Didn't Tyrion go to find the young man who made paper? How is he suddenly here at this mont, successfully brokering a deal for the first ti? And hadn't they agreed to wait until the seal arrived before starting this venture? Why begin in advance?
A flood of questions clogged Aegor's mind. But generally speaking, fundraising is just another way of doing business. For a rchant, having custors co to you is never a bad thing.
Pausing the story he had been telling, Aegor stood up, pushed the door open, left the "office," and stepped into the outer room.
Against the familiar backdrop of the little devil's short stature, a figure that Aegor recognized lood tall and imposing, an unexpected and striking sight.
"Ser Jai!"
"Little devil!"
Aegor's surprised exclamation overlapped with Arya's cheerful, excited cry.
---
The scene was surreal. The Night's Watch office, not even officially open yet, was now crowded with important figures. Tyrion and Jai, both prominent mbers of the Lannister family. Arya, the youngest daughter of House Stark. And several guards wearing either Stark or Lannister colors. For a mont, Aegor felt as if he hadn't traveled through ti but had instead stumbled onto the set of Ga of Thrones.
…
When Arya burst out from the inner room of the Night's Watch office, Tyrion was as taken aback as Aegor was upon recognizing Jai. While Tyrion didn't like being called nicknas, he wasn't one to hold grudges against children. He greeted her warmly and without pretense.
"Good afternoon, Arya. What brings you here?"
"I'm learning swordsmanship from my master," Arya replied proudly.
"You? Learning swordsmanship?"
The ten-year-old girl was nearly the sa height as Tyrion, and the two struck up an easy conversation. anwhile, Jai and Aegor began talking nearby.
---
"What do you want?" Jai asked, his irritation thinly veiled.
Whenever he recalled the debacle at Winterfell, a sense of unreality washed over him. He and Cersei had always been careful, so careful that not even Robert had discovered their secret for years. Yet, on that day, he didn't know what madness had overtaken him. He had been bold enough to carry on their tryst even after being seen. As if that weren't enough, he had then frightened a Stark child into near-death.
(Why is a Night's Watchman, who knows too much, here in King's Landing instead of staying at the Wall where he belongs?)
Hearing the subtext in Jai's words, Aegor instinctively knew this wasn't good. He had hoped to avoid prominent figures and quietly make a fortune. But Tyrion had dragged his brother into the matter. And although it was Aegor who had suggested starting with familiar people, this was far too familiar.
He couldn't show weakness now, nor could he let Jai think he was here to blackmail him. After so quick thinking, Aegor deflected with a calm response:
"I am here on orders from the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch to gather food and armants to resist the wildlings."
(I'm not here to trouble you; I'm here for business.)
"Hmph," Jai scoffed, his suspicion evident. "Out of all the people in the Night's Watch, they picked you. What a coincidence."
(Co on, who would believe that?)
"Indeed, I am deeply grateful for the Commander's trust. For the ti being, I'm in charge of the Night's Watch's logistics."
(This is the truth. Believe it or not, that's up to you.)
"Fine. Since Tyrion is your 'friend,' hand one of those bonds you're selling."
(I'm unlucky enough as it is. Can I just pay you off and be done with this ss?)
"Of course. Please follow to the inner room, Ser Jai. I'll explain the details of the Night's Watch bonds, including the trading rules and expected returns."
(If you don't believe , I don't care. But I don't mind taking your money.)
---
While Tyrion distracted himself with Arya, who was a little too fascinated by dwarves, he didn't miss the exchange between Aegor and his brother. On the surface, it seed normal. But sothing about it felt off.
"All right, Arya, there'll be plenty of opportunities for us to run into each other again in the future," Tyrion said, steering the conversation. "Can we get back to business with your master now?"
"Okay," Arya replied, though curiosity still lingered on her face. "But what are Night's Watch bonds?"
"Co in, and you'll understand after listening," Aegor said, rubbing his temples in mild frustration. He gestured for the group to enter the office, moving stools and chairs for everyone to sit, including Arya.
"No need for explanations," Jai interrupted brusquely. "Just tell how much they cost. One hundred gold dragons a piece, right? How many do you want to buy?"
(Don't bother with theatrics. Just na your price so we can move on.)
Aegor hesitated. Whether he was overthinking or imagining things, he felt an unspoken understanding between himself and Jai. They seed to know what the other was truly thinking beneath their words. Just as Aegor was deciding how to respond, Tyrion cut in with a puzzled frown.
