Writer's Note I: Yes, I am still here. A little backstory to go with this update. Sometime back in March/April, my hard drive died. I lost documents, photos, work information, and Fanfiction stories. This chapter was one of them. My greatest weakness is writing something that I've already done before. Honestly, that unfortunate event almost killed this story. The only reason I got the motivation to write this again was because of Jebest4781 updating his A Dragon's Guardian Redux. Without further delay, please enjoy Chapter Eleven of A New Game!

A New Game

Chapter Eleven: War of the Zealots, Part 1

Year 284 AC

The weight of the situation fell off Naruto's shoulders when the shoreline of the Free City Myr appeared over the choppy waves his ship traveled. It felt like centuries since he jumped off that tower with Rhaella in his arms, and his Chakra wrapped around him like an eggshell.

Over the long night, Naruto lost track of the number of times he worried that someone might find them. The wild storm should have sunk their little ship outside of Dragonstone. The royal fleet should have discovered them. In the end, Stannis' hasty attempt to please his brother failed, and Naruto sailed to Essos with a recovering queen sleeping on board.

It was a blessing in disguise because with how Naruto felt, any fight had the potential to be his last. Pulling the life force from his body to heal the dying dragon left him in a perpetual state of sluggishness. His body felt heavy, and he barely had the strength to do the things he used to do with ease.

Being isolated on his ship helped remedy some of his physical limitations, but it was still frustrating to Naruto. Whenever he went too far, he looked at Rhaella and realized he didn't have it too bad.

The water from the ocean shattered against his rocking vessel. All the broken water sprayed softly against Naruto's pensive expression. The assassin looked at the miles of waves; they helped him stay aware through all his fatigue, both natural and forced. "At least it's over now."

Rotating on his heel, Naruto worked his way over to the only cabin on the small ship. He nudged the door open as carefully as he could, a courtesy paid to the former queen. It really didn't matter because she didn't ever wake up, but it's what he chose to do.

Sunken in blue eyes took in the slumbering woman's face. A smile slowly slipped into place on Naruto's weary face. "You're looking much better than me. We've gotten through the tough stuff. Now I need to get you back to my place without making people think I kidnapped you." The last thing he needed was the local authorities on his case.

Rhaella looked infinitely better than she did when Naruto stumbled upon her next to that emptied crib. His work got rid of her scars and burned flesh, leaving healthy but pale skin. The process of fitting her into his cloak took more time than usual. If he successfully managed to hide the last Dragon Queen's face, it'd be much easier to convince people this wasn't a kidnapping.

"Here's hoping for the best," Naruto told her, pulling the hood up over her dirtied, silver hair. He smiled at the sound of a port docking horn. Finally, their long journey across the Narrow was over.

Naruto scooped the hidden queen up in his arms, bridal style. He tucked her face against his shoulder and away from prying eyes. As soon as he stepped out on the deck, his worries of what came next left him.

He couldn't recall being happier to see a person than he was now looking at the man tying his ship to the dock. Instead of having to talk down a stranger, Naruto had someone he spoke with plenty. The man's name was Marko.

Instinct drove Naruto to tighten his grip on Rhaella as he stepped from the ship to the dock. His golden hair instantly glowed with the shine off the morning sun. The bright light also made his haggard physical appearance more glaring. It was a state that Marko commented on right off the bat. "Holy hells, Naruto, you like absolute shit! What happened to you?"

So much for a proper hello!

The tired ache in his bones almost forced Naruto to tell the modest dock hand the truth. Thankfully, he caught himself before making that terrible mistake. "It's nothing that a little sleep won't fix. How have you been? Work been good?"

A look filled with trepidation filtered over Marko's round face, and he scratched at the top of his shaved head. The man's olive skin proved just how much time he spent working out in the Essos sun. "How much have you heard about what's been happening here in Myr?" Was it Naruto's imagination, or did Marko drop his voice a few decibels?

The Sea of Myrth continued licking at the back of his neck with its east blowing wind. Naruto looked out at the city limits in front of him. Had that much changed in the handful of months that he spent away from Myr? "No, my attention has been firmly planted in Westeros. What happened?"

Things got even sketchier when Marko paused and looked around the empty docks and pathways around them. "The folks up in the churches have been up in arms, and no one knows why. They've moved past threats and have gone on to fighting amongst each other. Whole groups of people die in fires and to different poisons. Everyone in Myr is on edge because they think they're next. The magisters won't even leave their homes anymore."

