Chapter 22: Pirate King
(Location: Slave market)
(Time: Afternoon)
(3rd person)
*Horn*
Looking around in confusion Sansa and Jon try to find the cause of the horn sounding, as they are walking down the main road to the harbour they can see a lot of people walking and even running back to the keep that the slave market surrounded.
"Oh my it seems like the king has come down to make a speech, it looks like you'll be joining me here rather than me coming with you, I hope they let us share a room or at least let you share mine, I can show you all the straw dolls I made wouldn't that be lovely" Joy says as she smiles and claps her hands quickly in excitement.
"What do you mean Joy" Sansa says sounding concerned as she avoids another person bumping into her as they try and make their way passed the crowd, Jon has a small frown on his face not liking the situation one bit.
"Oh the pirate king loves making speeches and they're always full of good news!" Joy says in her usual excitable manner.
"Why would that mean we can't leave" Sansa says a little more confused as she looks at Joy.
Finally managing to break through the crowd they arrived at a human blockade, the guards seem to have formed a shield wall and are slowly moving forward with spears pointed outward forcing people towards the slave pits.
*The King has an announcement attendance is mandatory*
The leader of the guards shout as they slowly move forward, Jon's frown intensifies as he realises the gravity of the situation and is trying to think about what to do.
"I'm sorry I meant it was always good news for the king, usually bad for us, my bad" Joy says with a shy smile twirling her fingers through the curls of her blonde hair.
"What're we gonna do Jon" Sansa says quietly holding onto Jon's arms, Joy then grabs onto his other arm bringing attention from the two to her as Jon looks at her in confusion and Sansa looks at her in annoyance.
"Is this not what I'm supposed to do?" Joy says with confusion as she presses her budding breasts into Jon's arm drawing a bit of a blush from him.
Coughing trying to hide his face Jon makes a decision "Okay we best go along for now, we don't know what's happening at the harbour, if worst comes to worst we will escape after the speech" Jon says resolutely as he hold both girls hands and drags them back up the street towards the slaver market.
(Arthur and Rhaenys)
*Horn*
"What's that" Arthur says as he sees the occupants of the tavern start to down their drinks as they mumble and curse before they start to stand, though some of the younger looking lads start crying before running out of the tavern and heading who knows where.
"That my friend means we are fucked" Thoros says with a chuckle as he reaches over to Arthur's drink and downs it in one go.
"Every time that horn has sounded men go home a lot less happy" he continues as both Arthur and Rhaenys look at him.
"Speak clearly, what do you mean" Arthur says sternly as he looks as the drunken old priest.
"The horn sounding means everyone needs to gather in front of the keep for an announcement by the king, though rarely ever is it good news, last time there was an announcement was several moons ago and it let all of us know we aren't allowed to leave" Thoros states with an uncharacteristic seriousness in his voice as he leans closer to the duo.
"They've been waiting for everyone to come back, most people have to since a lot of people won't buy from scum like these lot" he continued.
"Why have they been waiting for people to come back" Rhaenys asks with a slight hint of concern in her voice as she thinks about Jon and Sansa being near whatever is happening up there.
"I guess we will find out, attendance is mandatory" Thoros chuckles and gets up and stumbles a little before regaining his footing.
Rhaenys gets up as well but Arthur is still sitting there with a thoughtful look on his face that morphs into a small frown.
"No..." Arthur says lightly as he gets up and heads to the door of the tavern.
"We can't trust these people we are going back to the ship" Arthur says with seriousness in his voice, Rhaenys grabs his arm and stops him before he can leave the tavern.
"What about Jon and Sansa!" Rhaenys shouts with narrowed eyes making Arthur flinch back a bit.
"Jon knows what he's doing, he'll come back to the ship there is no way he'd investigate, he'd know it was a trap" Arthur says full of confidence in his young apprentice, Rhaenys doesn't say anything for a moment but eventually facepalms.
"You really are an idiot! that's exactly the kind of thing Jon would do" Rhaenys says sternly as she looks at the halfwit who has a helpless look on his face, meanwhile Thoros can be seen laughing at the two while checking if any of the tables had any unfurnished ale or wine.
"Jon has fought much more dangerous creatures he'll be fine and Sansa as become quite the huntress they'll make it, but us not being here and going to look for them will complicate matters" Arthur says trying to be reasonable.
"I don't think it matters, they've had the port on lockdown since the announcement a few months ago, you can come in but you can't leave" Thoros states while drinking from a pitcher of half drunken ale.
"Our ship it's outside of the harbour, we came here in a row boat so we should be able to sneak out as long as we can get back to it" Arthur replies while looking at the bald priest.
"Well then I say we fuck off out of here" Thoros says smashing the clay pitcher on the floor.
(Jon, Sansa, Joy)
"Do you think he's gathering us all together to announce a big party, with songs and dances and Ooooo cake"Joy says happily as they try to find space in the crowd but they are pretty packed together.
