Varys in TWOW

We have seen so little of Varys since ASOS, I thought it would be fun to discuss what he has been up to recently as well as his plans during TWoW.

The prototype of Varys is rather the collective image of a eunuch adviser in the ancient east. At that time it was often thought that the eunuch did not have his own vested interests, therefore he would serve only his sovereign, which, of course, did not always correspond to reality. -cant find the SSM :(

Background

The last we see of Varys in ASOS, he helps Tyrion escape (Jaime would have killed him if not):

Varys had escorted him through the tunnels, but they never spoke until they emerged beside the Blackwater, where Tyrion had won a famous victory and lost a nose. That was when the dwarf turned to the eunuch and said, "I've killed my father," in the same tone a man might use to say, "I've stubbed my toe."

The master of whisperers had been dressed as a begging brother, in a moth-eaten robe of brown roughspun with a cowl that shadowed his smooth fat cheeks and bald round head. "You should not have climbed that ladder," he said reproachfully. -ADWD, Tyrion I

and:

I should have killed the eunuch as well. A little more blood on his hands, what would it matter? He could not say what had stayed his dagger. Not gratitude. Varys had saved him from a headsman's sword, but only because Jaime had compelled him. Jaime … no, better not to think of Jaime.

and so he can obviously no longer return to his position at court (The undergaelor "Rugen" also goes missing lol), and while this quote is about Ned, it makes sense here as well:

Ned studied the eunuch's face, searching for truth beneath the mummer's scars and false stubble. He tried some more wine. This time it went down easier. "Can you free me from this pit?"

"I could … but will I? No. Questions would be asked, and the answers would lead back to me." -AGOT, Eddard XV

and while Varys is a wanted man, he likely stays in King's Landing:

While Cersei did order Varys arrested, in the Q-and-A after the reading, GRRM implied that the Spider probably would not be fleeing King's Landing. -SSM, PhilCon Report: 26 Mar 02

as he can probably best serve his cause (current: seating Young Griff on the Iron Throne)

Tunnels in the Red Keep/to Chataya's Brothel

There have been secret tunnels in the Red Keep due to Maegor:

He went beyond the plans of both his father and brother, raising a moated castle within the larger castle, which in later days was known as Maegor's Holdfast. More notably, he was the first to command that secret tunnels and passages be made. False walls were introduced, and trapdoors—and riddled throughout Aegon's High Hill were more and more tunnels.

and we know that he knows about the tunnel to Chataya's as well:

"The tunnel was dug for another King's Hand, whose honor would not allow him to enter such a house openly. Chataya has closely guarded the knowledge of its existence." -ACOK, Tyrion III

and while the next couple quotes focus on Tywin, my point is showing that Varys can likely use these tunnels to get around King's Landing:

Tywin Lannister criticized Tyrion for going to whores, and he was believed to have not been with any woman since the death of Lady Joanna. But when Tyrion killed him Shae was naked in his bed. Varys told Tyrion that the passage to the Chataya´s house was constructed by a Hand who wanted to be not known by that kind of activities. Was Lord Tywin the constructor of the passage, and because of that, a regular customer of Chataya?

GRRM: Interesting theory. -SSM, Asshai.com Forum Chat

and:

For which Hand was dug the passage to Chataya's?

GRRM: No comment. Feel free to theorize...- SSM Monthly Correspondance

If interested: The Bastard Sons of Tywin Lannister

Also worth noting:

Oh, I think Tywin knew about Shae. He probably figured out she was the same camp-follower that he expressly said “you will not bring that whore to court,” and that Tyrion defied him again and did bring that whore to court. As to precisely what happened here, that’s something I don’t really want to talk about because there’s still aspects of it I haven’t revealed that will be revealed in later books. But the role of Varys in all of this is also something to be considered. -SSM, EW Finale Interview: 14 April 2022

Little Birds

As we see in the ADWD, Epilogue:

The eunuch set the crossbow down. "Ser Kevan. Forgive me if you can. I bear you no ill will. This was not done from malice. It was for the realm. For the children."

Ser Kevan was cold as ice, and every labored breath sent a fresh stab of pain through him. He glimpsed movement, heard the soft scuffling sound of slippered feet on stone. A child emerged from a pool of darkness, a pale boy in a ragged robe, no more than nine or ten. Another rose up behind the Grand Maester's chair. The girl who had opened the door for him was there as well. They were all around him, half a dozen of them, white-faced children with dark eyes, boys and girls together.

Varys is still making good use of his "little birds":

"In King's Landing he kept little birds."

"Mice, we called them then. The older thieves were fools who thought no further than turning a night's plunder into wine. Varys preferred orphan boys and young girls. He chose the smallest, the ones who were quick and quiet, and taught them to climb walls and slip down chimneys. He taught them to read as well. We left the gold and gems for common thieves. Instead our mice stole letters, ledgers, charts … later, they would read them and leave them where they lay. Secrets are worth more than silver or sapphires, Varys claimed. Just so. I grew so respectable that a cousin of the Prince of Pentos let me wed his maiden daughter, whilst whispers of a certain eunuch's talents crossed the narrow sea and reached the ears of a certain king. A very anxious king, who did not wholly trust his son, nor his wife, nor his Hand, a friend of his youth who had grown arrogant and overproud. I do believe that you know the rest of this tale, is that not so?"

"Much of it," Tyrion admitted. "I see that you are somewhat more than a cheesemonger after all." -ADWD, Tyrion II

and:

Does Varys has his little birds' tongue cut off?