"When did all of this start?" Naruto thought that coming to Essos provided a buffer of safety until he was ready to move Rhaella. It ended up the opposite. He inadvertently brought her into another conflict.

"A few weeks ago, someone walked into the Red Temple. No one lived to say what happened exactly, but everyone knows there was an explosion. I'm not sure which group did it, but the Red Priestesses are up in arms. They are recruiting anyone willing to swing a sword for them." The craziness of it all made everyday working docks a risk to his health. Risk or not, Marko needed the money, so here he was.

That's all the assassin needed to hear to know where things went from here. Naruto figured that in response to the Red Temple's mobilization, the other churches would start forming their versions of militant groups. At this rate, Myr would be ground zero for a war of zealots, and the collateral would be egregious.

No, scratch that, Myr already turned into a warzone. 'I can't take Rhaella back out on the water. She won't make it. Hells, I might not make it!'

"I have to ask, who is that?" A more perceptive person would've seen how Naruto's fingers tightened against Rhaella's obscured body. As it were, Marko focused more on looking into the two incredibly tired-looking blue eyes of his friend.

Naruto was lucky to have had plenty of time on the boat to come up with a cover story for Rhaella and her current condition. And with the leverage of his relationship with Marko, Naruto was unlikely to be questioned further after his initial statement.

"I found this woman on a ship a few miles out. I think she ran out of food and water, so I'm going to get her some back at my place." Naruto's words were half of a lie. He did plan on getting some much-needed nourishment in Rhaella.

Marko looked at Naruto for a moment before chuckling. "You always did have a soft spot for the ladies."

"We both know that's not the entire truth! Remember that woman that thought she could twist my arm with blackmail? How'd that end up for her?"

"Oh, I remember that one? What was her name again? Elesaria?"

A flash of the assassin under that smile showed up in the form of a pair of frigid eyes. "That was her name, wasn't it?"

Despite the summer heat, Marko shuddered at the look on Naruto's face. 'I forget how scary he can be.'

"If you'll excuse me, Marko. I have to get my new friend here out of the sun."

"R-right! Be careful out there, Naruto!"

Naruto dipped his head and swiftly moved around Marko. It had been months, but the blonde still knew these paths like the back of his hand. Traveling them on the daily burnt these routes into his brain, something Naruto was thankful to have. 'Time to get to the safe house.'

Out here in the maze of warehouses and impoverished buildings, the only kind of people on the streets were the poorly paid and slaves. The city didn't see any reason to renovate the old buildings. Their choice made this the perfect place for someone to hide.

A turn here and a twist there, and Naruto carried Rhaella deeper into the bowels of Myr's forgotten district. The walls narrowed in on him, but never so much that they impeded Naruto from getting where he wanted to go.

Naruto reached a chain link fence peeled back far enough for him to crouch down and wiggle through the hole. A few minutes later and Naruto came up to a latched metal plate that he promptly opened, letting in the light.

"Home sweet home," His whimsical smile stretched as he saw small dust particles falling across the light rushing into his home. Carrying the unconscious dragon to the couch, he carefully set her down and sunk into the fat cushion. Rhaella's feet rested on his thighs. "Let's pick this back up in a few hours. I can use some shut-eye."

The days in Myr blended together for Naruto. In the morning, he took care of Rhaella, feeding, and bathing her. It was awkward at first, but the whole process felt normal after a handful of days. He used his early afternoons to get information on the tension in the city, but everyone was rather tight-lipped. And his nights went spent watching over Rhaella and training his body.

Speaking of his body, he finally started recovering from the aftermath of the healing spell he used on Rhaella. Not only did his hair and eyes regain their vibrancy, but he also felt more energetic with every workout. Naruto couldn't go as long as he used to without a break yet, but the progress was encouraging.

He hoped that Rhaella showed the same signs of recovery soon.

Naruto let out a sigh, wiping away the gathered sweat from his forehead with a dampened cloth. The contrast of the cold fabric on his warm body felt fantastic, as did the small streaks of cold water that came down from the rag. "If I continue improving at this rate, maybe he won't notice that I used the spell."

He knew that if his teacher found out what he did for Rhaella that he'd get his ear chewed off. "Eh, it wouldn't be the first time."

Tossing the cloth back into the bucket sitting by his shirt, the blonde walked to the wall of wooden planks that held several of his ebony knives inside of it. He plucked one of his knives free, and he ran his finger against the bladed edge. He used these beauties so many times over the last two weeks that he chipped the metal.

