The common folk were still guessing whose child the missing baby could be. But the Kindly Man, who definitely belonged to
The common folk were still guessing whose child the missing baby could be.
But the Kindly Man, who definitely belonged to the upper echelons of Braavos, surely knew that the Night's Watch was searching for a White Walker.
However, from the moment Arya brought the little White Walker back to the House of Black and White for burial, the Kindly Man had no intention of ever handing the creature over again.
To begin with, the little White Walker was a rare and valuable magical specimen. Even Melisandre, the Red Priestess, had been reluctant to part with it—she had been the one safeguarding and studying the baby all along.
Even if the child had been no different from an ordinary baby, and entirely useless to the Kindly Man, the Faceless Men would still have killed it—using a Valyrian steel blade, no less—rather than send it back.
Taking it back would only invite endless suspicion and scandal, impossible to explain even with a hundred mouths.
The Night's Watch, the Citadel, and Westeros had nothing to do with the House of Black and White—why should the Kindly Man care whether they lived or died?
So, after a full week of fruitless searching, the Sea Lord began to lose interest. The Purple Cloaks grew sluggish in their efforts. Even Sam and Ulmer from the Night's Watch wore blank expressions and seemed to have given up all hope.
"Send word to the Wall and to Dragonstone. Let the Lord Commander and Her Majesty Daenerys handle this," Ulmer said in resignation.
Braavos only maintained raven routes to cities with maritime trade ports—it couldn't send messages directly to Dragonstone or the Wall.
To reach the Wall, messages had to be relayed through White Harbor via the "Braavos–White Harbor–Wall" route. To contact Dragonstone, the message had to go to King's Landing or Gulltown first, where the maesters would help forward it to Dragonstone.
By the time the Dragon Queen received the message, more than half a month had passed since the incident.
"So what's the point of coming to me now?" Daenerys sighed helplessly through the glass candle.
"Could the Braavosi have stolen it?" Marwyn asked.
"Why not the Citadel?" Daenerys countered.
"When I first got the message from Gulltown, my first thought was also the Citadel. It fits their style. But the Citadel would have simply killed the White Walker. There'd be no reason to abduct the baby," said Marwyn.
"So what, you want me to burn Braavos again?"
"Uh, that won't be necessary. Samwell said in his letter that the Sea Lord really did try his best this time," Marwyn said awkwardly.
"I'm just about to begin the first phase of the counter-invasion war," Daenerys reminded him.
To be honest, she no longer cared whether the people of Westeros realized the Long Night was coming.
First of all, she had already done everything she could—and more. Her duty had been fulfilled five hundred percent. What more did they want from her?
Second, she truly didn't know what else to do.
The White Walker was gone. Either they found it, or they captured another one beyond the Wall.
But if even the Sea Lord—who had home turf advantage—couldn't find it, what could she do? She had magic, sure, but not the ability to track someone across a continent.
Besides, no one even knew whether the little White Walker was dead or alive.
When a White Walker dies, it melts into water and evaporates. There wouldn't even be a corpse left to find.
As for capturing another one…The Dragon Queen absolutely refused to charge recklessly beyond the Wall again.Winter had come. Was she supposed to deliver herself as a fresh meal?
Lastly, the great war in Slaver's Bay was about to break out. She didn't have the time or energy to indulge Westeros in its endless troubles.
"Sam of the Night's Watch hopes you can visit Braavos in person. If the little White Walker truly can't be found, then go to the Wall and speak with the Lord Commander to decide what to do next."
Marwyn could sense the Dragon Queen's growing impatience, but he could only grit his teeth and recite the message from the letter.
"Did that fat fool lose his mind?"
He dared to assign tasks to the Queen herself?
"Besides, how can I even go to Braavos now? If I really show up, who knows if there will be a second violation of guest rights?" Daenerys muttered nervously.
She didn't tell Marwyn that the last time someone acted brazenly in Braavos, it hadn't even been her in person.
Without the Three-Eyed Raven distorting her will, the Dragon Queen was more cautious than anyone.
"Is your side about to start the war?" Marwyn asked.
"War could start at any moment, but I'm waiting for a better opportunity."
She then explained her strategy: "raid Tolos, cripple the enemy's naval strength, and force them to reveal their trump cards."
"Your Majesty, if you're quick, visiting the Wall could benefit you as well. The payoff would far outweigh the time lost," Marwyn said after a moment of thought.
"What kind of benefit?"
"Skinchangers," Marwyn said in a low, serious tone.
Daenerys's expression changed. She frowned, falling deep into thought.
Did she not understand the power of skinchangers?
No—she had known for a long time. Even the weakest skinchanger could turn the tide of war.
But… for some reason, she instinctively distrusted those who could possess others so easily.
Like most ordinary people, Daenerys thought skinchangers were monsters.
Still, skinchangers could only be born in Westeros. Once in Essos—especially in Slaver's Bay—where the power of the Old Gods was suppressed, they might not be able to possess others at all.
"My White Knight, Ser Gerold Dayne, is stationed at Eastwatch. He can represent me and speak with Jon Snow to come up with a plan."
Daenerys still didn't want to make the trip over such a minor issue.
Marwyn, sensing she might be able to communicate with her knight remotely, simply nodded and changed the subject.
"Your Majesty, there are two more matters—both related to the High Sparrow. Your bounty on the maesters has been very effective. Recently, the Citadel has practically become a battlefield. Many hedge knights now call themselves 'Knights of Honor' and infiltrate the Citadel day and night, hunting down the Archmaesters and Maesters marked by the Lord of Light's champions.
"One thousand gold dragons per head. Even Jaime Lannister only had a five-hundred-dragon bounty.
