Game of Thrones: King of Magic

Chapter 25

Solomon. Braavos.

Velano Antarion, as the young man called himself, led the group to a small square where the number of people was definitely less. The buildings here were made entirely of white stone, their walls decorated with various fanciful ornaments, and there were no dirt stains at all.

The passersby were not in a hurry, unlike in the previous place. Their step was measured and their postures relaxed. Some were quietly talking to someone, some were sitting on small benches waiting for something, and some were just strolling along, enjoying the weather.

The pace of life in this square directly stated who exactly was a frequent visitor here.

The upper and middle classes.

The stratification of the population was present in Braavos, but not with such visible boundaries as it was in Pentos. There was no slavery here, and everyone could earn a living. Only the types of labor and their pay differed.

The Sea Lord, who rules Braavos itself, the magisters and the Keepers of the Keys are the highest authorities in the city. While the latter are commonplace in all Free Cities, whose duties are roughly equal, the latter are a novelty that can be considered interesting.

The Keepers of the Keys are the people in charge of the Iron Bank, the most powerful bank in the world. Its customers are both the general population and not so general. Including lords and the king himself, as Ned told me.

The "man" also shared information about it with me. According to him, the bank was founded by twenty-three men, each of whom held the key to the underground treasures. Initially, in the vaults of the bank, formerly the mines of an abandoned iron mine from the time of Valyria, some of the city's residents hid their money from thieves and pirates. Later, wealthy people began lending money from there to those that were poorer.

Currently, about a thousand citizens of Braavos - descendants of the original Keepers of the Keys - hold this honorable, though not substantially wealthy, title. They are entitled to attend the ceremonial meetings of the bank, although the possession of the keys and the right to present them has become a mere formality. The real power within the bank is held by the few truly powerful Keepers of the Keys and the heads of the richest families in Braavos, not necessarily of ancient origin.

While my thoughts were distracted from what was happening, our group entered a very well-kept tavern with three floors. The furniture inside, both tables and chairs, didn't look like they had been hastily assembled from a piece of wood and a couple nails. The decoration was all in the same style: the ornamentation of the furniture with the addition of seashells, as well as the dominant white and yellow colors.

The first floor of the tavern was dedicated to the dining area with tables and chairs, and at the far wall from the entrance there was a counter, behind which you could see the kitchen and racks with alcohol. The second floor was reserved for the rooms, from where I could see only doors and railings, and the stairs to it were adjacent to the edge of the wall to the right of the counter.

Of the three floors only the third could be emphasized. There was a separate spiral staircase to the left of the bar, and two men dressed in armor and a cloak with the shell symbol and in colors appropriate to the tavern guarded it. While the second floor only covered two of the four walls, the third floor covered all four. The entire top floor was hidden from view from below, except for a circle in the middle, made of cut colored glass and occupying two-fifths of its area.

There were few visitors present. Only three of the eight tables were occupied. And those who sat at them were talking quietly about something, gesticulating from time to time or distracted by food and drink.