"What's with you, Jai? Didn't you tell earlier today that you had nothing to do? Why are you suddenly in such a rush now that we're here?"
"Nothing," Jai replied curtly, crossing his arms and sighing. "I just feel uneasy whenever I see soone wearing black."
"I didn't know you had this problem." Tyrion rolled his eyes.
"Neither did I, until now." Jai shot a pointed glance at Aegor, then turned to Arya. "Shouldn't your apprentice go play outside for a while?"
"What?" Arya protested, her lips forming a pout. "Why are you being so secretive?"
"It's fine. Let her stay," Aegor interjected, shaking his head. In truth, he wasn't keen on letting Arya know too much about the Night's Watch bonds. But at this stage, it wasn't a major secret. Building rapport was more important. If he kicked her out now, she'd undoubtedly grow suspicious. And if she ran off to tell Eddard that he'd held a "secret eting" with two Lannisters behind closed doors, that would spell trouble.
"Then, without further ado, I'll explain the details of the Night's Watch bonds to Ser Jai."
---
After several rounds of discussion and revisions over the past few days, a finalized version of the detailed bond rules had been drafted. While the original content remained mostly intact, a few supplentary clauses were added, and, at the very bottom, he included a rather dubious and ultimately unenforceable clause familiar from the world they lived in before: "The final interpretation of this bond rests with the Night's Watch."
In front of Jai and Arya, Aegor read out the rules one by one, explaining them clearly and thodically. At first, Arya listened attentively, her curiosity evident. However, it didn't take long before she started yawning, her interest fading quickly. On the other hand, Jai, who looked impatient at first, gradually beca more serious as he listened.
"If you said you didn't bring money with you when you ca to King's Landing and needed to borrow so temporarily, I'd understand that," Jai said, his sharp gaze fixed on Aegor. "But based on what you're saying, it sounds like you're asking to borrow money for the long term. Why not have your commander send soone down with the funds? Even if it's by horseback, it wouldn't take more than a month to travel from the Wall to King's Landing."
The pointed question struck directly at the heart of the issue, catching Aegor off guard. He had assud Jai to be simple-minded and impulsive before his hand was crippled. Yet, it seed his mind was sharper than expected.
"Since Ser Jai is one of us, I won't hide the truth from you," Aegor said, keeping his tone asured. "The Night's Watch is facing a dire threat and urgently needs supplies. The long sumr is coming to an end, and the northern lords have already begun preparing for winter. Right now, they can't provide the Wall with full support. We have no choice but to do what we can to hold on and deal with the rest later."
"You can't repay the money in the short term, so you're relying on interest to attract creditors, expecting them to take their returns over ti. I understand that," Jai said, leaning back slightly. "But when the crown borrows, the loans are backed by the royal treasury. What guarantees do the Night's Watch have?"
Though Jai was Tyrion's brother, they were not the sa person. The core secret behind the bond sche couldn't be disclosed to him. Aegor knew the conversation had reached its limit.
Tyrion stepped in to clarify the situation further. "The bond is secured by the land and all assets of the Night's Watch," he explained, his tone confident. "And by guarantees from the Hand of the King and myself. That's the public version, anyway. In truth, Aegor and I plan to make so money here in King's Landing to resolve the rest of the problem."
"Make so money? You?" Jai raised an eyebrow, his skepticism clear. "I've never known you to be much of a businessman."
"Hmph," Tyrion snorted. "You'll be surprised when the ti cos. Just tell , do you support or not?"
Jai chuckled softly, his smile one of reluctant amusent. At last, he seed convinced that Aegor wasn't in King's Landing to blackmail him. "Of course I support you," he said. "You're my brother, after all. I'll buy two hundred bonds as a gesture of goodwill. Whether you succeed or fail, don't worry about repaying . Consider it my donation to the Night's Watch. But don't keep coming back to for more."
After speaking, Jai turned his attention back to Aegor, his gaze pointed and clear. His expression seed to say: (Think of this as hush money, don't push your luck.)
Aegor shrugged helplessly. There was nothing he could do about it. Trying to explain further would only make things worse.
"Well then, let's get started on filling out the bonds," Jai said, leaning forward slightly.
"Jack took the seal with him and hasn't returned yet. What should we do?" Aegor asked.
"No need to go through all that trouble," Tyrion interjected with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just use your fingerprints." He reached into the drawer, pulled out a blank bond he had prepared in advance, dipped a quill into ink, and began to write.
***
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