WILOW-Ch.375: Don't Lie to Me
Regalis Port City
POV of Domeric Bolton
Two days after the battle.
Domeric sat in the living room in a large mansion in Regalis Port and sipped on some lemon juice.
Tyrion sat on the other end of the table and drank some Arbor gold wine.
"It must be hard for you." He said after a long silence.
"Why would that be?" Tyrion scoffed, "I left that family behind when I gave up my name. I do not care about what happens to the Lannisters anymore."
"You're usually much better at lying." He said, and then there was silence once again.
After a long moment, Tyrion spoke once again, "The defenses of the City have been upgraded as much as I possibly could. The men and militia had been trained. You need not be worried about the ships coming to our shores."
He took another sip and remained silent, not moving his eyes away from Tyrion, who started fidgeting under his gaze.
"How much do you know about the war going on between the Lannisters and the Northern host?"
"You mean the war between House Lannister and the House Bolton?" Tyrion snarked before he grimaced, "My apologies. I don't know where that came from."
"Apology accepted." He replied, "But you've still not answered my question."
"I know that you've defeated the Lannister army outside Riverrun. I know that the Vale has almost reached the Trident. And I know that if my father doesn't back away, then he'll get fucked three ways by the three armies." Tyrion said and smiled, "I wish I could be there to see that. But I know my father. He's too smart to be defeated like this. He'll probably fall back and retreat to either Harrenhal or King's Landing."
He took another sip of the lemon and put the glass down on the table. "I am not in Riverlands."
"Of course you're not." Tyrion scoffed, "You're here. In the North. Unless this is some kind of magic, and what I'm seeing is a mere illusion."
"I meant my army." He said, "It is no longer in Riverlands."
Tyrion frowned at that and clutched his fists. "And where would your army be then?" he asked.
He remained silent for a moment, waiting for Tyrion to get impatient before he finally spoke.
"Ser Lucian Lannister was raising an army outside Casterly Rock on the behest of Lord Tywin Lannister." He said.
"Ser Lucian?" Tyrion raised an eyebrow. "He was not much of a fighter. But he was a halfway decent commander. If he is raising an army then…"
"He's dead." He said, and Tyrion went silent.
Tyrion opened his mouth and closed it a few times before he finally let out a sigh. "That's where the Bolton army is, isn't it. You somehow crossed the Tooth and then defeated the 2nd Lannister army. You must be proud of yourself."
"Their army was 12,000 strong." He said, "I had 8000 men. We took them by surprise and defeated them within an hour. Of course, I am proud of myself."
Tyrion closed his eyes at his words. "Let me guess." He said and then looked up at him with some anger in his eyes, "You're now outside Casterly Rock and want to see if I have some way to get into the Castle."
"That is true." He replied. "I want a passage inside Casterly Rock."
In fact, Domeric already knew that the passage leading into Casterly Rock was through the Sewers.
While watching the events unfolding in Destiny Line, he had seen Tyrion provide information about the Sewers when the Targaryen army attacked Casterly Rock, and Grey Worm used them to enter the castle and attack the Lannisters from the rear.
But Domeric preferred to find another source to explain the origin of this information.
Because of that, he sneaked inside Casterly Rock at night and searched for Tyrion's aunt, Genna Frey's memory, but he was not able to find any information about the sewers in her mind.
Which was understandable, as in the many hundreds of years since its construction, Casterly Rock has never fallen.
At this point, Domeric could tell his men he had found this information in Genna's mind, erased it from her memory so they wouldn't take precautions, and then direct them to the Sewer Entrance.
Or he could claim to have seen a Green Dream or a Dragon Dream about the sewers.
But another idea came to Domeric's mind. If possible, he wanted Tyrion to give him this information. Willingly.
Because even though Tyrion had done good work in Regalis Port and contributed to Domeric in many ways, his loyalty to him was still not at the same level as his loyalty to Daenerys.
And Domeric wanted to take advantage of this situation to increase Tyrion's loyalty to him.
After all, Domeric was the type of person who liked to kill two birds with one stone.
"I… I don't know." Tyrion said after a long moment.
He walked around the table, sat on it, and looked Tyrion in the eye.
