- 280 AC -
(Ezio POV)
'Essos, often simply called the East, is the largest of the three known continents in the world. It lies east of Westeros and north of Sothoryos and Ulthos, stretching from the Shivering Sea in the north to the Summer Sea in the south and from the Narrow Sea in the west to the lands surrounding the Jade Sea in the east, if not farther. Many different peoples populate Essos, which has a vast and varied geography.'
That was what I knew from Essos as a whole. When Eddard taught me about the world's geography, he did mention Essos a few times, but only in terms of assassinations, where we seem to have competition and poisons. The Faceless Men are a religious society of assassins based in Braavos, which happens to be where we're going, and the Sorrowful Men are an ancient guild of assassins from Qarth. They usually say, 'I'm sorry.' right before killing a target. But those we will have to watch out for are the Faceless Men. They are based in the House of Black and White, in the Free City of Braavos, though they claim to have originated in the Valyrian Freehold.
Followers of Him of Many Faces consider death to be part of the natural order of things and a merciful end to suffering. According to the guild, their god is present in many religions under different names. They claim he is called the Black Goat in Qohor, the Lion of Night in Yi Ti, and the Stranger in the Faith of the Seven. Thankfully, I know better than to believe such nonsense.
From what Corvus told me, for a price, the guild will agree to kill anyone in the known world, considering this contract to be a sacrament of their god. The price is always high or dear, but within the person's means if they are willing to make the sacrifice. The cost of their services also depends on the prominence and security of the target. So, an assassination of a member of a noble household will always cost more than wanting to kill a baker. Killing a king would cost a fortune naturally. I wonder what it would cost if someone were to employ the Faceless Men to assassinate Lord Corvus ... I imagine that would be immeasurable. No sane being would willingly go against or even anger Corvus if he didn't want to die.
"How are you, Ezio?"
Corvus approaches and stands next to me on the railing, looking at the water passing by. We have chartered a boat under our real names. Thanks to the profitable business Corvus created, we have a reason to leave Westeros and sail to Braavos. The food he created is loved by many, and expanding will only yield more gold in the long run.
"I am thankful that you are doing this, Corvus. I know that it has been a while since we were back home, and this is the time you wanted to use to improve the North. And with the Tourney being announced ..."
"Don't worry about it. The tourney was announced for next year, so there is plenty of time."
"But you had all those plans, and now you have to go to Braavos for my sister, who may even be dead at this point."
"It is useless to waste energy thinking about it now. The only thing that matters is what we do to get the most out of this situation. And we will get an outpost here in Braavos. I might not get the time to truly get the workers to adhere to my rules and regulations, but there is time for that in the coming years."
A month ago, Lord Walter Whent announced a grand tourney at Harrenhal, the seat of his House. And it will be the greatest tourney the realm has ever seen. The rewards offered by Walter were three times greater than those offered by Lord Tywin Lannister in the tourney in honour of Prince Viserys's birth at Lannisport a few years ago.
"You will join the tourney, right?"
"I won't compete, but my siblings and I will attend it, aye. This will be one for the history books."
"Why is that? Because it will be grand?"
"The prices were meant to attract as many people from all over Westeros as possible. But the question is why? And who would want that? The prizes are lavish and far higher than anything ever offered, and that could mean a few things. From what I managed to gather, I don't believe that Lord Whent can finance those rewards. If he were, then he would have improved Harrenhal itself and not this. It is a waste of resources most of the time."
"So someone is financing him?"
"Most likely. The question is, who would do such a thing, and as I said, why?"
"A plot from the King to get back into the realm's good graces?"
"No. A man who has descended into madness won't find his way back out of it. There is someone else, I presume someone, who either wants to replace Aerys or simply wants to get rid of him. It smells of conspiracy to me."
So, there is more political intrigue, as usual. It is always the same in Westeros. Thankfully, the North isn't like that. Lord Corvus should be the next Lord of Winterfell; he would surely make the hard and correct decisions without bothering about the rest of the realm. But, alas, he has no interest in the position. From what I have seen of Brandon Stark, he will also be good as a leader, if not as good as Corvus. But as long as he accepts and listens to Corvus' ideas, it will work.
.
The journey across the Narrow Sea was not too long. Chella chose to remain in Gulltown, keeping an eye on the situation there. Maris is still relatively new to her position as a criminal leader and will first need to establish a reputation for others to listen to her. I saw the way their relationship changed over the months and felt happy for them. They deserve each other. Hidao is with us and will help Corvus with his 'official' business while I start to gather information.