"It looks like I can't put off getting more of these any longer. If I carried these into a real battle, they'd be useless against any weapon of average quality." And that wasn't acceptable to the assassin.

He tossed the kunai into the wall once again, and to Naruto's expected disappointment, it didn't sink into the wood far at all. "Yup, it's time for a visit to Camilia and Victus." Naruto glanced down at himself. "But before that, I need some clothes."

Naruto went back into his Myr home and got dressed quickly. Unlike the long clothes he wore in Westeros, the blonde killer opted for a tighter wardrobe here in Essos.

He wore a form-fitting black leather piece that got shaped in a way that lightly resembled the physique of the human torso. The only separating section between his leather chest piece and pants was a silver buckle on his black belt.

"All this equipment, and I still feel naked without my blades." Naruto's lament followed him to Rhaella's bedroom. He wanted to check on her before he left just to be safe. "I'm heading out for a bit, Rhaella. I'll be back before you're up."

And with that, Naruto shut the door and made his way into the powder keg that was the Free City Myr.

The number of people out on the streets was a shell of the past. And the people he did run into were tense around him. He figured that made sense since no one knew who stood with whom in this war.

R'hllor.

Bakkalon.

Many-Faced God.

Those were the three most influential religious groups in the city. But to make things more complicated, several smaller groups joined in on the chaos. Two of those minor groups were more active than the others.

The Black Goat and the Church of Starry Wisdom.

What Naruto read about those two, in particular, rivaled the cruelty of the Red Religion. If anything, the Black Goats and Church Cult were more heinous because they did these things with fewer people. Their ideologies made Naruto's skin crawl.

The thought of the more fanatic Red Priestesses having control of an entire city sounded like a thing of nightmares.

A familiar branding of a storefront drew Naruto out of his thoughts. Imperial Steel, Naruto's one-stop-shop for all his weapon needs. His smile dropped when he saw the closed sign nailed to the door. 'This isn't Camilia or Victus' handwriting.'

"What are you doing near the shop?"

Naruto looked back over his shoulder. "Calvin?"

Now introduced as Calvin, the young man's hazel-colored eyes widened in surprise. "Ser Naruto?"

The blonde in leather groaned under his breath. Naruto tried telling Calvin to drop the title, but the store's help always defaulted to Ser. He couldn't let Calvin know about his lordship in Dorne, or he might go insane. "Where are the twins?"

Naruto was far from pleased to see the grimace on Calvin's freckle-stained face. "I think we should speak about this in private, Ser."

The blonde assassin raised an eyebrow and stepped aside so Calvin could open the shop for them. Both men stepped into the shop, and Naruto smiled at all the weaponry on the shelves. "Those two always were productive smiths. So, Calvin, where are Camilia and Victus?"

"Ser, what do you know about the... problems in Myr?"

The new lord of Water Gardens grunted internally. 'Great, this again.'

"More than I'd like to know. Why, what does this have to do with the twins?"

Calvin looked down at the ground in guilt. "Lord Victus and Lady Camilia gained the attention of the religious groups because of their smithing skill. Lady Camilia said that the Red Priestesses took Lord Victus, and I was in the back when the Church Cult came and abducted Lady Camilia."

Naruto bit back the curses on his tongue. Myr really did change since his last visit. "How long ago was this, Calvin?"

"A few weeks ago, Ser. I tried gathering some men to free them, but the sellswords are all hired by the religious groups!" The feeling of uselessness knotting Calvin's gut made the boy of sixteen years feel sick.

"Damn it!" With that amount of time since passed, Naruto couldn't guarantee that either of the twins was still alive. He chewed on the inside of his cheek and closed his eyes. He needed a plan. "I need information."

"Ser?"

Sighing, Naruto opened his eyes and found a confused teen looking back at him. "Calvin, stay here and look after the shop. Don't let anyone in that isn't me, got it?"

Calvin stammered out an affirmative answer. "I understand, but what about you?"

"I'm going to try and get Camilia back from the Starry Wisdom idiots."

"And Lord Victus?"

"He's next! The Red Religion is larger and has more influence, that means more time leaving the other prisoner! Now be quiet and do as I say!"

"Y-Yes ser!"

Naruto rushed out of the store, exhaling through his nose. 'Here, I was hoping for an easy day out. Hold on, Camilia, I'm coming for you!'