"No"
"No"
Both Sansa and Jon said at the same time putting a pout on Joy's face. Looking around the square Jon could see a wide array of emotions present on the people there, fear, excitement, resignation, it made it hard for him to ascertain what this announcement was going to be and whether it would be good or bad.
"Keep ahold of me, I don't want you getting lost in the crowd" Jon says seriously to both Joy and Sansa.
"Okay Jon" Sansa says copying his seriousness and grabbing onto his arm tightly and pushing her body against him.
"Okaaay" Joy says jumping on Jon's back, completely taking him off guard, grabbing onto her behind so she doesn't fall off his hands seem to sink into soft and squishy mass, automatically squeezing she moans slightly though Jon only managed to hear it because she was close to his ear.
"What in seven hells are you doing Joy" Jon whispers to her, Sansa tries to ignore what Joy is doing but she can't help but feel a bit jealous that she's not able to do the same to Jon, she can't help but imagine the pleasure of having their bodies together but quickly snaps out of what her mother would call impure thoughts.
"I'm tired, and I can't see" Joy says in a sad tone hugging onto the back of him, Jon sighs and just lets her ride on his back she's only a bit shorter than Sansa who is half a head shorter than Jon so she barely weighs anything when placed on a physique such as Jon's.
"Thaaaank you Jon" Joy says drawing out her words as she kisses Jon on the cheek causing him to blush, he grunts as he doesn't trust his voice not to sound embarrassed.
'Seven hells I've had Rhaenys ride me until dawn but I still blush when a girl kisses me' Jon thinks to himself as they keep pushing through the crowd in order to get a better view.
The crowd was a cesspool of murmurs, talking and even some shouting, it was a hot day and packing together most if not all of the people on this island was not helping, the group managed to find a place on the eastern part of the slavers square next to some scaffolding, Jon was eager to find out what all this was about, Sansa was eager to get this over with and leave and Joy wanted to find out if there would be cake.
*Horn*
The horn sounded once again and a group could be seen coming down from the keep, they were all dressed in fancy and colourful robes ranging from yellow to green, except for the man in the middle, he was quite handsome he had an eye patch but his lips were stained blue and he wore a black leather doublet with a white tunic, he had a strap of knifes from shoulder to waist, he looked to be wearing a crown made of wood, he had a cocky smile on his face as he jumped up onto the stage that Joy was being auctioned on.
"My friends, my people it is wonderful that you could join me here today" the man announces in a loud voice reaching all corners of the square, he didn't seem to have much of a reception as the crowd was not very receptive to him.
"I know, I know I must not be the most liked King this island has ever had, but did you really want that weak fool of a king you had before, how is it my fault if he did not check for poisonous snakes before using the privy" He continues, this caused a few of the younger lads to chuckle at his joke though it quieted down when the older ones next to them glared or shoved them.
"I'm glad you've placed your trust in me so far and right now is where all this trust is paid off" this grabs the attention of the crowd as this announcement might actually be to their benefit, the pirates said with baited breath as The king holds them in suspense.
"As you know I am a newcomer to these lands, years ago I came here with next to nothing but I rose to the top and I promised I'd bring all of you with me. You may all have heard the rumours that I have been planning to conquer Sothoryos but I'm afraid those rumours aren't true" He continues in a solemn voice.
"Because I have already conquered it!!!" He shouts drawing in cheers and gasps from the crowd, though Sansa and Jon couldn't help but be confused.
"We have already secured a city that is full to the brim with gold, weapons and rich silks that have been left from the Valyrian empire" the king continues as the excitement of the crowd.
"And this gold will belong to all of you, for you are my people!!!" The king shouts pointing at the crowd who are now cheering for him.
"But I'm afraid not everyone can come" the king says with exaggerated emotion as the crowd quietens.
"I'm afraid we do not have the resources to support everyone" he continues.
As the crowd starts to murmur the king holds up his hand to indicate silence.
"But the gods have seen fit to answer our prayers" The king says as he points up to the sky.
"We've found 3 new gold mines and 1 silver mines in the areas surrounding the city, if we all work together and work these mines then we can start our new kingdom" The king finishes.
*How do we know the city is real*
Someone shouts loudly which causes the crowd to erupt into a symphony of murmurs and talking.
The king smiles and nods his head to one of the men in the colourful robes, the man brings forth a chest and gives it to the King who places is it down and opens it he then holds up a dark red scaled dragon egg with one and then a dark Smokey piece of armour with the other.
"This is but a taste of what the new city has to offer, riches so vast that we couldn't bring it back with us so we have to move there, there was also new fruits and spices that the royal chef used to make a delicious cake" He continues as he regains the crowds trust.
"I'm glad most of you are on my side, it truly warms my heart that you trust me, but not everyone feels this way, I see a lot of doubt on the faces of people here which concerns me" The kings says gaining the attention of the crowd once again.