That's why I was worried about this taking too long since we are basically blind in Braavos and will have to learn and adapt to the new situation. It's not very hard for the Raven Lord, but he has to keep appearances for now. Later, if we don't find anything concerning Claudia, he will take matters into his own hands. I hope we find something before that.
The port of Braavos was large. Truly, it is the biggest one I have seen to date. But I haven't been around much. Corvus is wearing his lordly attire, playing his role perfectly. He meets the Chequy port customs officers of the Sealord of Braavos and settles the matter concerning the docking fee for our boat. Hidao and I started to unload the cargo we had taken with us. Corvus created and combined various ingredients and tools that might be necessary to start our business here in Braavos. As we unload, we open our ears and eyes to take everything in. I see the men and women looking at the new arrivals in interest and already start talking about us. We are Westerosi; while that isn't anything special, we are different. Our boat is smaller than what they are used to, and of course, we have Lord Corvus with us. We can't go anywhere without him pulling everyone's attention to him, at least when he wishes to.
After we're done, Corvus approaches and nods his head.
"Everything is settled. We have permission to leave the boat here. Let's have a look at the place where we shall be setting up the shop."
"As you wish."
We make our way to the place and notice that it isn't the best location available. There are several different areas around Braavos, and like in every city, some are better and some worse. The place we have here is on the lower end of the middle. Not the worst possible, but also not anything amazing. It will have to do.
"Very well. This will do. Hidao, you and I will start unpacking here and get things running. And you, Ezio, will start gathering information. You will have to be strategic about this. Braavos comprises a hundred islands linked together by small stone bridges spanning the many canals throughout the city. The houses in the humbler regions are tightly packed together, even over the canals. So this will take a while, and the sooner you start, the quicker we will find your sister. Get to it."
"Yes, my Lord."
He says it will take less time this way, but I know that's not why he does this. He can feel how restless I have been since we confirmed that Claudia is still alive. She was alone for five years, and I wasn't there to protect her. I know how impossible it is, but I pray for her safety and health when I find her and for whoever took her. I disappear into the shadows between the houses and then get going. I have no time to waste.
The Chequy Port and our inn are located on an island to the southeast of the Arsenal of Braavos. The Arsenal is the fortified shipyard of Braavos, which I will search later. First, I will go through the Chequy Port. It seems most likely that I will find information there. I move silently and quickly, checking for other hidden eyes and only then moving forward until I reach the port. I observe the chaotic order of the Chequy Port and look out for the customs officers of the Sealord of Braavos. There are several of them. I move through the crowd unnoticed. No one knows that you are there, even when standing right in front of them, if you act as if you belong. I follow the customs officer and watch from afar as he takes out a key and opens the door to a larger building. That has to be where they store the logs.
In the present, Braavos is one of the greatest ports of the world, where all but slavers are allowed to dock. Even ships from Qarth and the Summer Isles come to Braavos to trade. Now, that might be the case, but when I look at the way the customs officer looks around to make sure no one is looking and then takes out a pouch of rattling coins, I know that things are going on that may help me get the information I need.
I wait for him to finish and then slip into the room unnoticed. He looks around again and then closes the door. I hear a lot of voices coming from inside, telling me that there are other people also here, most likely guards as well. It doesn't matter. I am not here for them. I go over to the shelves and look for the logs belonging to the proper year. From what we gathered, Claudia was transported at the end of the year 275 AC, so she may have arrived here either late the same year or early 276 AC. My eyes move across the labels until I find the proper year. There are hundreds of books here. I take one and start to go through it.
Each day, several hundred merchant ships arrive, which are all logged and noted down. The customs officer charges a price depending on how big the ship is and then has to give a percentage of that to the Sealord of Braavos. And in a large city like Braavos, this is worth a lot of money. The date is written down, as well as the captain's name, the ship's name, and the cargo held. Then, the paid price is noted down next to it. What an easy way to cheat. By simply ignoring certain cargo, like humans, you wouldn't have to take money for it officially, and the captain could just give you the money that way. The customs officers earn a lot more that way, and no one will find out.
As the day ends, I haven't found what I want. But that's not surprising. It would never be written down this way for others to find. I need a different approach.