GRRM: there's some evidence yes. not that he does it himself they're provided to him in that fashion. -SSM, Conquest Q&A: 29 Jun 2013

Sansa's Plotline

We know that Varys offered gold for Sansa's whereabouts:

"Aye, love of gold. Unlike your good Ser Creighton, I did fight upon the Blackwater, but on the losing side. My ransom ruined me. You know who Varys is, I trust? The eunuch has offered a plump bag of gold for this girl you've never heard of. I am not a greedy man. If some oversized wench would help me find this naughty child, I would split the Spider's coin with her."

and while we don't know if the Mad Mouse is in Varys' employ or just after the gold (he was ruined on the Blackwater), we do know that he knows Sansa's identityand that me may attempt to make good on the ransom:

"A good melee is all a hedge knight can hope for, unless he stumbles on a bag of dragons. And that's not likely, is it?"

If interested: Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen aka The Mad Mouse

Plan with Illyrio

No matter how you look at it, Varys/Illyrio's original plan requires a bit of retconning, but we do know that they did not know of the marriage pact:

Did Varys and Ilyrio know of Doran's marriage contract with Darry? Why did he never tell Viserys before he died? 

GRRM: To the first question ... no. And the second, Viserys was an immature child, he was not ready yet for the information.

but as we know their goal seems to currently be seat Young Griff on the Iron Throne, Varys' scheming in King's Landing is probably supporting that.

"I thought the crossbow fitting. You shared so much with Lord Tywin, why not that? Your niece will think the Tyrells had you murdered, mayhaps with the connivance of the Imp. The Tyrells will suspect her. Someone somewhere will find a way to blame the Dornishmen. Doubt, division, and mistrust will eat the very ground beneath your boy king, whilst Aegon raises his banner above Storm's End and the lords of the realm gather round him."

and:

Take your feigned father. Griff, is it?" The dwarf sniggered. "You should thank the gods that Varys the Spider is a part of this plot of yours. Griff would not have fooled the cockless wonder for an instant, no more than it did me. No lord, my lordship says, no knight. And I'm no dwarf. Just saying a thing does not make it true. Who better to raise Prince Rhaegar's infant son than Prince Rhaegar's dear friend Jon Connington, once Lord of Griffin's Roost and Hand of the King?" -ADWD, Tyrion V

Sources Elsewhere

Varys has informers everywhere:

Quentyn had begun to think that they might have done better to buy their own ship in the Planky Town. That would have drawn unwanted attention, however. The Spider had informers everywhere, even in the halls of Sunspear. -ADWD, The Merchant's Man

Jon Con's Grudge

Jon Con holds a grudge against Varys for the smear on his honor:

Does he know? Griff wondered. How much did Myles tell him? Varys had been adamant about the need for secrecy. The plans that he and Illyrio had made with Blackheart had been known to them alone. The rest of the company had been left ignorant. What they did not know they could not let slip.

and:

The men of the Golden Company were outside their tents, dicing, drinking, and swatting away flies. Griff wondered how many of them knew who he was. Few enough. Twelve years is a long time. Even the men who'd ridden with him might not recognize the exile lord Jon Connington of the fiery red beard in the lined, clean-shaved face and dyed blue hair of the sellsword Griff. So far as most of them were concerned, Connington had drunk himself to death in Lys after being driven from the company in disgrace for stealing from the war chest. The shame of the lie still stuck in his craw, but Varys had insisted it was necessary. "We want no songs about the gallant exile," the eunuch had tittered, in that mincing voice of his. "Those who die heroic deaths are long remembered, thieves and drunks and cravens soon forgotten."

and:

What does a eunuch know of a man's honor? Griff had gone along with the Spider's scheme for the boy's sake, but that did not mean he liked it any better. Let me live long enough to see the boy sit the Iron Throne, and Varys will pay for that slight and so much more. Then we'll see who's soon forgotten.-ADWD, The Lost Lord

Lysono Maar

Something else worth noting is that the Golden Company has their own Spymaster as well:

The spymaster was new to Griff, a Lyseni named Lysono Maar, with lilac eyes and white-gold hair and lips that would have been the envy of a whore. At first glance, Griff had almost taken him for a woman. His fingernails were painted purple, and his earlobes dripped with pearls and amethysts. -ADWD, The Lost Lord

and:

Lysono Maar spoke the Common Tongue very well. “I have the honor to be the eyes and ears of the Golden Company, princess.”

and I cant wait to see them interact as Lysono seems quite skilled as well:

"Can we walk across the waves, ser?" asked Lysono Maar. "I tell you again, we cannot reach the silver queen by sea. I slipped into Volantis myself, posing as a trader, to learn how many ships might be available to us. The harbor teems with galleys, cogs, and carracks of every sort and size, yet even so I soon found myself consorting with smugglers and pirates. -ADWD, The Lost Lord

and:

The Lyseni was a very different sort of man than Chain. This one will let nothing slip**, she realized, after a scant few hours in his company. Maar was glib enough, but he had perfected the art of talking a great deal whilst saying nothing**. As for the riders who had come with him, they might as well have been mutes for all that her own men were able to get out of them.

and:

Gather our power, win some small lords to our cause, let Lysono Maar dispatch his spies to learn what we can learn of our foes." -ADWD, The Griffin Reborn

and while they are on the same team, everyone has their own agendas, etc.

TLDR: Varys while likely have a major impact on the southern plotline, even if he doesn't appear very often. He seems to have stayed in King's Landing since freeing Tyrion and is hatching schemes in support of Young Griff's ascent to the Iron Throne. The Golden Company has a spymaster itself named Lysono Maar as well who is a wildcard here.