Later that day

"One little twist to the left and..." The click of him picking the window's lock made Naruto smile. He shimmied the glass pane open and wriggled his way through his created opening. Naruto transitioned quickly back onto his feet. The frosted glass pane and his center of gravity were the only things helping Naruto keep his balance on a ledge several stories off the ground.

Naruto looked down into what he supposed could be called a temple and found lots of black and dark purple. Small explosions of painted and sewn white filled the dark, like a cheap imitation of stars in the night sky. And the torches that provided light didn't reach high enough to threaten Naruto's position in the rafters. Taking a breath, Naruto leaped to the nearest wooden beam, landing in a tight crouch.

Carefully treading over these thin beams, the assassin worked his way deeper into the building. His footsteps were even quieter than the small hiss of the flames burning through their torches. 'It's quieter in here than I expected.'

It didn't matter. Naruto still had plenty to work with here. The roof started elevating as the side rooms funneled into the more spacious main chamber.

Naruto went from crouched to a full stand. He scanned the floor for anything of interest. The assassin got what he wanted in the form of three men in dark purple robes. It appeared that the cloaked acolytes were in the middle of a conversation. 'Lovely, let's hear what you have to say.'

"Do you think tis the day, brothers? I grow tired of hearing this idiotic city slander our name."

"Patience brother, we are not as large as the fake religions in Myr. We must make up the quantity with quality and cunning."

The third man in robes spoke next. "It has been a month, and Seer Alonso's responses to this point have been... underwhelming."

"Now that's not the truth. Just recently, we've acquired the talents of the resident weaponsmith! They say she is the best in all of Myr." Again, the second man returned to the conversation.

"If only the woman would do as the Seer commands, and make the weapons we require!"

"Calm yourself, brother. There's no reason to raise your voice in such a manner. The woman will cave, and we will have our weapons."

Naruto almost dropped down from the ceiling with his steel bared at those words, but he held off for the time being.

"I hope so. There's Valyrian Steel gathering dust as we speak." The first man said through a sigh of frustration.

"Have the second group returned, Brother Belot?"

"No. Seer Alonso doesn't expect them back until this evening."

The man that started the conversation cut in with a scoff. "I don't like the idea of leaving our brothers on their own at times like these!"

Brother Belot nodded his head in agreement. "Neither do I, but we require swords and crossbows if we are to expel the false idols from Myr."

"My sword is getting rather thirsty. Tis the time for action, not sitting on our collective hands!"

Naruto decided he heard enough. Dropping down from the rafters, he landed in between two of the three men. The assassin came down daggers first, driving his weapons into the back of the acolytes' necks.

Both men fell with Naruto, who sprung up from his knees and buried a third kunai in the throat of Brother Belot. His chipped weapon made an uneven cut, but he got his tool of choice deep enough to silence the acolyte permanently.

He pulled the bloodied blade free and caught the religious man's body before it hit the ground. Naruto dragged the three corpses off behind a stone altar table, leaving only small puddles of blood leaking into the stone creases.

"Hey! What's going on in there? Don't make us start without you three!"

Naruto grabbed his kunai and flung himself up against the wall, sinking into the shadows. Oblivious to Naruto being right on the other side of the wall, a new man walked into the main chamber with a frown. "Where'd those idiots-"

Hooked from behind, the man had a hand placed over his mouth before a shooting pain hit his body. A gurgle of warm blood went down his throat thanks to Naruto and his kunai slashing across the robed man's jugular.

He held the man close to his chest, refusing to release the church member until he felt the last signs of life slipping out of the man's weakening body. Once he released his last breath, Naruto allowed him to slide down to the cold ground. 'I smell food.'

True to his senses, the waft of wild meat bronzing over a fire went to his nostrils. He kept his head against the stone wall and listened through the noise in the next room.

"Take the gristle and bones down to the non-believer."

"Are you sure? The Seer was clear with his orders. He wants the prisoner treated right."

"A bit of hunger will make her more agreeable. I'm not wasting my stew on some faithless whore."

"Er, alright, but if the Seer asks, I'm telling him this was your idea."

"Whatever"

Naruto whipped around the corner. In one fluid motion, he sent a kunai flying through the air. The projectile went right between the eyes of the man holding the plate of waste products. Dead before the plate hit the ground, the shattering of the cheap porcelain got the cook's attention. "What the-"

The ocean-colored eyes of Naruto met him. His shock froze him in place until he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Naruto tightened his grip on the kunai and shoved it deeper into the man's stomach, right into his liver. "I hope you meet whatever deity you worship. Tell him the color of these eyes when you meet him."

