Mandrake Guest Quarters

[The Gambler]

Where the Mandrakes stay in Kingspyre Tower during the tourney at Harrenhal.

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

4th day of the 5th moon

Belric visits the guest quarters of young Lord Mandrake and his mother, Lady Alyssa. His day had been busy following the melee, not having had had a chance to invite his wife in person, he sent a guard to tell find her.

He announced himself to the Albus's guard, and waited patiently for the introduction.

[The Raven]

Feb 1, 2017 4:32:30 GMT Lord Belric Blackfort said:

4th day of the 5th moon

Belric visits the guest quarters of young Lord Mandrake and his mother, Lady Alyssa. His day had been busy following the melee, not having had had a chance to invite his wife in person, he sent a guard to tell find her.

He announced himself to the Albus's guard, and waited patiently for the introduction.

Belric could hear a high pitched voice behind the door. "Avast, Captain Blackwhiskers! The First Bunny of Braavos hath declared you a foe of the Free Warren!"

The guard's expression seemed to crumble as he was unintentionally robbed of any dignity. "A moment, my lord." He stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"You'll not get me, you floating turd! Blackwhiskers bows to no rabbit!"

"Lord Mandrake! You have a guest! Lord Belric Blackfort of Harrenhal!"

Perhaps half a minute later, the guard opened the door and stepped aside. "My lord, I present Albus Mandrake, High Lord of the Red Fork."

The child was twelve years according to genealogy records, and reputedly had some experience as a squire, but very little as a man. Since his father's demise at the Siege of Riverrun, his mother had commanded the house. However, Lady Alyssa was nowhere to be seen.

"Lord Blackfort! It is a great honor to make your acquaintance." The lines were forced and clearly scripted. His back was stiff against the oversized chair he sat in. Nearby,on the great bed, were three rabbits, apparently the survivors of the great naval battle Belric had overheard. Captain Blackwhiskers chewed on some celery.

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

Belric walked into the room and gave Albus a fine bow, "The honor is mine m'lord." When he stood, he looked over to the bed, specifically towards the rabbit gorging itself on celery. Belric's expression grew stern, glaring at the rabbit while offering a respectful nod. "Captain..." he said reverently.

"I had not known there were pirate's in my castle," he continued, turning back to Albus while lightening is tone. "I shall have to punish my guard. How can I expect them to keep us safe when the most notorious and daring, Captain Blackwhiskers, can so easily penetrate my defenses?"

[The Raven]

Albus laughed, lifting his legs onto the chair. "Captain Blackwhiskers must have heard that this castle was built by pirates. Perhaps he found some secret tunnel only known to scoundrels of the sea! Rabbits and pirates are both great lovers of buried treasure, after all."

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

"Ahh!" Belric exclaimed, lifting a finger into the air. He turned to the rabbit and using the same finger, gave it a well deserved scratch behind the ears. "Cunning and ruthless. Two traits any true pirate captain must possess."

"He is right of course," he said very matter-of-factly. "King Harren would have had this place outfitted with all sorts of traps and passages. Dare say I've found a few hidden doors myself." His eyes narrowed. "That is why you must be careful in this place, and keep an ever-watchful eye." Belric spoke to the boy like he was letting him in on a great secret.

"Do you like animals?" He added, having given each rabbit a thorough petting.

[The Raven]

These were clearly domesticated rabbits, and the bad captain's paler cousins about Belric's fingers for sign of food before accepting the consolation prize of a good petting.

"Aye, I have horses and birds and dogs and cats. Maester Tywin has taught me all about breeding and training and veterinary medicine. I can look at any lord's horse and tell you where in the Seven Kingdoms it was bred, and what they have fed it. I can tell you now without consulting my books that you have an inordinate number of ravens on your land for this season, and that they are not all of the same breed." The young lord appeared distressed at the idea. "I don't know why that should be the case. Perhaps they nest in the upper towers during the winter."

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

Belric laughed, "Ironic, is it not, that I am plagued by an unkindness of ravens? Poetic as it may be, it is a small mark on a long list. I expect they will disperse once the towers are rebuilt, but until then I consider them part of the ambiance." He gave a twirl of his hand, finding pride in his daunting home.

"My huntsmen recently captured a grizzly cub. Would you like to see him?"

[The Raven]

Lord Mandrake literally jumped to his feet. "A bear?! Is he tame? Does he still snarl and snap?!"

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

Belric let out a deep laugh, lifting his head and leaning back on his heals. He responded in an equally booming voice, "Does he snap and snarl? He's a grizzly m'boy, of course he does!" He swept a hand through the air like the blade of a sword. "Tame or not, he will always be a beast."

[The Raven]

He looked up at the other lord with rapt wonder and fear. "Oh, to be the warden that caught him! The cub's mother must have put up a monstrous fight. I saw a Reachman in King's Landing who had lost most of his face and half of his sword arm after stumbling upon a grizzly dame. He said his company would have abandoned him if his father were not a respected knight. So they dragged him through the Dornish marches on a litter until they came to a sympathetic keep. My mother declared the man a great liar, for she said the stump was too well healed and that there were no bears in the Dornish marches, but he certainly appeared real to me!"

He walked over to the bed and began to put on his boots. The armed attendant from earlier spoke up, "My lord! While His Excellency no doubt means his offer in pure cordiality, perhaps you should wait upon your mother to return before exploring the castle."

The child through his right boot at the hook-nosed man, who gracefully dodged it. "Perhaps, Decker, you should be silent when men of high station are addressing each other about matters of great repute!"

Decker sighed and dutifully picked up the hurled boot and returned it. "But of course, Lord Mandrake."

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

Belric smiled with pride, "It was my own kin that slay the beast. Harrenhal's Master of the Hunt, my brother Jormun, was the one to strike the final blow." His voice turned grim, an appropriate tone to tell the story of Olaf the Terrible. "She was massive, larger than any horse in Westeros. Her claws cut through plate like a knife through tallow. Just the sight of her sent a couple of my guard running for their lives, choosing the punishment for desertion instead of facing their fear. Yet House Blackfort stood strong, my siblings screamed back into the face of death that day and emerged victorious. Now her hide sit comfortably in my solar, and her cub will became a legend in the black pits of Harrenhal." His voice died in a crescendo.

When Lord Mandrake threw his boot at his guard, Belric could not help but smile. He appreciated a good violent outburst. This was obviously a practiced ritual between the two, Decker's reaction appeared routine.

"You guard is not wrong, m'lord. It would be imprudent of me to take you on a tour of Harrenhal without meeting the High Lady of the Trident first. Your mother has a fierce reputation and I'd not want her to be cross with me should she arrive expecting you to be here." He gave the boy a sympathetic smile, knowing all to well that Albus was eager to get out from his mothers wing. Such was the way with all boys who were eager to be men. "Do not think it is only young lords who must heed their mothers. It does not end, when our mothers are gone, it is our wives who take their place." He chuckled. "The bear cub is not going anywhere. I can tell you the story of how I defeated Bloodraven while we wait for her return."

(Persuasion: 57) To convince Albus to wait for his mother without being offended.