A City of Blood.

[Gandalfus]

Fanatics, thieves, and murderers. Just an ordinary day in King's Landing. The Low Greens rule from Flea Bottom, and conspire to depose the line of the she-devil Rhaenyra. Growing in strength over the last few weeks, their ranks had been bolstered by opportunists and looters, eager to spill blood and make some coin off the back of it. Hearsay and rumour said a lot about the Low Greens and their leadership. Some said it was Prince Aemond, alive and well, while others spoke of a "King" of Flea Bottom, an almost omnipresent figure giving the city back to it's people. They rule the poorer parts of the city, and it's more dangerous than ever to walk the streets of the poorer areas of the capital, be it night or day. Idealists or not, the lower orders were controlling half the city, and the city watch has forgone most of the patrols there. Nobody knows what is being planned down there in the slums of the capital, but the scum and rabble won't sit idle long. Not after their successful attack on the royals themselves.

"The Warrior's Men" are an entirely different bowl of stew. While their name would suggest some ties to faith militant, they are, in truth, much further apart from the traditional soldiers of the Seven. Lead by a militant septon, they have taken control of nearly all the holy sites of King's Landing, and have established their own quasi police force of armed men, and their mission is to bring the justice of the Seven to the people of the. In the absence of the City Watch, many are turning to these Warrior's Men to mete out judgement and mediate settlements, often leading to mass whippings or hangings. It comes as some comfort that this group is in direct opposition to the Low Greens, for if they worked together then the City would be theirs in a month. Recently, they have taken to looting brothels and unsavoury businesses, using the funds they obtain to finance their operation. Despite their opposition to the crown, they do look out for the local people, feeding the starving and caring for the sick. But whilst they have the love or fear of many of the common people, the Guilders are not too fond of them, and view them as a nuisance that disrupts business.

The last group are the local Guilders, made up of most of the members of the merchant's guild, and headed by a few prominent merchant families. While they are perceived as the weakest of the groups due to their recent formation, the Guilders have enough coin to make themselves a real thorn in the side of the Red Keep. While a few merchants have been curiously receptive of Lord Karstark's offers of relocation, the more prominent families are less eager to forsake their business selling goods to the Free Cities for a new life as a fishmonger in Karhold. This, along with a few rumblings from a certain Vernon of Rayonet,has driven some of the Burghers to more desperate measures - hiring their own private armies, in order to defend themselves as well as their business.

[Gandalfus]

Due to the delayed reaction from the Small Council concerning the volatile Lower Greens, gangs of vagrants have taken to pillaging in the wealthier areas of the city. The Warrior's Men remain eerily quiet, preferring to keep the law and order of The Seven in the areas of the city under their control. The Burghers, thanks to Lord Karstark's offer, have become divided in their opinions, causing some of the wealthier and more unsavoury businessmen to look out for their own interests. While they may be persuaded to come around, if left untouched these organisations may come back to bite later on. Two figures of note have arisen among the Burghers;

Flement Floren; the Capitol's most prominent patron of gambling, owning plenty of underworld brawling pits, dog fights, and horse races. Floren has begun hiring thugs to protect his business in the good old fashioned way, and is bringing lots of lesser merchants under his "protection", meaning that his sphere of influence is expanding by the minute. Floren is vehemently opposed to any plan of resettlement, wanting to stay in the city at all costs. However, he doesn't count himself as an enemy of the crown, instead, he's using the chaos as a means to expand his business.

Dick "Dungheap"; Before the riots, Dick Dungheap wasn't an especially prominent merchant. Born and raised in Flea Bottom (hence his moniker) he started out as a young gong farmer. Eventually he wound up as a blacksmith's apprentice, eventually becoming a blacksmith himself. After the formation of the Low Greens and Warrior's Men, Dick found out that his connections in Flea Bottom won him friends in the right places, and he became the sole supplier of weaponry to these two organisations after the competition was destroyed in the riots. Dick has made a pretty penny off the misfortune of the other blacksmithing businesses, and, similarly to Floren, has managed to expand his sphere of influence amongst the other merchants and craftsmen. An all round thug, Dick and his group of armed men have subjugated other businesses by force; giving the other factions no choice but to deal with him. The Crown could either find Dick to be a powerful ally or a dangerous enemy, depending on how they deal with the brutish blacksmith.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

OOC: Are characters in King's Landing aware of these two men, or not?

[Gandalfus]

OOC: I'd imagine so. They exist regardless of whether the Burghers choose to re-locate or not, as they are both profiting from the riots.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Corlys hoped that with the division over Karstark's offer, and the general disposition of merchants, that he would be safe enough entering the Street of Silk with his retinue of fifty men. He himself was dressed in his armour and finery, and he made sure his men were as well. Hopefully their appearance would dissuade too much trouble. He had to decide which faction to deal with among the merchants, the council being informed of two figureheads forming who didn't always see eye to eye. Hopefully by quelling one-side he could reduce the strength of the overall movement. However he doubted the other-side would be as amiable after they realised he had dealt with the other first.

