Game of Thrones: The Ruler

In a mere few minutes, the entire house was ablaze with a very high intensity. The muscular and bulky man who was also the designated leader of the group of these spies and had also been the owner of the house in the eyes of the public had been hoarding flammable materials like clothes and rags in the house. And due to this, the fire that he had set up had gone berserk in mere moments. The fire was threatening to engulf even the surrounding houses, residential areas, and establishments. And this had been the intention from the very start.

The spies had gathered in the street in front of the burning house and, in their numbers, one hundred men appeared to form a small crowd. And as the fire continued to intensify and began threatening to engulf the other buildings, chaos broke out almost in the entire street. Despite the imposed lockdown, people began pouring out into the streets. The chaos of a burning fire had greater persuasive power than the deemed punishment of breaking the lockdown. And also the curiosity to find out what was happening.

More and more people continued to arrive in the streets and a sizable crowd of more than six hundred men had gathered on the streets. Of these, one hundred were those people who had been hiding earlier in the burning house. Another hundred were those spies who had been tasked with beating the drums. While a few of them had been apprehended by the patrolling squads, the majority had been able to evade these squads and reach their designated target.

Surprisingly, the fat, middle-aged man who had initiated the drum beating and would not have been quick on his feet had also been successful in evading the patrolling squads and had reached the burning house. His task was almost over. Though he had a sword strapped to his waist, he was no warrior and he had no plans to partake in the upcoming battle. Not that he was afraid, but because he knew he would not be needed.

There was a lot of murmuring and a wave of confusion among the crowd, especially about the people who were carrying those strange and heavy sacks on their backs. Their confusion was only growing when a group of two dozen men, a patrolling squad, arrived there.

"What is happening here?" a lean man, Captain of the Squad, asked no one in particular, standing amidst the centre of the crowd.

"How did the house catch fire?" He questioned. "Whose house is this? And what are all of you doing out here on the streets? Did you all forget there is a lockdown imposed in the city?"

No one responded and most of the people almost shrank back in fear. These patrolling squads had inflicted quite a lot of their terror in the last few days of the lockdown and had gotten an evil image to themselves.

Meanwhile, the Captain's eyes landed on those few people carrying the sacks and the swords strapped on their waists. Carrying a sword was not against any law of the city of Lys. But small folk did not really carry swords with them, especially when they had come out in the open, on the streets, because of a sudden fire. Unless they were a trained warrior, taking their sword with them when running away because of a fire would not be their first instinct. And the sacks on their backs were making the situation more doubtful. And the Captain could spot dozens of such people directly in front of his eyes. Maybe there were more mixed with the crowd. And this raised all the suspicion.

The Captain's grip tightened on his sword as his instincts flared and he approached one of those men nearest to him.

"Who are you?" he questioned, his voice harsh but a bit of anxiety mixed in it. "What are you carrying in these sacks?"

The man, the spy of Lord Aeos, remained silent and the Captain demanded in a loud tone. "Speak! Answer me."

The man continued to remain silent as fury was taking over the Captain and he raised his hand to reach for the sack.

"Captain!" A voice interrupted the Captain just as he was about to feel the swords in the sack.

The Captain turned slightly to see a bulky man approaching towards him. Unlike the rest of them, he was not carrying a sack on his back, but he had a sword strapped to his waist.

"You want to know what is in those sacks?" the bulky man asked. "I will tell you."

"What is in these sacks?" the Captain questioned, his voice getting louder and colder. He was at the thin end of his patience.

"Hope!" the bulky man bellowed, raising both his hands horizontally.

The Captain frowned in confusion, and the bulky man continued.

"Hope," he repeated. "With us, we are carrying the hope of the people of Lys. We are carrying in these sacks liberation for the enslaved, respect for the slum dwellers, prosperity for the impoverished and dignity for the small folk."

"We are carrying the blade of Lord Aeos' will," he roared. "And he wills this city to fall."

The Captain's eyes widened in shock as he moved towards drawing his sword. But he was a bit late. The bulky man, even before he had finished his sentence, had moved. In one swift motion, he drew his sword out of the scabbard and, before the Captain could respond, cleaved it through his neck.

There was a fountain of blood erupting from the neck of the Captain as, a moment later, his head fell with a thud and another moment later his torso followed. The entire street was stunned into silence. They were shocked. Horrified. And bewildered.

It was all the indication that the spies of Lord Aeos needed. They let go of the sacks as they fell on the ground with a loud clatter of metal. They drew their swords swiftly and pounced upon the soldiers of the patrolling squad. And these soldiers had no chance. They were tremendously outnumbered and the spies were using it to the full extent. Two or three men moved towards every single soldier. And they barely had any chance to react. In a few moments, they were dealt with and all the soldiers were lying on the ground. Dead. As dead as they could be..

The entire street was in a pin drop of silence. Only the sound of roaring flames and crumbling structures because of them were what were echoing in the street.

But the crowd, though shocked, were also almost exhilarated. They had heard what the bulky man had said. They had heard him mention Lord Aeos. They had heard him mention hope. And they were now looking at him with expectant faces.

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