for, finding them was not that difficult, they all used the same poisons and many of the killed claimed to have some special gift. There is a group within the Citadel that is searching and killing supposed mages, my prince." Seeing that Doran's expression doesn't change, Tom realized something. "You already knew this, you knew of the existence of this group and you suspected that Umbert is a member, that's why you ordered me to investigate him."
"Yes, there is no point in denying it." Doran confesses.
"But why didn't you tell me anything, if we had known what to look for then-"
"For various reasons, the main one being that I wanted to know if the actions of this organization can be detected without knowing of its existence."
"Oh."
Nobody says anything for a few moments, the prince and the spy reflect on the new discoveries.
"About the other maesters involved, who are they?" Lothar's question brings them both out of their reflections, Tom answers him but is left very unsettled at the end of the list. Doran observes the behavior of his spy and comes to the conclusion that there is someone else, someone whose identity is causing Tom's nervousness.
"Who?"
"My prince, there is no concrete evidence, they are only suspicions and making this accusation without being completely sure is treason."
Doran straightens his back and looks at Tom very seriously.
"All the more reason, tell me who." He orders in an iron voice.
"Lord Jon Arryn."
"Lord Jon- But!" Lothar tries to protest but words fail him.
Doran is completely surprised, he did not expect the Holy Order to have such a powerful patron, much less that patron to be Jon Arryn.
"Elbert is my friend." Dorian murmurs.
Since early 257AC Elbert Arryn, Jon Arryn's nephew and heir, has been living in Sunspear, being fostered there. Doran has known the heir Arryn for eight years and they have been very good friends since that trip to Kings Landing when they were still children. Doran has visited the Vale several times and regards Lord Jon as a distant uncle, Lord Arryn was always kind and caring towards him and his siblings.
"I am sorry my prince, I know of your closeness to the Arryns, that's why I was so afraid to give you such dark news. I can't even imagine the pain you are in now, knowing that someone so close to you is capable of such barbarism... ."
"No, it's not your fault Tom. You just did your job." Doran smiles weakly at his spy but his mind continues to assimilate that news. `Elbert lives with my family, Jon interacts a lot with my siblings. If I had awakened their magic- I don't even want to think about the danger they would be in. I need to find out who the members of this damn organization are, all of them.`
"Tom, I'll give you another assignment. It's more important than the last one and there's no time limit."
"Yes, my prince!"
"I want you to find out who the members of this organization are, all of them, from maesters to nobles. Spare no resources."
"Yes!"
***
By the time Jenna returned to the room with the food the atmosphere in there had lightened quite a bit but was still quite tense. Doran gave her the mission to investigate Edgar and promote her in rank within the Shadows.
After finishing with the secret business Doran and Lothar stayed for a while in the Game House, although neither of them could enjoy the wonders of the place due to the news they received. Near dawn they both walked back to the Galleon that was scheduled to leave for Sunspear that very morning.
The ship is the new type of ship designed by Prince Doran, it was built in the Sun Shipyard (also called the Shipyard of the Sun) and this was its first trip, the objective of the trip is to check how the ship behaves at sea; maneuverability, speed, ...
That kind of tests are carried out with all the ships built in the prince's shipyard, to find possible faults and such.
The Galleon is the second ship designed by the prince and the first whose main objective is war. Without a doubt it is the largest ship ever built in any shipyard in this part of the world, matched only in size by the Ibben whalers.
The Galleon differed from other ships primarily by being longer, lower and narrower, with a square tuck stern instead of a round tuck, and by having a snout or head projecting forward from the bows below the level of the forecastle. The forecastle was also made smaller and moved back. These made the galleons faster and more manoeuvrable and enabled them to sail vary close to the wind.
This boat is not only big but also fast, moving at an average of 7 knots per hour but reaching over 9 knots in favorable conditions. That makes it not only the largest ship in Westeros but also one of the fastest, only surpassed in speed by another of the prince's ships; the caravel
***
The journey from Planky Town to Sunspear only took a few hours, before noon the Towers of House Martell could be seen in the distance.
The Galleon did not approach the Martell seat, the ship continued sailing a few kilometers along the coast until it reached the Sun Shipyard, which is located on the other side of the bay. There, in a dock specially built for it, since it is too big for the other docks, the galleon moored.
Lothar and Doran discreetly exited the ship and walked away from the crowd that had gathered to watch the return of the new ship's maiden voyage.
The prince can't help but marvel at everything that was built in this place in less than half a decade.
`Five years ago there was nothing here`
When his grandmother gave him these lands to build his research centers, the prince was very excited and wasted no time hiring builders and architects. The first thing that was built is the complex of buildings that form the Research and Development Institute, where Doran gathered scholars from all corners of the world to investigate different sciences.
Since the Institute does not have dormitories, they had to build separate houses, and since many scholars came accompanied by their families, they had to build more and more houses.
Realizing that a village was beginning to form around his Institute, the prince hired some architects to create a good design for the village, because he did not want it to become a chaotic and neglected place like Kings Landing. So the first thing they did was to create a good sewage network, Doran still vividly remembers the stench of the capital of Westeros and refuses to have to put up with such a stench in his own home.
Over the years the village grew more and more, becoming a little town.
`And the best of all is that this is not just any town: it is the cradle of art and science!`
Doran spent a lot of time and gold in this place: the streets are all paved, all the buildings are made of stone and concrete, there are several parks,... Just walking through these streets is a great experience because in every corner you can find some wonder, from the murals that decorate some walls to the pavement itself; because the road has different patterns formed with colored stones forming in some places geometric shapes and in other scenes similar to paintings.
It is a beautiful place full of artists and scientists, with districts dedicated to different things. There is the fashion district where you can find a lot of clothing stores and tailor shops, the music district has everything from musical instrument stores to locals where you can always find a musician playing an instrument or singing,...
***
NOTE: If you remember from an earlier chapter it was an Arryn who organzied the first Andal invasion.