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—
Valyria
Tyrion looked at the objects some workers had pulled out of a hidden room, most likely the belongings of a sorcerer.
Glass candles.
Tools they used to see across continents and communicate with one another and send men dreams and visions.
At least that's what all the books said, since no one had managed to light up a glass candle in centuries.
Still, they were quite the curiosities and were collected by rich merchants and nobles and sorcerers from the Free Cities.
"Be careful with these; they are quite rare. We don't want them to break." If nothing else, they could be sold too.
They were packed gently, wrapped in thick fabrics to ensure they were not damaged during the journey back to Asgard.
A substantial amount of gold coins and items have already been shipped off, but gold used for decoration, such as the engravings on the walls, had to be scraped off and was left for last.
Transportation of the books was rather slow, since Robert wanted them in one piece, but several small libraries were already emptied of their contents.
Overall, Lord Robert was pleased with the overall progress; it was fine.
—
Asgard
Steffon Baratheon got off his horse, followed by his son, Stannis, and went to the carriage to help his wife and youngest son out.
His mother, surrounded by guards, was there to greet them, though she did not look happy at all. It was easy to see how tired she was from all the work.
His eldest son's city was growing fast, especially with the wealth of Valyria pouring in, which drew many visitors, if the overcrowded docks were anything to go by. Houses, workshops, and small but busy markets dotted the city.
"Steffon, Cassana, children, welcome." She greeted her visiting family, and Steffon hugged his mother. "Mother, how are you?" He held her hands, looking with worry at the dark circles around her eyes.
She shrugged, gesturing to the bustling city. "I am doing as well as I can with Robert leaving all this work in my hands."
"We are here now and will help as much as we can."
"Great." She pointed at her son. "You can start by overseeing the gold moved to the vaults they are digging under the keep, and Stannis can help manage the ships at the docks and stop fights from breaking out."
Steffon nodded, grinning. "We will, but first we have a surprise for you."
"Steffon, I am in no mood for surprises." Steffon grinned at this, holding his wife's hand and bringing her forward. "You'll like this one. Cassana is with child." Rhaelle's eyes brightened up as she took her good-daughter's face between her palms. "Oh dear, that is wonderful, but will you be alright?" Pregnancy at this age was rare but not unheard of, though it was considerably harsher.
"I am fine, Mother. Maester Cressen says the pregnancy is moving smoothly."
"Good. Come then, let's get you and Renly inside for rest."
The two men were left behind, and after nodding to each other, they went to the tasks they were assigned without even the chance to rest.
—
The amount of gold carried to the vaults was staggering.
When he was at court, Steffon naturally was privy to the finances of the crown, but their wealth paled in comparison to this.
Cart after cart was pulled forward by horses, full of gold coins and items, with guards stationed along the road to keep watch.
Robert's keep, Valhalla as he called it, was still under construction, though enough was built for his eldest to move in, once he was back, of course.
There was more gold in the vaults than there was in any other kingdom, and perhaps only the Reach and the Westerlands put together could hope to match it.
The court must be losing their minds with the news.
—
Docks were in utter chaos. They weren't built to accommodate the number of ships that were visiting at the same time, the workers were overwhelmed, and hiring new ones was going slow.
Stannis got to work, helping the ships dock in an orderly manner and stopping fights, as his grandmother said.
All these people were trying to curry favor with his brother and were fighting for the right to be the first ones to do so. It disgusted him, seeing these people, who were supposed to be civilized, act like wildlings.
—
Valhalla
Apartments
Rhaelle had Cassana sit on a chair inside the apartment she was staying in, ordered refreshments, and called for the doctor, Korryn, to examine her good-daughter.
Renly was exploring the apartment with a servant following him around.
Spacious and made with marble rather than stone like the outside of the castle, it was furnished with warm-colored sofas, chairs, and an oak dining table and had enough windows to allow sunlight for most of the day.
"Another child, and at this age no less." Rhaelle shook her head, smiling despite her weariness as she held her good-daughter's hand. "We were surprised too. I didn't think anything would come out with me not taking my moon tea, but it turns out it did." Cassana was glowing, and the doctor soon concluded his examination.
Korryn finally finished his examination, allowing Lady Cassana to sit up. "You are in excellent health, my lady; continue to take regular walks, and please, no excess wine or any other alcohol during the pregnancy; one or two servings a day is fine. It would also be best if you lowered the amount of work you do." He gave his professional advice, as Lady Elia called it.
"Thank you." Cassana understood the reason, and it was not like Steffon or Stannis was letting her do anything but rest and enjoy life.
"Lady Rhaelle, may I be excused if there is nothing else?" Korryn had lessons to give, as he was training a small cadre of doctors to serve all over Asgard.
"Of course, thank you, doctor."
"My pleasure." Korryn left quickly, leaving the two women to their conversation.
