Chapter 139: Dorne

Dorne, Sunspear.

Much like the Red Keep, the ancestral seat of House Nymeros Martell is surrounded by the sea on three sides; it sits at the easternmost tip of a sandstone peninsula, colored a tawny brown overall.

Having drifted at sea for a month, Lord Jason Mallister and his Attendant, led by Martell Spearmen clad in cloth armor, passed through the three gates in turn to enter the innermost Old Palace.

After the guide was replaced by Old Palace Guards armed with scimitars, Lord Jason and his party were brought to the Throne Room in the Sun Tower.

Even though it was already late autumn, the weather in Dorne remained sweltering; having walked under the sun for only ten minutes, the sturdy Lord of Seagard already had beads of sweat on his forehead.

But Jason noticed that whether it was the Dornish commoners in the Shadow City to the east or the soldiers wearing yellow cloth armor, they all wrapped their foreheads and the backs of their heads with turbans.

"With this turban and robe, are you not hot?" Lord Jason asked the Attendant who was moving a chair for him.

The Attendant placed the chair on the ground without answering.

"The heat is secondary; it is the scorching sun that is deadly," a hearty voice rang out from outside the door, and then a tall, thin man with brown hair, dark eyes, and a melancholy expression walked in.

Jason, whose bottom had just touched the chair, stood up again, bowed in salute, and said, "Greetings, Prince Oberyn."

Because of gout, the Lord of Dorne, Prince Doran, could not stand for long and was in poor health; he was currently recuperating at the Water Gardens, three leagues from Sunspear, leaving the daily affairs of Dorne to his brother, the Red Viper, Oberyn.

"Please sit. The journey must have exhausted you, Lord Mallister."

The light-footed Red Viper walked up to the dais and settled into the chair with the golden spear emblem on the back.

There were two chairs on the dais, with a golden spear and a sunburst pattern on their backs respectively, representing House Martell and the Rhoynar.

Jason, who had sat down again, said bluntly, "The situation is not optimistic, so I will skip the pleasantries. The Riverlands King Arthur Bracken wants..."

He laid out Arthur's demands and conditions all at once and had his Attendant open the box containing the two heads and hand it to the Attendant of Sunspear.

The Red Viper did not respond to the Riverlander's request for troops; he was drawn to the foul-smelling head of The Mountain.

Because the picketing had been done too late, Gregor Clegane's massive head was in a state of total decay, while Amory Lorch's head was well-preserved, with his features clearly recognizable.

"I have seen portraits of the wild dog Luo Qi; there is no problem with this head, but how can you prove the other is the head of The Mountain?" the Red Viper asked.

Jason wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Is there another head in this world as large as this?"

The Mountain's physique was unrivaled across the entire Western Continent; among normal humans, it was indeed difficult to find such a giant head.

"Besides, Clegane's body is at Tumblestone on the Red Fork. Although it may have been pecked beyond recognition by crows, the skeleton remains. The Prince can go and check for himself when the situation is peaceful."

The Red Viper ordered someone to put the two heads away, "I like your gift very much, and I imagine my brother will as well. It is still early, so I will have someone arrange lodging for you, and we can communicate in depth at dinner."

After the Red Viper finished speaking, he ignored the guest's reaction, had an Attendant take the box containing the heads, and left with his men.

Jason guessed that Prince Oberyn must have gone to the Water Gardens to find Prince Doran, so he dutifully accepted the arrangements made by the Dornishmen.

After more than half an hour of riding, the Red Viper arrived at this summer palace.

The Water Gardens were built by Prince Maron Martell; the palace itself was a gift from Dorne to Prince Maron's wife, Daenerys I, marking their union with the Iron Throne.

The entire palace was filled with numerous pools, fountains, and blood orange trees, with pale pink marble buildings scattered among them.

In addition to Prince Doran, a large number of children also lived here; they came from all walks of life and their statuses varied greatly, yet they were able to get along quite equally—perhaps this was the reason for the unity of the Dornish people!

"The Riverlanders have sent the heads of those two dogs, The Mountain and Amory Lorch, and want us to send troops to The Reach to lure the Rose family and their vassals to return south."

Oberyn was brief and to the point, explaining the purpose of the Riverlands guest and having the Attendant hand the box to Areo Hotah, the captain of Prince Doran's guard.

In fact, he did not need to explain; although Prince Doran never left the Water Gardens, his control over Sunspear and Dorne was extremely strong. It was likely that less than half an hour after Jason and his party disembarked, he already knew everything.

"Two heads are of no consequence to the overall situation, and Nightsong is not in the hands of the Dragonrider; it is just an empty promise of meat. What do you think of the situation in the Riverlands and King's Landing?"

The olive-skinned, full-featured Doran only glanced at the two heads before turning his head away, continuing to watch the children playing in the pool, and asked his brother in return.

