"Monty" I say, "Do you know how annoying that is?" Monty was stuck looking like a deer caught in headlights, staring at me with a confused face. "What's annoying?" he asks, "Singing that fucking song, I'm trying to do important work here and listening to you sing constantly is off-putting." Monty looks affronted, " I thought you liked the Bear and the maiden fair?", "Well I don't anymore." I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. Alysanne was giggling at the scene across the room.
"Look, don't you still have that order of steel from Kayce to fill out?" I ask, trying to find something that will distract him. "Nope, done that last night." Monty declares with a proud smile on his face. "Fine, just read a book or find something else to do." I tell him, seeing no point in arguing further and returning to what I was doing before.
One problem with my guards is that they don't have any actual armour or weapons, at least anything that isn't chipped or worn. Most of their munitions are spares from the city watch and other Lannister soldiers. Now, I had the resources to make them but the problem was the design of the armour itself, I wanted something light but still protective and not for it too restrict movements. Weapon-wise, I am still unsure about letting the men choose their weapon or having them outfitted with the same.
"Have you heard the rumours?" Monty said, I looked up to see he was talking to me. "What rumours?" I ask curiously, not even bothered about the fact he distracted me from my work. "Apparently there's a group of bandits harassing people on the road to Lannisport." Monty tells me, "Who'd you hear that from?" I ask, if it was true them those bandits must be fools to think they could just do that without my father knowing. "Heard it from one of the guards who went on patrol, apparently were signs of an attack not far from the Rock." That was slightly worrying if it was true, Jaime and Tyrion had set off for Lannisport this morning and even though Jaime is there as well as a few guards, they can be overwhelmed.
Turning my head towards Alysanne, I ask "And you haven't heard anything about this?" Alysanne gives a shake of her head, "Its only been a couple weeks since of gained control of the brothels and gaining eyes and ears inside the Rock is something I haven't even thought about yet."
Stewing there in silence for a few minutes, I tell Monty, "Monty, can you have Maester Creylen send a raven to the barracks in Lannisport, I want them to start patrolling the road from there to the Rock." It may just be nothing or the bandits could be small in number but it was better to be prepared than not and I don't want Jaime or Tyrion to be harmed or killed because I didn't deem the situation serious enough.
"What about your father? Surely he must have heard about it by now." Alysanne asked, "I'm not sure, he should be at Lannisport with my uncle inspecting the Lannister fleet." I reply, it wasn't often that father left the Rock nowadays, most matters could be dealt with within his study.
"Well, what are you going to do then?" Monty asks me, "I'm going to take Orton and the other guards I brought with me and we are going to go down the same road and eventually meet up with the others." I reply, father had finally given permission for me to have some of my guards within the Rock.
"Wait for me then, I'll meet you down at the Lion's mouth as soon as I deliver the message to the Maester." He says, grabbing the small letter I had written whilst speaking to him and then rushing out the door towards the Maester's quarters.
Redirecting my attention to the only other person in the room now, I ask "What about you?" Alysanne shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know, I wouldn't be much use in a fight. I suppose I could visit the library here in the Rock and wait for your return." I nod my head and exit the room as well, taking most of my guards with me whilst leaving two behind to make sure that no-one can sneak in or enter my room without my permission.
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"Are you ready?" I ask Monty as he finishes prepping his horse. Monty was wearing a similar outfit to me, a brigandine situated on top of an arming doublet, whereas mine where crimson and gold, Monty's were black and yellow, the colours of House Falwell. Because Monty was nearing his eleventh nameday, the armour looked quite comical on him and his short height doesn't improve things either. I had instructed Monty to stay away from any potential fighting and whilst I was still haven't been able to fight Ser Benedict to a standstill yet, I wasn't useless.
Monty gives a nod of affirmation to my question before mounting his horse and I, along with a dozen of my guards, follow suit. As we make our way towards the Lion's Mouth, a contingent of Redcloaks and Lannister guardsmen emerge from the gate, all caked in blood but showing no signs of injury. At the forefront of the soldiers rode Jaime, golden hair shining and all.
I let out a sigh of relief at his unharmed appearance though that feeling fades when I notice the absence of Tyrion amongst them. "Jaime" I say as I ride up beside him, "Where's Tyrion?" Jaime neither looked distraught or in grief, that was a good sign I suppose. "Oh?, no worries for your big brother then?" He grins, but begins to explain when he notices I'm not in the mood for his japes at the minute. "We were riding back from Lannisport when this girl stumbled out onto the road, screaming and crying, she told us about a group of outlaws raiding her home. We left Tyrion to comfort the girl along with a handful of guards and we all rode on to find the outlaws she was talking about. We were quite successful in that, if you couldn't tell."
Oh shit. I'm so fucking stupid. How on earth could I forget about Tysha and Tyrion. I was so caught up in my own world and projects that I completely forgot about quite possibly the most traumatising event in Tyrion's life. Jaime, noticing my change in expression asks, "Are you alright Cerion?"
Snapping out of my thoughts, I reply "Yeah, I'm fine. Say, do you know what the girl said her name was?" I ask, whilst quite an odd question I needed to know if it really was Tysha. Jaime shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, What was her name again?" he asks one of the soldiers to his right. "It was Tysha, My lord" the guard replies, Jaime gestures his hand towards him.
"Where did you leave Tyrion anyway?" I ask, needing to find him and make sure the events don't play out to how they would've before. "At an Inn somewhere along the road, can't remember it's name but it's the only one from here to Lannisport." Jaime replies, I nod my head at his answer make off down into the Lion's Mouth with the rest of my guards behind me.
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The ride to the Inn was tense, well at least for me, my men behind me had no idea the consequences were if Tyrion was caught. Wearing the armour was a mistake as well, sweat pooled up and the constant sting of it in my eye was aggravating. Forgetting about Tysha was negligent and full of carelessness. Of course after thirteen years here I have tended to forget some of the minor details of the future, only remembering the major events of both books and show. I had thought about creating a journal of some kind, listing everything I knew would happen, however the repercussions of someone finding it would be devastating.
It was just after sunset that we came across the first signs of movement along the road, two men dressed in Lannister armour and mounted atop a pair of coursers. "Halt!" Orton shouted beside me, getting the two soldiers to come to a stop, "My Lord." they both said as they bowed their heads. "Where did you both come from?" I ask, they look at each other before the one on the right replies, "From the Honey sea Inn, My lord. Your brother had dismissed us of our duty and told us to head back to Casterly Rock.
"And where is this Inn?" I ask, this time the other solider answers, "Just about a mile or two always, it lies on the main road, can't miss it My Lord." I nod my head at their answers, "Ryker and Coll, I want you to escort these men to Casterly Rock and flogged twenty times each for abandoning their duties." I declare before turning to address the two soldiers, "Even if my brother released you from your duties, you would leave him unprotected despite knowing there was a group of outlaws around? Don't speak a word of this to anyone, otherwise the punishment my father would deal on you would be far more than a flogging, Do you two understand?" They both nod solemnly at my question before I motion to Ryker and Coll to take them back to the Rock.