Although Daenerys hadn't expected Xaro to pay for her to pull strings, the man who claimed to adore her hadn't offered to help her out.
She had to cover the bribe money herself; he merely guided her on whom to approach.
For her first step, Daenerys arrived at the Qarthian Temple of Memory with a chestnut mare, a gray wild ox she'd hunted near the Red Waste border, and a large black dog purchased at the market.
The Milkmen worshipped a "God of Memory" she'd never heard of, so she offered sacrifices to the god's priest.
The mare represented the Dothraki's tribute, while the ox was an ancient custom. Legend had it that before Qarth was founded, the primitive Milkmen had survived by hunting creatures from the Red Waste.
*Hmm, the Red Waste grows hotter and more brutal as one approaches its center. The coastal plains, however, remain rich in water resources and support a vast array of wildlife.*
The black dog was peculiar. Like the Great Empire, the Qarthians had a particular fondness for the taste of dog meat.
The priest, impressed by Daenerys's thoughtfulness, told her—an old Milkman with hair and skin like snow—that she could seek memories of time at the Temple of Memory.
After questioning the old woman thoroughly, Daenerys finally understood that this was also the library of Qarth, and the priests of the Temple of Memory served as the city's historians.
For over a thousand years, they had recorded every major event that occurred in Qarth.
"Mother of Dragons," the old woman said with a smile, "your journey with your dragons, your Dothraki warriors, your heroic trek across the Purgatory Plains to reach Qarth—even your visit to the temple today—have already become, or will soon become, part of the God of Memory's legacy!"
If it had been the original Daenerys, she might have shown no interest in historical records. But this Daenerys's heart pounded with excitement: *Worth it, so worth it! Those two thousand Qarthian gold coins were completely recouped!*
*Well, on the surface she only gave three beasts,* but in truth, the night before, Aggo had led four Dothraki to carry two chests of freshly exchanged Brightcoins quietly into the old priest's backyard.
*Yes, a true back door—through the alley gate, into the backyard of the old priest's current favorite thirteen-year-old mistress.*
Qarth used Brightcoins, a currency popular since Ancient Valyria. The round coins bore a crown on one side and a grotesque skull on the other.
Brightcoins were small, each weighing only one-third as much as a gold dragon.
Two thousand Brightcoins had a purchasing power of roughly 8 million RMB (2,000 x 4,000).
This was a medieval world, where productivity was far lower than in modern China. Two thousand Brightcoins was an absolute fortune.
This explained why the old priest was so amiable towards Daenerys.
After obtaining a "borrowing pass" from the Temple of Memory, Daenerys's next back door was the Keeper of the Rolls in Qarth, the city's administrative officials.
As she distributed bags of gold coins, Daenerys suddenly realized she had used half of her private hoard of Drogon's hoard.
She told Xaro with a bitter tone, "I'm out of money. All I have left are some antique jewelry I dug up from the City of Bones."
Faced with the plea of a peerless beauty, Xaro's heart remained as cold as ice. He had no intention of dipping into his own pockets. Instead, he offered her a cunning suggestion: "News of True Dragons has spread throughout the East, and more and more dragon hunters are flocking to visit. Qarth is now filled with people eager to meet you and your dragon. Why not accept their requests for audiences while charging each visitor a gift?"
Daenerys pondered this. The idea had its advantages.
Not to mention how many "zoo tickets" she might receive, simply spreading the word of her and her dragon's existence throughout the East would make them common knowledge, deterring some from using the most direct and ruthless methods against her.
Wasn't that the very purpose of having Jorah spread rumors of the dragon in the docks and taverns?
When no one knew of her dragon, she preferred to remain hidden in White Cloud City, doing everything to keep the secret from leaking.
But the moment an outsider learned of her dragon, her hidden plans would be completely shattered.
When no one knew of the dragon's emergence, she was safest, with a threat index of one star. When only a few knew of the True Dragon's return, she was in the greatest danger, with a threat index of four stars. Once her story became known throughout the Far East, some would hesitate, and her danger would decrease to three stars. But when the news crossed tens of thousands of kilometers to reach Westeros, the danger would skyrocket to the maximum five stars.
Yet whether only a few knew or the entire population of Qarth knew, the speed at which information about her dragon reached Westeros would remain unchanged.
Given the distance between Qarth and King's Landing, Daenerys had a buffer of about two years before news of her dragons could reach the capital.
This meant that either her dragons would grow to full size within two years, or Daenerys would need to establish robust security measures—commonly known as "building her own power base"—within that same timeframe.
Either way, she needed money.
Daenerys agreed to Xaro's plan to establish the "Dragonarium."
That afternoon, Jorah brought a ship captain to her palace.
"Your Highness, I've brought you a merchant from the Summer Isles."
The man was a dark-skinned uncle, his skin as dark as polished obsidian, gleaming and gleaming.
"Your Majesty, my name is Kuhulumo, captain of the *Laurel Wind*, from Highgarden in the Summer Isles." The man, draped in a yellow-green feathered cloak and dressed like a peacock, bowed and introduced himself.
"He brings news from King's Landing," Jorah said.
"You're from King's Landing?" Daenerys asked.
"No, I set sail from Oldtown six months ago with a full cargo of Arbor wine. You've been away from home for a long time; you must miss the taste of your homeland, just as the people of the Seven Kingdoms miss you." Kuhulumo replied.