"Since the death of Viserys, we have another potential ally. But the current situation of the Dragonrider is extremely dangerous. Both Tommen, whom the old lion has placed on the throne, and Stannis derive their legitimacy from Robert, so whoever wins between these two families will have to eliminate him. As it stands, Stannis's intention should be to quickly annihilate his nephew, then have the nobles of the other realms recognize him as King, and then quell the minor rebellion in the Riverlands."

The Red Viper had secretly traveled to Braavos and reached a secret pact with Illyrio, Jon Connington, and others to unite the Dothraki screamers of Khal Drogo and the Golden Company to invade the Western Continent once Viserys came of age.

This plan had been shelved after Viserys and Khal Drogo passed away one after another, but the hatred of the Martells for the Lannisters remained.

"And the Lannisters will fight to the death to protect Tommen. The two Stag Kings are fighting each other first, and only then will they care about the self-proclaimed Riverlands King."

The lions and wolves had been fighting chaotically in the Riverlands, leaving the Riverlands nobility severely wounded; the realm might not even be able to scrape together ten thousand men. So even though another King had arrived, and possessed a young dragon, neither of the two Stag King factions took him seriously.

After the Red Viper finished his analysis, he stood to the side, waiting for his brother's instructions.

Doran let out a long breath, "So the key to the situation lies here. If Cersei and Tommen die at Duskendale, then The Reach will likely lean toward the Dragonrider, and our intervention will be of little significance. If Tommen does not die and the Lion-Flower Alliance remains intact, even if we join forces with the Riverlands, the combined strength of two realms may not be enough to defeat the lions."

If Tommen died, Stannis would be the only Stag King; given his temperament, he would never forgive the Reach nobles who had successively supported the two false kings, Renly and Tommen. Since the Rose family had previously fought for the Dragon family, it was highly likely they would change sides again and lean toward the Dragonrider.

If Tommen did not die, it would depend on the outcome of the battle at King's Landing.

"No, there is still a turning point." Oberyn crossed his arms and supported his chin, "Even if Tommen does not die, Stannis has twenty thousand men and a fortified city, which can delay things for a while. During this time, if we attack Highgarden, the Reach Army will inevitably return to reinforce it, and the lions currently only have ten thousand main troops plus seven or eight thousand new recruits. With three kings fighting, the outcome is not yet certain."

Prince Doran turned back to look at his brother, "Your idea is too risky. The fate of all Dornishmen rests on you and me; we cannot afford to take a single wrong step. I hear that dragon was only born recently and may not survive to adulthood; there is no need for us to enter the fray now. Let us wait a while longer."

It was rumored that Stormborn Daenerys had already entered Slaver's Bay, and Doran wanted to cooperate with this Targaryen of clear lineage.

"If we wait any longer, the old lion will die of old age in his Casterly Rock. Is my sister, your sister Elia's revenge not to be avenged?"

Oberyn's voice was very low, but it possessed a heart-shaking power, as if he would explode at any second.

"I am merely delaying the dispatch of troops, not forgetting the revenge." Prince Doran signaled for his brother to come closer, "The Dragonrider's origins are too absurd; I do not believe the claim that he is Rhaegar's bastard. We should still cooperate with Daenerys."

The Red Viper stared fixedly at his brother, and after a moment said, "Fine, as you wish. The Dornishmen will temporarily forget their hatred for the lions and enjoy this final long summer."

He trusted his brother's grasp of the situation, and he also believed that if he stayed any longer, he would lose control of his hatred and have a major argument with his brother over the issue of sending troops, so he turned and left.

The direct enemies like The Mountain were dead, but Tywin, the enemy, was still alive, and his children and grandchildren were also living well; the Red Viper had another plan for revenge.

The Riverlands, upper reaches of the Blackwater River.

【Riverlands King: Arthur Bracken】

【Level: 9】

【Experience: 20671/30000】

【Strength: 20】

【Agility: 12】

【Intelligence: 8】

【Charisma: 9】

【Skills: Ironflesh 5, Power Strike 8, Power Throw 3, Power Draw 1, Weapon Mastery 2, Shield 1, Athletics 2, Riding 7, Horse Archery 0, Looting 0, Trainer 0, Tracking 0, Tactics 1, Pathfinding 0, Spotting 0, Wound Treatment 0, Surgery 0, First Aid 0, Engineering 0, Persuasion 1, Prisoner Management 1, Leadership 3, Trade 0】

【Weapon Proficiency: One-handed Weapon 74, Two-handed Weapon 135, Polearm 117, Archery 31, Crossbow 31, Throwing 58】

Since the level had become higher, the experience points required for leveling up had risen significantly; several major battles and the leveling up of the New Army soldiers had only brought in over six thousand experience points, the two tasks at Golden Tooth had given two thousand experience, and having completed two tasks helping villagers capture "bandits" over the past two days, he had just barely managed to reach level nine.