Cassana watched the doctor leave and turned to her godmother. "Do you think these doctors are better than maesters?"
"Oh, absolutely." Rhaelle grinned mischievously. "Why, if I had someone as competent as him back in the day, Steffon might have had some siblings."
Cassana covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. She knew Steffon would have loved that. "Perhaps we should get one for Storm's End as well."
"I am sure the Citadel would be delighted to send a doctor." The chance to get into the good graces of Robert through his father was an opportunity they would not miss.
"How is the work going?" All humor was gone from Cassana's face as she leaned forward to look closer at her godmother, worried about her well-being.
"Tiring." Rhaelle sighed, seeing the numbers dance whenever she closed her eyes. "You have no idea how much gold they keep bringing in. I am honestly just done looking at the sums." Even with the assistance she received, it was no easy task.
"Did Robert say anything about what he wants to do with it?" Her eldest had grown much from the rash and thoughtless boy he was, and Lady Baratheon was sure Robert wouldn't squander the money.
"He ordered plans for a dozen new constructions, including a grand library inside Valhalla to store all the books from Valyria." Which meant more work for her, but considering Robert gave her a dragon, Rhaelle would make do.
"I had always worried we spoiled him too much, but look at him now, the man who brought the dragons back to the world, and now, the mighty conqueror of Valyria."
Rhaelle laughed heartily.
—
Valyria
Robert was considering how to move the demon to Asgard, or rather, if he should in the first place. There was no magic left in it; at least, the glass candles did not light up when they came in contact with the demon's corpse, though they glowed faintly when the dragons were nearby, but nothing substantial, at least, not enough to spy on anyone.
That would be actually great, since he didn't actually have dragon dreams; glass candles could be used to spy on the most secure places in the Seven Kingdoms.
He could watch Rhaegar and his court as they plotted, observe the movement of armies in war, and, hell, use it to establish real-time communications with markets, such as Braavos, and have an advantage that would see Asgard Trading Company rise to the top.
The Valyrian books should have something in them, though they would have to be translated first, which required someone trustworthy to stop any possible leaks.
Shipping it to Westeros was not possible, since there was no way to move the corpse to the cargo holds in one piece, but Davos offered an idea.
They would take down the mast of one of the ships, tie the demon down with chains, and then drag the ship by connecting it to several other ships. It was going to require good coordination and the help of his dragons, but it was a better idea than flying the corpse to Asgard by chaining it to his dragons.
He was going to have it chained somewhere, probably on a giant post, and stand at the edge of the city as a warning.
Good thing the damn thing didn't seem to decompose, or he would have had to get rid of it.
Now, if only he could find a way to get those candles working.
—
Some twenty-five million gold coins have been shipped to Asgard in the four months they were in Valyria, standing at least thirty-five with gold items such as cutlery, cups, jewelry, and the pieces of gold they scraped from everywhere they could.
The Doom had destroyed the entrance to the mines, and the clearing efforts were in vain, as they were flooded with lava, but Robert had no intention of leaving those mines alone if they could be opened again or if he could find other veins across the peninsula.
As for Valyrian steel, there were two hundred and forty-three swords of various sizes, two hundred other kinds of weapons, seventy-one shields of varying sizes, including a tower shield he had taken, and one hundred and thirty-nine full sets of plate armor, along with two dozen leftover pieces, two doors, and hundreds of idols, surgical and artisan tools, jewels, and what they thought might be the manuscripts on how to forge the vaunted steel, since between Robert and Tyrion they barely knew enough Valyrian to ask for directions, much less ancient Valyrian.
He had gifted three swords and three sets of armor to Davos, Tyrion, and Sandor, with two armor sets to be gifted to his brother and father, and a sword for Jon Arryn and perhaps another for the Hightowers and Ferrago Antaryon.
Maybe for the last one.
Valyrians had some sort of senate since there were about forty houses of equal power, with an elected head to lead the senate's proceedings.
And his seat just happened to be made of Valyrian steel, with rotted pieces of cushions on it.
Robert cleared the dust and sat on the seat, feeling quite proud of himself. He blinked, realizing something.
Since the Valyrians were dead—most of them anyway—Robert was technically the Senate.
Now he just needed to figure out how to shoot lightning from his fingers and wear a robe.
This would make a fine seat for him back at Valhalla.
"Davos, have this thing shipped to Asgard; I want it nailed down at the Administrative Hall."
"At once, my lord."
—
Workers had found a wall they were sure was hollow behind and informed Robert since no one wanted another surprise like the one they faced at the dungeon.
Robert slammed at the wall with his hammer, sending rock and dust flying inside the dark hidden passage.
He broke down the wall with a couple more swings, and torches were brought forward, though they did not illuminate the darkness that was stretching on.
"Well, let's go and see what is inside." Robert ordered, taking the first step inside.
Exploring Valyria was getting more fun by the minute.