Chapter 102: Tyrion, the Commercial Prodigy
"Our printed books?" Egger's eyelid twitched. He immediately realized what was happening—anything that popular with common soldiers could only be a certain type of tawdry, illustrated material. He walked toward the tent and, as he neared, quickly overheard the exchange between the vendor and the soldiers.
"Are you robbing me? Ten silver deer for this piece of junk?"
"Robbing you? Look with your eyes open, man—this is a book!" The vendor wasn't the least bit intimidated by the soldier. He flipped through the pages, shouting back while displaying the contents. Anyone with the connections to set up shop on the edge of a royal encampment where six kingdoms were gathered wasn't a common peasant, and the small-folk soldiers knew better than to cause a scene. "Do you have any idea how many sheets of paper are in here? How much ink all these illustrations used? A few months ago, your entire year's pay couldn't buy a book this thick! It cost me five silver deer just to acquire it, plus the cost of shipping it from King's Landing to this gods-forsaken place. Buy it or don't, I've only got so many!"
"I'll Take it, and get out of my sight!"
"That's more like it. You've wasted enough of my breath."
...
Several soldiers paid up and headed back to their respective camps with their loitering comrades. As the crowd thinned, Egger stepped up to the stall to browse.
It was marvelous—a brand new phenomenon in Westeros: a bookstand. The stall displayed five or six titles of varying thickness and covers, books whose contents were easily guessed from their names. Among them, remarkably, was The Fantastic Adventures of a Night's Watchman, the very book for which Egger had drafted the outline. It was a bizarre feeling; even while away from King's Landing, his businesses were flourishing to the point that the merchandise had chased him all the way to a battlefield.
Egger did the math and quickly realized something was off. Based on the projected output of the paper mill and printing press, the order for the Faith's Seven-Pointed Star shouldn't have been finished yet. How were these books already on the market? Either Tyrion had built new production lines at a breakneck speed... or the imp had spotted a golden business opportunity, delayed the existing orders, and pivoted to printing these bestsellers to entertain the bored army and fleece the soldiers for every copper they had.
Tyrion was a genius. Even Egger hadn't spotted this specific angle.
To his slight chagrin, the book he was most proud of—the Adventures telling his own story—was the poorest seller, with a thick stack of a dozen copies remaining. Meanwhile, the smutty booklets he looked down upon were nearly sold out. The most expensive yet best-selling item was something called The Hundred Beauties of King's Landing. When Egger flipped it open, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Every page featured a portrait of a woman in a provocative pose. That wasn't the surprise; the magic lay on the back of the page, which listed the woman's name, age, background, and exactly where to find her. It was a directory of every brothel in King's Landing and their star performers. It shouldn't have been called Hundred Beauties; it was more of a King's Landing Driver's Manual. Heaven only knew where Tyrion got the inspiration.
With a tome that thick and full of pictures, it was no wonder soldiers were dropping ten silver deer for it. It required very little literacy, and the information was incredibly practical. With this in hand, anyone could pretend to be a seasoned regular. It was the perfect product; his Adventures stood no chance against it in a sales war.
Wait—this erotica was essentially a giant advertisement. If he were in Tyrion's shoes, he would definitely be charging the brothel owners an advertising fee!
On second thought, if even he could think of that, there was no way Tyrion had missed it. Who knew how many new business sectors the Night's Watch industries had expanded into or how much gold they had raked in during the month he'd been gone!
...
"No buying, no looking!" The vendor impatiently snatched the manual from Egger's hand. But when he looked up and saw the man in black, his expression wavered into hesitation. "Er... are you perhaps the Chief Logistics Officer, Lord Egger?"
Before Egger could answer, a familiar male voice called his name from behind. He turned to find Lord Buckwell, with whom he had become quite well-acquainted over the past weeks.
Though the man never showed disdain, he was still a noble. According to the laws of Westeros, his status was leagues above a mere brother of the Night's Watch. One must never mistake politeness for equality. Egger quickly left the stall to greet him. "My Lord, good morning. Does the King have further plans to assault the gate today?"
The old man had a seat at Robert's war councils, hence Egger's question.
"Likely not. His Grace has realized the Bloody Gate is a hard nut to crack. He's decided to shift focus to the castles of the rebel houses located outside the Vale of Arryn. Tomorrow, half the host will split off to gnaw on those softer bones," he explained briefly. Then, shifting aside, he introduced the guest standing behind him. "This is Lady Margaery Tyrell. She has read your story and wished to meet you. We didn't find you at your tent... fortunately, your clothes are hard to miss."
Egger was startled, only just noticing the young lady behind the Earl.
"Lady Margaery, you are even more radiant than the legends say. Please allow me to apologize for my wandering."
"You are too kind. It has long been a dream of mine to meet an adventurer such as yourself, Ser Egger West," the girl replied with graceful poise. "If you are not too busy, would you tell me your story? Reading it in a book is quite different from hearing it from the man himself."
She read the "Adventures," Egger realized instantly. "The honor is mine."
...
He had met his match. When it came to speaking to a man in his own tongue, who could compete with the daughter of Mace Tyrell, the sister of the Knight of Flowers, and the Rose of Highgarden—the most calculating young woman in Westeros?
This beautiful girl, with her soft brown curls and bright, doe-like eyes, looked about the same age as Nina. Her eyes sparkled with the same adoration and admiration he saw in Arya or Nina, but Egger knew better. This Little Rose, personally tutored by Lady Olenna Redwyne—the Queen of Thorns—and focused entirely on using her marriage to pull her family back into the center of power, could never be a fan-girl for anyone. Certainly not for a Night's Watchman whose status excluded him from the game of thrones entirely.
In terms of hidden agendas and calculating depth, if he was a self-taught amateur, the innocent girl before him was a lifelong professional. They weren't even in the same league. His only advantage was that he knew far more about her than she could possibly imagine.
Why would a highborn girl like her come to a battlefield? Egger wondered, but he quickly understood. If even he could see that this six-kingdom assembly was a prime opportunity for networking, the sharp-witted politicians wouldn't miss it for the world. This Little Rose was here for a specific purpose. As for why she was seeking him out—that would have to be gleaned from the careful verbal sparring to follow.
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