The attribute point was added to Intelligence, the two skill points were added to Riding, which was required for riding a dragon, and the weapon point was added to Two-handed Weapon.

After adding the points, Arthur skillfully put away the panel and then ordered his soldiers to continue advancing toward the destination, Stoney Sept.

The composition of this army of over nine hundred men was somewhat complex: five hundred men came from the Tully family, over one hundred were Arthur's New Army, whom he had brought to Riverrun to make up the numbers, and two hundred came from the Pinkmaiden territory; Count Clement Piper had gathered four or five hundred men in his own territory, but only a little over half had weapons and chainmail, so two hundred followed Arthur to intercept the Lannister army, while the rest followed Count Piper to reorganize the Pinkmaiden territory.

There were also seventy or eighty surrendered soldiers and prisoners; these people were the "bandits" in the mouths of the nearby villagers, but they were actually scattered soldiers who had been defeated, consisting mainly of mercenaries belonging to the Westerlands and cavalry from families like the Karstarks of The North.

Mercenaries changed sides easily, so when Arthur proposed that they would not have to walk in chains if they surrendered, thirty-three mercenaries joined the army on the spot.

The remaining scattered soldiers from The North had much fouler tempers; they did not even recognize the Young Wolf Robb, so how could they submit to Arthur, this self-proclaimed Riverlands King?

Thus, fifty-two Northmen were tied by their hands and followed the army forward.

Half a day later, the scouts at the front of the column reported that there was an inn and a few farmhouses, with about a dozen farmers active there.

Arthur thought for a moment, let Desmond, who was leading the team, take the army forward, while he took Podrick and a few others to head there to hear what the farmers in the vicinity thought of the Riverlands King.

"Will there be danger?" asked the big boy Lyman Darry.

Ever since Arthur restored his family's title of Count, he had been bringing him along to make up the numbers, because the other counts basically had tasks, and the Riverlands King could not be a lone wolf everywhere.

"It's fine, don't you trust my combat power? A dozen ordinary men cannot get close to me, not to mention Pod and the others are here."

Arthur was still wearing a layer of chainmail and a set of plate armor; the plate armor was that set of Yule's, which was still quite new and could be used for quite some time.

During the time he was resting and busy contacting various nobles at Harrenhal, Gendry had also taken the time to recast that Golden Guan Dao, so Arthur's equipment was still very complete now.

"Then I'll go with you too." Fourteen-year-old Lyman was still very lively and active, and he also wanted to go along to watch the fun.

Pod, who was the same age as him, was much more mature; ever since the fat Viscount Lommy was decently buried outside Golden Tooth, he had been Arthur's personal guard and the steward in charge of armor and weapons.

Arthur picked five level-three chainmail shield-bearers, took Lyman and his two guards, as well as Podrick, and headed to that inn.

In the woods about one hundred meters from the inn, the Riverlands King let Pod take his Golden Guan Dao and stay there with the five shield-bearers.

If there were any accidents, they would be the backup.

"People coming again, which king do you fight for?" Before the four of them had even walked into the door of the inn, someone asked.

"We only fight for ourselves, we are just passing through, hoping to eat a full meal," answered Lyman Darry.

This had been agreed upon beforehand; having a big boy answer could lower the farmers' vigilance.

Arthur pretended to be Lyman's senior guard and stayed by his side.

"Pay first, let me think, twelve Silver Stags for four people, three each, that's already very cheap," the owner of the inn said this way.

Even considering that the prices of wheat and potatoes had almost quintupled, and meat had risen to nearly ten times the original price, this price was still very expensive.

Lyman, who had always lived in a castle, had no concept of cheap or expensive, so he took out his purse, counted out twelve Silver Stags, and tossed them in front of the door.

A short, fat middle-aged man ran out, nimbly picked up the Silver Stags, and then signaled that the guests could come in.

"Forgive my rudeness, my lords, it's a chaotic world now, we have to collect money first before we can open for business."

After getting the money, the middle-aged boss's tone softened a lot.

The four of them entered the inn, and as expected, there were seven or eight people inside.

Of course, these people did not look like guests because they were dressed a bit shabbily and could not afford such expensive meal prices.

Arthur did not waste time; he used two more Silver Stags to buy half a barrel of ale, and after sending a few cups to these people, he began to fish for information.

"Which king or which lord do you think is better?"

Their vigilance exceeded Arthur's expectations; after drinking the ale, they just rambled on about this and that, refusing to give their own evaluation.

But the Riverlands King still had methods; after sending several more cups of ale, someone finally got drunk and spoke their true thoughts: "I think the king in King's Landing is better."

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)