Chapter 34 - Meeting the Sealord 2
After the hall grew quieter and the servants and companions had left, only four of us remained in the chamber. The Sealord leaned slightly forward and spoke in a quieter tone.
"So Lord Manny," he said with a small curious smile. "What is it that you wish to say that requires so much secrecy?"
I looked at him for a moment before answering. There was a hint of pity in my eyes. I did not try to hide it, and the Sealord noticed it immediately. Syrio Forel noticed it too.
"Your Grace Sealord," I said slowly, "my companion Leaf has some peculiar abilities. She has a connection with nature, plants and trees and all living things or you can say anything with a Life force. She can sense things that others cannot."
The Sealord raised an eyebrow, but he did not interrupt.
I continued, "When we entered this hall, she sensed something unnatural in your body. Something that has been given to you for some time now and has been building slowly."
At first, both the Sealord and Syrio only looked slightly surprised. Magic and strange abilities were not unusual in Essos. In Braavos, stories of the House of Black and White, of shadowbinders, of red priests and strange arts were common enough.
But when the meaning of my words became clear, their expressions changed.
The Sealord's face tightened. Syrio Forel stepped forward immediately.
"What are you saying, Lord Manny?" he asked, his voice sharp but controlled. "Are you claiming that His Grace has been poisoned?"
I nodded calmly.
"Yes. From what my companion senses, the Sealord has been poisoned. And it has been happening for a long time. A slow poison, building inside his body over the years."
I turned my head slightly.
"Leaf,bcan you explain it better?"
All attention moved to her. Leaf stepped forward quietly. She did not seem nervous, but her voice was serious.
"Sealord," she said gently, "your body carries something unnatural. I can feel it even from here. It is not part of normal life. It is like a shadow inside your blood. Something that slowly eats your life force."
The Sealord's face became pale.
Leaf continued, "It has been there for a while. I would say more than two years, maybe longer. The poison has been gathering slowly, little by little."
The Sealord did not interrupt her. He did not even question her words. That silence itself was telling.
Syrio noticed it as well. The First Sword turned quickly toward his master.
"My lord, is this true?" he asked quietly. "Have you been poisoned?"
The Sealord closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back in his chair.
"I did not think it was poison," he said slowly. "I believed I was ill. Some sickness. For the last few months my strength has been failing. My body has grown weaker day by day. I thought it was simply a disease slowly taking me."
He paused, still shocked by the possibility.
"But I never imagined…"
He did not finish the sentence.
Leaf spoke again, her voice calm but firm.
"You are not ill, Sealord. Your body itself is strong and healthy. But the poison inside you is slowly eating away at that strength. If nothing is done, it will kill you."
The Sealord opened his eyes and looked directly at her.
He did not ask if it was true.
Instead he asked only one thing.
"How long do I have?"
Leaf thought for a moment before answering.
"If the poisoning continues, and nothing is done to stop it, perhaps two years. Maybe less."
"But if the poisoning stops now and healers begin treatment, your life may extend longer. Around five years."
This answer alarmed them even more.
Syrio frowned deeply.
"Are you saying there is no cure?" he asked. "Even if we stop the poison and treat His Grace?"
Leaf shook her head.
"No. The poison has already become part of him. The damage it has done cannot fully be undone. The healers may slow it. They may stop his condition from getting worse quickly. But the life force already lost cannot be restored."
She looked directly at the Sealord.
"The reason is that this poison…is not entirely natural. It is strange. Something in it feels… unnatural. Almost like it carries a dark or twisted nature within it."
The Sealord slowly closed his eyes. For a moment he looked like a man who had already accepted defeat. The strength seemed to leave his shoulders, and the weight of the words hung heavily in the quiet hall.
Syrio Forel stood beside him, unusually still. The First Sword of Braavos was a master of the water dance, a man trained to face blades and danger without fear. Yet this was something he could not fight. He could not defend his lord from poison already inside his blood. That helplessness showed in his face.
He wanted to do something, but there was nothing he could draw a sword against.
Leaf and I looked at each other briefly and nodded.
Leaf spoke before the silence could pull the Sealord deeper into despair.
"The healers may not be able to stop the poison completely," she said calmly, "but I can."
That single sentence pulled both men back at once.
The Sealord opened his eyes quickly and leaned forward.
"You can?" he said, his voice suddenly alive with desperate hope. "Tell me how. What do you want? Do you want the dragon eggs? Take them. Take all of them. I will give you everything. Just remove this shadow inside me."
He sounded like a man grabbing the last rope before falling into darkness.
But Syrio Forel raised aan objection.
"Wait a moment, Your Grace," he said in a careful, steady voice. "How do we know they are telling the truth? Perhaps they are exaggerating the matter. We should first ask the healers."
He looked at me directly.
"We can summon the best healer in Braavos. Or even from other Free Cities. Surely someone will know a treatment. Perhaps these people are only saying such things to gain the dragon eggs."
The Sealord understood the caution in his words. He was not offended. But he shook his head slowly.
"No, Syrio. You do not understand…"
Before he could continue, I spoke.
"What your First Sword says is sensible, Sealord," I said calmly. "Very sensible. We may indeed be wrong. Perhaps we exaggerate what we see."
Both of them looked at me.
"But there is someone here who can help verify our words," I continued. "A servant of the House of Black and White."
Their eyes turned toward Emma at once.
They had almost forgotten her presence in the tension of the moment.
Syrio spoke first. "Can you do such a thing?"
Emma tilted her head slightly.
She said honestly, "I cannot say whether he has been poisoned or not. But I may sense if there is unnatural magic or something unnatural done to him."
The Sealord immediately leaned forward.
"Please," he said quickly. "Tell me what you need."
Emma stepped closer to him.
"Give me your hand, Your Grace. Your right hand."
The Sealord extended it without hesitation.
Emma took his hand gently with both of hers. Then she closed her eyes. The hall fell silent again.
For several long minutes no one spoke and Emma remained perfectly still, concentrating.
Finally she opened her eyes. She slowly released the Sealord's hand.
"Yes," she said quietly. "Someone has been giving you something of a tainted nature. Something cursed. It is slowly draining your life force."
Syrio frowned deeply. "You are certain?" he asked.
Emma nodded. "Normal herbs and healers will not cure this."
Syrio crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"Not even the leader of your House of Black and White?" he asked.
Emma shook her head slightly.
"I do not know what they can do," she admitted. "But I should tell you something. We who serve the Many-Faced God are trained more in ending life than healing it. You may ask them, but I cannot promise anything."
The Sealord slowly closed his eyes again.
This time his face looked calmer, almost resigned.
"No need," he said softly.
The rest of us waited.
"I understand now," he continued after a moment. "I understand why they sent you here."
He looked toward Emma, then toward me.
"It was not only about the dragon eggs. They sent you here for me as well."
Syrio Forel's expression changed slightly as realization came to him.
"Yes," he said quietly. "Perhaps they already knew something was wrong."
I nodded as well. The pieces were finally fitting together.
The priest of the House of Black and White had not sent us here for a single reason.
It was never just about the dragon eggs.
It was about two purposes at the same point.
We would receive the eggs.
And in return, the Sealord might receive something far more valuable. A chance to live.
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End of Chapter 34 - Meeting the Sealord 2