The Gold Cloaks

The Hand's Tourney was undoubtedly the grand entertainment that best allowed the people of King's Landing to forget their troubles in this age of Westeros.

Once the festivities began, the streets of King's Landing grew visibly emptier.

Even the little beggars of Flea Bottom had all flocked to the tourney grounds.

They either begged, hoping to win the nobles' pity, or crouched by the rubbish heaps near the resting areas, picking through the scraps the nobles had thrown away.

That food was a hundred times better than the sour slop and rotten vegetables they usually scavenged from rubbish heaps!

Sometimes they even found a whole grilled steak or a half-finished bottle of ale, enough for a hearty meal.

Davion rode his warhorse at a leisurely pace through the streets of King's Landing.

He had long since put the bags of Gold Dragons on his horse into his game inventory.

As the saying went, good fortune lifted the spirits. At that moment, even the air in the streets of King's Landing, thick with the mingled smells of excrement, cooking fumes, and sweat, did not seem quite so foul to him!

Of course, even the freshest air could not compare with the alluring scent of women in Shataya's brothel.

Before long, Davion arrived at Shataya's brothel.

Before he even entered, a man's arrogant bellow rang out from the hall, carrying clearly to Davion's ears.

"I only want Mary! Get her out here to take a customer, and stop fucking dragging your feet!"

Then came Shataya's placating reply, delivered with an ingratiating smile:

"Ser Slynt, I really haven't lied to you. Mary went to watch the Hand's Tourney with her friends, and she hasn't returned yet!"

"Perhaps I could arrange another girl for you? They're all lovely and charming, every bit as good as Mary!"

The man sneered.

"Heh, when I came a few days ago, you said Mary was with a customer and had no time to see me!"

"Now that everyone in King's Landing has gone to watch the Hand's Tourney, you still dare tell me she isn't here? Are you fucking playing me?"

"Let me make this clear. I'm seeing Mary today, or else-heh! From now on, your brothel's taxes and fees go up by thirty percent!"

Davion frowned, muttering inwardly:

Could the Mary this man wants be that Mary from Volantis?

But his voice is so disgusting it makes me want to beat him up.

Without further hesitation, he pushed open the door and entered, instantly drawing the eyes of everyone in the hall.

Shataya stood looking troubled, with a middle-aged man in armor and a gold cloak standing before her.

The man was short, not even as tall as Shataya.

Most striking of all was his large, completely bald head, which gleamed greasily in the lamplight.

When Shataya caught sight of Davion, a flash of delighted surprise crossed her eyes.

Janos Slynt followed Shataya's gaze. When he saw Davion, his eyes filled with disdain, and he scoffed:

"What? Think your savior has arrived, madam?"

"What help could a little brat who hasn't even grown his hair yet possibly give you?"

"If you know what's good for you, do as you're told and fetch Mary right now. I'm fucking her today, no matter what!"

Davion had not originally intended to interfere.

He knew what Shataya was capable of. A woman so adept at navigating King's Landing's brothel business would surely have a way to send an arrogant small fry like this packing.

But Janos had actually dared to call him a "little brat." No one could stomach that insult.

Davion took a few steps forward, silently came up behind Janos, slowly raised his right hand, then delivered a slap to Janos Slynt's face that was neither light nor heavy.

Smack! The sharp sound rang through the entire hall.

Janos's head instantly snapped to one side as though it had come loose from his body, while his body remained frozen in its original standing posture.

Only then did he fall heavily to the floor with a thud, his whole body twitching once.

Janos felt the world fall silent in an instant. His mind went blank, all thought ceased, and his eyes turned vacant and dull.

Feeling something foreign in his mouth, he instinctively worked his tongue around it, then spat it onto the floor with a splutter.

Shataya covered her mouth in shock. Once she saw what he had spat out, she instinctively took another two steps back.

There were more than a dozen bloody teeth, coated in blood-streaked saliva, with yellow stains still faintly visible on them. It was utterly revolting!

Still angry, Davion wanted to step forward and give him a few kicks.

Coming to her senses, Shataya hurried forward, seized his arm in a tight grip, and said urgently:

"Young Master Davion, don't act rashly!"

Davion gave her a reassuring look.

"It's fine. He's just a Gold Cloak, isn't he? So what if I hit him?"

Shataya shook her head repeatedly in agitation and lowered her voice.

"He's no ordinary Gold Cloak. He's the Deputy Commander of the Gold Cloaks, Janos Slynt!"

At that, Davion nodded in realization, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"So it's him! All the more reason to give him a few more kicks!"

This Janos Slynt was none other than the Commander of the Gold Cloaks who would later betray Eddard Stark at the crucial moment.

At present, however, he was still only the commander's deputy.

Over the past six months, the Commander of the Gold Cloaks had grown increasingly frail and had long since become incapable of handling the City Watch's daily affairs.

Janos now effectively held the reins of the Gold Cloaks. He only had to wait for the old commander to die of his illness before he could legitimately take over and command the City Watch of all King's Landing.

That was precisely why he dared to act so arrogantly today, using his authority to bully Shataya.

Davion pulled free of Shataya's grip, stepped forward, and gave Janos several more kicks as he lay on the floor.

With the thick armor in the way, they did little, really. He was merely venting his anger.

Those kicks, however, jolted Janos out of his daze.

He shook his muzzy head, reached out to grip the nearby table and chairs, and shakily rose to his feet.

He tried hard to look fierce, but his dizziness made his expression look utterly comical.

Janos pointed at Davion and bellowed through slurred speech:

"Who are you? How dare you openly assault the Deputy Commander of the Gold Cloaks? Have you got a death wish?"

As he spoke, he instinctively reached to draw the longsword at his waist, intending to teach Davion a lesson.

Davion inwardly cursed him as a fucking idiot and thought:

So what if you're a Gold Cloak? I'm the fucking Earl of Harrenhal!

He was just about to step forward and give the damned fellow another thorough lesson when Tyrion's voice suddenly came from outside.

The brothel's front door had remained open after Davion pushed it aside.

Tyrion spotted Davion standing with Shataya from a distance.

He promptly called out:

"Davion, come and see who I've brought back!"

Davion instinctively turned to look. Two girls followed behind Tyrion, while another girl nestled beside Gendry.

They were Mary from Volantis, Shataya's daughter Alayaya, and Gendry's sweetheart Janna.

Knowing that today's matches were the final rounds, they had gone to the tourney grounds to cheer Davion on in person. On their way back, they happened to meet Tyrion and Gendry, so Tyrion had given them a ride back along the way.