Corlys was against more merchants moving north to Karhold, and the reports indicated that Flement Floren, a merchant rapidly growing in power, shared a similar view. It was also apparent that he wasn't against the Crown and current government, but like all merchants was simply trying to expand his business. Corlys felt he would have more success in dealing with this sub-faction. However, the other figure, Dick Dungheap as he was known, supplied arms to the other factions, and by dealing with them Corlys may be able to reduce the strength of the other factions as a whole - knock out their source of weapons and they become a lot less of a threat. Dick's crowd were perhaps the more dangerous of the two merchant groups in terms of thugs on the street ad their ability to cause chaos, but if the riots were quelled elsewhere his business would have certainly reduce as his market evaporated. Getting Dick onside was an option, and his men may be able to deal with the other rioters where the Crown couldn't, however Corlys wasn't sure if the crown should be dealing with such unsavoury characters to restore order, and the last thing they wanted when this was all over is an armed group of marauders getting to big for their boots. He was a sailor, and used to dealing with people who had little morals, however he was older now and had more to represent - the kingdom's government, could he stain Rhaenyra's legacy in such a way?

In the end he decided to deal with Flement Floren and try to get them onside or knock them out of the picture before they could grow any larger or get any more merchants on side with their offer of protection seeming more and more attractive in these uncertain times. Hopefully the other Lords would be able to deal with the other factions, which should have a side effect of reducing the strength of Duck Dungheap's faction. This way he could ensure more merchants stay in the city, and avoid having the crown's reputation damaged by dealing with common thug and his band of looters.

Now he just had to seek Flement out...

[Gandalfus]

OOC: want me to handle this one?

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

OOC: Not sure if Ponti wanted to RP the merchants or not.

[Pontifex Maximus]

ooc: If richard wants to take the lead here given his NPC character development I'm fine with that, or I can do this

[Gandalfus]

OOC: I'll take it then, if you like.

[Gandalfus]

The word on the streets of Kings Landing is that Flement Floren owns and lives within a manse, not too far from the Red Keep. Corlys' best bet would be to try and catch him there. The Manse itself isn't hard to miss - it's far away from the troubles of the poorer areas of the city, and is a vast complex, complete with gardens and fountains that wouldn't look amiss within a royal palace.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

It hadn't taken long to hear that Flement made his residence in a rather nicely furnished manse away from the trouble. Corlys ordered his men to follow him to the manse and when they reached outside he made his presence known, coming forward in front of the men he brought with him.

[Gandalfus]

Flement, made aware of Corlys' presence and his wish to see him, means that Corlys and his men found the doors wide open. At the door, a eunuch stood, next to a few armed guards. The hairless servant smiled, and bowed courteously.

"Lord Corlys Velaryon, Lord of The Tides, Lord of Driftmark and Master of High Tide. Master Floren is humbled by your presence. You may find him inside, my Lord, if it please you. Follow me."

Waiting for Corlys (and only Corlys) to join him, the eunuch disappeared into the grand estate.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Corlys gestured for his men to stay outside the manse, and followed the eunuch into the estate. He made a small bow when he was led to Floren, waiting for him to speak first.

[Gandalfus]

"It his I who must bow my lord. I am merely a merchant." Floren said with a smile, and produced an extravagant bow. "Come, Lord Corlys, have a seat. I have had not a soul to play cards with until now." Sitting down opposite Corlys, Floren's servants produced two goblets of wine. "So, how can I help you, Lord Velaryon? I understand you were seeking me out?"

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Corlys decided to get to the point, "From what I've heard we share a few things in common. I'd like to use that to our mutal benefit."

[Gandalfus]

"Guess I'll have to teach you the Dance of Dragons card game later, then." Floren said, an amused expression on his face. "What do we have in common, then? We are both rich, I suppose."

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Corlys smiled at the comment, "And that's because we have benefited from King's Landing being a major merchant city. Something we both want to remain the case."

[Gandalfus]

Sliding one of the goblets towards Corlys, Floren took a sip before raising an eyebrow.

"Go on, my Lord." Floren said, in a curious tone.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

"Look," Corlys contiuned, "we both know Karstark is after this city's merchants to turn his lands into some sort of trading haven. I don't want that, you don't want that. It's bad for business. The crown and your merchants aren't natural enemies, we can help each other instead of locking horns. You stop all this nonsense with the merchants being part of the riots, I'll stop Karstark from taking any more merchants in the future."

[Gandalfus]

"I am assuming the crown will give the guilders certain... Privileges, if I am to convince them to halt their demands?" He asked with a frown, before skimming over a report one of his servants handed him. "There is also the matter of Dungheap." He said, almost nonchalantly. "I'll get a royal decree giving me rights to seize his property once this is all over with, correct?" Floren looked up from his report, staring at the Sea Snake.