"Already, five Archmaesters and four Maesters have been captured and delivered to the Great Sept in King's Landing. As promised, Dragonstone has paid those 'Knights of Honor' a total of nine thousand gold dragons."
"Falling into the High Sparrow's hands—how could those maesters possibly survive? They'll confess everything before long. Just the crimes of violating guest rights and meddling in Westeros politics are enough to get them executed."
Marwyn, with his bull-like neck, sighed at the thought of his former colleagues being hunted like exotic beasts by mercenaries.
"Ha ha ha!" The Dragon Queen clapped her hands and laughed. "That's wonderful news!"
Marwyn's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "The High Sparrow is furious. He wrote to ask how you want to deal with them. He strongly recommends either executing them immediately or locking them in the Church's dungeons to repent for the rest of their lives."
"Killing or imprisoning them would be a waste. Stick to the original plan and send them to the Wall," said Dany.
"Your Grace is merciful!" Marwyn let out a sigh of relief.
"No, I'm not merciful. I'm fighting for gender equality!" Dany said, holding back a laugh. "Tell the High Sparrow that before they're sent to the Wall, treat those maesters just like he treated Cersei."
"Ah—" Marwyn's face changed drastically, his voice tense. "Wouldn't that be... a bit too humiliating?"
Dany sneered, "Violating guest rights is the greatest crime in Westeros. If Cersei could be paraded through the streets, why not the maesters?
Tell the High Sparrow to carry it out properly. It's fine to 'discipline' them for a while longer. But under no circumstances are they allowed to kill themselves from shame halfway through.
I want every single maester to finish the entire walk obediently, then head to Dragonstone and wait to be sent to the Wall."
"Before the walk of atonement, the maesters must also stand on the preaching platform and confess their sins and those of the Citadel. Every single one must speak, even if the content is repetitive," Dany added.
So ruthless!
Marwyn shivered.
"Once the Citadel gets word, I suspect the maesters will commit mass suicide," he sighed.
Dany responded immediately, "Then we'll use that to our advantage and spread the news that they killed themselves out of guilt. What's better for taking the blame than a dead person? I guarantee that each one of them will go down in history, surpassing even the tale of the Rat Cook. Write it in your letter, or pass it on by word of mouth—make sure the Citadel knows: anyone who kills themselves takes the blame!"
"Sigh!"
Not even allowed to die—how tragic.
"By the way, what's the story with the 500 gold dragon bounty on Jaime?" Dany asked.
"Jaime Lannister disappeared in the Riverlands months ago. Regent Kevan is very worried about him."
Could he have been killed by Lady Stoneheart?
Dany shook her head. She had no time to concern herself with such trifles.
"The High Sparrow was shocked that you managed to develop the Faith of the Seven in Yi Ti," Marwyn added.
Indeed, although Benerro remained in Volantis, the news that he would soon be appointed as the High Priest of the Seven-Dragon Faith and help the Dragon Queen build the church in Yi Ti had been shared with the High Sparrow.
Now look at how powerful this 'Seven Gods + Dragon = Seven-Dragon Faith' formula is. Not only has it taken root in Slaver's Bay, but it's expanding into Yi Ti. Isn't it about time you learned from me?
"So, is he willing to follow my method and dress the Seven in dragon robes?" Dany asked.
"He said when he has the time, he'll fast and pray to the Seven about it," Marwyn replied.
Dany rubbed her forehead. "Forget it. That's enough for today."
Ending her "online meeting" with Marwyn on Dragonstone, Dany immediately contacted the reserve White Knight at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
"For ease of transport, I'm grouping ten ships together. Each time ten ships are filled, they set sail for the Stepstones. So far, four groups—forty ships—have departed.
As per your request, the first batch of ten ships was filled entirely with capable warriors, fully armed and armored.
But the pace will slow significantly from now on. We've nearly exhausted Eastwatch's supply of wildlings. We'll have to wait for Mance Rayder to recruit more from beyond the Wall," said Jorah.
"They're exhausted already? I remember when I left, the Wall had over fifteen thousand wildlings. How many people does each ship carry?" Dany asked, curious.
"It depends on the ship's size. The smallest of our ships has a capacity of 400 tons and can carry at least 500 people. Larger ones can hold up to a thousand."
"That's too many. People aren't cargo—they need space to live," Dany frowned.
Jorah pursed his lips and explained, "Wildlings are tough. They've even set up tents on the deck. When it rains, they just cram into the hold. It's not too crowded.
Actually, it was Mance Rayder's suggestion. He believes it's best to transport all the wildlings in one go. The sooner they leave Eastwatch, the more of them will survive.
He thinks the Long Night is coming. The wildlings' own food supplies are nearly depleted, and there might not be time for a second trip."
"Alright, you and Mance make the decision," Dany nodded. "By the way, how many skinchangers are there among the wildlings who signed the 'tripartite leasing agreement' with us?"
"All the skinchangers who came to the Wall have signed the agreement. They can't blend in with the Night's Watch. Northerners treat them like monsters."
"They've all been sent off?" Dany frowned.
Noticing her expression, Jorah's mind stirred. "You want to recruit the skinchangers? Are things that bad in Slaver's Bay?"
"I want another trump card."
"Skinchangers are the wildlings' strongest fighters. They left with the first fleet. But I can have Mance recruit another batch for you."
Then the reserve White Knight suggested, "Actually, the giants are great too. Put them in armor, and they'll terrify any heavy cavalry. You've already captured the King of the Giants, and now over 150 giant warriors are loyal to you."
"More like 150 walking stomachs. They're so big, even the black dragon can't carry them by air!"
(End of chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09