The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)
Chapter 43: The Iron Bank

A/N: A representative for the Iron Bank arrives in King's Landing!

-x-X-x-

What a Seven Be Damned mess.

Jon blamed himself, of course. Both for Axel's wanderings and the corruption he'd ultimately uncovered in the process.

On the one hand, the King should never have been running around the docks of King's Landing without any sort of guard. On the other hand, everyone knew at this point that there wasn't a single soul in the city capable of harming Axel Baratheon. Jon just knew even more than everyone else exactly how true that was.

Still, Axel's forays around the city after praying at the Great Sept each morning had been something Jon was aware of for a while now. He'd allowed them to continue because… well, for one, Axel was the King and Jon didn't have the right to tell him he couldn't, and for two, they really were a good way for Axel to keep an ear to the ground and learn about things even Jon didn't know about.

Case in point, while Jon wanted to be mad that Axel had run into and befriended yet another important noblewoman on his latest expedition into the city, he couldn't really when that encounter had in turn led to uncovering corruption at the docks that Jon had no idea was even going on.

Of course, if Asha Greyjoy had marched up to the Red Keep to air her complaints to them directly, Jon isn't entirely sure he would have believed her. Not for nothing, but he knew what sort of man Balon Greyjoy was and was well aware that he'd raised his daughter in the exact same way. Asha Greyjoy had been Captain of her own ship for years at this point, and she definitely did not comport herself as a noblewoman should.

However, thanks to Axel's intervention and what the young King had seen with his own two eyes, Jon knew to treat Asha's words with more severity. And what she spoke of made his blood run cold in his veins. Someone waving around the title of Master of Coin down at the docks and committing fraud against every ship that sailed into the city's harbor was… well, 'bad' didn't really cut it at that point, now did it?

Initially, Axel's fury had been directed at Petyr. Jon had, of course, calmed the young King down. He didn't believe Petyr could really be involved in such a scheme. The man had worked for Jon for decades at this point after all, serving him loyally in Gulltown and then onto King's Landing.

Jon had begged Axel to let him get to the bottom of things and Axel had ultimately agreed not to react too… rashly. From there, they'd managed to unravel some of the mess and figure out what was happening, namely through the identities of the five men who had tried to set upon Asha Greyjoy down by the docks.

Crossbows, especially of the make that were found in the alley, were not cheap by any means. That spoke of organization and coin. But it was the men themselves that cracked the whole thing wide open like a damn egg.

They were disgraced Goldcloaks, each and every one. Jon had known of course that simply arresting Janos Slynt and sending him to the Wall along with the worst of his subordinates wouldn't be the end of weeding out the corruption in the City Watch. In fact, he'd been working on fixing the corrupt organization right alongside figuring out a long term solution to the Crown's debts ever since they'd seen Janos off.

Unfortunately, the men who had been dismissed for not meeting the City Watch's new standards but hadn't been arrested because they had no provable crimes… well, they had to go somewhere. And that somewhere was apparently a criminal organization operated by one of the Goldcloaks' few remaining Captains who had managed to escape proper scrutiny.

It was actually Petyr who had helped them unravel the whole scheme in the end. In fact, the man had worked tirelessly to get to the bottom of things, as much to figure out what was going on as to clear his own name. Thanks to the Master of Coin's efforts, they had managed to take down and round up all the men involved in the fraud at the docks in less than a week!

At the end of it all, the Goldcloaks were even more gutted than usual and Axel was making threats to name Lady Brienne of Tarth as Commander of the City Watch if things didn't shape up soon. That seemed to have become the King's new favorite pastime in fact. He seemed to take a certain amusement from threatening to give Lady Brienne responsibilities, if only to see her and others around her squirm.

Privately, Jon wasn't entirely sure the giant of a woman would do a worse job than who they had in charge now. The only real problem he foresaw was that she was a woman and might get herself killed if they gave her the job.

Still, at least the situation was… mostly resolved. Only mostly, because the addition of Asha Greyjoy to the Red Keep had seemingly become a semi-permanent thing. The Daughter of Balon Greyjoy had accepted Axel's invitation to stay in the Red Keep while she was in the city, and so far she'd made no noises of moving on any time soon.