The gift he gave Daenerys was three barrels of high-quality wine, which could be sold for four Brightcoins in the markets of Qarth.
*A bit stingy!*
But she quickly realized that this captain's business wasn't large, and four Brightcoins represented a significant fortune to him.
"Thank you for the gift," Daenerys said, nodding to the man from the Summer Isles as she sat on a pile of soft cushions that formed a makeshift sofa. "I'm more interested in the news you bring from the Seven Kingdoms. Ah, if only you came from King's Landing..."
"Your Majesty, King's Landing is in the throes of war. No foreign merchants dare go there anymore, and even if they did, it would be pointless. Since the Usurper's death, King's Landing has been in chaos. They can barely feed themselves, let alone have goods to sell us."
The black-skinned captain sat on a small stool below her, his tone laced with disdain for the current rulers of King's Landing.
"Oldtown has the Citadel, where all the news from the Seven Kingdoms converges. After all, every noble has a Maester to serve them, and all Maesters come from the Citadel. During my stay in Oldtown, I gathered plenty of information about the current state of the Seven Kingdoms."
Finding him a bit long-winded, Daenerys cut to the chase: "How did the Usurper actually die?"
"He was killed by a monstrous beast."
"I want to know who conspired to kill him. You don't really believe he died under the tusks of a wild boar, do you?" Daenerys said calmly.
Sensing Daenerys's impatience, the captain of the *Laurel Wind* spoke rapidly: "There are indeed many conspiracy theories about the cause of the king's death.
Now, the 14-year-old King Joffrey sits on the throne, but everyone knows the Lannisters hold all the power.
A Maester's apprentice in a tavern once swore that the Queen betrayed the king, bearing a bastard child with her own brother. When their affair was exposed, she took desperate measures and murdered her royal husband.
This way, the throne would fall completely into Lannister hands.
It's not hard to see why Robert's two brothers fled King's Landing.
Rumors also say the Baratheon brothers intend to march on King's Landing and claim the throne for themselves.
When I left, there was talk—Duke Renly was planning to ally with House Tyrell of Highgarden and raise an army in rebellion.
With Highgarden and the Stormlands combined, the young king's position is quite precarious!"
Besides the rumors of the Queen's involvement in the King's murder, some claimed the Prime Minister was responsible.
The new King and Queen immediately declared Eddard Stark guilty of his King's murder. Some believed it, others doubted it, but it was said that most citizens of King's Landing had accepted it as truth.
"By the Gods, I clearly remember the Prime Minister being King Robert's closest friend. How could anyone believe he committed treason?"
"Indeed. Even the White Walkers wouldn't believe Eddard Stark would betray his king. Have the people of King's Landing gone mad or simply become fools?" Jorah nodded in agreement, his voice firm. "Even if the Long Night comes, that man would never tarnish his precious honor."
"Heh, but didn't Eddard Stark betray his king once before, fifteen years ago? The people of King's Landing already consider him dishonored. What's one more stain?" Daenerys said with a mischievous smile.
Jorah immediately shook his head. "That's different, Your Highness. Forgive my boldness, but you must understand that His Majesty Aerys slaughtered his own father and brother, and openly demanded the North hand Eddard over.
His rebellion against your father was a matter of honor, not a disgrace."
Having spent several months with Daenerys, Jorah knew her well. The original Daenerys would never have said such a thing.
"After Eddard Stark's imprisonment, what was the reaction in the North?" Jorah asked the captain, his face tense.
He was a Northerner, and his family were all vassals of the Starks.
"It's said that the Young Wolf immediately summoned his vassals and mobilized the army. About twenty thousand Northerners have crossed the Neck and are marching south."
"Alas!" Jorah sighed, his eyes vacant as he murmured, "I wonder how many of my cousins will die this time."
It seemed only a little girl named Lyanna remained. Daenerys looked at her knight with pity and asked, "How many children did your aunt have?"
"Five. All daughters. The youngest is about six," Jorah replied.
*Ah, how tragic! Only that six-year-old child remains.*
Before long, his father would also die a miserable death in Craster's muddy keep, due to the violation of guest right.
Thinking of this, Daenerys almost told him to accept his fate.
This was also why she had only watched the TV series. The director had cut many of the Mormont daughters to simplify the characters.
In the *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels, the Mormont family only lost one person at the Red Wedding: Jorah's cousin.
So, she had no need to worry about him.
"Is the Young Wolf Robb Stark?" he asked the black captain.
"Yes, Robb Stark is the commander."
"He's only fourteen, isn't he?" Jorah's expression darkened. "I've seen that boy. He's more than half a year younger than Her Highness the Princess, as tender as a summer bud.
What will become of this? That greenhorn will likely drag the entire North to ruin this time."
*What a prophecy!*
"Perhaps he has natural leadership talent?" Daenerys offered.
"That makes me worry even more," Jorah said, rubbing his face. "If he loses a single battle after leaving the Neck, the Northerners will immediately retreat to the Neck, and they'll never truly lose this game of power.
For over ten thousand years, no army has ever defeated the garrison at the Neck in a direct confrontation.
If that boy gets lucky and wins a battle or two, his head will swell, and *then* the North's talent will truly be finished."
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)