With the light taken from the man's shocked eyes, Naruto took a step back. The cook's body crumbled at Naruto's feet. He took a look at his bloodied hands and shook his head. "They said down, that means there must be a cell in here somewhere."

A few minutes later, sweeping the floor and moving sacks and barrels, the user of Chakra found something that stood out in stone flooring. He uncovered a square door made out of thick wood with a single metal ring attached to it. "This has to be it."

Naruto pulled on the ring until he dislodged the creaking door. He took a last look around before he dropped into the square-shaped hole. Barely on the ground, he found who he came to free.

"Camilia..."

The tanned-skinned woman with healthy brown hair had her eyes blindfolded, but the sound of his voice snapped her head up. She sat on her knees with her arms pulled out in a pair of chains. Her hands looked fine, but everywhere else carried cuts and spots of dried blood. They were torture marks.

"Who's there?" Her dry, raspy voice sounded awful on the ears.

"It's me, Camilia. Bear with me; this is going to hurt."

"Naruto?" The Essos native winced when the metal shackles around her wrists yanked about, clanking against her tender wrists. She kissed her teeth until a relieved sigh broke free. Camilia used her free hand to pull the blindfold away. "Naruto!"

The assassin turned savior smiled at the battered woman. "You look like shit." It felt better to say than to hear.

Camilia couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's blunt take. "Please don't make me laugh. It hurts!" When Naruto freed her second hand, she flashed him a thankful smile.

Naruto nodded. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

The woman weapon maker tried to get up with no success. "I can't feel my legs." She whispered with a growing sense of worry bubbling up inside of her.

He quickly came over and put one of her arms around his shoulders. "Don't worry. It's only temporary."

Camilia allowed her friend and customer to support her. Reality finally caught up with the recently liberated woman. "Naruto, my brother! The Red Priestesses, they took him right out of the shop! Them and their sellswords!"

"Yes, Calvin told me. I'll work on getting Victus back next, but first, let's get you back home."

Quickly guiding her back to the still open hatch, Naruto took both himself and Camilia out of the lower floor with a single jump. Camilia winced, which Naruto apologized for as he walked her out of the kitchen area.

"You're quite skilled in the art of stealth. I almost didn't hear your escape. Would you kindly put my prisoner back? I still need her exceptional talents."

Naruto didn't recognize the man standing between them and the exit, but his friend did. "That's Seer Alonso, the Church of Starry Wisdom's leader!"

Alonso wore the same purple robes as his minions, but he had his hood down. The religious leader's lengthy black hair compared favorably with any woman; Naruto immediately linked it with the length of Cersei Lannister's hair. But what unsettled Naruto the most was his fake smile.

"It pleases me beyond belief that you think so highly of me, my dear."

Camilia scowled at the man behind her kidnapping. Baring her anger, she exploded in an outcry of emotion. "Fuck you, freak! I'd never think of you as anything but trash!"

Ignoring the offset smile on the Seer's face, Naruto looked at Camilia from the corner of his eye. "Can you move yet?"

Camilia put some weight on her legs, testing her balance with a tentative step. "I think so."

"Good, get to the side. I'm going to take care of this guy." Naruto released Camilia. Keeping his eyes on Alonso as Camilia slowly limped away, the blonde felt his fingers twitch. "Step out of the way, and I won't kill you."

"How fierce, and fearless too. I can give you a loving home here with my family. With your peerless skills, Camilia's excellent craftsmanship, and my planning, we will have complete control of Myr by month's end. Join me and change the world." Alonso extended his hand in Naruto's direction, both physically and metaphorically.

"My blade is my own to aim. No one controls me, least of all someone like you." Naruto snapped back, his arms and legs tensing in anticipation of what came next.

Alonso folded his hand into a fist. He studied Naruto with his head dipped and a perplexed frown. "I don't know what you mean. Someone like me? I only want what's best for Myr, I assure you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man, trying to decide if Alonso was lying or just delusional. "Bombings, bloodbaths in the streets, and chaos aren't what the people of Myr want. That's slaughter, not change."

The Seer smiled, shutting his eyes and extending his fraudulent smile. "They will be remembered for contributing to the rebirth of the new Myr. Won't you be a part of the new Myr with us, my friend?"

Naruto's frown intensified. "A new world isn't built on the bodies of its citizens." He heard enough to understand that this Seer wasn't quite right in the head.

He finally spoke something that made Alonso frown. "That's ironic coming from the mouth of an assassin, isn't it? The way of black and white is out of date in our new world."