Asha Greyjoy's presence further complicated an already complicated set of matters in Jon's humble opinion. The situation between Axel and his would-be Queens was already growing tense as things stood, simply because it was becoming increasingly obvious to all involved that Axel was feeling… indecisive.

The problem was, he very clearly liked them both. Maybe if Dorne hadn't answered Jon's letter as initially expected, or he hadn't been able to convince Ned to send for his daughter… but alas, no. Perhaps Jon shouldn't have sent for both at once, but given Axel's rather exacting standards, it had felt better to hedge his bets at the time.

Axel didn't want a betrothal signed and sealed before he even laid eyes on his prospective bride. He wanted them to come to King's Landing so he could get to know them and they could get to know him. Having one of them visit and only asking after the other one if the first failed to interest the young King would have been an insult no matter which way you cut it.

Unfortunately, this meant they had a problem because it was obvious to Jon and half of the court besides, that both Sansa Stark and Arianne Martell wanted to be with Axel. They wanted him, they wanted to marry him, they wanted to be his Queen. And the only thing standing in either of their way… was each other.

Jon was quite glad that Axel had been smart enough to double the court's taste testers before either party had arrived, because frankly, if they hadn't he suspected that someone might have been poisoned by now. As things stood, the King was doing a decent enough job of maintaining equal relations with both women and had so far split his time between the two of them fairly.

… But the situation as it currently stood couldn't last forever and the addition of Asha Greyjoy to the already fraught romantic drama taking place within the Red Keep was like adding kindling to an already burning fire. Jon was confident that it would only make things worse rather than better.

Still, Axel was King and all Jon could really do was advise the young man to the best of his abilities while carrying out his duties and striving to see Axel's directives completed. Case in point… today's meeting.

As Jon sits at the head of the Small Council Table, only one other member of the Small Council sits with him. Petyr Baelish is quiet and seemingly introspective as he leans back in his chair, no doubt pondering matters of his own, probably to do with the corruption they'd uncovered together.

The Master of Coin also has noticeable bags under his eyes and Jon can tell that Petyr hasn't been getting enough sleep lately. He would tell him to take a day off, but Jon himself hasn't been sleeping well either. Everywhere he turns, he finds more corruption and unanswered questions about everything from the Crown's debt to the corruption of the City Watch to the physical state of King's Landing itself.

Both of them can sleep when this entire mess has been dealt with, so Jon remains quiet and lets Petyr stew in his own thoughts until the doors to the Small Council Chambers finally open up and their guest from across the Narrow Sea is admitted at long last.

Rising from his chair, Jon moves to greet the Iron Bank's Representative, even as the rather strangely dressed man, wearing a conical purple hat and purple robes, takes said hat off and bows.

"Greetings Lord Hand. I am Lord Tycho Nestoris of the Iron Bank. I was recently placed in charge of the Iron Throne's account with us and I was pleased when you reached out for this meeting."

Jon can believe it, even as he inclines his head in turn. The fact that the Iron Bank had rushed to send a representative by ship the moment that the Crown's letter had arrived in Braavos… well, it made it clear they wanted to do some sort of deal, hopefully.

"A pleasure, Lord Tycho. I am Lord Jon Arryn, Hand of the King, and this is Lord Petyr Baelish, our Master of Coin."

The banker gives Baelish a respectful nod that the Master of Coin returns and then takes a seat at the table when Jon gestures for him to do so. Retaking his own seat, Jon clears his throat as he looks out across the table, which is currently covered in parchment, tomes, and scrolls detailing the Crown's financial records.

"First and foremost, thank you for coming all of this way Lord Tycho. Out of respect for your time, I will be blunt. At this point, the Iron Bank holds the greatest amount of the Crown's debt. The King would like this to change as soon as possible."

Tycho Nestoris is a tall, thin, and quite gaunt man. His eyes are dark as he regards Jon from across the table.

"Yes… we'd heard that a great portion of the Iron Throne's debt to House Lannister had been… forgiven. I confess, we were surprised by Lord Lannister's generosity."

Left unspoken is the fact that the Iron Bank has no intentions of being so generous. Jon smiles grimly even as he shakes his head.