"These men will want to leave, they will want to tell others of the riches that we have found, they will help others steal it from us, is that what you want!" He shouts.
*NO*
Most of the crowd shouts back, the dissenters are growing concerned at this point and start to look for possible exits but see the guards still have them blocked in.
"Then we have no choice, in order to bring a new kingdom to life a few sacrifices must be made, we must force them to work in the mines, just like I've done with the people from Toad Island, they will work for the betterment of us!!!" He shouts the last part with the crowd cheering for him.
"Bring the dissenters so we can toss them into the pit!!!" He finishes as he watches the chaos unfold, with people looking around at those who try to get away, the smart ones do nothing, unluckily for Jon Sansa couldn't hide her discomfort from the people next to them so they attempt to grab her.
Jon steps in front of her an pushes the man that attempted to grab her back, though this only caused a bigger scene making more people turn to face them, Jon facing the crowd turns back to Sansa.
"Climb now!" Jon says leaving no room for argument.
Using muscles she developed from the months of climbing trees and hunting in Sothoryos sansa jumps up and lifts herself onto the scaffolding and begins to climb it.
"Joy close your eyes and hold on tight" Jon says quickly to her, she doesn't reply but tightens her legs and arms around his body, Jon lifts his arms up and creates a bright flash blinding the crowd, he then turns around and with a leap begins to climb the scaffolding as well.
"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!" The king can be heard shouting as the whole crowd now has their attention and is starting to follow them.
The scaffolding only has three levels so it doesn't take long for Jon and Sansa as experience climbers to reach the top, however most of these men climb the ships everyday to let down the sails or scout from the crows nest so they aren't far behind.
"Shit!" Jon says to himself as he reaches the top and can see the pirates swarming the scaffolding already.
"Jon cut the rope right there in the middle" Joy says surprising Jon and Sansa, though Jon doesn't argue he just take his sword out and cuts both of the ropes that tied two pieces of wood together in the middle.
Once it was cut half of the scaffold immediately went to its side and ended up collapsing to its left crushing a group of them underneath it, looking shocked at the results Sansa looks at Joy as if she has some magical abilities.
Chuckling at Sansas look Joy just says "It's not magic silly just observation" Seemingly reading Sansas face.
"Never mind that lets go" Jon says to both of them as they run across the building.
Jon leaps across it to the other one, he looks back to Sansa who paused, she looks at Jon and then down at where she is and sighs, she then grabs a dagger she had on her waist and cuts off the bottom part of her dress freeing up her legs for manoeuvrability.
She easily makes the jump after that, the pirates can be seen cresting the building they just came from and trying to catch up with them.
"It is a shame we couldn't stay for some of that cake" Joy says seemingly out of no where with a sad voice as Jon and Sansa continue to run.
"I'm not sure the cake was real Joy" Sansa replies to her surprising Jon since he still assumed her to be a bit naive.
"Everything he said was a lie Joy, there is no habitable city in Sothoryos and the only ones full of riches are the ones where you'll die before you ever get to use them" Jon says continuing on from Sansas statement.
"I did wonder I suppose, that chest was full of Valyrian writing but looked to be a newer dialect of high Valyrian after being mixed with so many different cultures for so long" Joy says dreamily and mostly to herself, though Jon and Sansa can't help but feel shocked at her statement and how she knows this.
Leaping from one building to another they come to a place where they can no longer jump as it is too far to leap.
"Shit, Sansa start climbing down the building" Jon says as he draws his sword, the pirates just behind them, though before Sansa makes it to the edge of the building a hatch opens and a dark skin man with short hair and a beard appears in it.
Jon points his blade at the man but he holds one of his hands up in surrender indicating he causes no harm.
"My friend you seem to be in a bit of trouble, perhaps you'd like to join me I can guarantee I'm more hospitable than the men up here" He says with a smile that didn't seem to fit the dire situation.
Not having long to think about it Jon decides to trust the man, in the event that something goes wrong it would be easier to deal with him than the crowd out here.
Climbing into the hatch first in case it was a trap he goes to help Sansa in and she falls into Jon's chest, the Dark skin man then closes the hatch and locks it though it can be seen rattling as they try and pull it.
"Come there are tunnels below this building that lead to a safe place, it won't take long before the smart ones try the front door" The man says before heading down the stairs.
Following him Jon and Sansa can't help but be suspicious about the man's intentions.
"Who are you?" Jon asks with narrowed eyes as he still palms his sword, the man just looks back at him with a smile.
"I am the illustrious, the dashing, the daring and the charming Sallador Saan" The man says waving his arms around in a dramatic manner.
(AN: Anyone guess who the pirate king is, I didn't exactly make it hard unlike other things apparently 😒 anyway another chapter done ngl might not do one tomorrow depends if I can summon the energy after work today since I'll be working late tomorrow, latest will be Tuesday though since I usually work on the chapters at random points in the day when I have spare time. Anyway hope you like the chapter let me know)