The blonde assassin almost told Alonso that he had no connection to the Faceless Men, but held back at the last second. Let him think the men and women of the black and white opposed him. "Enough talk, Alonso."

"I agree..." Naruto took the first move. He unleashed a wave of dragon glass needles that he had stored on his back.

From the darknesses under Alonso's long sleeves, stars of inky blackness slammed into his needles. The shadow stars met the needles. The shadows scattered, but his needles shattered in the process. "How rude of you, butcher."

For the first time in a long time, Naruto was caught off guard by an adversary. "That... that was magic!"

"Correct," Alonso raised his hand, spinning a vortex of dark energy over his empty palm. The magic grew and grew until it went high enough to reach the Seer's face. "You should've joined me while you had the chance. Now you must fade."

Naruto had just enough time to launch himself to the side and avoid the cluster of black spikes that smashed down on his earlier position. He cast a wary glance at the black sludge of the floor before flicking a pair of kunai at Alonso.

Alonso lifted his hand in response. A black box developed in front of him, catching the two kunai. His box shook a few times before shrinking and crushing Naruto's weaponry with an audible crunch. "Oops, did I break your toys?"

'If he can't see me, he can't block my attacks.' He tried to jump into the air, but Alonso caught him by the ankle with a leash of darkness. Slinging Naruto to the ground, the Seer advanced toward his downed foe.

"Please don't run. You'll hurt my feelings." Each step the black-haired man took came with a shadow tendril reaching out and binding Naruto's limbs. The assassin tried struggling against his gradual subjugation, but he ended up in the same state as Camilia was when he found her.

"Naruto, get up!" Said woman couldn't help but voice her concerns upon seeing her friend forced onto his knees.

Alonso stopped his approach for a moment. The off-putting man shifted his worrying smile on Camilia. "Quiet, my dear. I'll be with you after I'm done with our friend here."

Naruto grit his teeth in frustration. Every time he fought against his restraints, they yanked him back in place. The end result left Naruto with a growl. 'This shit is stronger than it looks.'

"I didn't want to do this, but you left me with no choice." Naruto lifted his head and glared at Alonso. The man now stood over Naruto with a shadow-covered hand looming ominously. "But don't worry, I'll give you this last chance to join me."

He refused to give Alonso the satisfaction of an answer. His display of defiance only amused the magical Seer. "I'll take away your stubbornness. It's my job to open the eyes of those who do not understand."

Naruto watched as Alonso's hand neared the side of his head, the inky darkness getting closer to his skin. Goosebumps rose on Naruto's forearms from the sudden drop in temperature, but as a whole, he remained ready.

"Can I say one last thing?"

Alonso reacted with a courteous nod of his head. "I shall allow it."

"You underestimated me." Naruto's blue eyes fixed daggers into the man above him.

"How do you figure?"

A smirk that bared his pointed canines worked its way onto Naruto's whiskered face. "I can do more than just sneak around!" The familiar blue of his Chakra encircled the blonde man's body. Breaking free of his binds with a simple flex, Naruto sprang up and slammed his fist into the side of Alonso's shocked face.

The sound of Alonso's orbital socket breaking under the assassin's punch told the story of how hard he got punched. Knocked clean off his feet, the Seer fired backward with his right eye already swollen shut and bleeding. Naruto wasn't looking at him, however. His sights were on his own fist.

'That didn't feel... right?' He shook off those that thought as something for later. Right now, he needed his focus on getting Camilia back to safety.

"Ready to go?"

Camilia showed her disbelief clearly and honestly. "Only you would beat some magic tossing warlock!"

"If you don't have a trick up your sleeve, then you aren't a very good assassin, and a poor assassin is a dead one," Naruto explained in an attempt to play off his latest feat.

"If you say so. Before we go, I think you should take that creep's Valyrian Steel; he doesn't need it. I bet I could make something nice with it, just give me some time! He left it in his office if you're interested."

The allure and undeniable usefulness of Valyrian Steel was tempting.

Naruto went to ask where his office was, but Camilia beat him to it by pointing at the large, black door behind the altar that he dumped the bodies near. "Okay, I'll grab the spoils, then we can go."

END

Writer's Note II: Normally I tell my chapters in contained instances that link together in a larger way. This newest arc will be a three chapter stretch in Essos. These events will tie into what happens back in Westeros during the times detailed in the Ice & Fire books. So yes, what happens here does have lasting consequences.