"Those were… extenuating circumstances, Lord Tycho. Not to worry, the Crown knows full well that the Iron Bank has expectations of us. But first and foremost… we must make sure that our books line up with what information you have of our account I'm afraid."

When the Iron Bank Representative lifts both eyebrows at that, Jon grimaces.

"… Unfortunately, as we've been settling into things with our new King, I've been finding… discrepancies in the records. The amounts that smaller lenders gave to the Crown have not always matched up with our ledgers. I fear the same might be true for the Crown's debt to the Iron Bank, so I must ask that we perform a joint audit together. Hence all of these documents before you now."

Lord Tycho's eyes flicker down to the mess of papers, tomes, and scrolls sprawled out across the Small Council Table… then over to Petyr Baelish and finally back to Jon before he smiles thinly.

"I see."

Reaching into his robes, the banker pulls out a relatively small book by comparison and flips it open. And then he starts to recite numbers, forcing Petyr to scramble to find the proper pieces of parchment among the mess. Jon just sits back and listens wearily as Petyr and Lord Tycho begin to reconcile the records of both the Crown and the Iron Bank. He listens closely, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

… Which is why he's honestly more than a little surprised when it just… doesn't. It takes them about half an hour for the Master of Coin and his counterpart from the Iron Bank to go through everything, but when they're done the discrepancy is honestly too small to matter that much.

As far as the Crown is concerned, they owe the Iron Bank two million, one hundred thousand, and five hundred and fifty-eight golden dragons. As far as the Iron Bank is concerned, they owe them two million, one hundred thousand, and five hundred and sixty-nine golden dragons.

Compared to some of the other discrepancies, a measly eleven golden dragons is absolutely nothing and Jon can see that Petyr Baelish shares in his relief, even as Lord Tycho smiles thinly.

"I do believe, as a gesture of good will, that the Iron Bank is more than willing to bring our records down to yours so that we line up… perfectly. Especially since all of this hard work as well as your earlier words make it clear you have every intention of paying down the Iron Throne's debt."

Letting out a shuddering breath, Jon smiles wanly and nods.

"Indeed, Lord Tycho. Paying off the debts left behind by his father is our new King's top priority. He has no intention of letting things remain as they are, I can assure you of that."

Smirking slightly, the Iron Bank Representative tilts his head to the side.

"Oh? From what I've heard, his top priority seems to be finding a bride. Though perhaps they are not quite so… separate from one another. The death of King Robert and his trueborn sons was as much a shock to us over in Braavos as I'm sure it was to all of you here in Westeros. A strong, secure line of succession can be appreciated by everyone, I'm sure."

Jon's smile becomes a little fixed at that.

"Yes. Well, even as our King strives to decide on just who his Queen will be, I assure you that the debt to the Iron Bank is also at the forefront of his mind. We should be able to begin sizable payments within the next few months, isn't that right Lord Baelish?"

Petyr jolts at being acknowledged, straightening up in his seat and hesitantly nodding.

"… Yes, that should be possible. The only thing that might disrupt matters would be the wedding, of course."

Chuckling, Jon shakes his head.

"Knowing Axel, he'll insist on a minor affair and cutting costs wherever possible. I doubt it will be an issue."

Of course, what Jon doesn't say is that he also doubts it will be an issue because at the moment the dual courtship going on seems to have no end in sight. Neither the Princess of Dorne nor the Lady of the North seem to have any intention of backing down any time soon.

Jon doesn't want to have to be the bad guy, but there might come a point where he needs to demand that Axel finally make a decision once and for all. He could only hope that it wouldn't come to that though…

The meeting winds down from there and Lord Tycho is seen out of the room and to his guest quarters to rest up before making the return trip to Braavos. Jon, meanwhile, claps Petyr on the shoulder and praises his efforts before letting the Master of Coin get back to work.

Really, Jon doesn't know what he would do about this entire mess without Petyr Baelish's help. The man was truly a blessing in every possible way.

-x-X-x-

A/N: I'm sure the final words of this chapter might make some people angry. All I'll say is Petyr Baelish's days ARE numbered. In fact, he dies within the next fifteen chapters!

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