Sammy of Tarly
So now what? Sam thought, looking at the note he had just written. Often, he had heard it said that members of the small council, as well as others who espoused to being 'players', would send notes to each other. They sent their little birds on a wing to whomever they pleased, sure that they would carry the note without reading it. Those 'players' could trust their birds, Sam Tarly could not. So, what was a bookish boy to do? Well, what bookish boys always do: he read a book of course!
Simple Ciphers and Their Applications, was not overly hard to find in the library of the King, nor was it overly challenging to learn the first few ciphers. Those early codes were simple, others more complex, and still more were impossible to understand even with the instructions. Perhaps in time he would learn them, but Roslin (his intended audience) would not be privy to their secrets. The Heir to Hornhill had little doubt that, unlike his own father, Meryn Redwyne had not failed to teach her the most basic cipher, for Meryn knew the value of statecraft as Alan Tarly never could. That most simple cipher being: the keyword cipher.
The Keyword cipher was infinitely useful, both in its ease of decoding to those 'in the know' and for its obscurity for those not in the know. Basically it worked thusly: A keyword is chosen, and replaces the beginning of the alphabet. The rest of the alphabet follows as usual, unless the letters were made use of in the chosen word. Obviously, words without overlapping letters must be chosen for the cipher to be used effectively. (for example: if HELLO was used 'L' would be both 'C' and 'D' in the cipher). (OOC: Fun fact, I believe the german code in the movie 'The Imitation Game' was a keyword cipher of a more complex nature.)
Roslin Redwyne
Salutations. Please think back to the last word of the book I was reading when first we met.
(OOC: 'Dragonfire and the Kingdoms it built'. So the alphabet becomes:
a b cd e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z b u i l t a c d e f g h j k m n o p q r s v w x y z)
E dbvt jmspl qmjtrdekc ma cptbr cprtptqr, br htbqr rm jt. Er eq b qtiptr nbqqbktwby, jttr jt ek rdt heupbpy br lsqg ea ynu'l hegt rn dbvt b hnng!
(OOC: real message: I have found something of great interest, at least to me. It is a secret passageway, meet me in the library at dusk if you'd like to have a look! Another fun fact: in this cipher AT = BR :D)
Ever yours,
Samwell Tarly
He looked at the note again, up at the serving girl - plain of face with blonde hair and blue eyes, one lighter than the other - and back down again.
Am I overestimating her? He wondered, looking down on the giberish he had writ with the finest calligraphy he could muster. No, certainly not. He assured himself. She was a daughter of the Arbor, and seemed an intelligent one at that. Perhaps if she couldn't decode it, Roslin was not worthy of the secrets there in. He shook his head at that thought. 'Intelligence is not defined by what you know, but by what you can feasibly learn.' A Maester of his own name had written that, not sixty years ago. Sam was not like to forget it, seeing that another 'Samwell' had thought it important enough to write down.
"Take this to Roslin Redwyne. She'll know what it means." He said, voice confident though he wasn't as sure of himself as when he began. Afterall, this could very will turn out to be a fruitless endeavor and all so that none knew of his discovery. The famed secret passageways of the Red Keep, and he had found one! Sam smiled to himself at that as he watched the serving girl leave.