"You are lying very badly, Tyrion." He said, "If you do not want to tell me, then say so. I'll accept your reasons because I know that even after leaving the Lannisters, you still love some of them. I'll not force you to choose between your lord and your family. But do not lie to me." He finished in a whisper, and Tyrion looked down and nodded.
"I… I know a way." Tyrion said and paused for a long moment to wipe the tears from his eyes, "Sorry. I know you've done a lot for me. You gave me Tysha. Gave me a family that loves me. Gave me a place to live. But… I cannot betray my family either."
After a moment's pause, Tyrion asked him, "What would you do, my lord? If you had to choose between your loved ones and your lord, which would you choose?"
"It's quite simple. Of course, I would choose those I love. A man's first and foremost duty is to protect those he loves. Everything else comes second." He said.
"Huh?" Tyrion stared in surprise.
He nodded and stepped away from Tyrion. "I do not blame you, Tyrion. I even respect you for trying to protect your family."
He paused to take a sip of his lemon juice and continued, "I don't think it's right to force someone to choose between their family and their duty. That's why I try to avoid such a situation whenever possible. And if someone chooses their duty over their family, I consider them either a fanatic, ungrateful, or malicious. And such people have no place near me."
"Then... then why are you here, my lord? Why are you forcing me to make this choice?" Tyrion asked, tears streaming down his face.
"You still don't understand, do you? I am here to give you an opportunity," he said.
"Opportunity?"
Domeric looked at Tyrion's face for a few seconds and said, "You should know me pretty well by now, Tyrion. I'm someone who tries to shed as little blood as possible, but I won't hesitate to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals."
He then added, "If there's a less bloody way to capture The Rock, I'll use it, but if I can't find one, I won't hesitate to use wyverns to blow up the castle with wildfire bombs. Know this. Casterly Rock will fall to me. And I'll take all the gold and wealth inside that Castle."
Tyrion looked broken at that, and he added, "What I'm wondering is why you didn't use the leverage you had to protect your loved ones. Will simply keeping your mouth shut and doing nothing really protect them?"
"You... you want me to bargain with you using the information I have?" Tyrion asked incredulously.
"Normally, I wouldn't allow someone who has pledged their loyalty to me to attempt such a thing. But if someone is forced to choose between their family and their lord, I may make an exception to find a middle ground." He said.
Tyrion stared at him in astonishment for a few seconds, then wiped the tears from his face, straightened his back, and said, "If that is the case, my lord, I would like to inform you that I possess information that could buy you time in your campaign in the Westerlands and save the lives of many of your men. And I wish to use this information to bargain with you."
Domeric sat down opposite Tyrion again and said, "This sounds more like the man I know, the one who argues that intellect is mightier than the sword. I am listening, Tyrion. Tell me your demands."
"I want as little bloodshed as possible in the Casterly Rock attack. No women, children, or elderly people should be harmed, nor should any man who surrenders. I also want special attention to be given to my aunt Gemma and her child's safety," Tyrion said.
Domeric waited for a moment, and when Tyrion didn't continue, he asked, "Is that all? I thought you'd at least want some of Casterly Rock's wealth."
"I've abandoned the Lannister name. I don't need their riches. But if you could bring me a few items from the castle to remind me of my deceased mother, I would be grateful. Things you wouldn't find valuable. Perhaps a few paintings or some furniture."
"No problem. I accept your demands, Tyrion. But besides the secret path to the castle, I will make one additional demand." He said.
"What is it, my lord?"
"From now on, I don't want you to lie to me under any circumstances. If something is bothering you, tell me you want to talk privately, and tell me what's bothering you on my face. I'm not like those other two-faced lords. You should know that I will do whatever I can to resolve the issue. But never lie to me," he said.
Tyrion looked down in shame and said, "I accept your demands, my lord."
"Good, then we've reached an agreement," he said. "Now tell me about the secret passage."
Then Tyrion told Domeric everything he knew about the sewers.
After their conversation, Domeric was about to leave when Tyrion said: "My lord... Thank you... Really."
"You're welcome, Tyrion," Domeric said with a smile, and then apparated.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.376: Till Her Last Breath
Ch.377: Mines of Casterly Rock
Ch.378: Hostages